Equestrian Heroes

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Naruto x ?

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Story Start

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The end of the month of October had arrived and with it the holiday Nightmare Night. It was a dark night. Separated, but united stars filled the sky and there was a huge and glowing full moon facing down at Ponyville.

Fluttershy was currently in her costume, preparing candy for the trick or treaters. She was dressed as a Butterfly thanks to Naruto's urging. Normally Fluttershy didn't celebrate the holiday, preferring to spend the night hiding until it was over, but Naruto's urging that she dress up and join him at the celebration later tonight. As much as Fluttershy feared the holiday and everything that came with it, she was afraid of disappointing her friends even more.

A loud knocking at her door stirred her from the bowl of candy she just fixed. "Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"

She noticed a triplet set of fillies at her door, chanting the usual slogan for treats. One filly was a fairy tale princess, another one was an astronaut, and another one was a ladybug. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile at how adorable they were. Unlike those nasty ponies last year who egged and t-peed her house. It took her three days to get the smell out.

She grabbed the bowl of candy and passed out several pieces to their bags. "You all have such wonderful costumes." She softly spoke. She then took notice of Granny Smith who was with them. "H-Hello Miss Granny Smith, mam. How are you this Nightmare Night?"

"I should have been asleep five hours ago." Granny Smith answered in a rather tired tone.

"O-Oh," Fluttershy softly gasped. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Another young one squeezed through the fillies and presented himself, waving his little plastic sword around as he wore a pirate costume. "Pipsqueak the pirate at your service. It's my very first Nightmare Night." The colt spoke in a quaint accent that was vaguely familiar to the Pegasus, but she couldn't quite figure it out.

"W-Well I hope you have a very good one."

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by Pinkie Pie… who was wearing a chicken costume. The feathered body outlining her form with orange and black striped leggings. Leave it to Pinkie to take something like that and make it sexy. She squawked loudly. "Enough chitchat! Time is candy!"

"Hello Pinkie…" She began, smiling even more from the sight of her costume. "…that is a nice chicken costume."

"Yepperooni. Made it myself!" She suddenly dipped her head in the candy bowl and began picking at it like a chicken.

"I take it this year you're the one chaperoning all the fillies and colts?"

"Yep, the Cakes can't this year because of Mrs. Cake's condition. See you later for all the festivities."

She gave one last loud squawk before running away to look for more candy. Fluttershy looked at the bowl to notice it was empty. With a blink she placed it back on the counter and closed the door. She then took notice of the time. Naruto shouldn't take too long to arrive.

Speaking of which, Naruto was currently making his way through town. He couldn't help but marvel at his costume. Rarity had truly outdone herself. He really needed to do something special for her to show his appreciation. The outfit was a near thread by thread recreation of his Kage outfit.

It was then that he ran into Twilight who was walking around town. They struck up a conversation which led to Naruto asking Twilight who she was.

She had donned a long robe and pointed wizard's hat in three shades of blue, both liberally decorated with stars and moons and hung with jingle bells at hem, brim, and hat peak. The robe's golden and white collar was secured with a gold brooch, and the long white beard she was wearing hung nearly to her knees.

"Star Swirl the Bearded is only the most important conjurer of the pre-classical era. He created more than 200 spells! He even has a shelf in the Canterlot library of magic named after him. Maybe I should start up a pony group to teach ponies about history. I bet everypony would love it! Don't you, Spike?" She directed the last question at her assistant who was tagging along.

"Mhmm!" He agreed as he continued to throw candy in his mouth. "I'll love it."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "So what is your plan for the evening?"

"To join in on the festivities and enjoy myself. Unfortunately nothing comes to mind seeing as a certain somepony found it fit to hide my organizing materials." She finished sending a glare at Naruto who merely grinned.

"Now Twilight, I'm sure obsessively making lists and then making lists about those lists would have not only take the fun out of enjoying the night, it was simply unneeded. You and Spike can hang out with me and Fluttershy. From what I understand, she hasn't celebrated Nightmare Night in years and I managed to convince her to join me later tonight."

"That sounds like it could be fun."

