by G. M. Berrow
“Can we make it fast?” Sweetie Belle yawned. “I couldn’t sleep last night. Something really loud woke me up.”
“Was it a big rawr-type noise?” said Scootaloo. “ ’Cause I heard that!”
“No, it was Rarity’s snoring.” Sweetie Belle chuckled. “You’d never expect it but she really—”
“Come on, girls!” Apple Bloom interrupted. “We have to talk about this festival!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a look as if to say, What’s wrong with her?
“Okay.” Apple Bloom unfurled a massive poster and laid it on the ground. A messy hoof-scribbled map of the festival had been drawn on it. She pointed her hoof at the twinkly lights and the lanterns. “We need to get rid of these and these.” Then she motioned to the gigantic spotlights that were supposed to shine on Princess Luna as she raised the moon. “And definitely those.”
“That’s a really strange idea.” Scootaloo looked sideways at Apple Bloom. “How are we supposed to see anything without the lights?”
Apple Bloom smiled. “With moonglasses! A pair for everypony in Equestria.”
When making any official royal visit, Princess Luna traveled by way of her chariot. The two stallions who pulled it were quite unique. Echo and Nocturn were from a race of ponies that lived deep within mountain caves like bats. They had gray hides, pointed wings, yellow catlike eyes, and very quiet dispositions.
Luna had found them when she’d responded to a call to Smokey Mountain many moons ago, moons after she’d settled the dispute between the bat ponies and the mountain dragons. The princess had arrived to find the two bat ponies, separated from their colony and caught within the clutches of an angry dragon who’d left his own tribe because of his enduring resentment toward their species. Luna used her Alicorn magic to lull the dragon to sleep, allowing the two stallions to fly away. Deeply grateful for the aid in their escape, Echo and Nocturn offered to serve as her royal guard forever after.
“Will you be requiring us on your journey to Ponyville today, Highness?” Echo asked with a bow. He squinted his eyes, which were not used to daylight.
“It shall not be necessary,” Luna assured him. It had been a long night, but she was excited to see if her little experiment had worked. “I’m only going for a quick surprise visit.” She looked to Nocturn, who couldn’t even open his eyes. “Besides”—she chuckled—“you two wouldn’t be able to see very well in this daylight.”
“Not true,” Nocturn grunted. He pulled out a pair of shiny sunglasses and put them on. Echo did the same. “We are prepared for all things, Princess.”
The princess laughed and took off back toward Ponyville on her own.
The Tarax Hippo
Princess Luna?” Twilight Sparkle practically galloped over. She moved fast despite the fact that she was carrying a large saddlebag full of books. Her face was the picture of concern. “What are you doing here in Ponyville? Is everything all right back in Canterlot? Is Equestria in mortal peril again? Do you need me to—”
“I assure you that everything is going to be fine, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Then why are you here?” Twilight’s eyes glazed over, searching through the files of her memory, trying to make sense of what the visit might mean. “Is this about the Bugbear? Because he is definitely gone this time. Fluttershy managed to—”
“Twilight!” Luna interrupted. “No. It’s just a…”
Twilight raised her eyebrows. She was getting suspicious.
“A Tarax Hippo,” Princess Luna improvised, using the name of a random creature she hadn’t seen in a few hundred moons. “It’s a magical, ghostlike creature that takes residence in villages just to scare ponies.”
“Oh, all right,” said Twilight, who appeared relieved at the news. “I thought you might have heard about the fest—” She gasped and covered her mouth with her hoof. “I mean, I’m going to find my friends, and I’m calling a meeting at my castle immediately.” She spun around and began to canter away. A few hooves away, she stopped and called out to Luna, “About the Tarax Hippo, I mean! Nothing else!”
“Wait!” Luna shouted. Twilight froze in her tracks and turned around. Luna forced a polite smile. “Thank you, but I insist that there is no need for your interference. As long as I am here, the Tarax Hippo won’t come near.” Luna wasn’t sure if that was entirely accurate, but it didn’t really matter. It did the trick.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse sat among the trees in a secluded part of Sweet Apple Acres. Luna hadn’t visited the orchard during the day in forever, and she was struck by how beautiful the trees looked. The air smelled chilly and sweet with the scent of apples in the early winter sunshine. Luna’s stomach rumbled. She loved apples just as much as anypony else. The princess trotted to the “free sample” barrel and selected a juicy red one before flying up into a tree outside the clubhouse window.
