Fine Feathered Friend

Night of the Pegasus

Ponville is in the process of making its final preparations for Nightmare Night and Princess Luna’s arrival. Meanwhile, Nimbus volunteers for an assignment which should make this year’s festivities quite… interesting.

By the way, I pay homage to a famous MLP horrorfic in this episode. Leave a comment if you figure it out. It’s a tad obvious. It's portrayed humorously, but I mean no disrespect towards the original author.

“Let’s see- a few stitches here, some more over there, and –“

Rarity sewed up the collar of the cape she was working on neatly and hung it on a nearby hanger, using the light of the setting sun through her window to examine it.

“Perfect,” she said, admiring her handiwork. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders will have the best costumes in Ponyville this year.” She squinted at the cape. “Although, that cape could use trim that stands out a bit more…”

She heard the door to the Carousel Boutique open. “Hello?” she called out, “who is it?”

“It’s Nimbus,” a voice replied, “I’m here for the- you know…”

“Right,” said Rarity, “can you hold on for about five minutes? I need to finish something up back here.”

Nimbus shrugged and sat down on a nearby couch. “Not a problem.” He’d come at Rarity’s request. A few days ago, he’d finished his house up, and had invited Rarity and her friends over for a party to celebrate. Over dinner, they’d discussed Nightmare Night, and Nimbus had admitted that he didn’t have a costume. Rarity had generously offered to make one for him, and after coming to the shop and seeing past costumes he’d done, he agreed. Now he had arrived to pick up his order. So far, only he and Rarity knew what the costume was, and Nimbus intended to keep it that way.

Nimbus yawned, bored. He began thumbing through Rarity’s collection of magazines, hoping to find something interesting. Perhaps she’d have the latest edition of Carriage and Driver. He had no such luck, however. Why, he asked himself, did waiting rooms never have any good magazines? He finally picked up an issue of Good Farmkeeping, and paged through it, eventually settling on an article about Nightmare Night decorations. For the next few minutes, Nimbus tried to interest himself by reading about how to make Nightmare Night cupcakes, and by the time he put the magazine down, he could swear he’d learned at least forty different ways to hang a party streamer. He sighed and sat back in his chair. Rarity seemed to be pretty busy today.

Suddenly, all of the lights in the room flickered out. Nimbus sat bolt upright in surprise, then got up out of his seat.

“Rarity,” he said, “cut it out, that’s not funny.”

Hearing no response, he began pacing back and forth. “Rarity?” he called out, “are you there?”

In front of him, some old boxes in a stack collapsed to the floor, startling Nimbus. He began to back up, breathing hard and thoroughly freaked out.

“Rarity, come out now please!”

Nimbus stopped short, feeling something sharp poking him in the back. It felt like a Unicorn horn.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s you, Rarity,” he said, turning around, “I thought you’d- SWEET CELESTIA!”

Nimbus flew into the air and fell back down at the sight behind him, scooting away on his back. It wasn’t possible- it couldn’t be possible- but there she was. Standing over him, eyes glowing and wings spread, was Nightmare Moon.

“What do you want with me?” Nimbus cried out, “why are you here?”

The shadowy pony laughed and Nimbus raised an eyebrow. He recognized that laugh. Then the pony removed her helmet and rubbed away the black paint on her face.

“Rarity!” Nimbus said as the lights flicked back on, “how did-? Who-? What just-?“

“You like it?” Rarity asked, getting out of her Nightmare Moon costume, “it’s not quite the right size for me, but I think it will fit you perfectly.”

“That’s positively amazing!” Nimbus said, “it looks just like Nightmare Moon! Rarity, you are a genius!”

“Well I’m quite flattered, Nimbus,” Rarity said. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Like it?” Nimbus said, “I think it’s fantastic! Granted this means I’m technically going out as a mare, but… the scares will definitely be worth it!”

“Well I’ll just box this up for you,” Rarity said, grabbing a large box and carefully folding the costume and placing it inside.

“You must be pretty busy this time of year,” Nimbus said.

“Oh yes,” Rarity replied, grabbing a notebook and writing some figures down. “I’m working on a project for the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the moment.”

“The who now?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Rarity repeated. Seeing Nimbus’s confused expression, she clarified. “Oh, I’m sorry- I never told you about them. They’re always out doing something when I want to introduce them. The Crusaders are my sister, Sweetie Belle, and her friends.”

