"So, how would you like to do this, Miss Mayor?" I asked a little later. I was standing in a circle next to the stage with her, Luna, and Zecora.

"Well, since this is your house," the mayor said, "I was thinking that you could start with a brief speech of your own. I'd feel like I'd be stepping on your hooves-er, feet."

"I suppose I could do that," I said, not exactly a fan of giving speeches. I turned to Luna. "Luna, when are you planning on raising the moon tonight?"

Luna looked at the sunset, then put on a thoughtful face. "I believe 'tis almost time for my sister to lower the sun."

"Well, why don't we start a new tradition?" I asked.

"Pray, tell us," Luna said, looking curiously at me.

"Well, we could have you on the stage, bringing the moon up. When the moon is up, Nightmare Night can begin," I explained. "Think of it as a signal to start the night, and as a way to break the ice between you and the other Ponies of Ponyville."

"That actually sounds like a great idea, love," Zecora said, smiling over at me. "What do you think, your Highness?"

Luna looked thoughtful again, then smiled. "We-I like the idea, but are you sure it will work?"

"Most of the town knows me already," I said, "and I'm sure they'll listen to me. Come on, let's get ready to introduce you." I gestured for all three women to head to the stage.

"Wait, why me?" Zecora asked as she nevertheless headed up.

"Well, weren't you planning on leading the little foals around and telling them about the legend of Nightmare Night?" I asked, chuckling.

She grinned. "Fair point, love."

"Now you're stealing my line," I rolled my eyes but smiled back.

"Jethro! Princess Luna?!" Twilight called out from nearby. Turning, I saw the purple mare running up with Spike, the latter of whom already had a large bag of candy. As promised, Twilight was dressed as Star Swirl, and Spike was in his Dragon costume. "Hah…hah…I didn't expect to see you here, Princess."

"Jethro invited me," Luna said, "and I did want to try the festivities here."

Twilight looked at me with shock. "You invited the Princess?"

I grinned. "I did, indeed." Turning to Spike, I chuckled. "Quite the haul you have, there. I've got some to hand out, but you have to work for it." Leaning down, I put an arm around the little drake and pointed at the house. "You must escape my haunted house of terrors," I added with a spooky voice. "Solve the mystery of the Mysterious Mare of the Manor! Put her spirit to rest, and she will release you from the house! Muahahaha!" I spread my wings and laughed evilly.

As if to emphasize what I was saying, a lightning bolt arced across the sky, causing the poor Dragon to jump. Looking over, I saw Rainbow Dash pushing a small cloud over towards my house and laughing. "Got 'im!" she laughed.

"I did warn you not to do that, RD," I frowned. "Do you want me to tell Rarity about that thing I just told you about?"

She stiffened. "You'd better not."

"Oh, I won't," I said, "as long as you behave."

"Spoilsport," she rolled her eyes, but continued pushing the storm cloud towards the house.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.

"I'll tell you later," I promised. "For now, Mayor, Luna, Zecora? Are we ready?" When they all gave me an affirmative answer, we all headed up to the stage. There was a podium already set up as well as an antique looking microphone. I tapped it, and got some feedback which immediately vanished. "Hello, and good evening, fillies and gentlecolts!" I called out, my voice echoing around my property. Many of the Ponies around the property began gathering in front of the stage. "Welcome to this very special Nightmare Night Festival! Now, as a newcomer, I'm really excited to participate in the fun times you all get to enjoy, but tonight has a few special surprises in store. For one, we have a haunted house attraction for all the children here."

I gestured to the house, and this got cheers from the various Ponies, especially from the children. I smiled and continued. "Once you're all in the house, you'll be locked in and have to figure out the mystery of the Mysterious Mare of the Manor. Once you do that, you'll be released and find yourselves in my backyard where you'll be gifted some treasures, so look forward to that!"

I stepped towards Luna while the children were cheering. "I would also like to introduce you all to Princess Luna. She has graced us with her presence, and wishes to participate in all the fun. I ask that you all show her the games and goodies around here."

