From Laughter To Nightmare...!

Chapter 8 - From Laughter To Nightmare...!

"Oooh! Customers, customers! Welcome!" A flash of pink whizzed out the door and abruptly stopped in front of them. The mare had a brilliant raspberry mane, light cerulean eyes, and a pale, light raspberry coat.

"Hello Pinkie Pie, I've brought a friend to treat him out for a meal."

"Oh, hello there!" In yet another pink flash, Naruto found himself nose to nose with the mare with the cotton candy hair. She was dressed in a light pink shirt with balloons on it, two blue and one yellow in the middle adorning her torso, violet mini skirt along with white and pink sleeves and stockings. The energy radiating from her was quite infectious. "Ooh you have such fun hair? And what's with the fox tail. I don't think I've ever seen you before. How'd you get the foxtail? What's your name? Are you a fox-pony? I've never met a foxpony before!" she suddenly gasped after her flurry of questions threatened to overwhelm Naruto. "I have to plan you a party!"

"But you just met me why would you throw a party for me?" Naruto wondered, finding himself almost overwhelmed by the mare's questions.

"Because that's just what I do. I throw parties for all my new friends." She answered him with a bright, almost childlike smile.

"Pinkie Pie if you don't mind we're here to get something to eat." Naruto's companion told her.

Pinkie's eyes widened in glee. "Ooh! I didn't know you two came here to buy some sweets! Well, what do you and Mr. Foxpony want to eat?"

"H-Hey, the name is Naruto. Not Fox pony okay." Naruto remarked as a deep blush colored his cheeks.

"Nah-rue-toh? Wow that's such a strange candy. Sounds like a dance you do on your toes."

'My god. Every single one of them is insane.' Naruto thought as he simply sat back and resigned to a life of ponies that were going to confuse the hell out of him.

"Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie rambled on as dragged Twilight further into the building. "And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went" suddenly pausing for yet another deep gasp she rushed on just as quickly afterwards "I must throw this great ultra-mega super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!"

Twilight was overwhelmed by the fact there was easily over a hundred ponies gathered in the library. Refreshments were being enjoyed, ponies were chatting, and it was an all-around fun atmosphere. She soon found herself swamped by the four ponies that were part of the Festival, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"Awesome party Pinkie Pie!"

"I do say darling it always amazes me how you put together a party on such short notice."

"Hoo-wee ya always throw the best shendigs."

"T-The party is quite lively."

When the form of Berry Punch entered the doorway with her special product the party really kicked off.

Rarity was standing to the side and conversing with a mare by the name of Bon Bon by one of the bookcases. They were both quietly sipping wine.

Pinkie being Pinkie of course was doing wild dance moves in the middle of the floor with Vinyl Scratch trying to mimic the crazy action.

Naruto and Rainbow of course were having one of their competitions of who could down the most shots.

Spike and Fluttershy were sitting off to the side; the former tightly wrapped in the latter's embrace as she went on and on about questions she had about baby dragons despite the former's desire to get closer to Rarity.

"Alright everyone I have an announcement to make." Naruto loudly called out as the ponies at the party attention fell on him. Naruto began walking over to Rarity whose eyes widened.

"No…no." she softly mouthed out to him already know what was coming. From the hoots of the majority of ponies in the room so did they.

Naruto got on one knee. "Miss Rarity, I've known you for nearly a year now. You are one of the most graceful, kind, and generous ponies I have ever met. Would you do me the honor of…"

"You stop this right now Naruto Uzumaki!" Rarity shouted at him, a mix of being tipsy and embarrassment resulted in her having her less than stellar control. "I've told you about this little game. If you were still living with me I'd have you on the couch." As soon as the statement left her lips Rarity she regretted as a series of catcalls and further hoots followed. "Not in that way. How can so many of you be so vulgar?" she asked as she finished with a cute huff.

"Aaw she turned me down again folks." Naruto said with a casual shrug and a synonymous aww followed. "Oh well almost next time." He said as he grabbed a glass and raised it.

"She just turned down his marriage proposal? Why is everyone taking it so lightly?" Twilight asked the closest pony next to her, who upon closer inspection she realized was the town's mayor. Of all ponies Twilight thought that at least the mayor would have a bit more strength than to partake in something like this wild party.

"From what I can recall Miss Sparkle it's a game of sort cooked up by Rarity's sister seeing as she and Mr. Uzumaki simply adore each other. If he and Rarity were to get married that would make he and Sweetie Belle siblings by law, but miss Rarity refuses his proposals each time. Quite simply the whole thing is nonsense." Twilight agreed with a head nod. "It is obvious after all they are quite taken by each other. Hopefully one of them will get a clue sometime soon its quite annoying seeing them dance around each other." Twilight in disbelief shook her head and broke away from the fanfare.

