The three of us made our way towards the gathering of Ponies around the pile of wood and straw that would eventually become the bonfire. Most of the stalls had by this time already closed or were in the process of doing so in anticipation of the fire. A few members of the weather team were on standby, sitting on nearby rain clouds just in case the fire spread in a direction that could endanger others.

As we approached, we were greeted by Rarity, who I hadn't interacted with all night. "Darling," she said, looking at me with an accusing glance, "why didn't you tell me that you invited the princess?" she asked before turning to Luna and bowing low. "Your Highness, it's a pleasure to see you here."

"No need to be on ceremony with me, Miss Rarity," Luna said, raising a hoof. "I came here to enjoy the festivities." She looked around. "Pardon me for asking, but where is the one called Fluttershy? I have not seen her all evening."

"She doesn't really celebrate Nightmare Night," Rainbow Dash explained, flying down to land beside Rarity. "She gets scared easily so she stays home."

"That is unfortunate, but I understand. I was hoping to say hello to her," Luna said. "But perhaps another time. Meanwhile, when will this bonfire start?"

"Just a few more minutes," Rainbow Dash said. "The Mayor's gonna make a speech."

Just then I felt a pair of arms wrapping themselves slowly around me from behind as two large pillowy mounds pressed against me. "Did you miss me, love?" Zecora asked, kissing my cheek.

I lowered myself, grabbed her thighs and lifted her up so I was giving her a piggyback ride. She laughed and wrapped her arms and legs around me. "I really did. How was your night?"

"I enjoyed it, but it was missing you," she said, putting her chin on my head.

"Miss Zecora, it is a pleasure to see you once again," Luna said.

"Greetings again, your Highness. Did you enjoy the night?" Zecora asked.

Luna smiled. "It was very fun!"

"The night isn't over yet," I chuckled. "Time to wind it down with a nice bonfire."

I watched as the mayor approached a large stool. Standing on it, she cleared her throat. "Attention, everypony!" As the voices of the gathered crowd died down, she smiled. "How was everyone's Nightmare Night?" Cheers of joy and celebration ran through the crowd, and I joined in. "Sounds as if everypony had a great time! Now, before we finish off the night with this bonfire, I'd like to thank a couple individuals. First, Mr. Jethro Bethridge, for generously allowing the festival to take place on his property!"

The crowd went nuts, stomping the ground so hard it felt like an earthquake. I smiled and waved. The mayor continued. "Second, I would like to especially thank Princess Luna for attending our humble celebration!"

The cheers were louder this time, and I saw Luna looking so touched that I was afraid she might cry. However, she presumably had plenty of practice holding onto her composure, and it showed when she waved her hoof at the crowd. The mayor continued. "Third, I'd like to thank each and every one of you who worked so hard to make this night possible! I've lived in Ponyville my whole life, and I have never seen a Nightmare Night this amazing before. You have not only my thanks, but I'm sure you have the thanks of everypony here who enjoyed this festive night!"

The applause was a thunder, and I even heard some actual thunder from some of the nearby weather team. I whistled as well, extremely grateful for all the work put in as well. The mayor turned to Twilight Sparkle, who stood nearby next to the rest of her friends sans Fluttershy. "Miss Sparkle, would you mind lighting this bonfire?"

Twilight smiled. "I'd be more than happy to!" Her horn glowed, and the hay nearby was set ablaze.

There must have been some kind of accelerant poured over the hay, since it spread more quickly than I was expecting it to. Soon a massive blaze was going and Ponies had to step back or risk excessive heat. I found a dry patch of grass and sat down. Zecora, who was still on my back, climbed off and sat on my lap. An ocean blue Unicorn mare came by and offered us either hot chocolate or hot cider, the former of which we both took gratefully. Luna was seated at my left, Scarlet on my right. A certain party Pony bounded over and plopped herself down right on my legs, digging right into her large bag of goodies and sipping on her hot chocolate.

"So, love," Zecora said softly in my ear, "how was your evening with the princess?"

"I really enjoyed myself, and I think she did too," I replied. "It definitely went better than in the show."

