The Night of Nightmares is almost upon us, is everything ready for tomorrow Empress?
If one were to look upon Ponyville at this very moment, they might have thought the worst. The town, usually a pleasant and simple farming village with a cozy atmosphere, had been radically transformed in preparation for the coming holiday. Poles bearing flags of the Empress’ cutie mark were embedded in the ground on each road leading into Ponyville, while banners marked many a house and government building. A slight fog (thanks to unicorn magic and a good old fashioned smoke machine) hovered lazily around everypony’s hooves. Various posters (made by Cheerilee’s class, obviously) held the Empress’ visage alongside motivational messages such as, “Serve the Empress!”, “Embrace Harmony!”, or (one of Twilight’s personal favorites) “Find friendship is subjugation!”
Thanks Twist, you really know how to get a tyrannical government rolling.
But it was more than the buildings that were different here, the ponies were too. Everypony was dressed in their Nightmare Night outfit early. Inspired by Twilight, a great deal of the population chose to add to the lore of the scene by becoming part of the play much earlier than normal. Among the ponies she’d spoken to recently, she’d seen a rogue changeling who came to feed on Ponyville’s love, a medieval knight displaced by time, and at least three Princess Celestias who wanted to spy on the Empire in hopes of saving her lost student.
But some ponies wanted to, rather than fight the masquerade, join it. A number of ponies (most notably local law officers and peacekeepers) wore modified variants of their personal uniforms to include Twilight’s cutie mark and color scheme. Most of the ponies who worked in town hall found themselves as chief devotees of the Empress and among her most trusted advisors when discussing her evil plots (“Empress, while it would be funny, I’m not sure pretending to declare war on Equestria will earn you any favors in the press once this is all over.”) And one can’t forget the local Hayburger completely throwing their hat in as the “Go-To Place For Empress Eats”.
All in all, Ponyville was good. Strong, healthy, and above all; happy. That’s what mattered to Twilight beyond all that, that her little gag here and there made ponies happy. She was no Element of Laughter, but she would do what she could.
