The Twelve Nights of Nightmare Night

An odd couple, wouldn't you say?

Death and Undeath challenging the hoof of fate,

And with me in their sights they made their way,

To where no tree ever saw the gate.

However, the energies required to move to and fro,

Would mean once again they'd need a certain dragon's go,

Summoning Frostmourne they made their way into the woods,

After gathering their four friends the best they could...

"Oooo, are you guys feeling wretched?! I'm feeling wretched! We're going to see Jack Skellington! He's like the coolest Jack there is! Better than Captain Jack Sparrow, Captain Jack Harness, Captain Jack O'Neill, maybe not as cool as Samurai Jack, but you get where I'm going with this, right?! This is going to be so horribly horrible I can practically taste the filth!"

The rest of the Dead Six sighed, as Pinkie rambled on, bouncing into the Everdead Forest. Trees that seemed long overdue for decay stood around them, with ancient whispers echoing through their forms.

"Er, yeah," Applemoon grunted, her yellow, Lycan eyes scanning about - pleased by the wretched scenery. "Are you sure about this, Twilight? Cus I know Ponyville accepted us with open arms, but what about that whole division of worlds thing? Plus - we'll be goin' other places than just Ponyville..."

"It's just a guideline, not a law," Twilight chirped. "Besides, they know about us now! And it's not likely we're going to be announcing our presence or anything. We just need to contact Twilight Sparkle and see what she can do about letting us use the Great Mirror."

"We're gonna meet humans!" Pinkie grinned. "A quarter of our music comes from the human world! They make the most horrible of all! Vinyl has nearly sixteen Justin Beiber tracks, and her Dave Matthews Band CD nearly drove us all insane last year! It was awesome!"

"Mmmm," Flutterfright purred. "I-I suppose I wouldn't mind meeting Justin Beiber... he is the human world's god of terror, isn't that right?" Her eyes flashed a pure white for a brief second. "His blood would taste as good as liquid gold. I mean - um, if he allows me to drink it, that is..."

"Still..." Scarity mumbled. "I don't know how we're supposed to be... 'oblique' in the human world any more than we're supposed to do so in Equestria. We know nothing about them save for their rather... bland fashion sense. Their clothing could use a few cobwebs and fish net stockings..."

"S-Speaking of that," Flutterfright peeped. "How are we supposed to get to Halloween Town?"

"Oh, that's easy," Twilight beamed. "Its gateway is located in a place called Siberia! It can't be too far from the United States, right? Besides, Rainbow says I should be able to sense its location."

"Yeah..." Rainbow grunted. "Still - Twilight, it's a really long trip... and only I'll be able to use magic on that side of the gate. My teleportation thing only works for me."

"I'll have Spike with us," Twilight shrugged. "Maybe he could fly us?"

"True..." Rainbow said skeptically. "I mean - I'm not really sure what he'd become when shooting across the mirror, though."

"I can't wait to see the little darling," Scarity grinned. "He's always adorable - his cute little bones and horrible, necrotic breath. It's to die for. How close are we to his summoning spot?"

"Look no further," Twilight winked, as the group entered a large clearing. "This is it."

"Oooo, can I sing the song this time?!" Pinkie beamed, bouncing. "Please please please please please?!"

"You sing, I'll do the magic," Twilight smiled, levitating Frostmourne before her.

"Yeeeees!" Pinkie beamed, before taking a deep breath, and singing a beautiful, though haunting melody: its harmonics echoing through the woods and beyond...

"Through the somber eventide...

Through the moonlit skies...

From the eastern mountain sides...

*COME FORTH. I. CRY!"*

"AND HERE. WE. GO!" Twilight cackled.

At that, Twilight narrowed her eyes and magically shoved Frostmourne into the frozen ground, sending a red, jagged line of energy outwards underneath it towards the edge of the clearing and beyond. About ten seconds later, a loud, surreal roar could be heard echoing from miles away.

"Uh oh - he sounds cranky," Pinkie gulped.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Rainbow muttered. "So he's missing two weeks of sleep. He can suck it up like the rest of us."

"Yeah but..." Applemoon coughed. "None of us really need to sleep... well, save for Pinkie and FlutterFright."

Pinkie Slice giggled maniacally, swinging a hoof with a strange, silver-clawed glove upon her hoof in front of a wicked grin. "And that's only for... practicing. Hehehe... gotta keep Luna busy, ya know."