Luna stepped forward, looking in a regal manner over the now quiet crowd. "I eagerly await the festivities!"

"Please, treat her well!" I called out. "And now, I'd like to ask our beloved Princess to raise the moon and officially ring in the night so we can begin the celebration. If you would, your Highness?" I bowed.

Luna flew up and looked at the sky. Closing her eyes, she smiled as her horn began to glow. The sun began quickly moving down and, in the east, the lovely silver orb of the moon began rising. As she descended, I said, "Nightmare Night has officially begun! Stomp your hooves together for the Princess of the night, Princess Luna!"

To my delight, many of them began applauding, and soon the others who had hesitated joined in as well. I applauded as well, before speaking again. "I know many of you associate her with the entity known as Nightmare Moon, but I can guarantee that she is a nightmare no more. In fact, when I was embroiled in that nasty business in the Lycan Empire, she and her sister Princess Celestia did everything in their power to try and rescue me to the point of exhaustion. For that, she has my eternal thanks."

I gave her a bow as the crowd cheered louder. Luna looked at me with a wide smile, then turned to the crowd and spread her wings. "I cannot wait to enjoy the night with you all!" she said, any hesitation in her expression quickly vanishing.

Looking over at Twilight, I gestured her up to the stage. She quickly came up and I whispered, "Would you mind staying with her? I can't really stay since I've got to watch over the haunted house with Rainbow Dash and Scarlet."

She smiled. "Of course! I'd be glad to show her around!"

"Excellent. Thank you," I said as I returned to the podium. "Now then, I'll turn this over to your mayor. I have a haunted house to prepare." My smile turned dark as I spread my wings. "You'd all best be prepared…the Mysterious Mare of the Manor is not one to be trifled with…muahahaha!" I jumped up, flapping as I flew around the crowd before heading back to my Victorian mansion, which was now surrounded by a mystical fog and a small thunderstorm. I entered, then headed down the hall. Opening one of the doors, I stepped into my command center. One wall was lit up with various scrying spells which gave a clear view of all the rooms for the attraction. There were three chairs in the room, two of which were occupied by Scarlet and Rainbow Dash.

Scarlet turned and smiled widely at me. "Jethro! Glad you could make it! Everything's ready in here."

I took a seat in between both mares, cracking my knuckles. "Glad to hear it. Time to get this party started." I looked at the outside 'Camera' and chuckled. I saw a group of foals approaching, and to my surprise so was Pinkie Pie. "Perfect. Our first victims."

Scarlet leaned in and whispered, "Dayum, look at those thicc flanks on that pink one. Those furtight chicken legs really accentuate that jiggling phat ass-"

"God damn it, Scarlet!"

The three of us laughed as a third group was scared by one of Rainbow Dash's jumpscares, a falling tarantula from one of the kitchen's cupboards. It had been about an hour into the night, and plenty of foals and parents had entered our little haunted attraction. Scarlet had volunteered to voice the Mysterious Mare, and even told me how ironic it was since she'd lived in the house for years.

Currently, I recognized Rarity, who was wearing the most fashionable looking gown with a powdered wig on her head. I also recognized the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who looked like they were having a blast. They jumped when a flash of lightning illuminated one of the changing portraits.

Motion on the scrying spell around the front door caught my attention. Looking back, I saw Twilight waving at me. I touched the floating screen, which opened a two-way communication between me and her. "What is it, Twilight?"

"Don't you think it's time for one of you to take a break?" she asked. "You're all missing the festival."

"Yeah, I think we can do that," I said, opening the window. "I'll send Rainbow Dash out first. Half hour sound fun?"

"I was thinking all three of you," Twilight said. "I can come in and help run things. The Princess is eager to see you again."

I looked at the children on the other screens. I saw Sweetie Belle discovering one of the keys required to open the lock to the chest in the corner of the room that held the key to the outside. "Can you be scary?" I asked Twilight. "And be honest."

