Episode 13: Luna Eclipsed
Episode 13: Luna Eclipsed
On this night, this Nightmare's Night,
Beneath the watchful stars alight,
Evil forces gather in anticipation
For a future bringing light's annihilation.
On this night, of tricks and of treats,
Shall two worlds' masters of fear meet.
One evil you know, one you do not,
But against both shall a war soon be fought.
What you fear, they already know,
The newer enemy has struck the first blow.
But when the first one falls, the other shall scheme
And pervert the sacredness of the power of dreams…
…
The world of dreams…
…
The world…
…
OUR world…
….
"Gwo hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh!"
XXXXXX
Princess Luna awoke in a cold sweat, panting heavily. The princess of the night put a hoof to her chest, her heart pounding against her ribcage. Already the words that had been whispered in her ears deep within her own secluded dreamscape were fading from her mind. A worrisome thing; their message had clearly been a warning. But one thing stuck with her, that which had frightened her out of her own dream.
The laughter of what seemed to be a thousand devils.
Just thinking about who, or what, it could possibly belong to sent shivers down Luna's spine. A smaller, more childish part of her swore up and down it was Krastos-incarnate, but Luna knew better than to believe that, for a number of reasons. Mother Faust had killed the Devouring Serpent of the Void in battle before Equestria was even made, and all that remained of him flowed in deep rivers sealed deep beneath the earth where none could be tainted by its lingering energies.
Lingering energies…
Something about that concept troubled Luna. Just another thing to add to the growing list as of late. Luna yawned tiredly as she left her bed and trotted over to the balcony of her and her sister's room. The midday sun warmed her cheeks, easing her stress slightly. Suddenly her ears pricked as she heard the bedroom door open behind her.
"You're up early," Celestia stated the obvious, walking in.
Luna shook her head as she walked back into the bedroom and nuzzled her elder sister. "'There are a great many things on our mind, dear sister," she spoke with a sigh. "Our dreams trouble us. Whispered prophecies that vanish from our memory when we awaken…Unfamiliar voices laugh in our head…and then there is…the judgment we wrought on the filly several moons ago. All of these things leave us with a growing sense of foreboding."
Celestia said nothing. "About the child…We fear we may have been too harsh on her. Before, our thoughts were clouded by anger for what she hath sought to do. But…dost thou not think it strange, dear sister, that after almost a century without murder, it is abruptly attempted by a filly?"
Celestia looked away for a moment. "I agreed to send her to Tartarus mostly because, had she been placed anywhere else, Vaati would have sought her out and killed her. You and I both know this. It was for the best. At least she is in a cell, where the monsters cannot get to her."
"Tia, you did not answer our question."
Celestia quirked an eyebrow. "You think she may have been manipulated into doing it?"
Luna lowered her head. "A part of us just…still cannot fathom how a child could be capable of such unspeakable actions. It all seems wrong."
Celestia nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement. "You know what I'm starting to sense myself?"
"What?"
Celestia cracked a smile. "That you need to get out more, Lulu."
Luna pouted. "Tia, this is serious!"
Celestia's smile never wavered. "I am being serious. All of this is likely due to your self-imposed isolation. You hardly ever leave the castle! A little social interaction should ease up some of that pent-up frustration that's been giving you a hard time. You do know what tonight is, right?"
Luna furrowed her brow as she thought, shame seeping into her soul as she recalled. "This is…that holiday that they commemorated to me…when I…was not myself. Uh…Nightmare Night?"
On this night, this Nightmare's Night…
Luna shook her head as she tried to latch on to that sudden burst of thought, but it had gone as quickly as it had come.
"That's right," Celestia answered, appearing not to have noticed. "Though it's become more of a fun holiday than a grim reminder of days past. Go to Ponyville tonight and mingle with the townsfolk. It would be a good way to improve your public relations and learn a little more about how much the world has changed since you were gone. Plus, I'm sure Vaati would like to see you again."
Luna cast an aside glance as her cheeks blushed, stifling an embarrassed giggle. Celestia's smile became a little smugger. She was aware of the occasional visits Luna would make to Vaati's dreamscape during the nights to spend time with him, and that she was enjoying his company more and more. She was drawn to him, and Celestia knew that her sister's interest in the enigmatic sorcerer was blooming into a full-blown crush. That wasn't the most unusual thing; Spike had a crush on Rarity, after all. A former advisor of hers years ago had even retired from service to marry the Diamond Dog Alpha that had courted her during a diplomatic meeting. Such relationships, while not commonplace, were certainly possible in this world, despite the complications that often arose.
"Yes…well, it…it hath been many moons since we last met face-to-face," Luna stammered, embarrassed by the fact that her sister knew about the feelings she was developing towards Vaati.
"Then I'll have your chariot prepared for you," Celestia spoke, heading towards the door. "A good date always arrives in style."
Luna's face flushed beet-red. "TIA!" she shrieked.
XXXXXX
Palace of Winds…
Vaati had to admit, he liked the costume Nigellas and Maulgrim had fashioned for Scootaloo. His daughter had read quite a bit about the history of Hyrule, and despite the horrific nature of Majora, she had insisted on a costume based on the appearance of the legendary God of Evil. She knew she would have the most awesome costume in Ponyville should her request be granted. It had been a bit of a difficult venture, as none of the monsters were particularly good seamstresses. Luckily Rarity agreed to make most of the costume for them based on the designs Maulgrim had drawn up. To Vaati's surprise, the Darknut was not all that bad when it came to designing clothes; most likely it was a byproduct of the ingrained skill all Darknuts had with designing intricate suits of armor. Maulgrim himself fired up the Darknuts' forge in the lower area of the palace and made a replica of the feared deity's infamous mask.
