Lucifer Morningstar

Weeks seventeen through twenty-five...exercise. Lots, and lots of exercise. I got my flight time up to three hours straight, and could now bust and rest on clouds with the best of pegasui. Classes. Questions asked and answered, and I dodged a lot of the more “noble” ponies as I did this.

I learned, through second-hand rumor and laughing tales told behind hooves that Prince Blueblood spent most of those weeks in seclusion in his home in Canterlot. If rumor was true, he broke out in a cold sweat if he saw another unicorn. I should have felt some guilt or something for what I had done-he was considered by many in the nobility to be an expendable pawn for their purposes-but, you ask a stupid question…

It was during week twenty six of my existence here that the Royal Train was drawn out onto the main line for Canterlot, and we traveled the rail lines from Canterlot to a small town called Ponyville.

This week was going to be the week of Nightmare Night.

Ponies are given to parties the same way that tulips are given to flowers-they break out often and rapidly. But, there are four big, cardinal events that are major holidays for Equestria and they’re seasonal holidays.

The first and biggest is the Summer Sun Festival, held on the day of the Summer Solstice. All the shortest night of the year means is that the parties are the most action-packed. Princess Celestia makes a whole production of Lowering the Sun, then raising it again that morning, there’s cake, there’s treats of all sorts...it’s a good time.

The second big one is Winter Wrap Up, held on the Winter Solstice. And, the shortest day of the year means you got a lot of work to get done and ready for the new year, and it’s a good way to get a huge appetite for the upcoming Hearth’s Warming Eve feasts.

After that? Hearts and Hooves Day, mostly because it’s a festival of Spring Equinox, everything is blooming, including new love. And, the fact that day and night are even means that you can get all the “daylight” stuff done, and spend the night doing all the silly adult things.

The last one? Nightmare Night. And, it’s more...somber, by pony standards. It’s not like Day of the Dead or All Hallows Eve for humans, but it is “the world is a scary, scary place”. It is followed up by, “but we can make it brighter by laughing at our fears, loving our friends, dressing up, having fun, and having a sugar overdose from all the candy.”

This year’s Nightmare Night was important because of two things. The first was that this would be the first year in over a thousand years that the Castle of the Two Sisters would finally be repaired and open to the general public. It turns out that my...arrival aided in this, since I had landed in such a way as to clear quite a bit of the dangerous Everfree Forest away from where they planned the road to the Castle.

The second? Both Princesses were going to celebrate this year’s Nightmare Night at the Castle of the Two Princesses. Which meant...that the entire Court was coming to Ponyville. And, I was going to my first ever Nightmare Night.

As the train roared down the tracks on its priority routing, Princess Celestia came up and nuzzled me as I watched the scenery go by. “Lucifer, how are you feeling?” she asked.

“First time we’ve left the castle, really,” I replied. “A lot to see. And, Nightmare Night! I’m trying to think what I’ll dress up as!”

“Do you have any ideas yet?” Princess Luna asked.

“A few, Mom,” I said slyly. “But, I don’t know how you’ll be dressing up, so what do I wear?”

“Well, you do know what we’ll be doing for the play tomorrow night,” Princess Celestia said. “I have to admit, playing around with what happened in terms of what happened on the Night That Never Ended...it will be an interesting show.”

“I only wish I could have had a role in it,” I pouted. “I wish I could.”

“You’ll enjoy watching it more,” Princess Celestia replied, and I could hear the train whistle blowing. We were about a half-hour out from Ponyville, and Princess Celestia wanted this event to be perfect for me.

“I’m glad to be here with you both,” and I hugged them tight.

And, I was.

We pulled into a party.

I had been warned, early on, about Pinkie Pie. By nopony less than Twilight Sparkle.

“She knows, somehow, when a new pony comes into town,” she told me the week prior to my arrival here. “And, she somehow is aware of the most accurate-and most embarrassing thing-is to announce a new pony’s arrival. Oh, she means well, but Pinkie Pie has never learned the concept of tact.”

I considered this for a minute, and decided to break out a new vocabulary word. “She could have a zen thing(1) going in with her.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight Sparkle asked, curiously.

“She might not be insensitive, but over-sensitive. She’s aware of more than we are,” I said. “And, in a way that she can barely explain or understand. I mean, she’s one of the Elements of Harmony, so that means something, right?”

Twilight Sparkle was quiet for a moment, then said, “That might be it. It makes sense! I’ll have to figure out how to test for it…”, and she teleported out of the room.

