Nightmare Night Canterlot (2023)Sign Up in OOC before posting.

[SteelEagle]

 

Nightmare Night was a fright for any teenager. It was so totally uncool. All the little foals ran around being super grody and screaming about candy. Candy? Uggh. Talk about not watching your figure or diet. They'd regret that when they were older. That stuff went right to your flanks. It didn't really appeal to her very much, at least when it came to just walking around town and getting candy. But there were other aspects that she found pretty rad. Dressing up meant you got to rock a wicked cool outfit. You could get a little silly, a little scary, a little extreme, maybe even a little sexy. That and oncr you got past all the little foals running around for candy, there were tons of parties you could be invited to. And Moonlight? She was invited to a lot of parties indeed.

 

And who could blame them? She was one happening 'chick', as Gallus would say. She was hipper than anypony else and had a killer sense in music, fashion, friends, and fun. Few ponies could compete with her when it came to popularity in the School of Friendship and fewer still were those who thought they could. Weeks ahead of Nightmare Night she had invitations to a half-dozen different parties around town. She decided to attend a party near the Canterlot Gardens. She had friends in pretty high places, and she was excited to attend a party where only the most sweet and elite would attend. It was bound to be...very exciting. She decided she would go as a Spice Mare, one of the members of that similarly named filly group. Costume wise they were loud, bold, and a little risque but nothing too far removed from what one would expect. It was bright pink with some nice sapphires she had sewn in by hoof and some striking boots that went just above her fetlocks.

 

She looked pretty cute. She looked more than cute, she looked great. And she was ready to rock the casbah! Which was the name of the building near the Gardens she was going to. The Casbah. Casbah. She didn't know what a Casbah was, but it sounded totally cool. Anyway, she left the school grounds in a jazzy mood, boarded a train, and was in Canterlot as the day started to bear fruit, getting complimented with word and look many times before she trotted off the train with mane and tail held high, in time passing the castle as the groups preparing there started to prepare themselves for the night ahead...

[NiktoBarada]

TT was outside Canterlot castle, doing some finishing touches to her costume.

It was a rather short trip from her parent's home, where she'd spent a few days catching up with what had been going on - an unfortunate side effect of spending weeks (or MOONS) researching obscure languages in obscure places was becoming totally out of touch with current events.

Now reasonably up to date, she was going to the Nightmare Night party as a Manechurian curio merchant.

She hid her altered wings under a heavy, wide dark blue cape with silver embroidery that went in a wide spiral, looking like a turtle's shell.  It was a minor magic item - a Second Chance Cloak, made by Manechurian folk magic.  Held closed by a ying-yang clasp.

Underneath the cloak, she'd put on a white vest with many visible pockets (and twice as many hidden ones).  One of her mom's uniforms when she was a cardsharp in Las Pegasus.

TT had even more trinkets and knicknacks in her satchel - her dad, being a curio merchant, added the stuffed full satchel as a last minute touch.  Plus he had some stock he wanted to get rid of, so why not accomplish two tasks at the same time.

Of the four necklaces she was wearing, two were minor magical items : a small Klein bottle enchanted to make any liquid inside it glow faintly, and a Fair Play amulet made by artisans from the Tenochtitlan basin.  It was rather ugly - like the sculptor started carving a jaguar, then changed his mind halfway through to make a pony, and while trying to fix it accidentally carved a sort of frog-like thing that flowed into coiled up snake.  Sort of.  

 

The other two were the first place medal of Ponyville's Running of the Leaves, and a luck amulet from a vendor in Saddle Arabia that she picked up on a STAR mission.  Or believes she did.

The fine silk Winged Slippers almost didn't clash with the rest of the outfit.

But then again, a wandering merchant without a wagon would have to carry all their esoteric goods on their person, so the clutter made her more authentic.  After all, even the largest backpack can only contain so much !  And it is much easier to display and sell your wares if they are within reach.

***

"A rather large turnout." she noted to herself as she looked about, wondering if anypony she knew was here.  She noted that at least two groups of ponies had coordinated their outfits : one group of three looked like the snowpony Olaf, Anna, and an Elsa (being portrayed by a grumpy unicorn stallion).

 

It looked like the filly dressed as a snowpony had horns AND wings - must be the newest alicorn.  Not sure of what; need to investigate later.

 
The other group was a small pantheon of Neighgyptian deities in nigh perfect, museum quality costumes - the judge of the dead and protector of tombs Anubis, the lioness-headed Sekhmet, and the feline-headed Pasht ('Night Huntress with sharp eye and pointed claw'), a small colt dressed as a pharoah, and an actual sphinx !

Who cast a glorious illusion of a primordial deity.

"Glad that's an illusion ..." TT mused to herself, "Primordial deities showing up is never a good thing.  They're either evil, and want to destroy everything.  Or they're good, and want to make the world better by destroying everything and rebuilding it from scratch." she recalled from the plots of many stories over the ages.

"Those must be Prince Blueblood, his wife, and his other wife, and his son there with the sphinx." she figured once she recalled what her mother had quizzed her on earlier.  The sphinx seemed to be watching over the little earth pony 'pharoah'.

"Oh, right !  Blueblood became a dad recently !

