1055 AD, October 31st

The streets just outside the gilded gates leading to Canterlot Castle were usually empty on regular days. It was a common joke amongst the Royal Guard that being on patrol there and expecting trouble was equivalent to expecting water to freeze in a fireplace.

However, on one particular night, thing were considerably more interesting.

Nightmare Night was perhaps one of the few instances where nobility put aside their dignity and hierarchal status to put on bright fabrics and numerous accessories, and fill the streets with their numbers.

Many would attempt to defend their honour by saying that they did so to make Princess Luna feel appreciated rather than possessing any foalish urge to consume sweets by the bucket-full and shout ‘blargh’ in their rivals’ faces.

Those very same ponies would then proceed to consume sweets by the bucket-full and shout ‘blargh’ in their rivals’ faces.

Though there may have been a few pessimists who feared that if they didn’t celebrate they’d be treated to an alicorn’s envy and wrath, many of Canterlot’s populace that showed up at the festival near Canterlot Castle were there because they genuinely enjoyed the night and the beauty it brought, and were genuinely grateful to its curator.

So it was amongst the crowded streets where Haze found himself grumbling, and picking at his itchy mummified pony costume. Fade travelled alongside him, covered in fake blood and sores with a t-shirt reading, ‘Brains – here, now’. He preoccupied himself by stuffing as much cotton candy and caramel apples into his maw as he could.

“Whoo!” Hopped up from the sugar rush, Fade gave Haze an unexpected shove. “Get pumped for Nightmare Night!”

“I can scarcely believe you can stomach such food,” Haze turned green as Fade plunged an apple into the cotton candy and pulled it back out to merrily munch on it. “Oh dear, I believe I am going to faint…”

“Gotta build up my energy, don’t I?” Fade nudged him again, albeit softer. “We got music, food, drinks, and in a few hours we’re gonna be having the fight of our lives!”

Fade opened his mouth to take another bite of the cotton candy-ized apple only for a silver aura to suddenly enshroud it and force it almost all the way down his throat. His eyes lit up in surprise as he turned to his friend with a questioning grunt.

“For Faust’s sake, if you’re going to talk about that, then limit it to telepathy!” Haze quickly nodded politely as a guard patrol walked by. “I doubt Nightmare Moon will be very pleased if we were captured for treason before the battle even started.”

Fade gave a series of inarticulate grunts. Haze rolled his eyes and magically pulled the apple free.

“-chill out; you might as well get as much relaxation and fun in now in case things go down in flames,” He curled his feathers around the hovering apple’s stick and blissfully resumed chewing on it. “All this stress isn’t good for unicorns, right? Something to do with their spells?”

“You do bring up a good point,” Haze discreetly let his magic pulse steadily throughout his body, a relaxation technique taught to him by his mother. “We’ve been training for this, but I must admit I can’t help but feel anxious. We’ve been training ourselves to the bone, but the task of taking down an…” He broke concentration as he turned and gave the pegasus a strange look. “Hold on a moment – why did that apple in your mouth block your telepathy?”

Fade shrugged, disinterested. “I dunno. Magic?”

“But…”

“Sweet – they got DJ Pon-3 to play!” Like a child on a sugar craze, Fade zipped off towards the stage, a crowd already gathering.

Haze let out a long-suffering sigh and followed, ears flattened against his skull in annoyance.

The presence of DJ Pon-3 was rather unusual considering most ponies living in this section of Canterlot were more comfortable with classical tunes, but seeing as Luna had an affinity for that ‘techno’ noise, he supposed it seemed appropriate.

Veil rested on a bed of clouds above the concert, a half-eaten apple in her hoof. With sharp eyes, she scanned the framework of streets and buildings, watching ponies shuffle about like multi-coloured ants.

Mother Faust, she hated them sometimes.

Veil briefly thought back to a time when her parents would tan her hide raw for saying such things. Eventually, she learned to simply think it, though that didn’t stop her from earning a clip around the ears and a lecture when she became cold and incensed to everypony that spoke to her.

Leaving Appleloosa was a dream come true.

Her parents had protested, but ultimately recognized their little filly had grown up and was capable of making her own decisions. There were tears in their eyes, but their tones were strong and prideful as they waved her off.