I don’t know how Twilight Sparkle tested for that, but I did know that when the train pulled in, there was a huge banner saying “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, PRINCESSES!!!” And, it did have three exclamation points. It was even spelled correctly, an amazing event in itself. As the Princesses came off the train, there was a huge cheer, and I was just behind them as Princess Celestia was warming up her speech. “Thank you for your warm welcome, my little ponies,” she started to say…

When a fast-moving pink blur knocked me off my feet and threw me nearly fifty feet, wrapping me up in a pink cotton candy hug. “HI THERE!” the pink blur said, “I’m Pinkie Pie, you must be Lucifer Morningstar, and why is my tail twitching, and this is your first ever Nightmare Night, so we have to make it special, and do you know what costume you’re wearing, and you’ve got wings and a horn and are you Twilight Sparkle’s new foal brother, and do you like cupcakes, and how come you fell out of the sky six months ago, and what do you like to have with your cake, I like to have chocolate fudge and cherries, and…”

I think there was more, but I was making a desperate gasping sound because she was holding onto me so tight that my vision was starting to turn black at the edges. I think I can recall Princess Celestia saying to Pinkie Pie, “Would you please stop trying to strangle my son, Pinkie Pie?”

“Ooops, sorry!” I heard Pinkie Pie say and I started to catch my breath, lungs wheezing as I started to get air again.

“Ahhhhhh!” I half-gasped, then took another deep breath. “Pinkie Pie, right? I’m working on my costume, I don’t think I’m related to Twilight Sparkle, I love cupcakes, I don’t know how I got here, and chocolate is great with cakes, but only one cherry on top, please.”

Photographic memory. Got to love it.

“Oh, good!” Pinkie Pie said, “I’ve got all sorts of ideas for a costume, and…”

Her monologue was ended by a glowing purple aura picking her up and carefully placing her to the side. “Sorry about that,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“No, no,” I replied, “A little Pinkie Pie in my day seems to get my neck into alignment…”

Princess Celestia came over and looked at me, checked me for injuries, and said, “You are made of very stern stuff, my son. Pinkie Pie is always enthusiastic.” She turned to face the assembled ponies, all holding their breath. “Ponies of Ponyville, thank you for your warm and enthusiastic welcome. This Nightmare Night is a joyous one on several levels, not the least of which is the reopening of the Castle of the Two Sisters. On behalf of myself, and my sister,” Princess Luna stood beside Princess Celestia and nodded sagely, “thank you all. Princess Twilight Sparkle, if you would kindly lead us to the Golden Oak Library?”

Princess Celestia knew where the library was, of course. But, it did give Twilight Sparkle a chance to shine. And, she did, by lifting me onto her back and leading us all from the train station to the Library. And, pointing out little things like Sugarcube Corner, or Quills and Sofas(2), and a few other places as we and what seemed like the whole town’s worth of ponies came with us to the Golden Oak Library.

Once we got into the library, we could all take a deep breath, and…

“SUPRISE!!!”

How in the name of anything sacred and holy could Pinkie Pie manage to get in, organize a party, and stock it with…

Oh yes, foals. And their parents. And the Elements of Harmony.

Did I mention the banner? The one that said “WELCOME BACK TO PONYVILLE, LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR!!!”. ‘Cause, there was one there...and a table full of cupcakes and treats and everything else. “Since you’re new in town, Lucifer, I thought I’d introduce you around!” Pinkie Pie gushed, and the first pony she dragged me off to was a white unicorn with three blue diamonds for a Cutie Mark. “This is Rarity, and she’s a super uber awesome fashion pony!”

“Why, thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said. “I’m curious, have you thought of a costume yet?”

“No, still working on it,” I said honestly.

“Hm, with your color and you’re mane...Valiant Heart, that is it,” Rarity replied, and smiled. “One of the most important unicorns in history, and with your mane alone, you’d be able to dress as him perfectly, dear.”

“Wow,” I smiled. “Valiant Heart(3) was one of the ideas I was thinking of, too, but…”

“Don’t worry, dear,” Rarity smiled. “If you come by the Carousel Boutique, I can get you fitted within an hour…”

Pinkie Pie hoisted me on her front hooves and immediately dragged me away, looking for somepony else. “Next up! Where is she, where is she, yes!” Pinkie Pie plopped me in front of a orange Earth pony with a brown Stetson for a hat and three apples for her Cutie Mark. “Applejack, this is Lucifer and he’s the foal that fell on the fields six months ago!” Oh dear...and, Applejack did not like hearing that.

“So, you were the one that landed there,” Applejack said with a bit of a twang. “I’m glad you’re all right, you looked like you were in a lot of trouble…”

“What I can remember of that day,” I said, “I’m glad somepony found me. I was in a lot of pain then.”

“Good to hear you’re all right now, sugar cube,” Applejack finished, and Pinkie Pie was already pushing me around like a broom to the next pony on her list...which was Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy, Lucifer here is very very sorry for scaring all the animals six months ago,” Pinkie Pie said, pulling on her “serious” face(4). “And, he’s here to try and help before Nightmare Night.”

“Well, yes, I am,” I said carefully. I offered a hoof to Fluttershy. “I’m sorry about what happened, and if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.”

Fluttershy touched her hoof with my hoof. “Thank you, I’m glad you are all right, from the noise you made and the hole...I’m glad you’re all right.”

“As am I,” I said, and carefully waited for Pinkie Pie to try something, and then I tripped her. She fell and rolled into a corner, which gave me a few moments. “Fluttershy...what do you know about my arrival?”

“Rainbow Dash was the first there, she said it was like a gigantic, ground-level Sonic Rainboom, and…,” Fluttershy told me.