Dang !  I really need to spend more time in Equestria if I needed mom to tell me that !" she noted as she wandered into the courtyard to see what sort of festivities had been set up.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

Now that all the pleasantries were out of the way, the real fun of the night could begin. Ice couldn't wait to see what Luna had planned for the castle. tonight was going to be so much fun! She heard Candy start talking about the peanut butter cups more and Icy was growing anxious to get her hooves on one. She had a feeling her white Olaf costume wasn't going to be white for very long once the chocolate started coming to her. "Of course they like peanut butter! How can anypony not like peanut butter? Unless they are allergic, then I feel sorry for them, cause then they like peanut butter but can't have it," Ice spoke. "Of course, if there is anypony that happens to be allergic to peanut butter... I will be more than happy to make sure their chocolates don't go to waste," Ice said licking her lips.

 

She then watched Blizzard use his magic to imitate the motions that Elsa would do in the movie! Which means that he did actually watch the movie! She knew it! Everything was going to plan! As much as she wanted to assist with her magic though, she knew that was a bad idea at the moment. She had been an alicorn for a grand whopping total of three weeks, and in that time, she had discovered that her magic was stronger still than anything that she'd used before, even with the spheres that she no longer had. She could still remember the first sneeze she had and Luna having to duck to avoid a blast of magic... a blast that lead to their being a new Ice crystal in one of the castle hallways that still hasn't melted yet. She wondered if they were going to pass by it tonight and what they did to decorate it. When Elsa suggested that they got the night started, and moved to lead them into the castle. "Yay! this is going to be so much fun! Come on everypony."

 

It was at that point, two more ponies showed up. One of which she didn't recognize, but she looked to be dressed like one of those snazzy pop star ponies. She wondered if Wind Dancer knew her. She really pulled off the costume well, which almost made Ice wonder if it actually was a costume or if Luna had scheduled a show for the night. The other pony she did recognize. They were a member of STAR. she only ran across them a couple times, and she no doubt assumed that the pony recognized her at all. she'd likely recognize her name before she recognized her face. After all, if she remembered correctly, the last time that she remembered seeing the mare, was an inaugural meeting from before STAR became an officially sanctioned branch of the military. In fact, it was their report that led them in the search for the sorceress that was stealing artifacts from the Canterlot Vaults. Ice wished that their leads hadn't run dry on that case. It wasn't abandoned by any means, but it was definitely classified as a cold case by now. She hoped that more information would pop up about her at some point. For now though, she would just enjoy tonight and from all the decorations and the candy that was about to be coming her way... that was going to be very easy to do.

[Skycoaster]

Blizzard looked to Ice Storm and Candy with a smirk. "This will truly be the best night ever," as he swung the cape part of his dress dramatically as he turned in the direction of their trick or treating path. It had been since he was just a young colt that he saw the movie and read the book their costumes where based on, though more and more memories where returning to him, and it was clear that Icy wanted him to be in character. He could see the joy tonight was bringing the newest alicorn, and he didn't want to be the one to ruin her fun. He still was an ice mage after all, and tonight he was a queen. A sad Ice Storm equaled an angry Luna so keeping the snowpony happy was in his best interest.

 

Candy Corn would keep an eye the interactions between Blizzard, Ice Storm, and little Pax. Nightmare Night truly was for the young, and in Blizzard's case, young at heart. While those two where reliving their second foalhood, Candy would levitate a bag of her signature candy corn to the little colt on his father's back. "I have your first sweet for a sweet little colt."

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

As the clock tower began to toll, Luna would look to her helpers and give a fanged grin. As the first bell stroke, an odd wind would begin to blow. Dry leaves from the trees in the courtyard would swirl. As the tower continued chiming, clouds would begin to swirl as lightning seemed to flash out of nowhere. Luna winked as with the fifth chime she'd vanish. On the sixth and final toll of the chime, the clouds would part as Nightmare Moon would appear as if she where flying straight from the full moon. Her eyes watching all below, scanning the crowd. Fog would appear on the stage as she landed.

 

Nightmare Moon would began her over the top maniacal laughter. "Well well," she'd say looking from side to side. "All of this in honor of me? It appears we have chosen wisely tonight when determining where to grace with our presence. Flattery, however, will only get you all so far. Canterlot! It is time to pay us tribute! You have till the stroke of the last chime of ten to gather your sweets little ponies. Be warned, for if you fail to satisfy our sweet tooth, we may just end up EATING YOU!" Lighting would flash behind her as she began to laugh once more before walking down from the stage. She'd look to a group of ponies with their instruments and smirk. "Your princess wishes to be serenaded. Begin."

 

A bat pony would begin with the organ intro before the rest of the band would join in. She'd look to both Anwir and Star Crusader to begin their tasks.

Opening Number

 

--------------------------------------------------

Candy Corn and Blizzard would watch the opening scaremony from near the castle gate. It was impressive to see. If Blizzard didn't know better, he would have thought that it was really Princess Luna's darker self. With a deep breath, he'd look to Ice Storm. "Let us go. Off to the first house."

[AnwirAria]

Anwir used her magic and in a flash of green she was at her post, scaring a few ponies and fillies. She gets into character immediately. 

 

"Come,  little fillies and ponies. Come get your sweets before thy princess finds you!" She cackles in a low voice as she raises the sweets with her magic and swirl them around her. 

