Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Elsewhere in the castle, tucked away in the princess’s study, Twilight was enjoying some tea and a few moments of relaxation with some of her favorite people in the world. The purple mare, along with her young assistant, were gathered around a table with Celestia and Luna sitting opposite them, and Cadence and Shining Armor sat at the sides.

Celestia took a measured sip from her cup, briefly enjoying the calming aroma of her tea before setting it back down and looking up to her student. “How have you been, Twilight?” She asked, showing genuine interest as she looked over the unicorn and dragon with a passive smile.

“We’ve been doing well,” Twilight replied, glancing over to see Spike quietly munching on a few breakfast gems. She shifted her gaze over to her big brother and former foalsitter, smiling as she did. “What about you guys? How have things been up in the Crystal Empire?”

“Boring,” Shining droned.

“Peaceful,” Cadence said in unison to her husband. She stole him a glance, giving him a frown of disapproval. This in turn made him quiet down and trail his eyes away.

“That is good to hear.” Luna chimed in. “I was afraid that that incident with the frost wraith would have caused quite a stir. After all, the crystal ponies have scarcely been exposed to the supernatural before.”

Cadence’s face softened with concern as the incident was brought up. “Yes, I do see your point. Thankfully, the wraith never left the palace area, so it didn’t cause much damage before Glimmer Shine and the others got there.”

“You could say that more damage was caused after they got there,” Shining said with a brief chuckle.

“Well,” Luna cleared her throat nervously. “I never claimed that they would leave the immediate area intact when I sent them. At the very least, I expected a broken window or two.” She glanced over to Twilight. “Please, don’t tell Sunspot I said that. She is still… sensitive, on the matter.”

Twilight smirked a bit and held in a chuckle. The orange pegasus hadn’t said anything about her brief encounter with a pane of glass on one of her previous jobs; her teammates, however, loved to share a laugh at her expense every now and again, so much so that nearly everyone in their circle of friends knew at this point.

Pondering the subject a bit, Celestia looked to the unicorn with newfound curiosity. “Twilight, I trust that all of this business with the paranormal hasn’t interfered with your studies on friendship.”

“No,” Twilight replied. “Not at all. I mean… things have been fairly quiet in Ponyville, what with Tom and the others keeping on top of things so much. We hardly even knew about that ghoul they fought a few nights ago.”

“That wasn’t quite what I meant.” Celestia elaborated, the corners of her mouth pulled back in a slight smile as she scrutinized the unicorn with her eyes. “I happen to know that you’ve been having Glitterball send you notes and texts on the supernatural in her spare time.”

“Oh… that.” Twilight chuckled nervously, her face reddening a bit as she glanced down to Spike, only to see the dragon’s attention fixed on her.

“So that’s where you’ve been getting all of those ‘books’ you’ve been reading.” Spike narrowed his eyes a bit.

Twilight scratched at her mane, trying her hardest to avoid the dragon’s icy stare as she turned back to the others. Cadence and Shining Armor seemed pleasantly amused by her late-night study sessions, while Celestia was more like a parent that had just caught their child with a hoof in the cookie jar.

“W-well, I admit that I’ve been uh… dabbling… a bit, in the paranormal,” Twilight said uncomfortably. “But I can assure you that I have not let that get in the way of my studies.” She looked at her mentor with a sincere expression.

Celestia stared back at her student for a moment, silently measuring the unicorn with her eyes. Finally, she exhaled through her nose and smirked. “Of course, I didn’t expect you would.” She said in a more lighthearted manner. “You’re a grown pony, Twilight. I won’t tell you what you can and can’t study in your free time, so long as it isn’t harmful to you. I trust that you have the sense not to give yourself nightmares anyway.”

Spike raised an eyebrow at the unicorn beside him. “Yeah… totally.” He muttered just loud enough for her to hear before suddenly getting a gem stuck in his mouth by a magical aura, which he begrudgingly began to chew.

“Still,” Celestia continued, “it is fortunate that there have been so few incidents with monsters or ghosts that have affected the public. I believe Nightmare Night should be a time where ponies only have to worry about scaring themselves for fun, not being fearful for their lives.”

Hearing this, Luna lowered her expression a bit and trailed her eyes down in thought. The alicorn seemed to be thinking of something troubling, and Twilight had a feeling that she knew what it was.

“How are you doing, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked sympathetically. “I’m sure that Nightmare Night must be a complicated holiday for you.”

Luna looked up, surprised by how perceptive the unicorn was, before softening her expression. “I am… fine.” She nodded. “You are correct, Nightmare Night does invoke some... complicated feelings within me.” She paused briefly, looking over to see her sister resting a hoof on her shoulder and smiling softly. “However, I am not that person any longer, and I can respect and enjoy that this is a time when ponies of all ages can have fun, no matter the origin of it. I have you and your friends to thank for that, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled warmly. “It was our pleasure, Princess.”

A sudden knocking at the door drew everyone’s attention away. They looked over as the door opened a crack, only to spot their human friend poking his head into the room.

“Uh… Hi,” The boy greeted awkwardly. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Celestia snorted softly and smiled before gesturing to the human. “Not at all. Please, come in and get comfortable.”

