It's nightmare night. The best night for scares. A night in which ponies feel great that their alive. Pinkie Pie was getting ready to join the festivities of the night. She was going to be a weirdo clown like Twilight was last year.
“Okay, I've got the jumbo shoes. I've got the red nose. I've got the rainbow fro. I've got the hula-hoop pants, I'm all set!” Pinkie said proudly as she walked out the door. The sun had set a few hours ago and there was a breeze that sent shivers down her spine. She giggled and went on her way. Tonight is going to be the most memorable night of her entire life, she was sure of it. She walked out to see many children running and laughing with each other while adults trailed closely behind.
Pinkie had two goals for tonight. The first and most important of all is to get candy, of course. Second is to have fun getting scared. Pinkie didn't have any worries about achieving both of her goals. They were easy enough.
The pink clown pony happily skipped down the road, deciding to make Twilight's house her first nightmare night swag stop.
The library was covered in fake cobwebs with plastic spiders, paper ghosts, and skeletons. Twilight really seemed to be getting into the spirit of the season this year.
Pinkie Pie waited for the door to slowly creak open, revealing Twilight Sparkle, dressed as Nightmare Moon.
“Nightmare night! What a fright! GIMME SOME CANDY!”
“Pinkie Pie, happy nightmare night to you too. What are you supposed to be?” Twilight didn't feel like asking if Pinkie was too old for this. Her question was answered last year. It was no.
“I'm a weirdo clown, Twilight. Like you last year, remember?”
Twilight just shook her head, “No, no I don't remember. Probably because I wasn't a clown last year. I was Starswirl the Bearded.” Twilight dropped two pieces of candy into, what she liked to call, her swag bag.
“Thanks Twilight! See you later, Princess Luna!” Pinkie said, hopping away to the next house.
“I'M NIGHTMARE MOON!” Twilight shouted in frustration. It was faint, but she could have sworn she heard Pinkie cluck like a chicken in the distance. She shrugged and closed the door.
***
Pinkie looked into her bag to see that two hours of walking around Ponyville had really paid off. Her bag was filled to the brim with candy of all kinds. There were lollipops, gummies, chocolates, you name it and Pinkie had it.
“Ooooh! This is great! Now all that I have left to do is enjoy some nightmare night scares!” Pinkie smiled and began darting her eyes around to see who she'd be able to enjoy screaming with (or at).
Pinkie continued her trek down the road, occasionally stopping to play with some children. However, despite all the festivities, Pinkie Pie wasn't having as much fun as she wanted to have. Rainbow Dash was dressed as the headless horse this year and was running around town scaring everypony everywhere she went. Pinkie tried to spook some ponies, but everything she tried to do resulted in making her victim laugh and squeal in delight instead of scream in terror.
“Oh, how does Rainbow Dash do it? I really only know how to make people laugh, not scream.” Pinkie Pie kicked a rock on the ground and watched it roll in front of the hooves of a familiar friend,
“Pinkie Pie, why ever did you kick this stone? Is it because you do not wish to be alone?”
It was Zecora, she was dressed in the same getup as last year. Something about it suited her very well. Was it her black and white stripes?
“Yea, I want to be able to scare ponies like Rainbow Dash. I want to figure out the ultimate prank for nightmare night.” Pinkie Pie sighed.
“A perfect prank is what you desire. Yet, how much do you wish to scare ponies, I do inquire.”
“I want to scare them right out of their skin! Teehee” Pinkie Pie giggled at the thought of ponies jumping out their skin, as if it were an outer layer of clothing.
***
Zecora's hut was not decked out in spooky attire like every building in Ponyville was. Since her house was in the Everfree forest, the atomosphere was already spooky enough, Zecora didn't see the point or the need.
“So, Zecora, you said that you have a way of making me super spooky?”
“Indeed I have a way for the tricks you wish to play.”
“I can't wait! Oh I'm so nervouscited!” Pinkie said, curling into a ball.
“Nervouscited? Why are your thoughts so divided?”
Pinkie sprang up from the floor, “because what if I become too spooky for ponies? What if I scare them too much?”
Zecora shook her head, “My dear, there is nothing to fear,” she smiled, “if you do as I tell, I assure you, all will be well.”
Pinkie leaned forward to the point where she was balancing all her weight on her forelegs, “Yeeees?”
“For you to have the ultimate pranks miss Pinkie Pie. I must inform you, that you must die.”
Pinkie lost her balance, “What?!”
“Are not ghosts scary? Their souls are restless and weary. The ultimate joke, I recommend is one that allows reality to bend.”
“O-okay... how do we do this?” Pinkie was no longer nervouscited, she was just nervous.
Zecora grabbed a small jar off one of her many shelves and hoofed it to Pinkie, “Drink this potion, when finished, you can start causing a commotion.”
Pinkie took a whiff of the mysterious drink. It smelled of a very bitter fruit. Not something she was used to, “Yeech! This smells gross! But if you say it'll turn me into a ghost, then I guess here goes nothing. Bottoms up!” Pinkie leaned back and downed the drink in almost half a second, “Hmmm, it's oddly refresh-” Pinkie stopped midsentence. Suddenly, her world started to spin. She lost control of her limbs and the jar slipped out of her hooves, shattering on the floor. Her heart began to beat faster and faster. Whatever was happening, she did not like it. It was scary. She felt like she was going to die and after a few more agonizing moments, she did.
