Celestia stood inside the gate to Canterlot Castle, greeting the guests that would come through. However, she was adorned with a long and beautiful black cape and suit, with a crimson interior, and those she greeted would see large pointed fangs and coal black eyes as she gave them a large smile. "Welcome to the castle my children." She would chuckle. As Twilight and her friends approached, the Princess gave an even greater grin. "Welcome my little ponies! So glad you could make it!"
Twilight was of course up in front and bowed to greet her teacher, the beard on her costume sweeping slightly at the ground. As she had the year before, she was wearing her hoof-stitched costume of Starswirl The Bearded, with a few adjustments to accommodate her new wings. "Thank you Princess."
"Ah-ah-ah! That would be, 'Countess' Celestia for tonight, Twilight." Celestia responded with a sinister giggle.
Twilight gave a chuckle back. "Of course. Thank you, 'Countess.'"
Celestia Gave a quick look over all of the ponies. "And what other nightmares can we add to our list?"
Bouncing on her hooves with excitement, Pinkie Pie was wrapped up in what seemed to be sparkling rainbow wraps, like a rainbow colored mummy. "I'm a gummy mummy!" She replied excitedly, chomping down on one of the rainbow bandages dangling in front of her nose. "It's candy! And, if I run out, I brought plenty more!" She said cheerfully, producing a large wad of the rainbow colored candy. From where though, nopony could tell.
Fluttershy was shaking behind Twilight and the others in fear of the ponies in more frightening costumes, with what was obviously a fluffy white bunny suit on, big teeth and all. When she noticed Celestia's gaze, she shrank back from her a bit before peeping up. "I'm a...uh...bunny." A loving smile from the princess brought the pegasus to smile back.
Applejack's costume was one that was a bit less obvious however. She looked like she was simply dressed up like a turtle, however the fact that there were razorlike spines across the back and making up the edge of the shell, coupled with the fact that the head of the costume had two long tusks jutting out from it's lower jaw, said otherwise. Applejack's head, from within the turtle's mouth, started to explain. "Ah know ah know, 'tain't too obvious. Ah came as Gamera. Spike came ta me one night sayin' somethin' about Twi not wantin' ta watch 'is kaiju films. Ah sat down with 'im ta check 'em out an'...well... ah liked 'em...a lot."
"So of course, we decided to pair up and go as our favorite kaiju tonight." Spike piped up from atop Applejack's back. "I'm Godzilla!" He proudly proclaimed. His costume looked quite a lot like his old dragon costume, but was of a dark green rubber with blue spines that would glow in the dark.
Rarity stood proudly, sporting a large obsidian colored robe and a matching pointed hat placed over her horn. Her lips were dyed black to match, with her eyes coated in a dark violet. "It's much simpler than previous designs of mine, but the girls insisted I do something simple in fear that I'd go a tad overboard and miss out...again. I would have brought Opal along if she were kinder towards strangers. I still think it worked out well however."
"I think it's quite astounding. Not many ponies dress in reference to the Stablem witch trials anymore. It was truly a frightening time in history when many unicorns abused their magic." Celestia stated with an impressed tone.
"Indeed, Twilight gave me the idea when she had stopped by the boutique a few weeks back. She had brought over some classic horror stories, to give me reference and inspiration for a costume. Of course the first one that truly caught my eye was a history of the unicorn witches that tried to overthrow the land." Rarity smiled, quick to give credit to her friend.
"And, where would Rainbow Dash be?" Celestia asked, looking over the group, the rainbow maned pony quite absent from her friends.
No sooner had the princess asked her question, then there was a shudder in the bushes and a Jack-O-Lantern burst forth. "Braggle Fraggle!" A scream only escaped from Fluttershy, while the others looked to the carved pumpkin, unimpressed. "Aw. You guys aren't any fun." Rainbow Dash's voice called from inside the lantern. She came out from her hiding spot in the bushes, revealing little more than a large black cloak and hood, hiding her body within the shadows.
"Ah! The Headless Horse! That tale was a favorite of my dear sister's when we were but fillys." Celestia chuckled.
"One of mine too!" Dash said from within her pumpkin head.
"Well then my children, I invite you to enter and join in tonight's festivities...should you dare of course." Celestia narrowed her gaze and gave a light cackle that managed to send shivers down everypony's spine. They all entered with smiles and happily chatted amongst one another which activities they were planning on joining.
Inside the castle, decorations of creatures and horrors hung from every wall and the ceiling. Ponies, disguised as creeps and critters danced across the floor, dunked their heads into buckets full of apples, or hid behind corners to jump out at their friends. Immediately, the group split to go off and join in on their favored activities. Rainbow Dash went to find a dark corner to scare ponies from, Rarity wandered over to socialize with the snazzier Canterlot folk, Pinkie and Spike ran off towards the tables holding bowls filled with candy, while Applejack took it upon herself to show everypony how the Apple family was the best at bobbing for apples, and Fluttershy actually found a group dressed in cute costumes like hers to go and talk to. Twilight simply shook her head with a smile on her face, happy to see her friends enjoying themselves. She was going to take it easy tonight though, and talk with Celestia when she came back in. She'd actually be able to tonight, as this wasn't a formal gathering, but an actual party.
It didn't take long though before a rather large and snowy stallion brought himself smugly to her side. He wore a black mask that covered the right half of his face and a rather dressy suit with an elegant black cape. "Well hello there."
Twilight was taken slightly aback and jumped at the attention. Looking upon the stallion she recognized Blueblood. "Oh, it's you..."
"Indeed." As Twilight turned to walk away from him, the prince called out. "Wait!"
Despite her desire to keep walking, Twilight actually stopped and acknowledged Blueblood. "I'm not interested."
"At least get to know me before you toss me aside."
"I know all I need to about you. Rarity told me just how much of a royal jackass you can be." Twilight made to walk off again before the stallion spoke again.
"Well, maybe you could give me a chance? I'm no longer the ignorant ruffian I was before." There seemed to be something genuine in his tone that made Twilight consider turning around. However she quickly shook the feeling away and kept walking.
