Do you ever get that one feeling? you know the one.
The one that you get when you really have something better to do, but you can't do it because your friends are begging you to go bowling with them, and they won't take no for an answer, so you make up an excuse to leave them, and hopefully continue working on whatever important work you had, only to end up going to that same bowling alley anyways, so now you have to make sure your friends don't find you there because it will simply be a huge mess to explain to them that it's not that you didn't want to go bowling with them, but that the job you had was simply much more important.
You know?
Walking down the streets of Ponyville right now filled me with that feeling.
"So, What do we do during Nightmare Night anyway?" I asked Raven, hoping that there was actually some sort of club or bar here so I won't need to be outside with all the costumed ponies.
"Well," Raven started, her red cape contrasting with her white coat while still complementing it, Is that why her hair tie is red? "Usually just walk around and enjoy the attractions," She told me.
"Oh..." I simply said, trying to think of what kind of carnival-like attractions this place has, "Doesn't that sound kind of... Childish?"
Raven paused at that question before loudly coughing into her hoof and nodding her head, "You're right! Yes! Childish! Of Course!" She continued coughing.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, worried about why she was coughing so much.
"I'm fine! No need to worry about me! I'm a mature mare! No childish plans here, Haha!"
I blinked at her blankly, "If you say so..."
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"Spike, I'm going out to give Princess Luna a tour," Twilight Sparkle called out to her assistant as she neared the door to the Library, "Are you sure you don't want to come with?"
The Baby Dragon responded with a groan before slowly making his way upstairs, intent to once again sleep the day away.
"O-Okay... If you need anything just..." Twilight sighed as soon as Spike exited her field of vision, the recent Nightmare Moon attack really left an impact on him, and she doesn't know what to do.
"Maybe Princess Luna will have something that might help," She said to herself as she made her way outside, intent on meeting up with the carriage from Canterlot.
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"I never understood why we still celebrate Halloween," I said as I took a sip of my Cappuccino.
Raven blinked at that, taking a sip of her own extra-sweet Pumpkin Juice, "Halloween?"
I continued talking about the holiday, "It started off as Samhain, where people will celebrate the harvest at the end of Summer, and wear costumes to ward off ghosts," I said out loud, not really caring if anybody was listening, "The date changed to October 31st after the Pope decided that November 1st was to be All Saints Day, making the day before it All Hallows Eve, changing both the meaning and date of the holiday,"
Raven nodded her head, confused yet still listening intently.
"After years, All Hallows Eve was renamed Halloween, where we now walk around in scary costumes, trick-or-treating,"
"So... It's like Nightmare Night?" Raven asked, confused as to why The Prince was bringing up a holiday from outside Equestria.
"Yes," I said, "Like nightmare night,"
We finished the rest of our drinks in silence.
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"We are thankful for your assistance in giving us this tour, Miss Sparkle," Princess Luna said as she walked by the Element of Magic.
"It's no problem, Princess, If it wasn't for you who knows what would have happened when Nightmare Moon came back," Twilight told her.
"Yes... That situation," Luna grimaced at the memory of that night, "Let us not think of that night, We are sure that there is something much more enjoyable to talk about,"
Twilight perked up at that, "Of Course! Would you like to try some candy apples? I'm sure Applejack has her stall opened,"
"We would find that delightful, yes," Luna smiled down at the Unicorn.
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"I am sorry," Raven perked up when she heard Blueblood say those words.
"Sorry for what?" The glasses-wearing secretary asked her co-worker.
"I'm sorry that I'm ruining your night," Blueblood told her, a tired look on his face clearly seen through the mask he wore.
"Excuse me?" Raven asked him.
"I used you as an excuse to not join Luna for Nightmare Night, but it turned out that you were also going to celebrate it, and then I was trapped going with you or I'd look like an ass for joining," He told her, moving to take a seat on a bench nearby so as to not stand in the middle of the road, "I simply do not want to ruin your Night, and would instead like to continue my work,"
"You... Don't like Nightmare Night?" Raven asked him, receiving a shake of his head in return.
"No. I don't like holidays in general," He told her, standing up from the bench he just sat on, "I apologize for ruining this part of your night, hopefully, you can forgive me for it, but I am going back to Canterlot." Blueblood told her before turning to walk away.
"Have a wonderful night,"
Raven blinked at him before a frown appeared on her face.
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Princess Luna was surprised at how warm her welcome to Ponyville was.
"Good Evening, Princess!"
"Happy Nightmare Night, Princess!"
"Thank you for saving us, Princess!"
All around Ponyville, Ponies would stop what they were doing just to thank her for helping them during the Second Nightmare Moon incident, ignoring the fact that in reality, she was the cause for the incident in the first place.
"You are Ponies! Failures!" She could still hear the Nightmare scream as he clawed weakly at the floor of the throne room.
"You are the Failures! And I am the DREAM DAMMED KING!"
Luna simply nodded her head and smiled at the ponies, unsure of how to take their appreciation.
"Princess Luna! We saved you some candy!" A group of foals exclaimed in cheer before giving her a bag of sweets.
"Princess Luna! Please have some of our Licorice Pie!" A mare said with a smile before passing her a slice of Pie.
"Princess Luna! You saved our town!" A family of Earth Ponies yelled happily.
"Miss Twilight, May we move on to a quieter part of Ponyville?" Luna asked Twilight, bags of gifts levitating above her head as she walked.
"Sure! If you need someplace quiet for a few minutes I would love to give you a tour of the Library," Twilight said happily, her hooves taking her away as she led the princess in the direction of the library.
