Hope looked at the station she stood in. She had no memory of being in this place, which wasn't a terribly odd thing. What was odd was, she felt a pull, like this was almost a home. Taking the small steps slowly, she levitated her bag along beside herself. "Excuse me?"

Looking around, Lyra Heartstrings froze dead still when she saw a creature that she had been scared of since her friend's wedding. She began to tremble and back up. "Ch-Ch-Ch-CHRYSALIS!" She turned and started to bolt, finding her legs lifted off the ground as she was wrapped in green magic. It wasn't a warm magic, a life-celebrating one. This was changeling magic. "Please, let me go! I don't want to serve you again!"

"Stop! I don't…" Hope's mind clicked as to who this was; she set the mare down. "I wanted to say, I'm sorry." The former changeling queen bowed her head. She had a book in her possession, with the story of what she had done for those few days. "I am sorry I made you attack your friend. I am sorry I broke your trust. I… I can't believe what I did, but I came here to say all this."

Lyra blinked, then again. She stood and tilted her head just a little to the side. "What happened?" Her words, at last, were the culmination of her curiosity. "You aren't the same Chrysalis."

It was the best reaction Hope could wish for. She didn't look around for somewhere better, or more comfortable, she simply folded her long hole-filled legs under her and sat down. "I was a bad pony. I… you know the changeling pods?"

"Princess Twilight has one… she said I wasn't allowed to play with it without…" Lyra looked to the sides, making sure nopony was listening. Sighing, she walked over to the steps of the station beside Hope and sat down. "I guess I am more interested in my dreams of what it is."

Hope nodded. "The Princess is right, they might be fun to play with, but there are… side effects." She could feel the curiosity in the mare, partly aimed at herself, partly at something completely different. "If a pony is in and out, in a day or a week, it is all good fun. Months… they take your memories. They force you to be so happy you don't feel your life flitting out of your own head."

Lyra shuddered and actually leaned against the changeling. "You remember it?"

"Of course, nopony could forget being emptied like that, it is my first memory." Hope looked at the pony at her side. "Lyra Heartstrings, one of Princess Cadance's bridesmaids. The first time I heard what I did, I refused to believe it. They told me things another pony, an evil pony, did. Then I met Minuette. I saw the terror in her eyes, like yours. I could taste the fear leaking off the mare and I broke down and cried." Hope looked down at Lyra. "She didn't run away either."

"Miny? She wouldn't have run the first time we met you, even if you didn't…" Lyra gulped and looked down at her forelegs. "If you didn't brainwash us." The nuzzle at her ears caught Lyra off-guard, she jerked a little, then relaxed a touch again.

"When I woke, Prince Gel, Queen Twisty… Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor." Tears flowed from Hope's eyes. "They accepted me, they didn't lash out, they didn't fight." She lifted out her copy of 'History of the Changeling War' and dropped it before Lyra, poking the cover with her hoof. "They should have, the mare that did all that?" She tapped the book.

"You said all your memories were wiped?" Lyra looked at the book, carefully taking it from Hope's prodding. Opening it up, she found it was full of signatures and little words of support.

Dear Hope, you are better than she.

Hope, never lose yourself.

Never give up, Hope

The names, of course, were the ponies who had most been hurt by the wedding, starting with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. "Do you have a quill?" Lyra smiled, Minuette's name had room under it.

Hope let out the air she had been holding. "Thank you." Her green magic passed the writing equipment to Lyra. Working the quill, the unicorn smiled as she suddenly had a thought.

To a new friend, and bright, Hope-filled days.

"There. Now, let's live up to that. You got here at just the right time, Nightmare Night is tonight and we have to work on costumes!" Lyra passed the precious book back to the mare. It felt a little odd, to be talking about such things with the former Evil Queen of the Changelings, but not with Hope. Lyra had picked up, by the spelling and writing, the mare's new name.

"Nightmare Night? What is that?" Hope blinked her big eyes at Lyra. "Is Luna involved?"

Darkness seemed to spread around the pair and the flash of white fangs—followed by a crack of thunder in an otherwise sunny day—tipped them off that something big was happening. "No, mortal ponies. Tonight belongs only to the Nightmare!" Luna was having a ball in her Nightmare Moon costume, cackling and scaring all the foals… and a lot of the adult ponies too. "Since the dawn of the world, ponies have feared the coming of the-" She halted, a black hole-filled hoof pressed her snout.

