Mind Games

"No, no ,no." Rainbow put a hoof to her forehead. "See, the idea of Nightmare Night is to get scared, or try to scare other ponies. That candy crap is just for foals."

"Oh, come on!" Pinkie laughed. "Who doesn't love free candy? Nightmare Night was made to get the biggest tummy aches ever in the history of Equestria!" she blurted, stamping her hoof authoritatively.

"Well, I think it's about the fabulous costumes." Rarity adjusted the wig on her 'Bride of Frankenstein' outfit, though she didn't seem to get the 'ugly' part of it.

Applejack sighed. "Honestly, Nightmare Night is just another sales opportunity for me and my family. Do you have any idea how much money we make offa caramel apples?"

I groaned, burying my face in the crook of my elbow.

"What'sa matter, Twi?" Pinkie asked, her bouncy tone still saturating every word.

"Oh, it's just... well, this was my party."

Fluttershy gasped. "Did we seem ungrateful? I'm sorry..."

"No, it's just--" I sighed. "Well, I didn't want everypony to be fighting like this. I thought we could... you know, make s'mores and tell ghost stories. I wasn't planning on pranks and stuff."

"But that's the best part!" Rainbow whined, throwing her head back. Applejack gave her a kick in the hip that made her fall to the floor. "Sorry."

"It's fine," I murmured. We were all quiet for a second, when the doorbell jolted us out of our thoughts.

We all went for the bowl of candy at the same moment, and it flew across the room, landing on Spike's head. He was napping, (or rather, had been) and he screamed shrilly through a shower of Nickers bars and Butterhooves.

Rainbow, of course, took delight in having scared him and started laughing uproariously. Fluttershy ran to his side, trying to comfort him. Pinkie looked confused, then seemed to remember the foals waiting outside. She dove for the doorknob, throwing the double doors open to reveal two very startled young fillies.

Pinkie giggled nervously. "Uh... uh... we don't have any candy!" she screamed, slamming the door in their faces. But not before I had managed to toss a few pieces of candy corn at them.

I only hoped their parents hadn't seen this display.

"See? That was AWESOME! Did you see the looks on their faces?! That's what Nightmare Night is all about!"

"So I guess Hearth's Warming Eve is all about the presents, huh?" Applejack muttered sarcastically.

Rainbow scoffed. "Hey! I have the perfect idea! What if we--"

"Don't wanna hear it!" I yelled, jamming my hooves in my ears.

Rainbow said something that looked like 'hear me out.' Applejack and Rarity shook their heads firmly. Pinkie was absorbed in the 'blood cake' I had made earlier, and Fluttershy was still trying to get Spike down from his shock.

I, however, removed my hooves. "Fine."

"Okay, great! You're gonna love this one, Twi. What if we go out into the woods and re-enact that horror story you gave to me! I mean, I haven't read it yet... but I know you have! Right?"

"I dunno... I might be kinda hard..." I thought for a moment. "Then again, there are parts for all of us. It could be kind of fun.

"Awesome! Let's do it!" Rainbow hovered over her chair, then zoomed over and put her hoof out.

I put my hoof on hers. "You can be the murderer, if you want."

"Sweet!"

"Ooh!" Pinkie ran over. "Who do I get to be? Huh? Huh?"

"Hmm... you can be the crazy sidekick. She lost her mind a few years ago, and recently escaped from an asylum," I explained.

"Sounds fun!" She added her hoof top the stack.

Applejack wandered over. "Er... hypothetically, who would I get to be?"

"You could be the skeptic of the group. She denies that any of the folktales are real, and tries to get the others to turn back." I looked over at the other two ponies. "Rarity, you could be the damsel in distress!"

"Mph... alright."

"Fluttershy! Come on, you could... you could help me gather a crowd. You wouldn't even have to go in if you didn't want to," I coaxed. This wasn't going to be as much fun unless we were all in on it.

"No way! I think Nightmare Night is the day when you lock yourself in your closet! I just want this all to be over!"

I groaned. "Look, I'll be with you the whole time. It won't be scary, I promise."

Fluttershy stifled a small cry, but came down the stairs and rested a quaking hoof on Rarity's.