The pangs of loneliness and regret cut through her icy demeanour the first night away from home.

In an altruistic and close-knitted town like Appleloosa, helping one another without expecting anything in return was simply the norm. A pony who didn’t follow those norms was considered a pariah, an outcast.

Veil was such a pony and she knew her parents had some problems because of it, had their parenting skills called into question. None of the claims were true; they were wonderful parents, and she loved them to bits.

She just had trouble showing it, just as she had trouble caring and sympathising for anypony else.

The doctors called it a ‘condition’, an abnormality in the brain. They said there was no present cure.

Veil scoffed and gnashed into her apple. “Cure it. Give me a break.”

There was nothing wrong with her.

So she had difficulty forming relationships and considering somepony’s feelings – so what? When was being a goody-four-horseshoes a requirement for life?

She had a tolerable job that paid well, she was healthy, and she had the most adorable tabby that liked to drink out of the toilet no matter how many sarcastic remarks she threw at her. The fact that she didn’t immediately make friends with everypony she met simply meant that she was surer of the ones who were her friends. After all, if they could put up with her verbal barbs and general disdain towards her fellow equine then they were more worthy of her company.

So in a way, her asociality approach was better.

That was why she joined the Eclipse.

She may not have originally believed in the Eclipse’s idea that Nightmare Moon would return to lead them – when she first saw the black alicorn she had only barely supressed a startled curse – but their ideals were something she agreed with one hundred percent.
Equestria was too reliant on the whole ‘friendship solves everything’ ideology; not everything could be charmed and talked down.

She didn’t mind joy and happiness, but when it started to be the only thing that defined Equestria and shaped society then it made it very hard to solve problems diplomatically when force would be a better solution.

Veil rolled onto her back, wings splayed as she gazed out into the starry sky, picking out the few constellations she knew.

The griffon kingdom wasn’t the sugar-bowl Equestria was, but it wasn’t as if it was plunging into chaos. Their economy was rich and stable, the majority of the populace was happy, and if they couldn’t solve anything with words then they simply needed to point out their substantial military. They never needed the personification of harmony to ‘pacify’ their enemies.

‘Come to think of it, the Elements never really ‘pacify’ anything. They banished Luna to the moon, they failed to exonerate Nightmare Moon fully, they can only turn Discord to stone… hell, they pretty much only provide a short-term solution and leave the actual solving to everypony. It really is a weapon.’

It was a non-lethal weapon, but a weapon nonetheless. And if the Elements failed then Equestria had to resort to their practically non-existent military force. The Royal Guard was the only considerable force she knew of and they failed spectacularly against the changelings.

‘It really is better this way. Nature is cruel; trying to solve problems peacefully is nice, but I don’t think it should be our only plan. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.’

She took a bite of the apple and hit the core. Spitting out one or two seeds, she casually tossed it over the edge of the cloud and placed her forelegs behind her head, using them as a cushion as she chewed slowly, watching the twinkling dots scattered across the night sky.

‘Still, I never guessed I’d play a part in something like this. I wonder what mom and dad would say…’

The answer came to her instantly and she shook her head to get rid of creeping doubts and guilt. It was too late to back out now.

In the middle of Ponyville Square, Twilight watched as Spike fished out one apple out of a bucket after another – much to the other participants’ envy – when her attention was caught by a familiar voice.

“Hey, Twilight!”

“Rainbow-?” Twilight stared in shock as the cyan pegasus trotted up to her, a familiar orange filly at her side. “What are you doing out here? You should be resting.”

“Pfft, I’m totally fine,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Besides, how could I miss out seeing what lame costume you chose to wear this time?”

Anger momentarily replacing her initial shock and concern, Twilight glared, and then smirked victoriously as she spread out her wings, tilting her head high with pride.

“Ha! Well, prepare to be sorely mistaken! This is one of my finest costumes yet, if I do say so myself.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, amused. “Really now?”

“Really,” Twilight turned to the side, fully showing off the dark colours of her robe and long cape. “For I am Swirling Impact, the very first necromancer.”