Inside, the three fillies were opening some giant boxes. “Boy, are we lucky that DJ Pon-3 and Octavia had all these extra moonglasses hanging around in their basement.”
“What are moonglasses anyway?” Scootaloo tore open a box and several pairs of glasses went flying across the room. She skipped over and gathered them up.
“They make it so you can see in the dark! You know, like night-vision,” said Apple Bloom, picking up the pair that had landed by her hooves and popping them on her face. “Also, they make me look really cool.” She put her front hooves across her chest. “Deal with it.”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo giggled.
“All right, the moonglasses I understand, but what’s with all the smelly garlic necklaces? Another random idea that just ‘came to you’?” Sweetie Belle held up a necklace that was strung with cloves of garlic instead of beads. She stuck out her tongue in disgust.
“Eeyup,” Apple Bloom said confidently. “Trust me, I gotta real strong feelin’ Princess Luna will like this stuff.”
“Yeah, but will anypony else?” Scootaloo murmured to Sweetie Belle.
Princess Luna felt relieved. All she had to do was make a few random suggestions while these ponies were in their dream state, and then this festival Princess Celestia had approved would become absolutely ridiculous. Maybe the whole thing would be so odd that nopony would ever want to have one again! Most ponies already thought Princess Luna was strange. Now the rest of Equestria would, too.
Princess Luna was satisfied. She was about to take off back to Canterlot for some much-needed rest when she heard Sweetie Belle say: “We should probably go check on Pinkie Pie and Rarity to see how the decorations are coming along.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Then let’s stop by Fluttershy’s cottage to see how her pet project is going, too.”
“Only if we visit Rainbow Dash after that!” Scootaloo called after them. “She was gonna draw plans for those snow castles at the entrance, remember?”
Of course the young ones would ask their mentors for help. Luna put her hoof to her head. She groaned the same way she used to when she and Celestia were fillies and had to do a bunch of chores. Princess Luna was going to have to visit a lot more dreams than she’d anticipated if she was going to sabotage this Winter Moon Festival without hurting anypony’s feelings. Why had Celestia agreed to this against her will?
Royal We
When Princess Luna arrived back to Canterlot, she should have gone straight to bed. But rather than making a rational decision, Luna stormed into the throne room, full of feelings. “HOW COULDEST THOU DO THIS TO US?!” she bellowed, accidentally slipping into her Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna’s eyes had the same crazy expression as they did before she turned into Nightmare Moon!
“Do what, Luna?” A look of concern flashed across Princess Celestia’s face. She stood up from her throne and came over to her sister. Celestia put a hoof on Luna’s shoulder to calm her. It worked better than a burst of magic. Luna sighed and plopped down on the cold stone floor.
“A Winter Moon Festival?” She hung her head, and her flowing dark mane fell over her green eyes. “What
in Star Swirl’s bristly beard were you thinking?”
“Oh.” Princess Celestia bit her lip. “You found out!” She gave a nonchalant laugh. “It was supposed to be a fun surprise, Sister.”
“I hate surprises,” Luna pouted. “You know that.”
“But what about all those times in the Castle of the Two Sisters? All those hidden trapdoors and secret passageways you wanted to build into it?” Celestia teased. “I don’t recall you disliking surprising Chancellor Puddinghead by jumping out and startling her during royal meetings!”
This memory elicited a tiny giggle from Luna. “That was quite amusing.…”
“I know.” Princess Celestia smiled. “And this will be, too. I promise.” Princess Celestia raised her brow in hope. “So will you play along? For the sake of a surprise?”
Luna thought of how determined the little fillies had been in making this happen. If she told Celestia to cancel the whole event now, they’d probably still find a way to surprise her. And then… she’d never know when it was going to be. If Luna went along with the fast-approaching Winter Moon Festival, at least she’d be able to have a hoof in how it went.
“I shall play along,” said Luna with a nod. But there will be some surprises for everypony else, she thought, imagining the other silly tweaks she could make to the party planners’ dreams.
