by G. M. Berrow
“But what about all that stuff you just said?” Apple Bloom scrunched up her nose in confusion. “About Luna goin’ her own way?”
“I just wanted you to understand why she refused your sweet idea,” admitted Princess Celestia. “But I think it’s finally time for Princess Luna to step into the light again. She is a part of my family and of Equestria.”
Celestia used her magic to open a set of doors to a beautiful balcony outside. She conjured up an energy to surround the four of them in a shimmering force-field bubble. Suddenly, a burst of pretty snowflakes began to fall as the light dimmed. A tiny moon rose above their heads, sparkling. The Cutie Mark Crusaders smiled in wonder.
“Besides,” Celestia reasoned, and motioned to the life-sized snow globe they were standing in as if it were all the proof she needed, “when is the moon prettier than when it’s shining down on the winter snow?”
News from Canterlot
The ride back to Ponyville had felt like an eternity for Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom. They were bursting at the seams with excitement since receiving Princess Celestia’s blessing. There was going to be a Festival of the Winter Moon to celebrate Princess Luna, and they were going to help plan it! That is, if Twilight Sparkle and her friends agreed to take charge of the event. It was Princess Celestia’s one condition.
Once they’d arrived back in town, the fillies didn’t waste any time. They trotted straight to the Castle of Friendship to deliver the good news. They’d pushed through the heavy castle doors, trotted through the cavernous halls, and found the throne room. Sure enough, the one dragon and six ponies they were hoping to see were all seated in a circle: Spike, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy. Each was perched upon their respective thrones, identifiable by an image of their cutie mark.
But the ponies didn’t notice—something intense was occurring. Rarity and Applejack spoke in hushed, serious whispers as they consulted the large map of Equestria laid out in the middle chamber. Pinkie Pie furrowed her brow and bit her lip. Fluttershy was on the edge of her seat.
“Whoa,” whispered Scootaloo. “Are we about to witness somepony getting called on a map mission?”
“Ahem!” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat.
“Girls!” Rarity blushed. “What are you doing here?”
“Yeah!” Applejack added, standing up. “And where’s Big Mac? He was s’posed to be watchin’ ya in Canterlot!”
“We’re back already, and we have big news!” Apple Bloom did an excited little jump. She noticed Twilight and Fluttershy scrambling to gather some little colored pieces shaped like cupcakes. They were putting them away in a box. “Hey, what’s going on here?”
“Uh… nothin’,” Applejack scrambled. “I mean somethin’, but it’s nothin’!”
Pinkie Pie bounced over. “Nothing?! It’s only the best game EVER, Applejack!”
“Is it Monopony?” guessed Sweetie Belle.
“Or Settlers of Canterlot?” said Scootaloo.
“No, sillies! We were playing Whisk!” Pinkie Pie squealed with delight. “It’s the game of Equestrian domination where you build bakeries and try to bake more baked goods than other villages can bake, until finally you’re the biggest and BEST BAKER IN EQUESTRIA!” Pinkie Pie grinned and held up a hoof-ful of plastic cupcakes. “I was winning.”
“That’s only because your party cannon artillery took out my cupcake infantry,” Rainbow Dash insisted with a shrug. “Lucky roll.”
“So what was your big news?” Twilight asked, blushing. She could be so serious that sometimes being seen having frivolous fun caught her off guard. “Did you meet with Celestia? What did she say?”
“Yes!” Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom cheered together.
“And she said our idea to hold a Winter Moon Festival in honor of Princess Luna was amazing!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“If you need any new outfits for the events, do let me know,” Rarity nodded. Then she gave her little sister, Sweetie Belle, a nudge. “You know I can’t resist a chance to design something absolutely gorgeous!”
“A party?!” Pinkie Pie perked up. “I was not expecting that.” She narrowed her eyes and looked down at her Party Watch, which bore the word party everywhere a number should have been. “Heeeey! This thing must be broken.”
“What a lovely idea,” Fluttershy remarked. “I’m so glad Princess Luna said it was okay.”
Apple Bloom looked at the ceiling. “Well, she didn’t.”
Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked to each other, unsure.
“What Apple Bloom means is, Princess Celestia said it has to be a surprise festival, so we need your help planning it.” Scootaloo trotted over to Rainbow Dash and gave her a pleading smile. “Pleeeease?”
“Oh, all right,” said Rainbow Dash with a shrug. “It’s not like we were busy doing anything important, anyway. Until I have to go up and help with pre-winter cloud arrangement in Cloudsdale, I’m free as a Pegasus.”
“Hooray!” the fillies cheered.
Scootaloo shuffled her hoof on the ground nervously. “So… uh, any ideas?”
“Well, it will obviously have to be a classy affair, with elegant and understated decorations.” Rarity put her hoof to her chin, and the wheels started to turn. “What are your feelings on ceremonial capes, hoof-stitched constellation tablecloths, moonflowers around the perimeter of the dance floor, and a hundred-hoof-tall statue of Princess Luna in the center?” The rest of the group all stared back, faces blank. Rarity clearly had her own definition of “understated.”
“What?” Rarity asked. “Too much?”
“No, that sounds awesome,” Scootaloo encouraged.
“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed. “I like it.” She hopped up onto Applejack’s throne, which made her feel even more on top of the world than before. “And with all of us working on it together, we’re bound to make it just perfect.”
Guardian of the Night
The weeks that followed passed without ceremony, and Princess Luna thanked her lucky stars that the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ idea for a celebration had vanished. Luna was busy enough with winter on its way, and the last thing she needed to add to her list was a large event. In addition to raising the moon and looking after the dream world, the Princess of the Night was a guardian of the creatures of Equestria. Especially the scary, misunderstood ones.
It was a little-known fact that lots of the beasts and creatures were spooked by the idea of winter. Animals ranging from the cragadiles to the cockatrice would sense the impending snowfall and begin to frantically take shelter in caves and burrows throughout the chilly lands. There were always a few scuffles over territory, but over the moons, Luna had become an expert at sorting them out. Most of the time.
This moon, however, the shifting of the seasons had been smooth sailing until tonight. Luna had just returned from her nightly rounds around Canterlot after setting the moon in the darkened sky and consulting her Royal Dream Register. As she entered her quarters, Luna immediately noticed a signal on her special map. It was a massive three-dimensional projection, which appeared like a miniature version of Equestria spread out across a table. She’d created it with the help of Star Swirl the Bearded when Luna was just a young princess in order to keep ponies and creatures everywhere safe. It was her way of seeing the whole kingdom at once.
Princess Luna trotted around to the other side of the map and bent down. There was a situation that needed Luna’s attention in the swamplands. A tiny figure of a lion creature with dragon wings appeared next to a beast with the heads of a snake, a tiger, and a goat. A disturbance between a manticore and a chimera!
“Castor! Pollux!” Luna called out across the room to two snowy-white owls perched on either side of her bed. “Please watch over Canterlot while I go attend to this urgent matter.” The owls cooed and flapped their wings in acknowledgement, flying over to their window perches on opposite sides of the tower and setting their yellow eyes on the terrai
n. Princess Luna nodded her gratitude and trotted over to a hutch in the corner. She quickly gathered some tools and gave her pet opossum, Tiberius, a little pat on the head. “I shall return soon.”
Luna took off into the darkness toward the swampland, her saddlebag full of sweet apples and ricotta cheese. The princess flew through the chilly night air with her beautiful dark wings outspread. And as the wind whipped through her mane, she felt a surge of exhilaration and excitement through her body.
As soon as Luna landed near the site, she spotted the beasts. There were four manticores—a family of two adults and two corelings growling at the chimera as it circled around the nest they’d hastily built. The creatures growled and lunged at one another, engaged in an intense standoff.
“Thissss issss our ssspot!” hissed the green snake head of the chimera. “Get lossssst or elssssse!”
“Grrrrrrr!” growled the largest manticore, presumably the father of the clan, as he stood up on his hind paws. He spread his fiery-red dragon wings wide and let out the loudest roar Princess Luna had ever heard! It echoed through the Everfree Forest and beyond. Hopefully it hadn’t woken up the entire village of Ponyville.
