Luna Eclipsed
Nightmare Night, the spookiest night of the year.
All over Equestria, ponies were dressing up as their favorite monsters and staying out late to party or demand candy from complete strangers. It was a magical night, complete with sweets, scares and excitement.
At the Golden Oaks library, Spike and Springer were downstairs waiting for Flash and Twilight to come down. Spike was wearing a dragon costume, (Which was kind of redundant) while Springer was just wearing an antenna headband and googly eye glasses. Spike was currently passing at the bottom of the stairs, before turning to it and calling out. "Come on guys, we're gonna miss the Nightmare Night Festival."
"Can't you just go and let them catch up?" Springer asked as he stuffed his face with candy. Ever since the event with him and Flash training at the mountain and finding out everyone could now understand him, Springer had enjoyed doubling his connections to his friends now that he could actually communicate with them. He also learned that he could talk to any of residents of Ponyville now, which made things even better. Now, he had offered to stay behind and hand out candy to anypony who came to the door in exchange for his own massive bowl of candy and all the spooky comics he could read for the night.
"I'm not going so Twilight can-" Spike replied before hearing hoofsteps behind him.
"Stop complaining," said a voice above the stairs. The duo then looked up, seeing Twilight descend the stairs while wearing a blue cloak and hat with star patterns and bells attached. She was also wearing a fake white beard and a smirk on her face as she strutted down, showing off her costume. "What do you think?"
Spike wasn't exactly sure what she was. "Are you that...one kooky grandpa from the Ponyville Retirement Center?"
Twilight looked horrified at Spike's apparent ignorance of who she was portraying. "I'm Starswirl the Bearded!" she exclaimed, slamming her hooves down. However, Spike and Springer just gave her blank stares, causing her to explain in a deadpan tone. "Father of the amniomorphic spell?!" The two kept their blank stares. "Did you even read that book I gave you about obscure unicorn history?!"
The two non ponies just looked at each other in confusion, only to hear a knock at the door. "That sounds important," Spike yelped as he and Springer rushed to the door, Springer grabbing the bowl of candy while Spike opened it to reveal a trio of fillies.
The fillies then began to sing, "Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!"
As Springer handed out the candy, Twilight stepped up to check out their costumes. "Hi everypony, great costumes." She then saw that Granny Smith was behind them. "Happy Nightmare Night Granny Smith."
"I should have been asleep five hours ago!" she complained.
As the last piece of candy was handed out, the colt known as Pipsqueak squeezed through the trio, his costume was a pirate. "Pipsqueak the pirate," he said with a salute, "at your service on this, my very first Nightmare Night."
"Since you moved here from Trottingham?" Twilight asked.
"No," Pipsqueak replied with a shake of the head, "my very first Nightmare Night ever."
Suddenly Pinkie, dressed as a chicken, appeared with a loud clucking behind him. "Enough chit chat," she said sternly, "time is candy!"
"Pinkie Pie?!" Twilight yelped at the sudden pink pony. "Aren't you a little old for this?"
"Too old for free candy?!" Pinkie exclaimed before whispering, "never."
Twilight rolled her eyes but then magicked over a piece of candy, one of the smaller pieces mind you, with Pinkie licking her lips at the sight. Once done, Pinkie looked over Twilight's costume. "Do you like it?" The unicorn asked.
"Yeah," Pinkie nodded, "great costume Twilight. You make a fantastic weirdo clown." She then pecked at the rest of their candy like a chicken and shot off.
"Clown?!" Twilight yelled back as she stepped into the library. "Look at the borders on these robes, these are hoof stitched! Why does she think I look like a clown?! I look nothing like a clown!"
"It's a great costume," Spike said before snickering, "grandpa."
Twilight growled at this, her horn almost starting to light up with magic.
"Careful Spike," Springer called out, slightly giggling. "She might put you on candy watch instead."
"Whatever," Twilight replied before turning to the stairs. "Flash! Are you ready yet or what?!"
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Flash's voice replied. Seconds later, the young apprentice knight trotted downstairs, only to hear two long sighs from Twilight and Spike. The sighs came from their reaction of Flash's costume, which was nothing but a white sheet over his body with two small eyeholes.
"This again?!" Twilight moaned, facehoofing.
"Seriously?!" Spike asked as he facehoofed as well. "What is it with you and that costume?!"
"What's wrong with it?" Springer asked in confusion.
"Yeah!" Flash continued, tapping his chest. "This costume's a classic."
"You wear the same costume every year." Twilight groaned, shaking her head. "You know Flash, one of the fun things about Nightmare Night is that you get to wear a different costume every year. Not rehash the same thing again and again!"
Flash just rolled his eyes before tapping her chest with a glare. "Look 'Miss Starswirl', you enjoy Nightmare Night your way and I'll enjoy it my way. This is my favorite holiday and I'll do what I want with it."
"But couldn't you at least make a more authentic ghost costume?" Twilight complained as she waved her hoof at him. "Its kind of obvious what you are."
"Compared to your costume?!" Flash barked back. "You do realize that if you didn't constantly shove Starswirl facts down my throat, I probably wouldn't know who you're meant to be."
Twilight just growled in annoyance. "Fine," she said as she turned to the door, "let's just go before we miss the whole festival."
"Sounds good to me." Flash said as he followed her. At the door, he turned to Springer and nodded. "Have fun Springer."
"You too!" the jakhowl replied before shutting the door.
A little later...
The trio made their way through town, checking out the rest of the town's costumes as they did. While this happened, Twilight continued to complain about how almost nopony understood her costume, which made Flash's eyes twitch at the constant whining. "Starswirl the Bearded is only the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era," she said as they passed a cart of young ponies that Big Mac was pulling, "he created more than two hundred spells! He even has a shelf in the Canterlot Library of Magic named after him! Why doesn't anypony know this?!"
"We know Twilight," Flash grumbled, nudging her as they continued to trot through the town. "But not everypony knows that. It's not like Starswirl's a subject ponies learn in elementary school, and not many other ponies stay in school after that. There's probably very few ponies in town who've even heard about him...and I wouldn't have if hadn't been for you because I didn't go to school!"