Once the metal mask had cooled, Nigellas had painted it himself, using one of the history books as a reference. The finished product was the spitting image of the Heart of Darkness, so much so that a Miniblin visibly cringed when it saw the mask tucked under the Wizzrobe's arm as he delivered it to Scootaloo. Naturally she had loved it. A while later, the rest of the costume was delivered by Rarity, consisting of a black cloak with a blood-red inverted Triforce symbol encircled by a silver bramble-like design and gold trimmings along the edges, as well as a hood. Once she dressed herself in full regalia, she looked at herself in the mirror and giggled uncontrollably.
"This is gonna be the best Nightmare Night ever," she whispered.
XXXXXX
Ponyville, evening…
Spike, dressed in his adult dragon costume, paced impatiently back and forth, waiting for Twilight to come downstairs. "Come on, Twilight!" he demanded. "We're gonna be late for the Nightmare Night festival!"
He didn't have to wait much longer; at that moment, Twilight came down the stairs, wearing a wizard's costume complete with jingling bells and a fake beard. "Huh?" Spike uttered in confusion as Twilight proudly walked past him, displaying her costume. "Are you…that one creepy old grandpa from Ponyville Retirement Village?"
Twilight gawked at him. "I'm Starswirl the Bearded!" she clarified.
Spike just blankly stared at her.
"Father of the ameomorphic spell?"
Spike's expression didn't change.
"Did you even read that book I gave you about obscure unicorn history?"
"I can assure you, he probably didn't," came the sudden voice of Vaati.
The sorcerer in question had just walked in the door, looking quite different than before. His eyes were a bit redder, and his robes were different. They were much more reminiscent of a wizard's gown than Vaati's normal outfit, and more intricately designed. His hair flowed as if a gust of wind constantly surrounded him, and a strange stone headdress sat on his head.
"Whoa," Spike murmured. "Neat get-up."
"Hey, Vaati," Twilight greeted. "What're you supposed to be?"
"Me, of course," Vaati nonchalantly explained. "This is just another form of mine, one I rarely use as it's more for show than actual combat. I figured it would be a good thing to use as a costume, since using either of my other alternate forms would be overdoing it, I think."
"Huh," Twilight marveled. "You have three different forms?"
"Five, if you count my usual Hylian form and my original Minish form, the latter of which you will never see."
"So where's Scootaloo?" Twilight asked.
"I sent her off with her friends. A little later, there's going to be a haunted house event up at the palace. I've spent three whole days preparing for it. It's adults only because of some of the more graphic features, so I'm letting Scoots stay the night over at Applejack's house with the other Crusaders."
"A haunted house?" Twilight exclaimed. "That sounds like fun! I'll be there!"
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Spike waltzed over and opened it, jumping back in surprise as three fillies loudly chorused, "Nightmare Night, what a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"
Spike walked away to get the candy basket as Twilight came up to the front door. "Hi, everypony! Great costumes!"
Then she noticed a tired-looking Granny Smith standing behind the trio of fillies. "Happy Nightmare Night, Granny Smith!"
"I should have been asleep five hours ago," Granny Smith complained.
Once Spike brought the basket, Twilight levitated a piece of candy into each filly's bag. Suddenly, another foal, dressed as a pirate, pushed through the crowd, losing his balance in the process and falling flat on his face. The foal immediately got up and saluted. "Pipsqueak the pirate, at your service!" he greeted with a Braytish accent. "It's my very first Nightmare Night!"
"Since you moved here from Trottingham?" Twilight asked.
"No, my very first Nightmare Night ever!"
Without warning, Pinkie Pie emerged from the group, wearing a ridiculous-looking chicken costume. "Enough chit-chat!" she snapped impatiently. "Time is candy!"
"Pinkie Pie, aren't you a little old for this?" Twilight asked.
"Too old for free candy?!" she gasped. "Never!"
Vaati came up to the door and stared at Pinkie. I wonder if a hundred more chickens will pop up if I poke her with a stick enough times, he thought dryly to himself.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she levitated a piece of candy into Pinkie's waiting bag before drawing the hyperactive mare's attention to her costume with her bells. "Do you like it?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah! Great costume, Twilight!" Pinkie declared. "You make a fantastic weirdo clown!"
Pinkie then pilfered more candy from Spike's basket before he could react and ran off. Vaati laughed uproariously. "A clown?!" Twilight yelled. "Look at the borders on these robes! These are hoof-stitched!"
"It's a great costume…Grandpa," Spike joked.
Twilight growled irritably. "So what exactly are people supposed to do on Nightmare Night?" Vaati asked. "The haunted house won't be ready for at least two more hours, and I'm not very keen on going door-to-door to beg for treats."
"That's just what the kids do," Twilight explained as Spike shut the library door. "There are other things to do too! We'll escort Spike around a while so he can get some candy, and then we'll head downtown and see what's happening there!"
XXXXX
One hour later…
Spike's bag was overstuffed with candy as he, Vaati, and Twilight headed downtown. "Starswirl the Bearded is only the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era!" Twilight grumped, irritated that Spike knew so little about the famous wizard. "He created more than two hundred spells! He even has a shelf in the Canterlot Library of Magic named after him!"
"The fellow sounds rather impressive," Vaati half-heartedly agreed, looking towards a stage where a band was playing music to which various costumed townsponies danced.
