A Bump in the Night

The fillies and colts screamed as Nightmare Moon jumped from her pedestal and bared her sharp teeth, her eyes glowing white. She smiled at the pile of goodies before her.

"Hmm...I may just eat this candy, instead of eating YOU!!" Cackled Nightmare. She jumped up and dove toward the children, mouth open wide and teeth like knives. Just before barreling into the kids, she burst in a ball of white light. Princess Luna now stood there, smiling fondly down at the children before her. Pipsqueak ran to the front of the crowd and gave The Princess a hug. He let go and scampered off. Luna spat out her plastic teeth as she walked over to the mountain of offered candy, the children tearing off to go get more.

The Princess sat down and started to rifle through her candy. The best thing about being the moon Princess was that she got the most out of everyone. The only downfall was the 5 straight minutes of toothbrushing that followed. Luna picked up a striped candy corn and popped it into her mouth. She smiled as the swallowed the chewy candy, reveling in its taste. Luna continued to file through her candy until she reached a caramel apple. The smile grew as she took a bite, the apple making a satisfying crunch. She pulled it away from her mouth, but a string of warm caramel refused to be broken. Luna laid down, but the caramel still connected her to the apple. Still. Soon Luna was spinning in circles and vigorously shaking her head in a wild attempt at breaking the connection. Finally, the caramel string reached its limit. It broke, hanging off the apple like a thin, delicious candy rope. She took another bite, then another. After that, there were no caramel issues.

After the apple was finished, Luna's phone started to vibrate. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled it out, taking a bite of gummy worm. It was a text from Celestia telling her to stop stuffing herself with candy and to go participate in games with the citizens. Luna groaned dramatically, shoving fistfuls of candy into her other pocket. She locked her phone and put it into the candy-free pocket. She walked along the forest path, trailing colorful wrappers behind her. She eventually reached the town square. Parents ran to catch up with their children, people held fun little game stands, and of course, decorative lights and banners hung from posts and windows. On the stage, people performed. Right now, Acoustic Brony, MandoPony, and Eilemonty were playing a song called "Nightmare in Everfree". Luna smiled and bounced to the beat, her feet hitting the ground in sync with the song. She walked over to Applejack's apple bobbing.

"Well howdy, Princess! Care to bob for an apple?" Applejack gestured at the tub beneath her, a wide grin on her face.

"Yes, we- I mean I- would like to bob for an apple." Luna smiled sheepishly, her cheeks a rosy pink.

"Have at it!" Applejack winked. Luna knelt down and plunged her face into the cool water, and came up with a red apple in her mouth. She stood up and took a bite.

"Thank the- you, dear Applejack." Luna corrected herself. Celestia had been teaching her about modern times, and told her how to speak like the normal ponies do. The Princess turned and walked away, waving back at the farm girl. She spotted Twilight Sparkle, Spike walking along at her side. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!" Yelled Luna in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Oh, hi Princess Luna!" Twilight greeted. Luna studied her costume. She was wearing a long, slim fitting purple dress, adorned with embroided designs. A gold and jade necklace hung around her neck, completed with matching earrings, as well as a gold chain and jewel on her head.

"Lady Alexandria. A commendable costume." Said Luna.

"Finally! How come you're the only one who ever gets my costumes?" Sighed Twilight.

"Maybe because you pick old boring costumes, Twi!!" Spike laughed, bits of candy falling out of his mouth as he spoke. Twilight blushed, her hands curling into fists.

"Spike..." Growled Twilight.

"Well Miss Sparkle, I do happen to be over 1000 years old. Lady Alexandria was a close friend of Celestia and I." Luna stated. Twilight's eyes lit up, a smile now on her face.

"Really? Tell me all about her!" Twilight cheered. Luna put an arm around Twilight's shoulders, smiling gleefully.

"Why of course! You see, when Celestia and I..."

.................

"And that, my dear Twilight, is how Celestial magic was discovered." Luna finished. Twilight's mouth hung open in pure awe.

"I've never heard of Celestial magic! It sounds very advanced, and powerful. Are there any books on it?" Asked Twilight.

"Yes, there are. But I must warn you that Celestial magic can be extremely powerful on starry nights, and is very difficult to wield." Explained Luna, motioning at the stars above.

"I was doing some research, and one of my books said that Lady Alexandria invented...what was it?" Twilight tapped the jewel on her forehead. She snapped her fingers and practically bounced, as if struck with a magnificent idea. "It said she invented something called a Soul Gem." Luna's expression darkened.

"She did, Twilight. Soul Gems are banned from our nation."

"But why? They're one of the most powerful magic items ever! Using them could immensely benefit Equestria! And it's not like they're dangerous, right?" Exclaimed Twilight.

"Soul Gems are as close to Dark Magic as a person can get without becoming corrupted. Back in Lady Alexandria's day, they were used to recharge enchanted weapons, like a magic battery. But over the years, some Unicorns used them for..." Luna zoned out, as if gazing at something in the distance.

"Princess Luna?" Asked Twilight. Luna shook her head, coming out of her trance-like state.

"We are alright." Luna adjusted the dark violet sash around her waist. Spike started tugging on Twilight's dress.

"Can we go bob for apples, Twilight?" Asked Spike, trying to cover a yawn. Twilight smirked.

"Looks like I have to go give Spike a bath and put him in bed." Said Twilight. Spike released his grip on Twilight's dress, leaving bits of candy stuck to the deep purple fabric. "And wash my costume." She sighed. "Bye, Princess. It was nice talking to you. Happy Nightmare Night." Twilight waved as she led Spike in the direction of the Library. Luna joined the crowd gathered by the stage.

"But nopony can escape the Everfree heebie jeebies..." Said EileMonty, a cloak covering her almost completely. "Calm down stallions, this is no time to moan, for you...are not alone. HAHAHAHAHA!!!" She cackled. Then the music just went haywire. The ponies of modern age called it "dubstep". Luna head heard of it before, but had never actually listened to it. Not counting the background music in the first major boss battle in "Syndicate",(Luna's favorite video game,) of course.

Luna pulled a bag of gummy bears out of her pocket and began to eat them when her phone vibrated. Luna begrudgingly pulled her phone out of her other pocket, decapitating a white gummy bear. Another text from Celestia. This one said to go try out a "haunted house". Luna raised an eyebrow. What was a "haunted house"? It sounded interesting enough. She tapped the person next to her in hopes of getting answers, and maybe directions. A woman turned to face her, purple hair curling around her shoulders. She was wearing a long, slightly poofy dress with gemstones embedded in the fabric.

"Aahhh!" She giggled. "Hello, I'm Rarity." Luna shook her gloved hand.

"Charmed. I'm Luna, Princess of the night." Rarity looked shocked. She then curtseyed as a show of respect.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Princess. Twilight's told me all about you." Said Rarity.

"Thou- I mean you, know Twilight Sparkle?"

"Why yes I do. I designed her costume, as a matter of fact. I made this one, too."  Rarity tossed her curled purple hair.

"I must say, I do like both costumes. Thou looks to very talented."

"I say, is that Princess Luna?" A man stepped out from behind Rarity, dressed in a spiffy tuxedo.

"Why yes it is. Princess Luna, this is Fancy Pants, a friend of mine. Fancy Pants, this is Princess Luna." Rarity introduced them both.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fancy Pants. If thou doesn't mind, I need to ask." Said Luna.

"Yes, my lady?" Asked Fancy Pants, kissing the back of Luna's hand.

"Do you happen to know where I can find a 'haunted house'?"