-<>~--*--~<>-<

Princess Luna begins to step forward, her cloak transforming into multiple bats that fly off.

"I almost forgot, apparently she can turn non-living things into living things... I have to learn that particular spell sometime." Forge thinks as Luna begins to speak.

"CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE. WE HAVE GRACED THY TINY VILLAGE WITH OUR PRESENCE, SO THAT THOU MAY BEHOLD THE REAL PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT. A CREATURE OF NIGHTMARES NO LONGER, BUT INSTEAD, A PONY WHO DESIRES THY LOVE AND ADMIRATION. TOGETHER WE SHALL CHANGE THIS DREADFUL CELEBRATION INTO A BRIGHT AND GLORIOUS FEAST!" Luna bellows with the power of her caps lock.

"Did you hear that everypony? Nightmare Moon said she's gonna feast on us all!" Pinkie screams, running away from Luna along with a cacophony of screaming foals.

Forge facehoofs, hoof clunking against the wooden head of his costume. "Damned gas-lighting. You disappoint me Pinkie."

Luna is taken aback by this turn of events. "What!? No children, no! You no longer have reason to fear us! Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of TERROR!" She affirms with a hoof stomp.

A nearby pony dressed as a rat whimpers like an injured puppy. "Are ponies somehow horse-shaped cat dog mixes or something?" Forge mentally questions briefly.

Luna quickly turns her attention to the mayor, stomping her hoof once more in minor agitation before approaching her. "Thy princess of the night, hath arrived!" She says, jutting her hoof out to the mayor, who simply cowers in fear.

This repeats wherever Luna points her hoof. "Do they think she can like, shoot lightning from her hooves or something?" Forge thinks, genuinely miffed at these ponies now.

"What is the matter with you!?" Luna questions, before turning around. "Very well then, be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell." She huffs.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Twilight says, only to be grabbed by Spike.

"You can't talk to her, she's Nightmare Moon!" Spike tries to warn her.

"Spike, were you paying any attention when I said Luna would be visiting? Nightmare Moon was purged by the elements of harmony, leaving Luna's original self intact. I also told you I suggested to her that she comes out here tonight to help with adjusting. What might seem like a standoffish attitude was just how she and Celestia were expected to conduct themselves a thousand years ago. Celestia probably changed that shortly after Nightmare was banished." Forge explains.

"But, but- She's got that wavy star mane like Nightmare, and she had a normal looking mane when she was in the chariot that day!" Spike says.

"That was because she was left severely weakened after being hit by those powerful elements. That kind of magic is extremely dangerous if used improperly, there's always a risk to it." Forge reasons, sighing.

Forge quickly sets off in Luna's direction, Twilight not far behind.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Twilight and Forge approach Luna at the Nightmare Moon statue. Something about it nagging in the back of Forge's mind. He glances to it, then to Luna, then back to the statue. "This... I hate this. Celestia, what the fuck were you thinking? I can only assume you didn't want to permanently cancel this joke of a holiday just so the ponies wouldn't be sad about it." He takes a deep breath, a small amount of hate bile building up in his throat. "There has to be a better reason for this. Is she really heartless enough to be so inconsiderate towards her sister like this? I... I have to confront her about this tomorrow."

Twilight approaches Luna. "Princess Luna? Hi, my name is-"

"Starswirl, the bearded." Luna cuts her off. "Commendable costume, thou even got the bells right."

"Thank you, finally! Somepony who gets my costume!" Twilight smiles, only to see a still saddened Luna staring right back.

Forge walks closer as well. "Hey Luna, I'm-"

"A timberwolf, though the mouth is open a bit wide. We suppose it's because thy head needs to fit through it." Luna cuts him off.

"Not even close to what I was about to say. I was GOING to say that I'm sorry this town's full of assholes. This is literally what happened with Zecora all over again. You'd think they would have learned by now, but I guess one time isn't enough to get through their thick skulls." Forge finishes, his stomach churning with anger, only managing to suppress it by shapeshifting his stomach's connection to his esophagus closed.

"That was really not nice Forge." Twilight says in an elevated tone.

"And ousting someone based on false, preconceived notions isn't?" Forge retorts.

"You... do have a point there." Twilight admits, her ears flattened to the back of her head. "But, wasn't it you who asked her to come out tonight of all nights?"

Forge stares at nothing for a moment. "That's fair, and it was going to be a higher risk of this happening again. But if we can solve this again, maybe it'll finally get through to those numbskulls."

Twilight gives Forge an angry look, followed by a swift pain in his gut from the additional anger directed his way.

"This isn't going well at all. Fucking hell, I just have to suppress those feelings and let it out later. Sorry stomach, my brain can't handle your feedback right now." Just like that, Forge deactivated the feeling in his stomach, severing the connection to his nervous system, and thusly, his brain.

"Sorry Twilight, I got a bit carried away with that." Forge apologizes.

"Just, don't say stuff like that anymore, okay? You have to keep that stuff to yourself better." Twilight says, the immediate anger dissipating, though her mood is more soured now.