"Ha ha! Yes!" Rainbow jumped, fluttering her wings and hovering a few inches off the ground. "This is going to be the coolest prank ever!"

~~~~~

"B-but you said--!" Fluttershy stuttered in what could only be described as anger.

"I know! But you're going to have to stick with Spike, instead." I frowned sympathetically. "The girls need another victim, and neither of you will go in the Everfree. I'm sorry."

Fluttershy quivered, her eyes growing wider and wider.

"Come on, Fluttershy..." I whispered, smiling a bit.

She sighed, hanging her head. "Alright... I guess..." she agreed, barely audible.

I threw my arms around her in a relieved hug. "Oh, thank you!"

Fluttershy simply sighed.

"This is gonna be so great!" I squealed, galloping off into the woods.

The excitement wore off very quickly. It was well past sunset on Nightmare Night, the creepiest night of the year. The woods were unexpectedly cold, and I found myself shivering more and more violently as I searched for the rest of the girls. Even though it was pitch black, the moonlight seemed to be throwing horrifying shadows on the ground and the sides of the trees. Ghoulish faces seemed to be staring out at me as I ran, and the setting almost made me believe I was in a horror story.

"Twilight!" shouted the unmistakable accent from a few yards away.

"Applejack?!" I yelled back, skidding to a halt. "Applejack, is that you? I can't see a thing!"

There was a pause, before I heard the panicked reply. "Twilight, run!" this time it was Pinkie's voice. She sounded terrified.

"W-where are you?" I called, quieter and a little more afraid.

"Doesn't matter, just go!" screamed a distraught Rainbow Dash.

I started backing up slowly, then turned and ran again. The frigid air made my teeth ache and my lungs freeze. I ignored that, however, and ran all-out back the way I came. I could hear thundering hoofsteps behind me as the rest of my friends followed. I knew Spike and Fluttershy were safe outside, and that calmed me a bit. However, it was almost completely counteracted by the fear of what was chasing us.

I was almost out of the woods when I spotted the figure of Fluttershy standing near the edge of the trees.

"Fluttershy!" I yelled, half in relief and half in panic.

"Oh, Twilight! I'm so sorry, nopony would listen to me!" she apologized.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" I told her. "We have to get out of here! Something's chasing us!"

"What? Are you trying to scare me? I'm sorry, Twilight! I just couldn't get them to follow me! Please, forgive me so we can get out of here!" she whined.

"I--" I tried to explain, but was cut off by a feminine chuckle that echoed through the forest. It was disturbingly familiar, though, somepony we knew. I froze, as did Fluttershy, as the chuckle rattled through me.

"That was easier than I had anticipated," announced the delicate voice. The last four ponies that were behind me came to a quick stop when they saw the two of us.

"Who's there?!" shouted Rainbow. "Show your face, you coward!"

She chuckled again. "Well, I could. But wouldn't it be more fun if you saw somepony you knew? Somepony you respected? Maybe even loved? Plus, I believe you all know who I am already."

"Oh my god..." I whispered, realizing where I knew that voice. "It's Chrysalis!"

The voice changed. "No. It isn't." A being shimmered into view before us. "It's Princess Celestia. Or would you prefer... Luna?" the image shifted again, getting smaller and turning that familiar shade of blue.

"What do you want? H-how did you get here?" I demanded, a tremor still obvious in my voice.

"Hm... well, I'd like to tell you, but I think we need a different venue. How about... the Canterlot Police Department's interrogation room? I'll even sit in the little chair and let you stroll about the room and accuse me of things."

"Wh-- I--" I stuttered.

Fluttershy whimpered, but the rest were silent.

"Oh, good! Let's head over then!" A thin tissue of green smoke twirled around her horn. The same came up about our hooves, then snaked up over our eyes. There was a whirling sensation, like we were being spun through space, and then a hard landing.

Everything was happening so fast, I had a hard time keeping up. The events of the last few minutes were shocking and horrifying. I didn't know how to even begin accepting this.

My vision slowly returned, and I found myself in a small, white room with only a table and chair. The image of princess Celestia sat in the small chair, looking up at me with eyes like a foal being punished.

"Let's play a ga-game Twi-Twi-Twilight." Her image skipped like a bad recording, changing to static and then reverting to an earlier pose.

"Wha..." I breathed, swallowing hard.

"I ma-made it up-p-p-p-p." She announced.

"Stop it. Stop that... that flickering." I said, as steadily as I could.

She sighed. The image became steady. "You see, I'm going to use my extremely powerful magic to show you what you put me through. When you sent me back to the hive, with so many causalities on my soul, I was exiled. I was starving, yet I am immortal, and therefore unable to die. I started seeing things. Changelings I respected and knew intimately were appearing to me, trying to kill me. Now, it's your turn."

"I don't understand." I said simply and quickly, trying to hold down the shaking in my voice.

"Oh, still?" she whined, growing bored. "Well, then, I'll explain the rules. I'm going to create a world with my magic. It'll be almost exactly like yours, all the same memories and faces, but a tiny bit off. The longer you can keep your sanity, the more horrific things will become. As soon as you start seeing things that are not of my creation, you lose. Understand?"

"What happens if I lose?" I asked hesitantly.

"YOU DIE, TWILIGHT!" she screamed, smacking her hooves on the table. "And you should thank me for my mercy! If I really wanted you to suffer, I would let you live."

I was silent. Chrysalis took her time calming down, getting her ragged breathing back under control.

"Now. I'm sure you have lots of other questions for me, with the biggest one regarding my power. While I'd love to spend more time chatting away with you, that's my secret. For the time being, that is. I'll be dropping you some hints, just to keep you entertained. Goodbye, Twilight. Enjoy your sanity while it lasts. Oh, and one more thing: if you can figure out my clues and find the source of my power, you'll be able to shut it down and win the game."

"Is that a promise?" I asked, hope flooding back to me.

"It's a guarantee. I won't have the power necessary to keep the world together," she explained, standing up and powering her horn. "Now, for the last time, goodbye. Good luck to you. This should be very interesting."