“Spike?” Twilight called up the stairs. “Spike, are you in your costume? We’re about to leave!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming! Just give me a minute to- Aha!” he exclaimed, finding the missing piece. He checked how he looked in the mirror. Once again, he was in a dragon costume, but this one was reminiscent of the one Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity used when they were spying on making sure he was okay during the dragon migration awhile ago. He started to head down the stairs.
“There you are! I was gett- A dragon? Weren’t you that last year? And the year before that?” Twilight said when she saw Spike’s costume, a small smile forming.
“Well, yes, but what else could I go as? I’m not exactly a pony…”
A knock came from the castle doors.
“Twilight, darling, are you and Spikey Wikey ready yet?”
“Yes, Rarity, we’re coming,” Twilight said as she opened the door.
“Darling, you look absolutely stunning! But, um, why would you want to be her?” Rarity asked, seeing Twilight’s “costume.”
She had died her coat a very dark grey, and was wearing a wig that was a sickly green. She was wearing special contacts that gave her pupils a dragon-esque look, and turned her iris green.
“Well, why not? Other ponies have dressed as changeling drones, so why not dress as the queen?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow. Then she noticed exactly what Rarity was wearing. “You’re one to talk. Why are you dressed up as Nightmare Moon?”
“Because it’s Nightmare Night, dear. A holiday in her name! Truthfully, I can’t believe I never thought to do this before.” Rarity looked around Twilight and spotted Spike. “Oooh he looks so cute in that!” she said, beaming.
“Thanks. I’m glad somepony likes my costume,” Spike said proudly with a glance at Twi.
“Oh, Spike. I like your costume, it’s just that you keep dressing up as a dragon. Maybe change it up next year. Like a hydra or cerberus.”
“Hmph.”
“Anyway, Pinkie asked me to tell you that we need to get to Sugarcube Corner soon. Far be it from me to deny her request.”
“Right. Come on, Spike. We’re heading out.”
“Welcome to… Spooky-cube Corner. WoooOOoo,” Pinkie said as they entered.
“Hi Pinkie! I like your… Vampire pony costume,” Twilight said, taking in Pinkie’s outfit.
“Silly Twilight, I’m not a vampire pony. I’m a cupcake-eating vampire pony!”
“Right… Is anypony else here? Or are we the first?”
“Haha! Twi missed me! My costume just must be that awesome!” came a raspy voice from behind Pinkie. “No, Twi, you aren’t the first here. Technically, Rarity was, but she went to go get you so that means I was!”
“Pf, chk, tch. Rainbow Dash. It most certainly does not!” Rarity exclaimed. “Just because I went to get Twilight doesn’t mean I didn’t get here first.”
“Well, Ah don’t know about you, Rainbow, but I gotta agree with Rares. And don’t even think about using some sort of sayin’ that usually makes no sense.”
“Applejack! You’re here! So who are we missing… Oh… Fluttershy. Right. Heheh.” Pinkie laughed nervously for forgetting who was missing from their group.
“What? Ah coulda sworn she was right behin’ me…” Applejack said, turning to look. She waved to somepony, then waved them over.
Not that anypony came when she did.
She sighed. “Ah’ll be right back,” she said, leaving the room.
“Sooo Rainbow. What exactly are you supposed to be? I’m a dragon,” Spike said, trying to break the silence that followed AJ’s arrival and subsequent departure.
“Huh? Oh, nice costume. I’m Spitfire.”
“The loud mouth Wonderbolt that you admire?”
“That’s the one.”
“Huh. Cool!” Spike said enthusiastically. Applejack returned shortly after, Fluttershy following behind.
“H-hi everypony… Oh Applejack did I have to dress up? Why can’t I go home an-”
“Sorry, sugarcube, but you agreed to come here dressed up. You picked the bunny costume, not me.”
“B-but you said you’d try to match. How does a fox match? Foxes eat bunnies. Does this mean you want to eat me?!” Fluttershy asked, very quietly and obviously terrified.
“Calm down, Shy. I won’t let her eat you. Besides, I doubt she’d like how you taste,” Rainbow said, smirking.
“R-Rainbow!”
Said pony laughed. “Just messing with you, Shy,” she said, lightly slugging her friend. Fluttershy laughed nervously, hiding in her costume.
“Well, before Rainbow interrupted me, Ah was goin’ to say that Ah’m a fox because a popular showin’ from a few months ago starred a fox and bunny. Ah thought I was bein’ clever, but if ya want, Ah’ll go home and change my costume.”
