Circle of the Moonby GJT_ProductionsChaptersA Matter of TimingPlans ChangingWhat You Are In The DarkThe PossessionThat Stalks In The NightCircle Of The MoonAfterword: SisterhoodA Matter of TimingThe readers might be familiar with Princess Luna's visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, after her powers had fully recovered and she had regained her full alicorn size and appearance. It was there Luna learned how to deal with and accept the "curse" the tradition of Nightmare Night had put on her as a result of her rebellion and thousand-year exile. However, this story is not about that visitation, which was actually the second Nightmare Night that happened after Luna's return from exile. This story is about the first one, which occurred mere months after that return, and almost didn't happen at all... The reason it almost didn't happen was a very simple one: the older ruling sister judging that her younger counterpart was simply not ready to deal with the legends yet. The will of Princess Celestia was both absolute and unswayed by any argument, and the word of her decree would go out before any such ceremonies would be conducted that year. "With all due respect to you and Her Highness, sir, I think Princess Celestia is making a mistake. Surely this action is only delaying the inevitable?" Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot Royal Guard asks of his superior, Guard Captain Gibraltar, when he first hears of Celestia's decree. Shining Armor, thanks to his own younger sister, understood that this arbitrary action reeked of the behavior of an overprotective older sibling - something he had to constantly wrestle with before second-guessing the actions of that sister now learning friendship in Ponyville. "I don't doubt that you are right, Shining, but I have no leverage to try to convince the princess to act otherwise unless I know how Luna herself feels about the whole matter." Captain Gibraltar wearily answers. "That is part of the reason I summoned you to this meeting." "I understand, sir. I have been reluctant to ask about Nightmare Night, but now it seems prudent to at least make an attempt, for Luna will certainly have heard about the decree." Shining grimly acknowledges, being as frank as he could be about the situation. "You do need to do that, and the sooner the better, due to the communications lag between Canterlot and the far reaches of the kingdom. Also, I have heard a rumor the batponies are planning their own celebrations in place of the ones Celestia just canceled - can you confirm this?" Gibraltar asks again. "Yes sir, the batponies are indeed up to something. Lieutenant Vesper has said he will provide a report with more specific details by the end of the night." Shining affirms. "Very good. I would like you to pass along a copy of that with your shift-end report, and I promise that the plans of the batponies will be kept as secret as they want them to be. If something does not go as they intend, understand that I will take full responsibility and you will not be held at fault." Gibraltar explains. "Yes, sir. I appreciate your honesty, sir." "No need to thank me for that, Shining. Incidentally, I'm having the copy of the decree going to Ponyville being carried by Upper Class Meadow Song tomorrow, if you want to send a message to your sister, make sure to leave a note so that Meadow Song can pick it up before he leaves Canterlot." "Understood, sir. I'll think over what message I want to send tonight." "Very good. You are dismissed to your duties. Remember, the sooner you get the information about Luna's feelings, the better chance I have to change Celestia's mind." "Yes, sir. Good night, sir." "Good night, Shining. Hopefully, Luna will not react as badly as I fear she will to this..." THE FOLLOWING DAY, IN PONYVILLE... "Come on Twilight, we're going to miss the big announcement!" Spike the Dragon exclaimed, pumping his little legs trying to keep up with a Twilight Sparkle running full gallop through the streets of Ponyville, the destination being the main square where Mayor Mare was to make an important announcement about the town's upcoming Nightmare Night festivities. "This is very irregular, Spike! I set aside a hour today to start the new Daring Do book, and now I'm going to have to reschedule the whole rest of the day!" Twilight exclaims in exasperation between gasps for air as she gallops. "Quit your whining, we're almost there!" Spike counters in irritation as he and Twilight round a corner to emerge on a main road leading to the town square. As the two speed down toward the square, they can see the already-packed condition of the square and three of Twilight's friends - Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack - along the edge of the crowd. "Took you two long enough, Mayor's about to start." Rainbow Dash states in irritation, gesturing toward the stage fronting the square as she speaks, as Spike and Twilight Sparkle skid to a stop in front of her. On the stage, three ponies are seen walking up to a podium - an earth pony mare balancing sheets of paper and being escorted by an earth pony stallion in a Royal Guard dress uniform on each side. Twilight recognizes Mayor Mare as the one balancing the sheets of paper - on which the speech would've been written on for her to read - and one of her escorts as Aide Cherry Fizzy, instantly recognizable due to the unique arrowhead shape of his rank pin, but doesn't recognize the other escort wearing the Lieutenant's star on his uniform until Applejack makes a casual comment: "Crispin doesn't like wearing the dressy stuff, must be important if he's wearin' it now." A hush settles over the crowd as the escorted Mayor Mare stops in front of the podium with microphone, the escorts facing the crowd with the serious looks expected of a member of the E.U.P. Guard. Mayor Mare awkwardly shuffles the papers she's carrying, and all attention turns to her as she clears her throat to begin her speech: "In light of the return of Princess Luna several months ago and proof beyond doubt of the reality of the existence of 'Nightmare Moon', Princess Celestia has decreed a cancellation of all formal Nightmare Night celebrations across the kingdom for this year. If there is to be a wrestling between the legends and the reality, it will not occur this year. Traditions and events organized on the individual level will still be permitted to operate without interference, but there will be nothing more organized than that. In that light, this town's formal gathering has been canceled, although I would encourage everypony to organize alternative means of celebration if they still desire to do so. That is all, you may continue with your regular business citizens of Ponyville." The speech, short and relatively to the point, sends a wave of stunned confusion and some dismay through the crowd, and the buzz of conversation resumes very quickly. Twilight looks over at her three friends to try to gage their reactions while Spike simply stands looking in the distance in puzzlement. "No Nightmare Night this year? Rarity's not gonna be happy to hear that." Applejack speaks first to break the silence around the four mares and young dragon. "It's not gonna be so bad, Applejack. It sounds like we'll still get to dress up and collect candy, so it can't be all bad. Look on the bright side of things!" Pinkie Pie exclaims to try to lighten the suddenly-heavy mood. "Is that all you think about when it comes to Nightmare Night, Pinkie? Getting and eating as much candy as you can?" Rainbow Dash asks cynically. "Hey, you're never too old for candy ya know!" Pinkie Pie tartly replies with a glare in Rainbow Dash's direction. "Well at least we'll have The Running of The Leaves to look forward to..." Rainbow Dash comments with an eyeroll. "Couldn't you do somethin', Twilight? Try to change the Princess' mind?" Applejack asks, letting herself hope Twilight would be able to influence Celestia's actions. "If it's gotten this far, Applejack, there's nothing I'd be able to do." Twilight sadly answers. "I don't even know how Luna is going to react to this, and there's other ponies in a much better position to judge that than we are." "Well so much for that plan. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to buy two gallons of vanilla ice cream in case Rarity decides to have a dramatic episode..." Rainbow Dash comments again as she takes off flying away from the crowd. "And Pinkie and I have gotta get back to work. I've got a feelin' that we're gonna need extra cider made this year..." Applejack comments as she too turns and starts away from the crowd. "I don't know what those two are so glum about, it's not like everything is ruined. Still, gonna need to help the Cakes with more sweets..." Pinkie Pie comments as the last in line, turning and bouncing away in a happier mood than rest of the crowd, which were already starting to filter past Twilight Sparkle and Spike as the two were left to their thoughts. Twilight is left silent and puzzled, debating internally about what, if anything, she should do about this. A moment later, she's startled by a tapping of a hoof on her left shoulder, jumping a bit before recognizing who was doing the tapping. "Oh, sorry, Meadow Song, go ahead. I got lost in thought for a minute." Twilight states while breathing heavily recovering from the shock of the moment. "Your brother wanted you to read this. It's related to the announcement the Mayor just gave." Meadow Song somberly comments, pulling out a sealed envelope with a forehoof from inside the dress uniform he's wearing. The seal on the letter matches that of the nighttime "Luna Shift" of the Canterlot Guard, and Twilight knew that was confirmation enough for what Meadow Song was saying. "What's up, Twilight?" Spike asks Twilight as the latter takes the letter with her unicorn magic, blushing a bit as he finally realizes he had been distracted for longer than he should've been puzzling over what was going on. "My brother sent a letter the same time Celestia's decree went out. I wanna see what it says." Twilight replies, slashing the floating envelope open with the edge of a hoof and then pulling out the folded letter inside. She unfolds it and begins reading out loud, mostly for the benefit of Spike: "Dear Twilight Sparkle, Do not read too much into what Celestia's doing, little sis. Not even I'm sure how Luna would react to the Nightmare Night now if she was exposed to it, but all indications are it wouldn't be good. Perhaps Celestia is right in calling off the celebrations this year. Point is, Twily, there's too many unknowns about Luna yet to risk anything. Don't be too discouraged, and remember that Celestia is an older sister too, and she will act like one despite all the hundreds of years she's lived. Sincerely from your B.B.B.F.F. Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot E.U.P. Guard Commanding Officer, Luna Shift" Plans Changing"Oh! Sweetie Belle, will you be a dear and keep Opal busy for me? One of my neighbors just came in and I need to talk to him real quick." "Why do I have to do it?" "Because otherwise both she and you would get really distracting. Run along now and be a dear, please." Guard Upper Class Caramel chuckles at Sweetie Belle's sour glare in the direction of her older sister as the younger filly slowly retreats into a Carousel Boutique backroom. Rarity was up front manipulating thread and needle to fix a hem on a costume destined for reuse - the time just before Nightmare Night was particularly busy for an establishment like Carousel Boutique and Rarity couldn't afford to waste any idle time if the customers were to get their costumes on time. "I wonder if Celestia ever felt that way about Luna sometimes..." Rarity comments, more to herself than to anypony else in particular. "I really couldn't speculate, ma'am, but I imagine it would be the case." Caramel answers, continuing his chuckling after he speaks. "Oh that's right, I forgot you don't work that night shift. How is the Guard life treating you?" Rarity asks, continuing her focus on her work as she speaks. "It's alright, although there's been some tension considering the upcoming holiday." "Does not surprise me, dahling. This is the first Nightmare Night that's come around since Luna - the REAL Luna - returned, and I can't imagine hearing of all those legends is going to be good for her." "I completely agree. Maybe that's why Celestia did what she did this year. Don't know how much it'll help, but still..." "Canceling the general festivities? I wasn't there for the announcement, but Rainbow Dash told me a little earlier when she stopped in with two gallons of vanilla ice cream for me." "What in Equestria was Rainbow Dash giving you ice cream for?" "I don't think you'd understand fully, because you're a stallion, but let's just say Dash thought I would need it to cope with the deluge of cancellations of orders. Hasn't happened, thank goodness, but I appreciate the gesture. At the very least, I know what to bring to Pinkie's next party now..." "Yeah, I suppose..." "Where's Lucky Clover? I thought he came back with you and Meadow Song..." "Lucky volunteered to work extra shifts this week, so he's staying in Canterlot until next week. Rumor is he's on a short list for early promotion to Upper Class due to the ongoing shortages over at the castle, so he's trying to improve his odds of actually getting that bump up." "Oh, well that's interesting. Good luck to him, if that rumor is actually true or not..." "Yes, and speaking of the Guard, that's the main reason I'm here." "Oh? What is it about?" At this point, Rarity's focus on her work was broken by curiousity, and she looked up at Caramel for the first time since engaging in conversation with him. Caramel didn't begrudge the mare's split attention considering her busy state at the time, but was silently glad he had her full attention now. "Got a message direct from Princess Celestia. She wants your talents to help with something. It's supposed to be a surprise for Luna, so it needs to be kept quiet." Caramel explains as he pulls out a sealed scroll from the saddlebag he's currently wearing. Rarity gives a curious eyebrow raise as she takes the scroll using her unicorn magic, the light blue aura holding it hovering in the air. "Surely Celestia could've sent