“IT IS WE, PRINCESS LUNA OF EQUESTRIA, GUARDIAN OF THE NIGHT AND PROTECTOR OF CREATURES SUCH AS THYSELVES!” Luna bellowed at the group. “WE COMMAND YE TO STAND DOWN!” She shot a blast of incandescent white magic from her horn. The light illuminated the entire swamp and enveloped the beasts. As soon as the magic touched them, all the creatures instantly calmed. They sat down in a haze, blinked their eyes, and then turned their heads to face Luna.
“Good.” The princess straightened herself and trotted over. “Now, what seems to be the problem, dear citizens?”
After an hour of negotiations (over which beast got to reside where for the winter season), Princess Luna was finally able to resolve the issue with a civilized discussion over a shared feast of sweet apples and ricotta cheese. Actually it was mainly apples, because the goat head of the chimera ate the majority of the cheese in one bite. But nonetheless, Luna’s ability to speak and understand manticore, plus her ability to reason with the two parties, had led them to an agreement.
In the back of her mind, Luna even dared to hope that maybe the creatures would become friends by the end of winter.
“Friendship,” Luna accidentally said out loud, startling herself. “Oh! That reminds me—I must away. I need to make sure everypony in Ponyville is safe in bed and dreaming soundly.…” The princess lowered her front hooves in a deep bow, showing her respect for the chimera and the family of manticores. They bowed back. Then Luna was off, disappearing into the sparkling night.
Ponyville’s Big Secret
Ashiver shot down Princess Luna’s spine as she landed in the Ponyville town square. And as she exhaled, her breath escaped like a tiny cloud. The Cloudsdale weather factory must have been traveling closer—ready to release the first snowfall of the season on this region. It was peculiar, but even Luna still got cold once in a blue moon.
The princess began to idly walk through the streets of Ponyville, listening to her dream senses. If she and the creatures in the swampland had disturbed somepony here, Luna was going to help them. As she turned near Sugarcube Corner, the princess peered up into the windows and listened. But it was just as night should be—lovely and silent. Luna breathed a small sigh of relief and sat down to rest. Maybe it was time to return to her quarters back at Canterlot Castle.…
But then something bright caught her eye!
Luna edged closer, alert. But it turned out to be just a pile of party decorations in Pinkie Pie’s back garden, glinting in the moonlight. That was nothing out of the ordinary, reasoned Luna. That pink pony spent most of her waking hours entertaining others—throwing parties, baking sweets, and making ponies laugh. Princess Twilight had informed Luna that Pinkie Pie had once thrown eight birthday parties, two cute-ceañeras, and a foal shower in a single day.
This was quite the supply of decorations. Princess Luna trotted over to the mountain, mildly curious. They were all in tones of shiny silver, purple, and dark blue. Her colors. She lifted up a string of hoofmade flag bunting for a closer look. The flags were in the shapes of shimmering crescent moons!
Sitting next to them was a giant bag of uninflated balloons. Luna pulled one out, took a deep breath, and blew into it. Once inflated, it was the color of midnight and covered in pretty snowflakes and stars. Luna didn’t need to unfurl the banner to know what was going on here, but she did anyway.
Winter Moon Festival, it read in huge, glittering letters. Celebrate Princess Luna! For a brief moment, her heart softened. Should she let the ponies of Equestria have this one night? Was it her royal duty to let them? But just as a cloud moves swiftly through the dark night, the moment passed. And after it did, Luna knew what just what she had to do.
Dreamwalking in a Winter Wonderland
Look, girls!” shouted Apple Bloom. “A shootin’ star!” She pointed her little hoof at the sky and jumped up. It was a gorgeous night. Clear and bright, revealing a dark canopy pinpricked with stars. The field was covered in snow, but the air felt quite warm and comfortable. So strange this time of moon, but perfect for a party!