“Oh,” said Nimbus, “I’ve seen them before. I’m sure they’re looking forward to Nightmare Night, too.”

“Sweetie Belle never passes up an opportunity to remind me,” Rarity groaned, passing her notebook to Nimbus. Nimbus looked at the total written on it and fished eighty bits out of his saddlebag, giving them to Rarity.

“Great doing business with you,” he said, turning and heading for the door.

“Goodbye, Nimbus,” Rarity said. As Nimbus was about to leave, he turned around.

“By the way, is there any chance you can keep word of this costume between us? I have an idea, but I need to keep this costume secret for it to work.”

“Of course,” Rarity said. Nimbus nodded.

“Thanks. Bye, then.”

He shut the door and took off, heading for home holding his box. As he approached his house, he whistled to himself. He had to admit- the house looked pretty good from the air. His friends had done an excellent job helping him. The walls were smooth, and his deck (recently stained) looked excellent. He puffed himself up with pride. Finally, he had a home worth living in.

He alighted on his front porch, found his keys in his saddlebag, and unlocked his front door, stepping inside. The house was dark, as expected, but when Nimbus went to flip on the light switch, nothing happened.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “Scare me once, shame on Rarity. Scare me twice, shame on-“

Nimbus was hit from behind by an unseen force and was sent sprawling to the ground. Quickly, he found himself dragged to the kitchen and lashed to his dinner table, still having no clue as to what was going on. If the purpose of this act was supposed to be frightening him, it wasn’t. Nimbus was just a tad annoyed that he was now a prisoner in his own home. Finally, the assailant pony stepped into Nimbus’s view. He was hooded, and Nimbus couldn’t see his face.

“What’s the big idea?” Nimbus asked. The pony didn’t answer him. “Well while I’m tied down, could you at least make me some dinner or something? I’ve been craving a hayburger all day.”

“Silence, you worthless excuse of a Pegasus!”

Nimbus looked up. That wasn’t the voice of the hooded pony. It was coming from somewhere else. He heard the sound of hooves descending from his second floor, and suddenly the hooded pony next to him snapped to attention as a masked, black-suited Pegasus walked into the kitchen, brandishing a knife.

“Will somepony tell me what the hay is going on here?” Nimbus asked.

“Raise the table,” the masked pony said. The pony in the hood complied, stepping behind the table and pushing it into an upright position. Now Nimbus was staring his masked intruder straight in the face.

“Hello Nimbus,” the pony said, stepping forwards until she was inches away from Nimbus’s face. She raised her knife, touching its tip to Nimbus’s chest.

“Cloudsdale’s short on rainbow production right now,” she said, “and we need an… alternate source of materials.”

“Are you crazy?” Nimbus said, “that makes no sense at all! How the hay would I get turned into a rainbow by you killing me?! Don’t you even know how a rainbow works?” He squinted, looking at the eyes of the pony through her mask. “Wait a second,” he said, “don’t I know you?”

“Enough talking,” the pony said, raising her knife, “prepare to be harvested! Bring the bucket!”

The hooded assistant pushed a bucked directly under Nimbus.

“Any last words?” the masked pony asked.

“Yeah,” said Nimbus, “you have beautiful eyes.”

“I wha-?” the pony said, taking a step back.

“Yeah,” Nimbus said, “they really are spectacular. And by the way, Rainbow Dash, if you wanted to stay for dinner, you didn’t have to have your assistant, who I’m assuming is Mecha, tie me down like this.”

The pony whipped off her mask revealing herself to be Rainbow Dash. “Come on!” she said, “how in Equestria could you have possibly known that was me?”

“The eyes,” Nimbus answered, “nopony has eyes like you do. Plus that cheesy rainbow story could only have been thought up by you. Everyone knows you can’t make rainbows out of Pegasi.”

Rainbow Dash growled. “You win this time,” she said. “Mecha, our cover is blown.”

“I thought as much,” the hooded pony said, removing his hood and untying Nimbus. “I tried to convince Rainbow Dash to let me do the talking,” Mecha explained, “but she insisted on having the starring role.”

“So I see,” Nimbus replied.

“So that didn’t scare you at all?” Rainbow Dash asked, turning the lights back on. “You weren’t even twenty percent scared?”

“Nope,” said Nimbus. “Rarity beat you guys to the daily scare. When I came home and found my lights wouldn’t turn on, I kind of assumed something was amiss.”

“Dang it,” Mecha said, putting Nimbus’s table back in place.