Well that wasn't very nice. She thought to herself, though the guilt she felt for it wasn't very comparable to how little she cared for the cocky stallion. It's the least he deserves for treating Rarity the way that he--
A crack of thunder echoed throughout the castle, almost simultaneous to the flash that nearly blinded those in the main room, followed by screams and shrieks from a majority of the party-goers. The lights all went out, lighting only the center of the room, drawing their attention to the large shadowy figure that loomed above them all. "HAS FEAR STRICKEN THY HEARTS LITTLE FOALS? DOST THOU QUIVER IN TERROR?!" The screams continued as the voice of Nightmare Moon roared louder than any other voice in the room. "WELL THEN, WE THINK IT ONLY APPROPRIATE THAT WE MAY CONSIDER THIS NIGHTMARE NIGHT OFFICIALLY...BEGUN!" And with that, the screams turned from ones of fear to celebration as the lights flashed on in varying colors and the band began to play at full volume.
Princess Luna's cackling only seemed to add to the experience as she got into the spirit of her holiday, taking the guise of Nightmare Moon for the celebration. "It's really good to see her unwind." Again Twilight found herself jumping, this time to the voice of her own mentor as Celestia had snuck up on her. Looking up at the Princess, Twilight gave her a nervous smile. Celestia simply gave a dark smile and in a tease let out a little "boo."
"Well you seem to be enjoying the festivities quite a lot as well." Twilight responded. "You're pretty good at startling ponies when you want to you know?"
Celestia chuckled in that menacing way she had been tonight. "I've celebrated quite a few Nightmare Nights in my age, Twilight Sparkle."
"Of course." Was all Twilight could return with. "Do you think we could discuss a few things Princess?"
"Absolutely Twilight. Was there anything in particular you wanted to go over?"
In one of the castle's many hallways, Rainbow Dash was creeping through the dark as the music pounded in the distance. She was stalking the quieter parts of the castle to try and frighten ponies who had wandered off alone to go to the bathroom or snuggle up with their somepony. As soon as she heard the trotting of hooves approaching, Dash ducked into a shadowy corner and lied in wait and anticipation. She heard the sound of hooves approaching closer and closer, stretching out her back to ready her pounce, her heart beginning to pump faster and sinister ambition filled her thoughts.
Suddenly she saw her victim step into place, and she let loose like a spring. "BO--Fluttershy?!" She stopped herself mid-scare and ended up falling hard on her masked face. "Ugh... Fluttershy...What are you doing over here?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Rainbow Dash. I had a bit too much punch and...well I was looking to find the bathroom." The yellow pegasus spoke at a quicker pace than was normal for her, with red spreading across her face as she seemed to dance in place. "Sorry."
"It's no problem Fluttershy, I was just hoping you were somepony else." Dash sighed in disappointed breath.
The lights in the hall began to flicker and forced an 'eep' out of the bunny clad Fluttershy. "Please don't let it go dark!"
"What? You're scared of the dark?" Dash let out a slight snicker. "The dark can't hurt you Fluttershy, you shouldn't be afraid of it."
"What a foolish notion." This time Rainbow was the one to let out an 'eep' of fear, jumping in a way that made her cloak shudder. Behind her was the vision of Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna. "Of course there is reason to fear the dark. Doth thee think that thy princess of the night would raise the moon and stars if the dark held no danger?" Even without the booming volume of her Royal Canterlot Voice, the princess was quite imposing. "Thou hath no doubt heard stories and legends of many a terror and creature lurking, unseen and unheard in the absence of light. Absolute darkness is a thing of pure horror, We can assure thee of that. One thousand years upon the moon allows one's mind to wander to insidious places, places made even more frightening when I no longer saw the comforting light of my sister's sun...There were times we swore we saw things in the shadows, heard things that ne'er existed. We...we felt true punishment during those times, fearing that should our hallucinations not destroy us, our mind would break before we reached the thousandth year..."
She no longer held an air of intimidation about her, rather, Luna's eyes held in a look of terror, reliving her memories and experiences on the moon. Fear radiated off of her as the two pegasi swore she was shaking. Here eyes flew back towards the menacing smile carved in Rainbow Dash's pumpkin head, slowly flooding with tears. Her voice remained strong however, never quivering. "Ne'er should thee believe the dark is nothing to fear, for without light we would go mad, and destroy ourselves long before any feral beast could finish the job." And with that, Luna proceeded down the hallway, back to the main room. "Darkness is quite an effective tool for those who wish to bring upon such madness as well."
Dash simply stared at Luna as she left. "What was she doing here?"
"I think she heard you. She seemed kinda sensitive about the topic..." Suddenly Fluttershy felt a familiar rush in her bladder. "Oh! I gotta hurry! Sorry Rainbow Dash!" The pegasus dashed quickly past her pumpkinheaded friend to make her way to the lavatory.
Dash gave no indication of moving, that unchanging lantern on her head simply staring off after the dark princess. Her thoughts unknowable from beneath her disguise. With her sudden turn, the black cloak gave a large arch before falling to her side once again. "Excuse me, Princess. I should have said that I have no reason to fear the dark." A hushed grumble escaped from the mouth of the lantern. From behind her she heard the disappointed mutterings of some stallion.
Twilight and Celestia had taken their conversation on the go, and made their way to the library. There were fewer ponies here, most of them sharing a few scary stories, or watching horror films in study rooms. "I apologize I got us a little lost there Twilight. I suppose the castle looks far more different than I thought decorated as it is."
"It's no problem Prin-, er, Countess. You're probably just a bit tired from setting this place up for tonight." Twilight replied.
"Maybe, but I've never been so tired as to find myself lost in my own castle, it truly is a bit odd. Regardless, we found our destination. What was it you wished to talk about Twilight?" Celestia had dropped her menacing persona for their conversation.
"Well, to start off, how is Luna doing?"
Celestia smiled. "My sister has been very excited for tonight, and it makes me happy to see her in such a mood again. I must thank you for helping her last year, it truly has been for the better."
"That's really great to hear! I'm glad I could help, but Pinkie Pie and the others deserve some credit as well." The lavender pony smiled back to her mentor. Then she felt another question in the back of her mind steal the smile away.
"Is something the matter Twilight?"
"Oh, not really. It's just..." Might as well ask her. She must be aware of it by now. Twilight let out a sigh. "About... Blueblood..."
Twilight could tell by the expression on her mentor's face that she had some distaste with her nephew, as was predicted. "Go on..."
"Well... has he always been so...snobbish?"