Twilight thought for a moment about what he had just said. "Maybe I should start up a group that would teach ponies about history..." she then clapped her hooves. "Yeah! I bet everypony would love it, don't you?"
Spike agreed as he was stuffing his face with candy. Flash on the other hoof, just scratched his head before replying. "It's not a bad idea...but I wouldn't expect everypony in town to attend. Can you honestly picture Rainbow or Iron Core sitting still for that long?"
"Point made, but maybe..." Twilight said before noticing somepony walking by. "Speak of the devil," she then pointed her hoof at one passing Iron Core. The apprentice knight wasn't dressed up as anything and was walking through the hordes of partying ponies.
"Hey Iron!" Flash yelled, pulling his hoof out of the sheet and waving it. "Happy Nightmare Night!"
"Yeah whatever," Iron grumbled, trying to not look at them.
"Aren't you gonna dress up and enjoy the festival?" Twilight asked.
"If you idiots wanna make fools out of yourselves, that's fine." Iron hissed, now giving them a deadpan stare. "But I got better things to do then dress up as a bunch of freaks and weirdos."
"Like what?" Spike asked between biting into candy.
"I promised Fluttershy I would keep her safe if anything bad came after her tonight." Iron flatly stated.
"Right..." Twilight said suspiciously, cocking an eyebrow as she did. "You sure you're not just trying to show off to her?"
Iron didn't respond and just walked off, grumbling something under his breath as he did.
"Typical," Twilight laughed as they continued onto the town square, where the main activities of the festival were being held. "Well, here we are. Should we get something to eat?"
"I think someone's already thought of that." Flash said as he pointed towards the candy munching dragon of their group. Seeing this, Twilight let out a groan until she turned her head, now seeing a certain pink pony in a chicken costume. It was Pinkie, who was somehow holding her bag of candy in both her front hooves and yet still staying up right.
"Flash, Twilight, look at this bag of candy! Can you believe it?!" She exclaimed before pecking at the candy like a chicken, though it wasn't clear whether or not she was actually eating them.
As Twilight started to growl at Pinkie, Flash started looking around to check out everypony's costume in the town square. It was here that he saw Rainbow Dash flying over them. She was dressed in a darker version of the Wonderbolt costume, which looked similar to the fake Shadowbolts Rainbow had told Flash that she had met during their first adventure. That and she was pushing a storm cloud towards them. As she got closer, Flash quickly caught on, knowing what was going to happen next. He plugged his ears and waited, a small smirk on his face. Seconds passed, and as Pinkie continued to rattle on about who they got candy from as Twilight grumbled back, Rainbow struck the cloud, causing a massive thunder crash to happen by the duo. Pinkie screamed in fright before shooting off, leaving Rainbow to laugh out loudly.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded the pegasus, "That wasn't very nice!"
"Oh lighten up old timer!" Rainbow countered, leaning back in the storm cloud. "This is the best night of the year for pranks."
Flash nodded before nudging Twilight. "I have to agree Twi. As long as its nothing to bad, I don't see what the problem is. I mean, pranks are part of Nightmare Night. Remember two years ago when we did the 'bucket of fake spiders plan' on Shining Armor?"
"I know, I know...but look at what she did to Spike," Twilight said as she pointed to the dragon, who was currently on the floor coughing loudly.
"I think that has more to do with him eating tons of candy without taking off the wrappers." Flash replied in a deadpan tone.
"Yeah! It's all in good fun," Rainbow said as she looked around, "Ooh! Ooh! There's another group over there!" she then flew off, pushing her storm cloud away as several thunder crashes soon followed. Twilight just rolled her eyes and then lifted the downed dragon onto her back and the three of them continued to look around. A little while later, they found themselves at the games area where Applejack, dressed as a scarecrow, was running an apple bobbing station.
"Happy Nightmare Night Applejack!" Twilight said as they stepped over to her.
"Howdy ya'll," Applejack replied as she looked over their costumes. "Nice costumes."
"Thanks," Spike beamed a big grin, "I'm a dragon."
"She means me Spike," Twilight said as Applejack took a closer look at her.
"With that beard..." Applejack commented as she poked at it, "Ah bet yer some kind of country music singer." As Flash and Spike laughed, Twilight just growled while rolling her eyes as Applejack continued. "Why ya'll are here, you feel like bobbin for an apple?" She pointed to the tank, only for Derpy to poke her head out the water and pull out the plug which kept the water in. They watched as it slowly drained away.
"Well," Flash said once it was all gone with a snarky grin, "at least you'll definitely have winners now."
Seeing Twilight and Applejack glare at him, Flash quickly stepped away, twiddling his hooves under the sheet. They then said goodbye to Applejack as she started repairing her station. With this, they saw a stage in the town square, and the duo walked over to it. As they did, she saw Mayor Mare up there, talking at her pedestal while being dressed in a red nose and rainbow wig.
"Greetings everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night Festival." she said as the crowd started cheering. As they did, Mayor Mare pointed to the other part of the stage. "All the ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the tale of...Nightmare Moon!" She tried to sound scary, but in her current costume, she just looked goofy.
"The spooky voice might work better if she wasn't dressed like that," Spike commented, making Twilight giggle.
Suddenly there was a puff of green smoke, and from it stepped Zecora, dressed in a black dress with fake spiders in her hair. As the smoke cleared, Zecora looked around and smiled before talking. "Follow me and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon." They followed the zebra to a outcrop of the Everfree Forest, where Flash and Springer had earlier worked to make sure was completely safe, and showed them a statue depicting the dark pony known as Nightmare Moon.
"Listen close my little dears and I'll tell you where you got your fears, of Nightmare Night so dark and scary." She threw some green dust into the air, which suddenly transformed into a cloud in the shape of the pony on the statue. "Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you weary." The cloud flew towards them and exploded into a figureless form around them. "Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes." To say the younger ponies were frightened would be an understatement, as Pip and another filly screamed before rushing off. Pip was running so fast, he didn't realise where he was going and ended up slamming into something. "But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing," the young pony looked up and found himself under the statue, which was glaring down at him, "to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!"
Pip backed away, right into Pinkie who had gone from acting like a chicken to acting like an ostrich. The two touched and instantly screamed before running off in opposite directions.