The group continued their trek when they ran into Pinkie and the group of kids she was chaperoning. Naruto recognized each and every tyke, but one stood out. A colt, with a brownish-white pinto colt, an earth pony, dressed as a pirate complete with eye-patch and armed with a toy cutlass. A tuft of two-tone brown mane protruded from the edge of the red kerchief on his head, and his one visible eye was bright and so deep red as to be nearly black. He tried a few swings of the cutlass, but lost his balance and went down on his face.

"Pipsqueak the pirate at your service! It's my very first Nightmare Night."

Naruto was immediately surprised when he heard the colt speak. He had never heard that accent before.

"Since you moved here from Trottingham?" Twilight asked him.

"No, my very first Nightmare Night ever!" The colt excitedly exclaimed.

"It was really nice of you to volunteer to take the kids trick-r-treating Pinkie."

"Of course, I get to spend time with these adorable tykes and get free candy. What's not to love." Pinkie had startled the collective group of children when she pulled them all up into a hug. One even began to cough and beg for air.

"Little less love Pinkie." Naruto commented, helping the mare avoid a case of accidental manslaughter. "So Princess Luna asked me about the holiday when I went up. In fact, I even brought up visiting Ponyville for the occasion."

Pinkie's eyes practically lit up. "Do you think she'd do it? Do you? Do you? Would she be willing to come and act all spooky and be like mwha mwha mwha, I'm evil and I'm going to gobble you all up as we run and scream and terror because we forgot to leave her tribute like the stories say?"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Naruto replied with a chuckle. "Considering her temperament, I'm sure she'd enjoy something like that."

"Not to bring down the mood, but I think Princess Luna might have other duties she'll have to adjust to. After all the time she's been gone, it's highly that she would be able to join a festivity like this so soon. Although I do admit I can see the appeal of having Princess Luna visit."

Pinkie Pie cocked her head to the side. "Nice costume Twilight."

"Do you like it?" Twilight asked, feeling a surge of pride.

"Are you kidding me? This is the best clown costume I've ever seen!" With that she flashed a cheerful grin. "Well everypony, catch you later, the kids and I have to continue our path for optimum candy efficacy."

Twilight was naturally irked. "A clown?! Look at the borders on these robes! These are hand-stitched!"

"Settle down Twilight. Don't make me get the orderlies." Naruto found himself pelted by an empty sack.

"That was a pretty nice shot…" Spike said as he walked off with a derisive chuckle. "…Grandpa!" This elicited an annoyed grunt from the unicorn.

"You're both jerks." She replied with a pout.

"Come on, we were just teasing. Let's go see if Applejack is finished setting up in town."

A sudden sharp crack of lightning caused the three of them to jump, followed by the sound of Pinkie and fillies screaming from all the way down the path from where the group parted. The sound of Rainbow's laughter drew their attention as the Element of Loyalty was dressed in a Shadowbolt costume resting on a cloud. That outfit was leaving little to the imagination.

"Rainbow Dash, that wasn't very nice." Twilight scolded the Pegasus.

"Lighten up, old-timer. It's the best night of the year for pranks!" Rainbow Dash responded.

"Look what you did to Spike." Twilight pointed at him. He looked as if he was having a heart attack as he coughed and wheezed.

"It's all in good fun. OH OH, there's another group over there!" She flew off the cloud and raced it towards the other victims.

Twilight sighed.

"That's Rainbow for you." Naruto shook his head. "Just forget about her for now and focus on enjoying our night." Naruto suggested as they continued their travels.

As the three walked down the town square, Naruto took notice of the festival-goers and the scenery that was set up. There were snack carts, strings of lights hung with skulls, and black busts of Nightmare Moon hanging from the balconies. Lemon Hearts a mouse, and Minuette as a dental surgeon. Big Macintosh was pulling a hay wagon loaded with three mares he recognized as the small group of mares who had insisted on taking care of Big Mac during his time of need after the bandit attack.

He couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered Applejack on calling it quits on trying to chase those crazy mares off Sweet Apple Acres. She figured she might as well let the love struck mares take care of her brother and free her up to work.

Aloe and Lotus were dressed as a split down the middle black and white player card characters with opposite schemes. There was Cherry Berry dressed as grapes, with Cloud Kicker in a witch costume.

More of the party goers revealed costume goers in the form of knights, ants, and other assortment of creatures. When he caught glimpses of Lyra as a mummy he couldn't help but wonder if this was a joke, calling back to her injury during the fight against the Ursa Major? He wouldn't put it past Lyra to make a joke at her own expanse, she was always a good sport about things like that.