At the princess’s behest, Tom entered the room and smiled a bit as he looked around at the regal gathering of ponies and alicorns.

“Let me get you a chair.” Twilight suggested, starting to get out of her seat so she could add another to the table.

Tom waved off the unicorn, eliciting her to remain in place. “No, no, it’s fine. I just came by to see if you were ready to head into town with the others, and maybe to chat a while.” He explained while getting somewhat comfortable up against the wall.

Twilight raised her brows in remembrance. “Oh yeah, that’s right. We were going to go get you a costume for tomorrow, weren’t we?”

“Yeah,” Spike nodded. “But I’m not sure you’re going to have much luck finding a costume that will fit a human.”

Tom rolled his eyes and groaned a bit. “Ugh… Thanks for reminding me that I’m a hairless ape in a society of talking ponies. I can’t even go shopping for a Ha..Nightmare Night costume.” He complained, mostly jestingly, though the others couldn’t be sure how much of it was him joking and how much was genuine.

Celestia giggled slightly. “Oh, come now, Tom. I’m certain that if you don’t find anything you like, we can have something custom made for Equestria’s one and only slayer of evil.”

Hearing this, the human sighed and deflated a bit, though he still had a slight hint of annoyance in his eyes as he crossed his arms. “Alright… It’s not the same though.” He grumbled to himself while staring at the floor.

“Speaking of slaying evil,” Cadence chimed in. “How have things been on the job?” She asked, harboring some curiosity and even a bit of concern in her voice. She wanted to know how the human was handling hunting monsters at such a young age. It must have been a very taxing job.

Tom pondered his answer for a moment. Though everyone else failed to catch it, Cadence noticed the boy glancing at his arm and frowning a bit before he forced a more contemplative expression to his face.

“Well, what can I say? Hunting evil things is pretty much my life now. I kinda have to like it, don’t I?” He shrugged lightheartedly.

“So… everything has been going well?” Cadence added, twitching an eyebrow imperceptibly. “It hasn’t been hard on you or anything?”

Tom pursed his lips and shook his head. “No, not really. I mean, my healing ability makes it so I can pretty much tank anything a monster could throw at me and keep going. After that, it’s really just a game of what kills what, and I’ve got all of that knowledge up here.” He tapped the side of his head.

Cadence glanced over, noticing Spike looking at the human with a bit of a concerned expression. She softened her eyes as she turned back to the boy and the confident expression he was displaying.

“Tom handles himself really well, Cadence,” Twilight assured. “I get worried about him sometimes too, but I’ve learned to just trust him. He poses more of a threat to any monster than they do to him.”

“Right…” Cadence smiled and nodded at the unicorn before her gaze shifted back to the human. “Of course...”

A few minutes of conversing later, Twilight and Spike left the castle and took their human friend with them into town.

The boy seemed very eager and upbeat as he looked around at the many colorful decorations around the city, perhaps even more so than either the unicorn or dragon combined.

“You seem excited,” Spike noted curiously. “I wouldn’t think you would be looking forward to a holiday you’ve never experienced before.”

Tom glanced at his two companions and made an effort to curb his enthusiasm for a moment. “Well, we had a holiday similar to Nightmare Night back in the human world. It was called Halloween, and it was my favorite holiday out of the lot.”

“Really?” Twilight mused.

Tom nodded. “Yep. See, before I became a slayer, I didn’t really know that the supernatural existed.” He gestured around at the hanging bats, cheesy spiderwebs, and cartoonish skeletons adorning the many shops and lampposts. “All of it was just make-believe, kinda like it was for you guys. I loved the whole aesthetic of it. The costumes, the spooky stories, the candy… especially the candy.”

“I hear you there,” Spike said, hungrily eyeing up a candy store before Twilight nudged him along.

“Well, I’m glad that you already enjoy Nightmare Night as much as we do,” Twilight said. “The girls and I always have a lot of fun going around town trick-or-treating with the local kids, so I’m happy that we can include you in that.” She paused, turning ahead and smiling slightly as she saw their destination. “But first, we need to find you a costume.”

Tom looked ahead at what the unicorn had stopped in front of. There was a general store tucked between two other buildings. A grim reaper pony made of plastic and fabric was sat inside of the large window with a black and orange sticker proudly displaying ‘Costumes and other Nightmare Night necessities inside!’ on the glass.

The human smiled a bit, fondly remembering the place he used to go to for Halloween costumes in his hometown. Hearing the scampering of feet, he and Twilight looked ahead to see Spike already making his way inside. They shared a cheerful look with each other before joining their young companion into the shop.

Once inside, Twilight greeted the pony behind the counter with a friendly smile and a wave, with Tom following suit with a slight wave of his own. While many ponies across Equestria knew about him now, he still wasn't as familiar with the denizens of Canterlot as the purple mare was.

Almost immediately, the pair looked over and saw Spike already perusing the many aisles of costumes and masks. There were a few decorations or bags of candy dotted around, but the main focus of the shop seemed to be on costumes and accessories.

As they started looking around themselves, Tom and Twilight gave pause as they heard some familiar voices at the back of the store.

