The Tale Of BloodMoon

A group of children is hearing the story of Nightmare Night around a caldron, and Blueblood waits for his signal. He is surprised to see the look of interest of the kids and their parents when Zecora adds the story of Blood Moon to her tale, with fog images of him with his face blurred.

Among the group, he could see Spike and Twilight. The dragon was dressed as a three-headed dragon, while Twilight surprisingly dressed as Cadence. Yet there were no more of the mane six among the crowd.

Slightly disappointed, Blueblood almost misses his cue before transforming into his dusk alter ego in time for Zecora to proclaim the sigh of a red harvest moon, turning the night red.

"..ah, and would you look at that, tonight of all nights, the moon shines red; tell my everypony, have you been nice fillies and colts?"

The colts remain quiet and look around before getting scared when they see Blood Moon staring right at them from the balcony before banishing on a poof of smoke.

"There he is! Is Blood Moon!" One of the colts exclaims in fear as they all look at the empty balcony.

"Oh, very funny, Snails," Diamond Tiara complains in annoyance. "I bet Blood Moon doesn't even…"

A cracking sound alerts the kids again as they look at the foliage. "...real?" Diamond finishes getting scared as the kids and Spike huddle together, trying to locate Blueblood.

The cracking of branches keeps happening all around them as they spot fleeting shadows everywhere, and more red mist starts to zip everywhere.

Okay, Blueblood, you are almost there; I need to say something scary.

Blueblood pumps himself up as he prepares himself. Standing behind the backs of all the kids, he leans forward to whisper something loud enough so they can all hear it, even if it is a whisper, and then speaks.

"Boo."

The second he spoke up, all the children jumped from their fear and turned around to spot Blood Moon before screaming and running away in panic. Only Twilight and Spike remained in time to see Blood Moon hoof facing himself.

"Boo? Seriously?! I just needed to say something scary and say, "boo"? Stupid!" Blueblood keeps chastising himself in embarrassment as Twilight chuckles briefly.

"I thought it was funny, and if you scare them regardless, does it matter?" Twilight mentions as she approaches Blueblood.

"I didn't know you were going to join on the legend of Nightmare Moon Blueblood, although considering how you obtain your dusk form, it kind of makes sense," Twilight mentions with interest in her voice.

"Hi, Twilight, and yeah, Aunt Luna suggested the idea and decided to give it a try. I look like the spawn of Nightmare Moon like this, right?" He mentions as he pose and Twilight nods.

"Yeah, you do, and it seems like you inherit her taste for gobbling little ponies whole," Twilight jokes, holding her hoof against her mouth and chuckling.

"That is gonna take me a while to get used to," Blueblood admits with a roll of his eyes. "Nice costumes, by the way."

"Thanks, I'm a three-headed dragon," Spike proudly mentions.

"And this year, I decided to make a little role play; watch this." Twilight cleared her throat before she started prancing around. "I'm the princess of love; I spread love and kindness wherever I go and erase any frown I see around," She proclaims as she spreads some glitter everywhere.

"Okay, I think Candy would find it more than funny and a little flattering once she sees you, Twily," Blueblood comments. "Stay away from all the ponies dressed as Shining Armor; they may try something." Blueblood half-warns, half-jokes with a chuckle.

"So, would the moon stay like that all night?" Spike asked, pointing at the sky, which was still reddish in hue.

"Nah, it's just for effect while I do my job. Once the tributes are done, I will return to normal and put the night back in blue," Blueblood explains.

"Speaking of which, we need to keep going, young prince. You need to be on the lookout for wandering children and ensure that no kids get lost in their tracks," Zecora mentions to the prince.

"Right, still on the clock; see you later, Twily?"

"Sure, look for us at the castle or in town. Rarity told me she is eager to see you. However, I'm unsure if it's because she wants to show you her costume or see you. Anyway, have fun, Blueblood." Twilight waves goodbye as she and Spike leave.

The prince waved back and then followed Zecora deeper into the woods, heading to the Nightmare Moon statue. Zecora told him a couple of tricks and what to expect on the terrain he would be patrolling.

Once they hear the voice of children in the distance, Blueblood takes his cue and hides in the foliage. Zecora reunites with the kids and acts again as their guide. The kids soon return to a more cheerful group.

"You were totally scared," Sweetie Belle said with a slight chuckle.

"I did not," Scootaloo defended herself..

"Ah, come on, Scoots, it's okay to be scared; we all were back then," Apple Bloom mentions. As the prince looked at their small little argument that had left them trail behind, he couldn't help but chuckle at how they decided to dress up as the three stooges, with Apple Bloom being Moe, Scoots, Curly, and Sweetie Belle, Shem.

"And it kind of a good lesson, be a good filly and don't wander off into the woods," Apple Bloom explains.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, but I'm telling you I'm not scared! I'm like my idol Rainbow Dash; nothing scares me," Scoots proclaims, hitting her chest as her friends start to back away at the shadow approaching as Blood Moon appears from the mist behind Scootaloo.