"Happy Nightmare Night Applejack!" The trio greeted her as they arrived at an apple bobbing area.

She was dressed as a scarecrow with the outfit containing many patchwork marks. On top of her head her Stetson was stuffed to the brim with straw, and out of her pockets were ears of corn. "Howdy y'all! Nice costumes." She answered as she observed them.

"Thanks! I'm a dragon." Spike responded, who fully recovered from the heart coronary.

"She means us, Spike." Twilight informed him with an irritated look.

Naruto looked over to Spike, a little confused. He hadn't really paid too much attention to Spike's costume, but now that it was brought to his attention, he couldn't help but ask the baby dragon the following question. "Spike, aren't you already a dragon?"

"Yeah… so…?"

"I…guess." Naruto decided to let it go, seeing as he was going as well, essentially himself as well. So he didn't have much room to talk.

"With that beard, I reckon you're some sorta country music singer." Applejack commented as she flipped Twilight's beard. Spike returned a laugh as Twilight let out an annoyed groan. "While y'all here, ya' feel like bobbin' for an apple?" She presented the apple bobbing bucket that was nearby.

Naruto took notice of Ditzy and Dinky. Naruto titled his head slightly as he tried to figure out just what Ditzy was dressed as. She wore a large paper bag on her head and small paper bags on her hands and hooves. "Hey Ditzy, Dinky!" He greeted her with a grin as he walked over. "So what are you supposed to be?"

Naruto scooped up the little Unicorn whose fur was painted green and she had weird ear things on her head. "I'm an alien." She happily said. "Take me to your leader."

The sound of his voice resulted in Ditzy pulling out the plug of the bucket. She released a saddened look when she realized she had drained the bucket. "Oh…sorry I didn't mean to distract you." His voice drew Ditzy's attention to him, meaning that the sad look on her face didn't last long.

"Hiya Naruto." She greeted with her usual happy tone. "What are you dressed as?"

"A Ninja." He simply answered. "So what are you?"

"Cool. I'm a princess posing as the twin look alike of the poor girl who took my place. How do you do my good sir." She said extending her hand.

Naruto took her hand and kissed it, playing along. "Good evening my lady. Anyway I better catch up with Twilight and the others. We still on for later tonight?"

Naruto had managed to convince his herd and a few other plans to head over to his house to catch some movies. Naruto was thankful that this dimension had films. Sure Televisions of a rudimentary nature were still in process, but the fact that they had films were a blessing in disguise.

"Of course," She said as she extended her arms. "Can I have my daughter back, or are you going to run off with her?" She asked as a playfully grin adorned her face.

"How about it Dinky? Want me to adopt you and you come live with me?"

"Hmm." The little unicorn paused to think about it ."Can you make thirty-two different flavors of muffin?" Naruto was startled. Thirty-two? Hell, he could barely name three. "Then with mama I stay."

Naruto let out a disappointed grunt as Dinky went back to her mother's waiting arms.

"See you later."

"Bye bye mister Naruto."

Suddenly some loud cheering nearby drew his attention. "Come on." Twilight called to him as everyone began gathering to see what was going on.

The general attention quickly transferred itself to the stage where a band was seen playing earlier. A cheering crowd had gathered on the dance floor, and Mayor Mare stood at a lectern on the stage. She had done herself up as a clown, including a red rubber-ball nose and multicolored wig. She also had an oversize polka-dotted tie as her shirt collar. Her tail was done up in stripes as well.

"Thank you everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival! Now, all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zecora to hear the legend of…" She paused to make her next words ominous. "…Nightmare Moon!" She let off a mad laugh.

"Spooky voice might work better is she wasn't dressed like that." Spike whispered, which led to Twilight giggling.

The Mayor gestured off to one side. The patch of stage she occupied soon burst into a sparkling, luminescent green smoke that filled the platform. From this rose the head and shoulders of the resident zebra to the sound of appreciative murmurs from the audience. Zecora's mane was covered by a long white wig filled with spiders, and the neckline of her long black garment that covered her form was secured with a gold bat brooch.