“Still,” Nimbus said, “would you care to stay for dinner? I plan on whipping up a few hayburgers.”

“You know,” said Rainbow Dash, “that sounds pretty good!”

Nimbus trotted over to his pantry and opened it. “Then let’s have us some dinner!”

…

Deep in the Everfree forest later that night, a zebra sat inside her hut, slowly stirring a bubbling vat of blue liquid. Nightmare Night was tomorrow, and a friend of hers had requested a special brew to assist him in his… activities on the special night.

She looked up, feeling the soft touch of wind upon her cheek. It seemed her guest had arrived. She stood up and headed to the door, prepared for his knock, which, sure enough, came within two seconds of her arrival at the door.

Nimbus knocked twice and the door in front of him opened instantly. He jumped, surprised, and the zebra smiled.

“I see you’re preparing for Nightmare Night. Did dear old Zecora give you a fright?”

“Well, maybe just a bit,” Nimbus said, catching his breath.

Zecora waved him in with her hoof. “Come and see what I have done. This brew should make tomorrow night fun.”

Nimbus stepped inside and gazed at the bubbling, glowing blue liquid in the pot. “So this is it, then. Will it really work? I mean, I know it’s supposed to change my voice, but will it make me sound like… her?”

“There is only one way to tell for sure. Try my brew, and we’ll see if it’s pure.” Zecora grabbed a small teaspoon and dipped it into the liquid, giving it to Nimbus.

“So what’s in this?” Nimbus asked, eyeing the mixture suspiciously.

“A dash of Goldflower, in a twist, with droplets of an evening mist. To make it stable, we will need no more than three stalks of Dragon Reed. Then finish with Poison Joke, ground, to complete the potion and change your sound.”

“Poison Joke?” Nimbus said. “Are you sure this is safe?”

Zecora nodded. Trusting her, Nimbus raised the teaspoon to his lips and drank. The taste wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, the liquid tasted somewhat like a combination of vanilla and wild apples. Nimbus downed it in seconds, and waited.

After a few moments of silence, Zecora spoke.

“Now speak, Nimbus, and let us see, how different your new voice will be.”

“Let’s see…” he thought, “I need something only she would say…”

Nimbus cleared his throat, then nodded his head. “The night will last forever!” he boomed, echoing the very voice of Nightmare Moon. He was so surprised, he clapped his hooves over his mouth. Zecora chuckled, ladling some of the brew into a covered pot.

“It seems my brew is a success. Tomorrow, you may put it to the test.”

“Thank you so much, Zecora!” Nimbus said, his voice reverting to normal mid-speech. “Have a good night!”

Zecora was not finished yet, however. “Wait, Nimbus, heed my call, be careful that you don’t drink all. If you consume more than you need, your voice won’t change for a long time indeed.”

Nimbus never heard her, though. By the time she spoke, he was already above the treeline and climbing into the night sky.

…

Nimbus woke up early the next morning, and took out his Nightmare Moon costume, assembling it and placing it in his closet. With it, he hid Zecora’s voice-changing brew. He read a note Zecora had attached to it, saying that he should only consume half of the brew every three hours, then tossed the note aside and went downstairs to fix himself some breakfast.

He walked into his kitchen and turned on the light.

“Good morning, Nimbus!”

“Gaah!” Nimbus shrieked, soaring up straight into the ceiling and nailing it with his head. When his ears stopped ringing and his vision cleared, he saw Pinkie Pie sitting at his table.

“Pinkie?” he moaned, “what are you doing here?”

“I just came to say hello!” Pinkie Pie said, “and I made some Nightmare Night cupcakes for you, too.” She indicated some dark brown cupcakes with purple frosting sitting on the table. Nimbus recognized them from the magazine he’d read in Rarity’s shop the previous day.

“Oh,” he said, “Well, thanks! I see you used Powdered Sugar’s recipe.”

“I did!” Pinkie said, “but how’d you know that? I never figured you to be a cupcake expert.”

“After reading that magazine yesterday,” Nimbus sighed, “I think I can hold my own in the world of cupcakes.”

“Well that’s just peachy!” Pinkie said. “I’ve gotta go now- I have more cupcakes to deliver. See ya later!”

Before Nimbus could get another word out, Pinkie was out the door. Nimbus watched her go with a sinister grin on his face.

“I’ll see you… tonight!”

Nimbus started laughing maniacally until he broke into a coughing fit.