this to me by Spike or even just the direct post, why a middlestallion to carry it?" Rarity asks with confusion and some suspicion in her voice. "The mail system is dangerously compromised. There are ponies out there that would gladly ruin the surprise, and not in an accidental way, if they got their hooves on this scroll. So the Captain in Canterlot had me bring it to you directly." Caramel explains. Rarity continues her suspicious look as the seal is pulled off the scroll, causing it to unroll partly. Rarity begins reading and makes comments to Caramel as she reads, Caramel answering in turn: "So this is for Luna?" "That's correct, ma'am." "What's the deadline for this? I don't see any dates here..." "The actual surprise won't be until after Nightmare Night, but before The Running of the Leaves. I'll get another message with a more specific date for you." "OK... should Twilight and the others that got an Element of Harmony know about this?" "Only as much as needed to complete the task. Celestia's orders." "Fair enough... wait, the batponies are sponsoring this? This is a first..." "There have been a lot of firsts with them. Considering they were kind of shunned until they correctly predicted Luna's return, that's hardly surprising." "There's so much we don't know about them... hmm... I won't be able to focus on this until after the Nightmare Night rush, but I'll see what I can start now." "Very good. Remember, secrecy is paramount. The enemy is even here, and could stop this project before it even starts." Rarity looks up from reading the scroll to see Caramel's face being a grim seriousness, as if he was dead serious about what he was saying. "You look like I'm not taking this seriously, and I don't appreciate your lack of faith, Caramel." Rarity comments cynically. "The enemy is here in Ponyville as well as Canterlot. And they are not the kind of enemy that will respond to the magic of friendship." Caramel answers in a grim tone. "All they seek is chaos, but failing that they will steal and kill and destroy without shame or mercy. Friendship will not sway them, so we must be prepared to deliver their just punishment and destruction, lest they destroy us first..." What You Are In The Dark"Oh come come Excelsior, it's not that bad to be involved in that particular role." "Sir, a griffon and a manticore are barely..." "You're getting a costume. A good one, not the cheap stuff you would see on foals this time of year." "That doesn't really make me feel any better, sir." Guard Upper Class Excelsior replies with a cynical stare at Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor as they travel the hallways of Canterlot Castle. Lieutenant Vesper, the batpony stallion that is Excelsior's immediate commanding officer, chuckles at Excelsior's expression as he walks beside the griffon in the hallways. "Excelsior, did I mention that Princess Celestia didn't just sign off on this, but is involved herself?" Shining Armor asks with a hopeful grin, copying an expression frequently on the face of his younger sister Twilight Sparkle. "Well, since you put it that way, sir..." Excelsior calmly replies, the contemplation now on his face indication to Shining that his tactic had worked. "See? I knew you'd come around! Didn't I tell you he'd come around once I mentioned Celestia, Lieutenant?" Shining exclaims, and Lieutenant Vesper nods eagerly in response. "Only because you mentioned Celestia, sir. That's it." Excelsior bluntly states, causing both Shining Armor and Vesper to both chuckle in response. Excelsior, as the rare combination of a griffon and member of the E.U.P. Guard, owed not just his current employment but his life to Celestia's mercies, her magic transforming and regenerating a ravaged, runty body into that fitting of a warrior. He still felt not quite fitting in around Canterlot though, despite remaining under the command of the similarly "different" batponies, and had hoped to be assigned as a liaison to Griffonstone in place of his current Canterlot service. "Do you think participating will help me get that transfer I've been wanting, sir?" Excelsior asks Shining Armor hopefully once the chuckling subsides. "Beats me, Excelsior. But ever since part of the Griffon Ambassador's party decided to run away to Griffonstone rather than go back across the sea just to get something chopped off, Celestia seems to think having Prince Blueblood over there 'protecting them' is better than throwing a bunch of bits at the problem." Shining Armor explains with a shrug, referencing the aftermath of the incident that lead to Excelsior's employment in the Royal Guard in the first place. "What is he even doing over there? Paying off the Griffonstone government to avoid handing over the refugees to the griffons across the sea?" Lieutenant Vesper asks. "It seems only he and Princess Celestia know what he's doing, and Celestia isn't willing to talk about it." Shining Armor replies unhelpfully. The conversation came to end at that point as the three traveling the hallways had arrived at their destination - Shining Armor's office. The unicorn guard posted in front of the door opens it with his magic as the trio approach - and stop in their tracks once they are able to see inside. Lieutenant Vesper immediately starts chuckling at the sight before them, followed by Excelsior only partly successfully trying to hide a smile spreading across the beak with his talons. Shining Armor lets out an annoyed sigh followed by an eyeroll, and then a glare at Vesper that stops the latter's chuckling cold. "If you're quite done Lieutenant, I'll handle this myself. You two are dismissed to your duties." Shining orders with irritation. "Yes, sir." Vesper coyly replies, but as he and Excelsior turn to leave for their duties Shining hears Vesper still twittering in amusement while Excelsior asks something Shining can't make out. Shining finally turns his attention fully to the source of Vesper's amusement - Princess Cadance laying on her back on Shining's desk as if it were a bed, looking over at Shining with the attention-seeking "doe eyes" that usually indicated she really wanted Shining's attention - and mutters under his breath in irritation as he rolls his eyes again. The cynical stare returns as Shining approaches the desk and Cadance switches to an innocent stare. "Is there a particular reason why you've decided to lay yourself all over my desk?" Shining asks as he stares down at the smiling Cadance. "I need to know if we're still going out in costume on Nightmare Night, that's all." Cadance replies, continuing her pretense of innocence. Shining knew what she was talking about - in previous years, Celestia had allowed Shining and Cadance to go out together on Nightmare Night in costume as an impromptu "date night" of sorts. Filly Twilight Sparkle had once been involved as well, but as she grew older she lost interest in the activity. Obviously Twilight would not be able to do that this year, and Cadance had not been available the last Nightmare Night, so Shining empathized with Cadance's worry, but... "I thought you heard already, Cadance, Luna has started shutting herself in again. I need to be on duty that night to make sure nothing snaps." Shining replies with a sad worry in his voice. "Aunt Celly was telling me Aunt Lulu would have trouble with this time of year, but it's that serious?" Cadance asks, switching to concern in her expression. She rises to a sitting position on the desk, forcing Shining to shy back a bit to avoid getting smacked. "Yep, it's that serious. I'm going to be doing a lot of checking on her until all this blows over, including right now..." Shining answers as Cadance smoothly slides off the desk and onto all fours on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe next year, hm?" Cadance offers with a shy smile. "We'll see. Maybe next year Luna will be able to handle things better. This year though... it's too risky to leave her unattended." Shining answers with a sad shake of his head. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Hopefully we're all worrying for nothing, though." Cadance tries to reassure, giving Shining a kiss on a cheek as she passes by him on the way out of the office. "I wish I could share your optimism..." Shining comments to himself as he watches Cadance leave, then he sighs and turns to fix his desk and get the mandatory paperwork done. He already knew this was going to be a long night, and he hadn't even checked in with Luna yet... LATER THAT NIGHT... "Who knocks upon our door?" "The Lieutenant Captain, brightest star..." "You may come in." The curt cutoff of Shining Armor's usual greeting was disconcerting enough, but the scene Shining came across once he opened the door made that feeling worse. Around his hooves were many empty candy wrappers strewn all over the floor of Luna's suite, and it didn't take long to find the source of the wrappers - Princess Luna laying on the floor and gorging herself on recent donations of candy. Shining hated those candy donations - doubtless they were well-intentioned, but only served to affirm the "reality" of the Nightmare Moon legends. Luna's state disconcerted him even more - reverted, albeit by voluntary shapeshifting instead of forced power removal, to the smaller appearance she first arrived in Canterlot as. And although she had turned away from the door, Shining had caught glimpses of chocolate smeared around Luna's mouth and the bags under the eyes of sleep deprivation (Shining later speculated that the creation of the Tantabus entity happened shortly before because of this evidence). As Shining looks over, he can see Luna stuff some more candy in her mouth via unicorn magic while a few tears trickle down her face. Shining Armor immediately recognized this behavior as a version of "drowning sorrows", and was cause for immediate action. He starts tenatively forward, but stops when Luna rises to her hooves. Her turning around is reluctant, as if not really wanting him to see her like this, but she does complete it anyway to see her face smeared with streaks of chocolate and stains of tears. Shining's heart falls to his hooves, and an uncertainty crosses his face as he debates internally about what to say and whether to say anything or not. Finally, Luna breaks the heavy silence by speaking through a full mouth: "We know why you are here." "Everypony's worried about you, with the holiday coming up..." Shining spits out, finally feeling free to speak after Luna had spoken first. "WHY DO THEY DO SUCH THINGS?!" Luna blasts out, gesturing toward the donated candy stocks. "WHY DO THEY SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT US?! WHY? Why? Why..." Luna trails off as she again collapses to the floor, fresh tears flowing out from her eyes. In that moment, Shining seemed to realize Celestia's fears were correct, and that he would probably be spending the whole night here. He moves to a short distance in front of Luna and lays down facing her. "I know what those legends say is not really true, but they will not go away." Shining answers, trying to keep his voice from breaking as he can feel tears welling up in his own eyes. "I am certain your sister is trying to help as best she can, but we still have to deal with this. Let's at least deal with it together, instead of alone. Deal with it as friends, as I'm sure Celestia wants it to be." The logic seems to persuade Luna, as she essentially leaps right into Shining, tears flowing freely now. Shining turned this into a proper hug, not being afraid to let some "liquid empathy" flow out as well. Neither Shining Armor nor Luna know how long they stay embraced like this, but it didn't really matter - the point was the friendship magic and empathetic release that it provided to the hurting Luna at that time... The Possession"Come along P2, you know what Snake's message told us - we must sabotage their efforts!" "Yeah P1, but how can we even get in the town, let alone conduct an attack? We're too conspicuous with the Poison Joke affliction!" "That's why I have a plan. We're going to the ruin of the Two Sisters castle." "What for? What are we even going to find there?" "The Pony of Shadows, once nightfall comes around at least. I intend to strike a bargain with it, somehow." "Isn't that just a legend though?" "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But after Luna was proven real, I'm more willing to believe the legend than not. And we don't have any other real options to carry out Snake's will." "If you say so, P1." "Good, now hurry, we have to avoid alerting anything that could eat us in this dusk..." LATER THAT EVENING, AT CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE... "Come on Rainbow Dash, don't be so skeptical of this! It's for Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia herself is involved in this." "Yeah, but one of those big burly bat ponies as Pinkie Pie?" "Na-na-na-na-na BAT MARE!" "Pinkie, that's really not helping right now..." Twilight Sparkle - trying to convince Rainbow Dash to support Rarity's efforts - and Rarity herself working on the costumes break out in chuckles as Rainbow Dash facehoofs at a costumed and grinning Pinkie Pie. All around them are costumes on dummy versions of ponies that resemble the Element Bearers themselves, as well as a few others, including one resembling a manticore and another that looks like a large black-coated alicorn. "But this Bat Mare costume would be perfect for you, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie exclaims in response to Dash's gesture. "I already had a costume for this Nightmare Night. Now I'm saving it for next year." Dash replies cynically. "What's that?" Twilight Sparkle asks curiously. "She based it on those 'Shadowbolts' she encountered on the bridge leading to the Castle of the Two Sisters." Rarity answers as she works, manipulating needle and thread with her unicorn magic. "I didn't know you liked them that much. I'll have to remember to tell Luna about that." Twilight Sparkle comments. "Sure, right..." Dash mutters to himself, prompting another round of chuckles from Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The chuckling was cut off when the ponies heard a scream coming from outside, also stopping Rarity's work in her tracks. Briefly they exchange worried looks before Twilight