 

She is glad that she gets a time to relax before her next scouting mission. She hasn't been in the know of what has been happening in canterlot. She knows that Luna and Celestia finally retired. She knows Luna went back to doing something, she isn't sure what. She keeps hearing rumors of something called STAR, but she doesn't know what it is. 

 

She mentally shakes those thoughts away as she focuses on her task. 

 

[Blueblood]

Pax babbles happily as his family sets off towards the first house, until his mouth is stopped up with one of the candy corns.  The colt is still small enough to hold only one in his mouth at the time.  Blueblood chuckled indulgently, as he helps Niilaavin fix the snow-sphinx on his back.  "This would make a fine decoration for your sleeping-spot in the back garden, as long as it didn't melt."  He remarked, as the Sphinx nodded.  "Craftstallions such as you were well-regarded in my homeland... though, given we lived in a desert, we'd have sought a diplomatic pact with an Ice Queen specifically *because* the ice would melt, water being so precious... Though, Peanut butter would be a most desireable exotic good as well; those legumes were not grown in our lands."

 

It was just as well Pax was too little to call the lecture boring; Blueblood for his part found it fascinating, and it occupied the group right up until the point where they would knock upon the first door.  He'd let little Icy say the magic words, as Pax was too young to.  However, he would take point, just so the adorable little colt could aid in charming some tribute from the houses...

 

 

Meanwhile, back at the Castle Grounds, Star Crusader was getting into character herself, the more stoic counterpart to Anwir's energetic and cackly guard.  She fixed her eye on the approaching Moonlight, recognizing her as a young pony that Blueblood had given some good counsel and advice to some time ago.  That had led to many changes in her life, mostly for the better.  She thought that worthy of special attention, as she fixed the 'spice mare' with a grin.  And for a stoic pony unused to expressiveness, that could show up as something rather unsettling crossing her face.  Which was just in the spirit of the evening!  "I don't know... this one seems already dressed to be a tasty treat for our mistress, much more so than launching pumpkins for candy prizes... And as for this merchant behind her, well, perhaps she might have some exotic wares that would aid her in such a task, hm?"

[Dusty]

Niilaavin’s ears flicked as his head pulled up and looked at the Castle, head leaning gently to the side as he took in the sounds most ponies would struggle to hear this far away. “Seems some event is starting.” He remarked, mostly to himself. It was where most seemed to be heading now after all. But his pride was not and so he was not. And maybe it was for the best with such a young kitten to look after. Large gatherings were never safe for them and often just too scary… Looking away he eyed up the ponies leaving for the vent, his eyes tracking the young pony named Ice for a moment longer. So she was something important it seemed. He’d take note too remember her and give her a proper greeting next time. 

 

Well it was time to move and begin the hunt for treats as he tested the sacks hooked up onto his sides. His servants made his blessing. Well carrying goods was far below him he was willing to do so for Blue and pride. And there was no way Pax was going to get so many sweets as to fill both bags up. Hopefully. But nothing his magic can’t fix later to make it -look- like pax filled up two sphinx sized bags of sweets. “Thinking of ice, the cold of this land is still strang. And too think I plan to claim land even more north of here. We may lack an Ice Queen, but making some deals with ponies talented with the cold is not too far-fetched a plan after all even now.” He added in remake to Blue before looking down at the doorway of the House. As the door opened he had to almost lay down on his belly to look inside as stayed behind the ponies, trying his best to look friendly. Mostly. A giant star cat with six suns for eyes was hardly the most ‘peaceful’ looking thing. Still, he was trying. The cute foal sitting in front of his muzzle did wonders to make one less scary.

[SteelEagle]

 

Luna launched into her full Nightmare Moon performance, and for a moment Moonlight felt fear. Not in the sense that she believed there was any real danger. Filly, she had *seen* Luna before and that mare was as threatening as a kitten with a ball of yarn. And not like a sphinx- look at that beautiful sphinx and that smaller, cuter, super adorable, she wanted to pet it kitten sphinix!!!- either. Maybe it was her size versus Celestia, or how soft she appeared, or even the fact that the biggest Luna simp she knew was a super nerd, but Luna felt infinitely less threatening than her attitude would try to convey. For all that and a bucket of corn however, the fear existed, and it came from the part of her that so easily could get into the world of passion that the Nightmare brought forth. She was a drama filly at heart and within moments she didn't see Luna, Princess of the Night and Guardian of Dreams, but rather the terrifying Nightmare Moon. Spooky! So Spooky that she stopped and stomped her hooves in appreciation as her minions went to work and the jaunty music began.

 

As she walked, she couldn't help but loosen somewhat as she looked around. Moonlight didn't doubt for a second that the groups of fillies and colts she saw detaching and heading off into town would score big. They were dressed all sorts of silly and as she heard all the giggles and the laughter she found herself tempted, if briefly, to just skip the party and go trot about and scare up some candy of her own. Such an evil thought, disabused by her figure and how totally humiliating it would be for a teen, was squashed quick enough. Not that she should have been; some stallion was dressed up like a Princess. Endless sympathy from Moonlight; she knew the struggle better than anypony could guess of making a dress like that work for you. He needed to pick up something that complimented his figure more. Not that it mattered; he was probably doing it for what he assumed was his daughter who was dressed up as an alicorn? She smiled at them all as she walked past. What a cute family! Between them and the Blueblood contingent it was shaping up to be quite the evening.