"She's good, they're all scared." Flash commented, getting a nod from Twilight and Spike in response.
Zecora created another cloud, which flew around them all. "At night, she passes through the sky. If she sees no pony, then she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year." With that, the Nightmare Moon cloud disappeared into nothing.
"Um..." Pip asked as he pulled on her dress, "Ms Zecora? If were wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon so she won't gobble us up, how come we still have to give her some of our candy?"
"A perfect question, my little friend," Zecora continued, "for Nightmare Moon, you must not offend." She created yet another Nightmare Moon cloud, which stomped towards them. "Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat YOU!" Suddenly the cloud leaped at Pip and the others, showing them razor sharp teeth before disappearing. Pip, Pinkie and the rest of the group all screamed before rushing over to the statue.
"Everypony!" Pinkie cried, "Throw down some candy and get out of here!"
"Well that's one way to reduce toothache," Flash joked.
"I think Zecora may have gone overboard," Twilight replied, grumbling.
Flash was about to respond, only to feel a cold chill run down his spine. The hairs on his head started to tingle, making him look up at the sky. There, he saw a group of dark clouds spiralling around the moon while a cold wind began to blow around them. Flash turned to Zecora. "Please tell me this is just another effect."
Zecora responded by shaking her head no, causing Flash to look back up at the sky. Suddenly, there was a literal flash originating from the moon, and from it shot out a dark carriage pulled by a pair of pegasi. However, these pegasi were different, as their wings were made of a black membrane like substance.
"Thestrals," Flash almost whispered. Thestrals, or bat ponies as most others called them, were a nocturnal pony that were rarely seen. They had once been well known as the night guards who worked under Princess Luna, but they were said to have vanished not long after her banishment to the moon. Everypony saw them and grew scared as the carriage flew over and hovered a few meters away. A cloaked pony stood up on the carriage, their visual form hidden by said cloak.
Pinkie gasped as she saw the cloaked figure. "It's Nightmare Moon! RUN!" she almost screamed. With that, she, Zecora and the rest of young ponies ran off, leaving Flash, Twilight and Spike to stare at the figure. Said figure, pointed in the direction of the group and the Thestrals nodded, before pulling the carriage away. Flash and Twilight glanced at each other, before quickly rushing after the cloaked figure.
Meanwhile, back in town...
The night was still in full charge as everypony was enjoying the party that was Nightmare Night. As the ponies of Ponyville continued to celebrate, they suddenly heard a hoard of loud yelling, causing them to turn and see Pinkie's group rushing through the street. The many ponies all stared at each other in confusion, until the sky above them drew dark. There, they saw the carriage hovering above the square as it began it's descent. As if did, Flash and Twilight arrived at the square, only to see the cloaked figure flick it's head back, it's hood now falling down to reveal it's face.
And as the figure's face showed itself, the surrounding ponies immediately bowed down. It was Princess Luna.
"Princess Luna?!" Twilight exclaimed as she saw her face, only for Spike to quickly grabbed her and Flash and pull them down to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" Flash asked him.
"We can't let her see us, or she'll gobble us up!" Spike cried, only for Flash to smack his head.
"News flash Spike, that's not Nightmare Moon. That's Princess Luna." Flash scolded. With that, he and Twilight pulled themselves away from the dragon and rushed over to the Princess of the Night. As they did, Luna's cloak transformed into a cauldron of bats, which fluttered away as she walked through the group of ponies.
"Princess!" She turned to see Flash and Twilight walking over to her.
Luna turned to them, and though it took her a second to see through their costumes, she recognized them and smiled. "YOUNG MS SPARKLE AND APPRENTICE SENTRY!" She yelled with a booming voice.
"Yowzaa," Flash said as they and the rest of the square covered their ears. "So much for my eardrums."
"IT IS GOOD TO SEE THE TWO OF YOU ONCE AGAIN!"
"And it's good to see you to Princess." Twilight tried to reply, rubbing her ears.
"Though hearing you could be better," Flash continued, getting a nudge and glare from Twilight in response. Seeing this, Flash continued, "So...what brings you to Ponyville?"
"WE ARE HERE ON OUR STUDENT TRIXIE'S SUGGESTION! AFTER HEARING ABOUT A NIGHT DEDICATED TO US, WE WISHED TO EXPERIENCE IT FOR OURSELVES! MS LULAMOON SAID THE BEST NIGHTMARE NIGHT FESTIVALS ARE ALWAYS IN SMALL TOWNS, SO WE DECIDED TO COME HERE AND SEE HOW PONYVILLE CELEBRATED IT!" She then turned to the rest of the crowd. "CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, WE HAVE GRACED YOUR LITTLE VILLAGE WITH OUR PRESENCE SO YOU MIGHT BEHOLD US, THE TRUE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!"
Flash's eyes slightly narrowed before yelling over his now ringing ears. "That's great and all, but would it be impolite to ask that you turn the announcement down a few decibels?"
Luna looked perplexed at this question. "WE DO NOT FOLLOW!"
"You're being too loud!" Twilight explained as her hooves shook over her ears. "Its making it hard to hear you and its frightening some of the younger ponies."
"OH!" Luna said as she looked around and saw the other ponies. The look on her face was one of realisation, as she saw the ponies weren't bowing to her in respect, but in fear.
Seeing this, Flash quickly walked in front of Twilight and said, "If its okay with you, how about the three of us head somewhere more...private to talk."
"VERY WELL! I SHALL BE OVER THERE" Luna replied as she pointed to a distance away from the square, the force of her voice almost sending Flash and Twilight flying. With that, the Princess of the Night turned and headed towards where she pointed.
As she walked off, Flash turned to the still quivering townponies. "Come on guys, stop sitting there in fear. Sides, you're lucky we were here or you might have offended her."
"B-b-but..." Mayor Mare said in a timid voice, "Nightmare Moon-"
"Is gone," Twilight interrupted her, glaring at the mayor. "The Elements of Harmony destroyed her and released Luna from the dark prison of her mind. It's obvious she's just having a hard time adjusting after being gone for a thousand years."