"Holy hell," Naruto softly murmured as his eyes trailed of the shaman's form as a faint blush appeared on his cheeks. Zecora already had the exotic appeal going on, but when she fixed herself up, she really fixed herself up.

"Listen close my little dears. I'll tell you where you got your fears." She leaned toward the fillies. "Of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary…" A bit of glowing green dust was produced and blown upward into the air. "…Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary."

The smoke formed into a specter of Nightmare Moon that dove toward the group; they cried out as it hit the ground and dissipated.

"Every year we put on a disguise…" A vicious grin appeared as well. "To save ourselves from her searching eyes." As they screamed and cut out, Zecora emerged from the dust, revealing her to have been the source of the eyes and grin. Pip ran and bumped into the statue's pedestal.

"But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing—" Pip backed away. "To gobble up ponies in one quick swing!"

Pipsqueak had been backing away from the statue, but touched Pinkie Pie who let out a startled yelp. They both screamed and fled the opposite direction from each other. Zecora presented another image from the green dust. "Hungrily she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by." It went over to Pip and his buddies for a brief look before floating away. "So if she comes and all is clear," It went up to the sky. "Equestria is safe another year!"

"Uh, Miss Zecora…" Pipsqueak tugged at Zecora's dress. "If we wear costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, so she won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give her some of our candy?"

"A perfect question, my little friend, for Nightmare Moon you must not offend." She blew more dust over his head and he backed off as it formed into Nightmare's full shape. "Fill up her belly with a treat or two…" The specter tensed. "So she won't return to come eat YOU!"

On the end of this, she leaped at the group with her mouth open to expose every single razor-edged tooth in it. She disintegrated on impact, and Pinkie let off a shrill scream and led a charge over to the statue.

"Everypony!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Just dump some candy and get out of here!" The group had dumped their candy in front of the statue.

The wind began to kick up, and a nervous glance overhead revealed that clouds have begun to swirl around the full moon and close in to block out the night sky. Twilight and Zecora both stared speechlessly as a flash of moonlight blazed through the clouds and a black silhouette rode the rays toward ground level.

This consisted of a figure in a spiked, bat-winged chariot pulled by two Theastrals.

The chariot bore down on the group, all of whom immediately cried out and back away except for Twilight and Naruto.

By the look on Zecora's face… it seemed this wasn't part of her plan.

The carriage had stopped above them, surprising Pinkie Pie. "Ah! It's Nightmare Moon! Run!" She screamed, taking the group with her.

The carriage now began heading towards town, causing them to see what was going on. The hooded figure jumped off from the carriage and landed in the center of everypony. Throwing off the hood, the figure was none other than… Princess Luna!

All the ponies immediately cowered in fear.

"Princess Luna!" Twilight announced heading towards her but was grabbed by Spike as he took her down with him, shushing her.

Princess Luna walked over to the ponies as her cape dissolved into bats. She spread her wings and looked down at a pony, causing that pony to cower ever more. She raised her hand towards them.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" Princess Luna spoke in a booming voice so loud that it almost pushed them away. "We have graced your tiny village with our presence so that you might behold the real princess of the night! A creature of nightmare is no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!" Lightning flashed as if to emphasis this statement.

Luna turned her attention to one of the ponies she recognized.

"Madame Mayor, the Princess of the Night hath arrived." She thrust a hand toward the Mayor, who sobbed in fear and covered her face. Luna did not notice this reaction for a moment, and it sat very badly with her when she did, and a bespectacled white mare in a devil cape, horns, and tail got a hand pointed at her next. Gasp, cower, cover the face. "What is the matter with you?" She got the same results with the others that remained and it began to annoy her. "Very well then. Be that way. We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell." She left with Naruto trailing after her.

"Princess…" They had come to a stop in front of a stature of Nightmare Moon. "That was an interesting entrance."

"It appears both our expectations failed tonight." Luna said as she continued to gaze at the reminder of her greatest mistake.

"Luna, it's simply the fear that Nightmare Night has inspired into the citizens. You remember how the celebration went right? I'm sure they didn't mean to upset you, it's just…" Naruto tried to find the words, but he was failing badly. What could he say to convince the princess. The sound of hooves drew his attention.

"Princess Luna?" Twilight called. "Hi I'm…"

"Star Swirl the Bearded." Princess Luna answered as she turned to face Twilight. "Commendable costume! Thou even got the bells right..."