Then Twilight was struck with an idea. "Maybe I should start a pony group to teach ponies about history," she mused. "I bet everypony would love it! Don't you, guys?"
Spike was too busy scarfing down his candy to reply. Vaati, on the other hand…
"Nope, not at all."
Twilight glared at her brusque friend before stopping abruptly, causing Spike to crash into her and send candy flying all over. "Oh look! We're here already! Should we get something to eat?"
She looked over at Spike, who contentedly rubbed his tummy and belched. Vaati wordlessly helped himself to a chocolate bar from Spike's pile. "We're good," he replied though a mouthful of chocolate.
"Twilight! Vaati! Look!" Pinkie cried, zipping over to them and holding out her bag. "Look at our hoard! Can you believe it!"
She pecked candy out of the bag as though it were chicken feed, not noticing Rainbow Dash, decked out in a Shadowbolt costume, sneak up behind her with a thundercloud. "And then we went over to Cheerilee's house and we got a bunch more goodies!" Pinkie continued. "Didn't we, Pip?"
"Sure did!" Pipsqueak agreed.
Rainbow raised her hooves.
"And then we had to wait for Granny Smith and-!"
KRAK-OOOOM!
A burst of lightning struck, scaring the daylights out of Pinkie and the kids, who all screamed and ran off. Twilight glared up at Rainbow as the prankster laughed hysterically. "Rainbow Dash, that wasn't nice!"
"It got rid of Pinkie," Vaati said. "Good enough for me."
Twilight's glare switched over to him. "Oh, lighten up, old-timer!" Rainbow replied. "This is the best day of the year for pranks!"
"Look what you did to Spike!" Twilight griped, who indicated Spike lying on the ground suffering a coughing fit.
"Oh, it's all in good fun!" Rainbow said dismissively. "Ooh! There's another group over there!"
Rainbow then pushed her cloud towards the unsuspecting victims. Twilight rolled her eyes as she telekinetically lifted Spike onto her back and headed towards the center of town with Vaati in tow. Eventually they came up to a bob-for-apples game headed by Applejack, who wore the guise of a scarecrow. "Happy Nightmare Night, Applejack!" Twilight greeted.
"Howdy, Spike! Hey, Twilight! Hey, Vaati!" she answered. "Nice costume!"
"Thanks!" Spike spoke. "I'm a dragon!"
Twilight glared at him. "She means me, Spike."
"A little presumptuous, aren't we?" Vaati butted in. "She was obviously referring to me."
He simply answered Twilight's stink-eye with a smug grin, who at first didn't notice Applejack investigating her fake beard. "Ah reckon with that beard, y'all are some kinda country music singer!"
Twilight groaned as Spike and Vaati chuckled. "Since yer all here," Applejack offered, "y'all wanna bob fer an apple?"
Derpy, in the process of bobbing for one herself, accidentally pulled the plug at the bottom, causing the water to (somehow) drain away. Her companion Carrot Top glared at her. However, everyone's attention was instead drawn to the stage, where a bunch of ponies were cheering as Mayor Mare, dressed as a clown, came up to the podium. "Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!"
The cheering grew louder as Vaati and his companions joined the crowd. "Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting candy should join our friend Zecora and hear the legend of…Nightmare Moon! Muahahahahahaha!"
"The spooky voice might work better if she wasn't dressed like that," Spike muttered to his friends.
"Try telling that to someone who's afraid of clowns," Vaati replied just as quietly.
A green mist appeared on the stage, from which emerged Zecora, her mane cascading down her face rather than the usual Mohawk. Plastic spiders were woven into her hair. "Follow me, and very soon, you will hear the tale of Nightmare Moon!"
XXXXXX
Vaati and his companions followed Pinkie's entourage as they accompanied Zecora over to a statue of Nightmare Moon. "Listen close, my little dears!" Zecora spoke. "I'll tell you where you got your fears!"
She fished out a green powder from her robe. "Of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary…" She blew the dust into the air, which suddenly took on the appearance of the deranged Mare of Darkness herself. "Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary!"
The apparition dove at the crowd, but dissipated into green mist before it could hit them. The crowd gasped in fear as a pair of eyes emerged from the ether. "Every year, we put on a disguise…" A toothy grin joined the narrowed eyes. "To save ourselves from her searching eyes!"
The children screamed and scattered.
Throughout this whole thing, Vaati kept a straight face. "Interesting delivery," he quietly remarked. "I should learn how to do this myself…"
Pipsqueak promptly crashed into the statue. "For Nightmare Moon just wants one thing…to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!"
More screams of fright. That was really starting to grate on Vaati's nerves. Zecora cast more of her powder, summoning another effigy of Nightmare Moon that appeared to be searching for someone. "Hungry, 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 apparition vanished once more. "Um…Miss Zecora?" Pipsqueak asked. "If we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won't gobble us up, why are we supposed to give her some of our candy?"
Zecora smiled. "A perfect question, my little friend! For Nightmare Moon you must not offend!"
The zebra blew more dust into the sky, causing another apparition to stalk menacingly towards Pip. "Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat…YOU!"
The apparition lunged, its fanged jaws engulfing the group and returning to its misty form. Once again, Pinkie and her companions screeched in terror before emptying the contents of their bags at the foot of Nightmare Moon's statue. "Quick, everypony!" Pinkie cried. "Let's dump some candy and get out of here!"