"You've all seen her before, remember?" Flash continued. "When me and Twilight first moved here, there was a big parade celebrating Nightmare Moon's defeat. Some of the school ponies gave her a flower necklace."
The ponies all thought back to that event, remembering the pony who had been standing next to Princess Celestia. Although, many of them remember her coat being dark blue in place of black. Unfortunately, the pony they had just seen sure did look an awful lot like the evil pony they had seen in town hall during the Summer Sun Celebration, causing them all to start to mummer to each other, obvious doubt in their voices. Seeing this, Flash let out a long sight before speaking up again. "Look everypony, we'll go talk to her. As for the rest of you, try and stay calm the next time you see her."
With that, Flash and Twilight turned and headed off to find Luna. It didn't take too long, as they found her sitting in front of the Nightmare Moon statue with a depressed look on her face.
"Hey," Flash said, getting her attention.
"We wanted to apologize for what happened before." Luna replied, turning towards them.
"I'm guessing you're still having trouble adjusting to life in this time?" Twilight asked.
Luna nodded at this. "Indeed. Though Trixie has helped us and we have gotten used to life in Canterlot...it seems we still have much to learn."
Flash just shrugged. "Its cool. Though you could do with lowering the volume in the voice department."
"But we were only using the Royal Canterlot Voice," Luna explained, "it is tradition to speak in public with the royal voice and TO USE THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!"
The duo covered their ears again, though Flash was quicker to reply this time. "Listen, I know Canterlot can be a real noisy place, so it would make sense to use it there so you can be heard..." Flash then pointed to Ponyville. "But in small towns like Ponyville, the loudest thing around is usually a cricket. A booming voice like what you used before won't have a...positive reaction."
Luna thought about what he had just said. "Your logic seems flawless."
"Maybe if you changed up your approach, you'll get a better response." Twilight suggested.
"And how would one...change their approach?"
"You just gotta get into the spirit of things," Flash explained as he thought for a moment, "like...wearing a costume."
Luna looked over the two costume and raised an eyebrow. "So it is customary to dress up as Starswirl the Bearded and...a pile of mashed potatoes?"
Though she couldn't see him under the cloth, Flash pouted before speaking under his breath. "She gets Twilight's costume, but she can't tell I'm a ghost?! Seriously?!"
Twilight giggled at that before turning to Luna. "What do you think Princess?"
Luna thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "We are sorry, but we don't think it would be a good idea to be parading around in a silly get-up. We want to be liked, but we must also keep up a dignified front."
"I guess that's fair," Twilight replied, nodding her head. "To be honest, I don't think Celestia ever wears a costume on NIghtmare Night either."
"Though that might be because this night celebrates the creature that consumed her little sister and forced her to banish her to the moon," Flash said before flinching from Luna's obvious glare. "Sorry. Wasn't thinking."
"It is fine," Luna hissed before turning her head. "Our biggest problem is being around multiple ponies. Speaking to the pair of you is fine, especially after everything we've been through. Its when we must address a large crowd that we grow nervous and..."
"Blast their eardrums with that voice?" Flash finished for her.
Luna just nodded in response.
Twilight thought about this for a moment, before smiling as an idea popped into her head. "If it's a question of nerves, I think I know just the pony to talk to about keeping them in check when needs be."
"Who would that be? You?" Flash snidely asked, only for Twilight's horn to shine. There, he felt a familiar pain in his ear. "Ow! I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Seriously, it was just a joke!"
"Whatever." Twilight grumbled before turning to Luna. "Come with us Princess Luna, I think I know just the pony to talk too."
One transition to a very familiar cottage full of animals later...
"I'm telling you Luna," Twilight said as they walked up to Fluttershy's cottage, "Fluttershy's the best pony to talk to about feeling nervous. She's bound to have a trick or two that'll help you overcome your nerves."
"Fluttershy..." Luna replied as she tried to remember. "She's the pony who was able to tame the Manticore we sent after you, was she not?"
"That's right," Twilight nodded as they finally arrived. "I'm sure she'll have a way to help you. She's the bravest pony I know."
"Hey! I resent that, you know!" Flash growled, crossing his hooves as he looked away with a grumble.
"You know what I mean, mister 'Element of Courage'." Twilight barked back, rolling her eyes. With that, she turned and knocked on the door, only for a loud scream to be heard from the other side.
"Something's out there!" Fluttershy's terrified voice said.
Luna turned to Twilight with a raised eyebrow. "Bravest pony you know, huh?" Twilight just laughed nervously, praying something would break this awkward silence. Luckily for her, something did.
"Who's out there?" Iron Core's voice exclaimed from the other side of the door. "Name your intent or forfeit your life!"
"It is I!" Luna called out, "Princess Luna, Princess of the Night!"
Fluttershy's door opened slightly and Iron's eye popped through the crack. Seeing Luna, it went wide before shutting the door and the three heard the sound of several locks unlocking. It was taking a while though, so long that Flash had time to say this. "So...got any plans for the weekend?"
Then, the door swung open and Iron stood there, bowing. "Princess. My apologies for my threat."
"Rise Apprentice Iron," Luna said, "we are here because we seek an audience with one Ms Fluttershy."
Fluttershy's head popped out from beneath her sofa, allowing her to see who was there. "Princess Luna," she said as she pulled herself out and walked over to the door, "Twilight and..."
"It's me," Flash waved under the sheet.
"Oh...well, what can I do for you?"
Twilight walked in between them and started her explanation. "Luna's trying to improve her public image here, but her nerves aren't helping. We thought, who better to help fight them other than you."
"You want...me, to teach somepony how not to be scared?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not completely. Just enough for to be able to talk to a large crowd."
"Oh..." Fluttershy said as she twiddled her hooves. Iron walked up to her and put his hoof on her shoulder, nodding at her. As she saw this, she let took a deep breath before she looked back at Luna. "Well, I guess I could try."
"Excellent!" Luna exclaimed, beaming a big smile. "Then shall we begin immediately!" She then leaned down, smirking. "First, what strategies would you suggest for us to use?"
"Well..." Fluttershy said as she tried to think, "I haven't had much experience talking to large groups, but the few times I have done it...I've just closed my eyes and imagined the ponies listening to me are animals."