“I want this one!” An excited unicorn filly chimed.

“Ooh, this one looks cool!” A pegasus filly added.

Walking to the back of the store, the trio saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders all gathered around, eagerly sifting through various costumes, holding them against themselves, and using a nearby mirror to see how they looked.

“Now, now, girls, settle down. There are enough for everyone to try.” Rarity said softly, hoping to corral the energetic youngsters.

Twilight and Tom looked around and spotted Applejack and Pinkie Pie nearby, who were trying on a rodeo clown ensemble and a frilly blue dress with fairy wings respectively.

Noticing the trio walking over, Applejack turned and smiled. “Howdy, y’all.”

“Uh… hi, guys,” Twilight said, a bit taken aback by the oversized red nose the orange mare was sporting.

“You like my costume?” Applejack asked, turning slightly and showing off the colorful pants and suspenders.

“It’s a little… on the nose,” Twilight smirked a bit, eliciting eye rolls from her two companions, “But I like it. It reminds me of Mayor Mare’s costume from last year.”

“I figured she was havin’ a lot of fun clownin’ around, so why not?” Applejack said.

Pinkie nodded. “Uh-huh! I almost decided to try a clown this year too, but then I saw this.” She looked down to the admittedly flashy outfit she had on.

“What are you supposed to be, anyway?” Spike chimed in.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Pinkie asked, receiving hesitant shrugs in response. “Oh, come on, guys… I’m the tooth fairy!”

Tom raised an eyebrow. “You mean you guys have that too?”

The quiet sound of tiny hoofsteps approaching drew everyone’s attention to the side, only to see the three fillies walking over with Rarity in tow.

“Hey, guys.” Scootaloo greeted Twilight and her two companions with a cheerful smile. “What are you doing here?”

“Tom needs a costume, so we’re going to help him pick one out.” Spike chimed in.

The young pegasus and her two friends looked up at the human with newfound glee in their eyes that everyone else present knew to be wary about. Tom, however, seemed blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

“Really? That’s great!” Scootaloo announced before shifting her attention back to the human. “You want us to help you, Tom?”

“Yeah, we’re really good at finding costumes.” Sweetie Belle chimed in, gesturing to the outfits she and her companions had on. The unicorn was wearing a fluffy-looking cat outfit, complete with whiskers. Scootaloo was wearing a bat outfit, with tiny wings and a set of plastic fangs that looked mildly uncomfortable to wear. Apple Bloom hadn’t put on her costume yet, but she was holding what looked to be a dog outfit.

Tom seemed unfazed by the energy radiating off the trio of fillies. “Well… if you put it like that, I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” He asked lightheartedly before turning to Twilight and Spike. “You guys hang out here for a minute… I think I’m in good hands.”

“Hooves,” Spike said flatly with a smug look.

Tom sighed. “Thanks, buddy. I’m glad to know you’re willing to lend a helping hoof.”

“Hand,” Twilight added, stifling a giggle and trying to avoid the icy stare being sent her way. Spike was doing a much worse job of hiding his amusement.

“Come on, Tom. You don’t need to take that from them.” Scootaloo said, gently tugging on the boy’s pant leg and nodding towards her two friends.

“Yeah, I’ll go where my culture shock is appreciated.” The boy said, briefly sticking his tongue out at the unicorn and dragon quietly snickering to themselves as he walked away with the three fillies.

Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity watched the group of fillies as they started chatting with the human and eagerly pointing out costumes to him before disappearing behind an aisle. They then turned back to Twilight and Spike.

“Speakin’ of costumes, what do you plan on wearin’, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“Please tell me you won’t be wearing that Starswirl outfit again. It is so last century.” Rarity droned.

Twilight scrunched her expression a bit. “Well, it is based on a pony from a few centuries ago.” She said flatly. “But… I think I’ll try something new this year. Maybe Clover the Clever?”

“Thank goodness. I hate to be the one to tell you, darling, but that fake beard is so unbecoming of you.” Rarity said.

“I think you’re missing the point of wearing a costume,” Twilight said.

“I don’t know, I thought it looked kind of good on you,” Spike added.

Twilight squinted her eyes. “Uh… thank you… I think?”

“How about you, Spike? What are you going to go as?” Pinkie chimed in curiously.

“Oh, don’t you worry, I’ve got some ideas that will scare your tiara off,” Spike said, smirking devilishly in anticipation.

“Challenge accepted.” Pinkie said. “But you’re going to have to come up with something good if you want to scare me.” She stated confidently, starting to walk up to the counter to pay for her costume. She froze in place and widened her eyes, only to produce a shrill yelp as she was met face to latex with what could only be a cheesy were-pony mask poking out from around one of the aisles.

As the pink mare darted behind the group and cowered, they could hear the familiar laughter of a certain orange filly. Sure enough, Scootaloo walked out from around the corner holding up the mask on the stick end of a plastic witch broom.

“Haha… sorry, Pinkie. I couldn’t resist.” Scootaloo wiped a stray tear of joy out of her eye.

Pinkie Pie slowly peered out from around Applejack and Rarity and saw the filly chuckling to herself. Her fear gradually melted, replaced by a smile and a laugh of her own. “Nice one, Scootaloo. You really got me there.”