"Boop!" Hope grinned up at one of her mentors. She snorted and giggled, joined by Lyra.

"You booped Nightmare Moon! If only Princess Twilight had known defeating her was so easy!" Lyra Heartstrings was in her element, hamming up her role. "Oh woe is to the poor Monster of the Night, that any filly or colt," Lyra spoke loudly, seeing a few foals hear her, "could defeat the mighty demon with… a boop."

Luna cracked a grin around her fake fangs. Little bodies had swarmed around her, climbing up on each other, reaching up to press her nose. Finally, Pound Cake boosted his sister, Pumpkin, up high enough that the filly finally booped Luna on the snout.

"I am undone!" Nightmare Moon collapsed into giggles as she was swarmed over by adoring fans, each not leaving until they had booped the alicorn Princess of the Night.

"Oh and what have we here? Two of Equestria's mightiest villains?" Discord raised an eyebrow. "Silly me, I meant three." He twirled a cane he hadn't had a moment ago.

"That's the best Discord costume I have ever seen!" Pipsqueak, dressed as a little fire-pony this year, was tugging on Discord's leg.

"Isn't it just? I have ten more just like it." Suddenly there were nearly a dozen Discords standing there, modeling off their shape. Pip's darker patches of fur blanched white as the colt realized this was the real deal.

"Discord, leave the foals alone." Luna stood up and had Pip race around behind her. "Why are you here?"

"Here? This is Ponyville," Discord said the name with droll humor, "whatever chaos might be going on in Equestria, is likely going on here. Although, normally it needs more work than this, to get things off-balance.

Hope looked the Spirit of Chaos up and down and ran quickly through her mind, and smiled. "Well, of course all the villains are here, we gather, do we not, to plot our overthrow of Equestria? Where is that… what was her name, the one with the time spell…"

"Starlight Glimmer." Lyra covered her snout the moment she realized she was 'helping'.

Luna squinted a moment at Hope, then grinned at what she recognized in the mare's features. "That is right, we were relying on her mind control powers to overthrow my sister, once and for all!"

Discord recognized a bad plot when he saw one. "Oh 'ha ha'. Laugh it up. You will see, this will be the best Nightmare Night ever!" All eleven Discords were suddenly gone, leaving Lyra to stare up at Hope and Luna as the two broke into giggles, and finally gales, of laughter.

"W-What? But you…" Lyra's brain was not working quite right, having to play catch-up on the two other mares' game. "You played a prank on Discord?" Her jaw hung open, both dark mares nodded to her. "But… wow…"

"Hope, I love doing that. We need to do this more often but… I need to go and talk with Zecora about tonight's fun." Luna lifted a hoof and got a bop back from Hope. "Don't forget to get a good costume!"

Lyra's ears shot forward in surprise. "You need a costume! Where can we get one at this hour?" She danced from hoof to hoof in worry. A blast of green fire wrapped the changeling, leaving a second Nightmare Moon in her place. Lyra paused a moment, tilting her head. "No, we couldn't have two…"

Gel had left his wives, and their friends, to take care of their own costumes; his was the task of getting a bevy of foals into their own. "Sweetie, if you help me with the little ones I will help you with the tights."

Sweetie Belle struggled out of the tights that just didn't seem to be going on right. "Okay!" She started helping Winged into her own little 'changeling grub' costume. "These look really good!"

"Thanks, so does yours, Countess Coloratura." Gel fastened up Winged's suit and they moved on to the next foal. "Apple Bloom, did I get the fit right for that catsuit?"

Apple Bloom turned, the faux wings on her back flashing in a multi-shaded pink rainbow. Tilting her head in a way that no alicorn princess—except possibly Twilight—would ever do, she bit at the pink leggings and hauled them up a little. "This Cadance costume is great!" She looked over at Tender's outfit. "Just to match Shining Armor." He was, of course, in the male version, pre-pregnancy.

Tender blushed and leaned forward, wanting to kiss Apple Bloom on the cheek, but he stopped when a blue wing shoved between them. "Hey, squirts, save it for the end of the night." Scootaloo was in a perfect replica of a Wonderbolts costume, and more, she was wearing her best Rainbow Dash costume under it. Doubly awesome!