They were all immediately confused by this, until Flash realised what she really meant. "Oh, so you imagine that they're something you're comfortable around. For you, it's animals." Flash then pointed to Luna. "So we need to think of something Luna's comfortable around."
"I see...that's not a bad idea." Twilight said before turning to the Princess of the Night. "So you just need to pick something you're comfortable with and imagine that."
"We see...that could work." Luna rubbed her chin in thought, before showing a small grin. "We think we have something. We will keep this image to help us." Luan then pulled Fluttershy into a hug. "We thank you Miss Fluttershy!"
"Its my pleasure." Fluttershy squeaked, feeling the crushing hooves of the alicorn. The sight made Iron slight shiver, wanting to help her but knew he couldn't do anything against the princess.
Despite that, it seemed like a great moment, if not for a certain chicken suited mare.
"Fluttershy!" Pinkie called out as she and some other little ponies trotted towards the cottage, making Flash the others to turn around and see the oncoming group. "You've gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and-" She didn't get to finish as she then saw Luna hugging Fluttershy. A scream followed. "OH NO! She's got Fluttershy and is about about to gobble her up! Run before she gets you too!"
With that, she and the others shot off and Luna tried to rush after her. "NIGH CHILDREN WAIT!" She screamed, letting her nerves get to her again, "I mean, nigh children wait..."
Flash and Twilight looked at each other, already seeing that this idea just fell through. Flash blinked and said, "Oookay, so Pinkie just messed up everything." He then pointed to Luna, who was now walking back to them with a huge frown on her face. "What do we do now?"
"Umm..." Twilight scratched the side of her head in thought. A second later, a small bulb went off in her head. "Alright, if phase one is a bust, we'll have to move onto phase two."
"We have phases in this?" Flash asked. "I thought you were a checklist kind of pony."
"Yes, there are phases!" Twilight said, smacking him with her tail. "And step two is showing everypony the real Princess Luna! The one we know and love!"
"Is that a wise idea?" Luna asked, still looking troubled as she did. "As a princess, we must maintain a certain level of respectability at all times."
Twilight shook her head. "Maybe you did a thousand years ago, but these days, the public is all about seeing a princess's less pristine qualities on occasion." Twilight then beamed a small smile, winking as she did. "I know from experience that even Princess Celestia doesn't act all high and mighty one hundred percent of the time. Showing you have a fun side will make you look more pony and therefore more relatable."
Luna rubbed her chin in thought again, only to nod soon after. "Again, your logic seems flawless." Luna then smirked, cocking an eyebrow as she leaned down to the duo. "Very well, how do we accomplish this?"
Twilight just smiled. It was obvious she had a plan.
Said plan involved the three of them returning to the main square. As they did, the town's ponies quickly saw them and started bowing in fear at the sight of Luna. When this happened, Luna's head leaned down, almost touching the ground.
"It is of no use Twilight Sparkle." Luna commented, grumbling as she continued to look downtrodden. "They have never liked us, and they never shall."
"Now now, remember what I told you as we walked back to the town?" Twilight asked, shaking her head. "I told you that we're going to have you meet my friends. We'll start with Applejack, who is one of the most likeable ponies around. I'm sure she'll be able to help you show off the real you. It's all about trial and error."
"If you say so," Luna said in a low, draining tone.
Meanwhile, Flash was working to make the townponies stop acting so scared. "Get up!" he commanded as he pushed Carrot Top to her feet. "What did I say earlier?"
"Sorry," Carrot replied, trying to keep to the ground. "She's just so...intimidating."
"She's actually a really nice mare once you get to know her. Now stop being scared and tell the others to stop bowing." Flash replied before turning to follow the two. He soon found Twilight standing next to Applejack as Luna was standing next to a bucket of fake spiders. "How's it going?" He asked as he watched the princess examine the game.
"I'll tell you in a second," Twilight whispered, her tone now a bit nervous.
They watched as Luna picked up a spider and turned towards a nearby web, before tossing the spider at it. She was a little short and the spider landed on the ground just in front of the web. Luna glanced back at them nervously.
"You can do it Princess!" Applejack cheered her on.
Luna turned back to the bucket and picked up another spider, before turning to the web again. After a deep breath, her face became stern and focused as she threw the spider. It flew through the air and landed smack dab in the center of the web, sticking to it perfectly. Luna smiled at her accomplishment, happy that she had been able to do it. "Your princess enjoys this...fun." She turned towards the three and asked, "what other ways may we experience it?"
The three smiled at each other, happy she was starting to loosen up. They then showed Luna the pumpkin toss game, which she insisted on playing. She quickly caught on to this game, shooting a pumpkin into a target with a smash.
"Ha Ha!" she cheered. "The fun has been doubled!"
The ponies who saw this all cheered, obviously beginning to see the Luna Twilight and the others knew.
As they did, Applejack then suggested. "Why don't you try bobbing for apples? We got the best apples in Equestria here Princess."
"We...I...ask that you call us...me...Luna, fair Applejack." the alicorn stuttered before turning to the rest of the crowd. "Hear me villagers. All of you, call me Luna!"
Everypony cheered yet again, obviously forgetting about the fear they had previously felt around her.
"Mission accomplished," Flash said to Twilight, who nodded in return.
The four began walking through the game area, Luna excited to try new things. "Show me to these bobbing apples," Luna asked with a smile on her face. However, as they drew near to the game, Luna saw Pip playing and then lose his balance before falling in. Acting on pure instinct, Luna rushed over to the tub to pull him out.
As she did this, a certain voice called out, "Hey guys!"
The three turned to see Pinkie and the rest of the little ponies walking up to them. Flash's eyes shrunk as he muttered to himself, "Oh no...don't tell me she's gonna-"
"Anypony seen Pip?" Pinkie asked as she looked around. "We lost him after the last time we had to run from-" She stopped when she saw Luna holding Pip by the scruff of his pirate shirt. "NIGHTMARE MOON IS GOBBLING PIPSQUEAK!" She screamed at the top of her voice, "EVERYPONY RUN!" With that, she once again shot off, followed by the rest of the little ponies.