Meanwhile, Spike nudged Twilight and whispered into her ear once she leaned down. “I guess the bar is really low for what Pinkie qualifies as ‘good’.”

Twilight hid a smirk before returning her attention to the filly. “Hey, weren’t you supposed to be helping Tom find a costume?”

“I was,” Scootaloo said, discarding her witch broom and mask, “but Sweetie and Apple Bloom seemed like they had things handled. I’m sure he’ll have a costume picked out in no time.”

Sure enough, the group turned and saw the other two fillies trotting over with eager expressions, their human friend trailing close behind sporting what must have been his chosen costume.

Tom stopped in front of the fillies and gestured to his outfit, showing it off to the group. “Tadaa…! what do you guys think?”

Twilight brought a hoof to her chin as she took in her friend’s admittedly strange-looking outfit. He had what appeared to be fake white wings and a plastic halo suspended above his head by a wire hat.

“You’re an… angel?” Twilight asked, a bit unsure of whether or not this was a good choice.

Sweetie Belle smirked proudly. “Yeah! I thought it was a good fit for him, seeing how he has pretty much been our guardian angel since he got here.”

“Also, it was one of the only things that actually fit me,” Tom added flatly before perking up a bit as he saw how much the young fillies enjoyed seeing him wearing their contribution.

“I don’t know. Isn’t it a little… frilly, for someone like you?” Spike skewed his expression a bit while sizing up how the costume looked. It was definitely a lot less masculine than he was expecting.

“Spike, I go out every day wearing something too casual for casual Fridays. Do you really think I’m self-conscious enough to care about plastic wings and a halo?” Tom deadpanned, crossing his arms with an unimpressed expression.

“Fair enough…” Spike added, rubbing his scaly hair uncomfortably.

“You know what? I like it.” Twilight said, finally managing a smile. “It really does suit you.”

“Yeah. I think it looks nice.” Pinkie added.

“Thank you. I’m glad to finally be able to wear something different for a change… even if it isn’t much of a change.” Tom looked down to his blue outfit and sighed to himself.

Now that the main reason for their visit had been taken care of, Twilight shifted her eyes around at the many aisles full of costumes, masks, and accessories. As much as she liked her Starswirl cape and pointy wizard hat, she figured that it was time to try something new.

“Well, now that you’ve got your outfit picked out, why don’t you come help Spike and me pick our costumes?” Twilight suggested, hiding a bit of a hopeful smile.

Tom half smirked and nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”

“Ooo… can I help too? I love costume shopping!” Pinkie asked eagerly.

“I’d like to help as well.” Rarity chimed in, a bit more composed when compared to the energetic pink mare. “If you’re looking for something new to try, I saw a royal gown and tiara set that would look marvelous with your mane.”

“Uh… sure.” Twilight forced a smile, a bit hesitant to invite such shenanigans into her day. Still, she did enjoy spending time with friends, and what better way to spend a day than being trapped with Pinkie Pie and Rarity in a small building full of dozens of outfits to try on.

On second thought, maybe she should run and not look back.

-Later-

After spending much of the day enjoying themselves, Twilight and her friends eventually found their way back to the royal palace. The sun was getting low in the sky, and it would soon be night.

The unicorn and her small troop walked up the steps to the main entrance at a leisurely pace, carrying bags full of colorful costumes and maybe even a few treats tucked away here and there.

Twilight opened the doors and walked inside, not making it two steps before her stomach started reminding her that she had scarcely eaten all day.

“Boy howdy, I sure could go for some food right about now.” Applejack chimed in from the back of the group.

“You read my mind,” Twilight said. “Why don’t we go find Rainbow Dash and the others and head to dinner?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Spike added, rubbing his empty stomach pitifully. “I hope they’re around here somewhere, because I’m starving.”

Meanwhile, Tom seemed absorbed in other thoughts as he trailed off to the side of the group slightly. He paused and glanced down an open hallway for a moment before turning back to Twilight. “You guys go on ahead. I’ve got something I need to do.”

“Everything ok?” Twilight asked, perhaps noticing the boy’s stoic expression.

“Yeah, I… just remembered something is all. I’ll probably be a while, so don’t wait up.” He said, briefly waving before heading off on his own.

Twilight watched the boy leaving for a moment before shrugging and turning back to her friends. “Well, I guess there’s more for us.”

As the purple mare and her group went off to search for something to eat, Tom was busy with other matters.

The boy walked through the palace alone for a while with nothing but his own thoughts and the sound of his footsteps echoing around him to keep him company. While his face was blank and expressionless, any onlooker would notice his eyes held a bit of uncertainty and anxiousness to them.

Eventually, he found himself nearing his destination. A door stood ahead of him, with two stallions clad in golden armor stationed outside. Tom knew this room to be where the palace kept the more dangerous or important magical items and knowledge, and he knew that he would need a key to access what he needed inside. A key which just so happened to be in the care of the pair of guards.