Taking note of this separately Naruto and Spike excused themselves to follow the mare.

"Ugh, here I thought I'd have time to learn about the Elements of Harmony but, silly me, all this ridiculous friend-making has kept me from it!" Twilight muttered to herself as she looked out of the window and saw four stars moving towards the moon which had a symbol that strongly resembled the face of Nightmare Moon. "Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about everlasting night. I hope the Princess was right... I hope it really is just an old ponytale..."

"How long are you going to hide up here?" Naruto asked as he entered the room. Twilight was surprised that the pony was up here instead of partying with his friends. "Let me guess, you're not the type to make friends?"

"You too?" she asked him having already gone through this whole song and dance with Spike. "Look I don't have time for friends."

Naruto cut her off with a snort. "You believe that now but trust me; a life without friends isn't much of a life. For those of us who grew up without a family to love them or people to care for them, I would have killed to be in the position you are now with ponies being nice and happy to see me. Treating me like someone that they're happy to see. I never knew friendship growing up so don't throw away such a valuable opportunity." Naruto no longer felt any shame when it came to his past. If it meant he could help one person, then he could relive that experience briefly.

"Why…why would anypony be treated that way?" the befuddled unicorn asked. She couldn't imagine anypony being treated like they were unwanted. A part of her wanted to reject what the stallion was saying as such things didn't happen, but the conviction in his eyes supported that he wasn't lying.

"If you want to learn more I'd be happy to tell you after the festival. "

"C'mon, guys, it's time to watch the sunrise!" Spike said as he came back into the room.

"Well, its time to go. I'll wait for you guys downstairs." Naruto remarked as he went downstairs. By the time he got there he noticed that many of the ponies were chatting and leaving through the front door. It seemed like everyone was making their way to the City Hall for the Celebration to begin. He waited for Twilight and Spike to come down as he led them to Town Hall.

It had been nearly a thousand years since set hoof in this castle. This place held so many memories for her so many memories of a happier time that it hurt to think of the last incident seen within these walls. Using her magic she whipped away the grime and dust from one of the shattered mirrors hanging on the wall.

She looked up at the moon as the four stars in the sky vanished behind the moon, and the face on the moon began to fade away. Celestia took a deep breath to calm herself.

Powerful Magic erupted from the room as a wave washed over the Everfree forest. She watched as an aura began to form in the sky. Magic erupted from the sphere as the shockwaves nearly flattened the nearby land.

Soon a bipedal figure emerged. The sky began to darken as a storm began to pick up. Thunder and Lightning rain down as the presence began to move towards her.

Darkness converged on to the throne room as the essence finally took shape. The creature in question was nearly equal to Celestia in size. Her fur was that of sleek jet black coloration with cyan-blue slitted eyes. Like Celestia her body was ethereal befitting a goddess with soft angles to her jaw and with a defined muzzle. Her hair was that of a dark shimmering navy color and her fanged teeth were absolutely predatory. She was wearing a shimmering and revealing cyan dress with a large serrated horn protruding from her forehead and a pair of large wings on her back.

"Good evening, dear sister," the dark Alicorn greeted. There was a subtle other worldly echo to her voice. "Will thou not greet us?"

"When my sister Princess Luna returns I will happily greet her with open arms. You on the other hand, Nightmare Moon, I have little to say to you."

The comment seemed to spark something within the dark Alicorn as she launched herself at Celestia her hands flaring with magic. Hand casting was known throughout the lands as an extremely powerful form of magic use for Unicorns with very few Unicorns being born having both the power and the talent to use it. While the magic behind hand casting was weaker then casting through one's horn it allowed the successive use of spells much faster than having to actively change the spell through one's horn. There was also the fact that hand casting made certain brand of spells easier thanks to the added dexterity of using it over the horn.

Celestia just barely managed to block the blow, a magical shield materializing between them as the shockwave from the attack caused the wall nearest to them to explode and disintegrate. With a single powerful flap, she threw herself back, dodging a blast from Nightmare Moon's horn.

"I do not wish to fight you," Celestia said, but Nightmare Moon did not falter in her attack. Celestia was just barely able to use her magic to uproot slabs of the ground to block the attack.

"Then surrender yourself!"

Celestia buckled momentarily under the weight of Nightmare Moon's next magical attack. Channeling her magic through both her horn and her hands she shattered Celestia's barrier.

The magic released from her broken blade knocked Celestia off her hooves. She rolled and bounced across the throne room floor, eventually coming to a stop at the base of her former throne.

Her breathing was labored as the pain of the magical knock-back pulsed throughout her body.