gasps out a very important piece of information: "That's Fluttershy's screaming!" "Then she might be in trouble, come on!" Dash exclaims in response, already zooming past Twilight and Pinkie Pie toward the Carousel Boutique door. "Wait, but the...!" Rarity exclaims in turn, reluctant to leave her work. "Sorry, this is gonna have to wait!" Outside the Boutique, several ponies are galloping away from a pair of very odd looking stallions: pegasi wreathed in black smoke except for zebra-like stripes glowing a bright orange. These two odd stallions were attempting to grab a struggling and screaming Fluttershy when Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie emerge from Carousel Boutique. "Let go of her, ya fiends!" Applejack exclaims, rushing in from another direction and attempting to smash the black stallions off balance by bucking one of them with her hindlegs. Instead, the attack simply rebounds off, and the off balance Applejack flips over on her back. "Yeah, let go of her!" Rainbow Dash adds, also trying the rushing tactic at the stallions. This time, a purple glow "shield" forms in front of them, and Rainbow Dash rebounds off this shield in a direction none of her friends can see. The distraction allows Twilight to quickly charge a magic blast from her horn, which she fires at the potential abductors. This breaks through the glowing "shield", causing the stallions to recoil back and drop Fluttershy, who runs off to see if Applejack is alright herself. "Taste my party cannon!" Pinkie exclaims, having summoned up her non-violent use artillery for more aggressive reasons, but before she can fire - or anypony do anything else - the two stallions seem to disappear in a poof of smoke! "Where'd they go?!" Twilight exclaims, looking around desperately in the low moonlight for the attackers. Another scream, this time from Rarity, quickly provides the answer, and Pinkie Pie only spares a moment to look over at Twilight before both rush back into Rarity's business. "Get back, back you fiends!" Rarity was screaming, attempting to wield a broomstick to chase out the two black smoke-covered stallions, which had apparently teleported past Twilight and Pinkie into the building. Twilight and Pinkie attempt to rush the two stallions from behind in support of Rarity, but before they can attack the black smoke turns purple and seems to "explode" of them, knocking down all three of the stallions' opponents. When they recover - assisted back up by Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash having followed their friends into Carousel Boutique - the attackers are gone, but Rarity's hysterical screaming shows something else is missing. "THE COSTUMES! ALL THE COSTUMES ARE GONE! IT'S THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" Rarity exclaims, nicely encapsulating the problem she was now facing as she collapses on a "drama couch" Pinkie somehow manages to push underneath her from somewhere - don't ask where, it's Pinkie Pie after all. "Ice cream! I'm going to need that ice cream you gave me after all, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaims again, using her magic to remotely open a freezer in a back room and levitate out a large tub of vanilla ice cream. "Woah woah woah, time out!" Twilight Sparkle shouts in turn, intercepting the levitating ice cream tub and focusing the disarrayed attention of the other ponies in the room on her. "We've done this rush job before when it came to Hoity Toity, we can do this again! Come on everypony, let's start getting the materials for new costumes!" Twilight shouts optimistically, but the other mares, looking between Rarity's distraught expression and their own concerned faces, seem reluctant to do anything at all... MEANWHILE, AT FORT CHAOS... "Ugh, what happened? There was this big shadow, and then... blank. You know what happened, P1?" Agent of Chaos P2 asks in the quiet of their hiding place in the Everfree Forest, moaning and rubbing his head with a forehoof as he speaks. "Beats me, but I feel like I just woke up after having five ciders. Ooof..." his partner P1 answers from beside him, also moaning and rubbing head with a forehoof. "You remember anything?" P2 asks his partner again. "I don't know, it was Ponyville somewhere... very trippy. I don't even think it took away our Poison Joke effect." "Buck it all! Hopefully we did something chaos-causing though..." Author's Note (Apologies for not getting this out when I promised in my blog post, but my work schedule precluded me from finishing any earlier. I still intend to get the next chapter out sooner than normal, but it will probably be Mon next week instead of Fri.) That Stalks In The Night"Wow X, this is amazing! It's like Cloudsdale, but inside a mountain..." "Mmmf." "What? We're in a place that very few non-batponies have ever been in, and a grunt is the best I can get out of you?" "Mmmf." "Whatever, we're not really here to sight-see anyway. That's for the scummy unicorns and earth ponies to do..." It was just before sunset, and inside the caverns of Canterlot mountain were two infiltrators: Agent Snake, leader of the Agents of Chaos, and the mysterious Agent X, both loaded with large amounts of incendiary explosives. The sights would only distract them briefly for their devious mission... The batpony colony inside the mountain of Canterlot was formed from the remains of a mining operation that helped build the city in its early days. The batponies would live roosting in hollows formed from the old mine tunnels, rather than building structures like pegasi would do in Cloudsdale. There was one notable exception to this rule, however, and considering it was the most important place in their colony it was not hard to see why. A temple had been carved into the mountainside, styled in a manner that once suited the dark terror of the pre-exile Princess Luna's service. Before Luna's return earlier that year, it was called "The Temple of the Moon" and the batpony "believers" in the eventual reappearance of the good Luna worshipped and honored her in Celestia-approved secret. However, like with Canterlot itself, the triumph in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters changed everything. The temple's "priests", lead by the now-Lieutenant Vesper, pledged themselves to service of the returned Luna and changed the name of the temple to "The Temple of Luna". They also would open their previously-secret services to non-batponies for the first time, and now with the formal Nightmare Night activities canceled by Celestia the alternative the batponies now offered intrigued many Canterlot residents. Record crowds were expected for the service, which made it a prime target for Snake and X to strike. There was one major problem with their plan, however - glowing stuff. Agent Snake's glowing red eyes, as well as glowing red horn that he seemed to be using solely as a light source, plus the sickly green glow of Agent X's eyes, were both very distinctive in the context - a phenomenon blamed solely on lack of knowledge about batponies in general - and both were worried that they were being tracked, judging from the all the glowing cat-slit eyes that they could glimpse in peripheral vision. "X, you did arm the explosive charges early?" Snake whispers to X as they approach the door to the Temple of Luna. "Mmm." X mutters out again in affirmation, briefly letting a metal cylinder fall into the red glow of Snake's horn. "HALT!" a third voice echoes in the cavern, and when Snake and X stop in their tracks, they look up to see two batpony stallions leveling pikes right in their faces! "You are not welcome here, evil ones. And Princess Luna will be eager to try out her returned powers on the likes of you!" the previous voice speaks again, and X looks back to give an involuntary "eep" of alarm. It doesn't take long for Snake, following X's look, to see why the cause for the alarm: more batponies coming up behind them, some on the cave floor and some with leathery wings flapping in the air above! It seemed from the circumstances the batponies had simply waited to spring their trap until X and Snake were in too deep to escape it. In this case, however, Snake decided to act instinctively, yanking with his mouth one of the metal explosive canisters away from his comrade and hurling it to the ground in front of them. Before the batponies could figure out what to do next, a boom and a bright blast briefly light up the cavernous space, disorienting the batponies in the process and allowing Snake and X to turn tail in an escape attempt! Snake and X quickly collide with the batponies behind him, and cloaks tear away as the batponies try to pin them down. X now throws another explosive canister into the air, the fireball in midair serving as an additional distraction to the batponies. When the two Agents of Chaos finally wriggle out of the attempted pins, they take off at full speed, throwing explosive canisters behind them as they gallop to keep back the batpony pursuers... A LITTLE LATER... "Guard, how does what you saw even make sense?" Lieutenant Vesper asks in disbelief as he interviews his subordinates, while other Guard members check out the scene of the failed capture attempt and tend to the batponies that were temporarily blinded by the brightness of the explosions. "I'm sure that what I saw reflected in those explosions was real! One was a pegasus with glowing red eyes, a collar around the neck and a band with a unicorn's horn going around the head, and the other... I don't know how to describe it, sir, it had green eyes and hissed very loudly, not a batpony but some kind of fanged horror!" the subordinate Guard pleads. "Lieutenant, over here! I found something!" another Guard with bright orange eyes exclaims from behind Vesper. "What did you find, Arcturus?" Vesper asks, turning and starting over to where the subordinate batpony was standing. "There's something inside the cloaks they dropped, sir. Different things in each one." Arcturus answers, holding out what he's found for his superior officer to examine more closely. "... Pegasus feathers and a bit of what looks like insect wing. Who, or perhaps what, just attacked us?" Vesper asks in response to what evidence he sees. "I wish I knew, sir. Nothing about these things make sense, sir." Arcturus answers. "If there was another alicorn running about, why haven't we heard anything about him or her? And I can't even speculate on where the insect wing came from..." "Too many questions, and not enough answers. And that's what worries me..." Vesper comments, looking down at the feathers and piece of insect wing in total puzzlement. Pieces of evidence that would only make sense in hindsight... Circle Of The Moon"MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY FOR THE PRINCESS!" "We'll meet with the Lieutenant in the Temple itself. That way we can actually hear ourselves think in this hubbub." A box of four Royal Guards, one of them being Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, surround a curious Princess Luna as she was escorted to her namesake temple, the guest of honor of the play that was to take place there in place of the formal Nightmare Night celebrations previously cancelled by Princess Celestia. Curiosity over the event, Luna's attendance there, and rumors that Celestia herself was involved in the batpony-crafted play all combined to keep cloud lifts and flying carriages quite busy that night. Expectations of record crowds - unicorn and pegasus and earth pony alike - seemed to have been met as curious members of the throng were stepping aside only reluctantly to let Luna and her escorts past. Some kept on staring at Luna as they went past, doubtless creating a very mixed feeling in Luna's mind over the kind of attention she was getting. Inside the Temple of Luna was standing-room only crowd and the echoing buzz, although reduced, was still enough to require any conversation be done in close quarters if shouting was to be avoided. Hence why any curious bystanders would seem to see Lieutenant Vesper, the unoffical coordinator of the night's events, getting in very close quarters by the Princess and her escort. "Ponies are staring at us, you know sir." a pegasus stallion posted as the opposite corner of the box from Shining comments uneasily. "I know Guard, but the Princess and I need to check in with the Lieutenant first. At the very least for the seating arrangements." Shining comments back. "Glad you didn't keep me waiting though, sir. Got enough on my plate as it is. The reserved front row center seats are waiting." Lieutenant Vesper now jumps in, his tone weary but relieved and joyful, pointing a forehoof toward a section at the front boxed off with rope and other Royal Guards holding "Section Reserved for Princess Luna" signs. "Thank you Lieutenant. This way please Your Highness." Shining states, speaking first to Vesper and then to Princess Luna. "Most appreciated Lieutenant Captain. 