"I-I can be plenty scary!" she said with a pout.

"Pshh, come on, Twilight, dressed up in an old stallion's costume?" Rainbow Dash said. "Pinkie Pie would be better suited to scare little fillies than you."

"Somepony mention my name?" Pinkie's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, why don't you two come do it together?" I asked. "Twilight knows the magic and the layout, and Pinkie Pie could act as the Mysterious Mare."

"Ooooh! I get to scare Ponies? Yay! Count me in!" Pinkie shouted happily.

Twilight rolled her eyes, but nodded. "That could work," she said.

"Great! Come around to the window and I'll let you in," I said.

"Be there in a jiffy!" Pinkie Pie said before vanishing. Twilight followed, shouting at Pinkie to wait up.

A short while later, the two Ponies were in the room, taking their seats in the now vacant chairs. Pinkie took mine, and Twilight took Scarlet's. To my surprise, I heard the familiar grunting of a certain young Dragon from the window. I looked out and saw Spike trying to jump up to grab the ledge. Using my magic, I lifted him in along with all his candy into the room. "Come to help, little drake?"

"I'm not Twilight's number one assistant for nothing, monkey-man," he grinned, giving me a fist bump.

"Well, I hope you enjoy scaring the pants off of these children for a while," I chuckled. "You certainly seemed to enjoy your turn."

He nodded. "I really did."

"Pinkie Pie, aren't you hot in that furtight costume?" I heard Scarlet ask.

"Hot? Nah, I'm fine!" the pink party Pony said.

"You sure?" Scarlet asked, giving me a look and a wink. Leaning in, she whispered, "Jethro here was just saying just how sexy you looked in that costume-"

"There are children present, Scarlet," I growled as I grabbed her by the arm. "You need a cold shower."

"You're no fun," she pouted as she slowly climbed out of the window. "See you all in a bit!" She walked off, whistling the theme to Love is Hard for an Otaku.

"Remind me to have a serious talk with that…mare…?" I was just about to climb out of the window when a hoof on my arm stopped me. I turned, seeing a curious and slightly nervous looking Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie?"

"She…was just kidding, right?" Pinkie asked quietly. "You didn't actually say that, did you?"

I knelt and whispered back, "Nah, I didn't say that. She did."

"So…you don't think that?" Pinkie asked, almost sounding a bit disappointed.

Well, that came out of left field, I thought. I sighed. "That's not what I said. All I said was that I didn't say that." I put plenty of emphasis on the word SAY.

Pinkie Pie blushed hard at that. "Nopony's ever…thought of me like that before," she admitted. "Do you really think I'm se-?"

"Pinkie, there are children present," I repeated, a bit more harshly than I intended. Feeling guilty after seeing the saddened look on Pinkie's face, I softened my expression, leaned forward, and whispered more quietly, "I might have a marefriend, but that doesn't mean I can't find other mares physically attractive, you know? And you're plenty attractive."

A big smile formed on her face as she jumped around the room, looking like her normal, happy self. "Yay!"

I sighed, then stood again. "Well, how long are you willing to stay here?" I asked Twilight, who was focusing on the scrying screens on the wall.

"As long as you want, don't worry," Twilight said. "I'll ask Spike to get you if something happens."

"Understood. See you all in a while," I said as I climbed out of the room. As I did, I sighed. I have a feeling Scarlet's made more trouble for me…

"Jethro! There you are!" Luna's voice called out to me as I rejoined the main festival. She was standing near the edge of the festival grounds. "How has the haunted house been?"

"So far, I think it's been a rousing success," I said, walking up to join her. "How have things been here?"

"The same!" She smiled happily, and I realized I really enjoyed seeing her smile. "I have had plenty of fun!" She used her magic to levitate up a stuffed chicken. "I even got this gift for Celestia!"

"Oh? Does she like chickens?" I asked, chuckling.

