A Second Life: Chapter 5: Nightmare Night

>It was bucking freezing up here in Luna’s chariot.

>You still were having trouble keeping yourself from laughing at p0nies pulling chariots for p0nies.

>How she talked you into coming along to this “P0nyville” for some festival was beyond you.

>Well, she was pretty persuasive when she wanted. A better question was how Celestia agreed to this.

“Exactly what is going on again?”

>You looked over at her new form, what she called "Nightmare moon"

>She was larger, her body more like Celestia's, wearing some sort of armor on her head, her coat black as night

>Luna rolled he eyes, “For the fifth time Anonymous, this is a festival somewhat in my honor, called Nightmare night.”

“And everyp0ny goes around scaring one another for candy?”

>”More or less. I have a few friends in P0nyville, I want you to meet them. Also, I was thinking about having you play along with a prank.”

>On the horizon you could see a few lights shimmer, signaling you must be close to the town.

“What’s the plan?”

>”Would you act like a… demon? Speak in your language, act angry. That’ll get a good rise out of them.”

“That’s cruel Luna. Of course I’ll help.”

>You could have sworn Luna just squee’d.

>”Oh wonderful! Here, place this around your neck. It will seem more realistic this way.”

>She levitated a metal collar around your neck, clasping it shut.

>It was tight, but not unbearable.

“I didn’t realize collars whips and chains were your thing Luna.”

>You gave her a quick wink, forcing her to blush in the soft moonlight.

>”You and your jokes Anonymous.” she leaned over, kissing your cheek as the chariot slowed, hovering above the town.

>Well, fuck physics once again.

>Brain: Dude, you’ve been around magical talking p0nies for almost 3 months and you’re still commenting on physics?

>Yeah yeah brain, shut up.

>Luna clasped the other end of the chain leash to her hoof as the chariot descended, landing softly in the center of the town.

>She stepped out, giving a yank to the chain and speaking in Equestrian. “Out demon!”

>A purple unicorn stepped closer, giving a bow. “Princess Luna, what in Equestria is THAT!”

>”Hello Twilight Sparkle, this is a demon from Tartaus, I have made it my pet. Say hello, demon.”

>You eyed the  crowd, spotting the closest p0ny to you, which happened to be Twilight, seeing as she stepped closer to inspect you.

>You lunged at her stopping just a few feet short as the chain snapped taught.

>Twilight gave a small squeak, jumping back, her horn glowing.

>”Now Twilight, there will be no need for that. Should A- the demon get loose, I will be more than capable than taking care of him.”

“So confident you can capture me Luna?”

>you spoke in English, as Luna asked.

>She gave a small smile, somehow hiding it from the rest of the p0nies.

>”Don’t get cocky demon, no p0ny can escape that collar.”

>Twilight’s face lit up in amazement, “You can understand it?”

>Luna gave a nod, “But enough of this demon, let the festival commence!”

“NAY! LET THE HUNT COMMENCE!”

>This time you spoke Equestian, shocking everyp0ny around you, including Luna.

>You reached behind the collar, unclasping it with ease and tackling Luna to the ground and whispering in her ear.

“Catch me if you can.”

>You bolted off through the town, the sound of a stampede of hooves  already behind you.

>You’re longer legs gave you quite the advantage, as did the black cloak Luna had made for this night in particular.

>You dove left down a street then immediately took a right down a dark alley.

>The crowd rushed by, save for one p0ny, that peered down the alley.

>The light made it hard to distinguish features, but what you could make out was a… cowboy hat?

“H-h-hello? Mr. Demon? You aren’t in there are you?”

>This was like a horror movie unfolding right before your eyes, as the p0ny walked into the darkness.

>Silently you gripped the rope off a nearby cart, and watched as the pink p0ny crept by.

>With a quick sweep of your leg, you knocked her off her hooves, quickly hog tying her legs together as best you could.

>”HAY! SOMEP0NY HELP ME!”

>This p0ny had a set of lungs and a thick county accent that nearly busted your eardrums.

>The sound of hooves was approaching fast, and the only way you could go was up.