“Okay, Nimbus,” he rasped to himself, “maybe now’s not the best time to get in character.”

He went to his refrigerator and poured himself a glass of Razzleberry juice, then grabbed a few slices of bread and threw them in the toaster. When his meal was ready, he sat down at the kitchen table by himself, spreading some of Sweet Apple Acres’ best cinnamon apple jelly on his toast and absently chewing on it. Tonight, he knew, was going to be fun.

…

Twilight Sparkle stepped out of her library home and into a world of festivities. Little colts and fillies were running around with colorful streamers and decorations, putting them up all over town, while other ponies were setting up games and stalls to sell treats and Nightmare Night wares. As she turned to walk down the street, she immediately ran into Rarity, who was carrying a large bag over her back.

“Hi, Rarity,” Twilight said, “what are you up to?”

“Oh, just dropping off the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ costumes,” Rarity said.

“Mind if I come along?” Twilight asked.

“Well sure,” Rarity said, heading down the road, “I’d love to have some company.”

The two walked out towards the Crusaders’ clubhouse on the Apple family’s property, talking about their respective plans for Nightmare Night.

“I’ve just been so busy with all of these costumes lately,” Rarity sighed, “Nightmare Night is definitely one of my busiest days of the year.”

“I guess so,” said Twilight. “Do you ever manage to get a break?”

“No,” Rarity said, “I guess it’s just a good thing I like what I do.” They approached the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse, stepping up the wooden ramp to the door. Rarity knocked twice, and a small panel on the front door slid open, revealing two eyes.

“Yes?” a voice inside said. Twilight recognized it as Applebloom, Applejack’s sister.

“I have your costumes for Nightmare Night!” Rarity said in a singsong voice. The panel closed briefly, and the two ponies could hear whispers from inside. Finally, the panel opened again. Once more, it was Applebloom who spoke.

“We need the secret password from ya first,” she said.

“Secret password?” Rarity said, “why?”

“Well, what if you ain’t Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, huh? What if yer Changelings?”

Rarity cocked an eyebrow at Twilight. The purple Unicorn just shrugged.

“I guess you can’t be too careful. Humor them.”

“Oh, fine,” Rarity grumbled. “Let’s see- what about… suede?”

“Nope.”

“Sapphire? Um… silk? Perhaps diamond?”

None of Rarity’s attempts were succeeding. They could hear Scootaloo chuckle on the other side of the door.

“Ha, they’ll never figure out my password!”

“Wait a second,” Twilight Sparkle said, “let me try. Is it Rainbow Dash?”

There was silence for a moment, then the door opened up. Scootaloo was sitting next to the door, looking rather upset.

“How did you figure it out?” she asked, dumbfounded. She was holding a half-finished picture of Rainbow Dash in one hoof. Twilight smiled.

“I guess I’m just lucky.”

“Here are your costumes, girls,” Rarity said, depositing the bag on the floor.

“Alright!” Sweetie Belle called out, practically leaping over to the bag, “you’re the best, big sis!”

Rarity smiled. “Oh, it was no trouble at all, really. Have fun, all of you, and I hope to see you tonight!”

“Goodbah, Rarity and Twilight!” Applebloom called out as the two ponies left. Twilight turned and waved as they headed back to town.

“You know,” Twilight mused, “I wonder where Nimbus has been all day. This is his first Nightmare Night in Ponyville. You’d think he’d be out celebrating and setting up for Princess Luna’s arrival.”

Remembering her promise to keep Nimbus and his plans a secret, Rarity tried protecting Nimbus as best as she could.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s just… busy right now. Perhaps he’s decorating his house!”

“That’s true,” Twilight said. “To think that I hadn’t considered that… oh well. We should probably get back to town. Luna will be arriving soon.”

Rarity looked up at the sun. It was already beginning to dip below the horizon. Whatever Nimbus was planning was bound to happen soon.

…

Nimbus set up for the night’s activities near the statue of Nightmare Moon in the Everfree forest. He pulled his costume out of a large bag and hung it on a tree branch, then took out Zecora’s potion and looked at the sun. It was setting now, painting the sky with its fading glow. Nimbus began coating himself with the black dye Rarity had provided for him, and attached a large, sharp, artificial horn to the center of his forehead. By the time he was finished, night was falling. Quickly, he put on his costume and hid behind the statue in front of him.