"Quite the opposite, they scare her," Luna's smile turned into a grin.

"Hold up…Celestia, powerful monarch and immortal Alicorn, is scared of a harmless little chicken?" I asked. "For real?"

Luna giggled. "Oh my, yes! She's been scared of them ever since we were fillies!"

"What the hell kind of trauma did she have to go through to be scared of one of the most harmless barn animals in existence?" I asked. "Especially ones that are delicious deep fried in batter…aaaand, now I want KFC…"

"What is this KFC you speak of?" Luna asked.

"It's a fast-food restaurant from my world called Kentucky Fried Chicken, where the main staple is, well, fried chicken," I replied, "but back to the main topic. Celestia's afraid of chickens, eh? I shall store that little nugget of knowledge away for a rainy day."

"I cannot wait to see what you do with it," Luna grinned conspiratorially.

"Indeed. Well, what should we do now? Is there anything around you'd like to try?" I asked.

"I did see some other Ponies near a basin of water with apples in it," she said.

"Apple bobbing! I haven't done that in years!" I grinned. "Come on! I haven't had anything to eat since lunch!" And with that, I zoomed off, heading straight towards the basin.

As I caught sight of it, I saw a few other Ponies with their mouths in the water. I recognized two of the Ponies there immediately. One was, of course, Applejack, and the other was Derpy, who unlike in the show had on a mouse costume, complete with whiskers and the fake ears. I waved my hands. "AJ!"

Applejack, who was watching the other Ponies attempt to get an apple, turned. Her smile came to life and she waved back. "Jethro! Princess Luna! Mighty fine night for a celebration, ain't it?"

"Indeed it is, Miss Applejack," Luna said. "How have you and your family been?"

"Ah, shucks, you don't need tuh call me Miss, yer Highness," Applejack said. "Ah'm just a farmgirl. But our family's doin' great!"

"I am pleased to hear this," Luna said, before looking at the basin. "So, how does one participate in this apple bobbing Jethro mentioned?"

"Like this!" I heard Derpy shout before fully submerging her head underwater, then pulling out a Younger Golden. She threw it up in the air, caught it in her mouth in a better position, then took a bit bite out of it. She made a satisfied moaning as she held onto the rest of the apple with her wing before opening her eyes and seeing me. "Jethro! Hi! I was wondering where you went!"

"I've been helping to run the haunted house," I said, pointing to my house. "Apple Bloom's in there right now with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Ah certainly hope she has a good time in there," Applejack said. "Are ya ready to try getting' an apple?"

"Am I? You're darn tootin' I am! I'm starving!" I walked over to the basin. "Come on, Luna!"

She walked over, looking into the apple bobbing basin. "Are those Younger Goldens?" she asked.

"Eeyup! They've been a big success ever since we started sellin' them," Applejack said.

"Perhaps I should order some from your farm," Luna said thoughtfully.

I knelt before the basin. "Yeah…I'm gonna get wet, I think," I said, quickly removing my hoodie and t-shirt. "Welp, here I go!" And with that, I put my hands behind my back, took a deep breath, and dunked my head in, trying hard to get the nearest apple. The water was incredibly cold and shocked my senses so I felt more awake and alert. I bit down when I thought I felt the stem, but Applejack must have snipped them off.

That clever mare, I though as I moved the apple around with my tongue, trying to grab an edge, but it slipped out. I decided to try something new, so I exhaled a bit of my air, then opened my mouth wide, inhaling it so my mouth acted something like a suction cup. When it began to stick, I bit down, but that failed as well.

I came up for a breath of air, my hair falling around my face. I brushed it aside. "Yowser! That's ice cold!" I exclaimed, looking up at Applejack.

"Well, sugarcube, it's Autumn," she shrugged. "Besides, apples keep better in cold water fer this kind of thing."