But it was too late. A fell wind began to blow, and no one spoke. A think blanket of clouds settled over the area, swirling around the moon as lightning flashed and thunder boomed. From within came a bright flash as a chariot emerged from the chaos. A hooded figure sat in the chariot, pulled along by two grim-faced, armored thestrals. Vaati recognized them immediately as Luna's personal guard. Could that be…?
"It's Nightmare Moon!" Pinkie Pie shrieked. "RUUUN!"
Everypony bolted, even Zecora. Only Vaati and Twilight remained, staring up at the ominous chariot as it headed for town. "Those were Princess Luna's personal guards," Vaati observed. "That must have been her in the chariot. What is she doing here?"
"I think we're about to find out!" Twilight answered as she took off after the fleeing chariot, Vaati following behind.
XXXXXX
Pinkie's group ran screaming into town, and just before anypony could make sense of what they had seen, ominous clouds loomed over the town as the mysterious chariot appeared. The gathered crowd watched in terror as the chariot's occupant floated down into the town square. Vaati and Twilight then appeared on the scene as the figure lowered their hood.
It was indeed Princess Luna.
But she looked somewhat different from when Vaati had last seen her face to face. She was taller, and her mane and tail had now fully regained their starry luster. The townsponies shook in terror as they hurriedly bowed. Luna, her face grim, trotted towards one unfortunate pony, her cloak dissipating into a hoard of bats that promptly flew away, allowing the alicorn to spread her wings. "She looks like someone just told her a bad joke," Vaati muttered. "I wonder why she's here."
And then Luna spoke…or rather, boomed with a voice so loud it threatened to make Vaati's ears explode.
"Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you may behold the real Princess of the Night! A creature of nightmare no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together, we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feeeast!"
Lightning flashed behind her, casting her frightful silhouette. "Did you hear that, everypony?!" Pinkie yelled. "Nightmare Moon said she's gonna feast on us all! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
She and her group ran off…again. "For the love of Nayru, Pinkie," Vaati growled quietly.
"What?!" Luna gaped. "No, children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!"
Luna stomped her hoof, eliciting a terrified squeak from one pony dressed, appropriately, as a mouse.
"Then perhaps you ought to try speaking to them without resorting to blowing out their freaking eardrums," Vaati spoke up, walking towards the princess. "Well met, Luna."
As soon as she saw the sorcerer, Luna's entire countenance changed. "Wind Mage Vaati!" she cried enthusiastically, still using her explosive voice. "We are glad to see you again!"
Vaati winced and massaged his ears. "That's nice. Now tell me that again without so much volume."
"But…This is the Royal Canterlot Voice!" Luna answered. "It is tradition to speak to the public in this way!"
"For the love of Din, Luna, you're terrifying them!" Vaati said. "That Royal Tone of yours sounds more like you're just yelling at them."
Luna looked down at the shaking crowd of ponies surrounding her and realized, to her shame, that Vaati was correct. They looked scared to just even be near her. "We…I…but…" she stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"Shouldn't we do something, Twilight?" Spike shakily asked.
Twilight shook her head. "No. Vaati and Princess Luna know each other personally. He's fine."
Vaati strode up to Luna and smirked. "That's better. You've been gone a thousand years, Luna. Things have probably changed since you've been gone. I've never heard Celestia speak that way towards a crowd in all the time I've been here, so I think it's safe to say that tradition's been put to rest."
Luna furtively glanced at the crowd. "Then…how wouldst thou speakest towards them?" she whispered. "We…I…I don't know…"
"Firstly, talk to them like you would talk to me or your sister," Vaati advised. "A normal, conversational tone that isn't too loud or too soft. Secondly, drop the 'ye olde' shtick. Nobody talks like that anymore. Trust me."
"But…that is how I hath always spoken," Luna answered.
"I am learned enough that I have an understanding of the really ancient dialect of the common tongue. The rest of these ponies, though, most likely don't. Instead of thou or thy and all that nonsense, just try things like you and your. Also, I don't think anyone's familiar with the usage of the 'royal we', so try to refer to yourself in the singular sense too."
"It's been a thousand years. We…uh, I am not sure I can."
"You're managing well enough right now," Vaati pointed out.
Luna blushed slightly as she nervously looked at the shivering group of townsfolk. "Um…forgive us…uh, forgive me, for speaking so rudely," she spoke in a much quieter voice. "Perhaps we can start over?"
Luna smiled weakly, hoping for a response, but the crowd just continued to tremble in her presence. The lunar alicorn sighed deeply in sadness. "It's no use, Vaati," she morosely stated. "They have never liked us…and they never shall."
"That's not true at all," Twilight interrupted, stepping forward. "You just haven't managed to level with them yet. They need to be able to relate to you. Vaati, why don't we take her downtown and show her how to have a little fun?"
Vaati pointed at Twilight. "Excellent idea, Twilight. Excellent. Luna, care to join us?"
"Fun?" Luna asked. "What is this…fun thou speakest of?"
Vaati frowned at her. "Princess…please tell me you know and understand the concept of fun."
Luna's eyes darted about. "Well, in any case, you're about to take a crash course in fun-having," Vaati stated, hovering just off the ground as he held out his arm. "Shall we, milady?"
The sorcerer savored the sight of Luna blushing a deep scarlet, trying in vain to compose herself as she hooked one hoof through his arm and lifted off herself, hovering at equal height with the mage. That never got old to him. He was quite aware of the fact that she was slowly starting to fall for him. She was also terrible at hiding it, considering that this was probably something she had never before experienced. The sorcerer always knew he had a way with the ladies. The maidens he had kidnapped in the olden days had always reacted with surprise when they saw the true form of the great flying eye that had rudely kidnapped them before. Some had even dared to ponder their potential interest in him, but Link had always rescued them before any serious thoughts could be considered.