'Tis a pity Princess Cadenza could not come with us tonight." Luna answers as the group moves toward the designated seating area, the guards already there beginning to deploy a "privacy screen" behind where Luna would be sitting as a precaution against those ponies who thought ogling royal flanks would be more interesting than the main attraction. "She said whatever that we had planned was trumped by what her other aunt asked her to do tonight. Whatever that was, she didn't go into specifics." Shining Armor replies with a shrug - he didn't let on to Luna he'd already had an idea what Cadance was actually doing with her Aunt Celestia. "It must be very important, whatever it is." Luna replies flatly, giving a glance indicating her suspicions Shining wasn't telling her something as he sits down in the "consort seat" to her right. Meanwhile, the other Guards form a triangle around where Shining and Luna sit, providing at least an illusion of protection. It is not long before some torches illuminating the temple are blown out to dim the area, and the buzz settles down as it becomes clear the play will start. On an improvised stage, Lieutenant Vesper steps into its center as a crude lighting rig - torches surrounded by a reflective metal surface directing the light in a specific direction - focuses on him. Up there, he gives the introductory speech to the play: "Greetings and salutations to my fellow Equestrians, those with wing, those with horn, and those with neither. My name is Lieutenant Vesper, long time leader and caretaker of this temple you all have been invited into. Until some months ago, I was the Keeper of the Compact Princess Celestia made with my ancestors after the exile of Princess Luna. For hundreds of years, the batponies waited and watched in undying hope for the return of the princess of the night we were supposed to serve, suffering misunderstanding and hatred and persecution all the while. It was prophesied in my lifetime as Keeper that our hopes would be fulfilled in either joy or terror, and when the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered in the Castle of the Two Sisters a spark of friendship ensured they were fulfilled in joy. It was thus decided on this, the first Nightmare Night since that triumph of friendship and hope, that we would open our expressions of hope to the public so that all may share in the joy of that triumph. We now present to you, a play in a manner similar to plays of old, 'Circle of the Moon'." The lighting rig is shut off by a cover, and a quiet stamp of hooves as applause of sorts spreads across the crowd. All eyes and ears now focus on the stage, eager in anticipation of what is to come in the play. While the area is dark, a different voice - which Shining Armor recognizes as Guard Upper Class Excelsior's - begins echoing in the space: "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. I'm sure you've all heard this story before, and of how the younger sister was consumed by bitterness to become the wicked Nightmare Moon before being banished to the moon. It was prophesied that in the thousandth year of the banishment the stars would aid her escape from exile, and it is from the fulfillment of that prophecy we begin our play..." The lighting rigs are uncovered, and the audience gasps at the scene now illuminated: a pitch-black alicorn wearing replicas of the accessories of "Nightmare Moon" as well as mane and tail flowing blue speckled with stars dominates the stage, looming over a group of six bat ponies wearing wraparound costumes and wigs resembling those of the current Element Bearers. "... Is that sister up there?" Princess Luna asks Shining Armor with some degree of surprise, apparently having noticed "Nightmare Moon" had purple eyes. Shining gives a gentle shush in response to the question, but a smirk seems to indicated he had had the same thoughts as Luna had. "I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" the batpony playing Twilight Sparkle in the play was exclaiming on the stage to the black alicorn. "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." the black-coated alicorn playing "Nightmare Moon" replies. "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" As "Nightmare Moon" bursts out in cackling laughter, the lighting rigs are covered again to cut the lighting... The narrating voice of Excelsior speaks again while the stage is dark: "Determined to stop the eternal night 'Nightmare Moon' would bring to the land of Equestria, the student of Princess Celestia named Twilight Sparkle starts out to the last known location of the Elements of Harmony within the perilous Everfree Forest..." The lights are uncovered again, and the stage shows the batponies playing Twilight Sparkle's soon-to-be fellow Element Bearers trying to persuade her not to go into the Everfree Forest alone. While this scene plays, Princess Luna makes an off-hoof comment about the quality of the costumes. "Well, considering the time and material constraints they're not half bad. Rarity even got the striping right on my sister's mane, and the colors on Rainbow Dash..." Shining Armor rambles in a whisper, content to let things trail off as the play continued on. The play continued through depictions of each of the trials of the future Element Bearers: Applejack and honesty (albeit with cheating by the actors flying in mid-air to simulate the perilous drop), Fluttershy and kindness (which Excelsior playing the manticore in a similar wrap-around costume to the main actors), Pinkie Pie and laughter (with the batpony stallions holding prop scary trees on the stage), Rarity and generosity (with the batpony stallions manipulating a prop head to represent the sea serpent), and finally Rainbow Dash and loyalty (the "Shadowbolts" played by three appropriately costumed pegasi). Although necessarily abridged, both the Element Bearers and Luna herself would later testify to their broad accuracy. The next part of the play is not quite as accurate, and the changes seem to have been because of pacing and staging reasons. In the play, immediately after the loyalty test, Nightmare Moon casts a temporary paralyzing spell on all the group members except Twilight Sparkle and changes Twilight to a direct one-on-one race into the Castle of the Two Sisters to reach the Elements of Harmony. The next scene shows Nightmare Moon with the broken inert versions of the Elements ("at least they found one good use for the practice cannonballs" Shining Armor comments) having won the race and gloating about the night lasting forever to Twilight. It was at that point that the others rush onto the stage in the rally, and as the actress playing Twilight gives her "enlightenment spark" speech the effects turn up a notch, rapid flashing of colored spotlights used to represent the reformation of the broken Elements as the now-familiar necklaces (for obvious security reasons, the actual Elements were represented by illuminated necklaces the actresses exposed by pulling open flaps on the costumes) and culminating in many different light colors focusing on Nightmare Moon to represent the magic blast she was hit with from the Elements. After all the flash, the stage lights abruptly cut, and stay down long enough for those watching to wonder what was going on, when Celestia's voice is heard in the darkness to some surprise: "Awake, my little ponies." This triggers the lights to come up again, this time on the actresses playing the new Element Bearers laying with eyes closed on the stage floor on the left side. On the right side of the stage is a larger alicorn, wearing a light-blue wraparound costume and accessories designed to mimic the depowered Luna's appearance, also laying on the stage with eyes closed. The actress clearly has some mane tucked into the costume itself, and despite the color change the style of the tail gives away who is playing the depowered Luna. "Now I know why Cadance was needed tonight..." Shining comments to himself, remaining as quiet as possible to avoid distracting the real Luna beside him, who seems to be overcome with emotion as the reconciliation with her sister is played back again on the stage. The action freezes on Celestia (now playing herself) and the depowered Luna embracing as Excelsior's narration sounds out in the temple again: "It was thus the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered and how a group of six Element Bearers brought reconciliation between the two royal sisters. And that is why, on this Nightmare Night, we wish everypony watching to remember not the monsters but the friendship, that this may even for one year be a holiday of joy and triumph, not fear and uncertainty. We, as servants of the night, hope you will leave with new appreciation for friendship and forgiveness as the Circle of the Moon is closed in joyous celebration instead of terror and darkness." The lights cut briefly, and when they come up again all the actors are facing the crowd on the stage, bowing to them. The bowing is answered by a riotous stamping of hooves - equivalent to a standing ovation in the human world - that Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor cannot help but be swept up in. Interestingly, the only one not involved seems to be Luna herself, still in her overwhelmed emotional state... Afterword: Sisterhood"You never told me you would be involved in the play!" "What, and spoil the surprise? Besides it was a very last minute thing Aunt Celly asked of me..." "You're still a mare of many surprises, you know that?" "I'll take that as a compliment, Lieutenant Captain." Several subordinate Royal Guards chuckle as Princess Cadance, still dressed up in her depowered Luna costume, kisses Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor on the cheek. Shining, who was technically still on-duty escorting Princess Luna, flushes a deep red, but is saved from further awkwardness by the approach of the batpony Lieutenant Vesper, jubilant but tired by the efforts of him and his subordinates putting on the play. "My congratulations on a job well done, Lieutenant. Remind me to tell the Captain to add 'acting talent' to the personnel file of you and your subordinates." Shining says to Vesper with a big smile. "If it's all the same to you sir, I'd rather..." Vesper begins to awkwardly reply, looking down as he seems to be uninterested in what Shining has proposed. "Oh don't be so modest, Lieutenant." Cadance states as a kind of gentle nudge. "Equestria doesn't know enough about you and your kind, this at least will help change that." "Well, since you put it that way, Your Highness..." Vesper replies with a bit of a blush. "There? See, we'll get these batponies integrated into society sooner rather than later!" Cadance exclaims to Shining Armor. "Something tells me it's not going to be that easy..." Shining Armor replies with a nervous look aside. "You worry too much, Shining dear. Have a little faith. After all, we have your younger sister to thank for this." Cadance points out with a smile. "That's true. And speaking of sisters..." Shining Armor says, looking over at Vesper as he speaks. "Well, sir, you should be able to hear for yourself." Vesper replies with a toothy smile, pointing toward a wall where bumping and thumping sounds could be heard from the other side. Shining Armor and Cadance exchange looks for a moment, then walk over to the wall and turn sideways facing each other so that they each could put an ear up to the wall - all the better to hear what was going on on the other side. And what was going on the other side was glorious indeed. Luna's previous emotions at the surprise of Celestia and the bat ponies had bubbled up into a new fountain of appreciation about the reunion after the exile, and the rumpus on the other side reflected this: tumbling and bumping noises, mixed with mirthful laughs coming from both Celestia and Luna. Both Shining and Cadance briefly paused to savor those sounds of sisters - immortal alicorns though they may be - playing like young fillies. "Totally worth it?" Shining asks in a stage whisper to Cadance, unable to keep the smile off his face. "Totally worth it." Cadance replies the same way with a nod, also unable to stop smiling. The sounds on the other side of the wall were the clearest sign yet of the relative success of the rehabilitation effort, and although Luna would continue to need friendship and support to prevent backsliding the events marked a tentative victory over all those that had sought to send Luna back into the darkness... MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE INSIDE THE MOUNTAINS OF CANTERLOT... Agent Snake in the Grass smoulders in his mountainside refuge, cut off from but vaguely aware of what was going on in the batpony settlement due to the short physical separation between his secret complex and the batpony's caves. The success of the batponies supported by Celestia meant his dream of sending Luna directly back into the darkness was now effectively dead, so there was now nothing to lose by turning his entire organization toward dealing destruction and death. To that end, he began writing a new coded message, addressed to all Agents of Chaos: "To All Agents - We cannot hope now to plunge Luna back into the darkness, so we must instead be the fires of chaos. We must be prepared to sacrifice everything, up to our own lives, to set Canterlot aflame for the resurrection of the chaotic one. On the day of the whirlwind, we must torture as the chaotic one would, offering our own blood and the blood of innocents as sacrifices! If it means the return of the chaotic one, then we will have won even if we die in the process. - Agent Snake in the Grass"