 

It was then she was accosted by one of Nightmare Moon's terrible minions, some lion-headed pegasus said some untrue things. What was she supposed to be, some sort of reverse griffon? In any case, Moonlight put her hoof to her chest in faux offense. "A treat? As if!" She said dramatically before kicking one back leg out showily and near-booping the mare with an outstretched front leg. "I'm a full meal, filly!" She leaned in as her front hoof came down. "Your mistress, like, couldn't even handle me when I'm looking this choice!" She laughed. "Rad costume bee-tee-dubs, like, super cool."

[Verdant]

Verdant Forest fussed with the vines on the table he had set up outside his house, trying to get it just right. He had been planning this thing for the whole year, and it was supposed to be perfect. He knew, okay, maybe it was a little extra - as he looked at his neighbor's houses, none of them had anything beyond a few pony skeletons and tombstones in their yard, but he wanted to stand out. This was his first year really celebrating Nightmare Night - he had been too busy to do anything since he was a young colt, and he knew he had to do something special. He had sat at his desk, drawing and redrawing ideas for a while, but he finally settled on some sort of game. He wanted to do something interactive, so this seemed perfect! He had set up a basic table, with a banner overhead proclaiming, "Parakeet Race! Prizes for everyone!" Then he had added some branches and vines wrapping around everything to get it looking more nature-y. The props used for the race were set out in the middle in a bed of moss which he just knew the foals would tear apart instantly, but it looked nice. He couldn't wait to explain the game.

 

He leaned on the table, chin in his hooves, and sighed in worry, flapping his wings idly. Verdant Forest had done everything he could to fine-tune this process, so nothing should go wrong - but there was always the what-if factor. His two parakeets, a key part of the game, chirped and hopped on the table beside him. The smaller one, Nox, pecked at his hoof and twittered at him, and Verdant Forest sat up. "You're right, I'm stressing over nothing. Tonight is gonna go great and everypony is going to love what I've done." He ruffled Nox's feathers gently and said, "You've got all the hard work to do tonight and you're not even a little flustered - I gotta be more like you." Nox chirped again and hopped away, back to his buddy Lux. Verdant Forest had no idea if Nox had actually said anything along those lines, but it helped his confidence to pretend he had.

 

Verdant Forest was also excited to show off his costume - he had made it himself, sewing it together by hoof and building some of it, and while it had some...flaws, it wasn't the worst thing he had ever seen. He was dressed as a Timberwolf - not super accurate, of course, so as not to scare the fillies and colts, and anyway his sartorial skill was nowhere near that high - but still, you could tell what he was. He had wrapped foam around his legs and painted it to look like wood grain. Around his body was a vest that he had attached sticks and branches to - he had even attached little leaves to the feathers of his wings to make them look more woodsy. A half-mask covered his upper face, though the effect was spoiled somewhat by his round, anxious eyes peering out from the eyeholes. It was supposed to match the theme of game, and Verdant Forest thought he did pretty darn well for it being hoofmade.

 

All in all, he was ready! Nothing - nothing - was going to go wrong tonight. So he sat and waited for his first few trick-or-treaters to come along.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

Ice followed Blizzard and Candy for the most part, not wanting to get separated too much from them. True, just because she looked like a filly didn't mean that she had the fragileness of one. The biggest part right now was the fact that she was still learning to control the massive influx of magic that she had obtained from her ascension. She was afraid to use her magic too much at the moment because she was afraid that she could hurt somepony if she did anything other than levitate. She then heard the announcement from "Nightmare Moon" and it made her giggle a bit. Hearing her do the usual nightmare night proclaimation, Ice pretended to be scared before following the group as they started heading for the first house. "Eeeee! This is going to be so much fun!"

 

The streets were loaded with their usual spooky decor for the night and the creepy organ sounds were adding the perfect ambiance to the night. The fact that it was also somewhat cool, or at least most ponies would think it's cool, made Ice happy. She followed along, hearing the pop pony speak about something, but she didn't quite catch what it was. Ice was too focused on the task at hoof, and that was getting candy. They had made their way to the first house and they passed through all the decorations to the front door and knocked. She waited for the answer at which point she started the traditional Nightmare night greeting. "Nightmare Night! What a Fright! Give us some-thing sweet to bite!"

[NiktoBarada]

TT listened as the teenager conversed with the 'minions' of Nightmare Moon.  She seemed to know one of them.

Upon Sehkmet's question, TT replied, "In all honesty, all that we could offer her dark majesty in this case are some antacid tablets.  To ease her stomach from eating such a spicy meal.", indicating Moonlight Glitter.

"I must say that the detail on your Sehkmet costume is top notch !  Museum quality !  You a member of Blueblood's entourage ?" she asked Star Crusader.

But, if you're looking for esoteric or exotic items, we at Caveat Emptor's Discount Emporium specialize in exotic and esoteric items !" Tongue Twister announced melodramatically, "Strange and unusual gifts for the strange and unusual creatures in your life.

Such as : " she states as she rummages through her satchel to find items to show off.

A candle made from smoky blue wax, in an elaborate candleholder with an inscription in an unknown language around the rim "A Neighpalese Candle of Illumination."

 

A heavy silver torc necklace with a sea green cabochon, "A Melodian Voice Tuner."

"Geniune imitation glowpaz, in various shapes and sizes !"

