Trick or Treat
It was a normal night for everyone. Except this night was no ordinary night, for it was Nightmare Night; the day when everyone stays up late and have fun as well as go trick or treating.
Kinda like Halloween if you ask me.
On this night, every little filly comes to a "safe spot" in the Everfree Forest who are led to by Ponyville's very own witchdoctor, Zecora. Zecora the zebra dons her gown with a spiderweb pattern like she does every night. Each little filly, including Pipsqueak, goes to a statue of Nightmare Moon, and drop their candy, hoping to be scared by their favorite night princess, Princess Luna.
"Oh, boy, I sure hope I had enough candy to satisfy Nightmare Mare to keep me and my family safe," Pipsqueak sarcastically said as he actually wanted to be spooked by the former Terror of the Night.
First, Zecora, Pipsqueak, and the other fillies waited for Nightmare Moon to come. Next, they see a blue mist emanating from the back of the head of the terrifying pose as it soon covers the rest of the body. Then, it starts to crack as Pipsqueak and the other kids start to smile as the last of the cracks had formed.
Finally, the statue exploded and revealed Nightmare Moon. She was wearing a peculiar choice of clothes as she worn a choker, a thong-like pair of panties, and a set of four long socks. (The two in front are mostly considered to be gloves). But she still worn her helmet.
The kids started laughing until Nightmare Moon stomped her right forehoof hard on to the flat surface of the pedestal. The stomp was followed up with the kids silencing themselves. Mostly, they were just starting to have fun and started to follow along. After her stomp and the kids starting to silence themselves, Nightmare Moon started to speak in her royal Canterlot voice.
"FILLIES, BE SCARED AND TREMBLE UPON MY NEW TERRIFYING LOOK OF CLOTHES AS THEY SHINE LIKE THE STARS!" She shouts as the kids played along and kneeled as they admired her socks. Then, she starts to speak normally. "Now, have you got my candy so that I won't have to scare you and haunt your dreams?" She asked.
They all nodded.
Nightmare Moon looked down and saw a huge pile of candy of all sorts. She smiles and drools to the left side of her muzzle a little... but then sucks the drool back in as she went back to frowning in a normal state.
"You have done well. But, this will not be enough. You must get me even more if you want to dream happily and keep me from harming you," she said.
"Princess Luna must be going all in this year, huh?" Cherilee asked Zecora.
She nodded in response.
"Shouldn't Luna dial it down a bit for the kids?" Carrot Top asked.
"Actually, I think the kids are enjoying it," Cherilee replied.
Soon, the kids, including Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were heading back into town to collect the candy.
...
Thirty minutes later, the kids were trotting back to Nightmare Moon and were dropping their candy.
The Mane5 with the exception of Twilight were there. Even Fluttershy in her vampire costume. They all saw Spike standing at the pedestal on Nightmare Moon's left. Spike saw them and headed over to them. They basically had the same costumes in Stare Master. Spike, however, was wearing a Legendary Godzilla costume with glowing blue lights.
"Hey, Spike, how's Nightmare Night?" Rainbow asked.
"Great! I'm having a blast!" He said calmly.
Fluttershy looks left and right and back at Spike. "Where's Twilight?" She asked.
"Oh, she's sick," he quickly replied.
"What?! Again?! How many times does she have to get sick on Nightmare Night?! She'll miss having so much fun!" Pinkie Pie yelled.
"Wait. How does she even get sick? She was fine the other two times she celebrated Nightmare Night here in Ponyville?" Applejack wondered.
"Guess it's still a mystery, am I right? But, anyways, Nightmare Moon has me on candy counting. See ya later!" He said and walked over to the pedestal where Nightmare Moon now stood in front. The Mane5 looked at each other as wondered why Nightmare Moon of all ponies have wanted Spike to be her candy counter.
Pipsqueak was the last one, considering Luna was his favorite princess. As soon as he dropped his candy, Spike added up the numbers, and came to a conclusion that there were 900 pieces of candy. Even Nightmare Moon was in awe as her eye slits were wide as she started drooling from the left side of her mouth.
Bad news for Spike, as he was caught in the drool rain. He pokes his left elbow into her arm Nightmare Moon saw her error as she looks to Spike with a look of annoyance on his face. She replied with a sheepish smile as her cheeks turned red.
The Mane5 wondered why the pony that would bring eternal night blushed.
"Sorry about that, my humble assistant. Now, you all have done well. I shall spare you like I do every Nightmare Night," she said. Next, she walks over 3 steps towards the pile of candy and sat on her rump. "Now... if you escuse me," she says and sooner later, she dives her head into the candy pile.
"Alright. Now tell me y'all didn't see or hear that. I mean, you all saw and heard that, right?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah. Since when does Nightmare Moon even blush? Or better yet, when does she even apologize? She's Nightmare Moon, for Celestia's sake!" Rainbow whispered to her friends.
"You don't think Nightmare Moon beaten Luna for control over her body, do you?" Fluttershy asked.
"But then again, darling, she doesn't even act like the REAL Nightmare Moon," Rarity added.