A sigh escaped the princess as she began to speak. "Oh absolutely. The brat's been that way since he left his mother's womb, holding himself as some high and mighty object of desire and worship, even around myself." As I thought! Twilight gave a slight grin as she felt guilt begin to leave her. "However..." Suddenly she felt that last chunk of negativity bury itself in the back of her mind. "For a few months now, he's seemed to have toned it back. I've seen him actually admit fault around ponies, and show some proper etiquette towards mares who have shown interest in courting him. I think his run in with Rarity may have brought about a bit of a change in him."
And like that, all of Twilight's guilt came surging back into her with interest and sank right into the pit of her gut. Ugh, dammit. I just had to leave him on a rude note, didn't I? "Uh... Princess."
"Yes?"
"I... I have to go and check on something. I'll be right back." Twilight got up from her seat and started trotting towards the door. "Sorry. I'll explain once I get back." I've no intention of actually taking any offer from him, but I owe him an apoloty at the very least. Once she stepped out the door of the library, she continued down the hall. Now, he's probably still in the main hall, or if not then somepony may have seen him leave. And to get there I go down this path and turn left. She continued her trot, wandering on to make amends and silence her conscience. As she turned left at the end of the hall, she found herself in what she recognized as the hall where the guest rooms were housed. "Wait... that isn't right." Twilight shook her head. "Then again, I never knew this place too well." She chuckled to herself. She paused for a moment and realized she could hear the music playing. Just follow your ears, Twilight. She went off towards the music, and eventually found herself back at the party.
Twilight scanned the room, searching for Prince Blueblood among the mass of ponies dancing across the floor. She didn't see him in the area he had approached her, nor by any of the snack tables or games. She instead started looking for a familiar face. Sure enough, she saw Applejack flinging toy spiders into a web. Twilight made her way over to the game and approached her friend after she had finished taking her turn. "Applejack!"
"Well howdy there Twi! Ya havin' fun?" The country pony asked from inside her big rubber shell.
"For the most part, yes. But I have a question for you. You didn't happen to see Blueblood anywhere did you?" Twilight felt slightly embarrased to be asking the question.
Applejack, in turn, gave a similar look that Celestia had when confronted with the Prince's name. "Why in all of Equestria would ya be willin'ly lookin' fer such a varmint? Wait! Did he do somethin to ya Twi? Where'd he get to? I'll wreck that pretty little face o' his!"
"No Applejack, it's nothing like that. I just...need to apologize for something I said, that's all." Twilight explained with a grimace.
"What would posess ya ta do somethin' like that?"
"I...wasn't exactly on my best behavior when he came by and I feel kinda bad about how I acted towards him."
"Shucks Twilight, ya shouldn't be feelin' guilty fer actin' rude towards somepony like him." The orange pony shrugged. "But if'n ya are, no, ah haven't seen 'im. Ya may wanna ask our host however. She's been comin' round ta the games whenever somepony tries ta cheat. I reckon she's got 'er eyes spread wider than a dragon's maw in a diamond mine. If anypony's seen yer prince, it'd be her."
"Thanks AJ."
"Yeah sure. Hey, if ya see Spike, send him up to the stage. They're gonna be startin' the costume contest soon an' we were gonna enter the double division."
"I'll make sure to tell him if I see him." Twilight turned and made her way to the center of the room to where Luna observed the party goers, sporting an evil cackle and supplying nightmarish illusions whenever she felt like supplying them. It all sort of intimidated Twilight as she approached. "Luna, could I ask you for something?"
The princess turned to look at her fellow alicorn. "Of course Twilight." She said with a menacing grin.
"You didn't happen to see Prince Blueblood anywhere did you? I need to offer him an apology."
Luna let out a devilish laugh, drawing a fair amount of cheers from the crowd below. "But of course We have, dear Twilight. We did in fact pass by the arrogant prince in the nearest hall to the lavatory.He seemed disgruntled o'er some mare's behavior as he did meet our side."
"Thank you Princess." As Twilight turned to walk away, Luna held out a hoof to keep her near for a few seconds.
"Be aware Twilight Sparkle. We feel that thy friends may not be themselves on this night. A strange power radiates through that hall." Her voice was hushed and serious, locking her dark eyes in Twilight's gaze. "This is no simple Nightmare Night jest We tell to you. 'Tis truly something to worry for. Look after thy friends, locate them and remain by one another's sides, until we discover the purpose and origin of this unease."
Twilight looked back into Luna's eyes. "Do you suspect changelings?"
"It is not something We would rule out. Take precautions young pony, We will alert our sister and between the two of us, shall solve this riddle." And with that, Luna returned to entertaining the guests with her frightful laughter and illusions.
Twilight nodded to herself and made her way in the direction of the bathrooms. If it IS changelings again, I know how to deal with them this time. She continued down the hall.
As she drew close to the bathrooms, she halted. Even in the flickering light, the purple pony knew she saw something pass by. Her horn began to glow, lighting up the area in front of her. "Come on out. I'm not going to play games with some shapeshifter!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Twilight, it's just me." Rainbow Dash called out as a cloaked Jack-O-Lantern came out from a shadowed corner.
"Name your favorite issue of Daring Do!" Twilight ordered forcefully.
"What?" Dash sounded confused.
"DO IT!" The alicorn's horn flared with magical energy.
"Dungeon of Discord!" The pegasus almost shrieked.
Twilight brought her horn back to a minor glow. "Alright...sorry Rainbow. I'm a little on edge is all."
"Geez Twilight, you're going a bit far with the Nightmare Night thing."
"I know it seems that way, but Princess Luna told me something is up. She said one of you weren't what you appeared to be." Twilight let out a sigh. "It sounds like changelings again. I had to be sure."
"What if I hadn't answered?" Rainbow asked in a hostile tone.
"I'd have cast a true form spell on you. Any disguise you wore would be stripped away, including your costume and we'd see what you really were. No pain caused." Twilight assured her friend. "Though needless to say, had you been a changeling, the stunning spell would hurt quite a bit."
"Riiiiiight."
"Anyway, we need to get the others. Do you know where they are?"
Dash didn't seem very interested in what Twilight was mentioning. "We can handle a few changelings ourselves, there's no need to gather the others. Plus, we have four alicorn princesses nearby, it's not like they'd be stupid enough to test their odds against that."