Normally, getting access to said key wouldn’t be a problem. Tom was a trusted friend of the royal sisters and the semi-official royal monster slayer, after all. However, he knew that the guards would want to know why he needed the key to access what he needed to access, and that would prove rather bothersome for his current intentions.

Putting on a more casual expression, the human walked up to the pair of guards and paused before them as they stood at attention.

“Can we help you, sir?” One of the guards said in a friendly, if a little curt, tone.

“I’m here to research a book… Princess Luna’s orders.” Tom explained.

The guards shared an uncertain look with each other for a moment before turning back to the human.

“Err… I’m sorry, Mr. Greene, but you need express permission from one of the princesses for us to let you do that. We haven’t heard anything from Princess Luna about this.” One of the stallions explained hesitantly.

Tom cursed internally, not allowing an ounce of emotion to reach his face, before skewing his expression in confusion. “Really? I would have thought she…” He paused for a moment before shaking his head and adopting a more urgent attitude. “Nevermind. She must have forgotten to tell you. Look… I really need to get to work. It’s a… how did she describe it? ‘A matter of utmost importance.’”

Once again, the guards looked to each other, seemingly silently conferring their opinions. They each seemed conflicted on what to do.

Finally, one of the stallions snorted softly and reached to his side. He grabbed a ring of brass keys and handed them to the human. “Of course… Sorry to bother you.”

“Thanks,” Tom said in passing before opening the double doors and heading inside.

The smell of old parchment and ink immediately greeted him as the doors swung shut behind him. Tom looked out at the assortment of desks and cushions scattered around the small reading area, the various tools and research aids, the heaps of blank scrolls, quills, and spare inkwells scattered about, barely sparing a glance to any of it before marching forward toward the true purpose of this room.

Making his way to the back of the antechamber, Tom paused before another door with an ornate-looking lock on its handle. He fished a key from the ring with a ruby set into its base and inserted it into the lock, resulting in a soft click as the handle turned unfettered.

Through this door, Tom entered into a sort of storage area. The ceiling was much higher, and there were at least a dozen shelves going down the length of the room and to the sides. However, these shelves weren’t the typical wooden bookcases that littered a normal library.

Glass containers, each with a lock near their base, were built into the more modern-looking shelves. Some had magical runes or glyphs written on them, some were completely opaque, and some even had more than one lock on them. They all had one thing in common. Books, tomes, scrolls. Each container was full of magical knowledge and power transcribed in ink, or perhaps in other... more disturbing mediums.

Tom gazed around at the collection of books secreted away, with good reason, in some dark room. These were not books that one carefree bibliophile would peruse to learn or fill their mind with a story. These were dangerous books. Books that held terrible or important knowledge. Books that could curse the reader by simply flipping their pages unprepared.

With only a passing thought about what other contents were in this room, Tom shifted his attention to one of the back shelves. To the reason he came here.

Walking up to the shelf and eyeing over the identification numbers of each container, he bent over and put his hand on one before fishing another key from his sizable ring and unlocking it. Carefully sliding open the glass, he revealed a leather journal lying flat with nary a covering of dust to indicate how long it had sat there.

Tom picked up the journal and looked over the design etched into the leather, what appeared to be a simplistic flame, before making his way back out into the main reading area. He found a chair specifically made for him and sat down, placing the journal in front of him and hesitating.

Looking down at his injured arm, he took a moment to let his thoughts wander. Tightening his fist a few times and entertaining the thought of trying to heal again a few times over, he sighed to himself and stretched his neck before opening the journal, starting to read.

Elsewhere, Twilight and her friends had all gathered in the dining hall and were in the midst of enjoying a hearty feast.

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Blue Bolt sat together across from Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. Glimmer Shine and his teammates had decided to come along. Shining Armor had also joined the group along with Cadence, with the both of them sitting together near Twilight and Spike.

Cadence looked up from her salad, smiling softly as she watched the three young fillies at the opposite end of the table chatting with each other about their day. She shifted her glance over to Twilight curiously. "So, did everyone find a costume for tomorrow?"

"Yeah… It took a while, but I think we all found something we like." Twilight explained, looking down to Spike.

The dragon stopped eating for a moment as he noticed the two mares sharing an amused stare at his expense. "What? It’s not my fault that I couldn't decide. There were so many good choices!"

Across the table, Sunspot looked around at the others curiously and perked up. “So, what are you guys planning on doing tomorrow night?”

Twilight glanced around at the others briefly before settling her eyes on the orange pegasus. “Well… I for one was planning on watching the costume contest with Shining and Cadence for a while. We haven’t spent a Nightmare Night together in forever.”

“And we’re takin’ the girls through town to trick or treat.” Applejack said, gesturing toward Rarity, Pinkie, and the three fillies sitting next to her.

“Hey, you guys mind if I join you? I’d love to grab some spare candy.” Sparkplug chimed in eagerly.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you a little old for trick or treating?”

Pinkie scrunched her face in confusion. “What are you talking about? Nopony is too old for trick or treating.”

“Well, Pinkie, I…” Rarity started uncomfortably, a bit taken aback by her friend’s answer.

“Besides. It’s not the trick or treating I’m after. It’s the result of the trick or treating.” Sparkplug stated, a slight smile working its way over her as she stared into the middle distance, her thoughts shifting to other, more sugary subjects.