A Matter of TimingThe readers might be familiar with Princess Luna's visit to Ponyville on Nightmare Night, after her powers had fully recovered and she had regained her full alicorn size and appearance. It was there Luna learned how to deal with and accept the "curse" the tradition of Nightmare Night had put on her as a result of her rebellion and thousand-year exile. However, this story is not about that visitation, which was actually the second Nightmare Night that happened after Luna's return from exile. This story is about the first one, which occurred mere months after that return, and almost didn't happen at all... The reason it almost didn't happen was a very simple one: the older ruling sister judging that her younger counterpart was simply not ready to deal with the legends yet. The will of Princess Celestia was both absolute and unswayed by any argument, and the word of her decree would go out before any such ceremonies would be conducted that year. "With all due respect to you and Her Highness, sir, I think Princess Celestia is making a mistake. Surely this action is only delaying the inevitable?" Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot Royal Guard asks of his superior, Guard Captain Gibraltar, when he first hears of Celestia's decree. Shining Armor, thanks to his own younger sister, understood that this arbitrary action reeked of the behavior of an overprotective older sibling - something he had to constantly wrestle with before second-guessing the actions of that sister now learning friendship in Ponyville. "I don't doubt that you are right, Shining, but I have no leverage to try to convince the princess to act otherwise unless I know how Luna herself feels about the whole matter." Captain Gibraltar wearily answers. "That is part of the reason I summoned you to this meeting." "I understand, sir. I have been reluctant to ask about Nightmare Night, but now it seems prudent to at least make an attempt, for Luna will certainly have heard about the decree." Shining grimly acknowledges, being as frank as he could be about the situation. "You do need to do that, and the sooner the better, due to the communications lag between Canterlot and the far reaches of the kingdom. Also, I have heard a rumor the batponies are planning their own celebrations in place of the ones Celestia just canceled - can you confirm this?" Gibraltar asks again. "Yes sir, the batponies are indeed up to something. Lieutenant Vesper has said he will provide a report with more specific details by the end of the night." Shining affirms. "Very good. I would like you to pass along a copy of that with your shift-end report, and I promise that the plans of the batponies will be kept as secret as they want them to be. If something does not go as they intend, understand that I will take full responsibility and you will not be held at fault." Gibraltar explains. "Yes, sir. I appreciate your honesty, sir." "No need to thank me for that, Shining. Incidentally, I'm having the copy of the decree going to Ponyville being carried by Upper Class Meadow Song tomorrow, if you want to send a message to your sister, make sure to leave a note so that Meadow Song can pick it up before he leaves Canterlot." "Understood, sir. I'll think over what message I want to send tonight." "Very good. You are dismissed to your duties. Remember, the sooner you get the information about Luna's feelings, the better chance I have to change Celestia's mind." "Yes, sir. Good night, sir." "Good night, Shining. Hopefully, Luna will not react as badly as I fear she will to this..." THE FOLLOWING DAY, IN PONYVILLE... "Come on Twilight, we're going to miss the big announcement!" Spike the Dragon exclaimed, pumping his little legs trying to keep up with a Twilight Sparkle running full gallop through the streets of Ponyville, the destination being the main square where Mayor Mare was to make an important announcement about the town's upcoming Nightmare Night festivities. "This is very irregular, Spike! I set aside a hour today to start the new Daring Do book, and now I'm going to have to reschedule the whole rest of the day!" Twilight exclaims in exasperation between gasps for air as she gallops. "Quit your whining, we're almost there!" Spike counters in irritation as he and Twilight round a corner to emerge on a main road leading to the town square. As the two speed down toward the square, they can see the already-packed condition of the square and three of Twilight's friends - Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Applejack - along the edge of the crowd. "Took you two long enough, Mayor's about to start." Rainbow Dash states in irritation, gesturing toward the stage fronting the square as she speaks, as Spike and Twilight Sparkle skid to a stop in front of her. On the stage, three ponies are seen walking up to a podium - an earth pony mare balancing sheets of paper and being escorted by an earth pony stallion in a Royal Guard dress uniform on each side. Twilight recognizes Mayor Mare as the one balancing the sheets of paper - on which the speech would've been written on for her to read - and one of her escorts as Aide Cherry Fizzy, instantly recognizable due to the unique arrowhead shape of his rank pin, but doesn't recognize the other escort wearing the Lieutenant's star on his uniform until Applejack makes a casual comment: "Crispin doesn't like wearing the dressy stuff, must be important if he's wearin' it now." A hush settles over the crowd as the escorted Mayor Mare stops in front of the podium with microphone, the escorts facing the crowd with the serious looks expected of a member of the E.U.P. Guard. Mayor Mare awkwardly shuffles the papers she's carrying, and all attention turns to her as she clears her throat to begin her speech: "In light of the return of Princess Luna several months ago and proof beyond doubt of the reality of the existence of 'Nightmare Moon', Princess Celestia has decreed a cancellation of all formal Nightmare Night celebrations across the kingdom for this year. If there is to be a wrestling between the legends and the reality, it will not occur this year. Traditions and events organized on the individual level will still be permitted to operate without interference, but there will be nothing more organized than that. In that light, this town's formal gathering has been canceled, although I would encourage everypony to organize alternative means of celebration if they still desire to do so. That is all, you may continue with your regular business citizens of Ponyville." The speech, short and relatively to the point, sends a wave of stunned confusion and some dismay through the crowd, and the buzz of conversation resumes very quickly. Twilight looks over at her three friends to try to gage their reactions while Spike simply stands looking in the distance in puzzlement. "No Nightmare Night this year? Rarity's not gonna be happy to hear that." Applejack speaks first to break the silence around the four mares and young dragon. "It's not gonna be so bad, Applejack. It sounds like we'll still get to dress up and collect candy, so it can't be all bad. Look on the bright side of things!" Pinkie Pie exclaims to try to lighten the suddenly-heavy mood. "Is that all you think about when it comes to Nightmare Night, Pinkie? Getting and eating as much candy as you can?" Rainbow Dash asks cynically. "Hey, you're never too old for candy ya know!" Pinkie Pie tartly replies with a glare in Rainbow Dash's direction. "Well at least we'll have The Running of The Leaves to look forward to..." Rainbow Dash comments with an eyeroll. "Couldn't you do somethin', Twilight? Try to change the Princess' mind?" Applejack asks, letting herself hope Twilight would be able to influence Celestia's actions. "If it's gotten this far, Applejack, there's nothing I'd be able to do." Twilight sadly answers. "I don't even know how Luna is going to react to this, and there's other ponies in a much better position to judge that than we are." "Well so much for that plan. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to buy two gallons of vanilla ice cream in case Rarity decides to have a dramatic episode..." Rainbow Dash comments again as she takes off flying away from the crowd. "And Pinkie and I have gotta get back to work. I've got a feelin' that we're gonna need extra cider made this year..." Applejack comments as she too turns and starts away from the crowd. "I don't know what those two are so glum about, it's not like everything is ruined. Still, gonna need to help the Cakes with more sweets..." Pinkie Pie comments as the last in line, turning and bouncing away in a happier mood than rest of the crowd, which were already starting to filter past Twilight Sparkle and Spike as the two were left to their thoughts. Twilight is left silent and puzzled, debating internally about what, if anything, she should do about this. A moment later, she's startled by a tapping of a hoof on her left shoulder, jumping a bit before recognizing who was doing the tapping. "Oh, sorry, Meadow Song, go ahead. I got lost in thought for a minute." Twilight states while breathing heavily recovering from the shock of the moment. "Your brother wanted you to read this. It's related to the announcement the Mayor just gave." Meadow Song somberly comments, pulling out a sealed envelope with a forehoof from inside the dress uniform he's wearing. The seal on the letter matches that of the nighttime "Luna Shift" of the Canterlot Guard, and Twilight knew that was confirmation enough for what Meadow Song was saying. "What's up, Twilight?" Spike asks Twilight as the latter takes the letter with her unicorn magic, blushing a bit as he finally realizes he had been distracted for longer than he should've been puzzling over what was going on. "My brother sent a letter the same time Celestia's decree went out. I wanna see what it says." Twilight replies, slashing the floating envelope open with the edge of a hoof and then pulling out the folded letter inside. She unfolds it and begins reading out loud, mostly for the benefit of Spike: "Dear Twilight Sparkle, Do not read too much into what Celestia's doing, little sis. Not even I'm sure how Luna would react to the Nightmare Night now if she was exposed to it, but all indications are it wouldn't be good. Perhaps Celestia is right in calling off the celebrations this year. Point is, Twily, there's too many unknowns about Luna yet to risk anything. Don't be too discouraged, and remember that Celestia is an older sister too, and she will act like one despite all the hundreds of years she's lived. Sincerely from your B.B.B.F.F. Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor of the Canterlot E.U.P. Guard Commanding Officer, Luna Shift"
Plans Changing"Oh! Sweetie Belle, will you be a dear and keep Opal busy for me? One of my neighbors just came in and I need to talk to him real quick." "Why do I have to do it?" "Because otherwise both she and you would get really distracting. Run along now and be a dear, please." Guard Upper Class Caramel chuckles at Sweetie Belle's sour glare in the direction of her older sister as the younger filly slowly retreats into a Carousel Boutique backroom. Rarity was up front manipulating thread and needle to fix a hem on a costume destined for reuse - the time just before Nightmare Night was particularly busy for an establishment like Carousel Boutique and Rarity couldn't afford to waste any idle time if the customers were to get their costumes on time. "I wonder if Celestia ever felt that way about Luna sometimes..." Rarity comments, more to herself than to anypony else in particular. "I really couldn't speculate, ma'am, but I imagine it would be the case." Caramel answers, continuing his chuckling after he speaks. "Oh that's right, I forgot you don't work that night shift. How is the Guard life treating you?" Rarity asks, continuing her focus on her work as she speaks. "It's alright, although there's been some tension considering the upcoming holiday." "Does not surprise me, dahling. This is the first Nightmare Night that's come around since Luna - the REAL Luna - returned, and I can't imagine hearing of all those legends is going to be good for her." "I completely agree. Maybe that's why Celestia did what she did this year. Don't know how much it'll help, but still..." "Canceling the general festivities? I wasn't there for the announcement, but Rainbow Dash told me a little earlier when she stopped in with two gallons of vanilla ice cream for me." "What in Equestria was Rainbow Dash giving you ice cream for?" "I don't think you'd understand fully, because you're a stallion, but let's just say Dash thought I would need it to cope with the deluge of cancellations of orders. Hasn't happened, thank goodness, but I appreciate the gesture. At the very least, I know what to bring to Pinkie's next party now..." "Yeah, I suppose..." "Where's Lucky Clover? I thought he came back with you and Meadow Song..." "Lucky volunteered to work extra shifts this week, so he's staying in Canterlot until next week. Rumor is he's on a short list for early promotion to Upper Class due to the ongoing shortages over at the castle, so he's trying to improve his odds of actually getting that bump up." "Oh, well that's interesting. Good luck to him, if that rumor is actually true or not..." "Yes, and speaking of the Guard, that's the main reason I'm here." "Oh? What is it about?" At this point, Rarity's focus on her work was broken by curiousity, and she looked up at Caramel for the first time since engaging in conversation with him. Caramel didn't begrudge the mare's split attention considering her busy state at the time, but was silently glad he had her full attention now. "Got a message direct from Princess Celestia. She wants your talents to help with something. It's supposed to be a surprise for Luna, so it needs to be kept quiet." Caramel explains as he pulls out a sealed scroll from the saddlebag he's currently wearing. Rarity gives a curious eyebrow raise as she takes the scroll using her unicorn magic, the light blue aura holding it hovering in the air. "Surely Celestia could've sent this to me by Spike or even just the direct post, why a middlestallion to carry it?" Rarity asks with confusion and some suspicion in her voice. "The mail system is dangerously compromised. There are ponies out there that would gladly ruin the surprise, and not in an accidental way, if they got their hooves on this scroll. So the Captain in Canterlot had me bring it to you directly." Caramel explains. Rarity continues her suspicious look as the seal is pulled off the scroll, causing it to unroll partly. Rarity begins reading and makes comments to Caramel as she reads, Caramel answering in turn: "So this is for Luna?" "That's correct, ma'am." "What's the deadline for this? I don't see any dates here..." "The actual surprise won't be until after Nightmare Night, but before The Running of the Leaves. I'll get another message with a more specific date for you." "OK... should Twilight and the others that got an Element of Harmony know about this?" "Only as much as needed to complete the task. Celestia's orders." "Fair enough... wait, the batponies are sponsoring this? This is a first..." "There have been a lot of firsts with them. Considering they were kind of shunned until they correctly predicted Luna's return, that's hardly surprising." "There's so much we don't know about them... hmm... I won't be able to focus on this until after the Nightmare Night rush, but I'll see what I can start now." "Very good. Remember, secrecy is paramount. The enemy is even here, and could stop this project before it even starts." Rarity looks up from reading the scroll to see Caramel's face being a grim seriousness, as if he was dead serious about what he was saying. "You look like I'm not taking this seriously, and I don't appreciate your lack of faith, Caramel." Rarity comments cynically. "The enemy is here in Ponyville as well as Canterlot. And they are not the kind of enemy that will respond to the magic of friendship." Caramel answers in a grim tone. "All they seek is chaos, but failing that they will steal and kill and destroy without shame or mercy. Friendship will not sway them, so we must be prepared to deliver their just punishment and destruction, lest they destroy us first..."