Twilight wasn't impressed with Dash's bravado. "Regardless, it's best if we gather all our friends. It may not be simply changelings, and if we can gather all the elements in one spot, we'd be able to take a threat down the instant it showed up."
There simply came a sigh from inside Dash's pumpkin. "Well I know that Fluttershy hasn't come out of the bathroom in like an hour. I've been stalking around this area for a good while and she's only gone in. Come to think of it she and that snob 'Bluebutt' are the only ones that have come to the bathrooms in this part of the castle."
Perfect! Now I can apologize and gather Fluttershy as well. "Right, well then I'll just go collect her and we can move on then." Twilight smiled and made her way to the filly's room. Inside the bathroom the lights were completely off. Not even the flickering in the hall behind Twilight brought any illumination to the room. "I literally can't see anything." Twilight reached her hoof up to the wall to hit the lights. She heard a click to indicate she flipped the switch, but no light came on. She tried a few more times in succession, but nothing came on. "Busted." She groaned. Though she merely shrugged and lit her horn up to glow enough so that she could see in front of her. She took a few more steps into the room before she felt a horrible odor overwhelm her. "Oh Celestia! Ugh! Fluttershy must've been really desperate to come in here. I don't even know what that is! It's no wonder nopony else came in here, don't they ever clean this room?" Twilight's eyes drifted to the floor where a solid green grease seemed to lie. "Apparently not." Looking around a bit more, she saw all sorts of trash scattered about the floor as well as "debris? OH! I get it, this must've been part of the decorating. A little overboard I think."
Twilight merely shrugged though and called out. "Hey! Fluttershy! Are you still in here?" She listened closely for the timid pony.
No response.
"Fluttershy?"
Still no response came.
"Fluttershy, you didn't fall in did you?" But then Twilight did hear something. There was some sort of wet squishing noise coming from what sounded like the other side of the wall. "Did you go to the stallion's room by accident?" When she looked towards the direction of the noise though, she saw a large hole burrowed through the wall. Or...on purpose? Looks like the debris wasn't just decoration after all. Twilight walked closer, mindful of the sound of her hoofsteps, going over the steps to her true form spell in her head. The noises grew louder as she drew closer. When she approached the hole in the wall, she saw the silhouettes of two ponies against a corner to her right. She was reluctant to go any closer, but her light couldn't reach. What she could make out though was not pleasant. As she drew closer the sounds definitely reminded her of lips smacking together, bringing unpleasant memories from her later years in magic school when some unicorns were more focused on stallions than studies.
Eventually the movements became a bit more obvious, and she could make out the shapes slightly better. It was definitely a mare sitting on the lap of some stallion pinned against the corner. "Seriously?" Twilight grunted.
But before she turned to leave she got a glimpse of the mare in the light. "Fluttershy?" Sure enough when Twilight turned up the juice on her light, she saw the bunny outfit Fluttershy was wearing bouncing happily atop Prince Blueblood, nibbling at his neck. "FLUTTERSHY WHAT THE HELL! AND YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE I FEL--" Twilight's rage halted as quickly as it came as she suddenly felt the pit of her stomach fill with something else, something much heavier.
Neither of the ponies had reacted to Twilight's shouts. Blueblood wasn't reacting at all. He simply sat there, limp, while Fluttershy continued necking him. His back legs were mangled as it seemed that Fluttershy's bouncing was the result of her jumping up and down on top of them. The stallion's eyes were wide open, lifeless.
Twilight was horrified. "Fluttershy... are...are you okay?"
At this moment, Fluttershy's body became motionless as if petrified, and the smacking sound stopped. As she turned her head to face Twilight, the alicorn felt the urge to scream welling up but unable to escape. The spot on Blueblood's neck where Fluttershy had her face planted, was torn wide open, exposing vertebrae and muscle. Blood dribbled from where there should have been Fluttershy's muzzle, but what it dripped from instead, was a hole with millions of tiny teeth and two large spider-like fangs.
"You're no changeling..." Twilight felt panic spreading throughout her whole body, forcing her to step back from the beast that she once knew as Fluttershy. It did little though, as the creature's neck seemed to reach out towards Twilight the further she moved away, stretching in segmented bulges like some horrible centipede creature. Twilight felt herself kick at a piece of the debris on the ground. The creature's bottom jaw split in half as an earsplitting and alien wail came from it's throat. Twilight instantly lost all concentration on her illumination spell, sending her and the creature into pitch black darkness as the alicorn sprinted out the door of the mare's bathroom as fast as she could manage, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could manage.
"DASH!" But the rainbow maned pegasus was nowhere to be seen. Twilight didn't bother looking for her or cursing her out for leaving, but rather focused on running. She didn't stop as she ran through the hallway. When she could actually collect herself to notice where she was running she saw she was in another hallway. "I must have ran the wrong way! I have to tell Luna! Or Celestia! Or Cadence! SOMEPONY!" She called out as loud as she could manage. She had to warn everypony that something had killed Blueblood, and quite possibly-- Fluttershy... Twilight's tears blurred her vision as she ran, but she dared not stop to wipe them away.
Back at the party, Luna surveyed the party, searching for any piece of the puzzle out of place. She had placed magical wards to aid in her search from the beginning of the night, to ensure that the holiday was fun, fair, and most importantly, safe. From her encounter in the hallway with the pegasi however, she had begun to channel more of her power into that focus, nothing in this room would escape her eyes, and she had sent one of her personal guards to send word to her sister.
"Should we request Captain Shining Armor to raise his barrier?"
"Nay. Whate'er lurks inside these walls is already here. And we know not what it is, so the repulsion effect is worth little to us as well. Howe'er, thou should indeed send warning to the Captain and Cadence. We may be requiring their aid before the night is over." Luna then motioned for the guard to leave her and carry out his instructions. He obeyed and spread his bat-like wings to fly off and give his message.
The princess returned to her observations. Whatever manner of malice this be, it hides itself well. Then she noticed the familiar Jack-O-Lantern that Dash had been wearing all night. She then dissolved into a cloud of shadows, vanishing from her platform in the center of the room, before reappearing in front of the pegasus.
"HOLY F--" Dash's voice called out, taken by surprise. "Geez! Wish I could pull something like that off! Make my job tonight much easier!"
"Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Luna spoke in a tone both cold and concerned.
"What's with the third degree?"
"This is not a matter for laughs."