The idea of it was rather strange, though. Some could consider that sort of thing bestiality, him being human (relatively speaking) and Luna a talking horse, for all intents and purposes. But from the way she acted, that sort of thing didn't seem to enter her mind. Indeed, as they traversed the town alongside Twilight, Vaati found himself pondering the possibility himself. He wasn't quite sure of what he thought of it. Perhaps he felt nothing. Perhaps it was just too early to tell. But for now, he would amuse himself by flustering her at every opportunity.
Soon they arrived back at Applejack's apple-bobbing game, where the farmpony had just prevented Pipsqueak from falling in. Once she saw Luna, though, she yelped and dropped to her hooves. Vaati rolled his eyes and leaned over Applejack. "Ahem, Applejack, Princess Luna here wishes to learn how to fit in around here."
Applejack gave him a flat stare. "Fit in? Really?"
Vaati and Twilight both shot her warning looks. "Uh, I mean…" Applejack stuttered. "That's easy! Ya just gotta have the right attitude! Loosen up a bit! Think positive! Play some games! Have some fun!"
Vaati led her over to a basket filled with toy spiders. "Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?" Luna asked.
One of the more courageous ponies, dressed like a bee, shakily pointed a hoof towards a web a short distance away. "T-t-t-try l-l-landing the s-s-spiders on the web!"
Curiously, Luna picked up a spider and did as she was instructed. However, she missed. She glanced uncertainly at Vaati, Twilight, and Applejack, who watched her from the back. "You can do it, Princess!" Applejack encouraged her.
"Try tossing it with a little more strength," Vaati advised.
Luna's eyes steeled as she picked up another spider and tossed again, this time hitting the web right in the middle. "Hah!" Luna exclaimed. "Your princess enjoys this…fun! In what other ways may we experience it?"
XXXXXX
A short while later, Luna got to shoot a pumpkin out of a catapult towards a bull's-eye. It landed right on target. "Haha!" Luna declared. "The fun has been doubled!"
Several ponies cheered her on. Vaati smiled. They were starting to warm up to her. "Why don't ya try bobbin' fer apples?" Applejack suggested. "We got the best apples in Equestria, Princess!"
"I ask that thou call us…me…Luna, fair Applejack."
Luna then spoke to the surrounding townsfolk. "Hear me, villagers! Call me Luna!"
The crowd excitedly murmured her name to each other. "Show me to these 'bobbing apples'!" Luna declared, following her companions.
Suddenly she noticed that Pipsqueak was about to fall into the water again. Without thinking, she ran over to help the young foal.
"Hey, gals! Anypony seen Pip?" they suddenly heard Pinkie ask behind them. "We lost him the last time we had to run from…"
And then she gasped as she saw Luna fishing Pipsqueak out of the water bucket. "Oh, horseapples," Vaati muttered, knowing what was about to happen.
"Nightmare Moon is gobbling Pipsqueak!" she screeched. "EVERYBODY RUUUUUUUUUUN!"
She and the fillies all ran as fast as they could away from Luna, who dropped Pipsqueak in shock. The foal bolted too the moment his hooves touched ground. "Help! My backside's been gobbled!" Pipsqueak yelled.
"'Tis a lie!" Luna protested. "Your backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!"
Lightning flashed, accentuating Luna's anger. The townsponies backed away, their fear returning. Vaati inwardly cursed Pinkie Pie's name as Luna attempted to salvage her floundering reputation. "Fair villagers!" she pleaded. "Please do not back away! Let us join together in…fun!"
Vaati could almost hear her voice crack as she spoke those last words. Not good, not good, he thought worriedly.
Luna desperately tossed one of the fake spiders towards the crowd, hoping to regain their trust. They did nothing but shy away. Luna's eye twitched, and Vaati knew at that moment she had finally snapped.
Uh oh.
"Not enough fun for you?!" she frustratingly yelled. "What say you to this!"
Magic flashed from her horn, and the spider suddenly became a live one, which chittered menacingly. Another flash, and all the spiders in the bowl became animated, crawling all over the place as townsponies screamed in terror. Finally the creatures congregated on the web and Luna forced a smile. "Huzzah!" she cried, clearly on the verge of a total breakdown. "How many points do I receive?"
The crowd scattered, shrill screams penetrating the air as they ran in random directions. "Do not run away!" Luna begged, but the panic continued. "As your princess, we command you!"
Her only answer was more panicked cries from the frightened ponies. That was the final straw. "BE STILL!" she bellowed, thunder booming.
At that moment, all movement promptly ceased.
"Princess, remember!" Twilight warned. "Watch the screaming!"
Luna rounded on her, her eyes glowing like embers. "No, Twilight Sparkle! We must use the traditional Royal Canterot Voice for what we are about to say!"
Vaati and Twilight worriedly glanced at each other as Luna addressed the crowd.
"Since you choose to fear your princess rather than love her, and dishonor her with this INSULTING celebration, we hereby decree that Nightmare Night shall be cancelled…FOREVER!"
And just like that, Luna left, the roiling storm ceasing with her departure. Twilight and Applejack stared forlornly at the wreckage of the festival. Applejack sighed. "Shoot, we had everythin' goin' our way. Luna was happy, everypony in town was happy…now look at 'em."
Children everywhere were sobbing uncontrollably, seeking comfort from their equally-shocked parents. "B-but I wanted to be a zombie next year!" one filly wailed.
