A Comedy of Terrors

-- Shafts of golden light shone through the library windows, reflecting on airborne particles to create the illusion of a solid glow. A thin layer of dust covered the place from the bookshelves to the faded red rug on the mahogany floor. The smell of old, yellowed pages filled the air with a comforting sense of ancient familiarity.

Twilight Sparkle sat in a creaking chair, a warm mug of tea and a good book sitting on the oaken desk before her. She adjusted her glasses, magically turning a page. Her graying mane was tied tightly in a bun by a blue ribbon in the true style of a librarian, and a content, though somewhat drained smile graced her lips.

The floorboards creaked as a tall violet dragon ducked under a doorway. Twilight looked up to him, and he gave her a wry smile. "So, Twilight," he said in a deep, sibilant voice, "what are your plans for the Harmony Fair?"

Twilight gingerly closed the book and turned to her old friend.

"I don't think I'll need to have any plans in order. Celestia has the whole event organized already, so all we need to do is show up tomorrow. I know for absolute certain,"

"That everything is certainly fine?" Spike asked, drumming his fingers on her desk. Twilight chuckled as she read.

"Well, I'm just glad to see you happy. I thought just being a librarian would get boring after a while, without any threats to national security that you, your friends and I have to face down every day." Spike said calmly as he alphabetized the romance section. "Things just seemed to slow down after Sombra's defeat,"

"Oh, Spike, you know it hasn't been that dull. Even if it wasn't nationwide threats to harmony, we still did fun things. Remember Fluttershy and Big Macintosh's wedding?"

Spike smiled fondly, laughing to himself. "Yeah, I guess I just got used to having to save the world."

Twilight closed her eyes and chuckled. "Me too. I'd never wish for a return of Discord or Nightmare Moon, but I have to admit, that sort of adventure was special part of my life."

Spike nodded. Then, his eyes widened and his cheeks puffed up as he turned away from the bookshelf. A small blast of green fire and a puff of smoke came from his throat, accompanied by a glittering scroll marked with a golden crest and a red ribbon. The dragon grabbed it out of the air and looked down to Twilight at her desk.

"I don't think I need to tell you who this is from..." he teased as he waved the parchment.

"Oh, read it, you joker."

Spike grinned and unfurled the scroll.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I am so glad you and your friends have agreed to holding the first official Harmony Fair in Ponyville. My dear sister and I have already sent the Elements from their vault in the castle to your homes. You should get them shortly, and when you do, make sure to bring them to the celebration outside Town Hall tomorrow. I simply cannot wait to come. Cadence and Shining Armor are coming in from the Crystal Empire tonight. I'm sure they've already told you that they'll be staying with you and Spike for the night.

Sadly, my sister has refused to attend the celebration. She insists on staying to guard Canterlot from heaven knows what. She claims that Discord or the Changelings or even King Sombra (how ridiculous is that?) will rise again if the Elements are out of place for the tiniest bit of time. She simply must stop reading those dusty old books.

Warm regards,

Princess Celestia"

Spike cleared his throat and set the scroll down on Twilight's desk. He raised an eyebrow at her. "So, did Shining and Cadence tell you they'd be staying here?" He asked.

Twilight nodded. "Oh yes, they sent a letter."

Spike shrugged, and went into the kitchen. He grabbed what remained of a clover sandwich, and sat down at the table.

"Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"Do you ever miss chaos?"

There was a period of awkward silence before the aging mare hesitantly answered.

"Sometimes."

~ ~ ~

The Canterlot Statue Garden was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful sites in Equestria. Marvelously tended pink rose bushes lined the edges in a circular fashion, and perfectly round stepping stones were placed carefully into soft, verdant grass. The sun always seemed to shine in this place, the moon would gleam and the stars would twinkle and spin. The garden was a peaceful, tranquil island of heaven, that harbored a creature straight from hell.

The statue in the very center of the garden was a sin, blasphemy against all things good and right. The granite cretin was a patchwork of other creatures, dragons, lizards, eagles, lions, deer and and the head of a pony. The monster was recoiled in frozen horror, its eyes bugged out widely and fearfully and its mouth petrified in an eternal scream.

The monster's stone eyes watched as a large chariot of purple and gold landed outside the castle. It watched with intrigue, seeing six small, carefully wrapped boxes lowered into the right seat of the chariot. Shortly after, two royal pegasus guards were harnessed to the front, and, much to his surprise, Princess Celestia herself sat down in the back with a suitcase at her side.

He looked on as the carriage took to the skies. If the abomination could've said something like "good riddance!", he would've. But he couldn't.

Oddly enough, the farther the chariot got from the statue, the more powerful he felt. The presence of chaos in his body felt just slightly more potent. His invisible magic aura reached out further, grasping at everything it could find.

The abomination was quite surprised to sense another powerful, malevolent being near him, likely in the castle.

"Hello?" He sent an auric message out to the force.