"So she told me." A scoff echoed from the pumpkin. "You know, Twilight isn't the best with jokes, she takes herself pretty seriously. She actually believed you ya know?"
"'Twas no joke. We sent the new princess to collect you and the other elements in case of emergency." Despite not being able to see her face, Luna could feel the sarcastic expression on the pony's face.
"Look, I've been to Nightmare Night parties before, and I'm well aware you set this junk up ahead of time for a big reveal at the end, and I can respect that, but I ain't buying into it. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be going to find a new scare spot." Dash made to pass the princess but was stopped by her holding a hoof to block her way.
"Why doth thy doubt thy princess? We hold no motive to lie, We are capable of bringing fright without it. Or dost thou require a demonstration?" Luna's eyes began to violently glow with a white light as fangs appeared to grow in her maw.
The malicious smile of the Jack-O-Lantern did not back away from this intimidation. "That makes you the perfect candidate. This is your holiday, your castle, your party. You were the one who planned everything and you could bring the greatest scare out of anypony here. It'd be to perfect a chance to pass up. I know I'd do it if I were in your position."
Luna's eyes and teeth returned to their original state. "Truly thou art a stubborn sort. Let it be then, but we must insist that thou stay within this room until further notice."
The lantern simply stared back at Luna for a moment or two, before finally Dash's voice responded. "Alright. Seems like a show I could get behind anyways."
And with that Luna made her way back to the center of the room. It didn't take long before one of her guards reported back to her. "Princess...I bear grim news."
"Speak Star Swimmer." Luna listened as her guard let loose his information, keeping her eyes peeled for suspicious activity on the ground. When the guard finished she could feel her body stiffen and quake slightly. "And thou art certain of this?"
"Indeed princess. Princess Cadenza was found with her throat torn open and the captain was nowhere to be seen."
"This is troubling. We face something more serious than was initially believed. And we are without a guard captain." Luna turned to face her guard. "Star Swimmer, thou hath remained loyal to us ever since our return to Equestria. Believe us when we say that we trust you completely."
"I believe nothing less than what you say." Star Swimmer replied with a hoof in front of his heart.
"Then know that we might be asking thee to put thyself into danger this night. We seek nothing less than the safety of our subjects, and that responsibility has fallen upon our sister, thyself, Twilight Sparkle and ourself. We ask that thou not shy away from our requests and put complete faith in us."
"Of course Your Highness. What are your orders?"
Luna turned her attention back to the party. "Let these ones remain calm. To bring panic would only invite a full attack, and these ponies are no warriors. Cancelling the event would quite possibly bring about the same end. We request you stay by us for now and lookout for danger, so that We may focus our eyes elsewhere, until Moonshine returns from alerting our sister."
"As you wish Highness."
Twilight was breathing heavily as she finally found herself in front of the doors to the library where she had left Celestia. She made her way in to see the princess speaking with one of Luna's personal guards. "Princess! I have to talk to you!"
"I know Twilight. Moonshine here has told me about Luna's suspicions." Celestia replied in a serious manner.
"They're not just suspicions! There's a monster in the castle! It got to Fluttershy and Blueblood!" Twilight let out between her heavy breaths.
Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Where?"
"In one of the bathrooms! I don't know which one because I keep getting lost in this place and I don't know how or why but it's driving me crazy! I have to find the rest of my friends, we need to evacuate everypony quick!" Twilight's speech was rapid. Sweat and tears ran down her coat.
"Alright Twilight. Let us find our way back to Princess Luna and let everypony out of h--" Celestia's eyes stared off in the distance as her body went suddenly limp in front of Twilight. From behind the princess, the guard known as Moonshine, had impaled her with a long and bloody blade jutting out of a tear in his hoof.
Twilight shuddered in horror as he lifted the princess over his head with his single hoof, slicing up through her rib cage as he did so. The guard then unhinged his jaw like a snake, and Twilight could hear the bones snap apart in his mouth, before he brought his sharpened teeth down hard into the princess' neck, shattering the vertebrae inside.
The lavender mare looked on in horror, almost frozen in place with fear. Her own teacher, an alicorn, someone the ponyfolk considered a goddess and protector, who had lived over a thousand years, had just been murdered in a few short seconds. She had to run, had to get away, had to warn Luna and the others, but the horrible noises that this creature gave off as it bit and tore at Celestia's neck and it's body shifted paralyzed her. The monster began using it's back legs to try and break Celestia's by stomping them into the ground. Finally, something deep inside Twilight took over, forcing her to take off once again, towards the doors where she saw other ponies dashing, scrambling to get away.
As she passed through the door however, she was the only one in the hall. She turned to see where the others were, and she wasn't near the library at all. She had become lost once again. "This isn't right! This must be connected." But she didn't have time to think about it, she picked a direction and booked it, charging down the hall to wherever it decided to lead her.
When her lungs demanded she stop, Twilight slowed her pace, looking around for any potential threats. When she was certain that nothing was running after her, she found a the door to a broom closet and ducked inside to hide and catch her breath, the light wasn't working in this hall, much like the one she found Fluttershy in. She closed the door after lighting the room up and checking behind everything. She then let her light go out and let herself sit and catch her breath.
"I need to take this moment to think. I need a plan. I don't want to run into one of those things, and I have no idea where I'll end up in these halls. SO, what can I do about that?" She whispered to herself in rapid breaths. "How can I be thinking of running away when Celestia was just shredded apart in front of me!?" Because we have to keep it together Twilight! We can't do anything about it now, we have to save everypony else. They need us! "Why? There were plenty of ponies that left that library! They'll warn everypony!" How do you know that? They could have been killed by that thing too! Or maybe they ran into the other one! There are at least two of them in here you know. "So what should I do about it, huh?" Twilight was ready to scream at herself. She just wanted to get out of here, to go home. You have to find Princess Luna. She was the first one to pick up on this, and she's the strongest pony in this place. You can't let her get attacked too! "How?! These halls won't go the way I remember them too." She sat there in the dark, thinking rapidly of something, anything as a solution. ...A locator spell. "What?" You remember that spell we were looking at last week? Try and remember how it went. Even if the castle has been enchanted somehow, it should lead you on the right path.