Zecora nodded, smiling happily. "I'm glad you had fun. But is there something on your mind? Especially in regards to a certain pink mare?" She turned and looked at Pinkie, who was still devouring her food, although she'd ditched her costume, presumably since it was warm now. She was facing away from me, staring at the fire now with her backside on full view. I really hope that isn't intentional. Ah, it's Pinkie. It's probably extremely intentional…

"Right…yeah, I guess there is." I explained the situation that Scarlet had put me in, and how Pinkie had reacted. "I really hope that doesn't mean anything…"

"Perhaps it does, or perhaps it doesn't," Zecora said. "From what I have seen of her, most Ponies find it hard to handle her, even though she's well liked. You're one of the few who seems to be able to handle her for longer periods of time."

"I don't know about that," I said. "I just expect the absurd from her. Her optimism and happiness is infectious, too. I can't help but smile whenever I see her."

"I would just be patient and watch," Zecora said. "Who knows?"

"Ugh…back burner matter," I grumbled, but was immediately silenced by Zecora's lips crashing into mine, banishing any of my worries. "Heeeh…" was all I could say when she broke away.

"Feel better, beloved?" she grinned.

"Much. Thank you, dear."

She lay her head on my chest and closed her eyes. "You're welcome."

I held her there in silence for a long while, feeling the familiar burning sensation I got whenever I stared for too long at a bonfire and basking in the glow of memories that the sensation brought back. I remembered sitting next to my Trixie on a different patch of grass beneath an identical clear autumn sky, the voices of my parents, Trixie's parents, and other churchgoers in medieval costumes filling my memories.

I could almost see her again, the last time she and I went together. She'd worn a peasant girl costume, complete with a red bodice, white flowing dress and a flower headband that only made her blue eyes pop. I'd been in an expensive knight costume, complete with flowing cape and metal sword strapped to my side. Much like Zecora was now, my Trixie had been in my lap, my hand stroking her hair lovingly as we both sipped on hot apple cider and just stared at the fire in contented silence.

As the memory played, I felt a few tears falling, only for a hoof to gently begin rubbing at my eyes. Coming back to reality, I found myself looking into the worried eyes of Pinkie Pie. "Jethy?" she asked hesitantly.

"Ah, damn, I'm sorry," I said, wiping my eyes quickly. "Did you say something?"

She shook her head. "No. Are you alright? You looked sad again." She rubbed her cheek against mine. "Please tell us if something's wrong."

"I was just remembering Trixie," I admitted, then immediately turned to Zecora. "I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize for remembering a former love," Zecora said softly. "She'll be a part of you for your whole life. I'm not upset."

Pinkie put her hooves around my neck. "Tonight's a time for fun, silly," she said in a kind voice that reminded me more of Fluttershy than anything.

"Pinkie Pie," an unusually serious Scarlet said, scooting closer to us, "I'm guessing he's remembering something special. Right, Jethro?"

I smiled. "Yeah. I'm remembering the last time I sat in front of a bonfire."

"Do you want to tell us about it?" Zecora asked. "I wouldn't mind."

I looked up at the stars above. "It was when Trixie and I were seventeen," I explained. "The family who owned the farm where we would hold our little Reformation Party celebration was moving by the end of the year, so we'd have no other place to do it, meaning it was the last time. She and I had gone together for as long as we'd been friends, and we wanted to make it a special one. We spent all evening pretty much stuck to each other. I was dressed as a knight and she was dressed as a peasant woman. We partook in all of the games with pretty much extra gusto since it was our last time doing that sort of thing. The evening ended in front of the bonfire, much like tonight's."

"Jethro, forgive me for assuming, but may I ask if this was one reason why you wished for a bonfire?" Luna, who'd been listening in next to me, asked.

"You caught me," I said with a sheepish smile. "It brought back a lot of good memories, but also bittersweet."

"Then you're just gonna have to make some new memories!" Pinkie said, squeezing me tighter.

"I already have," I said, putting one arm around Pinkie and the other around Zecora. I looked at the friends surrounding me. "It's almost impossible to be sad when surrounded by everyone here."

Pinkie made that 'squee' sound again as the Mane Six, Zecora, and Luna all smiled at me. Pinkie raised her mug. "To making new happy memories with our bestie for resties, Jethro!"

We all raised our mugs, clinking them together before taking a long gulp each. As Luna levitated her mug down, she looked at me curiously. "Jethro, I am curious about something you said earlier."