Rarity sighed a bit and shook her head. “You’re free to join us, darling.”

“Yeah! The more the merrier!” Pinkie added cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Sunspot deflated a little in disappointment. “Aw… I was kind of hoping to hang out with you, Sparkplug.”

“Why don’t you hang out with Glitter and Glimmer?” Twilight asked curiously, only to hear a disgusted groan come from the pegasus.

“We tried asking her, but apparently she doesn’t think spending the night perusing bookstores is a good time,” Glitterball said, smirking slightly at her teammate’s revulsion.

“You like reading, Glimmer?” Spike asked, a bit surprised.

The yellow stallion shifted forward in his seat. “What? A guy can like reading… especially horror novels.”

“You wouldn’t believe the selection on Nightmare Night,” Glitterball added.

Twilight blinked at the pair. “Huh… I wouldn’t figure you guys would be horror buffs… given your career.”

Looking back over to Sunspot, Fluttershy frowned sympathetically as she saw how disappointed the pegasus seemed to be about not having anyone to be with tomorrow. “You know, Sunspot, if you’re looking for something to do, you could come to the haunted house with us.”

Hearing this, Sunspot immediately perked up with intrigue. “Really? You guys wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not.” Rainbow Dash added. “Us pega-brothers and sisters need to stick together.”

While they talked and ate, everyone was progressively getting more and more excited for the fun they would be having tomorrow night. They were all confident that there would be good times, lighthearted scares, candy, and time spent with friends. That was all any of them could ask for.

Elsewhere in the castle, on the balcony outside of Princess Celestia’s bedchambers, the white alicorn and her sister were performing a ritual that they had done many times before, setting the sun and raising the moon.

Celestia breathed a sigh of relief as she finished lowering the golden orb below the horizon. All of her duties had been finished, all of her plans for the day were over, and now she had a little free time to herself before she rested.

Looking over to see her sister with her horn still glowing, she briefly glanced to the rising moon before smiling slightly. “You know, I used to hate Nightmare Night. I saw it as the anniversary of my greatest failure… but now, I see it as a reminder of our reunion.”

Luna turned to her sister as she finished raising the moon, a soft smile forming at the warm sentiment before it vanished as she reflected on the older alicorn’s words. “You had nothing to be ashamed of, sister. The only failure to be had back then was mine.”

Celestia’s expression fell slightly as she heard the regret in her sister’s voice. “Sister… can I tell you something in earnest?”

“I should hope so,” Luna replied.

After a moment of silence, Celestia took a breath and trailed her eyes downward. “When I heard that you… ‘died’ during the raid on Raven Feather’s mansion, I felt like I did on that night so long ago when I first lost you.” She said somberly. “I was so struck with grief… not just because I lost you, but because I thought I could have done so much differently. I felt the same when I heard that Twilight was killed. I’m… not certain if I could have taken losing her and losing you for a second time if I weren’t in the midst of a crisis. Needless to say… I am more grateful than I could ever express that both of you returned to us.”

“Sister…” Luna frowned and looked to the older alicorn with soft eyes. She paused abruptly as she felt her sister putting a hoof on her shoulder.

“I suppose what I’m trying to say is… we could spend all night trying to shoulder the blame for what happened back then. I think I’d rather enjoy the moment now that we’re together again.” Celestia said in a more lighthearted manner.

Luna hesitated outside as Celestia walked back into her bedroom. She lifted a pair of glasses and a wine bottle and poured them as she made her way over to the table where they rested.

Luna walked over, pausing slightly as a glass of the sweet-smelling liquid was gently levitated in front of her. She took the glass in her own magical grip and looked down at it for a moment before looking back at Celestia.

“To second chances,” Celestia said, holding her glass out for a brief toast.

Luna took a moment to react, but when she did, she smiled and clinked their glasses together. “To second chances.”

A knock at the door interrupted the pair’s drink. They both settled eyes on the door before looking to each other and sharing a disappointed sigh.

“Come in,” Celestia said after taking a quick sip and placing her glass down.

On cue, a guard entered the room and bowed his head before addressing the royal sisters. “Princess… I’ve gathered up all of the reports of unusual activity around Equestria, as you requested.” He explained, holding out a clipboard with a wall of text on it in blocks.

Celestia nodded and took the clipboard. “Thank you. Dare I ask… is there anything that stands out as urgent?” She said, starting to skim over the reports a little.

“Err… I’m not sure if I’m qualified enough to accurately answer that, ma’am. At first glance, nothing sounded severe enough to warrant immediate attention. There aren’t any monster sightings or rivers of blood.”

“That’s always a good sign, I suppose.” Celestia raised an eyebrow while she went down the list. She paused as she reached something from a town not too far away. “What about these reports of strange noises in Clopford?”

The guard briefly looked over the entry as the alicorn pointed it out to him. “I believe the citizens were hearing some growls and barks around the edge of town late last night.”

“Were there any dead animals or strange tracks?” Luna chimed in curiously.

“No, just the noises.”

