Luna Eclipsed
Believe it or not, Huston was an instant hit amongst the residents.
While the other three humans had some hurdles to get over when living in Ponyville, Huston seemed to have none. He loved to be outside and active unlike Xavier, wasn't awkward like Jasmine, and certainly more outgoing and friendly than Cali. All of this while having a calming and sweet aura around him. Combine all this with the ponies around town being comfortable with humans from their experiences with he others and he pretty much became a part of town already, and Huston was pretty happy to know this. Of course, he still spent his time getting to know the heroes since they were the first ones to accept him, plus he felt like they were special. This went on for two weeks, and now a special holiday has come up, Nightmare Night. Of course, when the ponies told them about the holiday, they immediately thought about how similar it was to a holiday they had back on earth, Halloween. Right now though, they were simply going to get ready for the night.
"Come on you guys! We're going to be late to the festival!" Xavier said, impatient to get started. He was dressed in a blue trench coat with chains, a sleeveless undershirt, red plaid jeans, and a blue cap.
"Jeez, what's up with you and trying to rush us?" Cali yelled frustrated as she left her room in her costume. Hers was a simple dark blue hoodie, along with sneakers. She also had a beat up cap on her and a cigarette in her mouth (It really wasn't, it was just a plastic straw she cut and painted one end to look like one) "I swear, you hate being late with a passion." Xavier, hearing her, rubbed his neck
"Erm, sorry." Xavier apologized. "It's just that Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I don't want to be late.
"Ah, I see." As Cali accepted that answer, Jasmine came downstairs. Her outfit was pretty simple all things considered. Hers was a grey button up shirt, blue tie, and a black skirt and boots. Her hair was also put up a bit, and two red hairbands were in them. "Hey, nice one Jas." Jasmine smiled innocently at them, Xavier immediately turning away, his face and even his skin red. Cali looked at him, smirking while Jasmine just looked clueless. "Hey Jas, you think you can see if Huston is ready?"
"Sure." Jasmine gave a thumbs-up and went to get him. His room as also on the second floor, marked with a picture of a flower he made. Knocking, she wanted to make sure it was okay to enter.
"You can come in." Jasmine opened the door to see what Huston did to his room. His room wasn't decorated as much as there were some things that made it harder, mainly the easel the was in the middle of the room. He also had a bed, one similar to Cali's but with a quilt as a blanket. On a nightstand he had was an alarm clock and a lamp. He also had a desk that had some sketchpads and pencils on it, some of them used. Standing next to the easel was Huston, finishing putting on his outfit. His was a karate Gi with the sleeves torn off, along with a red belt and bandana that he had on. "Miss Jasmine? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, I just came to see if you were ready." Jasmine answered. "Xavier wants to know."
"Well, I just finished up, so I am." Huston said as he began to walk to the door, Jasmine getting out of the way and following him back downstairs, there they saw Cali seemingly snapping him out of his stupor.
"Ah, there you are." Cali said before turning to Xavier with an annoyed face. "See, I told you that we weren't going to be long."
"S-sorry." Xavier said, a bit flustered and embarrassed. He was saved from the gazing eyes of everyone be a ring of a doorbell. "Ah, I'll get it." Xavier hurried to the door to answer, and when he did, he was greeted by many young ponies, all of them in costumes ranging from classic spooky to cuter looks.
"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!" All the foals said in unison.
"Hey everypony! Great costumes!" Xavier said as he got down on his knee, smiling like a proud brother would to their young sibling as he handed out candy to them. "Hello Granny Smith. It's past your bedtime, isn't it?"
"Exactly! I should have been asleep five hours ago!" Granny said.
"Well, it's appreciated to take the young ones out." Xavier said with a nod. Suddenly, something began to push through the group of foals, and before long a smaller colt came out in a pirate outfit. The little colt was white with brown splotches on his coat, and while he was swinging around a toy sword, he lost his balance and as before he could hit the ground, Xavier caught him. Putting him upright, the colt saluted.
"Pipsqueak the pirate, at your service!" The colt announced. It was then that Pip realized who he was greeting. "Whoa, are you a human?"
"Yes, I am." Xavier chuckled as he took his cap off and bowed. "Xavier, at your service." Pip was in awe at how the human held himself.
"Wow." As Xavier was talking to the group of foals, the other humans watched him.
"Huh, he seems... different." Cali noted.
"Hm, what do you mean?" Huston asked, clearly curious since he didn't know them too well.
"Well, he seems a lot calm than he usually is. He also seems pretty happy too, like nothing wrong could happen."
"I would say that's just how he is." Jasmine mentioned, catching their attention. "The first day I was here, me and Xavier were helping Fluttershy take care of three fillies. During that time, he was pretty dedicated in keeping them safe and happy." Jasmine explained, remembering the time she met the Cutie Mark Crusaders and what trouble they got them in.
"Huh, go figure." The three turned back to Xavier and the group of foals.
"So this is your first Nightmare Night ever?" Xavier asked Pip, who nodded. "Well, I hope it goes well-" His little wish to him was cut off when a giant chicken pushed Pip out of the way. When looking closer however, it was only Pinkie in a chicken costume.
"Ba-caw! Enough chitchat! Time is candy!" She clucked (yes, clucked) as she began to woodpecker the ground, getting an exasperated look from Xavier and blank stares from the humans inside.
"Pinkie Pie, aren't you a little old for this?" Xavier asked, already done with her.