"Oh? What's that?" I asked.

"You implied that Equestria has a different form of video games than Earth. How do you mean?"

I chuckled. "Well, allow me to explain…"

As the fire went on, I explained to Luna and, surprisingly, the other Mane Six and my marefriend, how from what little I'd seen about Equestrian video games, they were a few decades out of date from the ones I was used to. When I compared them to games from my world, I brought up early Nintendo systems and games like Pac-Man and lower bit games like that. I was surprised that a young brown colt wearing an outfit that reminded me a bit of Mario came and joined us. I recognized him as a minor background character called Button Mash. An older mare joined us, a pink furred yellow maned woman who was dressed as a bumblebee. She identified herself as Cherry Berry, Button Mash's mother. There goes that fandom character Cream Heart, I thought.

Button Mash's questions about my own world's video games were pretty standard, how many were there, what were the graphics like and others in that vein. As the fire died down, so did the questions. I did warn Button Mash that some of our video games were for a more mature audience, but that if it was possible, I would try and find games from Earth that I could share at some point. At this point, I was gathering more and more reasons to go to Sunset Shimmer's world.

Finally, Cherry called her son away, thanked me for helping make her son's evening more exciting, and headed home. I stood and saw others starting to head home as well. Looking at my phone, I saw the time was a few minutes past nine forty in the evening. "Damn, how time flies," I said as I stood. "Did everyone here have fun?"

"This was the first time I've ever enjoyed fun in this setting," Luna said happily. "I'd like to thank all of you for allowing me to attend this celebration."

"It was our pleasure, Princess," Twilight said with a smile.

"Are you planning on heading back to Canterlot tonight?" I asked. "I could put you up at my house for the night."

"Thank you for your kind offer," Luna said, "but my chariot is capable of taking me back to the palace."

Out of nowhere, a chariot appeared and landed on a large patch of empty lawn. Two Ponies with batlike wings and slitted eyes stood at attention. Luna approached, then looked at the two Ponies. Turning back, she asked, "What do you think of their costumes?"

Costumes? I approached and tilted my head curiously at them. Their batlike wings looked strangely…off. One of the Ponies, seeing my confusion, laughed and lifted the wing. "They're fake, sir."

"Fake? May I touch?" I asked.

"Go ahead," he said as I approached.

I took the wing in my hand, looking it over carefully. Just then, I remembered the other Nightmare Night episode I saw where Fluttershy put on fake wings. The ones this Pegasus was wearing were pretty much identical. "Fake wings, huh?" I asked.

"Indeed," Luna said. "It is apparently a tradition among the Pegasus Royal Guards to wear these costumes and wear contacts to change their eyes to appear as the mythical Vampire Pony."

I guess that's one explanation as to why they only appear in one episode, I thought. "You could have fooled me," I chuckled. "Good costumes, you two."

The two guards saluted me with their wings. "Thank you, sir," they both said.

Luna climbed onto the chariot and looked out at all of us. Spreading her wings, she spoke, "Farewell, citizens of Ponyville! I look forward to celebrating this holiday next year!" As her chariot flew off, a cheer came from the Ponies who remained.

"Tonight was amazing," Twilight said, "but I should get Spike home. Poor guy's all tuckered out."

"I should do the same with Sweetie Belle," Rarity said.

"I'm guessing they're all strung out on candy," I chuckled. Looking around, I saw the Crusaders sitting on another patch of grass, talking animatedly. Standing nearby I saw two mares, one an Earth Pony with a light amber coat and light scarlet curly mane and tail. The other was a Pegasus who had a short cut light blue mane and tail.

When the Crusaders saw me and the others approach, they all jumped up and rushed to me. "That was the coolest haunted house ever!" Scootaloo exclaimed, her small wings buzzing behind her excitedly. She was wearing a wolf's head over her face.

"I aim to please," I chuckled.

"I was plenty scared," Apple Bloom, who looked like the Bride of Frankenstein, chuckled.

"Me too!" a vampiric looking Sweetie Belle added.

"I've got to admit, it was a fun house," the mare with the light scarlet mane said in a distinct Australian accent. "It's your house, correct?" she asked me.

"Correct, ma'am," I said. "Jethro Bethridge at your service."