“Thank you, Sister,” Celestia bowed. “Now, please go get some rest. Anypony ever tell you that you’re rather unpleasant when you’re tired?”
Dream Team
Astrong burst of magic shot from the blue Alicorn’s horn and danced its way up to the glowing moon. Luna focused as she gently released the orb from its nightly duty, taking care to lower it, slow and steady. On the opposite balcony, her older sister was focusing hard as well. Celestia was bringing the sun up to hang it in the ever-brightening sky. As soon as the exchange was complete, the two sisters nodded to each other.
“Gratias lunam et stellas,” whispered Luna. “Thank you, my dear moon and brilliant stars for another peaceful night.” She trotted inside to take stock of her secret project. Luna flipped open the Dream Register and traced her hoof down the page. It had been a busy week spent visiting almost everypony involved in planning the Winter Moon Festival. Everything was coming together beautifully (or falling apart, like Luna wanted it to). And it was all happening without them even realizing it!
In Applejack’s dream, Luna suggested that instead of hot apple cider and mooncake as party snacks, they have spicy rainbow juice and banana peel pudding. Another night, Luna influenced Fluttershy to collect a bunch of hideous blue bugs to release at the party, rather than the cute snow bunnies she planned to have hopping around. And finally, Princess Luna had managed to convince Dream Rarity to sew a bunch of scratchy “ceremonial cloaks” for the guests to wear instead of pretty dresses. Though admittedly, that one had taken a lot more work than the others.
Using her magic to close her dark velvet curtains, Princess Luna lay down on her fluffy bed and smiled. She hadn’t had this much fun in ages! It wasn’t long until she drifted off into a slumber of her own, dreaming up more silly ways to change the Winter Moon Festival.
“Sorry, Pinkie Pie. I’ve been so focused on getting these done in time for the Winter Moon Festival.” Rarity stifled a yawn. Magic energy flowed out of her Unicorn horn to move a pile of finished ceremonial cloaks. Rarity took another bolt of wool fabric from the rack and started to roll it out across the cutting table with a sigh. “For some reason, inspiration has struck in the form of cloaks. Would you believe it?!”
“I believe it, and I like it!” Pinkie Pie bounced around. She scooped up a robe and tried it on. She began to wiggle and squirm. “Very cloaky… and itchy! Excellent.”
Rarity didn’t notice Pinkie Pie doing the itchy dance all around the room. She kept on sewing. “So what were you saying about decorations, darling?”
“Oh yeah,” replied Pinkie Pie. “I had this silly, bonkers, wackadoodle-doo idea that we use INVISIBLE decorations instead of the ones with all the moons and stars on them!” Pinkie did a little twirl and singsonged, “So that’s what I’m do-o-o-o-oing!”
Rarity gasped and put her hoof to her chest. “No decorations?”
“No, silly!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “Invisible ones are all the rage these days. I know because I had this amazingly awesome party the other night for Princess Luna and all night she said they were totally her favorite decorations EVER!” Pinkie Pie took off her cloak and bounced to the door. “But I gotta go get to work if I’m ever going to finish them in time for tomorrow. Invisible decorations take twice as much work as regular ones, you know. It’s a quality issue.”
“Whatever you say, darling.” Rarity shrugged and adjusted her red glasses. “I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Of course I do,” Pinkie Pie said before she whooshed out the front door. “See ya later, Rarity!”
While it was odd that Pinkie Pie had decided to go minimalist, Rarity wasn’t going to press the issue. She had far too much work of her own to do before the Winter Moon Festival. Twelve more pony cloaks and a special one for Princess Luna, too.
In the kitchen, the kettle whistled. “Tea break!” Rarity trotted over and poured herself a steaming cup of rose tea. She stared out the window of the Carousel Boutique, watching the snowflakes drift down as she sipped her tea. Rarity closed her eyes and floated off into her thoughts, thinking of all the fabulous clothes she’d bought in Manehattan the other day.