"Still planning on hitting Elm Street again?" Rainbow grinned.

"Of course," Pinkie cackled. "It wouldn't be Nightmare Night without their favorite nightmares, would it? My influence in the real world is... worth the wait."

"Hey, shush ya'll," Applemoon called, one of her long, pointed ears poking upward. "I hear somethin'."

At that, The group stood motionless, gazing with anticipation into the distance as a series of loud, whooshing noises echoed towards them. Soon, their origin could be seen - two, massive skeletal wings attached to the body of snarling, vicious looking bone dragon. His length was longer than the tallest tree, and his two, yellow lights glowing within empty eye sockets as luminous and ethereal as a leopard's on an eventide hunt.

"UGH - FRIGGIN' REALY?!" the bone dragon's booming, titanic voice came. "SECOND YEAR IN A ROW! Night damnit I'm never getting a full-cycle's sleep, am I?"

"Hey, Spike!" the group called.

"Yeah yeah yeah," he mumbled, before finally situating himself above the clearing, the flapping of his wings kicking up dust and dead twigs. "I better hear a damned good reason why you woke me up. And it better not be because you need the portal charged! Do you know how exhausting that is?! I feel like taking a month long nap after just ten minutes of holding that thing open!"

Flutterfright couldn't help but sink downward in fright. "Um... well..."

"It might be... something close," Applemoon said sheepishly.

The bone dragon rolled his eyes, sighing. "Greaaaaat...."

"By the night," Twilight smirked, showing absolutely no fear at his titanic sight. "Someone's cranky, huh?"

Spike gave her a blank look. "Twilight, I'm like - a thousand years old. In old man terms this isn't playing on my lawn, this is pissing on it. Seriously."

"Oh come on, we're about to go on a journey!" Twilight beamed. "Cus it's adventure time! Come with your friends!"

"We'll travel to most... distant lands!" Pinkie bounced.

"With Apple the wolfmare!" Applemoon chirped.

"And Death the... Death..." Rainbow Death blinked.

"The fun will never end! It's Adventure Time!"

Spike nodded slowly. "Did you all rehearse that? Cus if so - shame on you. Shame."

"But we're gonna scare a bunch of mortals!" Pinkie pleaded.

"And meet Jack Skellington, the PUMPKIN KING. Dun dun dun..." Rainbow smiled.

"NO!"

The six gave him shimmering, pleading eyes.

...

"... Yeah, I'm going back to bed."

He began to turn about, as the group gave a cry of protest.

"Oh, come on, Spike!" Twilight growled. "You've been to the other side before! It wasn't so bad!"

"I'm a little cautious too, but you shouldn't throw in the towel that quick!" Applemoon called.

"Cautious doesn't describe it," Spike muttered, turning back to face them. "Every time I've been to the other side something horrible's happened. Horrible in a bad way - like, me getting blown up ten times by Horsey Douchebag Bucking Link!"

"Seriously?" Rainbow Death said, lifting a skeptical eyebrow. "For one, I thought you made peace with that guy. For two - you're like - two hundred feet long and can shoot green, death-inducing vapors... which I love by the way. How are you so scared of just one pony?"

Suddenly, Spike's eye twitched. With a flap of his wings, he thundered towards her, his skull for a head an inch away from her's.

"Just... one pony? JUST. ONE. PONY?! Sounds like you need some edumucation, Death. Let me tell you a story..."

"Yayyyy, flashbacks!" Pinkie beamed.

Shimmer-shimmer-shimmer-shimmer...

"Once upon a time, five hundred years ago, Spike wanted to visit the real world for poops and giggles. He didn't want to cause much trouble - just burn down some houses or two...."

A thousand lantern lights licked off the dragon's bones as he swooped over a large, fishing village. He grinned, swooping towards the center of town, unimpeded in his evil quest...

"Hey Spike! You gonna light the bon-fire now?!" a village person called.

"Yeah, you got it!" he grinned.

... To ignite a small town block of old houses that needed to be deconstructed, anyway.

The town's residents watched with glee as the show started, an inferno before them.

"Alright, remember the plan!" Spike called. "I'm going to keep the fire going for a bit, then extinguish it by sucking away the air with more fire! SOLVING PROBLEMS WITH SCIENCE... AND FIRE! FIRE SOLVES EVERYTHING!"