"Help!" Pip screamed as he flailed around. As he did, Luna was forced to drop him as he exclaimed, "my backside's been gobbled!" He then ran off, leaving Luna clearly upset at the accusation.
"Tis a lie!" she declared. "Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thy ungrateful whelp." It was at that moment that Rainbow, still doing the thunder cloud thing, unleashed a crash of lighting which illuminated Luna in a very threatening way.
"Oh boy," Flash said as he and the girls looked around to see the townponies once again be consumed by fear.
Luna also noticed this and asked, "Fair villagers, please do not back away. Let us join together in...fun." Her eye twitched, obviously beginning to crack under the pressure.
"Yeah!" Flash yelled as he stepped up in front of her. "Let's just calm down and play some games."
Luna saw a nearby fake spider and picked it up, before tossing it towards the crowd. It did not get the reaction she was hoping for, as the ponies continued to look frightened. "Not enough fun for you?" she asked as her horn began to glow.
Flash then turned around to princess. "Luna, let's try and stay calm and-WHOA!" Flash barely managed to duck in time as Luna unleashed a spell which struck the fake spider. In a flash, the fake was replaced with a real spider. It slowly turned towards the townsponies, who all screamed and ran off. Luna then shot a second spell, which struck a bowl of fake spiders and turned them all into real ones as well.
"This is not gonna end well," Flash said as he pulled off his costume and took to the air. He watched as the ponies began to stampede, while some others found themselves covered in spiders.
"Haha!" Luna cheered. "How many points do I receive?"
"None!" Flash exclaimed as he flew down to her. "You're terrifying them Luna!"
"Nonsense, we are merely having the fun." However, she then began looking around, her spell casting finished. As she did, she saw the ponies of the town running around, causing major damage to the town. "No...please stop!" The sounds ponies screams of fear bombarded her ears and made her begin to pant heavily. "ENOUGH!" Everypony froze and threw themselves to the floor, Flash, Twilight and Applejack as well.
"Princess, remember!" Twilight called out. "Watch the screaming!"
Luna turned to the unicorn, her eyes now glowing bright white. "NO TWILIGHT SPARKLE! WE MUST USE THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO SAY!" Luna flapped her wings and began fly up, as she continued to royal claim. "SINCE YOU CHOSE TO FEAR YOUR PRINCESS RATHER THAN LOVE HER AND DISHONOR HER WITH THIS INSULTING CELEBRATION, WE DEGREE THAT NIGHTMARE NIGHT SHALL BE CONCEALED...FOREVER!"
Everyone was horrorstruck at this. No more Nightmare Night, the thought was inconceivable.
"Princess, wait!" Flash yelled, only for Luna to ignore him and fly off. As she did, Flash started to take to the sky, only to quickly land and sigh. "Mission not accomplished. That stunk..."
"Aww shoot," Applejack shook her head. "We had everything going our way. Luna was happy, everypony in town was happy....now look at them!" She pointed to multiple ponies around them. Some of the younger ponies were crying, while others were still shivering in fear. However, all of them looked heartbroken at the thought of losing this wonderful night of fun. Even Applejack looked disheartened at the prospect of losing the holiday.
Flash then shook his head. "No, I'm not letting it end this way."
"That's right," Twilight nodded, agreeing. "It's not over yet. We can still fix this."
"What are ya'll gonna do?" Applejack asked.
Twilight beamed a big grin. "What I do best Applejack, lecture her. Come on Flash."
With that, the duo rushed off after the Princess of the Night.
A little later...
It wasn't long till Flash and Twilight found Luna. She had only flown a little outside of town, her form now looking down at a river as she sat on the bridge above it. Seeing this, the two ran up to her, only for Luna to hear them approach.
"Leave me be." Luna said, her voice weak and sounding like she was about to cry.
"Princess..." Twilight said with a low, sad tone. "We're sorry it didn't turn out like we wanted, but you have to believe us when we tell you that Nightmare Night is one of the most popular celebrations we have."
"Oh yes!" Luna replied sarcastically, waving her hooves in anger. "I can tell from all the adoring shrieks of the children as they run away from me!"
"Luna wait," Flash said as he flew over and landed in front of her, sitting on the side of the bridge. "Please listen, this celebration is really important to a lot of ponies." He then tapped his chest. "Especially to ponies like me."
"You?" Luna asked with a cocked eyebrow, skepticism in her voice. "What possible meaning could it have for you?"
Flash sighed as he hopped off and walked up to Twilight's side as he began his explanation. "Every year, I would put on the same ghost sheet costume that everypony calls boring. I know they think it's cliche, but to me...to me, it symbolizes what this holiday means to me and how it saved me."
"What? Saved you?" Luna asked in intrigue.
"What are you talking about Flash?" Twilight also asked.
Luna turned to Twilight in slight amazement. "Wait...you don't know Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight just shrugged. "Nope. I just thought he did it to annoy me."
This made Luna giggle while Flash just rolled his eyes, grumbling. He then flashed his hoof at her. "No no...it wasn't meant to annoy you Twilight. That was never the point."
"Oh yeah?" Twilight glared, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes, I'm serious." Flash deadpanned. "Now can I continue my explanation?"
"..." Twilight's expression then softened. "Sure, go ahead."
Flash nodded before continuing. "Good." Flash turned to Luna, a serious tone coming from voice. "Before I met Twilight and was taken in by her, I lived on the street. Everyday, I would scrounge around for something to eat and some days, I wouldn't be successful. Sometimes, I would spend days going without something to eat and almost succumb to my hunger..." Flash let out a long sigh here while Luna just looked at him in sorrowful eyes. That is till Flash shined a small grin. "But then one night would arrive every year where I could get all the food I want! All I had to do was grab an old table cloth and rip some eye holes in it, and I could have my fill of all the candy I could ever eat! For weeks after that night, whenever I had a day that I couldn't get anything, I knew at least I had a little something stored away so I wouldn't starve." Flash then wore a giant smile on his face. "If it wasn't for this holiday, I probably wouldn't be here."
Luna thought about the story Flash had just told her. The holiday defacing her had saved his life. A few moments later, she let out a small sigh. "I will...think about what you said," Luna said as she passed by him and walked off.