Scootaloo collapsed on her hooves at Vaati's feet, unable to stop from crying herself. "D-D-Daddy, I don't want Nightmare Night to be cancelled! What're we gonna do?!"
Vaati's eyes steeled. "This isn't over."
The mage turned towards Twilight. "Twilight, come with me."
"What're y'all gonna do?" Applejack asked.
"Get her to change her mind, obviously," Vaati replied. "And then I'm going to stuff Pinkie Pie in a garbage can for all the trouble she's caused. Wait here, Scoots. I'll be back."
XXXXXX
Vaati and Twilight eventually found Luna despondently walking across the small bridge over the creek. "Luna?" Vaati spoke, stepping towards her.
Luna looked up at him, revealing that she had been crying recently. "Leave me be," she morosely implored.
"Look, I'm sorry things haven't quite worked out the way we planned," Vaati explained. "Pinkie Pie's just being an ignorant dolt as usual."
"I know it might be hard for you to believe, Princess," Twilight said, "but Nightmare Night is one of the most popular festivals of the year!"
"Yes, I can tell," Luna countered, her voice laden with heavy sarcasm, "from the shrieks of the adoring children as they run away!"
Luna kept walking, her head hung low. At that moment, Twilight suddenly had an idea.
XXXXXX
Meanwhile, Pinkie prowled around the town square, intent on salvaging as much candy as she could. Suddenly she saw a piece and immediately gobbled it up like a chicken. Then she saw another. And another. She was too busy pecking them up to notice the trail was leading into an alley. Without warning, someone crashed into Pinkie and pinned her against the wall, the assailant also shoving a hoof in her mouth to keep her from making any noise. "No! No screaming!" Twilight, the assailant in question, demanded. "No squealing or shrieking either, okay?!"
Pinkie managed a muffled 'okay' in response. "There's something we want to show you," Twilight explained, revealing Vaati standing behind her. "And I promise that it's safe, but you really really really can't shriek. Do you promise not to shriek?"
"And I swear if you do, I'll stuff you in a garbage can," Vaati warned.
Pinkie nodded. Twilight retracted her hoof away from Pinkie's mouth and drew her friend's attention towards Princess Luna. The moment she saw her, she put her hooves to her mouth to keep herself from screaming. "Pinkie Pie, you remember Princess Luna, right?" Twilight introduced.
"Ah," Luna said, stepping forward. "The ringleader of the frightened children. Hast thou come to…make peace?"
Pinkie hesitantly began to reconsider her actions and reached out to touch Luna's hoof.
KRA-KOOOM!
A bolt of lightning flashed, and the moment was ruined. "AAH! NIGHTMARE MOON!" Pinkie shrieked, sprinting off in terror.
The raucous laughter that followed revealed the culprit to be Rainbow Dash and her trusty stormcloud. "Curse you to the bowels of Tartarus, Rainbow Dash!" Vaati roared, sending a huge gust of wind at Rainbow that disintegrated her cloud and sent her tumbling to the ground. Standing over her, he growled, "In case you haven't noticed, we're trying to salvage Princess Luna's reputation enough so that she'll reconsider cancelling Nightmare Night, and you are NOT helping matters!"
Rainbow flinched under Vaati's angry glare. Meanwhile, Twilight blocked off Pinkie's escape route and pinned her against the ground. "She's changed, Pinkie!" Twilight yelled. "She's not evil or scary anymore, and she definitely doesn't want to gobble you up!"
Pinkie gave her a look. "Well, duh."
"Huh?" Twilight gaped.
"What," Vaati spoke.
"I already knew that, Twilight!" Pinkie explained. "I'm almost as big as her! I mean, how's she gonna gobble me up?"
A vein throbbed in Vaati's forehead. "You mean to tell us that you knew all along she wasn't actually trying to eat you? Why, then, did you see fit to cause her such embarrassment that she cancelled Nightmare Night out of anger and undo all the work Twilight and I put into improving her reputation?!"
"Sometimes it's just really fun to be scared!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Vaati glared at her. "Pinkie Pie, your attempts at having fun were all essentially slapping her in the face. Fun or not, it was insulting."
"Wait, Vaati!" Twilight interrupted. "I think Pinkie's on to something!"
"Wait, what?"
"Princess Luna! I've finally figured out why you're having so much trouble being liked!"
Luna glowered. "Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm."
"Come with me, guys!" she bade. "I'll explain everything on the way!"
"Go on ahead, Twilight," Vaati said. "I'll be just a second."
The moment they were gone, Vaati seized both a protesting Rainbow and Pinkie by the tail and promptly stuffed them both in a trashcan and slammed the lid down on their heads, disorienting them long enough to make good his escape.
XXXXXX
"Gosh," Pipsqueak moaned as the adults around him began cleaning up the town square. "I never thought my very first Nightmare Night would also be my very last."
Suddenly Zecora appeared, a wide smile on her face. "Come, little Pip, now don't you fret! Nightmare Night's not over yet! There's still plenty of candy to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live!"
"Yes, little ponies!" Mayor Mare joined in. "What's Nightmare Night without the annual candy offering? You don't want Nightmare Night to gobble you up…do you?"
"Ugh, the rainbow wig just kills it for me," Spike grumbled as he passed by.
"C'mon, kids!" Applejack offered. "Doesn't that sound like fun?"
The kids didn't look particularly convinced, but followed the adults nonetheless over to the grove where Nightmare Moon's statue stood sentinel and began leaving portions of their candy at the foot of the statue. As Pipsqueak gave up his share, he sighed. "Goodbye, Nightmare Night, forever."