Celestia took a few deep, gasping breaths to try and recover more quickly, but it was already too late. When she looked up, she saw Nightmare Moon standing over her and felt Nightmare Moon's black presence holding her down. "Pathetic! Thou was more of a challenge to us twelve-thousand moons ago. The lack of the ascended form shows thou has allows softness to overtake you. We shall make this quick." Nightmare Moon said as she called forth one of the very tools she crafted over a thousand years ago an amulet of incredible power that fed on the magic of the land and inhabitants itself. Nightmare Moon's magic washed over the castle and seconds later Celestia was gone. Content that the biggest threat to her was now gone Nightmare Moon decided it was time to make her move.

City hall in Ponyville was hustling and bustling with the gathered crowds gazing in admiration of the decorations. Those who volunteered were putting the finishing touches on the part where they contributed.

Clusters stood at the back of the room, speaking in groups while the front two-thirds of the room had packed rows of chairs in tight to the front balcony to allow as many as possible to watch The Princess raise the sun when the celebration began.

Twilight spotted Naruto who was telling Applejack something. Words were exchanged and he left and called out to Rarity who was with a young filly. The filly was a white unicorn with an adorable grayish mulberry and pale rose curly mane and tail. She realized that the filly must have been Rarity's little sister.

"Hey Twilight, I managed to save us a table. Why don't you and Spike join us?" he said as he called her over and introductions were exchanged. The excitement began to wind down as everyone began to take their seats.

The performance officially began as Fluttershy's birds to full attention, their song sounding out and echoing forth across the crowded hall. The doors opened and what followed was an arrangement of members of the Royal Guards. The first were the Solar Guard, the most elite of Equestria's guard and Celestia's personal guard let by the mare Shining Ray. Their duty was to personally protect Princess Celestia from assassins and protected Canterlot castle.

The next guard was the Unicorn Guard led by a Stallion by the name of Shining Armor. Their general duty was to monitor and protect large cities like Canterlot while also being on call at a moment's notice to create barriers to repel attacks.

Finally there was the Equestria guard consisting of ponies of all three pony types. The various sects in the guards were assigned various duties often making the brunt of the Equestria army.

Excited whisper and chatter happened among many of the towns members. After a good deal of fanfare Mayor Mare took to the center stage. She grabbed the microphone and began to speak. "People of Ponyville, it is with my own pride and a grand honor to introduce to you her highness. Princess Celestia!" with a sweeping shift he cast his gaze up to the balcony, were Rarity in that moment reached out and pulled at the cord that held the drapes closed.

And standing in behind them? Not the Sun goddess who had for thousands of years ruled over their kind and protected them from the dangers that filled the world. Instead it was the form of Nightmare Moon, now armed with thin cyan armor chest mail and armor head piece with crafted with arcane designs carved into every inch of the surface with the twinkling images of the stars themselves visible in her mane. "Greetings mine subjects. At long last thy one true queen has returned."

"Ombra…that darkness is the same as Ombra." Naruto mentally thought as he couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelm by the power this being was exhuming.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little sun-loving faces." Nightmare Moon announced as she was looking at the audience of ponies.

"What did you do with our Princess?!" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she tried to charge at Nightmare Moon but she was stopped by Applejack.

"Whoa there, Nelly..." Applejack as she grabbed Rainbow by the shoulder and forced her down Nightmare Moon than began a cold and cruel chuckle.

"Tell us, whom among you know who I am?" Nightmare Moon prompted as her demonic eyes skimmed over the ponies. ""...Yes," Twilight said. "You're... Nightmare Moon."

"Well well well, somepony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to... to..." Twilight Sparkle began to stammer. Having lost the confidence she had for that moment.

A malignant smile graces the lips of the dark goddess. "Remember this day, little ponies, for today is the last day the sun will ever rise. From this moment forth, eternal night has begun!" Nightmare Moon said as lightning starts to fill the air.

The Guards immediately mobilized and went into action. "Steady Hoof and Aegis Shield get the civilians out of here. The rest of you ready yourselves." Shining Ray barked out of the commands as the orders were being further dictated through a chain of command though before the Solar Guard Captain's plan could jump into action multiple figures exploded in through the window and doors.

Screams of terror echoed through the building as various creatures began cornering the ponies. There were the wolf creatures known as Lycans who were the descendant of wolves and an instinct race of creatures known as humans.

There were also some griffins as well, considering the at best testy relations between the ponies and griffins this wasn't a complete and other surprise.

There was also Satyrs as well to which Naruto recognized from that day all those months ago. One thing stood out among the creatures that made it clear where their allegiance lies with. The features apparent in them were those eyes, those dark slitted eyes of the same shape and color of Nightmare Moon.

"Thy princess is a merciful goddess. Accept my gifts and we guarantee that thy life will be a pleasant one."

"Never tyrant!" Shining Ray spat out. A proud member of the guard with rose colored hair and honey colored eyes. Years of being in the service saw her developed a muscled form usually unseen on Unicorns without specialized training.

"My subjects; show them the price of their insolence." By Nightmare Moon's command all hell broke loose.