“Now, my pony friend, arise! The night has yet to end!”
Suddenly, Pinkie regained conciousness, “What happened?” Pinkie rubbed her forehead. She felt very light, almost as if she was floating. To her surprise, she was!
“Now you are free to have your fun but the thing to be weary of, there is but one. If you wish to return to your body, you must return to me, for after the sun rises and the ritual not complete, trapped forever in the spirit realm you will be!”
Pinkie Pie ignored the zebra's warning and began flying around in circles, “Wheeeeeeeee! Don't worry Zecora! I've got it all under control!” Pinkie phased through the wall and floated back to Ponyville.
She couldn't stop smiling. She hadn't smiled this big since she started a flash mob in which the entire town broke out in song.
“What should I do first?” Pinkie Pie began scanning the town for someone to scare, “OH OH OH!” Pinkie spotted Rainbow Dash on a cloud, preparing to send a thunder clap down. Pinkie flew into the cloud and allowed it to take shape to that of a manticore.
“W-what?! What is this?!” Rainbow Dash panicked.
“Grrraaaawwwrrr!” Pinkie Pie roared. To her, it sounded like her normal voice but to Rainbow Dash, it was at least twenty times louder and sounded like a demon.
“Eeeeek!” Rainbow Dash screamed in fear and darted away into the night.
Pinkie was laughing uncontrollably as she left the cloud, causing it to morph back to normal.
“Zecora is the best ever! This is awesome! Who else can I scare?” Pinkie spotted the cutie mark crusaders and knew what had to be done.
***
“I am not a chicken!” Scootaloo snapped.
“Well, then come with us to the hospital,” Apple Bloom mocked, “if you're not a chicken, then you'll be able to enter the hospital without getting scared.”
Sweetie Belle crept up behind Scootaloo, sending shivers down her spine, “I heard that on nightmare night, the spirits of the ponies who have past away return to haunt the hospital where there bodies are. They are searching for them. We're gonna help the ghosts find them!”
This was perfect! The fillies were going to the hospital and they are expecting to get spooked. Pinkie Pie followed the girls down the road, occasionally sending a gust of wind their way or rustling the bushes, attempting to get them worked up.
Soon enough, they arrived at the hospital. The girls put off entering the building for as long as possible, but their constant badgering made it so that one of them would eventually have to pony up.
“Alright alright! Ah'll go first! Jus' stick behin' me and ah'll karate chop anything that tries to scare us!” Apple Bloom gulped and pushed open the door to the hospital, she jumped back a bit, bumping into the others, surprised that the door was unlocked.
“Teehee...” Pinkie stiffled a giggle. She had used her ghostly powers to unlock the door.
The crusaders nervously entered the hospital lobby. Apple Bloom reached into her candy bag and pulled out a flash light.
“Allrigh, less goh.” She said with the flash light clenched in her teeth.
The fillies carefully walked through the empty hallway. They nearly jumped each time they heard their hooves click against the tiled floor. Pinkie Pie coudln't wait to spook them, and she knew just what to do.
Pinkie flew ahead of the crusaders and entered an office. In it, she found an anatomical model of a pony. It was a cutaway view of what ponies look like underneath the skin, it was as if two different ponies were attached to each other at the middle. This was perfect.
“Get ready girls, heeeeeere's Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie phased into the model and slowly, it began shambling to life. It was difficult to control because the limbs were stiff and bending the joints required a lot of effort. She eventually got herself off the stand she was hanging onto and crashed onto the floor.
“What was that?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“Ah dunno, mhaybe we shoud investighate.” Apple Bloom said, not letting go of the flash light as if her life depended on it.
The crusaders cautiously approached the room where they heard the sound. Apple Bloom puffed out her chest and pushed open the door. She scanned the darkness with the flash light and stopped it on an anatomical model on the floor.
“Oh, ah guess it's nothin'. This dumb thing jus' fell down that's all.” Apple Bloom breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, “Lets go girls!”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo didn't say anything, they were frozen stiff,
“What's the matter?” Apple Bloom noticed that the two fillies were shaking. She gulped, “t-there's something behind me, isn't there?” Apple Bloom turned to see the anatomical model that was on the floor moments ago right in her face.
“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!” The fillies screamed as they stumbled around in the darkness searching for the exit. Pinkie Pie followed them all over the building until they finally made it outside.
“That was fun girls! Maybe you'll get a running cutie mark?” Pinkie laughed and felt good that she may also have helped them on top of having fun.
Pinkie looked up to the sky had changed from black to deep blue. The sun was coming soon!
“Oh no! I completely forgot about Zecora's warning!” Before Pinkie could express her anxiety, she suddenly felt a searing pain that instantly enveloped her entire body.
“W-what's happening?! Ow! Ow ow ow ow! It hurts!” Pinkie screamed. This was it, she was too late. She failed to make it back in time to return to her body. Pinkie wanted to cry. She didn't want it to end like this. She just wanted to have a fun nightmare night. Why did this have to happen?
Pinkie could only sob as she slowly began fading from existence.
That was the end of Pinkie Pie, nopony saw her ever again after that night. Some say she went crazy and ran into the woods while others say she was taken by Nightmare Moon. Nopony really knows what happened, but everyone can agree that she is no longer in this world.