"Too old for free candy?" Pinkie squawked, shocked at the question. "Never." Xavier sighed, seeing as there wasn't any way out of it and tossed a piece of candy into Pinkie's bag. Pinkie gave a very bright smile before bolting off, the rest of the foals following her after waving goodbye to Xavier. Xavier stood back up as the other humans went over to him.
"Well, shall we head over to the festival?"
During their walk to the festival, the humans were all taking in the sights, but Jasmine was the most enamored by the decorations that were around town. She took the most time in looking at them, with Cali keeping her from getting too excited. As they were doing that, Huston and Xavier were watching them.
"Hmm..." Xavier sighed, happy to see the two happy after learning about their pasts (Cali told him about her life as an orphan within the week between Discord and Huston's arrivals)
"Heh, Your girlfriend is pretty energetic, isn't she?" Huston commented, Xavier jumping away in shock.
"W-what?! She isn't my girlfriend!!!" Xavier said frantically."
"Huh, she isn't?" Huston questioned. "I'm sorry to assume. It's just that you two seemed pretty close. Plus, you seem to blush a lot around her." Huston's tone was apologetic, confirming that he was just assuming things. Xavier dropped his guard and sighed.
"Haah, I'll forgive you, but please, don't assume."
"I'll try to." Huston agreed, and turned to look to see that the girls were talking to Twilight and Spike. "Oh, it looks like Miss Twilight is here too."
"Yeah, let's go say hi." Xavier suggested, getting a nod from Huston as they went over to them. "Hey Twilight."
"Hey Xavier. Hello Huston." Twilight greeted. "Great you could come."
"You kidding, wouldn't miss this for the world." Xavier said.
"I will say, your costume is quite nice." Huston complimented. Twilight was about to thank him but-
"Thanks! I'm a dragon." Spike said, happy about his "creative" costume.
"Erm, I was talking about mis Twilight's, but yours is good too." Huston corrected.
"Yeah, it's really good." Jasmine agreed. "You look like a great scholar."
"Scholar? I thought she was a wizard." Cali said, clearly thinking something else.
"Huh, I was thinking a researcher of some kind." Xavier admitted.
"Well, you all are closer than anyone else." Twilight sighed. "I'm dressed as Starswirl the Bearded, one of, if not the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era."
"Oh, got it." Xavier said.
"So what are you all dressed as?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, only some things from back home." Xavier said with a smirk as he did a pose, lowering his hat while pointing into the void. The humans gave chuckles at him, while Twilight and Spike just looking at him confused. "Heh, sorry. Something this character did a lot."
"Okay then."
"Twilight, Xavier!" The group turned over to who was calling them, and were surprised to see Pinkie and the group of foals that they saw with her. "Look at our haul! Ah! Can you believe it?" Pinkie raised her bag up to show how much she collected. Unbeknownst to them however, a dark cloud was approaching. "And then, we had to stop and wait for Granny Smith, and-"
KABOOM
Suddenly, the dark cloud released a bolt of lightning and thunder, creating a powerful blast that scared many of the group. The first thing that happened after the lightning was Pinkie yelping and dashing off, the kids following in suit, equally afraid. While Twilight and three humans were confused and afraid about what happened, Xavier knew exactly what happened.
"Rainbow!" He yelled at the cloud, the cloud producing a laughing Rainbow Dash who was wearing a shadowbolt uniform. "Seriously!?"
"Lighten up, engie. This is the best night of the year for pranks!" Rainbow said.
"Well, don't aim for the kids!" Xavier said, his face dark. "If you're going to do this, refrain from going for kids that young." Xavier's gaze was pretty scary, and that would have gotten to Rainbow if she wasn't already focused on-
"Oh! Oh! There's another group over there!" She said, taking the cloud and quickly flying away. Xavier sighed and looked at the others, them focused on a Spike that looked dead.
"I-is he okay?" Jasmine asked. Cali took her straw cigarette and poked Spike, who twitched a bit like a bug.
"Nah, he's alive."
"I take it that Miss Dash is like that?" Huston inquired.
"Yep. She'll find any chance she can get to pull a prank." Twilight said as she put Spike onto her back. The group decided not to dwell on it long as they went deeper into the festival. As they did, they spotted Applejack handling some activities, she was in a scarecrow costume.
"Howdy y'all!" Applejack greeted. "Nice costumes."
"Hey AJ." Cali said giving a wave. "And thanks." Applejack went over to Twilight and flapped her beard a bit.
"Hmm...with that beard, I reckon you're some sorta country music singer." She said, giving her opinion. Of course, Twilight didn't exactly like that another pony got her outfit wrong while the humans chuckled lightly at them. "While y'all are here, ya' feel like bobbin' for an apple?" She pointed to a barrel of apples floating in water. It was tempting, at least until a pony covered in paper bags came out and pulled what appeared to be a stopper for a drain, causing the water level to lower. They were about to ask about it until a large amount of cheering could be heard coming from the stage that was set up.
"Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!" Mayor Mare announced, causing everypony to clap their hooves on the ground and cheered for her, the humans, Twilight and Spike joining the crowd. "Now all the little ponies who have been collecting sweets should follow our friends, Zecora, to hear the legend of...Nightmare Moon!" She said in a creepy voice and began laughing maniacally.
"Spooky voice might work better if she wasn't dressed like that." Spike commented, getting a bunch of giggles from the group. The mayor stepped out of the way, and taking her place was a growing cloud of green mist. Coming out of the mist was the Zebra shaman from the Everfree, Zecora.
"Wait, is that a zebra?" Cali asked, her and two other humans under some curiosity.