As he turned to leave, though, the wind abruptly picked up and thunder rumbled. "Citizens of Ponyville!" a familiar voice boomed. "You were wise to bring this candy to me! I am pleased by your offering! So pleased, in fact, that I may eat it instead of EACH OF YOU!"
And there, in place of the statue, stood the Mare of the Moon herself in all her full, terrifying glory. Her sharp fangs glinted in the moonlight, and her eyes burned like hellish coals. The foals screamed and bolted. As soon as they were gone, Nightmare Moon's terrifying visage melted away into the more serene form of Luna as she spit out the set of fake fangs she had been given. Twilight and Vaati emerged from where they had been hiding. "I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Twilight Sparkle," she mused.
"Actually, I think it worked out exactly as planned," Vaati replied. "Excellent performance, by the way."
"What?" Luna responded in confusion. "What are you…"
Suddenly she felt something small tug on her hair. "Um…Princess Luna?" Pipsqueak said as she looked down at him in surprise. "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?"
Luna gawked at him and noticed the group of fillies peeking out of the bushes, watching her intently. "Child…art thou saying that thou…likest me to scare you?"
Pipsqueak excitedly nodded his head. "It's really fun! Scary, but fun!"
"It…is?!"
"Uh huh! Nightmare Night's my favorite night of the year!"
Luna cracked a smile. "Well then! We'll just have to bring…Nightmare Night back!"
The Royal voice pushed Pipsqueak back several meters, but he was more awed than scared. "Whoa! You're my favorite princess ever!"
The young foal nuzzled Luna's leg before trotting off towards the other foals. "She said yes, guys!"
"YAAAAAAY!"
"See?" Twilight exclaimed. "They really do like you, Princess!"
"Can…it be true?" Luna marveled. "Oh, most wonderful of…"
She then noticed Vaati's unamused expression. "Uh, I mean, most wonderful of nights," she spoke much more quietly, blushing.
Vaati grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "Well, Luna, this 'most wonderful of nights' isn't over yet."
Luna blinked. "What dost thou mean?"
"The haunted house event I've scheduled at the palace is probably ready by now," Vaati explained. "Once I get up there and tell Nigellas, we can start bringing in customers. And as a reward for all the progress you've made, you get to be the first, my dear."
Luna grinned enthusiastically. "Really?" And then she composed herself and smiled serenely. "I would be honored."
"Care to join us, Twilight?" Vaati asked.
"I'd love to!"
XXXXXX
Oh, how she had come to regret her decision.
The haunted house was just a restricted area of the palace that pretty much ran in a circle. Most of the rooms were cordoned off, as they were not part of the attraction. Those that were, though…
Twilight was sure what they contained would haunt her nightmares for weeks.
The palace was dark and gloomy, lit only by torches wreathed in eldritch purple flames. Floormasters skittered across the path in great numbers, their claws scraping the stone surface as they crawled. Poes cackled and waved their pale lanterns as she and Luna's group passed through a room with bones scattered along the walls. Deeper laughter joined in as the bones abruptly moved of their own volition and reattached themselves to form Stalfos, which grinned wickedly at the terrified guests as they hurried along the set path. Some rooms were barred off like cells, and the reason soon made itself clear as the rotting, fly-ridden ReDeads leaned against the bars, groaning in earnest as they reached towards the guests with shriveled, bony fingers.
Twilight's eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets. "Mother Faust, he wasn't kidding," she murmured in horrified amazement. "Zombies do exist."
A short while later they passed through a chamber with spider webs weaved all along the wall. A fearsome Skulltula was busily spinning more webbing. Twilight gulped when she saw the huge spider's grim carapace. Upon closer inspection, various Stalfos were interwoven in the spider's web, as if they were the remains of the creature's previous meals. They cackled madly at their own fate, further chilling the assembled guests.
At one point, they looked into a room and found two Moblins manning a stretching rack, to which an unfortunate Miniblin was attached. Thankfully the whole process was staged. But they did a terrifyingly good job of making it look real.
By the time she and Luna had returned to the front door and exited the palace, Twilight looked white as a sheet. Noticing this as he manned the front desk, Vaati quipped, "What's the matter, Twilight? That wasn't too scary, was it?"
Twilight promptly fell over in a dead faint. Vaati cackled in delight before looking over at Luna. "What about you? Did you enjoy it?"
Luna suppressed a gulp. "That was an…illuminating experience."
Vaati grinned. "You sound scared."
"I was not scared!" Luna pouted. "I am the Princess of the Night! I don't fear the dark!"
"The fact that you're shaking in your horseshoes tells me otherwise, Luna," Vaati retorted smugly.
"I…I…" She gritted her teeth as she fought back a fierce blush.
Vaati laughed and turned his attention to the other customers. "You hear that, fillies and gentlecolts? Even Princess Luna herself got scared! Any of you feeling any braver?"
Many of the waiting customers looked uncertain, but curiosity won over fear, and the night of frights continued. Nobody ended up having as much fun as Luna and Vaati in the end, and both of them finally retired to their own beds with wide smiles on their faces and in their hearts. Nightmare Night was finally over.
XXXXXX
On this night, this Nightmare's Night,
Beneath the watchful stars alight…
Gwo hoh hoh hoh hoh…
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I know it! It's Ganon! I'd recognize that laugh anywhere!
Thank you for the update... but...
Moar please
Lol that was another enjoyable chapter keep up the good work
Eh... rewriting canon episode with your character in it
The entity might be majora
VERY NICE CHAPTER!!! I CANT WAIT FOR MORE... KEEP IT UP!!!