What You Are In The Dark"Oh come come Excelsior, it's not that bad to be involved in that particular role." "Sir, a griffon and a manticore are barely..." "You're getting a costume. A good one, not the cheap stuff you would see on foals this time of year." "That doesn't really make me feel any better, sir." Guard Upper Class Excelsior replies with a cynical stare at Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor as they travel the hallways of Canterlot Castle. Lieutenant Vesper, the batpony stallion that is Excelsior's immediate commanding officer, chuckles at Excelsior's expression as he walks beside the griffon in the hallways. "Excelsior, did I mention that Princess Celestia didn't just sign off on this, but is involved herself?" Shining Armor asks with a hopeful grin, copying an expression frequently on the face of his younger sister Twilight Sparkle. "Well, since you put it that way, sir..." Excelsior calmly replies, the contemplation now on his face indication to Shining that his tactic had worked. "See? I knew you'd come around! Didn't I tell you he'd come around once I mentioned Celestia, Lieutenant?" Shining exclaims, and Lieutenant Vesper nods eagerly in response. "Only because you mentioned Celestia, sir. That's it." Excelsior bluntly states, causing both Shining Armor and Vesper to both chuckle in response. Excelsior, as the rare combination of a griffon and member of the E.U.P. Guard, owed not just his current employment but his life to Celestia's mercies, her magic transforming and regenerating a ravaged, runty body into that fitting of a warrior. He still felt not quite fitting in around Canterlot though, despite remaining under the command of the similarly "different" batponies, and had hoped to be assigned as a liaison to Griffonstone in place of his current Canterlot service. "Do you think participating will help me get that transfer I've been wanting, sir?" Excelsior asks Shining Armor hopefully once the chuckling subsides. "Beats me, Excelsior. But ever since part of the Griffon Ambassador's party decided to run away to Griffonstone rather than go back across the sea just to get something chopped off, Celestia seems to think having Prince Blueblood over there 'protecting them' is better than throwing a bunch of bits at the problem." Shining Armor explains with a shrug, referencing the aftermath of the incident that lead to Excelsior's employment in the Royal Guard in the first place. "What is he even doing over there? Paying off the Griffonstone government to avoid handing over the refugees to the griffons across the sea?" Lieutenant Vesper asks. "It seems only he and Princess Celestia know what he's doing, and Celestia isn't willing to talk about it." Shining Armor replies unhelpfully. The conversation came to end at that point as the three traveling the hallways had arrived at their destination - Shining Armor's office. The unicorn guard posted in front of the door opens it with his magic as the trio approach - and stop in their tracks once they are able to see inside. Lieutenant Vesper immediately starts chuckling at the sight before them, followed by Excelsior only partly successfully trying to hide a smile spreading across the beak with his talons. Shining Armor lets out an annoyed sigh followed by an eyeroll, and then a glare at Vesper that stops the latter's chuckling cold. "If you're quite done Lieutenant, I'll handle this myself. You two are dismissed to your duties." Shining orders with irritation. "Yes, sir." Vesper coyly replies, but as he and Excelsior turn to leave for their duties Shining hears Vesper still twittering in amusement while Excelsior asks something Shining can't make out. Shining finally turns his attention fully to the source of Vesper's amusement - Princess Cadance laying on her back on Shining's desk as if it were a bed, looking over at Shining with the attention-seeking "doe eyes" that usually indicated she really wanted Shining's attention - and mutters under his breath in irritation as he rolls his eyes again. The cynical stare returns as Shining approaches the desk and Cadance switches to an innocent stare. "Is there a particular reason why you've decided to lay yourself all over my desk?" Shining asks as he stares down at the smiling Cadance. "I need to know if we're still going out in costume on Nightmare Night, that's all." Cadance replies, continuing her pretense of innocence. Shining knew what she was talking about - in previous years, Celestia had allowed Shining and Cadance to go out together on Nightmare Night in costume as an impromptu "date night" of sorts. Filly Twilight Sparkle had once been involved as well, but as she grew older she lost interest in the activity. Obviously Twilight would not be able to do that this year, and Cadance had not been available the last Nightmare Night, so Shining empathized with Cadance's worry, but... "I thought you heard already, Cadance, Luna has started shutting herself in again. I need to be on duty that night to make sure nothing snaps." Shining replies with a sad worry in his voice. "Aunt Celly was telling me Aunt Lulu would have trouble with this time of year, but it's that serious?" Cadance asks, switching to concern in her expression. She rises to a sitting position on the desk, forcing Shining to shy back a bit to avoid getting smacked. "Yep, it's that serious. I'm going to be doing a lot of checking on her until all this blows over, including right now..." Shining answers as Cadance smoothly slides off the desk and onto all fours on the floor. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe next year, hm?" Cadance offers with a shy smile. "We'll see. Maybe next year Luna will be able to handle things better. This year though... it's too risky to leave her unattended." Shining answers with a sad shake of his head. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. Hopefully we're all worrying for nothing, though." Cadance tries to reassure, giving Shining a kiss on a cheek as she passes by him on the way out of the office. "I wish I could share your optimism..." Shining comments to himself as he watches Cadance leave, then he sighs and turns to fix his desk and get the mandatory paperwork done. He already knew this was going to be a long night, and he hadn't even checked in with Luna yet... LATER THAT NIGHT... "Who knocks upon our door?" "The Lieutenant Captain, brightest star..." "You may come in." The curt cutoff of Shining Armor's usual greeting was disconcerting enough, but the scene Shining came across once he opened the door made that feeling worse. Around his hooves were many empty candy wrappers strewn all over the floor of Luna's suite, and it didn't take long to find the source of the wrappers - Princess Luna laying on the floor and gorging herself on recent donations of candy. Shining hated those candy donations - doubtless they were well-intentioned, but only served to affirm the "reality" of the Nightmare Moon legends. Luna's state disconcerted him even more - reverted, albeit by voluntary shapeshifting instead of forced power removal, to the smaller appearance she first arrived in Canterlot as. And although she had turned away from the door, Shining had caught glimpses of chocolate smeared around Luna's mouth and the bags under the eyes of sleep deprivation (Shining later speculated that the creation of the Tantabus entity happened shortly before because of this evidence). As Shining looks over, he can see Luna stuff some more candy in her mouth via unicorn magic while a few tears trickle down her face. Shining Armor immediately recognized this behavior as a version of "drowning sorrows", and was cause for immediate action. He starts tenatively forward, but stops when Luna rises to her hooves. Her turning around is reluctant, as if not really wanting him to see her like this, but she does complete it anyway to see her face smeared with streaks of chocolate and stains of tears. Shining's heart falls to his hooves, and an uncertainty crosses his face as he debates internally about what to say and whether to say anything or not. Finally, Luna breaks the heavy silence by speaking through a full mouth: "We know why you are here." "Everypony's worried about you, with the holiday coming up..." Shining spits out, finally feeling free to speak after Luna had spoken first. "WHY DO THEY DO SUCH THINGS?!" Luna blasts out, gesturing toward the donated candy stocks. "WHY DO THEY SAY SUCH THINGS ABOUT US?! WHY? Why? Why..." Luna trails off as she again collapses to the floor, fresh tears flowing out from her eyes. In that moment, Shining seemed to realize Celestia's fears were correct, and that he would probably be spending the whole night here. He moves to a short distance in front of Luna and lays down facing her. "I know what those legends say is not really true, but they will not go away." Shining answers, trying to keep his voice from breaking as he can feel tears welling up in his own eyes. "I am certain your sister is trying to help as best she can, but we still have to deal with this. Let's at least deal with it together, instead of alone. Deal with it as friends, as I'm sure Celestia wants it to be." The logic seems to persuade Luna, as she essentially leaps right into Shining, tears flowing freely now. Shining turned this into a proper hug, not being afraid to let some "liquid empathy" flow out as well. Neither Shining Armor nor Luna know how long they stay embraced like this, but it didn't really matter - the point was the friendship magic and empathetic release that it provided to the hurting Luna at that time...