"Yep, she's Zecora." Xavier said, a smile on his face. The other three humans looked at him, interested in his relationship with the shaman. "I'll tell you when we meet up with her." Xavier looked at the stage where Zecora was, her exposed enough to show her costume, a classic witch with toy spiders in her mane.
"Follow me, and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon." She said, her classic rhyme scheme not leaving her as she twirled her cape, walking off the stage and prompting others to follow, Xavier included.
"Come on you guys. I'll introduce you." Xavier said, the others following him. After a bit of walking, Xavier managed to catch up to his zebra friend. "Hey Zecora! How've you been?" Zecora took notice of his voice, turning and becoming happy to see him again.
"No, do my eyes deceive me? Why, it's Xavier that I see." Zecora said, getting a chuckle from Xavier.
"Still at it, huh?" Xavier chuckled, referring to her rhyming. "It's good to see you."
"It is rather nice to see you well. My first friend saying hi makes me swell." Xavier nodded and turned to his new human friends.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Zecora. She's a very skilled potion maker who lives in the Everfree forest."
"Everfree?" Jasmine asked. "But why?"
"She has some good access to different herbs not found elsewhere." Xavier answered before turning to Zecora. "Zecora, these are some more humans that have arrived here to Equestria like me."
"Um, hi. I'm Jasmine, it's nice to meet you." Jasmine greeted with a small bow.
"Name's Cali. Nice to meet ya." Cali said with a flick to her hat.
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Huston." Huston also gave a bow, though his went a bit deeper.
"It's nice to meet you, humans new. It seems your number only grew."
"So, how did you meet Xavier?" Cali asked.
"Well, there is quite a story to that." Xavier said. The group decided not to hold the activities any longer, so they began to walk to their destination, with Xavier telling them the story along the way. After a while though, they stopped in front of a statue of Nightmare Moon, and the humans were a bit creeped out.
"Woah, that's kind of creepy." Cali admitted, Jasmine hiding behind her a bit.
"Yeah, I don't know how to react." Huston added, not exactly finding the right words.
"Yeah, it can be scary." Xavier shrugged. "But it's only a statue."
"I don't see how even you can't be a bit creeped out."
"Well, when you've stared the real deal in the face with her horn inches from your face, you don't exactly see the scare in a statue." Xavier said, the three humans staring at him like he had said he murdered someone. "Now please quiet down, Zecora's about to start." Indeed, because Zecora took her place in front of the statue
"Listen close, my little dears, I'll tell you where you got your fears of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary." Pulling a pile of green powder from her pocket, she blew it into the air, creating an-. "Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary." The illusion took a dive right to the group of foals, scaring them all as the illusion exploded, releasing a large cloud of green mist around them. "Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes." There was tension in the already polluted air that was filled with dust as Zecora lurked around, scaring foals that were around. "But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!" Zecora took another pile of dust our to create another illusion of Nightmare Moon, this one looing around. "Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!" The illusion rose to the sky, creating a scene akin to fireworks. As the crowd looked at the scene, a voice could be heard by Zecora.
" Uh, Miss Zecora..." Pip began to question. "...if we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy? "
"A perfect question, my little friend. For Nightmare Moon you must not offend." Taking yet another pile of dust out, she blew it to create yet another illusion. "Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!" The illusion lunged at the foals (and Pinkie), scaring them all as they screamed.
"Quick everypony! Just dump some candy and get out of here!" Pinkie exclaimed in fear as she and the foals began to dump their candy out onto the foot of the statue.
Suddenly, a powerful wind began to blow through the area. Everyone was concerned at the sudden wind since it didn't seem natural. It was also to be noted that the clouds were moving oddly as well, but soon something emerged from them. A chariot descended from the sky, the ones pulling looked like royal guard, but their wings were like a bat's and their eyes were a piercing red. As the chariot descended more, the rider was revealed to be a taller figure in a cloak.
"*gasp* It's Nightmare Moon! Run!" Pinkie squawked as she and the children ran to town screaming. The rest stood still, some in shock and others in interest. As Cali and Xavier were reaching for their weapons and Huston got into a stance, lightning flashed, giving a glimpse into the cloak, it was a face. A face that Xavier recognized as he stopped reaching for his sword.
"Wait, is that-" He didn't finish his sentence since the chariot flew past them, leaving them behind. "Hey, wait." Xavier began to chase the chariot, leaving the others behind.
"Aup- Hey!" It didn't take long for the others to follow, confused as to what Xavier saw.
A Little Bit of Running Later
It was fortunate that Ponyville was so close, since Xavier's costume wasn't exactly light. When he did arrive, he was standing in an alley as the other humans caught up to him, but Twilight and Spike were no where to be seen.
"Why'd you run off like that?!" Cali asked.
"Because I wanted to confirm something." Xavier said as he raised his head to the sky, to the point where the chariot was descending. Of course, the town did notice it and were pretty scared of it. Before the chariot hit the ground however, the cloaked figure jumped off, landing onto the ground. The landing was terrifying to the town as they all dropped onto the ground in a scared bow as the figure reached for her hood. Pulling it down, the pony inside was revealed to be...
"I thought so." Xavier whispered. "Princess Luna."
"Who?" Jasmine asked shaking (she was pretty scared)
"She's Princess Celestia's younger sister."
"Princess Celestia? You mean the large pony from the library?" Huston asked.
"The very one." Xavier confirmed. "I wonder what she's doing here?" The princess took a fey steps forward, her cloak blowing and falling apart, creating bats that flew a distance before disappearing. Once she took a look around, she smiled and took a breath before...