“AND RAINBOW DASH CAN TELL YOU HERSELF!” Pinkie Pie interrupted, putting her head between mine and Fluttershy. Fluttershy made an absolutely cute little “Eeep!” sound, and flinched away. Before I could do anything, Pinkie Pie had levered herself under me and was carrying me off.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Pinkie Pie was still yelling. “REMEMBER THE FOAL YOU FOUND IN THE CRATER? THIS IS HIM!”

“Pinkie Pie, indoor voice,” Rainbow Dash said, and she lifted me off of Pinkie Pie’s back. “Okay, he’s here, let me talk with him…”

“SURE, RAINBOW DASH!” and as she trotted off to yell at somepony else, Rainbow Dash looked at me and sighed.

“I’m sorry about that, but Pinkie Pie lets her enthusiasm get the better of her, and well…,” Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head with her front hoof. The entire time I had been there, she hadn’t landed for an instant. “Wow, how are you doing with your wings, kid?”

“Pretty good,” I said proudly. “Three hours or more of sustained flight at a time,” I let my wings flare out and smile. “So, you were the first to find me? What happened?”

“Wow, yea,” Rainbow Dash said, “I was flying around, practicing, when WHAM!, I was nearly knocked out of the air. I almost thought somepony else had done a Sonic Rainboom on me, and when I found out where it happened…”

Here, she paused, and looked at me. “You were there, covered in stuff, and by the time I had gotten close, Princess Celestia was there, cleaning you off. You looked like you were in awful shape. I’m glad you look so great now.”

“Me too,” I replied. I looked around, and said slyly, “Race when this is all done?”

“You’re on!” Rainbow Dash said. I looked around carefully for the wild Pinkie Pie, and found my way towards Twilight Sparkle. She was with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and all three were talking about the play tomorrow.

“What really fascinates me...I’m still working on that ‘What If It Happened’ spell, and if I can get it to work right, I’ll see how much it matches up,” Twilight Sparkle said, and saw me coming up. “Hello, Lucifer, I see you met Pinkie Pie and all the girls.”

“Pinkie Pie has...a technique,” I said, rubbing my sore spots. “And, Rarity had a great costume idea for me-Valiant Heart.”

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both looked and smiled. “Valiant Heart. A name I have not heard in a long, long time...and if you had met him, Twilight Sparkle, you would have gotten along with him like a house on fire. He loved books...almost as much as he loved his wife,” Princess Celestia smiled. “You do have a bit of a resemblance, and I can see why she chose him.”

“Yes, Valiant Heart is a pony worth remembering,” Princess Luna noted.

“May I go and talk to the other ponies?” I asked.

“As long as you stay indoors or on the patio of Library,” Princess Celestia said. “You’re safe here, but it’s a new city for you and I’d rather you had a guide if you leave.”

“Moonshine?” I asked

“Yes,” Princess Luna replied. “She has been here before, her and Stardust are good ponies, and they would be great company with you.”

“Thank you,” I said, and started to wander around, talked a bit more with a few of the ponies there (especially Rarity, whom was ready right now to make me fashionable for Nightmare Night), and generally was a good, sociable guest.

Call it three hours later, but I needed to get some air. I asked Twilight Sparkle where the patio was, and she pointed it out to me. I trotted up there, and sat, looking around. Ponyville was a beautiful small town, and I liked the view from up here. It was peaceful, and quiet, and calm.

“Well, well, well…,” a voice, male, said from behind me. I could almost feel a faint pull of memory on that voice, and I turned around to look.

It was a male draconequus-two tone brown fur, the only set of hands that I had seen in the six months so far (a bear paw and a chicken claw, respectively), and all the other mismatched body parts that you would expect.

Oh, and a big, black stovepipe hat on his head, as well.

“Riddle me this, riddle me that, who’s afraid of the big black hat,” he said, sweeping the hat in an impressive arc that turned it upside down and caused a small white rabbit to pop out. The rabbit promptly started to make a number of very rude gestures(5), and then hopped away. “So, you’re the foal that has made everybody in Equestra lose their minds about.”

Ah, I knew now who this was.

“Hello, Discord,” I said.

(1)-Yes, I actually did say this. I was not wearing a bathrobe at the time.
(2)-The Ponyville Quills and Sofas was the flagship store of the whole Quills and Sofas store chain, twenty three stores and climbing.
(3)-Valiant Heart (31-75 AD (After Discord)) was one of the most important unicorn ponies of that era. Lead the first expeditions into what would later be called the Everfree Forest to recover the Great Library at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Lead seventeen of the thirty-two expeditions to the Great Library, never lost a pony when he did, and recovered most of the important books there.

There’s several honors in his name, not the least of which is the Valiant Heart Wing of the Royal Equestrian Library in Canterlot.
(4)-Kid you not. It was like watching a reverse version of the Mission:Impossible latex face mask revelation…
(5)-Said rude gestures indicated that the bunny had plans with the draconequus’ mother, mostly involving power tools and a time machine.