The Possession"Come along P2, you know what Snake's message told us - we must sabotage their efforts!" "Yeah P1, but how can we even get in the town, let alone conduct an attack? We're too conspicuous with the Poison Joke affliction!" "That's why I have a plan. We're going to the ruin of the Two Sisters castle." "What for? What are we even going to find there?" "The Pony of Shadows, once nightfall comes around at least. I intend to strike a bargain with it, somehow." "Isn't that just a legend though?" "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But after Luna was proven real, I'm more willing to believe the legend than not. And we don't have any other real options to carry out Snake's will." "If you say so, P1." "Good, now hurry, we have to avoid alerting anything that could eat us in this dusk..." LATER THAT EVENING, AT CAROUSEL BOUTIQUE... "Come on Rainbow Dash, don't be so skeptical of this! It's for Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia herself is involved in this." "Yeah, but one of those big burly bat ponies as Pinkie Pie?" "Na-na-na-na-na BAT MARE!" "Pinkie, that's really not helping right now..." Twilight Sparkle - trying to convince Rainbow Dash to support Rarity's efforts - and Rarity herself working on the costumes break out in chuckles as Rainbow Dash facehoofs at a costumed and grinning Pinkie Pie. All around them are costumes on dummy versions of ponies that resemble the Element Bearers themselves, as well as a few others, including one resembling a manticore and another that looks like a large black-coated alicorn. "But this Bat Mare costume would be perfect for you, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie exclaims in response to Dash's gesture. "I already had a costume for this Nightmare Night. Now I'm saving it for next year." Dash replies cynically. "What's that?" Twilight Sparkle asks curiously. "She based it on those 'Shadowbolts' she encountered on the bridge leading to the Castle of the Two Sisters." Rarity answers as she works, manipulating needle and thread with her unicorn magic. "I didn't know you liked them that much. I'll have to remember to tell Luna about that." Twilight Sparkle comments. "Sure, right..." Dash mutters to himself, prompting another round of chuckles from Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. The chuckling was cut off when the ponies heard a scream coming from outside, also stopping Rarity's work in her tracks. Briefly they exchange worried looks before Twilight gasps out a very important piece of information: "That's Fluttershy's screaming!" "Then she might be in trouble, come on!" Dash exclaims in response, already zooming past Twilight and Pinkie Pie toward the Carousel Boutique door. "Wait, but the...!" Rarity exclaims in turn, reluctant to leave her work. "Sorry, this is gonna have to wait!" Outside the Boutique, several ponies are galloping away from a pair of very odd looking stallions: pegasi wreathed in black smoke except for zebra-like stripes glowing a bright orange. These two odd stallions were attempting to grab a struggling and screaming Fluttershy when Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie emerge from Carousel Boutique. "Let go of her, ya fiends!" Applejack exclaims, rushing in from another direction and attempting to smash the black stallions off balance by bucking one of them with her hindlegs. Instead, the attack simply rebounds off, and the off balance Applejack flips over on her back. "Yeah, let go of her!" Rainbow Dash adds, also trying the rushing tactic at the stallions. This time, a purple glow "shield" forms in front of them, and Rainbow Dash rebounds off this shield in a direction none of her friends can see. The distraction allows Twilight to quickly charge a magic blast from her horn, which she fires at the potential abductors. This breaks through the glowing "shield", causing the stallions to recoil back and drop Fluttershy, who runs off to see if Applejack is alright herself. "Taste my party cannon!" Pinkie exclaims, having summoned up her non-violent use artillery for more aggressive reasons, but before she can fire - or anypony do anything else - the two stallions seem to disappear in a poof of smoke! "Where'd they go?!" Twilight exclaims, looking around desperately in the low moonlight for the attackers. Another scream, this time from Rarity, quickly provides the answer, and Pinkie Pie only spares a moment to look over at Twilight before both rush back into Rarity's business. "Get back, back you fiends!" Rarity was screaming, attempting to wield a broomstick to chase out the two black smoke-covered stallions, which had apparently teleported past Twilight and Pinkie into the building. Twilight and Pinkie attempt to rush the two stallions from behind in support of Rarity, but before they can attack the black smoke turns purple and seems to "explode" of them, knocking down all three of the stallions' opponents. When they recover - assisted back up by Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash having followed their friends into Carousel Boutique - the attackers are gone, but Rarity's hysterical screaming shows something else is missing. "THE COSTUMES! ALL THE COSTUMES ARE GONE! IT'S THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!" Rarity exclaims, nicely encapsulating the problem she was now facing as she collapses on a "drama couch" Pinkie somehow manages to push underneath her from somewhere - don't ask where, it's Pinkie Pie after all. "Ice cream! I'm going to need that ice cream you gave me after all, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaims again, using her magic to remotely open a freezer in a back room and levitate out a large tub of vanilla ice cream. "Woah woah woah, time out!" Twilight Sparkle shouts in turn, intercepting the levitating ice cream tub and focusing the disarrayed attention of the other ponies in the room on her. "We've done this rush job before when it came to Hoity Toity, we can do this again! Come on everypony, let's start getting the materials for new costumes!" Twilight shouts optimistically, but the other mares, looking between Rarity's distraught expression and their own concerned faces, seem reluctant to do anything at all... MEANWHILE, AT FORT CHAOS... "Ugh, what happened? There was this big shadow, and then... blank. You know what happened, P1?" Agent of Chaos P2 asks in the quiet of their hiding place in the Everfree Forest, moaning and rubbing his head with a forehoof as he speaks. "Beats me, but I feel like I just woke up after having five ciders. Ooof..." his partner P1 answers from beside him, also moaning and rubbing head with a forehoof. "You remember anything?" P2 asks his partner again. "I don't know, it was Ponyville somewhere... very trippy. I don't even think it took away our Poison Joke effect." "Buck it all! Hopefully we did something chaos-causing though..." Author's Note (Apologies for not getting this out when I promised in my blog post, but my work schedule precluded me from finishing any earlier. I still intend to get the next chapter out sooner than normal, but it will probably be Mon next week instead of Fri.)
That Stalks In The Night"Wow X, this is amazing! It's like Cloudsdale, but inside a mountain..." "Mmmf." "What? We're in a place that very few non-batponies have ever been in, and a grunt is the best I can get out of you?" "Mmmf." "Whatever, we're not really here to sight-see anyway. That's for the scummy unicorns and earth ponies to do..." It was just before sunset, and inside the caverns of Canterlot mountain were two infiltrators: Agent Snake, leader of the Agents of Chaos, and the mysterious Agent X, both loaded with large amounts of incendiary explosives. The sights would only distract them briefly for their devious mission... The batpony colony inside the mountain of Canterlot was formed from the remains of a mining operation that helped build the city in its early days. The batponies would live roosting in hollows formed from the old mine tunnels, rather than building structures like pegasi would do in Cloudsdale. There was one notable exception to this rule, however, and considering it was the most important place in their colony it was not hard to see why. A temple had been carved into the mountainside, styled in a manner that once suited the dark terror of the pre-exile Princess Luna's service. Before Luna's return earlier that year, it was called "The Temple of the Moon" and the batpony "believers" in the eventual reappearance of the good Luna worshipped and honored her in Celestia-approved secret. However, like with Canterlot itself, the triumph in the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters changed everything. The temple's "priests", lead by the now-Lieutenant Vesper, pledged themselves to service of the returned Luna and changed the name of the temple to "The Temple of Luna". They also would open their previously-secret services to non-batponies for the first time, and now with the formal Nightmare Night activities canceled by Celestia the alternative the batponies now offered intrigued many Canterlot residents. Record crowds were expected for the service, which made it a prime target for Snake and X to strike. There was one major problem with their plan, however - glowing stuff. Agent Snake's glowing red eyes, as well as glowing red horn that he seemed to be using solely as a light source, plus the sickly green glow of Agent X's eyes, were both very distinctive in the context - a phenomenon blamed solely on lack of knowledge about batponies in general - and both were worried that they were being tracked, judging from the all the glowing cat-slit eyes that they could glimpse in peripheral vision. "X, you did arm the explosive charges early?" Snake whispers to X as they approach the door to the Temple of Luna. "Mmm." X mutters out again in affirmation, briefly letting a metal cylinder fall into the red glow of Snake's horn. "HALT!" a third voice echoes in the cavern, and when Snake and X stop in their tracks, they look up to see two batpony stallions leveling pikes right in their faces! "You are not welcome here, evil ones. And Princess Luna will be eager to try out her returned powers on the likes of you!" the previous voice speaks again, and X looks back to give an involuntary "eep" of alarm. It doesn't take long for Snake, following X's look, to see why the cause for the alarm: more batponies coming up behind them, some on the cave floor and some with leathery wings flapping in the air above! It seemed from the circumstances the batponies had simply waited to spring their trap until X and Snake were in too deep to escape it. In this case, however, Snake decided to act instinctively, yanking with his mouth one of the metal explosive canisters away from his comrade and hurling it to the ground in front of them. Before the batponies could figure out what to do next, a boom and a bright blast briefly light up the cavernous space, disorienting the batponies in the process and allowing Snake and X to turn tail in an escape attempt! Snake and X quickly collide with the batponies behind him, and cloaks tear away as the batponies try to pin them down. X now throws another explosive canister into the air, the fireball in midair serving as an additional distraction to the batponies. When the two Agents of Chaos finally wriggle out of the attempted pins, they take off at full speed, throwing explosive canisters behind them as they gallop to keep back the batpony pursuers... A LITTLE LATER... "Guard, how does what you saw even make sense?" Lieutenant Vesper asks in disbelief as he interviews his subordinates, while other Guard members check out the scene of the failed capture attempt and tend to the batponies that were temporarily blinded by the brightness of the explosions. "I'm sure that what I saw reflected in those explosions was real! One was a pegasus with glowing red eyes, a collar around the neck and a band with a unicorn's horn going around the head, and the other... I don't know how to describe it, sir, it had green eyes and hissed very loudly, not a batpony but some kind of fanged horror!" the subordinate Guard pleads. "Lieutenant, over here! I found something!" another Guard with bright orange eyes exclaims from behind Vesper. "What did you find, Arcturus?" Vesper asks, turning and starting over to where the subordinate batpony was standing. "There's something inside the cloaks they dropped, sir. Different things in each one." Arcturus answers, holding out what he's found for his superior officer to examine more closely. "... Pegasus feathers and a bit of what looks like insect wing. Who, or perhaps what, just attacked us?" Vesper asks in response to what evidence he sees. "I wish I knew, sir. Nothing about these things make sense, sir." Arcturus answers. "If there was another alicorn running about, why haven't we heard anything about him or her? And I can't even speculate on where the insect wing came from..." "Too many questions, and not enough answers. And that's what worries me..." Vesper comments, looking down at the feathers and piece of insect wing in total puzzlement. Pieces of evidence that would only make sense in hindsight...