"Is that so?" Blood Moon asks with a raised eyebrow right behind Scootaloo.

The filly remained quiet before dashing away as fast as she could, following close behind her friends.

Blueblood chuckles briefly before returning to the foliage. Thankfully, no other children get lost, and his job is reduced to being on the lookout for any stray animals until they arrive at their destination, a statue of the mare of the moon in a menacing pose in the middle of the forest.

Wow, there IS a statue of Nightmare Moon here? Why? It is perfect for effect, but who builds a statue in the middle of a forest? Unless this wasn’t always a forest?

Blueblood pounders as he lays low and allows the kids to tribute some of her candy in front of the statue.

Once the mountain was filled, Nightmare Moon started cackling with a storm cloud before appearing. She made an over-the-top speech saying how this year she would spare the kids for their candy for now and warned them to be nice or they may get a visit from her spawn.

Taking that as his signal, Blood Moon appears behind the kids and makes his eyes glow. "Do I smell naughty kids? I hope so. My aunt is a little peckish tonight, and nothing would make me happier than to offer her some extra snacks tonight." He finishes with a smirk as he watches the kids scream in horror and run away, making sure they remain on the safe side as they go back to Ponyville.

Once they were gone, the royals and Zecora chuckled and broke the act.

"Well done, nephew! As I suspected, you embrace your role flawlessly!" Luna praises as she approaches and hugs Blueblood, still in his Nightmare Moon disguise.

"Well, it wasn't much of an act, to be honest, but you were right. It was fun, and if it taught them to stay safe, all the better," Blueblood replied as he nuzzled Luna's neck, and they broke apart.

Luna, save time in approaching the mountain of candy. "And now for the spoils, we collect quite the tribute this year. Does anything here catch your eye, Zecora?"

"I wouldn't mind one or two chocolate bars or some gummy bears," Zecora replies as they inspect the pile of candy to share while Luna looks back.

"And what are you waiting for, nephew? Come here and pick your treat."

"Wait, really? But aunty, all of this is YOUR candy."

"And I love to share it with my friends and family. Now come here, you help us collect it, so this is as much your candy as it is ours," Luna replied.

"Thanks," Blueblood smiles and approaches the group. "By chance, are there any of those cream-filled candies or chocolate-covered marshmallows?" He asks as they look and separate the candy into three piles for their enjoyment.

"Thanks again for all your help, Zecora." Luna thanked her once they had put their candies in three different bags.

"It was my pleasure, your highness, and now that our activities are done, all of us can enjoy the rest of the night," Zecora exclaims excitedly. "Should I expect you later in the center of town?"

"We will be there; Aunt Celly is probably arriving by now," Blueblood replied.

"Which means we can now change into something more fun. Also, nephew, could you end your little trick?" Luna asks as she points up at the blood moon.

"Ah, right. Sorry, I forgot." Blueblood chuckles as he closes his eyes and breathes in, slowly returning to normal as the night goes back to normal.

"There, all better," Blueblood nods as he looks at his aunt. "So what are you gonna dress up as this year, aunty?"

"Ah-ah, that is for me to know and you to find out by the time comes. For now, you should be thinking of your costume. My wardrobe is at your disposal, nephew," Luna tells him excitedly as she reverts to her original form and teleports away hers and Blueblood's candy.

"Do you wish for me to teleport you into the city, or would you rather walk?" Luna offers as she prepares her horn.

"I… I would walk; it will give me time to think of a good costume." The prince ultimately decided to incline her invitation as Luna nodded.

"Fair enough, but try not to take too long; there is still one long night ahead of us, nephew, and there are so many games for us to try. Just look for us at the gaming booths," Luna mentions before she and Zecora depart with a teleportation spell, leaving the prince alone.

Taking the opportunity, Blueblood takes a deep breath and admires the moon in the sky.

I wasn’t so sure at first, but Aunt Luna was right. After all the madness in my life, having the chance to stop and have fun is… refreshing. It reminds me how comfortable it is to live with hooves.

The prince pounders as he stares at his hoof before chuckling and shaking his head.

Oh, come on. This is no time to be melancholic. Think Blueblood. What could you dress up as just for fun?

The prince starts debating as he slowly traverses the road back to Ponyville.

I mean, worse come to pass. I can stay as Blood Moon, although that implies a whole red night, and I’m not sure if that could be so good for the animals or the flora. Not to mention how, with my introduction, ponies may think I’m still in character and run away from the vengeful…

Blueblood paused as an idea came to mind.

…spirit? Do I dare?

The prince asked with a smirk, and an idea came to mind. He cast the special summoning spell Princess Luna saved for him.

Oh, why the heck, no? It's Nightmare Night, the night for fun and surprises.