Twilight nodded, acknowledging nopony but herself, and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the spell. She brought her memory of the page to the front of her mind, remembering the words and pictures spread across the book. She focused the spell to her horn, bringing a dull glow into the room, and opened her eyes once again. She saw little in the closet, but she did manage to see what she needed to. A string of blue light passed through the door, showing her the way to the creature she was focusing on, in this case, Princess Luna. She took a moment to catch her breath and opened the door. The light made a path to her right. "Alright, we just have to be careful and alert. If any of those creatures show up, we run as fast as we possibly can, and if that fails...we use..." lethal force... Again, she nodded to herself, though reluctantly this time. She swallowed hard, and began to trot at a quick yet quiet pace.
She wandered the halls of the castle for what felt like hours, but totaled to only ten minutes, stopping and looking around at every creak or crumble she heard, managing to jump at her own steps every now and again. "It's alright Twilight. You're simply jumping at shadows. Nothing to be scared of around here... not yet at least." She turned her attention back to the light in front of her, and walked on. We have to find the princess. Have to warn her. Tell her the Celestia...her sister...How are we going to manage telling her that her own sister was ripped apart? "I don't know, but we have to get to her first. Let's just focus on getting to her in time, okay?" Okay.
"Twily?" Twilight jumped hard and let loose a stunning spell at full charge directly ahead of her as she ran backwards into a wall and started to quake. "Whoa! Twilight, watch out!"
"Shining?" Twilight stopped shaking a little to turn her attention back to the source of the voice. Sure enough, her older brother was standing there as well, a burn mark placed right next to him from where Twilight's spell had landed. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were...something else."
"I heard you talking, and thought that you had found somepony." Shining armor came closer to his sister, helping her up from her spot by the wall. "Twilight, there's something in the castle. It attacked Cadence, she's dead. I ran off to warn everypony but I got lost in these halls. It's like someone switched everything around."
"They got Cadence too?"
Shining Armors eyes were narrow and stern when Twilight stared up at him. She'd never seen her brother so furious before. "Yeah... it did. I don't know what that thing was. I should've blasted it!"
"No, Shining, you did your job as the captain and put everypony else before your anger. I don't even know if you could've done anything to it, I saw one kill Celestia in mere seconds! Celestia! Whatever they are, they're dangerous! We have to get everypony out of the castle."
Shining held a look of genuine surprise and horror in his eyes. "Celestia?"
"Yes. And Blueblood!"
"Blueblood too?" Shining Armor paused for a second. "Twily, you're in danger."
"Of course! We all are."
"No, I mean, look at their list so far from what we saw. Cadence, Celestia, Blueblood, what do they all have in common?"
Twilight took only a second before her eyes widened up like saucers. "They were royalty."
Shining nodded. "They're targetting the ponies with the most influence and power. That's why they went after Cadence and I. I guess I was lucky to run after all. But you're a princess now Twily. They'll want you more than me."
Wait...then that also means... Twilight let out a gasp. "Luna! Shining! We have to get to Luna! I was looking for her before you came along, but she's in more danger than I realized. We have to warn her!" Twilight Began dashing like mad, focusing her spell and following the blue light trail, her brother's hoofsteps trotting behind her.
"But Twilight! What about you?!"
"I'm fine! The princess doesn't know she's a target yet! We have to hurry!"
Luna had stopped entertaining her guests with her cackles and illusions altogether, and had been focusing her energy towards her observation and giving orders and taking information. "Hath thou been successful in bringing everypony to this room so that We might keep them safe under our gaze?"
"No Your Highness. The corridors and hallways lead not where they ought to. It's causing our men to become lost and confounded. We have however restricted anypony from leaving this room without raising alarm."
"And how hath thou managed this feat?"
"We've gone by the explanation that some pranksters have enchanted the hallways and defiled the restrooms."
Luna let out a sigh. "It shall have to suffice for now. Has Moonshine made his return?"
"No Your Majesty. We believe he has become lost as well."
Luna nodded. "Very well. Keep thy men close, investigate in groups, and keep us informed about the other areas in the castle. We cannot spare more wards, so it falls to thee to be our eyes in those halls." And with that she dismissed him, and turned to Star Swimmer. "Let none know but thyself that We are...quite unnerved."
"Of course my princess. You aren't the only one I assure you." The guard then swept the area once more with his gaze, before something caught his eye. "I do believe that Moonshine has returned."
Luna looked towards the hall Star Swimmer had been speaking of, and sure enough, she saw the guard flying up towards them. "My lady." He started. "I bring news from your sister."
"Why did thou not simply bring our sister?" Luna was clearly not patient for this lack of obedience.
"Forgive me Your Highness. She did insist that she locate Twilight Sparkle"
"We see. Very well then Moonshine. What message didst thou come to deliver?"
"The Princess of the Sun sought to let you know that she wished that Shining Armor be allowed to cast his barrier, locking everypony within the castle, on the off chance that the attacker was a pony hiding among us."
"We see..." Luna looked to the party guests below. "Nay. It shall not be done."
"But, my lady! Celestia--"
"Our sister is unaware of the full story, and holds merely a suggestion. We trust our subjects, and 'tis quite possible Shining Armor may no longer be among us." Luna spoke forcefully, forcing Moonshine to step back.
"But, she was rather insistent."
"Regardless, We are the one who gives thee orders. My sister's decision is not a wise one, and I order you not to seek the captain. Look instead, for the well being of the ponies below." The princess was nearly shouting at her guard, bearing down upon him. "Take thee from our sight. It doth pain us to listen to a disobedient puff of flatulence like thyself! Think before thou should argue with thy master!" Moonshine didn't bother sticking around, and pretty much took his place with the other guards.
"My princess, don't you think that might have been a bit harsh on the welp?"
"Didst thou get a good look at him Star Swimmer?" Luna replied without looking to her guard.
"Uh... Yeah. Seemed a bit roughed up he did." Star Swimmer acknowledged.
"Correct. The injuries on him however were not from simple roughing up however." Luna looked Star Swimmer direct in the eye and spoke in a hushed tone, only audible to the two of them with the pounding music. "There was a scar on his front left hoof, as if he'd been impaled with a blade, yet he never held the scar in the past. The fashion in which his jaw flapped was rather loose, as if it was broken and midway through healing. But what made us the most unsettled..." she paused...collecting herself to go on. "His back hooves...We caught a glimpse of our sister's fur...on his hooves."