"You rock, Spike the Horrible Bone Dragon of Doom!" the children of the village cried.

"You rock, too, children of the village. You rock, too," Spike smiled.

...

"Everything was going according to plan - everypony was happy, and I was happy cus I got to light stuff on fire. It was a grand time. But douchebags... well... douchebags always have a tendency to make everything go to shit."

"STOP RIGHT THERE, DRAGON SCUM!" an overly-heroic voice called from the outskirts of town. "I WARNED YOU BEFORE NOT TO SET... GIANT... CLAWED... FOOT... THING IN THIS LAND AGAIN! NOW, IT'S TIME TO PAY!"

"Oh god... no. God damnit. God damnit!

"Wait, Link!" cried the village people. "He's only here to help!"

Link narrowed his eyes in spite. "More victims of the dragon's mind control. What foul deeds will you not commit, hell beast?!"

"Well... um..." Spike winced in mock-thought. "Jay-walking?I dunno."

Link's eyes widened. "I'm surprised you have an ounce of dignity, but that still doesn't excuse the sins you've wrought! IT'S TIME TO SUCK BOMB, CRIMINAL SCUM!"

He whipped out a series of bombs.

Spike gulped... somehow.

"NO. NO! NOT THE BOMBS! NOT THE BOMBS!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

And Spike was blown into a million bones.... as the village slowly burned to the ground.

"Link, you foal! He was the only one who could have put out the fire!" the town's mayor cried.

Link merely nodded humbly, as if his words had completely bounced off him. "You can thank me later, village leader! It's all in a days work."

And Link galloped off into the distance... away from the screaming.

"Bombs..." Spike sighed. "My only weakness. But yeah - even if Link has apologized, that guy's still an idiot. He may turn on me again at moment's notice - then there's other so-called heroes..."

"Spike, you're acting like a mortal next to a giant spider," Applemoon grunted. "Just shrink down to lizard-size or whatever, hang with us, and you won't have to worry about big-bad-Link."

Spike contemplated this for a moment, before finally, he reluctantly bowed his head. "If I don't do this, I'm going to be nagged all Nightmare Night, right? I mean - what exactly do you all want to go to the other side for? To meet Jack Skellington? That's a long trip... just wait until he visits again."

The group remained silent, as Twilight gazed at the ground, her glowing eyes dimming ever so-slightly. "I... could just use a bit of guidance from him, is all."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "This is more than just a trip, isn't it?"

Twilight glanced away. "Well - I mean, it's stupid really... I've just been running out of ideas lately. You don't have to if you-"

"Na, it's cool," Spike grinned, now the size of a lizard, hovering before her. "Sorry - I had no idea this was more than just some silly trip. Of course I'll do it if it means something to you."

"Awwwww...."

Twilight couldn't help but smile warmly at him. "And I'll protect you from big bad Link, if need be."

He took a deep breath. "Alright - maybe you'll stand a chance against him, I guess. Just look sympathetic enough that he won't want to hurt you while sicking a bunch of zombies on him! Beeya!"

"I really don't think that's going to work," Rainbow Dash muttered. "But come on, let's get goin'. Time's a wastin' - heh, save for all the dead ponies I have to reap still. You know - cus they're dead? Hehe."

Applemoon suddenly gave a grunt. "Oh wait - I went and forgot. Apple Doom and the Crusaders were supposed to be stayin' at my place for the weekend. I can't leave them all alone with Big Macinslash. He'll go nuts! I'm going to need someghoul to-"

"Ugh - by the drums! I swear, if you three don't stop calling me Dr. Doofusstein, I'm going to show you just how far the TERRORDIS can travel! The beginning of time sounds good... they say it'd drive anyghoul mad!"

"We're just joking, Doctor! Jeez!"

"Yeah - get that stick out of your flank!"

The first voice snarled. "After what you three almost did, you'll be lucky I don't pull it out and beat you with it!"

"Ewwwwwwww....

"Hehehe - you really aren't much of a kid person, are you?"

"Shut up, Derpy..."

The seven friends turned, glancing at the ruffling of a thicket of thorns.

"Well - that was coincidental," Applemoon blinked.

"Dr. W-Whoovenstein?" Flutterfright stuttered.

