The wind picked up for just a moment, letting a chill run down the length of Andrew’s spine. Surely Applejack hadn’t followed him all this way, had she? Still highly skeptical, Andrew turned to be confronted with...

Nothing.

An empty street stretched out behind him, the occasional house dotted along the side of the road. Looking around, he noted there was not a soul in sight, certainly not any mares within earshot either.

Sticking a finger in his ear, he rubbed it around, chalking it up to him starting to hear things. He would have said it was the wind, but it was too pronounced, too clear. It also sounded nothing at all like Applejack.

Andrew briefly wondered if a pegasus had overheard their conversation, and decided to follow him on a cloud. It was Nightmare Night after all, pranks and tricks were abound.

However, as Andrew recalled the voice, he noted that it sounded far closer to him than someone standing behind him. Almost as if they had whispered it straight in his ear.

“Hello? Is there anyone there?” Andrew called out. With a chill creeping up on his back, he looked at his surroundings once more, trying to find the source of that whisper.

He didn’t have to look very far, for in the distance he spotted a silhouette. Andrew tried to catch its attention but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to raise his voice, or even talk. It didn’t matter though, for the silhouette was moving closer to him and as it was, the figure became more pronounced in appearance.

The first thing that came to his mind was her attire. The mysterious stranger was wearing a full mourning garb, complete with a veil that obscured the pony’s face. The shade of black she had on her attire, combined with the gloomy surroundings made Andrew think that he was looking at a living shadow rather than a pony.

What struck the human other than her appearance was the sound she was making. The rhythmic clip clop sound that Andrew came to recognize as a pony’s hooves when they trot seemed to be echoing, despite the village’s lack of acoustics that should support said sound. More than that, he could make out that the visitor was softly weeping, almost inaudibly so.

Andrew didn’t know what to make of this. Perhaps she was actually in need of help? He couldn’t let it get past his conscience that a mare was left in tears.Despite the alarm bells going off in his head and the creeping feeling that this mare was more than she seemed to be, Andrew set out to meet the lady halfway, intent on confronting her and getting to the bottom of the matter.

“Hello? Are you alright?” Andrew asked.

The mare said nothing, only choosing to continue walking ever so slowly towards him. There was something seriously off about this mare, the way she was walking was just... unnatural,. Every four or so steps, her body seemed to shudder involuntarily.

Despite closing the distance between them, albeit slowly, the weeping never seemed to change pitch or direction, as if it was still coming from where he had first heard it. Finally, after the two bridged the gap between them, they stopped and looked at each other. The mare fell silent as she looked up to the tall biped. The quiet yet unnerving calm between them didn’t last long however, since the mare spoke up.

“Excuse me, good sir. But may I ask from you a small favor?” she softly said. Her voice carried a smooth,silky yet calm dictation that was at odds against her ominous appearance and stature.

“Uh... Sure.”

“I realize this is a strange request to give, especially at this hour, but could I possibly ask you to accompany me to the graveyard? I want to visit my son there since it’s the anniversary of his death today. It seems I came to visit so late that it was dark by the time I came to this place. I just want somepony to walk with me there since I’m scared of going alone.”

“I guess I could go with you, as long as it’s quick,” replied Andrew

The mare nodded in thanks, her obscured face giving a small smile at the human. They then set out into the dark streets towards the Ponyville cemetery.

The two were walking in relative silence but Andrew’s thoughts were anything but quiet. His mind was screaming at him that going with this pony was a bad idea. He looked again to the stranger, hoping to find some way to voice out his growing hesitation but the lady didn’t even glance back at him, she looked like she was set to visit her son no matter what. Every now and then, he could have sworn he could hear a low chuckle coming from her, disturbing the human once more.

‘This can’t be happening, this has got to be a prank. It’s just a mare in a costume,’ he tried to reassure himself.

His fear getting the better of him, the human was too busy trying to calm himself down to notice that they were walking along roads to places that were unfamiliar to him. After what felt like hours, the pair found themselves not at the gates of the Ponyville cemetery, but at a small foothill by the outskirts of the town.

The hill would have appeared unremarkable, if it weren’t for the presence of a huge, sinister tree with numerous roots hanging from its branches. As if to emphasize its chilling appearance, the wind appeared to be blowing in this area, making the roots move flail about as though they were alive.The tree itself was surrounded by pale blue flowers that were at contrast to the ominous atmosphere. He was somewhat familiar with these flowers but he couldn’t remember its name. Not that it mattered much at the moment, for the stranger beckoned him to follow her to the top.

Andrew desperately wanted to escape the scene, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt his chest tighten as his limbs rebelled against its owner’s will. It was as if an unnatural force was compelling him to go along with her.

As they reached the top of the hill, Andrew noticed a small headstone by the base of the tree. Upon closer inspection, he was surprised to see that the stone was unkempt to the point where the writing on the gravestone was eroded, leaving only trace indents on its surface.

He looked to her in question. “It’s been a long time since I’ve last visited my son.”

Suddenly, the one-sided conversation took a strange turn.

“My poor dear, you’ve been alone for so long…” She continued. “But don’t worry, mother is back and she brought you a present.”

Andrew was confused. She didn’t seem to be carrying anything that would count as a present.

“Look here, I’ve brought you a friend to play with.” The mare stated, pointing her forehoof to Andrew. “Isn’t it nice? Now you could have someone to be with, just like you wanted all this time.” Suddenly the wind picked up in intensity, as though it was in response to the lady’s claim.

Andrew’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was at that point when things have finally clicked for him. He wasn’t really here to accompany the mare, he was brought here for something far more sinister.