“I hope more of those decide to show up once Princess Luna gets here!” added Sweetie Belle cheerily. She was dragging a massive trampoline painted to look like the surface of the moon through the snow. “It really goes with our theme.”
“Can somepony help me with these lanterns?” Scootaloo pleaded. She teetered on one hoof at the top of a tall ladder. “I’m too short to reach the string.” Her tiny orange wings flapped, but still could not hold her up enough to fly.
POP!
Princess Luna had entered Apple Bloom’s dream in the form of a white bunny with black splotches, mirroring her real-life cutie mark. Since Luna’s intent was to observe and not to interfere, the little ponies did not notice her hopping underhoof. She stood up on her hind bunny paws and inspected the scene, nose twitching.
There were tables set up, elaborate game booths, and a dance floor as big as the Canterlot Castle ballroom. A platform stage stood at the front, ready for a big demonstration… like the raising of the moon. It was just as Luna suspected—the three little Cutie Mark Crusaders had gone and planned the Winter Moon Festival anyway!
“I’m finished setting up the moon bounce,” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Come on, let’s bring out the props for the Take a Picture with Princess Luna photo booth!” The three fillies scrambled toward a big crate and began to pull out hats and fake mustaches. Scootaloo put on a beak and started to dance.
“Squawk!” She giggled, flapping her hooves around. “Look—I’m a chicken!”
A photo booth? Props? How humiliating! This festival had to be stopped—now. Princess Luna closed her eyes and readied herself. The trio was so entranced by their own cleverness that they didn’t even notice that a few feet behind them, a small bunny was growing to the size of an Alicorn! Magic light surrounding her body, Princess Luna emerged as her regal self.
“Princess Luna!” Apple Bloom spun around, shocked, her pink bow bouncing.
The royal pony bowed her head. “Greetings, young fillies!”
“What are you doin’ here?!” Apple Bloom yelped. “The Winter Moon Festival hasn’t started yet! It… it’s supposed to be a surprise.” Her face was rife with disappointment.
“Do you like it?” asked Apple Bloom, motioning to the eyesore around them. “We’ve been working on this all for you!”
Princess Luna looked around at the setup. There were far too many decorations for Luna’s taste. Not to mention that everything was overdone, loud, and exactly as if… a filly had designed it. Or three of them, to be precise. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle looked up at her with their large, expectant eyes.
“It is creative.” Luna tilted her head to the side, unsure of how else to react. Even though it was only a dream, Princess Luna didn’t want to hurt poor Apple Bloom’s feelings. Clearly, the
young pony was stressed about the event. The fact that she was having this dream proved it.
“Well, phew. That’s a relief!” Apple Bloom seemed pleased enough. She looked around with a puzzled expression. “I wonder where everypony is, though. They were supposed to start gettin’ here by now.” A laugh escaped from Luna as it dawned on her—Apple Bloom still didn’t realize that she was dreaming!
Usually when Princess Luna appeared, the dreamer was aware they were being visited in their subconscious. But Apple Bloom was perceiving this exchange as the real event, which meant Princess Luna could alter it to her liking. She could make this festival as weird and silly as she wanted through the power of dream suggestion. Then Apple Bloom would think it was her idea.
If there was one thing Princess Luna couldn’t resist, it was a harmless prank. She couldn’t help the sneaky smirk on her face as she trotted over to the stage. “Do you mind if I make a few suggestions before the guests arrive?”
“Of course!” The eager Apple Bloom nodded. She scrunched her nose. “Uh… like what?”
A Call to Ponyville
The next morning, Apple Bloom woke up with the odd feeling that she and the other ponies had been going about this party-planning business all wrong. Instead of decorating with tons of twinkly star lights and moon lanterns—they should make the whole event pitch-black. So dark that nopony could see anything at all! It was a wild idea, but Apple Bloom couldn’t shake it.
The little filly hopped out of bed, ate a quick breakfast of strawberry pancakes with Applejack, and hightailed it over to the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ clubhouse for an emergency Winter Moon Festival meeting.
“This meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders is called to order!” Apple Bloom announced, banging her gavel on the podium.