“I hope I haven’t forgotten anything,” he whispered to himself. He took a look around, then smacked himself in the forehead, avoiding the sharp horn. He’d forgotten Zecora’s potion! He hurried back to the trees and grabbed the small pot, downing the entire thing in only four gulps. Wiping his mouth off, he hurried back to his hiding place. It was only a matter of time now…

…

Twilight, dressed in a flowing cape and hood, had just finished hanging up the “Welcome, Princess Luna” banner (redone three times by now) when a bright flash and the sound of beating wings announced the Princess of the Night’s approach. Twilight looked up just in time to see Luna’s dark carriage approaching from the sky, touching down gently. Luna stepped out gracefully, looked around the square, and announced “let the festivities begin!”

Almost instantly, the streets came to life with celebration. Games began, food was selling left and right, and costumed foals were running from house to house, collecting candy. Luna approached Twilight Sparkle, grinning.

“We love this night,” she said, “and we are very impressed with thine preparations for the celebration. It must have been hard work.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all, Princess,” Twilight said, leading Luna towards Applejack’s candy apple stand. “Now let’s go have some fun!”

High above the crowd, a single, solitary black cloud hovered, concealing a certain pony dressed as a Shadowbolt. Rainbow Dash peered over the cloud’s edge, snickering to herself. The scares would be abundant this year. She’d just have to choose the right target.

Slowly, the cloud descended, with Rainbow Dash in control, until it was right over Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna. Snickering, Rainbow Dash suddenly smacked the cloud, striking the ground behind Twilight Sparkle with a spectacular flash of lightning.

Twilight yelped and jumped several feet into the air. Princess Luna was concerned at first, but as soon as she saw Rainbow Dash atop her cloud, she began to chuckle. Twilight shook her head and glared at Rainbow Dash, who responded with a rather cheesy smile and sped away. When she turned back to Luna, the princess was still laughing.

“We- we are sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but thou hast been put in a rather humorous predicament.”

“Tell me about it,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes, “seems like Rainbow Dash does that every year.”

As Luna finally calmed down, Twilight led her to Sugarcube corner, where a large group of foals was busy filling some bags with candy. They stopped near the door, where Pinkie Pie was handing out the sweets.

“Hi, Princess Luna!” Pinkie giggled, “want some candy?”

Luna looked at Twilight questioningly.

“It’s fine,” Twilight said, “go ahead and take some!”

Luna accepted a small peppermint treat from Pinkie and gulped it down, enjoying it immensely. “This is truly delicious,” she said. “Now why hast thou led us to this place, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Well, the offering of treats to Nightmare Moon will start here. Zecora should be by any minute now.”

“And I am to partake in this offering this year?” Luna asked.

“Well, you’re sort of going along to answer questions and assist Zecora, but you can certainly offer some candy if you want. It’s a lot of fun!”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, “thou may leave us here. We are sure you must have other things to do.”

“Hey Twilight, come check this out!”

Twilight turned to see Applejack standing next to what appeared to be a spider-shaped piñata.

“Well, if you’re fine, then I’ll get going. I’ll meet you in the town square later!”

“Until we meet again,” Luna said as Twilight headed for Applejack. Luna glanced up the road and noticed Zecora approaching. She then turned to the colts and fillies around her.

“Art thou ready to experience Nightmare Night with Princess Luna?”

The children began cheering wildly. This was the first year Luna had chosen to go with them to the statue of Nightmare Moon, and many of them had questions for her. Finally, Zecora arrived, and silently beckoned for the children to follow her. Within moments, they disappeared into the Everfree Forest.

…

Nimbus crouched low, hearing hoofsteps approaching. Finally, the moment he’d been planning for had arrived. He grinned and chuckled to himself as Zecora began to speak.

Every year we put on a disguise,

To save ourselves from her searching eyes.

But Nightmare Moon just wants only one thing,

To gobble up ponies in one quick swing.

Hungrily, she soars the skies,

If she sees nopony, she passes by.

So if she comes and all is clear,

Equestria is safe for another year.

Fill up her belly with a treat or two,

So she won't return to come eat you.

Nimbus could see the green flashes of light from Zecora’s magical illusions reflected off of the trees around the statue. When she finished talking, Nimbus could hear the sounds of little hooves approaching. It was now or never.

Nimbus leaped into the sky and hovered over the statue, his wing extensions increasing his wingspan drastically, to the point at which it seemed he was blocking the moon’s very light. He was careful to remain in shadow, as it was up to Zecora to perform the next trick. The foals below him froze, unsure of what to make of the shadowy newcomer. Suddenly, green flames erupted around Nimbus, and he threw back his head, laughing in Nightmare Moon’s voice.

