Nightmare Night 2017
“Vinyl! Hurry up! We need to leave!” Octavia stood in the shared space waiting for her roommate.
In celebration of Nightmare Night, a rather large party was being held by the Princesses in a prominent Canterlot hall open to all ponies. Octavia was in town for a concert event, for which she was granted the ability to bring a “plus one.” However, as she was once again a single mare (a long story she didn’t want to get into… ever) her plus one had to fall back to her backup plan, Vinyl. To be fair, this was probably for the best. If Vinyl is left to her own devices for too long, she’d probably bring their house down, literally. At the rate it was taking Vinyl to put on her costume, however, they were going to be late. Octavia was not a fan of being late to anything. She had already prepared and dawned her costume ahead of time. Octavia had chosen to attend the party as Beethoofen, the famous composer. She dressed in a black suit, red scarf, and even messed up her usually controlled mane to mimic the style of the old composer.
“Vinyl!” What patience Octavia had left was being tested.
Eventually, Vinyl made her way to the shared space in costume. With a wide-brimmed brown hat and trench coat to match. Strapped to her back was an intricate crossbow. Her coat was also adorned with small bottles of water, a wooden stake, and a key decorated by a skull. Vinyl stood to show off with a smile.
Octavia rolled her eyes. “Yes… yes… Your Van Hoofsing costume is very nice. But we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now!” Octavia got behind Vinyl and pushed her toward the door.
After a few minutes of rushed walking, they arrived at the venue. As they walked in, they were met with a massive crowd of costumed ponies. There was the usual assortment of classic costumes like vampires, ghosts, mummies, the princesses, etc. There were also some less common styled costumes: elaborate period dresses, some character neither of them recognized, a few out-there costumes that grab a pony’s attention but ultimately can’t hold it, stuff like that.
Even the princesses in attendance were in costume. Twilight, who was attending as chief organizer of the event, was dressed in a lab coat and with a messed-up mane. Celestia wasn’t attending as her work that morning was too taxing. Instead, Luna was the present reigning princess at the event. What would catch ponies’ attention first, however, was that she had dressed in dark blue and black armor akin to her form as Nightmare Moon. To some, it was concerning but in theme for the night, so they didn’t pay too much mind. For others, it was a sign that Luna had moved on from her former self enough to reference it without issue. She will never be proud of her time as Nightmare Moon, but she would not hide away from it either.
The party was in full swing when Octavia and Vinyl arrived. This was nothing new for the duo. When they went to events together, it always seemed like the party was in progress. They didn’t really get why that is since they arrived on time for the party. The important part was that they were at the event and here to have a good time.
As the night continued, a myriad of costumed ponies recognized the duo. Some approached asking for autographs from the famous DJ-Pon3 or a chat with the famed cellist. After a while, the waves of fan ponies subsided and the two were left to enjoy the party as they wanted. It was a fine party all things considered. Of course, the two did mingle, sort of. Really it was Octavia going around being social while Vinyl bobbed her head along to the music. Until Vinyl noticed somepony in the crowd and tapped Octavia’s shoulder.
“What is it?” Octavia turned to Vinyl, who pointed her hoof into the crowd. Octavia’s gaze followed said hoof to the intended target. “Oh!” The two then approached a stallion in full armor with a blue mane. “Flash!”
Flash Sentry turned to the two and smiled. “Hey Octavia. Vinyl. How have you been?”
“Excellent. It has been an enjoyable time.”
The three spent time to reminisce. They all had known each other since their school years. Flash had grown up in Ponyville and his family still lives there to this day. Really, it’s just his father Titan Gleam, his mother Sharp Thorn, and youngest brother First Base. His fellow triplets, Grey Hat and Steel Bastian, were both guards, so they lived at their respective barracks. Of the brothers, however, Octavia and Vinyl became friends with Flash. The three stayed close until Vinyl and Octavia pursued music careers and Flash left to join the Royal Guard.
Octavia changed the subject from their foalhood to the event, “Are you enjoying the party?”
Flash looked confused for a moment before remembering his situation. “Oh! I’m not here for the party per se… I’m part of the guard on duty.”
“Really? But, that’s not the Royal Guard’s armor…”
Flash was outfitted in dark, storm blue armor accented by a golden lightning bolt. “No. The princesses said the guards on duty tonight could wear their own costumes as long as they still functioned as armor should something happen. When my dad heard about this and that I was on duty for the party, he polished his old armor and sent it to me to use. I didn’t have a plan for any costume for the party and just ran with it.”