He opened his mouth in protest, only to find himself unable to speak. He wasn’t even given the luxury to scream, given what happened next.

The mourning mare was moving closer, taking slow but deliberate steps towards him.With every step she took, he did the same but in the opposite direction. With all his attention focused on the advancing phantom, he didn’t notice the root from the nearby tree that was sticking out, causing him to trip and fall backwards.

Struggling to get back on his feet, he found himself looking face to face with the mare, who was grinning wickedly. Amidst the roaring sound of the wind, Andrew was still able to make out the soft murmur coming from her.

“What’s the matter? Hurry, stand up.”

The human was not able to comply, paralyzed in his own fear. He stared at the mare, unmoving despite every fiber in his being telling him to get the hell out of there.

“It’ll be okay. You boys will get along just fine. After all..”

A lull in her speech was punctuated by the shrill wind returning. It was as if it were coming from the sounds of a thousand ancient souls screaming at him. The leaves in the tree above them rustled angrily and the mare’s veil began to flap violently and finally causing it to fly away altogether, revealing...

Nothing, not even a head for him to scream at. The black formal clothes retained their shape for just a moment, until they collapsed in a pile. For a moment, he thought it was over, until the very same whispering voice that started it all spoke into his ear.

“...You’ll have all eternity to spend together as friends”

“Fuck off!” Andrew shrieked, finally finding his feet and scrambling away, genuine terror seeping through his veins as he scrambled to put as much distance between himself and the tree as possible.

The howling winds continued to whip at him as he ran, the fear he felt forcing more and more adrenaline into his body. Dark tendrils of mist began to seep around his ankles, everything around him began to appear twisted and gnarled, even the houses lining the streets seemed to be out to get him.

“You’re a fucking story! Made up to scare kids, you cannot hurt me!” he bellowed like a madman, grasping at his head as he ran, trying to block out the sounds around him. Darting into an alleyway, Andrew easily cleared a small row of boxes in a running leap.

Peeling out of the narrow passage, he slipped while turning, legs sliding out from under him like a baseball player sliding for home base. Before his feet even had traction he was already running again.

Ripping the fedora from his head, he desperately swiped at the black mist surrounding him, trying to swat it away like a bug, yet his efforts were in vain as the mist began to envelop his body.

His arms felt colder than ice as they were swallowed by the rolling fog. This was it, the only human in all of Equestria truly was about to become little more than a legend. His feet began to slow, as he contemplated the last few hours of his life.

He never even said sorry to Rainbow.

He briefly wondered how she was going to be able to go on, after all they had shared together, how could she take the pain of losing him without a rhyme or reason? Would she ever be able to see the light again?

Like the streetlight right in front of Andrew.

Feeling a renewed sense of hope, he pulled free of the darkness, pouring on more speed. Even if it was a shot in the dark it had to work, if not for him, for Rainbow.

Reaching the edge of the soft light, A blood curdling shriek echoed in the gale winds around him. He felt the cold leave him as he stood in the warm glow of the lamp. The word around him began to fade back into the sweet and charming Ponyville he knew the longer he stood there.

The wind died down, taking with it the screaming voices. As things returned to how they were meant to be, he began to see houses with their lights on, bathing the streets in their golden glow.

The relief he felt was unimaginable, but that was nothing compared to what he felt when a beautiful, scratchy voice sounded behind him.

“Where the hay have you been!” Rainbow Dash asked angrily, crossing her forehooves as she floated a few feet outside of the light, Scootaloo riding her piggy back style, fast asleep.

Andrew let out a disbelieve laugh, immediately running over to her and sweeping her up in the tightest hug he could. “Oh Dash, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry” he said into her mane, his tone bordering on the verge of tears.

“Whoa big guy, what’s gotten into you?” she asked, stroking the back of his head as he silently wept into her neck.

After a minute off so of calming himself, he responded. “You wouldn’t believe the night I’ve had.”

The sun shone brightly onto Sweet Apple Acres the following day. As expected, Applejack was hard at work, bucking trees to keep her family’s business afloat, she was enjoying the solitude, until a familiar voice called her name.

“Applejack! Get your orange ass out here right now!” Andrew hollered from the edge of the orchard, his tone clear that he was in a decidedly bad mood.

When she finally found him, the big human had his arms crossed and a very cross expression on his face. “Okay, ha ha, I get it, I was mean to Dash, so you decided to plant those fucking ideas in my head. Well done AJ, I actually was fearing for my life. Did you get Luna in on it? Or Twilight!? Come on! Tell me how you did it!” he shouted.

Taking a moment to recover from the strong language, she replied. “What in tarnation are you talking about?”

“You know damn fucking well what I’m talking about! Mourning Mare! Did you enjoy watching me shit my pants as I ran through Ponyville?”

“Andrew! You better start making some sense before I beat it into you!” Applejack shot back.

“This!” he replied, pulling out a blue flower. I found this stuck to my shoe, I asked Twilight, she said its not like any plant she’s ever seen so what the hell did you do to make that whole Mourning Mare thing!”

Applejack’s expression softened, her voice low. “A-Andrew, I made that story up. I wanted to spook you for spooking Dash, but I didn’t go any further than that. Are you saying that you... You actually saw her?”

“Wha- yeah I saw her! She chased me through half of Ponyville! Are you telling me that it wasn’t even a real legend? That you just made it up off the top of your head?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying sugarcube...”

“Mourning Mare never existed.”

Author's Note

the 'sinister tree' is a balete tree, Very creepy tree, Fluttershy should stay away from those kinds of trees.