>You climbed on top of the cart, careful to not tip it over, and leapt to the roof nearby, and listened for the result of your shenanigans.

>”Apple Jack! Are you ok?”

>”Nuthin hurt but mah pride Rainbow Dash. That demon is tricky!”

>”You see where it went?”  

>”Up on the roof, be careful if you go up there.”

>”Yeah yeah, watch and learn Apple Jack.”

>A Pegasus floated up to you, looking down still talking to her friend.

>Her eyes almost went completely white as you gripped her tail and chucked her into a group of p0nies down below

>With the p0nies in complete disarray you took off like a ninja across the roof tops, the sounds of clopping hooves becoming more and more distant.

>Like Ezio, you jumped from the next roof top, disappearing inside a haystack on the side of the main road.

>”I think he went this way!”

>That sounded like Twilight

>You poked a small hole in the haystack, looking down the dark street.

>Damn you were good, Twilight had illuminated the path ahead of her, keeping close to the Princess.

>”I just don’t know what went wrong Twilight. He seemed peaceful at the castle.”

>Good, Luna was still in character.

>”Princess, forgive me but you brought a DEMON from Tartarus. How did this seem like a good idea?”

>Just as they passed, you sprang out, drawing Luna into the haystack, your hand over her mouth.

>Without a word, she teleported the two of you into a lone cloud above as Twilight swung around.

>”P-p-p-princess? Where did you go?”

>She was slowly backing down the road, her horn glowing brighter.

>You whispered into Luna’s ear, and she nodded, taking you up in her aura and lowering you down head first.

>Feeling like your local neighborhood superhero, you dropped behind Twilight, your timing was perfect.

>Twilight spun around freezing at the sight of the demon, upside down suspended in mid air.

“Boo.”

>Twilight shrieked and took off down the street, while luna released her magical grasp over you, her hooves doing their best to keep her from laughing.

>You dropped down to the ground ninjaing over to the next dark alley way.

>It seemed most of the p0nies had gone into hiding, leaving you to creep around for about 15 minutes.

>”There it is! Git it!”

>There was that country twang again, she must have gotten loose of her bindings

>you took off down the road, with the p0ny hot on your tail.

>You looked back momentarily to check where she was, turning back to a face full of p0ny, the flying kind with a rainbow mane.

>You landed on your back with an oof, Rainbow Dash bolting off just as a purple bubble  formed around you.

>”We caught you now demon!”

“Heh, so you did. Good job Twilight Sparkle.”

>”Quiet demon, what did you do with Princess Luna?”

>”I’m right here Twilight Sparkle.”

>Luna was sitting a cloud above her, looking down at the trio.

>”I would appreciate if you let Anonymous go, this was simply an elaborate ruse.”

>”A… prank?”

“Sure was.”

>There was a long silence before Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack burst into laughter, calling everp0ny out of their homes.

>”So, you aren’t trying to kill us?” Twilight asked as she released you, stepping closer very slowly to inspect you again. “And you aren’t a demon from Tartarus?”

“No Twilight, Luna and I just wanted to prank the town. My name is Anonymous, a pleasure to meet a friend of Luna’s”

>She came within reach, and you knelt down, extending your hand and petting her mane.

>She flinched, but didn’t run. In fact, she even gave a small smile.

“Now, let’s get this Nightmare Night started!”

>The town cheered, seeming to accept you fairly well with the exception of a few p0nies that seemed angry at the whole ordeal.

>Soon enough, games were in full swing, colts and fillies were running around gathering candy in costumes of all sorts of things.

>There was a ninja, a zombie, a mummy, a pirate.

>A mint green Unicorn came walking up unsteadily on her hind legs, alongside an off white colored pony with a purple and blue mane.

>”Look Anonymous! I’m you!”

>You couldn’t help but give a laugh, within a hour of coming here you already had a few friends and a fan.

>”Come on Lyra, let’s keep going.” The off white p0ny kept an uneasy eye on you, still somewhat afraid.

“Sorry if I scared you too much miss. I apologize. Nice to meet you miss Lyra.”