"Discord?" A dark, echoing female voice called back.

"Luna?" Discord asked the voice.

"No, actually. It's Nightmare Moon."

There was a pause.

"We have a lot of catching up to do!"

~ ~ ~

In the evening of the day, here was a resounding knock on the library door.

"Come in!" Spike announced.

The door creaked open, and in walked the glimmering crystal form of Princess Cadence. Behind her was Twilight's brother, Shining Armor. He too, as the prince of the Crystal Empire, took on the shining coat of a crystal pony. Spike stood in awe with his arms crossed, and then warmly laughed.

"Wow, you guys haven't aged a day since all those years ago." He smiled. And it was true. Though Shining Armor did not have wings, he, as prince, was gifted with the long, if not eternal, life of an alicorn. And Cadence had that anyway.

Cadence laughed. "Well you've gotten pretty big, Spike! I remember all those years ago when you were just a tiny little dragon, and Celestia would rock you to sleep..."

Spike blushed the tiniest bit, and shook Cadence's hoof. "I don't need to bow before you guys or anything, right?"

Shining laughed.

Twilight beamed with delight at the arrival of her brother, and of her sister in law. The aging mare trotted up to them with a drained smile, and proceeded to wrap them in a hug. Shining Armor and Cadence hugged back, Twilight's soft fur rubbing against the hard, ornate crystal of their forms. After being away from them for so long, the aging bookworm couldn't help but shed a tear in the embrace of her family.

Though was only a minute, the embrace felt like an eternity.

"So," Spike broke the silence as he grabbed a small suitcase, "I assume you guys will want to take my bed, right? I mean, it's the only one here big enough for two, and I've made sure the sheets are washed and folded, fit for a prince and princess."

Cadence shook her head. "Oh no, Spike, we could never! We wouldn't take your room."

Spike shrugged. "I insist, Applejack's already pushed Granny Smith and Big Macintosh's old beds together for the night, I'll be sleeping there. Besides, being around immortals always makes me uncomfortable about my age." Spike laughed.

Cadence and Shining Armor gave each other looks, a whole unspoken conversation passing between their eyes.

"Alright Spike, if you insist."

The dragon lifted his suitcase, and ducked out the library door.

"Do we really make you two feel that old?" Cadence asked Twilight.

Twilight nodded with a smile, and walked into the kitchen to make an evening tea.

~ ~ ~

In Canterlot Castle, the immortal Princess Luna walked the halls. Her expression was stern and wary as she patrolled the dark corridor. The princess always had a knack for the supernatural, she could almost see things coming. She knew when something bad was about to happen. In a way, it was a little like the Pinkie Sense. But Luna's sense was not limited to objects falling within the next five seconds, or whether a rainbow would grace the sky. No, Luna could sense when a cataclysm of epic proportions would arrive to blot out the sun.

Unfortunately for Luna, and indeed Equestria, she wasn't looking in the right places.

The first oddity that a royal servant would pick up about Princess Luna was her shadow. It was blacker than it should be, and it ceaselessly twisted and shivered in the dim torchlight, casting itself on the walls, contorting to different shapes, sizes and shades. The shadow always held the vague shape of an alicorn, but the alicorn was decidedly not Luna. Oh, and another thing: the shadow was Nightmare Moon.

The shadow could feel the presence of another magical entity, one of chaos and disharmony. She knew Discord, and had conversed with him a few times in the past. But now, she realized that he might finally be of some use. From Luna's conversations, she had learned that the Elements of Harmony were off in Ponyville for some sort of foalish celebration, and that this had gifted them an opportunity to escape.

Now, normally, the mare wasn't able to stand being near Discord. Chaos and darkness were two completely different cups of coffee. One was black and bitter, the other one filled to the brim with sugar and cream. And Nightmare Moon hated sugar in her coffee. Not that she'd been able to have a decent cup of the stuff in the last thousand years. But that was all the more reason to escape.

She moved forward, her shadowy form stuck to Luna. Though the shadow resented Discord, she despised Luna with a passion. The pitiful filly called herself the Princess of the Night, though she clung to the Day like a foal. She would raise the moon and not demand respect, but surrender herself and her night just for the benefit of others.

Pathetic.

"Discord!" Her ethereal voice shouted through waves of magic, on a frequency too low on the moral alignment for Luna's little lawful-good ears.

"Ow! You didn't need to be so loud!" The draconequus whined.

"Whatever. How strong is your chaos magic?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"I'm limited to wilting the grass around me, waddling the pedestal around, and zapping the feathers off of any bird that lands on my head."

Nightmare Moon purred in thought. "Can you try getting off the pedestal?"

There were seconds of silence, and then she heard Discord swear.

"What happened?"

"I fell."

When Luna walked past a window overlooking the statue garden, the shadow could vaguely see the draconequus statue face down in the grass.

"This is going to take some thought." She muttered.