“I knew your mother was in the guard, but I didn’t know your father was as well.”
“He wasn’t, really… He was part of a flight team called the Stormbolts. Think Wonderbolts without the performing and in full armor.”
As Octavia and Flash continued to talk, Vinyl was getting bored. And when Vinyl gets bored, she does what she can to alleviate this. To further this goal, she would walk off to find some kind of fun. As she walked around, some ponies would try to talk to her, only to be met with silence. She kept walking along hoping for something different until something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. It was feint, only there a moment, but she saw it. She wanted to know what it was if only to give her something to do.
Eventually, she found a stallion standing on one of the balconies. His dark cloak was accented by a high collar. A head of a dark red mane was slicked back. She could tell he had a dark grey coat as well. Mostly certain she knew who this was, she approached and tapped his shoulder.
He turned and, sure enough, it was in fact Grimoire Maleficarum. His cloak was revealed to be a cape with a black and red vest underneath. He jumped a bit as he spun around. “Oh! Vinyl…” He tapped his chest with his forehoof and took a deep breath. When Vinyl raised an eyebrow, he gave a weak smile, “Sorry… Just… Getting myself back together.”
Vinyl tilted her head to side as if to ask what he meant.
He took another deep breath. “I’m not too fond of large crowds. I can fake it for a while, but I’ll need to take time to recharge after a while. Hence, why I’m out here. I just needed a second…”
Vinyl was confused. She had seen how he acted in crowds before. He was snarky and sarcastic. He smiled with a confidence born from his travels. This wasn’t how he acted in groups before.
He took another breath. “I see that look. You’re wondering about the difference in how I act here compared to back in Ponyville. Well, any crowd in Ponyville would be relatively small. I can handle small groups. But this is Canterlot, where a small crowd is easily over a few hundred ponies. That’s a little more taxing.” He took another deep breath and cracked his neck. “If not for Twilight’s little lesson, I would be at home with a cup of hot chocolate or other welcoming drink. This stuff just isn’t for me.”
Vinyl tapped her chin a moment before smiling. She tapped his shoulder again and made a motion with her head off to the side.
“You offering to leave this place?”
She nodded.
“Sounds like the best idea of the night.”
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After some time, Octavia noticed that Vinyl was nowhere in sight. She finished her conversation with Flash before walking around the event sight. When she was satisfied that Vinyl was not on the premises, Octavia let out a frustrated sigh and left the party. She searched the city’s clubs for Vinyl, ready to chew her out for abandoning a social event and leaving without telling her. When she didn’t find Vinyl in her usual hangouts, she was starting to get worried. Her worry was alleviated when she finally did find Vinyl Scratch. Octavia found her alongside another pony, a dark grey unicorn stallion she didn’t recognize. He was pointing upward to the stars as Vinyl looked through a telescope. Octavia was too far away to hear what they were talking about, but Vinyl’s face told the cellist what she needed to know. Vinyl was engaged in whatever they were talking about. It was rare for Vinyl to really be paying attention rather than listening to her music. This was a new feeling to Octavia. She was happy for Vinyl without having to feel like she would need to berate Vinyl for it. Usually Vinyl’s enjoyment came at her expense. So, it was nice to see Vinyl happy without Octavia being distressed. Octavia smiled and walked off back to the party.
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Grimoire pointed up to another site in the sky, “And that is the Starry Sea. Old stories told that it was the home of celestial creatures, mostly of a fish-like persuasion.”
Vinyl chuckled a bit at the thought as she looked to the sky.
Grimoire smiled as he took in a deep breath of the night. “This is nice. Just a quiet night looking at the sky…” The two had been out under the stars for a while now, Grimoire just telling stories about constellations and legends associated with the stars.
Vinyl moved back from the telescope. She smiled and nodded in agreement.
“Although, it is a bit bitter sweet. The night is such a calm and lovely time, but it means we need to sleep for the morning to come.” He yawned. “Oh well… I need to head back home and sleep… Might dress like a vampire, but a night walker I am not. See you back in Ponyville.” He waved and trotted off.
Vinyl waved him off and made for the hotel she and Octavia were using for their trip.
When she returned to the room, she found Octavia waiting for her, a smug and knowing smile on her face. “I do expect you to tell me everything that happened after you left.”