"Then the only other suspicion would be that it's actually Chrysalis in desguise. She's probably acting like Nightmare Moon so that she can steal the fillies' love for Princess Luna," Pinkie suggested.
"But how would that make sense, Pinkie, darling? We all saw Chrysalis fled when Starlight and Thorax ruined her plans for world domination," Rarity reminded the party pony standing on her left.
"Let's just go out on a limb an' say that Nightmare Moon has had enough of being confined in a respected princess, while she's remembered only as the monster that almost brought eternal night," Applejack surmised.
Everypony else nodded in response.
Rainbow flies a little over their friends' heads. "Hey, Nightmare Moon!" She yelled.
Everypony, including Spike and Nightmare Moon, who later popped her head out of the candy pile with her cheeks full of various treats, all looked at Rainbow and her friends.
"We know you probably fought off Luna for total control over body. And we'll stop your plans for world domination as you try to bring eternal night once again," she said all determined.
"WAIT!" A voice rang out from the bushes.
A figure came out of the bush. It was Luna.
Everypony, ranging from Spike and Nightmare Moon, and the Mane5 and the CMC, looked behind and them and saw a regal-bodied figure with a blue starry mane. It was Luna!
"LUNA?!" Everypony yelled except Nightmare Moon and Spike.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd lying and dishonoring my element knowing that I really want to say it, but Pinkie was right. It's Chrysalis! And Spike must be a new Changeling subject!" Applejack shouted.
Then, everypony started walking closer to supposed "former queen" and her "new x
changeling subject."
But, Luna launched into the air and stopped in between the angry ponies and the wavering "changelings."
"Your highness, could you be a dear and step away from the changelings before they drain you of your love?" Rarity asked.
"If they were changelings, then yes, I would've been drained of my love. But I haven't, because these aren't changelings. Spike is really the same dragon you all know and love, and while this isn't really Chrysalis, it's not even Nightmare Moon."
"But how do you know, Princess Luna?" Pipsqueak asked.
Luna smiled, then glowed white, and big. She turned into Nightmare Moon.
"Because I am the REAL Nightmare Moon. I have remained in Luna's mind the whole night hoping that SHE *points her right hoof at the clone holding onto Spike* would make a better impression of me," N.Moon said as she then turned back into Luna. "Well, I guess you all need an answer, and you two can stop worrying now," she reassured Nightmare Moon and Spike.
Nightmare Moon 2.0 calmed down and released her gentle grip on Spike.
"Phew!" Spike said as he wiped the sweat forming on his forehead with his left paw. "See, I told you it would be different this time, and I told you that you would have fun... TWILIGHT," Spike said as he poked his right elbow into the center of her chest twice.
"TWILIGHT?!" Everypony said aloud.
Nightmare Moon, still kept her rump on the ground as she faced the ponies staring at her. She clears her throat twice. Then, she casted a spell around her as it shrank her to the size of a normal pony.
Her flowing mane was gone as it was replaced with a familiar mane-do. The moon crescent cutie mark turned into a white six-pointed star as the purple cloud was turned into a few purple twinkling stars. Just like her mane, her flowing tail mane was replaced with a familiar tail-do as well. Finally, her eyes turned as well as they started glowing, but then she closed them as her eyes retained the cat-like slits, but with purple irises.
"Heeey, everypony," Twilight said as she waved her right hoof twice.
"So it is you,Twilight! Or should I say, "Twilight Moon," Pinkie complied.
"Yes, Pinkie, it's me, hehe. But I'm sorry for scaring you all. It's just that I didn't want to celebrate Nightmare Night tonight... Just like the other times," she said as she got a few ponies gasping afterwards.
"Wait; you were lying the other times?" Applejack asked.
Twilight Moon nods once. "After me and Spike's first time celebrating Nightmare Night in Ponyville, I didn't want to have to celebrate it again, so I celebrated it yet again for one more time. But the first time hit me hard knowing that no pony from Ponyville knew that I dressed as Starswirl the Bearded, one of the greatest heroes of Equestria. I was at least happy knowing that Luna knew who I was dressed as. But I kept being called "Grandpa." I mean, how would you like it I called you a cockatoo more than once, even if you were dressed as a chicken, Pinkie?" Twilight Moon asked before she lowered her head.
Pinkie thought about it, then realised that she would've been called a cockatoo rather than a chicken. Everypony thought of their own ways of being called something different.
Luna walked up onto Twilight's right and placed her left hoof on Twilight's right shoulder. Twilight looks up to Luna and then back to the crowd of ponies.
"But, that all changed when *pulls Spike closer to her as she lays her head on his head* Spike reminded me that it wasn't all tricks and treats, or even the inspiration of the costume. It's spending time with friends and family," she says as she closes her eyes and gently presses her head down onto her No.1 Assistant.
"I guess we're all sorry, sucarcube. But I just don't get it, how did you get your costume to make you look more like Nightmare Moon?" Applejack asked.
"A story for another time, AJ. But for now, can someone give me a blanket or something? It's really c-c-cold out here," Twilight said as she hugged herself and rubbed her hooves on her forelegs twice.