“Did you miss me, Equestrians?” he asked. “I have waited for this chance ever since those ponies imprisoned me with the Elements of Harmony!”

The fillies and colts began to clap. “Bravo, Luna!” a little filly called out. Nimbus glanced at her, recognizing her as Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s sister. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle looked behind her and saw Luna standing openmouthed.

“Wait,” she said to Luna, “if you’re here, then who’s… there?” She pointed back to Nimbus just as he bared his teeth, displaying a sharp set of false (but extremely realistic) teeth.

“Everybody run!” someone yelled out. Instantly, every single pony dropped their bags of candy and took off for Ponyville at top speed. Luna stayed behind.

“Vile whelp!” she said, “what art thou doing in this plane of reality? We had always thought thou trapped within our mind forever!”

“You’re right,” Nimbus said, approaching. “Nightmare Moon is still imprisoned in your mind.”

He flipped up his helmet.

“So I guess it’s a good thing I’m not Nightmare Moon.”

“Nimbus?” Luna said, “is it truly thou?”

Nimbus nodded.

“Well, thine disguise is… impressive, and frighteningly accurate. Art thou partaking in fun?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Nimbus said, still sounding like Nightmare Moon. “Hey, I’ve still got some time before this voice potion wears off. You wanna help me get a few more scares in Ponyville?”

Luna’s eyes lit up. “Of course! We would love to join you!”

“Great,” Nimbus said, “then I have a plan…”

…

“Citizens, citizens of Ponyville, hear us!”

Twilight and Applejack looked up to see Luna running into the town square, apparently terrified.

“Now what in tarnation do ya think’s goin’ on there?” Applejack asked.

“I have no idea,” Twilight said, “but I’ll try to find out.”

Twilight galloped over to Luna. “Princess, what’s wrong?”

Luna took a moment to catch her breath. “Ni- Nightmare Moon- she hath returned to Equestria!”

“What?” Twilight said, “that’s not even possible! Calm down, Princess Luna. You probably just saw something in the… forest.”

Twilight looked up just in time to see a dark shadow eclipse her. It was cast by a strange, winged figure above the town- a figure which looked all too familiar. Twilight looked to Luna, then back to the figure.

“Luna,” she said, “this isn’t possible!”

“But it is,” Luna said. “When we were near the statue of Nightmare Moon… we do not remember entirely what happened, but the part of Nightmare Moon we have kept locked in the back of our mind for so long escaped. Now Nightmare Moon has returned. We are sorry.”

Twilight looked back up into the sky just in time to see “Nightmare Moon” swoop down upon a small group of ponies, causing them to scatter in every direction.

“No time ta talk, princess!” Applejack said, pushing Luna back towards Twilight’s house, “we need ta get ya inside!”

Above, Nimbus saw Applejack and Twilight dragging Nightmare Moon towards Twilight’s house. He grinned at Luna, who was facing him, and she winked back. Nimbus swooped low, heading for the group.

“You can run little ponies,” he snarled, “but you can’t hide from Nightmare Moon!” Suddenly, his false horn began to glow. He saw Luna focusing on it and knew exactly what was about to happen next. It seemed Luna had decided to earn her place in the special effects department. As Nimbus approached, bolts of magic began to fire from his horn, impacting the ground around Twilight and Applejack. They began to move faster, and barely managed to shove Luna through the door and slam it closed before Nimbus was upon them, swooping up into the night sky to terrorize someone else.

His next target was easy. He spotted the little black stormcloud hovering over the door to Applejack’s barn, turned into a haunted house by Mecha, bearing its rainbow-maned passenger. Nimbus laughed to himself. This was going to be much too simple.

He was out of Luna’s sight, and therefore unable to provide any magical visual effects, but his performance was terrifying enough. Just as Dash was about to surprise a couple walking out of the barn, Nimbus let out a fearsome half-screech, half-whinny. Rainbow Dash looked up in surprise and promptly fell off her cloud and into a haystack as Nimbus swooped overhead. By the time he circled around, Rainbow Dash’s couple was long gone. Nimbus alighted on the ground by the exit to the haunted house and waited. As soon as the next ponies came out, he hissed flew right up next to them, frightening them away.