“N-no, you’re okay, Applejack. I-it’s fine.”
“If ya say so.”
“Great! We’re all here. Now we can start the party!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully.
“Wait, I thought we were gonna go get candy,” Spike said, disappointed. He had been looking forward to showing off his costume.
“Silly, we’ll get candy later! But right now, we party until the sun sets!”
“Oh… Actually, that sounds really fun, Pinkie!”
“That’s the spirit, Spike!” Pinkie grabbed Spike and led him to something she had set up for him. “Look! I asked Rarity if she had any leftover gems from the last time she used them and this is what I got!”
Sitting in front of Spike was a bowl half filled with a variety of gemstones.
“Wow… Thanks, Pinkie. You… Did this for me?”
“Of course! I tried to get everypony’s favorite food. Just for them!” Pinkie said, a big smile forming as she led the rest of her friends to their snack.
“Thank ya kindly, Pinkie, but what about you?” Applejack asked after she had been shown her snack.
“My cupcakes should be done baking soon.”
As soon as she said that, a timer dinged from across the kitchen.
“That’s them! I’ll just take them out and frost them real quick. Don’t worry, I won’t be long!” Pinkie said at rapid speed, zooming across the room.
“I think that this will be the best Nightmare Night ever.”
“Celestia, are you serious?!” Luna asked upon seeing her sister dressed as her. “Couldn’t you have done somepony else? Why me?”
“Because I love you. Besides, you said we should be a set. If you’re gonna be me, I’m gonna be you,” Celestia said, smirking.
“Really. You’re really gonna use that excuse? I can’t believe you!”
Celestia raised an eyebrow, but still smiled. “Well, then I guess I’ll just dress as Discord instead, I mean, he and I are a c-”
“Nononono! You’re fine don’t go change you can be me just don’t be Discord,” Luna said as her eyes widened.
“Oh alright, if you insist. I guess I could stay you. On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Discord comes with us tonight,” Celestia said with certainty.
“No deal.”
“Then I’ll just go cha-”
“FINE! He can come with us. I suppose it can’t hurt to have one more to our group of four…”
“It’s the rhyme that saves time. Oh look! I just rhymed myself! I’m a ‘poet that didn’t know it’ as some would say,” a recognizable voice said from behind Luna, causing her to jump.
“FAUST ABOVE! Discord, don’t do that!”
“Aaaww is little Lulu upset that I dressed as her love?” Discord teased.
“What do you m- Oh Faust...”
Discord was dressed as none other than Twilight Sparkle, causing Luna to blush furiously. “I take it back, he can’t come. You can go change now.”
“Nope! Too late, he’s coming with us. Come on, we need to go meet Shining and Cadance at the train station.”
“Shining, come on! If they aren’t here yet, then something might be holding them up,” Cadance said to her husband. They had been waiting for about half an hour for her aunts, and they still had yet to show up.
“What if they’re on their way and we aren’t here?”
“We would’ve seen them by now if the-”
Celestia, Luna, and Discord popped into existence beside them.
“That is the last time I let Discord take me anywhere. I don’t know how you stand it, Celestia, but that is some disorienting sh-”
“Ah ah ah~ Luna, you wouldn’t want to ruin our rating, would you?” Discord said, cutting off what Luna was going to say.
“What rating? We’re already a T.”
“Luna, Discord, stop breaking walls, or she’s gonna start over,” Celestia whispered, refusing to look anywhere besides the two.
Cadance cleared her throat. “I do believe we’re all here now, yes?” she said casually. “I assume one of you invited Discord as well. So, let’s get our annual Nightmare Night get together started.”
Luna grumbled as Cadance and Shining Armor boarded the train headed back to the Crystal Empire and, by extension, Flurry. According to Cadance, they had left little Flurry with her crystaller, a stallion named Sunburst.
She turned away and stared at Discord. “We are never speaking of what happened tonight again, understand?”
“Aaaww, was I that bad of a kisser?” he teased. “I mean, I’m sure Celestia is jealous of you because you got to kiss me, but I don’t see her threatening me to keep quiet.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “That would be because she isn’t here to threaten you.”
“And how exactly are you threatening me again?”
“Oh, you know, the usual. Yelling at you, trying to kill you, maybe a trip back to your prison of stone.”
“Fine. I won’t bring it up for three years, and if I still remember, I get to talk about it. Especially if you’re freshly married to a specific purple smart,” Discord said, grinning. “Or if you’re married at all.”
Luna paled, but nodded. “Fine fine, you can tell Twilight at the end of three years. But not before.”