Celestia pondered the matter for a moment. “Perhaps a pack of timberwolves wandered outside of a nearby forest looking for shelter or food?” She mused.

“At any rate, it doesn’t seem like anything to be overly concerned about without some concrete evidence,” Luna added. Truth be told, she was really hoping for there to not be a supernatural issue severe enough for her to send Glimmer Shine and the others to go deal with it on the day of Nightmare Night, but if she was being serious, it didn’t sound like anything bad.

Celestia nodded at her sister’s suggestion, though she still wore a bit of a troubled expression. After a moment of thought, she turned back to the guard. “Have some of the local guards patrol around town and investigate. If they find anything pointing to a supernatural creature, have them report in immediately.” She instructed, to which the guard saluted after she handed back the clipboard.

“Yes, Princess, right away.” He stated before trotting off to go do as he was told.

The two alicorns let their gaze linger on the door for a moment, each dwelling on some passing thought about the reports they just learned about.

“I’m quite sure that it’s just a stray wolf or another animal,” Luna assured, both to her sister and herself.

“Even so, it pays to be cautious. Although, I certainly hope you are right. I would hate to ruin Tom’s first Nightmare Night by sending him on a mission.” Celestia said.

“Oddly enough, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” Luna added.

Celestia sighed a bit. “I think he would… at least a little bit. He might act like a lot of things don’t bother him, but Twilight has told me that he has a problem with showing his true feelings to make his friends feel better.”

“I can’t imagine how someone so young could put such a burden on themselves.” Luna shook her head sympathetically. “If it weren’t for his powers and knowledge, I wouldn’t allow him to do what he does in good conscience.”

“Neither would I… Although, isn’t he technically older than us?” Celestia said jestingly.

Luna chuckled briefly at the thought. “I’m quite sure traveling forward in time doesn’t count.”

“If it did, I think he would join us in having a laugh over the fact that the oldest being in the universe has the mind of a teenager,” Celestia added. Soon, however, her smile faded as a yawn escaped her.

Luna smiled a bit and took a step toward the door. “Should I let you rest?”

Celestia glanced to her bed longingly before giving her sibling a regretful frown and nodding. “Yes, please… It is such a shame that our biological clocks are opposed. I would love to go stargazing with you one of these nights.”

“And I would love to go cloud watching with you… once coffee is involved.”

“Ah… coffee… the sole reason we get to see each other as often as we do,” Celestia smirked.

“Goodnight, Tia,” Luna said warmly while exiting the room.

Celestia watched her sibling leave, smiling softly as she did. “Goodnight, Lulu.”

A few minutes later, Luna was making her way through the corridors of the castle, the only light to be seen coming from the moon shining through a window or a nearby lantern.

Almost everyone else was either asleep or making their way to bed by now, and the only ones awake were her and the various guards on night shift.

One such guard spotted the alicorn walking down the hall and started approaching her as if he had something to tell her.

“Princess Luna.” The guard bowed his head briefly as he reached her.

“What is it?” Luna asked curiously.

“I thought to inform you that Sir Thomas is researching that task you requested of him.” The guard explained.

Luna took a moment to respond, internalizing a feeling of confusion and surprise. “He is?”

The guard nodded. “Yes. Will he require any assistance? He said that it was a matter of utmost importance.”

Trailing her eyes off in thought for a moment, Luna straightened her expression before returning her attention to the guard. “No… I’m sure he’s making good progress on the issue. Although… I feel I might wish to check on him to see how he’s doing. Is he in the library?” She asked quizzically.

“No ma’am, he’s in the secure storage.” The guard reported, to which Luna nodded.

“Right… of course. He certainly would be there, given how important the task I gave him is.” She said, her thoughts elsewhere. “Is that all?” She asked, receiving a nod in response. “Very well… you are dismissed.”

The guard saluted. “Yes, Princess.” He stated before going off on his own, leaving the alicorn to herself.

Luna rested a hoof to her chin and glanced to the side, briefly pondering what the human was up to. It wasn't like him to lie and go behind her back to do something. She was certain he had good intentions, but it troubled her nonetheless.

Making her way across the castle only took a short few minutes. Finally, she found herself standing in front of the secure storage. Behind that door was a study area meant to research all of the dangerous books on magic that were retrieved from Raven Feather’s mansion, and apparently, her human friend.

The two guards stood at attention as the alicorn approached them. She nodded to them before opening the door and stepping inside.

Looking into the small study, Luna found the human sitting at a desk with a pile of notes and a leather journal in front of him. As the sound of the door closing reached him, he looked up from his research and noticed the alicorn walking into the room, whereupon he stood straight up and nearly tripped over himself.

“P-Princess Luna!” He said, forcing a cheerful greeting and a nervous chuckle. “What brings you here this late at night?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Tom,” Luna replied as she came to a halt. “In fact, I think I will ask you the same thing. What are you doing here?” She asked, no harshness to her voice, but instead a sense of surprise and curiosity.

The human leaned back defensively, resting his hands behind him on the desk as he started sweating nervously. “Umm… I’m sure I could have a well-thought-out answer for that, but you sort of caught me by surprise.” He leveled with her hesitantly, flashing an awkward smile.