"Fair point," I said. "Welp, time for round two!" Taking a deep breath, I put my hands behind my back and dove right in this time, finding another apple. I gently nudged it to the side of the basin, pressing it against the side. I dug my teeth in and with a mighty yank, pulled it out successfully. I stood, grabbed the apple, and took it out of my mouth. "Victory is mine!" I shouted triumphantly.

"Congrats," Applejack said, smiling. "Ya did a mighty fine job."

"Indeed," Luna said, looking at me with a small blush on her cheeks, "that was quite a skillful display."

"Eh, I'm out of practice," I chuckled as I took the towel Applejack offered to me. I ran it through my hair. "On the last Sunday of every October, our church would throw this celebration called a Reformation Party, which celebrated many different events in Christian history. We had apple bobbing as a game for children to enjoy, and I got decently good at it. We'd also always go home with some of the homemade applesauce the family who's farm our church used for the party would make. Definitely some of the best applesauce I've had."

"Ah'll have to get ya some of our applesauce," Applejack said with a proud smile.

"I look forward to tasting it," I said, brushing the water off of my chest.

Applejack blushed a bit as I did so. "Well, again, congrats on gettin' that there apple," she said.

"Thanks," I chuckled, handing the towel back and beginning to put my clothes back on. "Yeesh, I'm cold!"

"Wouldst you like to start the bonfire early?" Luna asked. The bonfire was another idea I had from my Reformation Party days, and one I felt would really get the children excited. It was also another great way to end the evening.

"No, I'll be alright," I said, throwing my hoodie back on. "Ready to give it a try, Luna?"

"But of course, and I shall beat your time!" Luna said as she approached the basin.

Derpy was suddenly by my side, looking up at me with a wide smile. "How are you enjoying your Nightmare Night?" she asked.

"Well, since I spent an hour in the haunted house, and this is my first activity so far, I'd say pretty good!" I took a bite of the apple. "Mmm…"

"Right?!" She took a bite. "Veesh are almosht ash gud ash muffinsh!"

I chewed on the deliciousness that was the Younger Golden before swallowing. "No kidding," I chuckled. "Sweet Apple Acres is gonna be rolling in the dough, what with that contract they just received from Prince Blueblood."

"He gave an advance on our pay!" Applejack said excitedly. "We've already begun fixin' up the barn and set up an appointment for Granny's hip replacement! And we're fillin' Blueblood's orders as well, of course."

"Of course."

Luna came back up, a large apple in her mouth. "Hujjah! I hagh wun!" she said before moving back and floating the apple out of her mouth. "I mean…huzzah! I have one!"

"Good job, yer Highness!" Applejack said, clapping her hooves.

"The fun has been doubled!" Luna said, turning and winking at me knowingly.

I laughed. "Oh, I'll bet! If you wanna go again, go ahead. I wanna save my stomach for more. I hear there's rock candy here."

"What is this rock candy you speak of?" Luna asked, intrigued.

"Pure sugar crystals on a stick or string," I replied. "Flavored, too. It takes a week to make them. They're pure tooth rotting goodness. Wanna go try?"

"Once I finish this apple, I shall accompany you," she said. She chewed on her apple, holding her hoof up. When she swallowed, she smiled. "Mmmm…" That was the sound of pure satisfaction. She opened her eyes, face going red at the faux pas. She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Pardon me for my lack of decorum."

"Hey, no need to apologize," I chuckled. "There's nothing wrong with showing how much you really enjoy something, you know. I'm sure AJ here would agree."

"Dern right ah would!" she said.

"There you go! Now then, let's get some rock candy!"

I lost track of time as I walked around the festival with Luna. Not only did we enjoy rock candy, but there was also some orange cotton candy in the shape of a carved pumpkin. There were spider web catchers, trebuchets, bows and arrows, and plenty of stalls that gave away prizes. I actually won a few stuffed animals, giving a large bat plushie to Luna, who looked excited to accept a gift from me.

About an hour later, Spike came to find me, followed behind by Scarlet. When I saw him approaching, I said, "Damn, what time is it?"