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"So this is where you're staying?" I turned my head to look at the familiar Earth Pony that called out to me, "Just sitting at the train station?"
I blinked at Raven Inkwell before turning my head back to the clock above the station, the train won't be here for another thirty minutes.
"Where else would you like me to stay?" I asked her, "I wasn't having fun, and me not having fun was making it so you wouldn't be having fun, so If I leave, you would be able to enjoy this little festival with all the little attractions, and I could be back in Canterlot getting more work done."
"And who said you get to decide if I'm having fun or not?" Raven asked, glaring at me from where she stood.
"Were you?"
Raven grimaced at that question, "Well, no. But that doesn't mean you can simply decide for me," She said before moving over and taking a seat on the bench.
"You know, I don't like taking days off..." She started saying quietly, her legs moving to take the plastic horns off her head.
"So, whenever I do end up getting a vacation, I like enjoying myself, because I know that if I don't enjoy my vacation, it would have all gone to waste."
With a glow to my horn, the illusion of the costume fell off, leaving me in my now iconic tuxedo collar.
"Why can't you also enjoy these vacations? There's no Mare on the Moon threatening us, no Chaos magic running rampant, no disastrous scenarios. So why do you insist on going back to get more work done?" She asked me, sounding almost... crying?
"Why can't you just, be childish, for even a day?!" Yes, I do think she is crying.
"Because I don't have the time," I said as I levitated a napkin from my Bag of Holding, always kept nearby.
"The meeting with Caninia is in a month, and I need everything to be perfect,"
I continued, "The ships I ordered won't finish construction until Summer, so we're using one of the royal ships. Now I need to run maintenance on the ship, make sure everything is up to standards." I kept on talking.
"I also need to get food and water for the trip, it's a week on the sea, it might be short, but some ponies never stayed on a boat for more than an hour. Next is the whole politics of it all, Caninia is split into two factions. One led by Queen Katherina, who is by all accounts the rightful ruler, and another led by Princess Jennino, who is her younger sister."
I took a deep breath before I kept on talking, "For all intents and purposes, Katherina is the one to speak with, however, the trade talks were spoken with someone in Jennino's faction, so that already gives a bad image to the deal. "They are dealing with fake rulers!" or something like that. It's bullshit anyway. This isn't an Equestrian job, but a Blueblood Foundation job, this needs to be perfect."
"So... You don't have the time to have fun. That's it?" Raven asked, a weird expression on her face.
"It's also the fact that I never enjoyed holidays like Halloween or Christmas, but yes, mostly the time." I said.
"Okay then, I'll help you."
I blinked at that, trying to see if I misheard something.
"What?" I asked dumbly.
"You heard me," Raven said as she stood up and moved to stand in front of me, "I'm going to help you finish your work," She said as she pointed a hoof at my face, "And in return, you'll pay me back with a proper date!" She smiled at that, her leg still pointed in at my face.
And seeing the usually reserved Secretary show such a... bright expression on her face, I couldn't help but also smile.
"Sure," I told her with a smirk, standing up so I could tower over her, forcing her to take a step back so I could stand, I leaned forward slightly so I could whisper in her ear, "It's a date," before walking away as I saw the train coming into the station.
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"It's a date," The words he whispered in her ear played on a loop in her mind.
Raven Inkwell, face flushed red, smile frozen on her face as heavy breath left her nostrils, knew a very important fact.
Choosing not to enjoy this one night, might turn out to be one of the best choices she ever made.
"Yes Daddy... Hehehe..." She whispered to herself with a giggle, the smell of the prince still filtering through her nose.
Raven quickly slapped herself in the face, getting rid of the heat in her smile as she turned around and followed the Prince.
Her eyes not leaving the tight and muscular legs that swayed in front of her.
"Hehehe," She wiped a bit of drool off her mouth as she licked her lips.
Yep, Best decision ever.
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When Princess Celestia heard that Blueblood and Raven were seen walking together, she didn't think much of it.
Those two are high-ranking members of the Crown, it's normal for them to be seen together.
What she didn't expect was to find the two of them leaning over a table, looking at piles of papers, talking about numbers and stuff.
So with a sly smirk on her face, Celestia took a picture of the two with a Camera she bought years ago, and left the kids to enjoy their night.
They're 28? Humph! In Celestia's eyes, everypony is a kid!
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Deep inside the magical prison of Tartarus, a glass box held on of the most dangerous individuals in the world.
"So..." The shadowy blob said from inside her prison-cell, "What do you want?"
"I just thought this would be funny," Her visitor said, before dumping a small pile of candies and treats inside her cell.
"Let me guess," Nightmare Moon said, her one blue eye moving to look at the pile of candy, "It's Nightmare Night?"
The Visitor smirked at the little trapped Nightmare, "Yep," She said, popping the P at the end.
Nightmare Moon clicked her tongue, slowly moving her tiny body to pick up a toffee.
"That's all I wanted to do," The Visitor said before turning away.
Nightmare Moon looked at her leaving before the feeling of doing something petty appeared in her mind.
"Hey Luna!" Nightmare Moon called out to the Princess of the Night, forcing her to turn and look at her.
"Yes, Nightmare Moon?" Luna asked, her smirk not leaving her face as she looked down at her own shadow, weak and pathetic, trapped in a box, never to harm anyone ever again.
"Fuck you!" Nightmare Moon said before she took a big bite of her candy, and promptly spit it out.
"Yuck- Licorice!"