Rainbow Dash cringed, for that was pretty badass. Much better than Beardswirl the Started or whatever his name was. Still, her pride wouldn’t let her admit defeat, at least not so easily, and especially not in front of Scootaloo.

“Meh,” She played it off with a casual shrug. “Pretty cool, I guess. It’s still pretty nerdy though.”

“Oh, and your zombie pony costume is so original.” Twilight snarked.

Rainbow Dash’s cheeks darkened when the retort wrought a laugh out of the filly by her side. Twilight was besting her at witty remarks so naturally her ego chalked it up to still being woozy from her injuries.

“Let’s just agree to disagree,” She quickly said before turning to ruffle Scootaloo’s mane affectionately. “Anyway, I know I’m still not exactly one hundred percent, so I got Scoots here to help out with my Nightmare Night pranking spree.”

“We just pranked Rarity,” Scootaloo snickered deviously. “She really doesn’t like spiders.”

“That’s why you’re dressed as one?” Twilight observed.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “One of the reasons; the other reason involves paint, sneezing powder, peanut butter, and a fan. Hey, totally unrelated question, but are you allergic to peanut butter?”

“… No.”

“Okay, cool.”

Twilight cocked one eyebrow at the two pegasi’s less than stellar poker-faces. Their intention to prank her was obvious, but she couldn’t bring herself to call them out. It was nice to see Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo spend time together. The filly’s parents were almost constantly busy with their jobs; they could afford to have dinner together, but little else.

Shaking her head in bemusement, Twilight said, “Alright, you two have fun. Try not to push yourself too hard, okay?”

“Yeah, no worries. Scoots is here to watch my back, ain’t that right?”

Scootaloo giggled and nodded her head, beaming with pride. “You know it!”

“That’s my sis’!” Rainbow Dash ruffled the small filly’s mane again and nonchalantly dipped her head in Twilight’s direction. “Oh, I think Spike’s having some trouble by the way.”

“What?” Twilight looked over her shoulder, eyes widening when she saw Spike was sitting on the ground, struggling to close his mouth around a literal bushel of apples. “Oh, Spike! How did you even…? Ugh, hold still.”

“Keep it cool, you two!” Rainbow Dash laughed a little at the display before turning to leave with her surrogate sister. “Hey, who should we prank first – Applejack, Big Mac, or Zecora?”

“I’ve never seen Zecora get pranked before,” Scootaloo said. “It’s like she’s one step ahead or something.”

“She’s almost as crafty as Pinkie. Still…” Rainbow Dash smirked confidently. “There’s two of us and one of her; I think we’ll get her this Nightmare Night. What do you say?” She held out her uninjured wing. “You ready for some pranking?”

With an excited grin, Scootaloo lifted her own small wing and slapped Rainbow Dash’s. “You bet I am!”

Hanging out with her idol was gonna be a blast!

“Star Secret, are you feeling okay?”

“Of course,” Nightmare Moon replied smoothly, even going so far as to giving a small smile full of reassurance. “Why do you ask?”

“You seem…” Celestia pursed her lips in thought, but just as quickly, she shook her head. “Never mind - my apologies. You just looked a little agitated for a second.”

“Oh, I’m fine…” Nightmare Moon reached up to push back the hood of her black cloak. “It’s just a little hot with this is all.”

Satisfied with the answer, Celestia nodded in acknowledgement and turned to converse with her sister, occasionally looking down to make sure nopony was trying to steal her cake.

In honour of Nightmare Night, the members of the Royal Court and the princesses were having a late dinner together. It was suggested by Celestia a year ago and Nightmare Moon found it to be a complete waste of time.

If they had been sharing secrets and information which she could use, then fine, but no, it was just a boring get-together where all they shared were laughs and jokes.

‘How in the world do my associates manage to make these interesting?’

This particular get-together was especially tedious, but that was probably because Nightmare Moon was legitimately antsy.

She wasn’t nervous, she was shaking with anticipation; her plan was to come into effect within a few hours and her muscles were primed to fight.

After so long, her patience and planning was to finally be rewarded.

However, she couldn’t afford to be so obvious in her anticipation; Celestia had just brought attention to it. To take her mind of things, she decided to complain about the costume she was wearing.

