Princess Luna is a mare of exacting standards. On the one night a year dedicated to her, she expects things to go smoothly. For several years, they have -- children all across Equestria have come to rejoice in her arrival, to thrill at the Princess of the Night enjoying a few hours of scares and laughs. Things have become routine. Comfortable. Reliable.

Then, one year, Princess Luna makes a simple request to Equestria's foremost experts on everything arcane -- the Foundation for Spellcraft and Alchemy. A small order, easily within the capabilities of the mares and stallions that call the Foundation home. A pair of researchers are all that is needed for such a request, two ponies with steady minds and steadier equipment.

Bramble and Willow are not those researchers.

When the duo are forced to improvise, or risk facing Princess Luna's impending wrath on her only night of the year, they accidentally unleash a creation that threatens to destroy Bridle Falls...or at least make the town smell a little more festive.

(original image credit goes to lulubell)

One year ago, the small town of Ponyville suffered a catastrophe that left it in shambles. In search of answers, and at the behest of the surviving royalty, Written Scroll begins his years-long quest to compile the definitive accounts of those who witnessed the darkest time in Ponyville's history.