"Citizens of Ponyville!" She was not quiet, as she gave a very loud shout that practically was a wind in of itself. "We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you might behold...the real Princess Of The Night!" The shouting was not helping her look with the town since it was scaring the town even more. "A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration!" Everypony who was bowing to her scooted away from her in fear and worry for their ears, but she never noticed as she continued her speech. "Together, we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!" As if the universe itself wanted Luna to fail, lightning cracked from the sky, making her look even scarier.
"Did you hear that, everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's gonna feast on us all!" Pinkie cawed, causing her and the foals around her to run away screaming. This screaming finally broke Luna's focus and got her to realize something.
"What?! No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight are what your princess desires, not screams of terror!" Luna stomped her hoof on the ground in frustration, the impact actually cracking the ground which caused some of the ponies to whimper in fear. Luna turned to Mayor Mare a bit annoyed, who was ducking in fear. "Madam Mayor, thy Princess of the Night hath arrived!" Luna raised her hoof at her for the mayor to take, but Mayor Mare only whimpered and looked away in fear. Luna noticed it and looked at her, feeling irritated. "What is the matter with you?!" She tried to raise her hoof to somepony else, but no matter, they would either turn away in fear or covered their eyes, too scared to even look at Luna. Luna finally got the message and huffed angrily. "Very well then, be that way! We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell!" She then walked off out of town, the townfolk still bowing as if to brace for her to punish them. The only ones standing were the four humans, who were conflicted on what happened.
"So... what's her story?" Xavier turned to Cali confused.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry to assume, but you seem to have history with her." Huston mentioned. "Out of everyone- or everypony as you say, you were the least affected by her appearance. You also know her from saying her name, so we just assume you know her."
"*sigh* You're right, I know her." Xavier admitted. "It happened the first day I was here in Equestria. While I was snooping around to find out more about this place, she came into town hall. But she wasn't Luna at that time, she was none other than Nightmare Moon."
"She was?" Jasmine asked, concerned about her.
"Yeah, and she managed to spot me and reveal me to town. Of course, if she didn't she would have never introduced me to the girls." Xavier thought back to the first time he met the girls in the library, smiling internally. "Anyways, when she came, she wanted to plunge Equestria in eternal night, so Twilight, the girls and I went into the Everfree forest to find the Elements of Harmony."
"Elements of Harmony?" Huston asked.
"I'll tell you about them later. Just know we found them cleansed the darkness from her heart and turned her back into Princess Luna."
"Why did she become Nightmare Moon though?" Jasmine asked.
"Jealousy." Xavier said, catching the three of guard. "She was jealous of her sister because ponies slept during her night but played in Celestia's day. It turned to darkness and transformed her into Nightmare Moon. When she did, Celestia was forced to use the Elements on her own sister."
"Sheesh, that's harsh." Cali commented.
"It is. When she used them, they banished Luna to the moon for one thousand years."
"One thousand?!" Huston was clearly shocked to hear that. "The two must be old."
"Yeah, but I think that Luna's having some troubles." Xavier looked out to the town, who were starting to get back up and back to the festivities, though they were a bit weary. "I guess that she still thinks things are the same as they were from one thousand years ago." Xavier looked into space for a bit before coming to a conclusion. "I'm going to go find her."
"What?!" The three humans asked in shock.
"You heard me. I'm going to find her and help her adjust." Xavier turned around to them. "Before you ask, I want to do it because she's going though something like us, trying to adjust to a world where things are different to what we know and remember." Xavier walked past them and further away. "You don't have to help me, you can go and have fun."
"No can do." Xavier received a slap on the shoulder from Cali. "I'm helping too."
"Why are you though?"
"Because her story hits me hard." Cali admitted, a soft face on her for the first time since meeting her. "I know what's it's like to be jealous, so I want to help her out."
"I want to as well." Jasmine said as she walked over. "She looked kind of lonely out there. I want to help her be liked too."
"I guess we're all helping." Huston said as he came besides them. "I'd love to help her in seeing a new light." Xavier looked at the three and smiled.
"Well then, let's go."
They ultimately decided to try and find Luna by going the direction she wandered off in. While they were walking, they noticed that they were going the same path that they followed Zecora. After some time, they found the statue from before, only this time Princess Luna was at the foot of it, poking at some candy that the kids put for the offer.
"There she is." Xavier said. "Now you three stay back for a bit. I don't want to overwhelm her after what she's been through." The others gave their approvals and Xavier went to Luna, taking his hat off. "Excuse me, your majesty?" Xavier said calmy, alerting Luna to his presence as she turned to look at him. "Hello. My name is Xavier. Do you remember me?"
"Yes, we do." The princess said after a bit of looking at him. "Thou were the one who we revealed."
"Oh, you remember that." Xavier murmured with a bit of a sweat-drop. "Well, it's nice to see you again. You look well."
"Thank thee." Xavier smiled and turned to the others, waving for them to come over.
"Now, I would like you to meet some other humans here in Equestria." Xavier said as he gestured to the three who were now next to him.
"Hello your majesty. My name is Jasmine and it is a pleasure to meet you." Jasmine greeted with a bow.
"Same. The name is Cali, princess." Cali said as she took off her hat to show her respect.
"Greetings princess. My name is Huston, and it's an honor to meet royalty such as yourself." Huston bowed. Luna looked between the group before speaking again.
"Hmm, we recall our sister speak of two other humans here, but we do not recall there being a third."
"Heh, well I kind of just arrived." Huston admitted.