“Mecha’s really pulled out the stops this year!” he heard one say as they ran away in terror. This gave Nimbus an idea. Mecha was bound to be in the vicinity, and Nimbus still hadn’t paid the pony back for tying him to his own kitchen table. He swooped over to the Apple family’s house and looked in the kitchen window. Sure enough, Mecha was sitting at the table, enjoying a mug of hot cider with Big Macintosh.

Nimbus let out an ear-piercing screech and had to stifle a laugh as Mecha, caught by surprise, sprayed Big Mac in the face with cider. He’d done it now! What happened next, however, caught Nimbus off guard. He saw Mecha stand up and before he could react, the black pony jumped through the kitchen window and straight at him. Nimbus tried taking off, but Mecha grabbed on, holding on to Nimbus’s armor with a vice-like grip.

“I don’t know what you are!” Mecha said through clenched teeth as Nimbus soared above Sweet Apple Acres, “but I’m taking you down!”

Nimbus felt something impact the armor on his back, and immediately offered a thought of thanks to Rarity when he discovered what had happened. Mecha, it seemed, had brought out his sword leg and had struck him in the back. Realizing that his disguise had apparently worked a little too well, Nimbus decided it was time for drastic actions.

“I’m sorry you can’t stay and chat,” he said in Nightmare Moon’s voice, “but it seems I have to… ‘drop you off’ somewhere.” Nimbus rolled upside down, dangling Mecha out over the trees below.

“Farewell, Mecha!” Nimbus cackled, pulling up sharply and twisting Mecha off. He watched the black pony fall into a large, leafy apple tree.

“And that settles it. Problem solved!” He looked at the tree, which appeared to be thrashing around now.

“Well, at least he got a nice landing.”

…

When Nimbus returned to the center of Ponyville, things were in an uproar. Doors were barricaded, ponies were running around screaming, carts were overturned, and chaos was spreading everywhere. Nimbus took a look around at the scene in front of him and sighed. Perhaps it was time to be done for the night. Slowly, he descended into the town square, and ducked as a blast of magenta magic flew over his head. Nimbus found the source immediately. Twilight was standing in the middle of the square with Applejack, and neither of the two looked happy.

Nimbus couldn’t resist one last jibe. “You foals honestly believed you’d defeated me the last time we met, didn’t you?”

“We did defeat ya,” Applejack said, “and ya can be darn sure we’ll do it again!”

Nimbus laughed. “Somehow I doubt you’d have the will to do it if you knew the truth.”

“What truth?” Twilight said.

“Why, my identity, of course,” Nimbus said, taking off his helmet and rubbing away the body paint on his face. Twilight gasped.

“Nimbus? What in-?”

Twilight was speechless. Applejack was as well, but slowly began to laugh. She couldn’t stop herself, and it wasn’t long before she was rolling around on the ground, guffawing louder than a dragon.

“Sweet Apple Pie!” Applejack snorted, “we’ve just been the butt of the biggest prank Ponyville’s ever seen!”

“Really?” Nimbus asked, still in Nightmare Moon’s voice.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing out of nowhere, “it was a doozy! I mean, the Pinkie sense kind of knew it all along, but I just wanted to go along with what everypony else was doing!”

“By the way,” Twilight asked, “how did you change your voice?”

Nimbus smirked. “Zecora can work wonders. It should be wearing off any moment now, though. It was only supposed to last three hours.” He glanced around.

“Hey, where’s Fluttershy?”

A piercing scream split through the air and Nimbus turned towards the source. Fluttershy was running up the street, obviously in great distress.

“Fluttershy,” Applejack said, grabbing her friend by the shoulders, “what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s terrible! The trees! The trees! There's a monster in the trees!”

“Calm down now,” Twilight said in vain. Fluttershy was hysterical. Finally, Nimbus decided to intervene.

“Be still, Fluttershy!” he commanded in the royal Canterlot voice. Fluttershy’s eyes went wide and she instantly sat down.

“Um, Twilight? Why is Nimbus talking like that?”

“It’s a long story,” Twilight said, “I’ll tell you later. Right now we need you to tell us what’s going on!”

“Well,” Fluttershy began, “I was over near Sweet Apple Acres when I saw one of the apple trees start to move! I thought it was just the wind, but then something in the tree started growling, and I saw red eyes!”

“Red eyes?” Nimbus said. “Wait a sec-  Mecha has red eyes…”

Applejack went ballistic. “Mecha?! You said Mecha’s in one of my apple trees?! Oh sweet Celestia, we need to act fast. Mecha hates trees!”