Once she was gone, Twilight bonked Flash on the head. Flash quickly grabbed his top, groaning. "Ow! What was that for?!"
Twilight bit her lip as she glared at him. "Why didn't you ever tell me about why you wore that costume?!" she barked, scowling. "Me, Spike, Shining...the whole family has always disagreed and made fun of you for constantly wearing that costume! Why didn't you tell us that?! We would've stopped!"
"Its just something I didn't want to tell ponies," Flash replied, shrugging. "But she needed to hear it."
Twilight just shook her head, rolling her eyes. "I guess...but it didn't seem to do anything."
"Yeah," Flash said before glaring back at the town. "The main problem is Pinkie. Every time we get close to our goal, she shows up and ruins it with her screaming."
"You're right," Twilight grumbled, her horn almost lighting. "But that stops now. If we want to solve this, we need to find her."
"Agreed."
Back in Ponyville...
Pinkie was continuing to have fun in her chicken disguise. She appeared blissfully unaware that she had just become the mare who destroyed Nightmare Night, as all she seemed to care about was finding more candy. As she walked down another street of Ponyville, her tongue flapping in the wind as she kept bobbing her head around in ignorant happiness.
It was then that she saw a small piece of candy near an alleyway, which she rushed over to. She then saw another piece further in the alley, and then another and another and another, causing her to eat every single one of them like the chicken she was dressed up as. As she did, she soon found herself inside the alley, still oblivious as she ate another piece.
"Yummy, yummy, yummy!" Pinkie cheered, munching down another sweet. "This is so-urk!"
Suddenly, the mare felt something tackle her and pin her against the wall while shutting her mouth with their hoof. Once everything had stopped spinning, she saw the one who had tackled her. It was Twilight while Flash stood a few feet away, glaring at the pink pony.
Twilight then took the first initiative, her voice rising very quickly. "No more Pinkie! No shrieking, no yelling or screaming either. Okay?"
"Okay," Pinkie replied through her hoof.
Flash wasn't convinced and walked up to her. "You, young mare, have been causing a lot of trouble tonight." Flash scolded, trying sound like a parent scolding a foal. "Do you realize what you've done?!"
"What did I do?" Pinkie asked once Twilight had removed her hoof. Flash and Twilight moved away and Pinkie turned to see Luna walk into the light.
"Ah, the ringleader of the frightened children." Luna commented, holding out her hoof, "has thou come to make peace?"
Pinkie smiled and held out her own hoof to shake Luna's, until there was a suddenly thunder clap above them. As the thunder covered the sky, Luna's dark form showed itself again, even though it was for just a second.
"NIGHTMARE MOON!" She screamed before running off.
"WOULD YOU CUT THAT OUT?!" Flash yelled up to Rainbow, who was laughing on her dark cloud. Flash then flew up, kicking the cloud in a way that it disappeared and the laughing Rainbow was sent hurtling towards the ground.
"Ow!" she yelped after hitting the dirt. "What was that for?!"
"Serves you right!" Flash said before turning to where Pinkie ran off too.
However, before he could take off, a flash of light appeared before Pinkie, revealing an angry Twilight. She quickly pinned Pinkie to the ground, anger pouring out of her face. "Enough Pinkie! Stop it right now!" Twilight yelled, tightening her pin on the pony. "She's not Nightmare Moon Pinkie. Don't you remember talking to her in the Battle of Canterlot and how she helped Flash before?! WELL?!"
Pinkie looked at Twilight with a confused look on her face. "I know that silly! Of course she's not really Nightmare Moon."
Twilight was shocked to hear this. "What are you-then why do you keep screaming and running away whenever you see her?"
"I'm just playing along with the act," Pinkie replied flatly.
"What act?" Flash asked as he stepped up to them. "And this better not be some joke or I'm gonna do something Iron Core would do Pinkie. And I promise you that it won't be pretty."
Pinkie just gave him a confused stare. "Isn't Luna acting scary on purpose for Nightmare Night?" she asked as if it was most obvious thing in the world.
Flash and Twilight stared at each other, only for sudden realization to hit them. "Ohhhh," they said together before turning back to the Princess of the Night before nodding to each other.
"Okay Luna, new plan."
"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm Sentry," Luna replied sarcastically. "I believe I declared this holiday to be done and over with."
"Just trust us, okay?" Twilight said as she motioned Luna to follow her. "Now come on, I'll explain on the way." Twilight turned to Flash, smirking. "Can you get the word out for me?"
Flash nodded. "You bet. You fill her in and I'll tell the older ponies. Maybe Zecora can help, if I can find her in time."
Some time later...
It wasn't long till the ponies of Ponyville started cleaning up after Luna's rampage. Even the fillies and colts were helping out, including a certain pirate costumed colt. "Gosh," Pip said as he laid down on the ground, exhausted after moving some garbage. "I never thought my very first Nightmare Night would be my very last."
It was in that moment that Zecora showed up, having been filled in by Flash, and touched his shoulder. "Come little Pip, don't you fret, Nightmare Night's not over yet. We still have candy left to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live."
The Mayor then walked up to them with a small smile, nodding. "Yes, come on little ponies. What's Nightmare Night without the traditional candy offering?" She put on a scary face. "You don't want Nightmare Moon to gobble you up, do you?!"
Applejack came to help as well. "Come on kids, doesn't that sound like fun?"
The little ponies weren't so sure, but did as they were told and made their way to the Nightmare Moon statue in the forest. One by one, they each placed a portion of their candy in front of it, until only Pip was left. "Goodbye Nightmare Night," he said as he placed his bag of candy with the pile, "forever."
He turned to walk away, only to feel a dark breeze blow by. As it did, a crash of thunder could be heard above the foals, causing them to look up at the statue. There, the statue was gone and instead, stood Nightmare Moon.
"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! YOU WERE WISE TO BRING THIS CANDY TO ME! I AM PLEASED WITH YOUR OFFERING! SO PLEASED THAT I MAY EAT IT, INSTEAD OF EATING YOU!"