She giggled. "Such a gentlecolt."

"Holiday, don't start that again," the other mare, who had an accent I couldn't quite place, said. There was a slight gravely hint to her voice, as well. She turned to me. "Sorry 'bout my wife, here."

"Don't be sorry," I chuckled, inwardly surprised to be meeting my first Equestrian lesbian couple. "I somehow get that a lot," I added sheepishly.

"I'm Lofty Thread, and this is Holiday Breeze," Lofty said by way of greeting. "We're Scootaloo's aunts."

"So, you're the alien we've heard about," Holiday said, smiling warmly as she offered her hoof to me.

"That's me," I chuckled as I shook her hoof, then Lofty's in turn. "Pleasure to meet you both."

"He's almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said excitedly, hovering slowly in place.

"He isn't that cool, yet," Rainbow Dash laughed. "He still has a bit of trouble flying."

"Oh, trust me, one of these days, I'll do a Sonic Rainboom!" I shot back at the Pegasus.

"Pssh! Yeah, right!" Rainbow Dash scoffed playfully.

"Well, I'll be, I've never heard Scootaloo praise anypony else other than Rainbow Dash like that," Holiday said.

"He stopped a war and saved Ponyville from that Ursa Minor!" she said, beaming up at me.

I couldn't help myself. I picked the little filly up and lifted her above my head, letting her sit on my shoulders. "Thanks, kiddo."

"Whoa…so this is how you see the world?" she asked in awe.

"I can see a whole lot more thanks to these," I said, spreading my wings.

"Those are so big!" she said in astonishment.

"That they are," I chuckled as I began to use them to hover a bit off the ground.

"Whoa!" the young filly said, wrapping her front legs around my head tightly.

"Be careful, Private," Rainbow Dash called out. "We haven't gotten to you carrying things or Ponies yet!"

"I'm not going far," I said as I hovered around the yard. Reaching up, I took her and held her in my arms as I flew around a few feet above the ground. "How does it look down there, huh?"

Scootaloo was beside herself with joy. Her wings were vibrating happily as I hovered around. "So cool! Can you go as fast as Rainbow Dash?"

"Not yet, but when I get that fast, I'm sure you'll know," I grinned. "Well, let's get you down."

"Awww? Five more minutes?" she begged.

I shook my head. "I'm sure your aunts wanna get you home so you can sleep."

"Aww, okay," she said, sounding disappointed.

"Hey, buck up sweetie. I'll give you a flight another time, alright? Or perhaps I'll convince Rainbow Dash to give you one."

She perked up. "Yay!"

As I landed, the other two Crusaders came over to me, begging for a flight as well, but their guardians insisted on taking them home for bed. As the Crusaders were saying their goodbyes, I walked over to Scootaloo's aunts. I lowered my voice. "Forgive me for asking, but where are Scootaloo's parents? They aren't, um…gone, are they?"

"We get that a lot, so don't worry," Holiday said. "Her parents are currently abroad. They're adventurers."

"What, like Daring Do?" I asked.

"Something like that," Lofty said, "but more realistic."

If only they knew, I inwardly smirked. "Ah, so she stays with you two?" I asked.

"That would be hard to do since Lofty and I live in Westfield, a small town a few train stops away from Ponyville," Holiday said.

My heart immediately went out to Scootaloo then. "So…she jumps around from house to house?"

"Oh, Elysium, no!" Holiday said. "She has a home, and we stay there with her during the main part of the week, but on weekends we have to go back home."

"That's…I mean, I'm glad she has a home, but still…" I wasn't sure why, but I suddenly had the urge to do something for Scootaloo. I'd seen how, in some fanfics, she was an orphan, and that had been sad enough, but having absentee parents? It was a bit sad to see. "Damn…I wish I could do something for her," I said aloud before I could keep the words from escaping.

"You're a sweet stallion," Holiday said, "but it's really alright. She's got her friends, and we keep careful eyes on her as often as we can."

"Well, if you're sure…" I said. "It's gotta be tough, though. Do you have any time to yourselves?"

"Oh, don't worry 'bout it," Lofty said, "we love that little gal tah death."

"Well, if you two ever need like a romantic week or two to yourselves, I can take Scootaloo in temporarily," I offered. "I've got tons of bedrooms just going to waste."