"Thank you! Finally! Somepony who gets my costume!" Twilight realized that she had gotten off topic. "Uh, I just came to welcome you to our celebration! My actual name is..."

"Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna looked her over. Afterwards, she began flying as dark clouds and heavy winds formed around her. She spoke in a booming voice. "IT WAS THEE WHO UNLEASHED THE POWERS OF HARMONY UPON US AND BANISHED THE DARK SPECTAR THAT ONCE HUNTED MY MIND!"

The heavy winds were strong enough to almost blow them away.

"And that was a good thing, right?" Twilight asked, confused on account that Luna was yelling at near ear splitting intervals.

"BUT OF COURSE." She replied in her normal voice and placed her hooves back on the ground. "WE COULD NOT BE HAPPIER. IS THAT NOT CLEAR?"

"Well, you kinda sound like you're yelling at us…"

"But this is the traditional royal Canterlot voice! It is tradition to speak, using the royal 'we', and to use…" She began speaking in a booming voice again. "…THIS MUCH VOLUME WHEN ADDRESSING OUR SUBJECTS!"

"Probably why there were such mixed reactions." Naruto addressed. "Anyway, where did this come from all of a sudden? You hadn't used this before now?"

"The royal Canterlot voice requires a great deal of magical power and intent. We were not in proper conditioning to use it until now."

"Well if you wish to make things easier, we're going to have to go with a different approach."

"From what I understand, things have changed from your time. It might help if you change your approach a bit."

"CHANGE OUR APPROACH?" Princess Luna questioned in her booming voice, nearly sending Naruto flying off his feet.

"Lower the volume…?" Twilight added in a gentle and soft voice, praying that the princess wouldn't send her flying like Naruto was.

"Ohhh." Princess Luna responded, returning to her normal voice. "With so many changes, we have found it difficult to adjust."

"Well as long as you're willing to give it a try, we'll help you."

"I know the perfect pony for the job." Naruto stated with a grin as he beckoned both mares to follow him.

"And who might that be?" Princess Luna asked.

"Fluttershy." Naruto craned his head to speak with Luna. "You remember her right?"

"She is the bearer of Kindness, correct?"

"Yeah, she's also rather skittish. Don't take offense if she seems frightened of you Princess Luna. Fluttershy is not only shy, but is frightened rather easily, as long as you approach her with caution, everything should turn out ok."

"Very well, we shall try and show restraint."

They arrived at the cottage and Naruto knocked on the door. "Fluttershy, it's me. I brought some friends so don't be alarmed."

Fluttershy slowly opened the door and saw them. "It is you." She opened the door further to spot Princess Luna. "Oh, and …"

She let out a gasp upon seeing Luna and instantly closed the door shut.

Naruto sighed. "Sorry Princess, let me talk with her." He said as he entered the cottage and spotted Fluttershy hiding behind the couch. "Fluttershy…"

She screamed again but relaxed when she saw it was Naruto. "Oh Naruto…I…I'm sorry, its just…I don't like this holiday. I know you wanted to celebrate with all of us, but I just hate anything scary…and…and…" She was cut off as Naruto pulled her into a comforting hug and gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I won't let anything hurt you Fluttershy. I promise you that. Now listen, Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon are two separate beings. Luna is no longer controlled by her darkness, the Elements of Harmony saw to that. This is the same mare you saw during the celebration after the endless night was lifted. I know she can be scary, but she needs help. She needs your help. She wants the love and admiration of her citizens and part of that is her presenting herself in an approachable matter. That means lowering her volume and you of all ponies can help her with that."

"R-Really? The princess wants my help?" She couldn't believe that one of the Princesses would come to a nervous wreck of herself for help.

"Yeah, so no worries ok."

She took a deep breath. "Okay…" With that she let him lead her to the door.

"Princess Luna, you remember Fluttershy." He said as he stepped to the side to reveal the Pegasus.

"CHARMED." Princess Luna spoke in her booming voice.

Fluttershy immediately cowered in fear.

"Fluttershy…" He grabbed her hand and encouraged her. His presence was enough to help her calm down.

"Likewise…" She managed to say from her stammer.