She intended to be cosplaying as the Grim Reaper, but the cloak she bought was at a Nightmare Night discount, so of course it would be the worst piece of fabric in the entirety of Equestria.

Really, she should have expected it would be bad when Ebony took note of it and asked – in a tone that held an enormous amount of revulsion and horrified awe – if she actually planned to wear that.

“It doesn’t matter what I wear, so long as it’s a costume.”

Ebony grimaced as if she had ingested something foul. “O-okay, if you’re sure…”

Fade trotted by and did a double-take, face falling in horror. “Oh Faust, what is that thing trying to eat your body, boss? Did Discord’s shit take a shit?”

One of her few regrets…

She discreetly scratched at her side and listened to the other end of the table, where Blue Diamond was trying his hoof at telling a scary story.

In the middle of a crowded room.

A brightly lit one.

With two powerful princesses a few feet away.

Points for trying, Nightmare Moon supposed, but the only one it was scaring was Tinshot, the First Representative, and she was skittish to begin with.

Or maybe it was because Blue Diamond’s Slendermane costume was of high-quality.

‘Why couldn’t I have worn something like that?’

“… so then the door creaked open ever so slowly…” Blue Diamond gave his best evil grin. The only reason it was even somewhat effective was all due to the make-up that gave him a deathly pale complexion. “And then the mare screamed because the masked killer had a phone… and the call was coming from underneath her bed!”

Tinshot gasped in fright while the other Representatives who had been listening simply looked incredibly confused and disappointed.

Noticing this, Blue Diamond huffed and said, “Well, let’s see you guys come up with a better ghost story.”

“Normally, ghost stories are told around a campfire,” Nightmare Moon pointed out dryly. “And they are consistent in narrative.”

“How about you give it a shot?” Blue Diamond challenged with a fold of his forelegs.

Normally, Nightmare Moon would have declined, but her pride demanded she rise to the challenge, mostly because she did know a pretty good ghost story and she had to pass the time somehow.

“Alright then…” She nodded once. “Here’s a tale from Griffon lore…”

In her peripheral vision, Nightmare Moon saw Celestia and Luna turn their attention to her. Luna seemed particularly interested; it was no surprise she had a penchant for scary stories.

Once the table was silent, she began.

It was only a few years after Discord’s defeat. I believe it was… 26 AD, if memory serves correctly. The Griffon Kingdom was on the cusp of entering their first civil war and a small town named Cristcad was caught in the middle. Cristcad wasn’t the wealthiest of settlements and neither was it the poorest. It was – like its place in the war – somewhere in the middle, which suited a young hen named Agostina just fine. She was content with her life and that was enough.

One day, Agostina went into the woods surrounding the village to pick some berries; her blueberry pies were considered a delicacy, and it was something she took pride in. She ventured a little further than the other times because she spotted a lush blueberry bush. As she picked the berries, she felt a… chill.

Not like a gust of wind or a shadow passing over here, but like she had been splashed with cold water. Startled, she turned, but saw nothing. Realizing she had strayed far, Agostina quickly gathered the berries and ran back to the village. The rest of the day went on as normal, as did the next few days after that, and the young hen dismissed the strange event as the product of an over-active imagination.
The young hen would only realize something was wrong when she took a bite of her blueberry pie one sunny morning.

It didn’t taste the quite the same. This confused her because she had made it exactly the same way as she usually did. She made another pie. This one… had no taste whatsoever. Slightly concerned, she went to the village healer. The village healer found nothing wrong with her physically and suggested she turn in early for the night. Agostina heeded the words of the village healer and, when the sun was just about setting, went to bed.

Agostina woke up to darkness. Griffons could see a little in the dark, so she could make out most of her surroundings. She was in her room, naturally, and her internal clock told her it was still night. Feeling parched, Agostina tried to get up, but found her limbs would not respond. No matter how hard she tried, her body would not obey.

So she laid there, in the dark, wondering what was going on. She could hear the sounds of the night; crickets chirped, owls hooted, and the night air blew through an open window. The open window frightened Agostina because she swore she had closed it prior to going to bed. She half-expected someone to climb in, but the night went on and on, and the only thing that happened was the sun rising. After that, Agostina found she could move again.