"Hmm, very well." Xavier smiled, though Luna seemed to keep a serious face on her ever since they arrived.
"So, you know Xavier here, huh." Cali wondered.
"We do." Luna said as she began to rise into the air with her wings."It was thou who watched the unleashed powers of harmony upon us that took away our dark powers!" Luna bellowed, the power of her voice was strong enough to blow the group back a bit.
"Erm, and that was a good thing, right?" Xavier said, hoping it was as Luna descended.
"But of course, we could not be happier!" Luna nodded. "Is that not clear?"
"W-well, you sound angry at him with your l-loud voice..." Jasmine said nervously, somewhat afraid.
"But this is the traditional royal Canterlot voice! It is tradition to speak the royal 'we', and we to use... This much volume when addressing our subjects!" Luna explained, switching to the 'royal Canterlot voice' as she called it. Once she was finished, the humans' costumes were messed up from the force of the magical voice, so they took a second to readjust them.
"No offence, your highness. But I believe that is the reason why your appearance came with... mixed results." Huston explained as he fixed his hair.
"Yeah... Maybe if you change your approach, you can fit in better." Xavier suggested, confusing Luna.
"Change our approach?" Luna asked, reverting back to the loud voice.
"Gah, lower the volume for one." Cali exclaimed, sticking her finger into her ear to ease it a bit.
"Ohhh." Luna said with a bit of embarrassment. "We have been locked away for a thousand years. We are... not sure we can."
"Well, at least know some things about Equestria." Xavier began. "I didn't have that luxury. Trust me, if me and the others here can fit into a world as the only humans, you can too. And we'll help out."
"We thank you, humans." Luna said, lowering her head a bit for a bow. "Where do we start." Xavier brought a finger to his chin to think.
"Why not Fluttershy?" Jasmine suggested. "We first need to break her habit of using her Canterlot voice, so why not go to her first?" The other humans looked at each other for a second, processing the idea before nodding.
"That sounds like a good idea." Xavier agreed, getting a bright smile from Jasmine. Her smile was enough to get Xavier to blush and turn away quickly. "Welp, let's get going." He then began to walk away quickly, leaving a clueless Jasmine, a curious Luna, a smug Cali , and an interested Huston to follow.
The group lead Luna to Fluttershy's cottage, mostly Jasmine though since she knew that she was in there. When they got there, they took a second to appreciate the look of it at night.
"This place is quite beautiful." Huston compliments. "One day I'm going to have to make a painting of her home."
"It is pretty nice." Xavier admitted as they went to her door.
"Now don't worry princess." Jasmine started to say. "Fluttershy is sure to help you. She's the kindest pony you can meet." Just as Xavier knocked on the door though...
"GO AWAY! NO CANDY HERE! VISITORS ARE NOT WELCOME ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!" A voice yelled, presumably Fluttershy's. Once the shout was done, Jasmine could only laugh nervously while the others just looked at her.
"Um, let me talk to her." Jasmine said as she went to the door. "Fluttershy. It's okay. It's me, Jasmine. The others are here too." It took a second, but the door creaked open, revealing her head peeking through the crack.
"It is you." She said as she opened her door a bit more, seeing the other humans and Luna. "Oh, and Nightmare Moon." When she realized what she said, she panicked. "Nightmare Moon?! AAAH!" She immediately went back inside, slamming the door in their face. The only thing that Jasmine could do was give some more nervous laughter.
"Um, C-Cali? C-could you-?"
"*sigh* Yeah, I'll help."
"Thank you, be right back." Jasmine then opened the cottage door to enter with Cali. There were sounds of a bit of a scuffle inside, but after a bit the two girls came back out, with Cali pushing Fluttershy out forcefully.
"Erm, Fluttershy…" Xavier began, "You remember princess Luna, right?"
"Charmed." Luna said in her Canterlot voice. Upon hearing this, Fluttershy dashed back inside, but Cali's whip brought her right back out and right in front of the princess.
"Likewise." Fluttershy responded, but she was pretty scared.
"Lady Jasmine hath spoken of the sweetness of thy voice. We ask thou teachest to us to speak as thou speakest." Luna asked, still using that Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Okay." Fluttershy nodded, her voice squeaking out.
"Shall our lessons begin?" Luna asked.
"Okay."
"Shall we mimic thy voice?"
"Okay."
"How is this?"
"Perfect, lesson over!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she tried rushing back to the house, but was cut off by a door that Cali closed before she entered, slamming into it.
"Try a bit lower, your majesty." Huston suggested.
"How is...this?" Luna asked, her voice lowering a bit.
"That's sounding a bit better." Cali admitted.
"How...about...now?" Luna asked, her voice much quieter.
"Now you're getting it." Jasmine smiled.
"And...how about now?" Luna asked, speaking in a normal tone.
"Yes! Well done!" Xavier nodded, happy that she got over it. Luna smiled and reached for Fluttershy, who was trying to crawl to her door. When she was in Luna's grasp, she pulled her into a tight hug.
"I thank thee, dear Fluttershy! Our normal speaking voice shall surely win us the hearts of thy fellow villagers."
"Fluttershy! You've gotta hide us!" As Luna was thanking Fluttershy, a voice could be heard coming over. The humans looked over to the voice, but they all tensed up at the sight of Pinkie and the kids (Except Huston who didn't know the damage that could be done). "Nightmare Moon is here and..." Pinkie made a literal squawk like a bird as she saw a limp Fluttershy (She was still recovering) "She stole Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she gobbles her up!" She screamed out as she ran, the foals following followed suit with their own yells.