A golden disc with a grinning stallion and the word 'YES !' on one side, and a grumpy scowling unicorn's face and the word "NO !" on the other, "Dither's Disc of Divination."

A coin-sized disc, made of darkest blue crystal, with the word 'Caput' on one side, and 'Cauda' on the other, "Rattail's Disc of the Heart's Revelation."

A deck of playing cards, with the tattered pack displaying an unknown language, "The Deck of Calamity.  Its cards bring random misfortune to all who dare deal from it.  Perfect for folk who like to live dangerously.  Or a thoughtful gift for ponies you really don't care for."

A polished oval of smoky quartz, about the size of an apple, "The Wandering Eye gem."  TT looks through it, and all can feel like someone is watching them from the balcony behind.  (If anyone looks, they'll see an eyeball of black smoke looking at them.  Which vanishes the moment TT stops looking through the gem.)

A medallion made of grey metal, shaped like a broad pair of wings and a unicorn stallion's head and neck, a blood red gem in the center.  "An Alicorn Amulet."  she states with a roll of her eyes before dropping it back in the satchel.

A twisted piece of wood with two prongs at the top (longer than the satchel it was pulled from).  "Starlight's Staff of Sameness.  Now, if this were an actual artifact, it could rip the cutie marks off even an alicorn's flanks, stripping them of all special powers, skills, and abilities.

Those wares exotic enough for ya ?"
 

[AnwirAria]

Anwir watched the young mares talking to Star Crusader and listened to the one dressed as a merchant talk about her wares. Some herself she found rather intriguing. 

 

At the sight of the old Alicorn amulet, her smile wavered just a moment. It looked similar to an old artifact of her ancestors. At the sight of the rendition of the Staff of Sameness her smile did drop for a moment. From what she heard, it wasn't anything like what she had witnessed with her own scouting ventures. 

She put her smile back on in an instant. She cackles at the ponies in front of Star. 

 

"My my! What magical wares do you have young one!" She exclaims and with a pull of her magic she brings forth two treats shrouded with the toxic green glow of her magic,then swirls them around the two ponies and then hovers them in front of the younger mares. "How about another addition?" Anwir then turns to Moonlight Glitter, "And something sweet to balance out such spice?"

 

[Skycoaster]

Nightmare Moon's ear would twitch as she heard the 'excitement' her minions where having with a few of their guests. Her eyes would glance over at Star Crusader, Anwir. A magical fog would surround them, as Nightmare Moon's glowing eyes could be seen approaching towards Moonlight Glitter as she laughed menacingly. "Well well, it appears we have found our first tribute." She would circle the group, concealed within the fog. "Such a bold move for a little pony, though I do enjoy my meals served with a side of ego...." She'd chuckle for a moment. "With fear as a desert. The night is still young little pony. I advise you to enjoy your last hours amongst your friends before meal time. Tick tock little pony. Tick tock." as she would lunge out of the fog to stand between Moonlight and Tongue Twister. "Boo!"

 

She did not forget about the pony behind her presumed dinner, a merchant. "Impressive wares that you carry, though I would hope they are replicas, seeing as everypony is in costume around us. Would it not make sense to be peddling costume jewelry? If somepony was foalish enough to try to use these...trinkets against me, I hope they are prepared to suffer thy wrath!" She'd stop a hoof as lightning would crack around them. "Now then. let me inspect this...alicorn amulet..."

[Blueblood]

"Not a bad political move,"  Blueblood would reply to Niilaavin, indulging in a bit of adult talk before returning to the serious business of foalishly frightening delights tonight, "Though do wait until little Icy's grown up... again, before you do that."  He wondered how different his friend's experience was from his own, back during a brief period of magical age regression.  That had been a complete regression, leaving no adult memories or development, if he recalled, meaning that not everypony involved showed their best selves.  He knew he didn't.  But Ice Storm seemed a much happier filly than he knew she'd been at that age.  Probably why Luna, or Twilight, or whoever had done this to her.  Let her have memories of a happy fillyhood before the literal eternity of adulthood that would follow.

 

And he had to admit, the pony that had decorated the first house the party were going to had definitely gone all out to ensure that any foal would come away with memories!  Coming up behind the small alicorn, who gave the traditional greeting, Blueblood nodded with regality at the 'Timberwolf' hosting the game.  "And what is this?  A sport for kings, wagering sweet treats?"

"Game!  Treat!"  Pax called out from atop his father's back.