“Why?” Nimbus asked.

“I’m sure he’ll explain it to ya later,” Applejack said as she took off running, “right now we’ve gotta stop him!”

…

As they arrived in Sweet Apple Acres, Nimbus heard the town clock chime, signaling the end of his three hours with Nightmare Moon’s voice. He sighed in relief. Finally he could be completely back to normal.

“The tree’s over there,” Fluttershy said, shakily pointing into the grove of apple trees. Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Nimbus galloped over to the spot Fluttershy had indicated, and were instantly confronted with a… bizarre image. Mecha was standing next to a pile of sawdust bigger than he was. The black pony was panting, and had his sword leg extended.  Applejack simply stared in shock. Her mouth hung wide open as she gazed at the devastation in front of her.

“M- m- mah tree,” she whispered. “Mah little Frederickson… he’s gone.”

She turned to Mecha and glared at him.

“What’d ya do that for?!” she asked, pointing at the pile of sawdust.

“Nightmare Moon dropped me in a tree,” Mecha replied, obviously still a bit tipsy from his cider with Big Mac. This response only elicited a more ferocious glare from Applejack, but this one was directed at Nimbus.

“You dropped him into mah apple orchard? What in tarnation made ya think that’d be a good idea?”

Nimbus shrugged.

“Well, you’ll pay for what ya did tonight,” Applejack said.

“Now really,” Nimbus said, expecting to speak in his normal voice, “that’s not necessary.”

His eyes went wide when he heard himself speak. He still sounded like Nightmare Moon!

“He’s right,” Twilight said, “it seems like Nimbus already has paid- with his voice!”

Nimbus growled. “I don’t understand it! The potion was supposed to last for three hours! Why hasn’t it worn off yet?”

“Because you did not heed my advice, for the rest of tonight you will pay the price…”

Nimbus turned as Zecora walked out of the trees behind them. “Zecora, I thought your advice was to take it when I was ready. That was it!”

Zecora sighed. “Then you must not have read my note- the one attached that Zecora wrote. Take only half to avoid the trouble, of taking more which will make your time double.”

“So I’m stuck with this voice for another three hours?!” Nimbus asked. Zecora nodded. “This is ridiculous!”

He hung his head, but began to laugh. “Well, I guess I deserved it. I should’ve read that note, and I certainly can’t expect to prank ponies on Nightmare Night without getting pranked back.”

“That’s right,” Applejack said, “now what say we all sit down for some cider?”

“More cider?” Mecha asked, “count me in!”

“I’ll bet Luna would love to-“ Twilight began, then stopped. “Oh my gosh, where’s Luna?”

Nimbus nodded towards Applejack’s barn, where a dark figure was hovering above a haystack, magically pulling a blue Pegasus free. Nimbus smiled sheepishly.

“That may or may not be my fault,” he said.

The rest of the ponies laughed at his words, then walked over to the Apple Family house, beckoning for Luna and the now-freed Rainbow Dash to come along. Sure enough, they followed, and though Applejack’s kitchen wasn’t the most spacious of places, the ponies and princess all enjoyed mugs of sweet, hot cider.

As the ponies started on their second round , Nimbus raised his mug.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” he said.

“Toast?!” Pinkie Pie said, appearing at the window, “I love toast!”

Nimbus smiled and shook his head, motioning for Pinkie to enter, which she did, followed by Rarity and Spike, who had tagged along. The newcomers poured themselves glasses of cider and sat down.

“To Nightmare Night,” Nimbus said, “the best night of the year!”

“To Nightmare Night!” the rest of the ponies said, touching their mugs to Nimbus’s.

“Verily,” Luna said, “to Nightmare Night!”

She joined the others in the toast, smashing her mug into the rest with great aplomb, ultimately shattering every one and sending cider everywhere.

Luna took one look at the mess she’d caused and the drenched ponies seated around her.

“Have we done something wrong?” she asked nervously. There was silence for a few moments, then finally everypony began to laugh. The sound echoed through the night, touching the sky with its warmth. Perhaps, Nimbus reasoned as he shared in a good laugh with his friends, Nightmare Night was the perfect night for things to go wrong. Maybe it was the holiday’s special brand of random chance that made Nightmare Night the fun festival it was. In any case, Nimbus decided then and there that tonight was the most fun he’d had in a while.