3118702
LTTP Ganon, right?
3118811
The fact that someone's already made a physical representation of his... her... it's? mask could be a bit of solid groundwork towards your theory.
And for the love of Nayru please don't bring Ganon into this, there's a reason the game makers kept him out of the game's with Vaati. Mainly that Ganon and Vaati would probably wreck everything instead of just seizing control as they fought each other.
Please, you had a gteat thong going for Twi and Vaati. What happenned... And when did Vaati started to zpeak with Luna?
Hm...should I play his game first or go ahead and read?
OH sounds so exicting I wanna read soon! 
Great chapter. So this story is going to be a Vaati/Luna pairing.
Oh my Miyamoto! OH MY MIYAMOTO! IT'S GANON
I hear the laugh and I think of Adventures of Link
Game Over
Return of Gannon?
Vuna
I ship it 
3119247 Well thats what I am doing. Too bad taught, first chapters were really good.
Been great wile it lasted, gotta look for something better I guess.
You had a perfectly good reason to put Ganon (fake obviously) in the haunted portion.
:(
As much as I love this fic, some friends have agreed that it's a bit mistagged
Some of the recent events (Discord getting the crap beat out of him, Scoots dad, DT...) goes outside the "Everyone" rating, it would fit better with teen, as well as considering the dark tag for said content.
I'll still read it otherwise, but some people might considering reporting it for being mistagged (one of my friends pointed this out)
Wait... Your original chapters weren't well liked?
But those were my favorites by far!
Tbh rewriting a cannon episode with no significant changes doesn't seem like its going to bring back any readers.
What you need my fellow author is another solid arc like Vaati's arrival or the discord arc.
3118910
Hm, I swear I heard that laugh from Ocarina of Time...
i thought twilight liked vaati
3119416
Wasn't his more of a "Gwa hah hah" than a "Gwo hoh hoh"?
I've wanted to write a Zelda crossover of my own for a while, sort of have two ideas for it. First one, Linke, Epona and Navi end up in Equestria. Child Link timeline, so he doesn't have the Master Sword, but set a little later so that he's aged up a bit. Epona becomes a pony, her and Navi can speak to all the ponies, Link's silent as ever in conversation and loud as ever in combat.
Second one, Ganondorf gets tired of the whole "Threaten the world, kidnap Zelda, get defeated by Link, wait a thousand years to come back and start over" spiel and decides that, just once, he's like to actually get to know a girl. So he hops onto a cross-universal magic network for high-powered demigods and up to find someone who might be somewhat understanding and also available. At the same time, Celestia gets tired of the same monotonous day-to-day toil of running a country made out of favours and settling debates in her self-destructive parliament, and wants to spice up her life - for a short while only, of course - with something more adventurous, maybe even dangerous, and perhaps with a smattering of romance...
I'll be honest, I really enjoyed this chapter. I just a little sad that the Dead Hand wasn't a part of it. That thing scared me bad as a kid and as a result it became one of my favorite monsters, but still I really enjoy this story. Hope to see it continue for a while!
3118784
That's pretty much what this whole series is about. And Vaati isn't his character.
3119656 At this point, he really isn't like the original Vaati.And I am not complaining about that he writes him in the episode, I am complaining about copy pasta with crappy insert dialogue. I did not make myself clear enough on that point taught.
3119270
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/511/716/216.gif
LOVED this chapter! Can't wait for some good old Lesson Zero! Oh, wait... we passed that, didn't we? FRICK!
So this?
zeldawiki.org/images/6/69/MangaVaati.png
Or this?
zeldawiki.org/images/3/3d/VaatiManga1.png
Everyone is guessing ganon but im going on the more likely phantom ganon
3119943
I remember going on some random platform (Waaaay too early in the game) and having 3 of them kill me instantly...
Childhood
*grin creeps upon face*
What do you mean? I LOVE THIS FIC!
Majora's Mask?
FORESHADOWING, I TELL YOU! FORESHADOWING!
3119844
It is indeed the first one.
3118994
They appeared together in Four Swords Adventures, dude.
Now... who do I know who laughs with that Gwohohohoho?
I really like that you gave some more tangible reasons for the harshness of Diamond Tiara's imprisonment (protecting her from Vaati)
3120357
For real? Must not have got that far in it then...
Reading this has made me want to go back and play minish cap again, so, here I am, playing minish cap.
3121015
Yep. Vaati was Ganon's fall guy in that. Vaati inadvertently distracted Link away from Ganon while he built up his power. In this story's continuity, Vaati didn't realize this until he was too late to do much about it.
3121156
So it was a lot like how Twilight Princess had Zant as Ganondorf's fall guy while he regained his strength?
3121253
Yep. Only difference was that Vaati didn't even know he was Ganon's puppet.
Vaati! How dare you steal my catchphrase!
...Although, glancing over the comments, it seems it may be more common than I first thought...
3118702
...
SWEET JEAGUS IN A HAND BASKET YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT!
3121729
Nope. Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, it's not Ganon.
3121939
Dammit! Was I at least close?
3122035
Nope.
3121939
...Is it Tirek or whatever his name is? From Gem 1 MLP? I guess there's no point in asking actually...
Is it just me or did this whole Luna and Vaati thing literally come out of nowhere?
3122583 It was established in the side story, A Midsummer Night's Dream.
3121939 their are only two villains i know of with a laugh like that.
number one, and the better of the two, is Kefka from FF6.
Number two is Majora.