"We were informed of the sweetness of thy voice. We ask thee, teachest us to speak as thee speaketh." If Luna knew the Royal Canterlot voice was going to be this much of a pain, she wouldn't have relearned it. She had spent so many years addressing nearly everypony and everyone with it, that by the time she finally had recovered enough to use it, she found it was nearly impossible to stop. It had become so second nature to her that she was using it without so much of a thought.

"Okay." She replied in a quiet voice.

"Shall our lessons begin?"

"Okay…" Fluttershy responded even quieter.

"Shall we mimic thy voice?"

"Yes, first you got to finish by gently applying gentle tones to your voice."

"How is this?" Princess Luna asked, keeping the same tone.

Despite being startled, Fluttershy held her ground. This was going to take a while. Twenty minutes into the lesson Fluttershy had gone over many exercises and suggestions for Luna to cycle through in terms of how she used said voice, the volume, and for what particular moments.

"Think of it as more like a whisper without having to put any force into it."

"How is...this?" Princess Luna asked, lowering her voice, but instead of ear splitting intensity, her volume was more like a loud call.

"Now adjust it more to how you would speak to a sleeping foal, but you're trying to wake that adorable little one up."

"How... about... now?" Princess Luna asked once more, almost reaching a normal speaking voice.

"Now you're getting it." Twilight praised.

"And... how about now?" Princess Luna finally spoke in a normal tone.

"Yes! Well done." Fluttershy congratulated her and let out a startled gasp when Princess Luna pulled her into a hug. Was she allowed to be this close to the princess?

"Ah, thank thee, dear Fluttershy!" Princess Luna spoke in a booming, but softer, voice as she hugged Fluttershy, who remained paralyzed from fear at the implications of what was happening. "Our normal speaking voice shall surely win us the hearts of thy fellow citizens."

"Fluttershy, you gotta hide us! Nightmare Moon is here and—" Pinkie trailed off into a shrill chicken squawk and a gasp, seeing Fluttershy sprawled bonelessly in Luna's arms. "She's stolen Fluttershy's voice so she can't scream when she GOBBLES HER UP!" She then bailed out, the others screaming and scattered in short order.

"NAY, CHILDREN, WAIT!" She called after them in her booming voice. After, she remembered the lesson and lowered her tone. "I mean... nay, children, wait."

Naruto couldn't help but be stunned, wondering just what in the world was up with Pinkie? She was laughter incarnate, so why in Equestria was she doing this?

"Come on, princess. Time for plan B."

Naruto turned to the Pegasus, helping her recover. "Hey Fluttershy, change of plans, we're going to be helping Luna's image with Ponyville. You willing to help us right?"

"Of course." She answered as Naruto turned his attention back to Luna.

"Princess we know just who to go to next to fix this situation. " Traveling from the cottage area they made their way back into town. "Rarity is the best when it comes to styling ponies with amazing garments! This is her boutique, Carousel Boutique!"

The four of them were now standing at the door in front of said building.

"GO AWAY! NO CANDIES HERE, PREPARATION ISN'T FINISHED YET!" Rarity's cultured voice could be heard shouting from inside along with shuffling.

"Aww, and here I thought you would be happy to greet me after my absence." Naruto responded with a cheeky grin as the shuffling from inside came to a stop.

There was a pause. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Depends, you want to come and find out?" He furthered teased.

The door to the boutique was opened, revealing Rarity. Before Naruto could even say a word, he found himself being kissed senseless.

Reactions varied.

Luna raised an eyebrow in interest. This was different from the Rarity that she had occasional noticed from the blond's dreams.

Fluttershy let out an 'oh my' as Twilight merely gaped at the action, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Should we come back later?"

Rarity to her embarrassment broke the kiss. "Forgive my rudeness darlings, I have overlooked your presence. Twilight and Fluttershy, this is quite a surprise and Princess Luna as well." She paused, her face playing out the information she just digested. "If you'll give me one moment." The door promptly closed.

"When she's done freaking out in excitement, I'm sure she'll let us in." Naruto explained as he looked at the door. As expected, Rarity had invited them in and dragged Naruto off to another room.

Naruto sat patiently and listened as Rarity went off on one of her little tangents. "…And dressing up a princess is a huge possibility… If I don't do it properly, it could be The! Worst! Possible! Thing!" She finished with an overly dramatic pose.