"Yeah - it's me," the growling doctor said, his grey, vicious looking form waddling out of the brush, his eyes a piercing red - a surefire indication he in the worst of worst moods. "And I brought the Putrid Mark Brats with me. I heard you three were coming this way, so I had Apple Doom sniff you out."

At that, the three Crusaders leaped out of the bush, grinning, as Apple Doom let loose an adorable little wolf howl. "Ooo - girls, did I get my Putrid Mark in tracking?!"

The two shook their heads sorrowfully, causing her to sigh. "Dawww...."

"Er - This is a bit unexpected, Dr. Whoovenstein," Twilight stated.

Applemoon raised an eyebrow. "Yeah - what are ya doin' here?"

"I'm just here to give you back these three," he growled. "And to make sure you keep an eye on them - because I'm sure not about to. I caught these three trying to steal the TERRORDIS! THIS IS THE FIFTH TIME THIS CYCLE!"

"Nuh uh!" Scootaweb said, clicking her mandibles in disapproval.

"Yeah! We just wanted to borrow it," Rotten Belle frowned. "For science!"

The group gave them a blank look, yet they didn't seem at all taken aback.

"What in the world were you girls trying to do?" Applemoon sighed.

"Simple!" Apple Doom smiled. "Let's tell em, girls!"

Three deep breaths...

"PUTRID MARK CRUSADER SCARY ALTERNATE TIMELINE CREATORS!"

"We were going to try to make a universe where Equestria is ruled by Weeping Angels! Awesome, huh?!" Scootaweb beamed.

Dr. Whoovenstein facehoofed. "By the drums - and I thought I hated kids enough already. However, these three have raised it to a new level I never thought possible. Congratulations, girls!"

"Thanks, Dr. Doofesstein!" they chirped.

"Ugh..."

"Hehe - they like you!" the stitched together being that was... well... Derpy Stitched cooed, before winking at the group. "Don't let the dark Doctor fool you, he's into kids, really!"

"Yes, kids who have IQs higher than the amount of legs that one has," Dr. Whoovenstein muttered, pointing at a sheepish Scootaweb. "Someghoul needs to teach these girls a few things! For one: never mess around with time! EVER! For two: never mess Dr. Whoovenstein's things! EVER! For doing either of the two means you're messing with DR. WHOOVENSTEIN! AND YOU NEVER DO THAT! EVER!"

"Hmmm - teaching though... maybe you could, darling," Scarity's ethereal, ghostly voiced called.

"I'd rather have them succeed in creating a universe around where I'm not around to fix incompetence!" Dr. Whoovenstein snapped.

"Come on, Doc," Applemoon smiled. "Listen - we'll be headin' on a little journey for a time being, and we need someghoul to watch out after the girls. They seem to have taken a liking to you, so..."

Dr. Whoovenstein was already walking away, huffing, "Yep. Go to hell... though you'd probably enjoy that."

"Oh, come on, Doctor!" Derpy Stitched cried. "You didn't even ask how long they'd be away!"

"It's probably two seconds too long," he called. "I have better things to do then to sit around, babysitting these three little brats and...." He suddenly paused, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "And taking them on possibly... life threatening adventures."

"THAT SOUNDS AWESOME!" the Crusaders marveled.

The mad Doctor twirled about, smirking at the seven.

"Actually - perhaps I was acting a bit rash," he smiled. "A bit rash indeed. Alright - I'll foalsit them, if you really need me to, but I want to continue my explorations of the Nightmare Realm - its time and space - ALL OF IT, muahahaha - and if they get hurt, I want no responsibility for it."

"Yeah... this isn't going to end bad at all," Spike muttered.

"Sounds good to me, Doc!" Applemoon beamed.

"Me as well - I dare say you will give them a wicked time they'll never forget!" Scarity chimed.

"Oh, of course... of course," Dr. Whoovenstein giggled.

"Guys - time is reaping," Rainbow Death pouted. "I really really really need to get going or my boss is going to somehow find a way to kill me.."

"Alright," Twilight nodded. "Let's get a move on, shall we?"

"You got it," Applemoon nodded, before glancing at the Crusaders once again. "You three don't cause no trouble for the evil Doctor now, will ya?"

"We won't!"

"Ooooh, I'm sure they won't be any trouble at all," Dr. Whoovenstein chuckled, leading the bouncing trio away.

His eyes narrowed.

"At least - not after long."