 

~~~

 

Meanwhile, at the Castle Grounds, Star Crusader was attempting her best try at a smirk in five years.  "I am sure the Night Lady is well capable of handling even the great spices of Whinnydia.  But the question for you is... can you handle gourd artillery?"  That... didn't come out as impressive as she would like, though the dramatic sweep of the wing towards the pumpking trebuchet was on point!

 

Fortunately, her fellow guard was better at putting on a spooky show, backing her up with some offered candy, and of course the Princess wouldn't let such a challenge go unanswered!... Though, she did give a much more sincere glare at the mention of the 'alicorn amulet'.  "Don't tell my husband you have that.  Either its fake, and he'll be disappointed, or its real, and I'll have to reign in his Imperiousness.  Again."

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Gourd artillery? Well, Moonlight would give the minion an A- for effort and a C for execution. She wasn't sure it'd be possible to make the term Gourd Artillery ever sound threatening but at least the effort was in the right place. Not that she really wanted to hock gourds to and fro, not when she was needed somewhere. "I guess that makes sense. You don't get as old as she is without, like, having to eat some totally blegh stuff. I guess maybe I wouldn't be too spicy, just too well-crafted for her. I mean have you seen my mane, evil minion number one?" She asked, flipping it and showing off her costume. In the middle of it, she watched the second minion get to work on the pair of 'victims'.

 

Moonlight watched the candy bathed in a green sickly light dance in the wavering embrace of the night before it landed in an outstretched hoof. She let out a small giggle, enjoying the performance more than her normal demeanor would perhaps let alone. "Oooh, something sweet? Like, I won't indulge toooo much because it would totally kill the mood at the party later but, like, I'd be crazy to not take something from such a totally grody and super-evil minion of miss Nighty Night, right?" She said before tossing it into her mouth. It tasted minty at first, but then it went off in a direction she couldn't quite discern. "Hmm, that was kinda totally awesome. Not so bad, evil minion two, not bad at all!"

 

As she chewed on the candy she had to look over the wares on display. They were all pretty cool in their own way, clearly taking after the real artifacts. It was a fun gimmick, as any student worth her salt knew half of these relics and their histories thanks to Twilight's incessant schoolering of the ponyfolk at the School of Friendship. She knew a few ponies who could do with a lot of cutie mark restructuring herself, and she think she'd look fine as the sun with a rocking pair of wings, but she had something better in mind. "Ooh, The Deck of Calamity? I know a colt who deserves a little calamity his way. Nothing too grody, right?" She asked as she eyed up the item. It would make for some spooky fun with the fillies as they dished on the colts at school for sure.

 

As she imagined herself toying with the colts some, the main event arrived. The big cheese. The head honcho. Princess Luna doing her best Nightmare Moon impersonation, which was impressive considering she had been one and the same. She concealed herself in the fog and moved around at the edge of Moonlight's vision. Once she started getting magical and spooky with it, the effect certainly got a lot better. Plus she was right; Moonlight was a full course meal served up with a side of ego. How could she not be? Did the Moon Princ- err, evil Nightmare of the Moon realize how ten outta ten Moonlight was? She found herself getting closer to the merchant out of an innate sense of herd proection, losing track of Nightmare Moon briefly. It was this loss of tracking that made it so when Nightmare Moon did show up to give the filly a fdright, it totally worked.

 

"Gahh!" She yelped out before galloping for a few seconds away from the area before slowing to a canter and giggling. "Gahahaha, hehehe," she let out impishly, her tails swishing from excitement. It was fun getting scared! She had also launched herself towards the gourd artillery. Once close enough she started inspecting it, because...well, she was here, wasn't she? "Heeeeey evil minions numero uno and numero dos! How do I even, like, get this thing to work?" She said, pawing at it ineffectually with a smirk.

[Verdant]

Verdant blinked a few times at the group coming up to his booth - it looked like a baby alicorn dressed like Olaf - looking absolutely adorable, a sphinx, and the Prince Blueblood with his family in tow, all in matching Neighgyptian costumes? Verdant swallowed nervously. He sure hoped his game was up to snuff now. As the group approached, he straightened his costume and gave the table one last once-over, mostly making sure his parakeets were here and ready. Nox, the light blue parakeet, nestled into the moss nest, and Lux, who was pure white, fluttered around the table, both looking rather excited.

 

Then he cleared his throat and said in a cheerful voice, "Welcome to the Parakeet Race! Fun for all ages, fun at all stages - just a quick explanation and then we can get on with the race. My name is Verdant Forest, and these are my parakeets, Nox and Lux-" and, just as he had trained them to do, they each chirped and hopped upon hearing their name - "and they are our little racers. You will choose, as two individuals or two groups, which parakeet you want to support." He pointed a hoof at the three props on the table and added, "These will give them certain...'superpowers' but you can only choose one! So choose wisely." The three props he had laid out were a little cowcolt hat, a superhero cape, and miniature dragon wings. Only he and the parakeets knew what they did - and he had carefully trained the parakeets to respond differently while wearing each prop. "Everyone will, of course, get a piece of candy at the end, but the winner, or winners, will get two! So choose your groups, choose your fighters, and choose your prop!"

[Skycoaster]

Blizzard and Candy had followed Ice Storm to their first house, actually it was the first house outside of Canterlot Castle's courtyard. As they awaited Ice's treats, Blizzard would turn around at the sound of a magical lightning bolt from within the courtyard not far away just in time to see 'Nightmare Moon' scare some fillies senseless. He almost felt his heart jump for a moment before turning to the pony that answered the door. He'd take a few breaths and look down to the little alicorn, quickly getting into character again as the door swung open. Instead of the typical Nightmare Night greeting that Ice Storm had just given, he'd just smile.

 

Candy on the other hoof, couldn't resist and also resist the poem. "Nightmare Night what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!"

 

Meanwhile, Blizzard noticed that they had gotten slightly separated from Blueblood and his party, looking over to the neighbors house. That had to be their next stop as it seemed he had his own game set up. Blizzard would make sure to point it out to Ice Storm once they received their first sweet treat as that was the house to hit next.

[NiktoBarada]

Upon seeing Luna, TT bowed her head for a moment to show respect to one of the ten most powerful beings in Equestria.

 

Upon hearing Star Crusader's statement, TT's left ear twitched and her smile tightened a bit.

 

"We can assure you that both this Deck of Calamity and this Alicorn Amulet are merely museum quality replicas." TT stated as she retrieved it for Nightmare Moon/Luna, "We can say that because we used to work in a museum, making replicas !

 

Dad has five more amulets just like that one in a drawer back in his shop.  The profit margin on that item is, well, monstrous !

 

Put it in a case without a price tag and, within a month or two, a few minutes before closing time some pony in a hooded cloak points to it to buy it.

 

It costs twenty bits in material to make half a dozen 'Alicorn Amulets', and dad would sell one for ten bits or so, but they never ask how much it costs !  They just toss a huge bag of bits on the counter right after dad says 'the amulet can grant great power, but such power comes at a terrible price.'

 

And hey, if they want to toss a big bag of bits his way, he is certainly not going to stop them ... !"

 

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

The small crack of lightning had pulled Ice's attention away from the door that she had just knocked on. What she saw, was Nightmare moon talking to some other ponies and one of them had a couple of artifacts. Both the artifacts, and the pony in question made her heart sink into her stomach. The pony was a member of her own organization. In fact, they were one of the oldest members that were at the initial meeting that she had held in secret in the basement of her Frozen Delight's store here in Canterlot so many years ago. The artifacts were ones that she knew for a fact that they were supposed to be locked in the archives. As soon as she saw the reactions of everyone around them though, she let out a sigh of relief. Of course they would be replicas on a night like this. Ice felt kinda bad that she had even thought otherwise. She was usually so good at looking at the good before the bad, and for some reason she jumped straight to bad.

 

She shook those thoughts though as the door opened, they found themselves staring an elaborate design that looked like a track. A pegasus came out as well, his coat a bright green that reminded her of the leaves from the trees that were in Ponyville. He was also in costume, looking roughly like a timberwolf from the forest that bordered the aforementioned village. He started speaking to them and talked about a parakeet race. As she looked around she could now see signs for it all over. She must have missed that at first. The pegasus started explaining everything and Icy clopped her hooves together. "Oh! Oh! I choose Nox with the cowcolt hat!" she giggled. 

[Blueblood]

Having listened to the house's host give his explanation, Anubis turned to the pharoah on his back.  "Well now, your majesty, which parrot will you have to be your champion?"

 

Pax, giggling, pointed out his favorite.  "Dwagon, dwagon!"  Pointing out the bird with the dragon wings, fortunately not intersecting with Icy's choice.  The race was on!

 