Rarity wandered upstairs to find them, thinking of a unique hat she’d purchased. It was covered in yarn and tiny cats. The yarn hung off the edges to create a fringe and…
“Wait a second! I never bought a hat with cats all over it!” Suddenly, it was like she had been awakened from a dream. “That sounds atrocious!” Rarity stood up with a bolt. “And did Pinkie Pie say she just had a party with Princess Luna”—Rarity narrowed her eyes—“with no decorations?!”
Something was definitely not right here. Rarity downed her tea in one gulp, fixed her mane in the mirror, and headed straight for Princess Twilight’s castle.
Waking Up
Naturally, the Castle of Friendship was a flurry of activity. Everypony was busy with their individual tasks for the festival. Luckily, Twilight Sparkle had offered to use one of the cavernous empty rooms to store all the supplies. Princess Twilight’s own undertaking—an educational exhibit on the history of the moon phases—was taking up an entire corner. There were books, huge display boards, and a big model of the moon that ponies could touch.
When Rarity arrived, Fluttershy was leading a parade of ugly blue bugs to a makeshift corral. “That’s it, little buggies,” Fluttershy cooed. “You’re going to spend the night here before Princess Luna’s party! Isn’t that wonderful?” A few of the bugs nuzzled Fluttershy’s yellow hoof. She smiled.
Rarity made a disgusted face. “Fluttershy, dear, what in the world are you doing with all of those things?”
Fluttershy smiled. “I got this wonderful idea—”
“Was it from Princess Luna herself?” Rarity guessed, growing ever more suspicious.
“Yes, actually,” Fluttershy admitted. “She just loves these Ug Bugs so very much. So I thought… why not have them all attend the festival instead of snow bunnies like we planned?”
“Hmmm. Tell me, darling,” Rarity asked, raising her hoof and pointing to the hundreds of displaced bugs. “When did Princess Luna tell you about her bug love?”
“It was just the other night, I think.” Fluttershy bit her lip, searching. “But we weren’t in Ponyville. We were at the Magical Creature Summit and… oh.” Fluttershy blushed in embarrassment. “I guess it was just a dream.…”
“Aha!” Rarity exclaimed. “Exactly!” She began to pace back and forth. “When I thought of the brilliant idea for cloaks, Princess Luna and I were just arriving back from a day of luxury shopping at Bloomingtail’s.”
“You went to Manehattan with Princess Luna?” Twilight tr
otted over, joining in. She cocked her head to the side. “When did you do that?”
“Don’t you see?” Rarity smiled, triumphant. “I didn’t! I just thought I did.”
“Got the treats!” Applejack trotted into the room, pulling a trolley full of spicy rainbow juice. Behind her, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo each pulled smaller trolleys filled with banana peel pudding. “So do we!” the fillies chorused.
“Put ’em next to the pile of garlic necklaces in the corner, girls.” Then Applejack trotted over to greet her friends. “Whoo-ee! I sure am excited that Princess Luna gave me the idea to serve somethin’ different than apples this time.”
Fluttershy and Twilight’s jaws dropped. Applejack not serving apples? Rarity was right!
“What?” Applejack asked, dumbfounded. “I got a piece o’ hay in my teeth or somethin’?”
“No…” answered Twilight. She trotted over to the mountain of garlic necklaces. “But I think we’ve all got some strange ideas in our heads that were somepony else’s.”
“What d’ya mean?” asked Apple Bloom, joining in. Beads of nervous sweat began to form on her forehead. “Is this about the garlic? ’Cause we can change that if nopony likes it. I just thought—”
“No, not at all, Apple Bloom.” A smile broke out on Rarity’s face. “Don’t you all see?”
“I see the mess we’ve made of the Winter Moon Festival,” squeaked Sweetie Belle. She hung her head and shuffled her hooves. “What are we gonna do?!”
“Nothing!” Rarity laughed. “Obviously, Princess Luna visited us in our dreams to change the Winter Moon Festival because she knows about the surprise. And these are the things she wants at her party! She’s just far too shy to tell us.”
Of Great Importance
Since the Summer Sun Celebration was an all-night affair that culminated in hundreds of ponies watching the raising of the sun together at dawn, it was only natural to hold the Winter Moon Festival the opposite way. So it was decreed by Celestia that it would last throughout the day, with the big reveal of raising the moon at dusk. Then the ponies could dance and play beneath the stars until they were too tired to move.