"Which is why I brought her to you, my little fashionista." He said as he dragged a hesitant Rarity out of the kitchen, ensuring her that she wouldn't be vanished to a dungeon if the Princess didn't like her outfit.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Rarity had begun and was now finishing Luna's makeover. "I'll just add a little more ribbon here and…done. Now you look… um…"

Luna was now dolled up in a completely pink ensemble. It admittedly looked nice, but it was not her. It looked more befitting of a comedic performance, not the elegant and graceful Alicorn princess of the night.

"Rarity, what happened?" Twilight whispered to the mare, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"I panicked." She replied with a whimper.

"Yeah, about that not being sent to the dungeon thing." Naruto unhelpfully added before Luna cut in.

"Though this is a very marvelous dress, we cannot wear this in public," Luna apologized. "We'll have to take this off."

Naruto turned to Rarity. "You did your best Rare, but I suppose since we appeared on short notice, we can't blame you."

"RARITY! YOU GOT TO HIDE US!" A familiar voice came. Everypony present pivoted their heads to peer at the sight of Pinkie, Pip, and their posse to pop in the place. "Nightmare Moon just gobbled up Fluttershy's voice and…" She let off a gasp.

"Pinkie hold it right there!" He had caught the mare by the wrist, stopping her from screaming and sending the fillies and colts into a tizzy. "We'll be right back." Naruto ensured them before he and Pinkie disappeared in a swirl of wind. "Okay let's talk, what's with all the freaking out on Princess Luna?"

"Whatcha talking about Narry?" She asked as her trade mark grin formed on her face.

"You keep calling Princess Luna Nightmare Moon and exciting the kids up in a frenzy. Luna is trying to improve her image to the town and what you're doing is not healthy." After his explanation Pinkie let out a gasp.

"Oh no, I thought you had asked her."

"Ask her? Ask her what?"

"About pretending to be Nightmare Moon and scaring us of course. Nightmare Night is so much fun, what other way to make it better than having the Princess of the Night come and scare us herself? Duuh!"

He had completely forgotten about that. That explains Pinkie's uncharacteristic behavior. "So it was a misunderstanding? Let's explain it to Luna then."

By the time they had returned, Luna was sulking off to the side with Twilight and Rarity trying to cheer her up. He glanced around. "Kids scream and ran off?" He asked as the two mares simply nodded.

"Oh Princess Luna I am so sorry. I thought Narry told you about the fun idea of you scaring us for Nightmare Night. I didn't mean to be so mean and make everypony scared of you." Pinkie was practically in tears at the thought that her actions were making somepony else unhappy.

"We accept your apologizes Pinkie Pie." How could she bear a grudge against one of the ponies who saved her? "Still the matter of the foals who are frightened of our presence remains an issue."

"But they love it when you scare them Princess. Honest. If you come to town and celebrate it with us you will, love, love, love it."

"If that's the case, all we have to do is give the town a scare they'll never forget." Twilight concluded with a grin.

Many of the residents, young and old had brought candies to the Nightmare Moon statue near the edge of town. Ever since her reveal, a statue had been chiseled and set up in order to add some more authenticity to the town's traditions.

"Citizens of Ponyville! You were wise to bring these candies to me. I am pleased with your offering. So pleased that I may just eat it... instead of eating you!" Nightmare Moon's statue came alive and immediately sending many of the gathering ponies running as they screamed in fright. The aura of the Lunar princess swirled around her as she took on her true taste. Princess Luna removed the fangs from her teeth as Twilight came out from the bushes.

"And you are all certain this shall work?" Princess Luna wondered.

"Just wait." Twilight replied, confidently.

"For what?" Princess Luna questioned as she jumped off of the platform. "For... for them to scream some more?"

Pipsqueak had come by and tugged at Princess Luna's dress "Um... Princess Luna." She turned her head to face him. "Do you think you could come by again next year and scare us some more?"

She turned her head to see the other fillies hiding behind the bush, but also listening to hear her decision. "Child. Art thee saying that thee... likest me to scare you?"

"It's really fun! Scary, but fun."

"It... is?" Princess Luna questioned, surprised.

"Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year!"

"Well then." Princess Luna replied, bringing a smile to her face. "We shall have to make it a tradition to come and scare my little ponies every…" She began speaking in a booming voice, once again. "…Nightmare Night!"