~~~

 

Relieved to hear that the many relics brought out of TT's cloak were museum replicas, Star had to give a twisted little smirk at the spiel concerning the total grift that was the Alicorn Amulet.  "All sales final, no returns I take it."  She had to appreciate the elegance of the self-contained rebuke to the conceited and megalomaniacal magic users.

 

As for Moonlight Glitter... she wasn't anywhere near that bad.  She was getting into the spirit of the thing, and not making things weird when "Nightmare Moon" threatened to gobble her up.  She'd seen it happen before; Princess Celestia may have said there was no wrong way to fantasize, but she wasn't the sister that had to actually go into the dreams of her little ponies...  "The pumka-pult is quite simple.  You turn this wheel to aim side to side, this one to move back and forth, then pull this lever to launch the pumpkin.  The closer you get to the bulls-eye, the more candy you get."

[NiktoBarada]

On 10/21/2023 at 1:23 PM, Blueblood said:

Relieved to hear that the many relics brought out of TT's cloak were museum replicas, Star had to give a twisted little smirk at the spiel concerning the total grift that was the Alicorn Amulet.  "All sales final, no returns I take it."  She had to appreciate the elegance of the self-contained rebuke to the conceited and megalomaniacal magic users.

 

"For unique, one of a kind items, you pretty much have to take what you can get." TT replied with a shrug, "So 'no refunds' is sort of standard practice.  If a customer notices something wrong with an item, dad will most likely give a discount.  But once the sale is made, any and all problems are then the buyer's responsibility.

 

As they say : Caveat Emptor - 'Let the buyer beware.'

 

So far, nearly all of the creatures that bought an 'Alicorn Amulet' from dad are in prison.  They tried something nefarious, believingthey were nigh invincible.

 

They weren't.  And so were readily caught and arrested.  Apparently, the fact the amulet was a fake does not diminish the intent behind using such a thing very much."

 

TT listened to the instructions of the pumka-pult.  There were a row of bullseyes set up quite a few dozens of yards away.  And nothing behind them - the last thing anypony would want is a stray pumpkin launch splattering against their house.  Or going through a window and splattering all over their living room !

[Verdant]

Verdant Forest clapped his hooves together excitedly as the princess and little royal colt made their picks. He gently placed the cowcolt hat onto Nox and fastened the dragon wings to Lux, making sure that they wouldn't hinder either. The little birds hopped eagerly to the starting line on the table at a whistle from Verdant, twittering and fluttering their wings. Verdant turned back to the group at his table, saying, "Both of them will make a full lap of the yard before returning and landing on this line-" he pointed to the finish line at the other end of the table "-and whichever bird lands first will secure the prize for his team. Now, ordinarily, I would say there would be no foul play, but since you've chosen the cowcolt hat, Nox will be able to try to grab Lux's feathers to prevent him from getting ahead. Of course, Nox isn't going to pull any out, just slow down his competitor." He nodded at Ice Storm and then turned to Prince Blueblood and Pax. "And the dragon wings add a little extra power to Lux's flying - he may be able to easily outpace Nox now!" Verdant took a deep breath and then began the race by saying, "Ready, set, go!"