"That's a very generous offer," Holiday said with a smile. "We'll think about it."

"Ready to go, aunties!" Scootaloo bounded up, holding her bag of candy in her teeth.

"Did you say thank you to Mr. Bethridge for giving you a little lift?" Holiday asked.

She turned and beamed up at me. "Thank you, Mr. Bethridge."

"You're welcome, and call me Jethro, please," I said, chuckling. "Have a safe trip home, everybody!"

As the Crusaders and their guardians left, I looked around and smiled. But something was missing, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Zecora came up to me and leaned against me. "Love? What's wrong?"

"I don't know…there's something missing, it feels like," I said. "I can't figure out what…"

"Hmmm, maybe we should head inside and find out," she whispered seductively in my ear.

A shudder went down my back in anticipation, and I looked down at her. "You're so naughty, sweetie. And we will, I promise. But that's not what I-" Just then, it hit me. My eyes widened. "Fluttershy!"

"Ponies aren't just for girls! Let this tail unfurl! Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Fluttershy! Do not be afraid, we will never fade! Rainbow Dash and Rarity! Join the herd, and you will see!" I sang to myself as I flew above the town. I was on my way to Fluttershy's house to check in on her. Zecora had encouraged me to go visit her, and said she'd be waiting for me in my Earth house. It didn't feel right to leave the yellow Pegasus out of the Nightmare Night festivities, even if I could understand why. As I landed in front of the dark cottage, I furled my wings and hummed as I walked up to her door. I knocked, then immediately announced, "Fluttershy, it's me, Jethro. Are you still awake?"

I heard someone inside scuttling around, then a squeak, then an unlatching sound from the door. It opened, and a trembling Fluttershy peeked out. "J-Jethro? Are you alone?" she asked.

"Yep, just came to check-"

She threw her door open, grabbed me and pulled me in, closing and locking the door immediately. She collapsed against the door when she finished. "Phew! That was a close one," she said.

"Wow, you really hate Nightmare Night, don't you?" I asked, standing and stretching before grabbing the small bag I had carried with me.

"It's the most awful night of the year," she said, then looked up curiously at me. "But what are you doing here? Weren't you celebrating the night?"

"It's almost ten," I said, "the festivities are pretty much over." I lifted the bag up. "I come bearing gifts. I know you hate Nightmare Night, but it just didn't feel right to end the night without seeing you."

She inched away from the bag. "I-It's not something scary, is it?" she asked.

I reached into the bag and pulled out a stuffed bear. "I won this at one of the games. I wanted you to have it."

She approached, poking it a bit nervously. She relaxed and took it in her hooves, hugging it close. "Thank you, Jethro," she said. "I love it!"

I smiled, then pulled out a handful of candy. "I'm not sure how much you like candy, but I brought you some of the leftover stuff from my house." Before I'd flown over, I'd made sure to choose only candies without any scary images on them.

"You're so sweet," Fluttershy said with one of her lovely smiles.

"Can I see your hiding space?" I asked.

"Of course!" she said, heading upstairs. I followed, and she led me to her bedroom. I saw a few animals sitting around, including Angel, who, when he saw me, approached and jumped up, pointing at his head. I reached down, picked him up and began scratching his head as Fluttershy lifted the covers from her bed. I knelt and looked underneath. "Here we are," she said. Just as like I'd seen in the show, the underside of her bed was stocked with books, manega, pillows, snacks, a lantern, and a small spot for a bed. She looked back at me, smiling. "What do you think?" she asked.

"Damn, Flutters, this place is really cozy. Don't you think so, Angel?" I asked, looking down at the bunny still in my hand. The little bunny nodded, but continued pointing to his head.

"I still can't believe he likes you," Fluttershy said. "He never opens up to anypony else besides me."

"Eh, I'm pretty sure he only likes me because I give headpats with these hands," I chuckled, holding up the hand I was using to scratch behind his ears. He made an angry squeaking noise, grabbed my hand and put it forcibly back on his head. As I resumed, his contented expression returned, and I turned back to Fluttershy. "See?"