Slipper was the last to be dressed in her little outfit, the filly squirming her forelegs in glee and kicking about. Her horn made the costume even more perfect. "Your turn, Sweetie." Gel turned to the filly and helped get her tights fastened and pulled on. "Eyeshadow? Makeup? Are you sure Rarity said you could use this?" Sweetie put her hooves on her hips, giving the prince quite a look. "Okay, okay!"

Gel had seen enough of the singer's posters to recognize just where the shades needed to go and, in no time, Sweetie was the very picture of the diva, before she lost her passion. "Your horn is getting longer." Scootaloo reached a hoof up and poked at the longer-than-filly-sized horn on Sweetie. "Are you sure you can hide it enough?"

Sweetie blushed, it was compliment and problem both. She was about to reach up when she felt Gel doing something with her dyed mane, pulling it forwards and up. Staring in a mirror, Sweetie watched as Gel did a credible job hiding her horn in her pushed-forward mane. "How is that? Your horn even supports it."

Apple Bloom turned her eyes from her 'Shining Armor' to spot Gel shifting. It seemed odd, to see the stallion change; she was so used to seeing him just as himself. She watched the black horn pull down and into his head, saw him seem to shrink a little as he took on the shape of an earth pony. At last, a rush of off-white fur color spread over him and he shook his blonde mane. Her eyes widened more. "He's pretty…"

Gel turned to spot the filly who gave the comment. He… or as he had to think, she, grinned. "Well lookie, I could be your big sister like this!" The pink 'alicorn' rushed forward in a giggle and hugged Gel. He was already her sibling, just in a slightly different way.

"I think they are starting!" Sweetie Belle bounced around, peeking out the door. "They are, oh wow, you should see Princess Twilight!" Herding the foals along with them, Sweetie employing some magic to help, the little group headed out from the room they had appropriated.

Twilight was amazing, her costume taken to eleven. The changeling queen turned her head and grinned as she spotted her husband and their foals slowly making their way over. Gel's jaw hung open as she watched the mare she loved, fake fangs, amazingly detailed horn. "That is astounding!"

"Thanks!" Twilight leaned down from her slightly wobbly height, stilts had taken some getting used to. "Not so bad yourself, little snack…" She nuzzled around Gel's mane, the pair laughing together.

Muffins clopped over to the couple, escorting Applejack. Rather, 'Celestia'—complete with painted horn, dyed fur and more glitter than the world has ever known in her mane and tail—and Princess Applejack. Like Twilight, AJ was on stilts in her 'costume', her horn was a little better than Muffins', but not quite as good as her little sister's or her chaperone. "Presenting her royal highness, Princess Applejack, uh, Apple! Of Applevania!" Muffins giggled as she gestured to AJ.

Gel lifted a hoof and leaned into Muffins, talking loud enough that everypony could hear. "Psst, Princess Celestia doesn't have to introduce other princesses." They all started giggling and laughing, until there was a flash from the main hall.

Zecora appeared, dressed as a ringmaster of a bizarre and creepy circus. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She coughed into a hoof as everypony looked at her. A feline trotted past. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Discord laughed, but nopony else did. "Whoa, tough crowd. What did the zebra say to her audience?"

Glaring at Discord, Zecora did not look amused.

"I don't remember, I have never heard one!" Discord's flat joke was accompanied by a Discord in the corner playing 'ba-dum-tsss' on some drums. "Ugh, someone save me here… okay, ready for the final one?" The audience weren't ready to boo, not quite yet. "What happens when all of Ponyville becomes the monsters they are dressed up as?" His grin turned up sharply as Discord snapped his fingers, and all Tartarus broke loose.

Author's Note

A griffon walked out onto the stage, before turning her head and glaring to the side. "No, keep him away from me. I am not even a pony!" Gilda looked out into the crowd before her. "Uh, so what did you want to know? Compete against Dash? Pfft, she is still just a pony, even she knows that, nothing can compare to a griffon on the wing." She spread her wings and gave a pose before turning and glaring again. "I said no!"

What... what did you do, Discord?

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and ~~I~~ they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, ~~I~~ They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! ~~I~~ They will pick one question per chapter.

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