"Nay children, wait!" Luna called as she tried to chase them, but realized what she was doing soon after. "I mean... nay, children, wait." She said that in a very sad tone, her sadness coming through very well, and the humans knew it.
"Hmm..." Cali began to think for a bit before she got an idea. "Hey princess, we're still not done yet." The rest of the group looked at her curiously. "I have a plan."
The group went along with Cali's plan, which surprisingly it was going to be in the heart of the Nightmare Night festival. While the group weren't very confident in going in yet, they trusted her and followed. When they got there, the town panicked and bowed down at the sight of the group, but mainly the princess as they passed through.
"It is of no use, humans. They have never liked us and they never shall."
"Don't worry, I know what can help." Cali began. "I know that Applejack can help you, she's one very likable pony."
"Yeah, she really is very kind and dependable." Xavier mentioned. "If there is one pony who can help you fit in, it's her." The group looked forward to see the pony in question, attending to the games set up. As she was, she began to walk aimlessly over to them, but when she realized who was in front of her, she panicked and dropped down to a bow. The group looked a bit uncertain before Xavier went down to her level. "Uh... Applejack, the princess is looking for a little advice on how to fit in around here. Think you can help." After Applejack processed what he said, she gave a confused stare to him.
"Fit in? Really?" She asked. Xavier simply gave a glare at her, who flinched in response and got up. "I-I mean...that's easy!" Applejack answered quickly. "All you gotta do is have the right attitude. Loosen up a bit, be positive, play a few games, have some fun."
"Fun? What is this 'fun' thou speakest of?" Luna asked curiously. Most of the group simply pointed to their left, where a bowl of little toy spiders were. She looked at them in confusion. "Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?"
"Basically, you take one and toss it over at that web." Huston said as he pointed at a web made of cotton. "Here, watch." Huston took one of the spiders and, after a bit of aiming, tossed the spider at the web, hitting it perfectly. "See, easy."
"Y-yeah, easy." Xavier said, sweating a bit. "Don't worry about them, they are fake, they can't hurt you..." Xavier muttered, the group noticing him.
"Um, is he okay?" Huston asked.
"Yeah, the guy is just deathly afraid of bugs." Cali mentioned.
"Ah, okay." As they were talking, Luna decided to try it and picked up one of the spiders. After a bit of thinking, she tossed the spider, but it missed and landed in front of the web by a couple inches. She looked a bit unsure about it, but the humans and Applejack were there encouraging her.
"You can do it, princess!" Applejack encouraged.
"Yeah, give it another go!" Jasmine joined. Luna decided she would as she picked up another spider. Once again, she aimed a bit before tossing, this time however it managed to hit the web, exciting her.
"Hey, nice shot there." Cali said.
"Ha! Your princess enjoys this 'fun'!" She said in an excited tone before looking back at the group with a smile. "In what other ways may we experience it?"
"Well, there is the pumpkin launch." Applejack suggested. The group went over to a bunch of catapults, but they were actually trailed by some of the ponies that watched her play the spider game. Luna observed the device for a bit before Huston brought a big pumpkin over.
"Just take this big guy and aim for the targets over there." Huston said pointing to a bunch of ring targets in the distance. Luna took it in her magic before putting it into the catapult.
"Fire away, princess!" Jasmine yelled out to encourage her, which worked as Luna gained a bold face and released the pumpkin, sending it flying. When it landed, it exploded right onto a target, meaning a direct hit.
"Ha ha! The fun has been doubled!" Luna called out, gaining cheers, these cheers came from the town as they let their guards down, finally not afraid of her.
"Looks like the townsfolk are finally getting used to her." Huston said, the rest of the humans giving nods of approval.
"Hey, why don't you try bobbing for some apples?" Applejack suggested. "We got the best apples in Equestria, Princess?"
"I ask thou call us...I mean, me, Luna, fair Applejack." Luna requested with a soft smile. "Hear me, villagers! All of you! Call me Luna!" She called out, the villagers giving excited chatter as they were happy to get to know her. "Show me to these bobbing apples." The group were happy to lead her to the apple bobbing station. As they were walking however, Luna gained a scared face and dashed off, confusing them. As they were about to ask amongst themselves, their worst nightmare came.
"Hey everypony! Anyone seen Pip?" The group looked at Pinkie terrified, even Huston who realized the trend. "We lost him the last time we had to run-" She cut herself off when she saw that, at the apple bobbing station, was Luna holding Pipsqueak by his vest, but he looked pretty wet, so he probably fell in. "Nightmare Moon is gobbling Pipsqueak! Everypony run!" Pinkie screamed, along with the other foals as they immediately ran away in fear. Pipsqueak did so and struggled to get out of Luna's hold, screaming in terror as he ran.
"My backside has been gobbled!" Luna looked offended at his outburst though.
"Tis a lie! Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!" Luna yelled in anger before stomping her hoof, thunder crackling as she did. The scene was pretty unnerving and the townsfolk began to back up. Luna noticed this and began to panic. "Fair villagers, please do not back away! Let us join together...uh...Fun!" She looked around a bit before spotting the spiders from before, taking one and tossing it at the townsfolk. They weren't all that convinced though as they took a step back. '"Not enough fun for you? What say you to this?" Luna asked before her horn glowed and shot a beam of magic straight at the toy spider, who started to transformed into a real one, scaring everypony as they immediately ran away in fear. She then shot the bowl, turning all of them into spiders as they began to crawl over to the web, staying on it. "Huzzah! How many points do I receive?" She said, happily. Unfortunately, she was cut of by a scream, but it wasn't a townsfolk that screamed however.