A loud scream echoed through the woods as the ponies ran away from Nightmare Moon. As they did, something shot out of the trees and blocked their path. It was a large black Thestral with long fangs. He quickly hissed at them and caused their screams to intensify as they ran off in an opposite direction. As soon as they were gone, Nightmare Moon glowed white and shrank. The glow faded and Luna now stood in it's place, before spitting out a pair of fake fangs. "I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do Twilight Sparkle," she grumbled as Twilight stepped out of her hiding place.
"Just wait." Twilight replied. "Patience is key here."
"Yeah, it'll work." Another flash of light happened and the Thestral transformed as well. As the light around him faded, Flash now stood in its place. "Great work with the transformation spell Twi."
"If anything, at least I got you into another costume." Twilight said happily.
Luna jumped down from her spot. "This was stupid. Why would making them scream in terror make them like me?!"
As she said these words, she suddenly felt something tug at her mane. She looked down and saw Pipsqueak standing next to her. He was shivering, yet mumbled out, "Um...Princess Luna? I know there's not going to be anymore Nightmare Nights, but do you suppose you could maybe come back next year and scare us again anyway?"
Luna was taken aback by this, before she looked over and saw the group of little ponies who had run away from her before. She blinked owlishly before slowly asking, "Child, are thou saying thou...likest me to scare you?"
Pip nodded. "It's really fun. Scary, but fun."
"It is?"
"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year." he cheered, a big beaming grin on his face.
"Being scared isn't always good," Flash explained to the princess as he walked up to the two. "But every now and again, it's good to be scared. It's the whole reason ponies read scary stories or watch horror movies. It's good to liven things up with a bit of fear."
"And no time is that better time for that to happen then on Nightmare Night." Twilight ended, winking at the princess.
Luna suddenly realized what they were saying and smiled, before turning to Pipsqueak. "Well then, we will just have to bring...NIGHTMARE NIGHT BACK!"
"Whoa!" Pip cried as he was pushed back by the force of her voice, but sill looked excited about it. "You're my favorite princess ever!" With that, he rushed over and hugged her leg for a second, before turning away and rushing back to his friends. "She said yes guys!"
Twilight just giggled before asking. "See? They really do like you Princess."
"They just thought you were trying to be scary on purpose." Flash added.
"Can it be true?" Luna asked, before smiling. "OH MOST WONDERFUL OF-" she stopped herself and giggled, "I mean, oh most wonderful of nights."
And so, Nightmare Night was saved.
Princess Luna has returned to the festival, and joy had returned to the town. As she did, Flash and Twilight returned to the town at a slow, brisk pace. When they got to the main square, Flash nudged Twilight. "You know..." Flash said as he and Twilight watched Luna scare some ponies. Only this time, their shrieks of terror were followed by cries of laughter. "Despite everything, this turned out to be the best Nightmare Night ever."
"It sure has," Twilight nodded before turning to Flash. "But I know what would make it even better." Before Flash could ask what she meant, Twilight used her magic to throw something over him. Looking down, he realized she had thrown his costume back onto him. "There we go. Perfect."
"Thanks Twi," Flash replied, tugging the sheet a little.
"No problem," Twilight said before beginning to walk off. "Now come on. I want to find Spike so we can send Princess Celestia a letter about all this."
Flash shined a hidden grin under the sheet. "Sounds good. Though you might wanna leave the part about the spiders out."
Twilight nodded and they headed off, ready to enjoy the rest of their Nightmare Night
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Nightmare Night, what a fright. Give me something sweet to bite!
Oh, Pinki, you positively, positive, pink, party-planning pony, you almost got Nightmare Night canceled.
But I thought I was helping sale Luna being scary
All in all a nice take on the episode. Flash's costume is a classic, simple but effective.
But I thought Twilight got the bells right for her costume, something most don't.
I never really was one for Halloween. I don't really do costumes, I have a Venetian Mask though.
Still I get why Halloween exists, so I tend to listen for Halloween music. This is a fun one.
And of course:
Although Phantom Manor in Disneyland Paris, the English soundtrack is delightfully gothic.
I vaguely remember riding the Phantom Manor at the age of six, and having no idea of what was going on, primarily because I don't know much French. If this had been what I heard then maybe I would have become a Horror Fan, especially the Gothic Horror feel of the ride itself. But because of red tape demanding it be in French the world was denied what is most likely Vincent Price's last association with Horror.
Is it me or do Twilight and Flash bicker a little more this season than they did last season? Oh well, at the end of the day, they're still best of friends who totally get each other better than anyone else does. Maybe that's why they bicker so much.
Happy Halloween and one year anniversary of being on this site! One of my favorite season 2 episodes reworked for this continuity.
8521566
Well to be fair, Flash and Twilight didn't interact this much compared to season 1. Season 1 of this series spent a lot of time establishing Flash's character (Which was completely necessary) since the first story of the series was there to make Flash's backstory. We now know Flash a lot more now, so it makes sense that it would start concentrating on the other characters more and his interactions with them, including Twilight.
Good job with this chapter. To be honest I was expecting Springer to dress up and go to get candy. But he got the easiest candy job there is. Great job.
Your story is getting more interesting. But quick question, where did the idea and inspiration of speed stingers come from? I was trying to picture them of what they look like, but what I'm getting is a Velociraptor from Jurassic Park with a stinger of some kind on its tail.
8529354 Right here.
8529365
Ah, I see. Nice.
PRINCESS LUNA WAS ONCE THE EVIL NIGHTMARE MOON BUT THANKS TO TWILIGHT FLASH, AND THEIR FRIENDS SHE EVIL NO MORE BUT THERE ARE STILL PONIES THAT FEAR HER BUT WITH THE HELP OF CELESTIA'S STUDENT AND GRANDHOOF'S APPRENTICE SHE WILL ACCEPTED AT LAST
This chapter kind of felt like a early Homestar Runner skit with the way it was paced.
I half expected the stilted marshmallow himself to pop out and say "Hey Twilight, I just adore your bearded hobo costume."
Eh. It's a fair guess.
Vindication Twilight Sparkle! Sweet sweet vindication!
Your going to hide away Nightmare Night!!! Will the fillies and colts have to go on a scavenger hunt to find it?!
Daww! Lulu is happy!