"FORGE, HOW EXACTLY DOES THOU PLAN ON HELPING US, CONSIDERING OUR WELCOME TONIGHT WAS LESS THAN SATISFACTORY?" Luna bellows.

Forge rubs at his ears. "Why exactly are you yelling like this? You weren't just a minute ago, or back at the castle."

"IT IS TRADITION TO USE THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS IN PUBLIC SETTINGS!" Luna proclaims.

"Okay, that may have been how it was, but things have changed since then. I'm honestly surprised Celestia hadn't informed you about this. Using your normal volume when speaking to others is the new common courtesy, as shouting at someone that isn't far away enough is considered rude." Forge explains.

"O-oh, were we being rude? That was not our intention..." Luna frowns.

"Well, considering you didn't know about that before, I think it should be fine if it doesn't happen again, right?" Twilight offers.

Forge nods. "Exactly, solving these misunderstandings is the whole reason we're doing this."

"We see, so... Is it a good idea for us to go back into town yet?" Luna asks.

"I don't see why not. What do you think Twilight?" Forge asks.

"Sure, and I think I know who we should visit first." Twilight agrees.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Unsurprisingly, the ponies all cower in fear at the sight of Princess Luna. Forge simply bites his lower lip and tongue simultaneously, preventing himself from scowling.

"Why am I getting this mad? I never got this invested into the episode... Then again, this isn't an episode anymore, and seeing all of this, actually questioning all of this in real time... Ugh... Forge internalizes. Then, something occurs to him. "Hold on, we're seeing Applejack first? Did... did I completely undercut what was supposed to be Fluttershy's role in Luna's acclimation?"

Applejack sets Pip down right when the trio approach. Without fail, Applejack cowers too. This doesn't sit well with Forge at all.

Right as soon as Twilight is about to speak, Forge steps ahead of her. "Applejack, what in the everloving... heck, are you doing cowering like that? You were LITERALLY PART OF WHY LUNA WAS SAVED. You mean to tell me your confidence back then before you knew it was actually possible to defeat Nightmare is entirely gone, even AFTER she was already defeated by you and the other elements?" He scolds.

"Forge!" Twilight yells, a spark of reddish energy bursting from her horn. "What's gotten into you!? All night you've been NOTHING but angry at everypony! You've been exceptionally rude, and really condescending! Is that really how you help your friends!?"

Forge locks up, looking at Twilight, then to Applejack, then to a worried Luna. He sighs, stepping back. "Clearly, this wasn't a good idea for me to get involved... I'm just causing more problems. It, would be best for me to leave. I thought I could handle it, but now I know I was wrong." He says, teleporting off before anyone else has the chance to say anything.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Aurelic arrives back at the old castle of the two sisters, shapeshifting away his costume and disguise. He quickly makes an unfeeling tube leading from his stomach to a good few inches outside of his mouth, as his body hurls up a glowing red, gooey substance. The stench of the concentrated anger assaulting his nose, which he quickly disables. The viscous anger continues to pool, until his stomach is completely free of it all. He reverts back once more, save for his nose.

"This is just like back at Appleoosa, but... there's way more here. And, back with Twilight, that red spark... Unicorns discharge their anger through their horn in the form of red magic... Making Twilight lose her cool like that, I really fucked up." Aurelic thinks.

Aurelic stares at the pile for a while, eventually deciding to grab it with the usual levitation spell. He carries it out to the gorge where Rainbow had to repair the bridge, dumping it off into the unknown.

"Since changelings consume emotions, perhaps they dispel their anger by way of vomiting, like a bad meal your body won't agree with. Unicorns got lucky in that department." Aurelic reasons as he heads back into the castle. He opts to lie on the ground, staring at the night sky above. "Maybe relaxing will help me clear my head. I only hope that Twilight and Luna will be fine without me. They would have been anyway..." Aurelic thinks, his eyes beginning to water. "Damn this night..."

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Forge teleports into his bedroom, having recently woken up from his night spent in the castle. Right as he approaches his door, he hears a knock.

"Come in." He practically drones out, still half-asleep.

Luna opens the door. "Oh, thank goodness thou art alright, we had begun to worry after your sudden departure last night."

"Yeah, I'm fine. How'd things go?" Forge asks, seemingly out of obligation rather than pleasantry.

"Oh, things went well! We have discovered a new prospect! Fun! We have never felt such exhilaration! It was truly wonderful!" Luna finishes with a small clap.

"Good, glad to hear you had a fun night." Forge says.

Luna nods excitedly. "Oh it was most wonderful, thou should join us again next year!"

"I... I'll need some time to think about it." Forge says, stepping out of the room into the corridor. "For now, I have some work to do. Throwing weapons like the shuriken and kunai I've introduced here need to be produced in much greater numbers than the more traditional stuff, so I have to get a head start on that. See you around." Forge finishes, heading off to his job.

"We... understand. Thou have your duties, as we have ours..." Luna trails off.

Author's Note

Up next, another more original adventure. Possibly two, depending on the length of the final product. Now, I wonder if that hate barf is gonna cause something down the line... Who knows? Oh, wait, I do. :p