[Skycoaster]

Nightmare Moon would wink at Tongue Twister, and even stifle a small laugh at Star Crusader's plan for the replica. "If you wish, I could always give him the dream of being an alicorn....perhaps even a nightmare form. Red Blood." Luna would give a sinister chuckle. "Seeing one self in Nightmare Form can give oneself quite a scare. Ask Celestia about Starlight Glimmer's dream sometime."

 

Luna could notice the courtyard beginning to attract even more ponies, though these seemed to be more of a teenage crowd. Luna would look over to Anwir and tap her hoof on her chin. Luckily, with the majority of the Lunar Guard now staffing the games and booths, she could begin phase two...as it where in her plan. Midnight Oil, Star, and Anwir had the unfortunate pleasure of finding out just what she had in store. Luna was the mistress of illusion spells after all. Misdirection. Most of the ponies would expect scares from her...but her minions...she could set them loose to have some fun as well.

 

Hovering above the courtyard, Nightmare Moon would make her next announcement. "Little Ponies, being gobbled should not be your only fear." Smirking, she would look to Midnight, who was on his way over to Luna to find his assignment for the evening. "Watch in terror!," as her hoof pointed at her guard before blasting him with an illusion spell. When the dust had settled, Midnight stood there. His eyes now where red. His mane, longer and wild. The biggest difference was that his fangs had grown in length with illusion. Blinking a few times, he'd tap his fangs with is tongue. "Of course...this is why she wanted me here..." he'd mumble. "Be ware of my nocturnal minions, for they grow feral under the Nightmare Night full moon." Laughing, she'd teleport back to the general and captain. "Would ether of you like a magical costume enhancement and wish to scare some of the older fillies and colts?" She'd chuckle looking to TT once more. "I do not suppose you have anything in there to ward off vampire bat ponies, would you? You may need it tonight...."

 

---------------------------------------------------------

Blizzard was surprised by all the work that Verdant Fores had put into his own Nightmare Night presentation. "I think you may have the best nightmare night act..." Blizzard would stop and lightning cracked back in the castle courtyard. "Second only to Princess Luna herself. I'm sure when she's done doing...back there, but you get my vote." Candy had gotten into the spirit of the race, cheering on little Nox much like she did her Bittsburgh sports teams back home. "Woooo. Go Nox! No offense to Lux, but wooo!"

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Midnight now understood the strange orders that he had received. The scare ponies part began to make sense. Rolling his eyes he'd begin his task. First up....Moonlight Glitter. He recognized her from the few trips to the School of Friendship he had made over his time in the Lunar Guard. He'd use his stealth to sneak up next to her. "Ah yes, one of pupils from the School of Friendship. I wonder, what kind of student are you? An A+ student? Perhaps a B- student?" He'd unfurl his bat pony wings. "Or perhaps an O+. Those are my favorite." He'd grin, showing the fangs to Moonlight.

[AnwirAria]

Anwir got into character with a cackle and watched the chaos as Midnight was illusioned into a vampire pony. 

 

At the question, Anwir will make a show of an elegant bow. (At least as elegant as somepony with a limp could) 

"Of course my Princess of Nightmares! A gift from you is of highest honor!" Anwir said in character watching some of the younger ponies run away in fear. With a flash of green she teleported a few treats in front of them. 

[SteelEagle]

The instructions om how to use the pumka-pult seemed easy enough, but she knew that it couldn't be that simple, really. If it was, then everypony would own pumka-pults and be pumka-pulting into one another's homes. The equestrian delivery complex would collapse and dozens of businesses would go kaput because of 'ka-pults. The ensuing economic downturn? The 'kapultrophe. "Okay. But I take no responsibility if, like, my pumpkin goes in a totally un-cool direction and whacks a noble in his noggin," she said as she closed one eye to investigate the mechanisms. Then she started pulling the wheel, then the other wheel, then eyed her target, then pulled the wheel some more. She looked back as she went to pull the lever. "Ha, I got this one in the bag, bucko. Wanna bet I get a bullseye?" She said as she winked at Minion Numero Uno, her tail on the lever.

 

As she went to pull it however, she was startled by somecreature. A batpony landed next to her and- well, she had to admit it was pretty clever. She knew batponies didn't drink blood but *vampire* batponies? They probably did, if they existed. She always thought the little fangs that batponies had was pretty cute. It gave them a bit of a sense of exotic danger that was rare in ponies, but she also heard that they made squeaking sounds when excited which undercut the danger in an adorable way. "Oooh, I bet they are. I bet you enjoy the hunt, don'tcha? Well, sorry to, like, totally let you down, but I'm O-. Guess I'm failing, huh?" She laughed, letting go of the lever to use her tail to playfully dust the bat pony's face. Of course, as she did so the pumka-pult launched without her steadying hoof, sending the pumpkin off course!

 

Not that she noticed at first. "Red eyes? Do they help you find your victims? What do they see now, huh?" She said as she struck a mildly flirtatious- playfully so, really- pose for Midnight.