“What are you reading there?” Luna asked, craning her neck to look past the human at the book opened up onto the desk.

Tom turned to see the journal and quickly closed it, but as he did, Luna caught a glimpse of white under one of his sleeves.

“Oh, this? It’s nothing… it’s err… it’s just a little something I wanted to look at, nothing to worry about, really-”

“Tom…”

“No, no, you’re right… I shouldn’t have snuck in here without asking. I’ll just put this up and go.”

“Tom…” Luna persisted, a bit of concern in her voice. “What’s that on your arm?”

Tom looked down to the appendage she pointed out, a hollow pit forming in his stomach as he stood there for a solid few seconds just staring. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders sinking as he turned to face the alicorn. He pulled his sleeve up, revealing what he had been hiding for so long.

Luna gasped quietly and reeled back a bit. She was currently looking at a bunch of bloodied bandages, not unlike something she might see in a hospital. The injury that must have been concealed beneath was probably large and gruesome looking by now. It was probably infected if it hadn’t been tended to. Of course, it shouldn’t have even been there at all, given who she was talking to.

“Tom… why haven’t you healed that?” She asked in a softer tone while walking up to the boy and gently taking hold of his arm to further examine the wound. She used her magic to carefully unwrap the bandage a bit, eliciting a frown from her and a wince from the boy as a nasty-looking bite wound was uncovered.

Tom sighed and ran his other hand down his face, letting it linger over his mouth for a moment before he dropped it. “I guess I should just come clean.” He said, though he hesitated a few moments longer as if he were having trouble getting the words out. “I think… I’m losing my powers.”

Hearing this, Luna looked up at him in shock. “What?”

“On that mission I went on in Ponyville with Glimmer and the others, my senses weren’t working right. Then I got bit by that ghoul… and I couldn’t heal it. I’ve been trying to ignore it… but I can still feel the signs. I feel tired… weak, and no matter what I try, I can’t will my powers to work.” Tom explained, looking down at the wound on his arm dismally.

Luna frowned sympathetically for a moment before putting on a more reassuring expression. “Don’t worry, Tom. We’ll get to the bottom of this together. I’ll go ask my sister and we’ll get started right away.” She said, already starting to trot away.

“Wait!” Tom called after her, eliciting her to slow to a halt and turn to him with a confused expression. “Please don’t tell her.”

“Tom… I don’t understand. What do you mean?” Luna shook her head softly.

“I’ve done the best I can to keep this to myself. I don’t want to worry anyone with this… least of all Twilight. She and the others have had to deal with so much recently, and I just want them to have a good time tomorrow, not spend the whole night wondering if I’m going to be ok.”

“Are you ok, Tom? I might not know as much about slayers as you, but this does not seem like something that should be taken lightly.” Luna insisted.

“I know… I know.” Tom sighed. “Look, if I can’t find a way to fix this in a few days, you can tell Princess Celestia and get her to help. I would still prefer this to be kept secret from any of the girls… but we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I’ve been looking through the slayer’s journal for a solution… I’m sure I can find something given enough time, but…” He clenched his fist and his eyes shut briefly before looking to the alicorn with a sincere gleam of desperation in his eyes. “Please don’t tell anyone right now.”

Luna remained silent for a moment, looking the boy over and dwelling on her thoughts. She finally exhaled through her nose and pulled her lips into a conflicted grimace before relaxing her expression. “Very well… I won’t tell my sister.”

Tom immediately deflated with relief.

“But…” She added in a more stern tone.

“But?” Tom asked hesitantly.

Luna stepped closer to the human. “You aren’t going on any missions or fighting any monsters until we get you back to normal… well, abnormal.”

“Supernormal?” Tom added.

“Paranormal?” Luna tilted her head curiously before shaking it and re-adopting a serious expression. “Whatever the terminology… Until we get your powers back. Am I clear?”

Tom exhaled softly and nodded. “Crystal.”

Hearing this, Luna smiled slightly and patted the boy’s shoulder. “Worry not, Tom. We’ll fix you in no time at all.” She assured. “Now… why don’t you go to bed? You look dreadful, and I’m not talking about that wound on your arm.”

Tom did his best to fight off a yawn, but now he couldn’t keep up the appearance of being energetic and alert. “Yeah… I guess I’ve gotten used to being able to run on three hours of sleep. But… I need to keep researching and-” He paused as the alicorn gently laid a hoof on his shoulder again, only to pull him away from the desk.

“Tom, I will pick up where you left off,” Luna said, nodding toward the journal.

Tom lowered his expression. “Are you sure?”

Luna simply smiled and nodded. “Quite… I usually pass the night away by reading or walking the dreams of troubled sleepers, but I can multitask. At any rate, this is more important.”

“Thank you, Princess… I really owe you one.” Tom said before starting to walk away.

The alicorn watched the human leaving, a bit of a concerned frown on her face that shifted to a warm smile as he turned to look at her, until he finally left the room and her troubled expression returned.

“Just take it off the tally of what I owe you.” Luna half smirked, looking to the floor and briefly recalling all the times that the human had saved her friends. She turned her attention to the book lying open on the desk and began what would be a long night of studying.