"Whoa!" Pipsqueak exclaimed as he was pushed back by the voice of the Princess. "You're my favorite princess ever!" He quickly bowed before her and fled back to his friends. "She said yes guys!"

"YAY!" The children yelled, bringing a smile to their face as well.

"See Princess Luna. All it took was some time, everypony will come around." Naruto told her.

"Can it be true?" She rose up and shouted. "OH, MOST WONDERFUL OF..!" She lowered herself and realized she had been yelling again. "I mean... Oh, most wonderful of nights."

With that the festivities were in full swing. The group made their way towards the apple bobbing station the Apple farmer was managing. Said mare had to catch Pipsqueak before he took a dive into the bucket.

After Pipsqueak ran off, she turned around to see Princess Luna. "Well howdy there Princess. Heard ya' early the youngin's a mighty fine fright earlier. Hadn't seen them so elated in quite a while."

"Evening fair Applejack, we have come to join the festivities."

"Well then yer majesty, knock yourself out." Applejack said as Luna raised an eyebrow and turned to Twilight.

"It's an expression." She explained to which Luna nodded and mouthed 'oh.'

After having her fill of apples, she wanted to try her hand at some of the games.

"Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?" She asked as she was led to a bowl of fake spiders.

"Try to land the sp-sp-spiders on the web." A pony, dressed in a bumble bee costume, announced nearby as she continued to cower.

The Princess grabbed a spider and aimed towards the web. She gave a light throw which resulted in the spider landing a few inches away from the web. She looked back at the group with some worry in her eyes as if she thought she might have done the wrong thing.

"You can do it, princess!" Applejack encouraged.

Princess Luna returned a bold look and took another shot, throwing the spider harder. This time it landed straight in the middle. "Ha! Your princess enjoys this matter of 'fun!'" She spoke in a slightly excited tone. "In what other ways may we experience it?"

The others shared a look and smile. It looked like they were finally making progress.

Applejack led them towards another station where pumpkins were fired from a catapult.

"Fire away princess!" Twilight shouted as Princess Luna loaded a pumpkin onto the catapult.

She pulled back the catapult and released her hands from it, allowing the catapult to fire the pumpkin. It shot upwards and landed directly on the painted target. "Ha ha! The fun has been doubled!" Other ponies had gathered around to notice the not so terrifying princess and cheered.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the Princess's statement. Her whole matter and even her way of speaking were rather…cute. Naruto shook away the thought wondering where that stray thought came from.

"If ya find yerself hankering something princess, why not try out some candied apples? Sweetie Drops and I don't combine our products often, so they tend to sell out quite fast."

"I ask that thou call us... me... Luna, fair Applejack." She responded and began announcing to the other ponies. "Hear me, villagers! All of you! Call me Luna!"

A cheer erupted among the ponies in the town.

Princess Luna had begun to truly enjoy herself. The children even returned to her to give her more candy. Princess Luna especially continued to frighten ponies in good fun. One pony, who was dressed as a mouse, was about to bob for an apple when Princess Luna suddenly emerged from the water and scared her. The pony jumped back in fear, but once she saw Princess Luna eating an apple as she hung her arms over the tub, they all shared a laugh.

Suddenly the sound of electricity crackle, followed by the sound of Rainbow Dash screaming and flying away rapidly. Princess Luna descended down to the group as she lay on a dark cloud. She winked at the group and she smiled. Then she began laughing which eventually led to the others joining her.

"Tonight's events were truly wondrous. Your suggestion has led to such a wonderful time."

Naruto smiled in response to Luna's statement. "I'm glad I suggested it then." Everything simply just felt right.

"Well, we're really glad that you enjoyed Nightmare Night with us Luna!" Twilight expressed.

"Indeed, we look forward to future festivities. We have enjoyed all of your company. You really showed me how we have friends, and will be looking forward to the next time. Until then my little ponies farewell." She waved them all good bye as she took to the sky. "Goodnight and have a happy Nightmare Night." She was soon enveloped by her aura and disappeared in an echoing crackle.

With that, the group said their goodbyes as everypony who planned on turning in for the night broke away from the group while others left to help finish the festivities. Naruto in particular had left home to go and set up things for the late night movie marathon. The night was far from over and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

Images by gunpowdergreentea For the Pinkie Pie one.