"GET AWAY FROM ME YOU DEMONS!!!!" The humans looked over at the scream, to which they saw Xavier running away in fear as a spider was following him. His panic and fear was enough to get the town to follow suite, running around in fear and creating chaos.
"Do not run away!" Luna tried to calm them down, but to no avail as they continued to run around. "As your princess we command you!" Luna's anger began to rise until it was too much, and she snapped. "Be still!" Her Royal Canterlot Voice echoed throughout the entire town, making everypony who was screaming stop and bow in fear except for the humans.
"Gah, oh no." Cali said in worry.
"Your majesty, please. You need to keep your voice down." Huston tried to reason.
"No sir Huston! We must use the traditional Royal Canterlot Voice for what we are about to say!" She exclaimed before turning to all and flew upwards. "Since you chosen to fear your princess rather than love her and dishonor her with this insulting celebration, we decree that Nightmare Night shall be canceled...forever!"
An hour later
The entire town was not in high spirits any longer, the festivities crushed under Princess Luna's announcement. The humans were all together, not happy at all.
"This is awful." Huston began. "Everything was going well. The town was happy to know her, the princess was fitting in, but now everything's gone wrong." The group looked out to the destruction that happened, much of the town in a state of despair.
"I'm sorry, it's partially my fault." Xavier said with guilt. "If I kept my fears in check, the town wouldn't feel as scared."
"It's not your fault." Jasmine said sadly.
"Besides, what's done is done." Cali said. Xavier looked down and to the side, thinking over things before looking up.
"No, we need to find her."
"Huh, why?"
"So I can do what I do best." Xavier said before walking off.
"Um, what does he do best outside of his technology?" Huston asked.
"Give lectures." Cali said as she and Jasmine followed Xavier, Huston following suit. It took a bit, but the group finally found Luna as she was crossing a bridge, her head hung low.
"Princess Luna!" Xavier yelled out as he and the others ran up to her.
"Leave me be, my human friends." She said sadly.
"Princess, I'm sorry it hasn't worked out how we wanted." Xavier apologized. "But you have to believe me when I tell you that Nightmare Night is one of the most popular celebrations we have."
"Yes. I can tell. By all the adoring shrieks of the children as they run away." She said annoyed, walking away. The group watched her sadly.
"Oh princess." Xavier sighed.
"Wait a second." Cali thought out loud, catching the attention of the others. "I think I have an idea."
"So you think this will work?"
"You'll see."
The first step in Cali's plan was to convince Luna to follow them for a bit, which she did, though she was pretty hesitant to. When they stopped, Cali lead them to an alleyway. The next step was to lure a certain chicken over to them, which knew just how as he made a trail of bread leading over to them.
"Is she really that gullible?" Huston asked. "I kind of doubt it."
"Oh believe me, she is." Xavier said as he pointed out. "See." To prove the point, they saw Pinkie trot over, eating the candy as she walked. The humans went deeper into the alley as she entered. When she got in deep enough, Xavier tackled her to the ground, covering her mouth before she could make a sound. "No! No shrieking! No screaming or squealing either. Okay?" Xavier demanded, getting a nod from her as the other humans came out.
"There's something we want you to see. And we promise that it's safe, but you really, really, really can't shriek. Do you promise not to shriek?" Jasmine pleaded. Pinkie nodded in response, Xavier letting his grip go as she got up. When she did, she was shocked to see that princess Luna was inside the alley too, but she help back her screams.
"Now Pinkie, you remember the princess, right?" Xavier said hopeful as Luna approached.
"Ah, the ringleader of the frightened children." Luna said, glaring at her. "Hast thou come to make peace?" She made a soft smile and raised her hoof at Pinkie. Pinkie saw it and slowly tried to reach it, but unfortunately-
KRABOOM!
"AAAHH! Nightmare Moon!" Pinkie screamed, making more chicken sounds as she ran off.
"RAINBOW!!!!!" Xavier yelled out, the pegasus in question laughing on top of the cloud. At least before she was hit with a bola, a tornado, a rock, and a bolt all at once and fell to the ground dazed. It didn't take long before Cali took another bola out and tossed it, Huston chasing it and jumping, tackling Pinkie as the bola hit the mark of Pinkie's legs.
"She's changed, Pinkie!" " Xavier yelled out as Pinkie struggled against the bola and Huston. "She's not evil or scary anymore! And she definitely doesn't want to gobble you up!" Pinkie suddenly stopped struggling, pausing before speaking.
"...Well duh!"
"Huh?" The four humans were at a lose.
"I know that, you guys!" Pinkie giggled. "I'm almost as big as her, how's she gonna gobble me up?!" They were at a complete lose for words now, all of them staring at her like she just said she murdered someone.
"Then why in the world do you keep running away and screaming all the time and make the others scream as well?!" Xavier finally yelled out, incredibly irritated to the point his usually cool demeaner broke.
"Sometimes it's just really fun to be scared!" Pinkie smiled. Xavier's eye twitched for a second before he fell forward like a wood board.
"Xavier?"
"Fun, she thinks it's fun." Xavier said, muffled by the ground he was lying on. "All of this pain, all of this because she thought it was fun."
"Welp, it's official. Pink's finally broken him." As most of the group was looking at Xavier, Huston began to formulate something.
"Hey, wait. I think I have an idea." Huston announced, catching the attention of the others, Luna included. "Xavier, do you think you can get a favor from miss Zecora?"
