Tug looked out past the stage onto the village of Fallow. The village usually bustled with activity because of the short distance from The Dour Gate, But over the past few days the population had nearly tripled. Both of the small inns had filled quickly, leaving late comers to either set up campsites or find board with some of the villagers. Two separate packs of wolf raiders had even set up camps just to the west, down a small hill so their particular festivities wouldn't bother the locals.

Tug had seen this many times before, never in Fallow mind you, but in many other parts of The Night Kingdom. It was the first day of The twenty Nights Festival. In less than an hour, the sun would creep beneath the peaks of The Fangs and would stay there for twenty nights of feasts, parties and religious ceremonies.

The old wolf wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his red and orange coat, the traditional clothing of a twenty Nights storyteller. though he had been putting on the same play since he was a pup, he still got nervous. every year the troupe was a little different, new members joined, old members changed parts, and it was all up to him, the troupe leader, to keep it all together.

Had they all been practicing their parts? Would they remember what costumes went to which scenes? Would the filly playing the sun witch burst into tears like the filly last year had? It was one of the hardest roles in the play, not for the acting required, but because of the slurs and projectiles hurled from the audience, so no one ever took the role twice. Tug just thanked the stars he had found someone willing to play Celestia more than once, though with some changes to the original script.

As the last glints of sunlight started to disappear, the crowd began to find their seats. the amphitheater construction could only make sense there. with the elevation of the seating changing between very low in the front for thestrals to lie in comfort, to mid range for wolves to sit, to massive gaps near the back allowing moose to see over each others antlers.

Tug knew to start the play as soon as the sun had disappeared. the play was always followed by the feast of the sorceress, the second largest of the feasts. To truly enjoy the meal, many in the audience would have skipped lunch. it was unwise to have too much hunger mix with the emotions the crowd would feel from the play.

With the sun now set, chrystals began to glow around the now full amphitheater. while most residents on The Night Kingdom had impressive night vision, the light allowed for certain effects to be used in the play. In the distance a horn echoed from The Dour Gate, signaling the sunset. the same was likely happening at all of the five gates to the kingdom.

And so, it was time.

"Citizens of the Night Kingdom", Tug shouted, his voice loud enough to frighten a few birds out of a nearby tree, " The tale you are about to see is one you have likely seen before, but on this, the first of the twenty nights, it is an important story to tell. It is the story of all of us".

Now was his time to shine. for the rest of the play there would be other actors onstage to keep the audiences attention, but now it was just an old gray wolf in old costume coat.

"Long ago, before Princess Luna's banishment, before the sorceress and even before the discovery of the mighty Fang Mountains, we all lived the same as the ponies in Equestria.

And with that, Tug stepped aside. A group of young ones took the stage, young thestrals with fake feather wings to represent peagsi. Moose calves, too young to have antlers, instead wore cardboard unicorn horns and deer antlers or nothing to represent earth ponies. a few wolf pups joined them, wearing costume collars and vests like those worn by their diamond dog ancestors.

While he was still there to guide the story, Tug now stood off to the left side of the stage.

"This was a time when the creatures of the north lived in conflict with each other, each having some job to do, but mistrusting the other groups. It was this conflict that would bring darker creatures into the fold".

The young ones had begun to stomp around the stage yelling at each other, until a terrifying scream stopped everything. another moose calf, this one covered in glowing blue paint, swung out across the stage on a wire. it was unclear whether his screams were attempts at the terrifying howl of the windigo, or screams from being swung 10 feet off the ground. The other young ones tried their best to look afraid, but were quickly starting to giggle. This also brought a few laughs guttural laughs from the audience and the surprised inhale from a frightened looking moose cow, likely the calf's mother. Luckily, Tug saw this, gave a signal to the wire operator and began his dialogue as the blue calf was pulled backstage and lowered to the ground.

"Uhh... the uhh... the windego brought with them freezing winds and snows that blotted out any light", he spoke quickly as there was no longer a windigo on the stage. "The creatures of the north were forced to make a great decision, leaving their homelands in search of a better place. The many tribes of pegasi, unicorn, earth pony, deer and diamond dogs split in different directions. most of them heading south to settle in Equestria. But some would go west and find an oasis from the cold protected by The Fang Mountains."

though it was a little earlier then planned the amphitheater went black at the mention of the Fangs. It was time for a set change.

Author's Note

whoo. super nervous. this is the first story I've written here. I hope someone likes it.

had to think for a minute what exactly you would call a group of young moose, thestral and wolves. children somehow doesn't seem appropriate.