Circle Of The Moon"MAKE WAY! MAKE WAY FOR THE PRINCESS!" "We'll meet with the Lieutenant in the Temple itself. That way we can actually hear ourselves think in this hubbub." A box of four Royal Guards, one of them being Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor, surround a curious Princess Luna as she was escorted to her namesake temple, the guest of honor of the play that was to take place there in place of the formal Nightmare Night celebrations previously cancelled by Princess Celestia. Curiosity over the event, Luna's attendance there, and rumors that Celestia herself was involved in the batpony-crafted play all combined to keep cloud lifts and flying carriages quite busy that night. Expectations of record crowds - unicorn and pegasus and earth pony alike - seemed to have been met as curious members of the throng were stepping aside only reluctantly to let Luna and her escorts past. Some kept on staring at Luna as they went past, doubtless creating a very mixed feeling in Luna's mind over the kind of attention she was getting. Inside the Temple of Luna was standing-room only crowd and the echoing buzz, although reduced, was still enough to require any conversation be done in close quarters if shouting was to be avoided. Hence why any curious bystanders would seem to see Lieutenant Vesper, the unoffical coordinator of the night's events, getting in very close quarters by the Princess and her escort. "Ponies are staring at us, you know sir." a pegasus stallion posted as the opposite corner of the box from Shining comments uneasily. "I know Guard, but the Princess and I need to check in with the Lieutenant first. At the very least for the seating arrangements." Shining comments back. "Glad you didn't keep me waiting though, sir. Got enough on my plate as it is. The reserved front row center seats are waiting." Lieutenant Vesper now jumps in, his tone weary but relieved and joyful, pointing a forehoof toward a section at the front boxed off with rope and other Royal Guards holding "Section Reserved for Princess Luna" signs. "Thank you Lieutenant. This way please Your Highness." Shining states, speaking first to Vesper and then to Princess Luna. "Most appreciated Lieutenant Captain. 'Tis a pity Princess Cadenza could not come with us tonight." Luna answers as the group moves toward the designated seating area, the guards already there beginning to deploy a "privacy screen" behind where Luna would be sitting as a precaution against those ponies who thought ogling royal flanks would be more interesting than the main attraction. "She said whatever that we had planned was trumped by what her other aunt asked her to do tonight. Whatever that was, she didn't go into specifics." Shining Armor replies with a shrug - he didn't let on to Luna he'd already had an idea what Cadance was actually doing with her Aunt Celestia. "It must be very important, whatever it is." Luna replies flatly, giving a glance indicating her suspicions Shining wasn't telling her something as he sits down in the "consort seat" to her right. Meanwhile, the other Guards form a triangle around where Shining and Luna sit, providing at least an illusion of protection. It is not long before some torches illuminating the temple are blown out to dim the area, and the buzz settles down as it becomes clear the play will start. On an improvised stage, Lieutenant Vesper steps into its center as a crude lighting rig - torches surrounded by a reflective metal surface directing the light in a specific direction - focuses on him. Up there, he gives the introductory speech to the play: "Greetings and salutations to my fellow Equestrians, those with wing, those with horn, and those with neither. My name is Lieutenant Vesper, long time leader and caretaker of this temple you all have been invited into. Until some months ago, I was the Keeper of the Compact Princess Celestia made with my ancestors after the exile of Princess Luna. For hundreds of years, the batponies waited and watched in undying hope for the return of the princess of the night we were supposed to serve, suffering misunderstanding and hatred and persecution all the while. It was prophesied in my lifetime as Keeper that our hopes would be fulfilled in either joy or terror, and when the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered in the Castle of the Two Sisters a spark of friendship ensured they were fulfilled in joy. It was thus decided on this, the first Nightmare Night since that triumph of friendship and hope, that we would open our expressions of hope to the public so that all may share in the joy of that triumph. We now present to you, a play in a manner similar to plays of old, 'Circle of the Moon'." The lighting rig is shut off by a cover, and a quiet stamp of hooves as applause of sorts spreads across the crowd. All eyes and ears now focus on the stage, eager in anticipation of what is to come in the play. While the area is dark, a different voice - which Shining Armor recognizes as Guard Upper Class Excelsior's - begins echoing in the space: "Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. I'm sure you've all heard this story before, and of how the younger sister was consumed by bitterness to become the wicked Nightmare Moon before being banished to the moon. It was prophesied that in the thousandth year of the banishment the stars would aid her escape from exile, and it is from the fulfillment of that prophecy we begin our play..." The lighting rigs are uncovered, and the audience gasps at the scene now illuminated: a pitch-black alicorn wearing replicas of the accessories of "Nightmare Moon" as well as mane and tail flowing blue speckled with stars dominates the stage, looming over a group of six bat ponies wearing wraparound costumes and wigs resembling those of the current Element Bearers. "... Is that sister up there?" Princess Luna asks Shining Armor with some degree of surprise, apparently having noticed "Nightmare Moon" had purple eyes. Shining gives a gentle shush in response to the question, but a smirk seems to indicated he had had the same thoughts as Luna had. "I know who you are. You're the Mare in the Moon – Nightmare Moon!" the batpony playing Twilight Sparkle in the play was exclaiming on the stage to the black alicorn. "Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here." the black-coated alicorn playing "Nightmare Moon" replies. "Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" As "Nightmare Moon" bursts out in cackling laughter, the lighting rigs are covered again to cut the lighting... The narrating voice of Excelsior speaks again while the stage is dark: "Determined to stop the eternal night 'Nightmare Moon' would bring to the land of Equestria, the student of Princess Celestia named Twilight Sparkle starts out to the last known location of the Elements of Harmony within the perilous Everfree Forest..." The lights are uncovered again, and the stage shows the batponies playing Twilight Sparkle's soon-to-be fellow Element Bearers trying to persuade her not to go into the Everfree Forest alone. While this scene plays, Princess Luna makes an off-hoof comment about the quality of the costumes. "Well, considering the time and material constraints they're not half bad. Rarity even got the striping right on my sister's mane, and the colors on Rainbow Dash..." Shining Armor rambles in a whisper, content to let things trail off as the play continued on. The play continued through depictions of each of the trials of the future Element Bearers: Applejack and honesty (albeit with cheating by the actors flying in mid-air to simulate the perilous drop), Fluttershy and kindness (which Excelsior playing the manticore in a similar wrap-around costume to the main actors), Pinkie Pie and laughter (with the batpony stallions holding prop scary trees on the stage), Rarity and generosity (with the batpony stallions manipulating a prop head to represent the sea serpent), and finally Rainbow Dash and loyalty (the "Shadowbolts" played by three appropriately costumed pegasi). Although necessarily abridged, both the Element Bearers and Luna herself would later testify to their broad accuracy. The next part of the play is not quite as accurate, and the changes seem to have been because of pacing and staging reasons. In the play, immediately after the loyalty test, Nightmare Moon casts a temporary paralyzing spell on all the group members except Twilight Sparkle and changes Twilight to a direct one-on-one race into the Castle of the Two Sisters to reach the Elements of Harmony. The next scene shows Nightmare Moon with the broken inert versions of the Elements ("at least they found one good use for the practice cannonballs" Shining Armor comments) having won the race and gloating about the night lasting forever to Twilight. It was at that point that the others rush onto the stage in the rally, and as the actress playing Twilight gives her "enlightenment spark" speech the effects turn up a notch, rapid flashing of colored spotlights used to represent the reformation of the broken Elements as the now-familiar necklaces (for obvious security reasons, the actual Elements were represented by illuminated necklaces the actresses exposed by pulling open flaps on the costumes) and culminating in many different light colors focusing on Nightmare Moon to represent the magic blast she was hit with from the Elements. After all the flash, the stage lights abruptly cut, and stay down long enough for those watching to wonder what was going on, when Celestia's voice is heard in the darkness to some surprise: "Awake, my little ponies." This triggers the lights to come up again, this time on the actresses playing the new Element Bearers laying with eyes closed on the stage floor on the left side. On the right side of the stage is a larger alicorn, wearing a light-blue wraparound costume and accessories designed to mimic the depowered Luna's appearance, also laying on the stage with eyes closed. The actress clearly has some mane tucked into the costume itself, and despite the color change the style of the tail gives away who is playing the depowered Luna. "Now I know why Cadance was needed tonight..." Shining comments to himself, remaining as quiet as possible to avoid distracting the real Luna beside him, who seems to be overcome with emotion as the reconciliation with her sister is played back again on the stage. The action freezes on Celestia (now playing herself) and the depowered Luna embracing as Excelsior's narration sounds out in the temple again: "It was thus the Elements of Harmony were rediscovered and how a group of six Element Bearers brought reconciliation between the two royal sisters. And that is why, on this Nightmare Night, we wish everypony watching to remember not the monsters but the friendship, that this may even for one year be a holiday of joy and triumph, not fear and uncertainty. We, as servants of the night, hope you will leave with new appreciation for friendship and forgiveness as the Circle of the Moon is closed in joyous celebration instead of terror and darkness." The lights cut briefly, and when they come up again all the actors are facing the crowd on the stage, bowing to them. The bowing is answered by a riotous stamping of hooves - equivalent to a standing ovation in the human world - that Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor cannot help but be swept up in. Interestingly, the only one not involved seems to be Luna herself, still in her overwhelmed emotional state...
Afterword: Sisterhood"You never told me you would be involved in the play!" "What, and spoil the surprise? Besides it was a very last minute thing Aunt Celly asked of me..." "You're still a mare of many surprises, you know that?" "I'll take that as a compliment, Lieutenant Captain." Several subordinate Royal Guards chuckle as Princess Cadance, still dressed up in her depowered Luna costume, kisses Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor on the cheek. Shining, who was technically still on-duty escorting Princess Luna, flushes a deep red, but is saved from further awkwardness by the approach of the batpony Lieutenant Vesper, jubilant but tired by the efforts of him and his subordinates putting on the play. "My congratulations on a job well done, Lieutenant. Remind me to tell the Captain to add 'acting talent' to the personnel file of you and your subordinates." Shining says to Vesper with a big smile. "If it's all the same to you sir, I'd rather..." Vesper begins to awkwardly reply, looking down as he seems to be uninterested in what Shining has proposed. "Oh don't be so modest, Lieutenant." Cadance states as a kind of gentle nudge. "Equestria doesn't know enough about you and your kind, this at least will help change that." "Well, since you put it that way, Your Highness..." Vesper replies with a bit of a blush. "There? See, we'll get these batponies integrated into society sooner rather than later!" Cadance exclaims to Shining Armor. "Something tells me it's not going to be that easy..." Shining Armor replies with a nervous look aside. "You worry too much, Shining dear. Have a little faith. After all, we have your younger sister to thank for this." Cadance points out with a smile. "That's true. And speaking of sisters..." Shining Armor says, looking over at Vesper as he speaks. "Well, sir, you should be able to hear for yourself." Vesper replies with a toothy smile, pointing toward a wall where bumping and thumping sounds could be heard from the other side. Shining Armor and Cadance exchange looks for a moment, then walk over to the wall and turn sideways facing each other so that they each could put an ear up to the wall - all the better to hear what was going on on the other side. And what was going on the other side was glorious indeed. Luna's previous emotions at the surprise of Celestia and the bat ponies had bubbled up into a new fountain of appreciation about the reunion after the exile, and the rumpus on the other side reflected this: tumbling and bumping noises, mixed with mirthful laughs coming from both Celestia and Luna. Both Shining and Cadance briefly paused to savor those sounds of sisters - immortal alicorns though they may be - playing like young fillies. "Totally worth it?" Shining asks in a stage whisper to Cadance, unable to keep the smile off his face. "Totally worth it." Cadance replies the same way with a nod, also unable to stop smiling. The sounds on the other side of the wall were the clearest sign yet of the relative success of the rehabilitation effort, and although Luna would continue to need friendship and support to prevent backsliding the events marked a tentative victory over all those that had sought to send Luna back into the darkness... MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE INSIDE THE MOUNTAINS OF CANTERLOT... Agent Snake in the Grass smoulders in his mountainside refuge, cut off from but vaguely aware of what was going on in the batpony settlement due to the short physical separation between his secret complex and the batpony's caves. The success of the batponies supported by Celestia meant his dream of sending Luna directly back into the darkness was now effectively dead, so there was now nothing to lose by turning his entire organization toward dealing destruction and death. To that end, he began writing a new coded message, addressed to all Agents of Chaos: "To All Agents - We cannot hope now to plunge Luna back into the darkness, so we must instead be the fires of chaos. We must be prepared to sacrifice everything, up to our own lives, to set Canterlot aflame for the resurrection of the chaotic one. On the day of the whirlwind, we must torture as the chaotic one would, offering our own blood and the blood of innocents as sacrifices! If it means the return of the chaotic one, then we will have won even if we die in the process. - Agent Snake in the Grass"