"Just past eight o'clock," Luna said.

"Been an hour, huh? I should head back to the haunted house."

"Might I come and observe?" Luna asked.

I looked at her, a bit surprised. "I don't mind," I said. Looking over, I saw a new batch of children approaching the open front doors. "If we hurry, we can get there just as the ghost locks the little children in. It's our last performance of the night, anyway."

Luna, Scarlet and I headed back to the open window where an impatient Twilight was waiting. I let Scarlet and Luna climb in first before I joined…and was immediately glomped by a clucking Pinkie Pie. I slammed against the wall and slid down it. "Pinkie?!" Twilight shouted in alarm as the pink chicken nuzzled my face like some kind of cat again. "What are you doing?!"

"Anyone get the phone number of that sexy mare…?" I asked, a little dazed.

"123-726-7637!" Pinkie giggled, giving my cheek a very affectionate nuzzle. "Extension three!"

"Uh…write it down and get it to me later," I chuckled, shaking the daze off. "I'll put it in my phonebook."

She smiled, making her signature 'squee' before she got off of me. "How's the night?"

"It's going really well!" Pinkie said.

"Pinkie's really good at doing a scary voice," Spike said, "she even scared me."

Pinkie put on a spooky face, and said, "Here, in the gallery, you see rare paintings of some of our residents as they appeared in their…corruptible, mortal state!"

"You really enjoyed that Haunted Mansion story, didn't you?" I smirked.

"It was spooky!" Pinkie replied with her normal voice.

"Shame I can't take you to Disneyland," I chuckled. "I think you'd really enjoy the rides." As I said that, however, I wondered if Sunset Shimmer's world had something like it. Or if it had Disney at all. Only one way to find out, I suppose, I thought. "The kids in the house now will be the last one before the ending bonfire. Go ahead and head out, you three. And don't bother finding Rainbow Dash, let her enjoy the night."

Pinkie smile wide, then rushed out the window in a white blur. Twilight facehooved, but smiled. "See you at the bonfire?" she asked.

"You bet," I said. "Don't start without me."

Twilight nodded, and after helping Spike out of the window, climbed out and was gone. I took my seat, with Scarlet on one side, and Luna on the other. I picked up the mic. "Alright, Scarlet, let's do this. You ready?"

"You know it, big boy!"

I groaned, handing her the mic. "Showtime." I pressed the button that slammed and locked the front door…

"That was quite entertaining to watch," Luna admitted as the three of us walked down the hallway towards the front door. "You certainly spared no expense."

"This guy's richer than God," Scarlet joked. "But it definitely was really well done."

I pat Scarlet on the back. "You really helped with that, Narumi-don."

Luna looked at me confused. "Who is Narumi-don?"

"The character she's dressed up as is named Narumi," I explained. "It's from a comedy romance anime called Love Is Hard For An Otaku."

"What's an otaku?" Luna asked.

"What I've turned Scarlet into," I joked, earning me a playful glare from the big breasted mare. "In all seriousness, an otaku is a person who enjoys a certain subgenre of media from Japan. That could include games, manga and anime."

"What kind of games? Board games?" Luna asked.

"Video games, actually," I explained.

"Oh? What are video games?"

I'd seen the gamer Luna stereotype in the fandom, and I was hesitant to introduce her to video games since it might affect her negatively if she was introduced to something so addictive. Still, it was a chance to test out the theory that the fandom had come up with. "Well, I don't have time to show you tonight, and the games I have are better played with hands, but I do know that there are older styled video games in Equestria you can try."

"Are they fun?" Luna asked.

"The ones I've played are really fun," I said.

"Then I shall give video games a try sometime," she said as we headed out the door. "Now then, where is the bonfire?"

Looking around, I pointed at the center of the yard. "Right there. The crowd's already gathering." Turning, I bowed to the two women. "Shall we go, ladies?"

Luna laughed. "Lead the way, my good sir."