Immediately, she returned to the village healer, who created a salve made from herbs. He warned Agostina of the unpleasant smell before smearing it across her neck and underneath her wings. Agostina said she couldn’t smell a thing. The village healer was concerned, but told her to rest and to come back if it got worse. Wrought with worry and fear for her life, Agostina returned to her home.

When she got home and closed the door behind her, her vision was besmirched by a veil of black. It lasted only a second, but Agostina then found herself in the kitchen, laying knives and forks all over. Terrified, she quickly cleaned up, and ran back to her room. She got into bed and threw the covers over herself, trying to shut out everything and hope that things would be better. She fell asleep shortly.

When she woke up, everything was black. She threw the covers off her body and found it was still black. She assumed it was night… at least until the sounds of villagers going about their day reached her ears. Agostina had lost her vision.

Panicked, Agostina stumbled around blindly, terror gripping her heart when she realized she couldn’t feel anything either. She could hear the sound of furniture being knocked over and her own heavy breathing, but that was all. She tried to scream, but it was cut off a second after it began; her voice had been stolen along with her sense of taste, sight, touch, and smell.

Agostina silently wailed and screamed as she thrashed around, unable to tell where she was. The thumping of her heart almost deafened her and there was a horrid dripping noise that grew louder and faster with each passing second. Agostina flailed and struggled and kicked and shrieked until sound left her as well.

The next morning, concerned neighbours entered her home to discover a grisly sight.

Agostina was lying in the kitchen in a pool of her own blood, her expression one of panic and confusion. Knives and forks were strewn about, covered in her life essence; she had run into them, unaware of the damage being done to her body until it was too late.

“It was unknown why she had left so many sharp objects out in the open or what exactly she had been afflicted with, but the civil war was beginning and eventually, Agostina faded from the locals’ minds.”

Nightmare Moon looked around the table, immensely pleased to see almost everypony was looking quite pale – make-up aside – and incredibly uncomfortable. Tinshot looked almost comatose. Celestia looked down at her cake, pushed it away a few inches, tilted her head in thought, and then dragged it back.

The only pony who didn’t seem affected was Luna.

“Ooh, that tale sent shivers down my spine!” Luna clapped her hooves in glee. “Would you mind if I borrowed that to tell the citizens of Ponyville later?”

“Feel free to do so.”

The others continued dinner in silence, occasionally talking but obviously rattled. Nightmare Moon took satisfaction in their reactions. She figured that the scariest stories were the ones with just enough realism to conflict with the supernatural element.

Was Agostina truly haunted by something or was she afflicted by some disease?

Fear of the unknown often kept one awake at night.

“Where did you hear that story?” Celestia asked in a low voice that reflected how impressed she was. “Griffon lore you said, right?”

“It’s not a commonly-known tale,” Nightmare Moon answered, levitating her fork to impale a stalk of celery on her dish. “I only learned it because my mother kept some old tomes from when her grandfather travelled the world.”

“Your grandfather sounds like an interesting stallion. Not many would travel the world; there’s all sorts of dangerous creatures out there.”

Nightmare Moon smiled and nodded. “Oh yes there is…”

Author's Notes:

Note 1: The tale Nightmare Moon told is called Agostina and the Paralyzing Darkness. The tale has transformed over time and there are multiple versions of it, but the main elements - Agostina, sense deprivation, darkness - are all there. Many believe the tale to be true as there is a plant that grows in the Griffon Kingdom which robs griffons of their senses, albeit temporarily.

The tale holds a special place in Nightmare Moon's heart...

Note 2: "Telepathy? Oh, don't even get me started on that! Just because we can put memories into gems doesn't mean we're any closer to sending thoughts to one another; I wish ponies would understand that. Yes, it's one thing for a unicorn to send their thoughts over some distance, but don't expect another unicorn - even a family member or lover - to consciously pick up those thoughts without getting a magical backlash. A unicorn's magical aura simply doesn't play nice with others; you're risking a headache at best! Besides, trying to make sense of another's thought process is also out of our league. If you could somehow implant a piece of your magic into another, then maybe telepathy will work, but until then..." - Quote from Professor Hail Blind, Interview with a Thaumaturgist.