"Oh my," she said. "Well, um…"

"Don't worry," I said, "I like petting him. He's adorable." He looked up at me, squeaking angrily. "Beg pardon, I mean that you're the most macho male bunny out there, and all the female bunnies love you." He nodded in approval and went back to relaxing in my arms.

"How did you understand what he said?" Fluttershy asked in shock.

"I didn't," I said. "I just took an educated guess. Most guys don't like being called adorable."

Fluttershy giggled. "I know that," she said.

"Well, I'm glad to see you doing alright," I said, "but I should get going. I just wanted to see you tonight. It didn't feel the same without seeing you."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "You mean that?" she asked.

"Of course," I said. "I know you hate Nightmare Night, and that's okay. It's not for everyone. But I still wanted to see you, at least before the night was over."

She blushed and hid behind a book. "Th-Thank you," she said shyly.

"Well, I hope to see you tomorrow for our get together," I said, gently putting Angel down on the floor.

"Of course," Fluttershy said, putting her book down. "I'll see you out."

We both made our way to the door, where she unlocked it and opened it wide enough for me to leave. I stepped through, then put my hand on the door. "Before you go, could you come out here for a bit? I wanna show you something."

She looked around nervously. "A-Are you sure?" she asked.

"Do I look like the kind of person who'd scare someone if I knew they absolutely hated it?" I asked.

She quickly shook her head. "O-Of course not!" She stepped out, but froze when she made it all the way outside. I saw her trembling, so I reached out and took her front hoof. "Come fly with me for a bit. Above the trees." I spread my wings and waited. Eventually, Fluttershy did the same and I lightly flew up. She followed me until we were above the trees.

When we reached beyond the treeline, I looked up and pointed. "Have a look."

Fluttershy did look up, and her eyes went wide. Not with fear, but with awe. "Oh wow…" she said.

The night was ablaze with thousands of bright twinkling stars. The Milky Way spread out across the dark autumn sky, shining through despite the full moon that shone on the landscape below. I felt Fluttershy's hoof cling tighter to me as we watched a stray shooting star arc across the sky from south to north. I took a deep breath, then said, "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."

"What's that from?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's a verse from the Bible, one of my favorites since it mentions stars," I admitted.

"It's beautiful," she said, and her voice was closer to me now. Turning, I saw that she had moved closer to me. "I like it."

I smiled, then saw a nearby stray cloud. I used my magic to move it closer. I flew up and sat on it, motioning for her to join me. Fluttershy did so, sitting close and gazing up with me. "Stargazing has always been a favorite hobby of mine," I said after a while. "Trix…Trixie and I would stargaze almost every day during our summer vacations. I have a lot of good memories I associate with the night sky."

I felt a warm presence pressing against me, and I looked down to see Fluttershy leaning against me. She looked up at me, eyes smiling along with her muzzle. "I think she'd be happy for you, now," Fluttershy said, her inner kindness on full display for me to bask in.

I smiled back, nodding. "I'd like to think so, too," I said. "She would have loved to be here, too."

"Oh? Did she like the show?" Fluttershy asked.

"Actually, she never watched it," I said, "but I know she'd love to have met all of you."

She pressed herself against me a bit more, and her warm presence banished all sadness about Trixie. We resumed looking at the stars…

It was just after ten thirty when I flew down towards my Earth house. I stretched and took in a few deep breaths before I walked in. Fluttershy and I had stargazed for about twenty minutes before a bird had flown up to inform the mare that Angel was getting antsy. We parted after that, with her thanking me for letting her stargaze with me and for the gifts. I flew back home after that.

"Honey, I'm home," I called out as I entered and closed the door, locking it behind me.

"In heeere, darling," Zecora called out from my bedroom.

Oh dear, that's her seductive voice. I took off my hoodie and hung it up on a nearby coat hanger. Slipping my shoes off, I headed down the small hall to my bedroom. "I hope you weren't waiting…long…" My breath caught when I saw my marefriend. She was lying away from me, reading one of my science fiction books. She wasn't naked and she was still in her Anthro form, but her clothes surprised me. She was wearing black skintight yoga pants, which only accentuated her perfect ass. For a shirt, she was wearing a light green sweater which clung to her body in a tantalizing manner. She looked over her shoulder. "Come on in and close the door, dear," she said. "You're letting the warm air out."

I smirked, stepping in and closed the door behind me…