Star Swimmer suddenly understood the fury behind Luna's words to Moonshine, and he could see in her eyes that it must have taken everything for her to not destroy him in front of everypony. "My condolences my princess. I assure you that she shall be avenged on your call.
"We are aware, Star Swimmer. It seems we have identified our foe...one of them."
"You believe there to be more?"
"We do indeed. Moonshine was sent off at the time that Cadence's death was brought to our attention. There is another of these beasts out there." Luna turned her gaze back to the guards, focusing on Moonshine. "And it seems...they can't be injured easily."
Twilight and Shining Armor ran like mad through the ever changing hallways, following the blue light that promised Princess Luna at the end. Finally, they saw the lights and heard the music of the main hall. "Hurry Shining! We have to tell them! We have to evacuate!"
Luna snapped her gaze to her left. "We hear her."
As Twilight burst into the main hall, she let out a yell, as loud as she could to be heard over the music and the laughter. "EVERYPONY RUN! GET OUT OF THE CASTLE!" She simply drew a few laughs and chuckles in her directions. Phrases like 'yeah right!' or 'Good one!' were shot towards her. "I MEAN IT! THEY KILLED CELESTIA!"
"BEHIND THEE TWILIGHT SPARKLE! BEWARE!" Luna called out.
Twilight heard Luna's command and spun on her back hooves, her eyes tearing and swelling up as she made a rapid pace backwards. Shining Armor's throat had split open, revealing dozens of small, pink, insectile limbs as he walked towards her, shivering violently. Everypony who could see the abomination began to panic and scream, making their way for the exit. The music was abandoned allowing screams to echo. As Twilight turned to run, she saw various ponies in the crowd take on similar transformations and attacking the ponies. They leaped to the air, striking at their victim's backlegs with their own back hooves and biting with whatever unholy maw they had into their prey's necks.
Paralyzed with horror and fatigue, Twilight could only scream as she felt her own brother smash her back legs as well, and embed his feelers into her neck. She could no longer scream as she fell to the ground, her vision going black, before finally, everything around her vanished. I failed... She never felt herself hit the ground.
"NO!" Luna's eyes flashed a violent white light as her teeth pointed into fangs. She unleashed a beam of pure energy towards the mutated Shining Armor, hitting him, and leaving nothing of the left side of his face but a clean skull. The creature seemed to merely shrug the injury off however, as it continued it's attack on the lavender alicorn.
"Guards! Defend the ponyfolk! Destroy these monsters!" But they were already at it, flying into action, firing magic blasts and stabbing the beasts with spears, but it seemed to do very little. "Star Swimmer, forgive me for what you are about to witness." As Luna spoke, her voice deepened to a growl, the color in her eyes radiating green and purple, as the same violet energy bubbled up along her horn.
Star Swimmer looked upon her with awe and terror, yet he had something more important to do now. He was given an order, and he turned to defend his kin, charging straight for Moonshine, who's hooves sported long, bladed, spider-like appendages coming out of splits in his hooves. He had managed to do away with a number of the guards near him. "My princess has requested your end, rookie!" With a slam, Star Swimmer could feel nearly every bone in the monster's body shatter as he brought him to the ground. But he had witnessed Luna's magic prove to be less than effective, and knew he had to do something more. He stamped his hooves into the creature's face, forcing an imprint to appear before suddenly popping back into place in an instant. "I shall do as my princess requests!" He slammed his hooves into it's face again, and again, and again, in rapid succession, pushing the creature's regeneration to it's limits. He pushed the speed of his front legs to their limits, shouting at the top of his lungs as he felt the skull of his former comrade splinter and break beneath his furious steps. Finally, he felt himself reach something soft under the skin, and he slammed his hooves down with such force, that moonshine's face looked like little more than flattened dough. The creature seemed to be dead. "TRY FOR THE BRAINS MEN! THE BEASTS CAN'T REGENERATE IF THEY HAVEN'T A BRAIN!"
Luna let loose another bolt of magic, fueled by her rage and anger. This time, she completely disintegrated Shining's head, forcing the creature to flop on top of the corpse of Twilight Sparkle. Below her, Luna saw the ponies run, and some of them fight. Unicorns fired magical blasts and various elemental spells at the beasts, while earth ponies and pegasi kicked, stamped and smashed, but it seemed to be futile, as every blow was quickly patched back up. The princess let her rage overtake her, and let loose more bolts of energy, eliminating what monsters she could as they pounced upon their victims. One of her guards flew up to her side, as she fired. "Princess, the citizens can't escape! The door has been enchanted like the rest of the castle, it keeps bringing them back into this room!"
"DAMMIT!" Luna let another blast bubble up and fire at one of the creatures. "Do what thou must to protect them!" The guard watched the princess as her horn became a dark black almost like it was burnt. "HURRY!"
"Yes M'lady!" But as the guard made to rejoin the fray, one of the beasts launched itself onto him, shattering his back legs, and forcing a scream of pain from him. Luna was quick and destroyed the creature's head, inches before it could bite down onto the guard's neck. He tried to cry out in pain, but was met with the wrathful glare of Princess Luna, forcing him back into the air despite the pain.
This continued for five long gruesome minutes, and it seemed like the creature's were diminishing. Luna gave an encouraging shout to her men, cheering them on against the monsters.
The lights went out, and force more screams from the ponies below her. The unicorns that could, focused their magic on illumination spells...and it was quiet... The creatures weren't wailing, nopony was screaming from having their legs splintered. "Everypony, huddle towards the center of the room! Guards, surround the circle, defend these ponies with your lives if you must!" The lights from horns moved towards Luna,illuminating the center of the room. Despite the lack of what she could hear, the princess of the night saw plenty. Shadows on the wall of horrible creature's, moving in silence, surrounding them. If we can't run from them, we must face them. We just hope this plan works. Soon enough, a snarl came from behind the princess, and she turned rapidly to witness a guard blast one of the creature's away. "Tag them! Simple attacks will not be enough! We will annihilate any of the beasts that glow! So tag them!"
A unanimous cry of "Yes Ma'am!" echoed through the room as the guards accepted their orders. It didn't take long before Luna heard a blast of magic go off and she turned and let loose a bolt into the glowing monster. Dead. This went on for a while, and ponies began to feel confidence rising as the strategy continued to work. Snarl. Glow. Blast. Dead. Snarl. Glow. Blast. Dead. There were even a few cheers that would ring out whenever Luna fired a shot.