>Lyra waved as her friend was pulled away down the road, leaving you with Luna again.

>Being new to town, you let her lead the way out into the countryside and to an orchard.

>Luna disappeared with a flash of light, leaving you alone in the midst of several three foot tall p0nies.

>Over by the fence several little p0nies gathered around a tub of apples, reaching in and plucking one out, happily munching on it as they walked away.

>A familiar blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane went next, acting ever so confident.

>”Check this out everyp0ny! Watch the professional show you how its done.”

>You watched as Luna popped out of the tub and into RD’s face, startling Rainbow Dash into jumping at least 30 feet in the air.

>”Well howdy there mister demon!”

“Please, call me Anonymous, Apple Jack is it?”

>”Well nice ta meet ya Anonymous! I gotta admit, yer handy with a rope!”

>You smiled at making yet another acquaintance, the p0nies here sure were friendly.

“Thanks. I’m sorry if I scared you too bad.”

>”Awh, it’ll take more than that ta scare me off. Where ya from anyhow? I never seen yer kind round here before.”

“That’s a bit of a long and unpleasant story I’d rather not get into.”

>Tartarus was a place you’d rather not think about.

>Occasionally Tartarus would creep into your dreams, along with the visions of the war.

>Fortunately for you and Luna both, your nightmares were few and far between, maybe once a week if you were unlucky.

>When they did come, Luna was always there when you woke up, ready to make sure you got back to sleep, and comfort you if need be.

>Heh, you never really told her how much you appreciated everything she did and sacrificed for you to be comfortable.

>Not to mention her relationship with Celestia had gotten worse since you’d been around, which you couldn’t help but feel a little bit responsible for.

>”Uh, Equestria to Anonymous, ya there sugarcube?” Apple Jack waved her orange hoof in front of your face, snapping you from your thoughts.

“Yeah! Sorry Apple Jack, I was just thinking about some stuff.”

>”Well, I you wanna try bobbin for apples? If ya feel up to tha challenge.”

“Please Apple Jack, this aint my first rodeo.”

>You walked over to the tub, bending down into the tub to grab an apple.

>There, just gotta shove it down to the bottom so you can get a proper bite on it.

>Suddenly you feel yourself launched forward, doing somewhat of a front flip and landing square in the middle of the tub.

>You bolted upright, apple in your mouth and looked around at the laughing p0nies all around.

>Apple Jack was there, her back turned toward you, laughing her flank off alongside Luna.

>”This makes us even Anonymous!”

>You took a bite of your newly acquired apple, looking at the laughing mares.

“Fair enough Apple Jack. But don’t think I don’t know this was your idea Luna.”

>Luna gave a shrug as you climbed out of the tub, using your cloak to sling water all around at the p0nies, bringing out shrieks of laughter all around.

>You and Luna made your way into town after spending time with the Apple family, walking along in silence for the most part.

“Luna?”

>”Hmm?” She was looking up at the stars, making a jack o lantern constellation as she walked.

“I just wanted to say thanks. You’ve been the best friend I could ever ask for.”

>Luna paused, looking over at you. “We are more than friends… right?”

“Of course! I just meant, you- well…“

>Luna chuckled at your frustration . ”I understand Anonymous, I would do anything for you.”

“As would I Luna. I’d go through Tartarus and back.”

>Luna chuckled. “You are so silly sometimes Anon. Sweet, but silly. Let’s hope it never comes to that.”

>She extended her wing around you, noticing your shivers from the cold air mixed with your soaked clothes.

>”You look cold my little human.”

>Did you just get a pet name?

>You had plenty of fucks to give, but you didn’t feel like pulling them out of your pocket.

>No fucks for Luna tonight.

>The night went on, and eventually the sleepy fillies and colts made their way to bed

>You had to admit, it was getting late, and while the cold water had woken you up for now, you could already feel sleep creeping back in.

>Back in the chariot, you snuggled up with your Princess, feeling the sensation similar to that of a Blackhawk lifting off, just with a lot less noise.

“Wake me up when we get there Luna.”

>Before she could respond you were out like a light, gently snoring against her furry body.