Nightmare Night.
How Fluttershy dreaded this time of year. It was the time where colts and foals would dress up in all manner of creepy and scary costumes. The aura around Ponyville changed from pleasant and cheery to something that is the polar opposite. Where ponies would carve spooky faces on pumpkins, creepy décor would hang on every house and shop, and ghoulish pranks were pulled off. Pranks that a certain rainbow-maned pegasus would no doubt be taking part in.
Fluttershy had grown stronger in accepting that this wasn’t her type of tea. Having tried celebrating the holiday’s festivities with her friends, she realised that being a part of something with friends doesn’t mean you will necessarily love it as well. Luckily, she was fortunate to have such understanding and caring friends. They have also learnt that apart from Fluttershy being the Stare Master, she could be a great Scare Master.
Right now, Fluttershy was dashing around her cottage, making sure everything was all set so that she could relax during the night. This time, she made sure she was fully stocked with Angel’s carrots, as well as all the other critters’ food for the night. Her animal friends were understanding and have helped her during the evening. Fuzzy Legs used his webs to close the windows, the birds have promised to alert her of anything scary, and Harry the bear has prepared her space under the bed with books, plenty of light and soft, comforting pillows during this stressful night.
“Thank you, friends, for all your help,” Fluttershy thanked as she looked around her bedroom at her animal friends. The birds tweeted happily as they perched upon the window sill. Harry was standing in front of the door and Fuzzy legs had created a web in a corner of the room.
“Now, this is what I call the perfect Nightmare Night,” Fluttershy sighed as she went over to her bathroom to get ready for a time under the bed rather than upon it. After a quick was hand brush up. She looked at the selection of books her critters have prepared for her. The options were Gone with the Twister, Withering Hooves, Hugs and the City, and, for some reason, Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams. Why did she have a Daring Do book in her library? Adventure and action weren’t her most favourite genre. It took some time before she realised that Rainbow Dash must have read it in her house and forgot to pick it up again.
Thinking it was best to give it back to her friend after Nightmare Night had passed, she picked up her copy of Withering Hooves. She decided that it would be the next book to study with her critter book club. She gave a small sigh to calm her nerves and crawled under her bed. Angel followed after her and a few songbirds squeezed in. Harry, being too large to fit under the bed, only had his head poking through.
“Now this is what I call the perfect Nightmare Night,” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief, her animal friends nodding in agreement. Picking up a jar, she asked her fireflies to provide some light, which they gladly made. Giving another sigh of contentment, Fluttershy opened the book and read to her animal friends.
She, or her animal friends, didn’t know what time had passed when the birds started giving off the alarm, their loud tweets sounding the alarm. Fluttershy immediately perked up, as well as those who were caught up in the story’s plotline. Fluttershy looked at her friends with worry, though she relaxed at the looks of support her friends’ showed. It was dashed as there was a sudden knock on the door, causing Fluttershy to jump and bang her head on the bed. Angle was quick to on her head and lick the sore spot affectionately. He may be strict and rude sometimes, but there was nothing he will do to help his friend. Wincing and rubbing her head gently she decided to brave it and crawl from underneath the bed. Harry and the others were right behind her as she tip-toed down the stares to not make a sound.
By the time she made it to the front door, the banging was more frequent and fast. Fluttershy looked at the grandfather clock in her living. In the moonlight, the hands told her it was eleven at night. It was quite far into the night, but Fluttershy knew that the festivities could last longer, meaning that some fillies might still be trick-or-treating. Fluttershy gulped and cleared her throat.
“Please may you kindly go away? I don’t have any candy to give to you,” Fluttershy half-explained, half-begged.
“Dear Fluttershy, you must come out! I have something to show you!” A familiar voice came from the other side of the door. Fluttershy recognised it instantly.
“Princess Luna? Is that really you?” Fluttershy asked with a hint of more confidence.
“It is!” Luna called with a sing-song voice. The Princess of the Night has been known to escape her royal duties for this one occasion. Nightmare Night was her way to escape the snooty nobles of Canterlot and just be Luna for one night. It was a time for her to eat sweets with filles, pull pranks and enjoy being amongst the citizens of Ponyville. She and Princess Luna didn’t hit it off well after her return to Equestria on Luna’s first Nightmare Night, but they are good friends.
“Come out Fluttershy! We have something most joyous to share with you!” Fluttershy was now curious about what Luna had to show her. In addition, her voice wasn’t as clear as it usually was. If anything, it was more muffled, but it could be because she was on the other side of the door.
Fluttershy took a deep breath and readied herself for what was waiting for her on the other side. When she did open the door, she was treated to the most horrifying thing she had ever seen.
Standing in front of her, was herself! Even her animal friends took a step back in shook, looking between the real Fluttershy they have just been spending the night with, and the one in front of the door. It was much taller than the original Fluttershy, and also a lot more scruffy and baggy than herself. The eyes were comically larger and bulged from the sockets. The wings were also unkempt and the stitching made the feathers poke out at odd angles. There was also the blue horn poking from out of the costume, a hint to who was underneath this costume.
To say that Fluttershy was shocked would be an understatement.
“Oh my!” She gasped as she and her animals could only stare at the sight in front of her.
It only got worse as a zip was levitated up in the Princess’ blue magical aura and undid the costume. Fluttershy cowered closer to the floor as the costume’s face unzipped itself and Princess Luna’s face poked out of it.
“What do you think?” Luna said proudly as she stood proudly at the front door. Fluttershy looked up at down at the sight before her eyes.
“Where… How did you-“ Fluttershy stuttered, but the Princess of the Night cut in.
“The pink one had many!” She declared.
“P-Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked for clarification.
“Indeed! Pinkie Pie graciously offered me one of her costumes for me to lend. We were most surprised that she managed to find one to fit us! Is it a glorious sight to behold?” Luna looked down at the meek pegasus with a broad smile. Fluttershy, however, was unable to respond.
Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed on her floor. Her animals were quickly there to check her and then looked back at Princess Luna.
Luna could only chuckle sheepishly.
“We may have overstepped things a bit too far,” Luna smiled apologetically to the animals in the cottage.
“We will never invest in a costume from the pink one again… Where did she even get them from?”