Star Swimmer actually managed a grin from within the darkness. He had complete faith in his princess, and she was living up to that faith even in this dark encounter. He heard another blast fire and a creature plop down. "That a girl!" He cheered. There couldn't be that much more of them left. They had been doing a pretty good job when the lights are on. But he heard something. A rumbling in the far wall. He focused his vision, trying to make out what the sound was. He saw small chunks of debris fall to the ground. "By the titans of Tartarus... PRINCESS! WE HAVE MORE INCOMING! THEY'RE BYPASSING THE CASTLE'S ENCHANTMENT AND BREAKING THROUGH THE WALLS!"
"FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Luna shrieked. The sound of a crumbling wall rang through the room as Star Swimmer witnessed more shadows pour out of the hole. MANY more. Nervous whimpers came from the ponies below. "Be calm! Do not falter! We hold the advantage!"
Almost as if on cue however, Luna saw one of the lights below her go out. Then another, and another. She felt her heart race as she saw unicorn horns vanish. It didn't take long for other ponies to start noticing and screams began to come up again. "THEY COME FROM ABOVE! THEY SEEK TO ELIMINATE THE LIGHTS! GUARDS! TO THE AIR! DEFEND THE UNICORNS!"
Star Swimmer obeyed his princess and took to the sky with his winged brothers. He flew his way over to a whit unicorn in a black cloak giving off a light blue glow. She was huddled up in a hug with what looked like an orange pony in a snapping turtle, and a rainbow wrapped pink pony. The three of them weren't screaming, or quivering in fear...rather, they seemed...sad. He wasn't able to observe them for long however, as he heard a sound that reminded him of locust wings approaching from behind. He turned and saw what could only be described as some pony's stomach split vertically with rows of teeth lunge at him. He barely managed to make it out of the way and plant a solid kick to the creature's side. He felt a sting of pain upon contact however, as if he had shoved his hoof into a steel spike. The next sensation horrified the guard even more as the spike seemed to climb up through his leg. The pain was unbearable, and he felt himself losing consciousness. "Princess Luna! Fire at me!"
The green glow of Luna's gaze stared towards the loyal guard. "I've been struck and I can feel death approaching! There are three below that I will not be able to defend! Take me along with this abomination!." He took a long look at her eyes as they merely nodded in understanding. "FOR EQUESTRIA! AND LET THE NIGHT LIVE ON!!" He felt no pain as the energy pierced his body, only pride for serving his princess to the end.
He was a fine stallion, and a brilliant soldier. Luna turned her attention back to the matter at hand. There was no time for mourning...not yet. It seemed almost hopeless though. The monsters on the ground were feeding on anything near the unicorns they had dropped onto, and the ponies had begun to scatter again, causing the light to be inconsistent, while still more unicorns dropped under the crushing blows of the monster's varying appendages and maws.
"Princess Luna! We have no more light! The last unicorn has fallen! We're fighting blind!" A guard's voice called up to the princess.
"Then let us bring the light, and get physical!" Luna focused all her energy into the brightest illumination spell she knew, one Celestia had taught her when she was very young, the only spell that let the princess keep hold of her sanity on the dark side of the moon. She would bring in a light to rival the sun itself!
Nothing...the room remained blacker than tar, and the screams and howls only continued. She tried again. No light.
No Light? She looked around. There was nothing. Just noise. Why does it not work? She focused again. Nothing! WHY IS THERE NOTHING!? She began to feel panic sinking in. This was her only hope, they couldn't fight these things in the dark! She couldn't stand this pure blackness! Luna felt her legs give way as she shook violently. There's no light! No light anywhere... I can't see them! I can hear them! The screams! "We...I... I am afraid! SISTER I AM AFRAID! WHERE IS YOUR LIGHT SISTER? WHY DO MY EYES FAIL ME! THIS DARKNESS IS HELL! I SEE THEM IN MY MIND'S EYE! THEY ARE HORRIBLE! WHY DO I IMAGINE SUCH HORRORS! SISTER I AM VERY MUCH AFRAID! COME SAVE ME TIA!" She broke, snapped. Her mind went into overdrive, bringing back the horrors from the moon, she hallucinated monsters much worse than any story she read or heard. "LEAVE ME BE! PLAGUE ME NO MORE! I SHALL BEAR THIS CURSE NO MORE! JUST PLEASE BRING BACK THE LIGHT! WHY DON'T THE STARS SHINE NOR THE MOON GLOW!?" She sobbed there on her platform, broken and terrified, as she curled up to protect herself. The screams of her men and the ponies below only made the hallucinations stronger. She flared her nostrils in blind rage and terror. "WHY DOES THE SPELL NOT WORK?!"
She then saw a glow, looming over her, the menacing smile of a Jack-O-Lantern. "What use does a user of dark magic have for the light? Your horn will no longer shed it's grand glow, Princess. After all, using power of that caliber requires a great sacrifice in return."
"Y-you are not, Rainbow Dash..."
" Ironic, that you should lecture about the evils of the dark, and then call upon it's power to do good...Then again... it seems that it is still darkness that takes you, fair princess."
"Who are you?"
The Jack-O-Lantern simply stared at her for a while, among the tortured screams of the victims below. "I am the fear you built for one thousand years, princess. I am your nightmare." Then the pumpkin's voice became what most would interpret as a sort of low gurgling growl, and it's mouth began to move as it spoke. "I am the thing you brought back with you, manifested. And these creatures are my children. I am the Boogey Mare, the Headless Horse, and all those tales you loved. I am fear, and I am madness. Perhaps you were right when you said that in the dark, madness would destroy everypony before any monster could finish the job." A chuckle came from the lantern's mouth. "But I assure you, Princess, with nopony to raise the sun, moon or stars, we're damn sure gonna be able to find out." And with that, the light to the lantern went out.
Luna lied in wait for hours, listening to all the ponies screaming, and when the screaming stopped, she heard the chewing. She sat there, simply speaking to herself, curled tight, wondering when or even if they would ever come for her.
No light...no light...no light...no light...no light...no light...no light...no light...no...
Happy Nightmare Night Everypony!
Author's Note
Did you enjoy? Did you not? Leave a comment down below letting me know if I should delve more into this kinda stuff, but please be mindful of spoilers for the folks who haven't read yet.