"Um, I guess I could? Why?"
"Because I think I have a plan to get Luna to fit in finally."
"Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." Luna said with a bit of sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah, no offence dude, but we tried everything." Cali admitted.
"Don't worry, leave it to me." Huston said with a wink. "Just follow my plan."
"I seriously doubt this is going to work dude."
"It will, don't worry."
The plan was in motion after Huston told them. Xavier did manage to get Zecora to follow along, and she got the children of the town to follow her to the statue of Nightmare Moon to give one last offering before the last Nightmare Night came to a close. This was part of the plan though, as the humans and Luna were there already hiding behind the statue, but Jasmine wasn't seen.
"I fail to understand this." Xavier said as he was adjusting his holo-scope (the title of his telescope that he gave it) "You never even told us how this will help."
"Just trust me." It was then that the sounds of hoof steps could be heard. Carefully looking out from behind the statue's base, they saw that the children made it, and were now piling candies in front of the base. Huston smiled and, taking out a bit, began using it to create a small reflection of light.
"Goodbye, Nightmare Night. Forever." A sad Pipsqueak said as he put the last pieces of candy onto the pile. It was then that a powerful wind began to pick up, concerning the foals. This was all according to Huston's plan however.
"Citizens of Ponyville!" Luna said from behind the statue using her Royal Canterlot Voice. "You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering." Xavier adjusted his Holo-scope to point in front of the statue, and clicked a button on it. "So pleased that I may just eat it... instead of eating you!" The foals looked at the statue, and were all petrified to see Nightmare Moon in front of it, and with a powerful blast of lightning, they all screamed in terror and ran off in fear. Once they were gone however, Nightmare Moon began to flicker before disappearing. She wasn't actually here, but instead it was just a hologram made by Xavier.
"That worked flawlessly." Huston said as him and the others left the cover of the statue. "You can come down now, miss Jasmine." He shouted to the sky. Coming down was Jasmine herself, on a dark cloud. "Brilliant performance."
"Yeah, that lightning was pretty good." Cali praised.
"Hehe, thanks." Jasmine said rubbing the back of her head.
"I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, sir Huston." Luna admitted.
"Oh just wait." Huston said.
"For what? For... for them to scream some more?" Huston simply put his hand up, with three fingers raised. He then began to put them down one at a time like he was counting. When he got to one finger, he pointed it to where the foals ran off to to show that Pipsqueak was there, looking at them. Though he seamed to be more interested in Luna.
"Um... Princess Luna." He began to ask. "I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?" This question caught the group minus Huston off guard, the odd one out smirking.
"Child. Art thou saying that thou...likest me to scare you?" Luna asked, feeling surprise of this.
"It's really fun! Scary, but fun!" Pipsqueak replied with a smile, much to Luna's surprise.
"It...is?" Luna looked over to see every foal who was hiding were peeking out, awaiting for her answer.
"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year!" Pipsqueak exclaimed happily. The humans began to realize that this was Huston's plan. He got the plan from Pinkie, so she help them after all.
"Well then...We shall have to bring Nightmare Night back!" Luna smiled and announced, using her Canterlot Voice to announce it, blowing Pip back a bit.
"Whoa! You're my favorite princess ever!" Pipsqueak declared as he gave Luna's leg a hug before running back to his friends, who were still hiding. "She said yes, guys!"
"Yay!" All the kids cheered as Luna looks over in wonder and joy.
"Wow, that was brilliant." Cali admitted.
"Yeah, good one Huston." Xavier congratulated.
"I simply did it to help her highness to fit in." Huston explained. At the time, Luna was just standing in place, letting it all sink in. "You see, your majesty. You really are loved by your people."
"Really? C-can it be true?" Luna asked herself before throwing her head and arms up, "Oh most wonderful of-" Fortunately, she managed to catch herself from continuing. "I-I mean...oh most wonderful of nights!"
An Hour Later
Once Luna had finally fit into the town, there was a great deal of festivities that made the town even happier than before. After all the time together, the humans decided to break off and relax for a bit, sitting around the statue and eating some candies.
"Not what I had planned for tonight, but it works." Xavier said as he was chewing on a lemon candy.
"Yeah, but hey. We did manage to help somepony out tonight." Jasmine said happily as she was snacking on some gummy bears.
"Yeah. Hey! Would this be a good topic for a letter to the princess." Cali said as she finished off a chocolate bar.
"I think it would. Should we write it?" Huston asked, sucking on a sucker.
"Yeah, hold on." Xavier pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.
"Dear Princess Celestia, When I first arrived here in Equestria, I didn't know much about friendship. I met somepony tonight who was having the same problem - your sister, Princess Luna. She taught me that one of the best things you can do with friendship is to give it to others and help them find it themselves. And I'm happy to report that all of Ponyville has learned that even if somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath." As Xavier was writing, a cloud floated over to them, a decently annoyed Rainbow on top.
"Throw things at me will you? I'll show you." She murmured as she wound up to create a blast of lightning...
Until she was hit directly with a lightning bolt herself, scaring her as she flew off screaming. This caught the humans' attention as they looked over at where she was flying from, a pretty happy Luna floating down on a storm cloud of her own. She gave them a wink before laughing happily, that other humans joining in as they shared another moment as they they all made new friends tonight.
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Personally I always thought this was a mean thing. Luna is probably having a hard time fitting in and just when she starts to make friends pinkie ruins it.
You renamed this story and I didn't recognize it right away
Xavier:Dio
Edit 6/21/2023: