A Nightmare Before The Night [CYOA]

by Selbi

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Other, Adventure, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, Main 6
Length: 15868

This is an Interactive Story! It is the day of Nightmare Night. Everypony is busy with something to make sure the festival is going to be great. Except Twilight. Her job was finished days ago, but now she messed up. Help her save the night!

It is the day of Nightmare Night. Everypony is busy with something to make sure the festival is going to be a success. Everypony except Twilight. Her job—crafting fireworks and keeping them at a safe place—was completed days ago. Unfortunately, she exaggerated the “safe” part a bit, as she lost her only way to get to them.

Will she get the fireworks in time for the festival? Well, that depends on your choices!

This is an interactive, “Choose Your Own Adventure!”-like story, where you get to decide what Twilight does next! (Further details are in Chapter 1.)

Editors and Amazing Help:
• Abcron (primary editor)
• Aragon (in-depth pre-reading)
• thesecret1 (private lessons)
• Section (post-release editing)
• Kaidan (additional assistance)

Note about the tags:
This story is, in theory, a Slice of Life. However, for you it is an Adventure. But as there isn't any tag that would come closer to “interactive story”, I had to pick this. A pre-reader I asked confirmed it was fine for this case.
Just so you won't get confused.

Published 2013-10-31 17:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-31 17:10:03 UTC

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Making sure the orange cupcakes with the grim faces on them didn’t have too much icing, hanging up spooky-looking “Welcome!” banners, making sure said cupcakes wouldn’t be eaten by Pinkie Pie, getting a new batch of cupcakes because Pinkie did exactly that, checking if the costumes were presentable, getting yet another batch of cupcakes…

It was a busy day in Ponyville. Hasty hooves could be seen everywhere as ponies were preparing the big festival of the day: Nightmare Night! There were rumors of Princess Luna dressing as Nightmare Moon for the event’s highlight, and nopony wanted to leave a bad impression.

All in all, it was a pretty normal day for everypony—if you didn’t look at the, admittedly, not-so-spooky decorations.

Everypony save for one: Twilight Sparkle. The purple librarian had quite a few different issues on her hooves.

“I can’t believe it!” she complained as she left a kiosk. “Today may be the thirty-first of October, but is that a reason not to have any newspapers delivered?”

For the past two hours, Twilight had been looking all over Ponyville to find that day’s issue of the local paper. Unfortunately, all deliveries were canceled with the explanation, “It wouldn’t be worth it for a day like this; nopony would have any time to read them.”

Twilight rolled her eyes as she thought about those words again. “Yeah, right. I mean, I’m not even expecting the ponies to read them myself, but buying them could be the least they could do!”

Twilight’s ability to carefully organize and plan ahead allowed her to be done with the preparations for the event days before the other ponies even started—some even had the bright idea to postpone their work until the day in question and now scream at everypony for their own fault. She had hoped she could take advantage of the extra time to spend some hours in peace before it got dark. Looks like Mister Destiny had other plans for her that day, though.

She had almost hoped something would happen just so she could spend her time on something. Another ursa minor attack for example. Those were fun, and she knew exactly how to deal with it. Or maybe another bad-guy-returns-after-one-thousand-something-years-and-threatens-to-destroy-ponykind attack so she could spend forty-four minutes to humiliate the attacker with her friends and inject them with two-hundred milligrams of pure, liquid friendship.

Her more or less desperate desire for a random problem she could resolve—so that the day would pass by faster—had been fulfilled when the one thing happened that she didn’t want to occur.

“Twilight Sparkle, just the pony I was looking for!” Mayor Mare called out.

“Oh, good day, Mayor,” Twilight replied with a slightly forced grin. Why does this have to be now?!

“There has been a little change of plans. Do you think you could bring me the fireworks now?”

“Right now?! But I thought you wouldn’t need them until midnight!”

“Yes… I know. That won’t change, but our team of voluntary pyrotechnicians didn’t show up. Apparently they were involved with some sort of accident over at Canterlot, and now we have to set the system up ourselves. We don’t know how long that will take…” Mayor Mare confessed.

“Ugh, fine.” said Twilight. “It’s not like I had anything else to do right now anyway.” Still, she had hoped preventing Equestria’s doomsday again would be more exciting than grabbing a bunch of custom-made fireworks ahead of schedule.

“Thank you, Twilight! I’ll wait for you at town hall.”

Twilight closed the door of her house behind her, and headed towards her bedroom. Next to her bed stood a huge, metallic safe that looked like nothing from her imagined list of disasters could break it open. She went to a nearby table, and levitated her saddlebag on it. Then she opened it.

Her jaw dropped at the sight before her, and she started to shake her head slowly. “Oh, by Luna’s tattooed-on cutie mark, don’t tell me I lost it…”

What could “it” be? Find out on the next chapter: Chapter 3

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“S-sorry, say that again please,” stuttered Twilight.

“One hundreds bits,” repeated Fluttershy.

Twilight gulped One hundred bits? Was Fluttershy out of her mind? “I don’t know what Discord did to your head, but one thing is for sure: he didn’t only turn you into a brainiac, he also turned you into a greedy pony again. I guess there still is some part of ‘new Fluttershy’ from the Iron Will incident in you, and I’m currently talking to it.”

Completely stunned by Twilight’s sudden accusations, Fluttershy said, “Why do you say such things? I’m just asking to get the general running costs paid. You know I don’t earn a single bit otherwise.”

“One hundred bits to have a little chat with a squirrel?!” Twilight screamed at Fluttershy. “I don’t care what happened to you, just get better. I’m rejecting your completely unreasonable offer! And next time invent something that, I don’t know, runs on air or something.”

Without waiting for a response, she stomped towards the door and opened it.

“Good bye, Fluttershy,” she snarled while standing in the frame, and slammed the door shut behind her as she walked away. “Ah, what am I even complaining about?” she asked herself. “I’ll just fix the problem myself.”

But how?

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

→ Try talking to the squirrel without the device? Go to Chapter 14!

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After a short trot, Twilight arrived at the park. Like in the town center, ponies were occupied with festival preparations all around. However, as much as Twilight had looked, she couldn’t find a single one not having something up their hooves.

“Well, looks like I’ve got to do this on my own.”

Stretching her muscles for the quest she was about to start, she charged towards the first thing she would interrogate: a plant.

“Uuuaaarghh!” Twilight seethed about two hours later. She had just looked through every part of the park she could; every spot that looked like a place a careless pony would lose a highly valuable and one-of-a-kind key. A key that is used to open a safe that contains extremely dangerous fireworks. And a key Twilight would’ve needed much earlier.

But it was in vain—the key was probably already long gone. It would’ve probably been found by somepony else already and sold.

Mulling over her defeat, Twilight thought about the options she had left. A smile formed on her face after a while. A smile that slowly turned into maniacal laughter. “Who says I need a key to open that safe? I don’t! I never did! I made that safe! Nothing I created can’t also be destroyed!”

Twilight got up and bolted towards her house.

“Spiiike!” she screamed as soon as the door shut behind her. Without waiting for a response, she said, “My toolbox! Now! I’m at the safe!”

“I’ll take it you didn’t find the key?” he inquired with a chuckle. Twilight didn’t say anything. “Alright, fine. I’ll bring it to you.”

Minutes later, a heavily panting and sweat-covered Spike let a huge box fall next to Twilight, sitting in front of the safe and staring at it intently. “Thanks, Spike,” she said without breaking her eye contact with the silver cuboid.

“This can’t end well…” muttered Spike as he left the room.

Twilight brought her attention to the toolbox. “Now, which one of you fine madames would like to be my first assistant?”

The screwdriver? Go to Chapter 12!

The hammer? Go to Chapter 20!

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“There’s no way in Tartarus I’m going to spend money on something I already own!”

Twilight angrily charged towards the pile, and began ripping off the paper and ribbon of all the packages she could get her hooves on.

“Not here… Not here… Not here…”

Rarity just stood open-mouthed next to her, helplessly watching her friend ripping through the previous hours of hard work.

Neither pony noticed the small, white cat curiously walking towards her. Opalescence meowed at Twilight, tilting her head, as if to say, “What is she doing?”

“I got it! I got it!” screamed Twilight victoriously after tearing open a light-blue package with a perfectly tied ribbon on it. She heroically held the key up high, showing the world how her eagerness paid off.

In her blind celebration over herself, she didn’t notice the cat charging at her. With a quick snap, Opal snatched up the key in her mouth, and dashed away, oblivious to the fact that it wasn’t a plaything.

Realizing she once again lost the key to her own silliness, Twilight’s temper broke loose. “OH COME ON, GET BACK HERE!”

As if running after that crazy cat would accomplish anything.

Go straight to Chapter 28. Don’t pass Go, don’t collect two hundred bits.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“Devil, have mercy with me in Tartarus…”

Slowly, Twilight raised her hoof, and tapped her hoof against the door exactly two times. Her ears dived for cover on her head and she cringed back a little, biting her lower lip as she hoped that death didn’t wait for her behind the door.

And yet, nothing happened.

Twilight tried again, relieved to still be standing in one, solid piece, but still she heard no response. She knew entering the house anyways would be wrong even under normal circumstances... but she didn’t really have any other options here.

The handle glowed purple before twisting to the side, and the door opened slowly, accompanied by a quiet creak. Twilight stepped past the threshold, and closed the door behind her in the same manner.

She looked around, soaking in the sights. The inside of Fluttershy’s house looked exactly like it always did; there was nothing suspicious or dangerous there at all.

A few more steps, and she passed around a corner and into the living room. Twilight didn’t know how to react to the sight before her: there lay Fluttershy, a peaceful smile etched on her face, in a bed made of clouds, snoring lightly.

“Ahuh, so that’s what it looks like when you have an extremely important experiment going on, Fluttershy?” There was no response from the yellow pegasus. Twilight walked forward, and nudged Fluttershy with her hoof. “Wake up, sleepy head! It’s already past midday.”

“Huh?” she said tiredly. Fluttershy’s eyes slowly started to open up, and she noticed the purpleness over her. She yawned tightly, and got up. “Oh hello, Twilight. I’m sorry, I must’ve fallen asleep. Rainbow Dash was right, clouds really are great for beds.”

Twilight gave her a warm smile. “No problem, Fluttershy. Though, it makes me wonder why you put up that sign at your door that reads not to come in under any circumstances.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that was still hanging there. I thought Rarity took it with her when she left,” explained Fluttershy.

“Rarity was here?” asked Twilight, although it finally started to make sense—Rarity wouldn’t have any problem putting up something so utterly dramatic.

“Yes. At our last spa meeting she insisted on making me a… ‘unique’ Nightmare Night costume for me. She took measurements of my body over here.”

“Ah, I understand. What are you going as?”

“Oh, as I said, it’s something very unique. I’m going as a d—”

Twilight put a hoof on Fluttershy’s mouth. “Actually no, don’t tell me. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.”

“Uhm, if that is what you want to do…”

“Anyway, now that you’re here already, do you think you could have a taste of my new soup recipe? I made it earlier for a hurt bunny, and it helped lessen its pain. I even tried it myself before I fell asleep.”

Time for a break?

→ Accept the soup? Go to Chapter 32!

→ Turn down the offer? Go to Chapter 26!

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Let nopony believe Twilight Sparkle, the personal protegé of Princess Celestia, is too greedy to share the spirit of Nightmare Night with them!” the unicorn proudly announced. Clearly enthusiastic by the idea of adding her share of holiday flair that night, she bolted off towards Ponyville’s only decorations store.

But before she’d taken two-steps, she stopped mid-track. What could she do? She was trapped in a labyrinth with no way out.

“What do you want to do now, Twilight? You can’t just magically make stuff appear and decorate the tree by itself,” noted Spike, taking out a quill and parchment. “So, what do you want me to write?”

Twilight’s helplessness, the disastrous expression of a pony who was about to lose everything written on her face, slowly began to fade away. In fact, it seemed to turn into something that was more of the opposite kind. A devious grin, that intended to give someone else nightmares for weeks, if it meant not having to endure endless torture for the rest of her own life.

“Spike,” she started slowly, still being turned away from him, and careful not to give out any hint about her plan to her assistant, “I want you to write this in the exact same words as I tell you them:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Please mail us unboxed decorations in exactly thirty minutes. I will pay you back tomorrow.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle”

Spike breathed a stream of green fire onto the parchment, and sent the letter off. “But what about the key now?” he asked. “How will you find enough time to decorate the tree while still looking for that?”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Twilight replied just as painfully normal as she could. “Say, Spike, why don’t you go home already and start inspecting the outside of the tree to see where the best spots to hang the mini jack-o-lanterns are? Be sure to look, very carefully. We want to take advantage of the best spots to hang them!”

“You got it, Twilight!” With an eager salute, he ran off with the banner.

Twilight released a deep breath as her assistant was finally out of sight. I just hope this works…

Another blur of purple streaked through the busy town—a common sight to all the ponies around at this point—straight towards the home of Rarity. Twilight, probably already rid of two pounds from all that running around.

“Twilight, wait up!” a young voice called out to her.

She stopped instantly, groaning incredibly annoyedly. “Whatever it is you want, just make it quick! I’ve been held up by too many silly ponies with silly issues today already!”

Turning around, she was surprised to see Applejack rushing towards her. “Oh, thanks a lot ya waited, Twi… Ah’m a li’l helpless here…” Being the work pony she was, she wasn’t nearly as exhausted as Twilight would’ve been, but her breathing gave away her shortness of breath.

“Helpless? Why?”

“Ah, uhm… Ah need you to rescue me from a loan shark…” she explained, defeated and slightly embarrassed. “She… Ah mean, uh… he… it… they… want onto mah money, but Ah don’t have any!”

Groaning once more, Twilight asked in a flat tone, “How much?”

“It’s, uhm… nothing much at all! Just a li’l two hundred bits…”

“Excuse me?!”

Money, money, money!

→ Give Applejack the hefty sum of coins? Go Chapter 34!

→ See what happens if Twilight doesn’t give it to her? Chapter 22!

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Twilight cackled. “As if some dumb lock could stop me from getting in there. All I need is a little something to trigger the mechanism, and woop, you’ll be open!”

Twilight looked through her collection of tools and picked up a slick screwdriver, just the right size to fit into the lock’s hole. With an eager grin, she inserted it, and carefully started fiddling around with it.

“Hah, this is going to be a peace of ca-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!”

A wave of electricity washed over Twilight. The blast of high voltage caused her to be shot away from the safe. Her head collided with the hard edge of a table, and she fell unconscious to the floor.

Several hours later, Twilight finally got up again.

“Huh? Wha–? Ugh, my head hurts like crazy!” Once she could think a little straighter again, she surveyed her room, and her gaze halted on the screwdriver next to the safe. A flash of memories came back to her mind, reminding her of the earlier events.

“What kind of idiot would use such a tool in such a situation anyway?!” She facehoofed. “I explicitly said that this thing could only be opened with a key! It’s like my own brain, or whatever idiotic demon is stuck in there, was a rampant imbecile who couldn’t understand such simple concepts as ‘NO KEY, NO OPENING THE LOCK’!”

Twilight glanced out of the window. She snapped out of her rambling. “Oh no!” It was completely dark outside. “Oh no, no, no, no, no! It can’t be night time already! I haven’t gotten the fireworks yet!”

But it was no use. She knew it was too late.

Defeated, she got up and walked up to the park.

To Chapter 28! Quick!

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“No thanks, Trixie, I’m fine without any nuts,” said Twilight. “Besides, I think five bits is a little too much for such a small bag of nuts, don’t you think?”

“O-oh, of course. I completely understand, Twilight. Yes, what was I thinking, setting the price at five bits? I must’ve been out of my mind!” Trixie turned to the blackboard on the stand, wiped away the number with her foreleg, and replaced it with a new one. “There! That’d be three bits!”

“No, I have a different idea. I don’t really need those nuts, but I know a… friend who could have them. I’ll make an offer for you.” Twilight opened her saddlebag. “Two nuts for two bits.”

“Damn…”

“What was that?” inquired Twilight.

“Uhh, nothing.” Trixie coughed. “Since you are my first customer today, you can have the entire bag for free!”

Twilight shot Trixie a curious look. “The entire bag?”

“Yes.”

“Completely for free?”

“Yes.”

Convincing, isn’t it?

→ Accept the gift? Go to Chapter 10!

→ Insist to buy two nuts for two bits? Go to Chapter 27!

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

“No way I’m going in there! My flank is more important than some key being kept hostage by a squirrel.” Twilight sat down in front of the door. “I will just wait here until Fluttershy comes out herself.”

“Any second now.”

“Aaaaany second now.”

If doors could be affected by stares, Fluttershy’s one have been crying. Twilight could stare at things for hours on end without even twitching once.

There was only one problem. Twilight isn’t actually great at staring; she just puts herself into a trance while keeping her eyes open. Even the most clever librarian will get tired after a few hours of doing nothing besides stare at a door.

“Aaa–ny… second… now…”

“N-no! NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! What did I even do do you?!” Twilight screams at the ‘thing’ chasing her. She starts whimpering heavily. “Please don’t hurt me…”

Suddenly, more shapes raise from out of the ground, completely cutting off Twilight’s escape. “You won’t get out of here alive, unicorn.”

Twilight spins around, and looks up at shadowy object that chased her. “W-what will you do to me?”

The monster chuckles. “We will cut you open…”

It moves out of the shadow, revealing its true face.

“... with a knife made of doors. And then we will make you go through us!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!” Twilight screamed, flailing around wildly for a moment, and snapping out of her daydream of being murdered with doors, by doors. Doors are evil, that much was sure. They all just fancy you going through them with their pretty door knobs!

Twilight turned away from the door in front of her—the sight was just too much for her to bear.

But just as she was about to extend her thoughts from simply ignoring the door to giving up entirely, she heard a soft clicking. She spun around and looked at the opening door.

“Oh, hi, Twi—”

Twilight’s eyes widened in horror at the Fluttershy before her. “No way, I’m out of here!” She teleported away.

Fluttershy blinked a few times, then sighed. “Do you still think dressing as a door is a good costume for Nightmare Night, Rarity?”

Remember, clicking on one of these two links will make you, hypothetically, walk through a door as well!

→ Try negotiating with the squirrel again, without Fluttershy’s help? Go to Chapter 14!

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Ah come on, this safe can’t be another Fort Clox!” Twilight shouted confidently. “If Discord was able to steal the Elements of Harmony that were stored away in Celestia’s oh-so-amazing vault that only her horn could open, why would this safe be any harder? Spike!”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Bring me my toolbox! Let’s see if this unicorn still knows one or two tricks from crafting class back in magic kindergarten.”

“Sure…”

Spike left the room, and returned with a big and heavy-looking box in his claws when he returned. With a loud thud it fell to the ground.

“Ugh,” moaned Spike between heavy breathing. “Why… do we… even have… such a huge toolbox… if we never use it?”

“Exactly for situations like this one, Spike.” She opened the toolbox and grinned viciously at the selection of hammers, files, and screwdrivers in front of her. “Now which one of you fine mares want to be my first assistant?”

“Uhh… Twilight? Are you… alright?” asked Spike, worried about the expression and tone of Twilight. He remembered them; they were exactly what happened last time Twilight went back to hard measures. The result was an entire town of brain-washed ponies going crazy over a doll.

“Yeah, yeah. Go, Spike. Have fun with Rarity or something. Mommy is busy!”

Spike just sighed and got out. He knew there was no way this could end well, and he just waited for it to fail.

“So… Do you want to be mommy’s first tool, Mister …”

→ … Screwdriver? Go to Chapter 12!

→ … Hammer? Go to Chapter 20!

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

This was it. Twilight knew she was one step away from finding her way out of this living nightmare. One step, separated by dozens upon dozens of vivid and colorful packages. Some of them had abstract patterns such as big dots or stripes on them, others, bigger ones—the main prizes probably—fully colored jack-o-lanterns.

It was beauty she was about to destroy with her bare hooves, ruining the work of what probably costed hours, if not days.

Twilight softly closed her eyes, and let out a slow, accepting sigh. “Rarity…” she started, “I… don’t know how to say this, but I think you’re right. I will buy all your packages.”

She opened up her saddlebag for what was hopefully the final time of the day, lifted out whatever remaining thing that looked valuable was stored in it, and put it onto a nearby counter—away from the packages so she wouldn’t risk letting it all fall down to the floor due to the magic nullifying spells.

“Here, this is everything I have on me. If it’s not enough, I will promise to get you more later tonight. Pinkie promise.” On the counter lay just a pocket-money amount of under twenty bits, three unused and two used quills, a half-empty glass of ink, the latest edition of How-to: Correctly install a new lampshade, and five paperclips.

Twilight waited for a sign, anything, that would give her a hint about what Rarity would say to her offer. Instead, the dressmaker just focused her eyes onto the pile of currencies and valuables.

“Rarity, say something! Please!” Twilight asked, eyes pleading at Rarity. “Is it not enough? Can I go ahead and try my luck with however many packages this covers?”

“You don’t have to, Twilight.” Rarity’s mouth slowly started to lift upwards and formed a thankful smile. Twilight just kept on looking pleadingly at her friend.

Rarity walked to the pile, and started inspecting the countless boxes laying there in a mess. Her head was leaned forward, looking at each and every box for a full second before moving on to the next. It was a painfully slow procedure, stressing Twilight’s patience with every checked gift.

Then, in a moment of excitement that almost made her feel like she was about to explode, Rarity said it. “Here is the key.” She lifted a light-blue present with a perfectly tied, white ribbon on it, and held it towards the librarian. A sheepish smile formed on her face. “The ‘buying’ part was a trick, I must admit. I simply can’t refuse generosity, for a good cause, even if it’s… slightly forced.”

Twilight’s mouth was unable to produce any words. She just nodded, and took the box.

“Oh, you shouldn’t open it yet,” said Rarity, putting a hoof on Twilight’s ones to stop her, as she was about to begin unpacking the present. “Opal is around. I’m not sure if she will be attracted by that glassy object. You should go home and unpack it there.”

Twilight nodded once more. “I understand. Thank you, Rarity. You’re really saving my flank here.”

For the first time that day, it felt like Twilight wasn’t running. Her legs carried her over the ground in a rhythmic and steadied manner. The ponies which looked at her like she was crazy earlier that day, were now doing the opposite, rubbing her eyes as though they didn’t believe what images they sent to their brains.

Twilight’s smile grew even wider as her house started to emerge from the distance, her lower eyelids pulling up to further show the ponies around her that, indeed, everything was certainly fine.

You deserve the biggest gemstone I can find for that, Spike!

Entering her house, Twilight’s ears picked up a wave a painful groans. Knowing exactly where it came from, and why, she walked upwards to her room.

Spike was in his bed, laying on his side and holding his arms over his belly. He noticed his boss entering the room with a vicious grin plastered on her face. “Too much ice cream?”

The dragon groaned. “Keep your remarks to yourself. You know exactly what happened.” He pointed to Twilight with his non-occupied arm. “Don’t you ever do that again to me! My fire breath is for mailing with Celestia, not burping out half a ton of Nightmare Night decorations all over a tree!”

Twilight sheepishly rolled her eyes in a self-lecturing manner, but decided to leave the topic at that.

She put away her empty saddle bag and carefully put the present onto her bed, enjoying the moment for every second she could spend, closing her eyes and slowly inhaling the smell of paper as though it was incense before a ritual.

Then, she carefully untied the ribbon and the wrapping paper. What remained was a plain, brown box. Taking another deep breath, she risked opening the box.

And there it was: the indestructible, spell-nullifying, made-of-diamonds key.

Indeed, the key was just a big, transparent slab of diamond. It didn’t have any fancy engravings on it, or anything eye-catching at all for that matter. The only thing that made its shape different to a regular were tiny dark spots on the shaft that were aligned in two perfect lines.

Whatever composure Twilight had during the ceremonial unpacking moment was instantly destroyed as she fetched the key out of the box and sprinted to the safe, barely avoiding to slip.

Sliding the key in sent off a barely audible clicking noise—one that was still music to Twilight’s ears nonetheless. A soft blue glow could be seen radiating through the keyhole, followed by what sounded like large metal bars screeching out of their own holes. Then the door jumped open.

Turn to Chapter 40!

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“I won’t let a little beast like you rob me.” She rubbed her injury. “And I definitely won’t let a beast like you bite me! I can get angry really fast, you know?”

She turned around and began walking away, the desire for revenge burning deep within her. And getting that one bit back.

She tilted her head to the squirrel, and said, “You stay here. I’ll be riiight back.”

The sun reflected off the white armor sitting atop Twilight’s fur as she trotted back up to the tree. The only exposed part of her body to leave a hint which pony was in there was her purple horn. A purple aura shimmered in the air around it, as she levitated what appeared to be the unholy offspring of an oversized axe, a hammer, a chainsaw, and perhaps something that looked like it used to be a branding iron.

“Either you will give back my bit voluntarily, or…”

“Three hundred bits, for carrying around unlicensed weapons in public,” imposed the judge.

“What?! That wasn’t a weapon, it was a—”

“Miss Sparkle,” interrupted the judge, “my hammer hasn’t connected with the plate yet. I could always add more for you wearing a costume before the official start of Nightmare Night, or objecting with the judge’s decision.”

Twilight didn’t say anything.

“Good.” The sound of wood connecting with wood reverberated throughout the chamber, and the clinking of hefty amounts of bits trading owners followed not too long after.

A few minutes later, the doors of the courtroom were kicked back and Twilight stomped out of the building with a heavy snort. “It’s quite questionable that we, as free ponies of this land, are prohibited from exercising solutions to urgent matters outside the law.”

Her eyes drifted up to the heavens to find that the sun was little past its highest point.

“Well, looks like I still have time for one of two options…”

The agony of choice…

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

→ Try finding the squirrel again? Go to Chapter 35!

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“Well, if magic doesn’t help me, how else can I tell you what I want?” Twilight was facing the squirrel even though she was mostly talking to herself. “It’d be great if there was a device that allowed me to communicate with animals. One that doesn’t work with magic anyway.”

Twilight rubbed her chin with her hoof. She thought of many different ideas, some of which involved pictures of the tree and fire. Eventually though, a twinkle came over her pupils.

“Of course! The best way to communicate with you is actually talking! And I know exactly who can help me! You, stay here while I’m gone!”

The squirrel continued to direct his beady eyes at her. Twilight grimaced

“There’s something about your expression I don’t like… Here,” she said, opening her saddlebag and tossing a few coins into the tree hole, “have these. I still don’t know what you would want with pony currency anyway, but as long as it keeps you here I won’t complain. Maybe you need to pay your rent to this tree here or something.”

She turned around, and ran off to Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Oh no, "I can't afford to deal with this right now…” said Twilight deadpanned.

Hanging from a nail on Fluttershy's door was a sign with letters spelling out, “DON’T COME IN! IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EXPERIMENT!”

Twilight could tell it was serious business because it was written in capital letters. Capital letters mean serious business. And Fluttershy never writes in capital letters—she sometimes even intentionally writes everything in uncapitalized letters. So when Fluttershy, the shyest pony in all of Ponyville, writes in serious-business letters, it means serious-serious business.

“Too serious for me. Just what should I do now? I could risk not seeing a rising sun tomorrow if I just walk in anyway…”

Serious situations require serious decisions.

→ Enter the cottage anyway? Go to Chapter 8!

→ Wait for Fluttershy to come out herself? Go to Chapter 15!

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

“T-two hundred bits… That’s all Ah need…” Applejack explained. She was incredibly nervous, which was reasonable considering the situation she was in; what would happen if she didn’t get the money in time? Would she go to Tartarus for it?

“No,” said Twilight simply, the little glimmer of hope Applejack had vanished in an instant. “Applejack, you’re my friend, but I simply can’t throw around bits like I’m Princess Celestia herself.” She put a hoof on the farmer’s shoulder. “I say you should take full responsibility for your debts, not asking other ponies around to bail you out.”

“You ain’t have an idea what y’all are talkin’ about, Twi!” said Applejack despairingly, but she turned around and ran off in the direction Twilight was headed anyway.

“Gotta go. See ya later at the event!” she called over her shoulder.

Twilight sighed. What an embarrassing example…

Arriving at Rarity’s door at last, Twilight banged her hooves against it, hoping the fashionista would open it up immediately.

A set of hoofsteps and ruttling could be heard, before the door opened, exposing the white unicorn. “Oh, hello there, Twilight. What can I—”

“Where’s the key?!” Twilight demanded before she could let her friend finish explaining.

Rarity looked quite taken aback, slightly embarrassed. “Y-you mean that glassy one? I gave it to…”

“Yes? Yeeesss?!” inquired Twilight as Rarity trailed off.

“Oh, hey, Rarity!” a voice from behind Twilight greeted. She turned around and saw Applejack standing there with a grin. “Thanks for the key. Ya really saved mah flank there!”

Twilight turned her attention in full force towards the farmer. “What did you do with it?!”

“Oh, uhm… Ah sold it to some moving jeweler or somethin’ for just enough money to pay mah debts,” Applejack explained. Twilight just froze in place, mouth agape. “Love it when you make that face, Twi!”

You know the drill by now. Chapter 28!

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“Breaking that thing open is impossible. I’d have better chances getting through Applejack’s stubborn brain than getting to my fireworks without that key.”

“You think so?” commented Spike.

“Yes, Spike. Now, excuse me. I have to go.”

“Now, where should I start looking?” She surveyed the busy village being prepared for the festival. It was evident that all the ponies were too occupied for Twilight’s silly problems. She trotted around the town center, looking any pony that at least had something as much as a break to talk to for one minute.

Eventually, her patience paid out, as Twilight noticed a mint-green pony sitting on a bench. She walked up to her.

“Oh hey, Twilight! What’s going on? You look rather stressed.”

“Hello, Lyra. Yeah… I’m looking for a key, and I need it really, really urgently! You haven’t seen one, have you?”

Lyra put a hoof to her chin and started thinking. After a while she said, “A key, eh? Big, transparent, unique-looking?”

Twilight beamed. “Yes! That’s the one!”

“Well, I must admit I've seen such a key earlier, but I didn't pay it much attention and just left it there. I don't even remember where I saw it, admittedly…” said Lyra.

Twilight’s ears flopped and she lowered her head in disappointment for a short moment, before she got up again and said, “Oh well, you’re just one of many ponies I can ask.” She looked around, realizing she and Lyra were probably the only two ponies not working. “At least I hope so. Though I'm somewhat curious to hear why you would keep a key made of diamond on the ground.”

Lyra gasped. “Diamond?! I thought it was cheap glass or something, an odd party decoration. If I knew I would’ve picked it up the instant I saw it after I was done.”

“Done with what?”

“Hmm? Oh, my practice,” explained Lyra. “I’m going to perform later, but I’ve already practiced the whole week. I feel confident, and just wanted to chill here for a while. I mean, I would help Bon-Bon, but she explicitly told me not to come anywhere near her candy.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Why would she tell you to do that?”

“Well…” Lyra gulped and giggled awkwardly. “Long story short, I didn’t know you could actually set Bon-O-Lanterns on fire.”

Images of a mad Bon-Bon chasing Lyra through Ponyville with a rolling pin, both in ash-stained Nightmare Night costumes, reappeared in Twilight’s head.

“I can still feel the smack from that piece of wood today…”

“I can feel your pain, Lyra…” Twilight’s face straightened again. “Anyway, I need to keep on looking for the key. Thanks for your help!”

“No problem! I’d say you go check out the park or the coffee stand. I think I saw it somewhere around there.”

Only question, where to start looking?

→ Park? Go to Chapter 6!

→ Coffee stand? Go to Chapter 31!

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“Thanks for the offer, Fluttershy, but I’m a little bit in a hurry here. Besides, I’m not really hungry anyway.”

Fluttershy looked disappointed—a little bit more than one would expect, almost as if she wasn’t only sad about Twilight rejecting her offer, but also about losing something else. Before Twilight could question such a premonition any further, however, Fluttershy lifted her head up and smiled.

“It’s… fine, Twilight. I can find somepony else to try my soup o– I-I mean… somepony else to let my soup taste…”

Twilight looked at her friend skeptically. “Uhm, Fluttershy… is there something you want to tell me?”

“N-nothing at all!” She chuckled uneasily, and tried to regain her composure—whatever amount of composure a pony like Fluttershy could collect anyway. “Let’s ignore that, it was nothing. Just tell me what I can help you with, Twilight.”

Twilight’s head tilted to the side a little and she gave a questionable look, but she decided to let the matter pass “Right. I need your ability to talk to animals to… interrogate... a squirrel. That beast has stolen a valuable item I need, and no matter what I tried, I can’t get it back.”

Fluttershy kicked at the ground lightly and averted her gaze “Oh, I would love to help you, Twilight, but… I have to wait for Rarity here. And I really need somepony to test my soup.” Twilight was about to shoot her a frown, but was interrupted by a hoof booping her nose. “Heads up, Twilight, I have something that can help you! Wait here.”

Fluttershy turned around and walked up her stairs, while Twilight fell onto her haunches dumbfounded. Something was wrong with Fluttershy, that was for sure.

But her train of thought was derailed, when Fluttershy came back down only seconds later, carrying a strange, metallic object with lots of antennas on it. “This is a helmet that allows you to communicate with animals,” Fluttershy explained. “It’s a small, diamond-molecule-powered machine that works without any magic, and it emits biological, high-frequency waves which—”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight interrupted her. “What is wrong with you? Since when have you become such a… braniac? You are completely acting out of character!” a very odd-looking lampshade behind Fluttershy suddenly caught her attention.

“Well excuse me for not acting like your headcanon thinks I should, Twilight!” complained Fluttershy. “What’s wrong with trying something new for once? And since I already know so much about animals, why can’t I make a living off it?”

“A living off it? What do you mean?”

Fluttershy gasped, then sighed. “Did you really think I would give you this thing for free, Twilight? It took a lot of time to read all those books and get it to work.”

Groaning, but accepting that out-of-character Fluttershy was in her zone of being a mean pony again, Twilight nodded. “It doesn’t look like I’m getting an easy way out of this, so why not just skip the yada-yada and get straight to the point: how much do you want for it?”

“Oh, since it’s still you, Twilight, and you’re a very good friend, of course I will give you a discount.” Fluttershy rubbed her chin with a hoof for a few moments, before happily announcing, “One hundred bits.”

The agonizing pain of one thousand lampshades crashes down on you.

→ Pay the abnormally high price? Go to Chapter 37!

→ Tell Fluttershy to pull that lampshade over her head, and reject the offer? Go to Chapter 5!

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

“No,” said Twilight contently. “I said I wanted two nuts for two bits. It’s because I want these nuts for somepo– uh, someone else.”

“I, uh… are you serious?” Trixie asked desperately

“Yes. Two nuts for two bits and three bits of change. That’s how we will do it.”

Trixie’s expression slowly changed from panic to frustration. “Just take the damn bag! It’s for free!”

Twilight maintained her polite and relaxed mood. “No, I told you how I want this to be done and I’m going to stick to it.”

“Ugh, fine!” Trixie barely concealed anger as she lifted two nuts out of the package. Then she took three bits. “There, just give me your two bits and get out of my sight.”

“Thank you,” Twilight chirped, and took the goods in exchange for her money. She stored them in her saddlebag and turned around. “I have to get going. It was nice to see you again, Trixie. Maybe we will meet again later today!”

Trixie folder her hooves and tossed her mane as she looked away from Twilight. “Yeah yeah, speak for yourself.”

Twilight walked away without another word.

“Hey, wait a minute!” she suddenly heard Trixie shouting from behind her after she walked for a few seconds. “Two bits for three bits change? Get back here, Sparkle!”

Said unicorn just kept on walking away with an amused expression on her face. Oh Trixie, will you ever stop letting your wrath and jealousy blind you?

Twilight arrived at the tree. She saw the squirrel’s tail hanging out of its hole, and sighed in relief knowing the critter was still there.

She put on the helmet. “Alright, let’s put this thing to the test.”

As she said that, the squirrel turned around immediately, and looked at Twilight with interest.

Twilight coughed, and raised her hoof in a greeting manner. “Test, test, one, two, three. Can you understand me?”

Test, test, one, two, three. I can understand you. Though, I must admit that’s quite a weird greeting you’re having there.

“Huh? What?” Twilight looked around in surprise. Then her view rested on the squirrel again. “Oh, you’re speaking to my head. I should’ve guessed this thingy won’t actually allow you to talk.”

Hey, be nice! The squirrel started squeaking irritably. It wasn’t my choice to be born a squirrel, stupid pony!

“Whoa, for such a meaningless animal you sure have your way with words.” The spite on the squirrel’s was becaming clearer by the second. “Okay, I should probably stop now.”

Yes. You should.

“Anyway, I came here because I thought we could trade.” She levitated the nuts out of her saddlebag. “What do you think? These for that key you’ve showed me earlier?”

Don’t have that useless garbage anymore. Can I have the nuts anyway?

Easy, Twilight, easy. It’s just a squirrel.

→ Give it the nuts? Go to Chapter 38!

→ Tell it to go nut itself? Go to Chapter 19!

Chapter 29

Chapter 29

“Getting a few decorations for one house is more important than a firework show only designed for Princess Luna? Has Celestia gone completely mad or what?”

Twilight angrily crumpled up the letter and threw it into a nearby trash can.

“My answer is ‘no’ and that is final. Be a good assistant and tell the princess. I gotta get going.”

Bolting away, she left a completely speechless Spike behind. He took out a quill and parchment, and wrote down what we was told, then sent it off. “Doesn’t she remember the last time Celestia threatened with ‘consequences’?”

Twilight arrived at Rarity’s boutique at last, hoping it was the penultimate time she would need to chase after her key, as she desperately gasped for any air her tired lungs could catch.

Cooling down a little bit, she steadied herself and raised her hoof to knock on Rarity’s door.

Thud.

“Huh?” Before any part of her body connected with the wood, a muffled sound came from the inside of the dress workshop.

Thud. Thud.

“What’s going on here? Rarity? Is everything alright in there?” she called out through the door. There was no response. Twilight got more worried by the second, and hastily slammed her hoof against the door. “Rarity! Open up!”

Thud. Thud. Thud.

And then, silence, for what felt like at least a minute. Twilight charged up a spell to break the door open with her magic. She positioned herself into an ideal spot, and—

BOOM!

The door exploded from out of its hinged, falling directly towards Twilight. The librarian was only a split second away from being crushed as she teleported a few feet backwards.

A split second she wouldn’t be able to celebrate still being alive.

“CONSEQUENCES! CONSEQUENCES! NO KEY! NO KEY!” a completely insane Rarity, dressed as what looked like a… door, screamed wildly, her eyes flickered about in random directions, as she stomped out of the open frame. She was accompanied by six animated mannequins, overrunning Twilight in an instant.

The absurdly crazy and feral fashionista just kept on running to the town center, her wooden posse galloping behind her.

Twilight didn’t even bother to get up; she just let the tatters of her ruined victory settle onto her like a burial shroud.

“In this very moment I hate you very, very much, Celestia.”

Death of victory—resurrection of failure. To Chapter 28!

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Hmm… I think I should try to appease it with friendliness, Twilight thought to herself. I’m not Fluttershy, but I’m sure some of her kindness magically carried over to me;because I’m the Element of Magic. I’m also the ruler of the squad, yo!

She paused to dwell on her last thought.

Am I even picking up on some of Rainbow Dash’s ‘coolness’ by saying incoherent and disgusting slangs? Well, at least means that the Fluttershy-kindness thing should work.

Twilight shuffled her hooves around into a firmer stance, and then flushed her mind of anything that didn’t have anything to do with “kindness” and “How-to: Interrogate a squirrel! For beginners and returners!”

She coughed, forced a grin onto her face, and then spoke up to the tree the squirrel had fled into. “Hello there, Mr. Woodland Creature. My name is Twilight Sparkle—Element of Magic, Princess Celestia’s personal protegé, and definitely the owner of that one bit you stole from me. What do you say we make a deal?”

The squirrel poked its head out of the hole, its eyes carrying what Twilight interpreted as intrigue.

“Ah good, I see I’ve caught your interest. It’s very simple actually: you give me my bit back, and in return I will not gather my other friends and their elements to harmonize you to death. Is that fair?”

Twilight kept a monotone, confident voice, bundled with her gentle smile. After Nightmare Moon, Discord, and probably a million other villains that were harmonized like there was no tomorrow, even such a small sin as stealing a bit from Twilight could mean “bye-bye” to your dark side for good.

The critter, of course, didn’t get a word of what she’d said. All it understood was something along the lines of “I want something back.” And the critter did as it was told. It turned tail and disappeared into the dark hole, popping back out a second later with a twisted, clear-colored object clutched close to its chest.

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “My key!” Without any hesitation, Twilight shot a hoof out to grab it. “Gimme, gimme, gimme!”

All she received was another bite on her hoof; the squirrel was too greedy to be giving anything away.

“Stop this fillygarden mess already. I’ll be having that key whether you like it or not!” A purple light ignited around her horn and she reached out for the key with her magic.

Without any luck… again. Her levitation spell just went through the key as though it wasn’t there.

“I guess Spike was right…” she told herself. “I really overdid it with the anti-magic spells.”

So, what to do now?

→ Try negotiating with the little rodent using different methods? Go to Chapter 21!

→ Use drastic, physical measures? Go to Chapter 36!

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

“Just… two hundred bits…” Applejack stammered out, dragging her hat over half her face.

“Ugh!” Clearly annoyed by the amount of money she had to spend today already, Twilight opened up her saddlebag and brought out a check book and quill. “I don’t even care anymore why you needed so much money from a loan shark anyway. Just take it and let me go!” She scribbled down some words and numbers on the check, signed it, and ripped it out before giving it to Applejack.

The farmer took it with deep gratefulness drawn onto her face. She fell onto Twilight, embracing her into a forceful hug. “Thank you, Twi! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome. Just…” She gasped for air. Applejack understood the message, and let her go. “I need to move on to Rarity now, though. Good luck with your loan shark… whoever that is.”

She darted off, and Applejack waved after her. The less you know about that, Twi, the better.

The door to Rarity’s boutique was already wide open when Twilight saw the building emerging from the distance—an unusual sight. It didn’t take long before she realized why that was the case though.

“Rarity?” Twilight asked as she arrived at the dress shop. “Why are you carrying around… wrapped presents?”

The white unicorn, exhausted and legs shaking from the dozens of presents she decided to carry all at once, walked over from a table with remainings of wrapping paper and ribbon to a huge pile of gifts. She dropped the load off, the noise of colliding paper boxes was heard throughout the room.

Rarity looked up. “Oh, hello, Twilight. I…” She took a deep breath, trying to cool down from the unlady job she was forced to do. “I was asked by the mayor to wrap up some small presents for the foal games later tonight. Little, silly things as prizes.”

“And why are you carrying them around like that, instead of using your magic?”

“Ugh, because for some reason my magic doesn’t work around these packages!” complained Rarity. “It’s like there’s something in there that just nullifies it.”

Twilight facehoofed. “Oh for Celestia’s sake, please no…”

“Whatever do you mean, Twilight?”

“That key the squirrel gave you, it has anti-magic spells on it,” she explained hopelessly. “Please don’t tell me you put it into one of these packages…”

Rarity kept her lips firmly shut.

“Thought so.”

Rarity sighed in an apologizing manner. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t know that was your key. I just thought it was some nice little thing some filly could be happy about.”

There was an awkward moment of silence.

“Well…” Rarity continued, “I don’t want to sound like a party pooper here, but I think there really is no other option than you buying them all, and unpacking them.”

So close, yet so far. What to do?

→ Buy all the presents and open them? Go to Chapter 17!

→ No more expenditures? Go to Chapter 7!

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Ah for crying out loud, it’s just a squirrel! It can’t just go poof and vanish into thin air.”

With that, Twilight began walking back to the place she had encountered the thief earlier…

… without any luck.

“As if it really was sucked up by some hole or something! I would continue checking hollow trees, but… Celestia dammit, why do we have so many trees anyway?! There’s no way I can check them all by myself in time!”

A smile formed on her face. Not the kind of smile Twilight gets when she feels confident about something, but the kind of smile when Spike grabs the first-aid kit as fast as he could.

“Well… one could always…”

“Five hundred bits penalty,” explained the judge calmly, “and another one hundred for ache money.” He swung his wooden hammer on the table to signalize the decision was final.

“What?! Six hundred bits for that? Have you never cloned yourself fifty times with the mirror pool to search through all hollow trees in Ponyville for a squirrel that stole one bit from you wanted to buy coffee with?”

Pricy decisions don’t leave many options. Go to Chapter 28!

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“Well, if magic doesn’t work… I can always use my hooves.” Twilight pawed the ground under her right foreleg. “And trust me, these hooves can do a lot more than just carry my body.”

Twilight turned around, wound up her hindlegs, and bucked the tree, the way she’d observed Applejack do it. It’s definitely not something she could do for many hours a day, but one or two trees were no problem. Having helped the farmer a couple of times, she’d realized it was less about the muscle strength and more about the endurance.

Leaves and old branches came loose as the tree soaked up the blow. As Twilight made to turn around to see if her impersonation of Applejack had any effect, she was suddenly surprised to see the squirrel, with the key in its mouth, rocket out of the hole, using Twilight’s head as a springboard, before running.

Before she could react, she felt something hit her head with a soft thunk, and she directed her glare at the offending object: her bit. “By Celestia’s made-in-Chineigh tiara, that’s it!”

She charged, the dirt kicking up around her hooves, while she grinded her teeth. The critter was significantly slowed by the heavy key, so Twilight was actually moved up rather fast.

“Give me that, right now!” she demanded as she got closed upon critter.

And squirrel obliged. It stopped running, stood still for a second, then dropped the key. It turned around, and looked Twilight straight into her eyes.

“Huh? You’ll actually cooperate with me?” Twilight asked, half her face hanging to the side like it couldn’t handle the weight of all the confusion.

The squirrel took advantage of the momentary gap in her defense, half Twilight’s face hanging to the side like it couldn’t handle the weight of all the confusion, bowed, took a fighting position. Then, it grabbed Twilight’s forehoof, and flung her around on the ground, playing the Helicopterman with her on the way there. Twilight just screamed during the entirety of it.

Dazzled, weak, but mostly downright humiliated, she heard a cackling coming from her left. She turned her eyes towards the source, and saw the squirrel laughing at her.

Then it grabbed the key, and ran off.

Twilight just lay there. “Next time I see Fluttershy I will ask her if all woodland creatures know karate…”

And ask her if she has any band-aid for humiliation, Twilight.

What next?

→ Follow the squirrel, hoping it isn’t out of reach yet? Go to Chapter 35!

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

Chapter 38

Chapter 38

“Ugh, fine, take them!” said Twilight annoyedly and levitated the nuts into the tree hole. “But now tell me what you did with my key!”

The squirrel eagerly accepted the nuts, and started hugging them tightly. Oh, my fine ladies… We will have a lovely evening…

“Ahem.”

Hmm? Oh right, I gave it away. Some white pony with three gems on her flank. Said she wouldn’t find sleep tonight if she couldn’t get her hands on that key.

Twilight stumbled and fell to the ground at the unexpected turn of events.

Do you know her?

She got up and began rushing away. “Of course I know her. Thank you!”

You’re welcome. And, uh… test, test, one, two, three.

The squirrel turned around and happily started munching on a nut, cackling a little.

These ponies with their weird greetings and goodbyes. Maybe they’re practicing counting down but fail and count up instead? Oh well.

It finished its nut.

Mmmh, that was gr—eat… Ugh… I feel… weak… Images of Fluttershy and a soup came back to its mind. Oh please no…

“No time to lose! I gotta find Rarity before she does something dumb as well!”

Twilight galloped across Ponyville, dodging past ponies as they went about their business, jumping tables and chairs, and teleporting past buildings.

“Twiiiliiight!” she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling her. She turned towards it; it was Spike, waving the ‘Extremely important albeit alarmingly weird mail from Princess Celestia that will have serious consequences if you ignore it’-banner. The one with the pink interrobang. Pink was Twilight’s favorite way to describe randomness. And interrobangs are random enough that like… nopony ever writes them. “Wait up!”

Oh no, what to do‽

Yeah, what to do, interrobang-unicode-character?

→ Avoid Spike and continue rushing to Rarity’s boutique? Go to Chapter 25!

→ Listen to Spike? Go to Chapter 4!

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Congratulations!

You’re at the end of the story!

Background Information:

This story is lightly based on and inspired by “Lustiges Taschenbuch #333” (January 4th, 2005). That book has been resting on my shelf ever since its release, and I was always amazed by its own choose-your-own-adventure story, so I wanted to try my luck at one myself.

Because planning and writing stories like this one take a huge amount of time, I chose to keep it fairly simple for now. True CYOA stories have multiple paths, sometimes even multiple alternate endings, and every choice will have serious consequences for you as a player. Most importantly though, they have around 400, not 40 chapters. I could’ve written something with more than one end, but the work for that would’ve been extreme. This project here already took me one and a half weeks of daily work.

This was more of a test for myself anyway, as well as to see how people generally like these stories. If the feedback is positive, I might consider writing more of these in the future!

Walkthrough:

1 – 2 – 3 – 23 – 31 – 9 – 33 – 21 – 8 – 26 – 37 – 13 – 27 – 38 – 4 – 11 – 34 – 17 – 40 – 39

In the most ideal situation you should have 20 chapters marked as read (summing up to only about 9,300 words). How far off are you? Comment!

Thank you for reading and playing!

Happy, Happy Helloween 2013!

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Sweat was flowing down from every angle of Twilight’s face, as she heavily gasped for air. The huge bag of custom pyrocraftery on her back, as she walked—almost crawling—to Mayor Mare’s office in town hall, was too much for her after all that running around from earlier. Still, she knew she had nothing to lose now that she had her key and, more importantly, the fireworks.

Arriving at the mayor’s office, a relieved smile was put onto her face, as she saw it was open. She let it fall down at the door. Magic-nullifying spells, NEVER again.

“Oh, Twilight, good to see you,” said Mayor Mare, looking up from her desk. “You sure took a while before you got here. Did something hold you up?”

Twilight kept her head down, looking at the floor while panting heavily, yet with a small smile. “You have no idea…”

As the smile of the sun started to set and the shadows got longer, the town center of Ponyville that was filled with busy stallions and mares alike earlier that day, was soon full of four-legged zombies, ghosts, mummies, witches, and insurance consultants—one scarier than the last. Twilight herself chose to go with her Starswirl costume from last year again.

Princess Luna—or Nightmare Moon, rather—has already been welcomed by the civilians of Ponyville with great response. The great wave of solidarity was too much for the princess, putting her dark and shadowy appearance into a huge contrast with the thankful pride tears she wiped off of her face.

But even the happiest devil is still a devil, so it didn’t take long before she started chasing after little foals that didn’t give her any candy, though she ran just fast enough so they still had a chance.

“Enjoying the night, Princess Luna?” Twilight asked her as said princess was embracing the fillies she chased in a playful hug, sharing a cheerful laughter with them.

“Oh, We most certainly are, Twilight Sparkle,” the princess confirmed, looking up at Twilight. She motioned the children to go, and stood up.

“I don’t know if you have any ideas about this, but I need to ask you,” Twilight said.

“What is it?”

Twilight coughed and blushed a little. “It’s hard to explain. The entire day was just... strange. I’ve met so many ponies, and they all acted weird.”

Luna nodded. “Ponies not showing up? Loan-sharking? Spiked food? Nuts?” She smirked. “Perhaps even feeling unlike yourself as well?”

Twilight blinked. “Yes! How do you know?”

The princess giggled behind a hoof. “Oh, We are so sorry, Twilight Sparkle. We just couldn’t resist asking Discord to, how do the youngsters say, ‘spice things up a little.’ We hope you can forgive us.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but then allowed herself to smile too. “Okay, I guess life isn't fun without a little pranking now and then. Anyway," she said, her face becoming straight again, “I need you to make a decision. Choose wisely, as this may affect the outcome of tonight.” She brought out three different small cubes, each with a different color, and showed them to Luna. “Red, Green, or Blue?”

The princess raised an eyebrow. “What are these for?”

Twilight shook her head. “Just pick one.”

Luna brought a hoof to her chin, considered her selection of choices, trying to find any hints as to what would be the best one. Overlooking any detail, anything that could be an indication of the answer, and thus picking the wrong one, could lead to serious consequences.

After a minute of considering the colors, Luna nodded to herself. “Blue. We pick the blue cube.”

Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, the glow around her horn intensifying for its duration, as she picked up the blue cube. A second later, a huge blue explosion could be seen from the night sky.

Princess Luna stood mouth agape, staring at the decaying light. Twilight was worried she wouldn’t be happy about it, but only a moment later the unclear expression on the princess’s face turned into a childish laughter. “Oh, this is positively astounding, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight blushed. “Ah, it’s nothing… Just a little something I’ve been working on for the past few weeks…”

A pleading grin appearing on Luna’s face. “Can we try it?”

“Of course! That was the idea anyway.” Twilight brought out a small bag, and poured its content onto a silver tablet. It was dozens of tiny cubes, each with a unique color on it. “It’s simple, just pick up a cube and switch the trigger on the inside of it to launch a rocket with that color.”

Like a child that got a new, expensive toy, Luna started fiddling around with the collection of blocks. She created beautiful patterns like it wasn’t something new at all for her.

“More!”

The amount of simultaneous light flashes started to increase, and also the volume on the explosions.

“More!”

A first batch of ponies was starting to look away from the sky, afraid the flashing lights might give them a stroke, or the soundwaves threatening their ears with acute hearing loss.Twilight started to get concerned as well, and tried to reach out to the princess, but her callouts were completely ignored by the tunnel-visioned alicorn.

“MOOOORE!”

Luna jumped onto the tablet of cubes, and activated them all simultaneously. Dozens of rockets were launched up to the night sky. The explosion that followed shattered vision and hearing with the equivalent force of a thousand friendships.

And then there was silence.

→ Chapter 39

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

“Huh? Wha?” Twilight woke up in the middle of Ponyville’s park, laying on a bench. “Oh dear, did I seriously fall asleep while I was in the middle of the hunt for my key?”

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her tired eyes intently.

“But why, out of all places, on a bench in the park?” she asked herself perturbed and disconcerted. “I can’t remember anything. I was trying to talk get my key from a squirrel, and after that… nothing…”

Twilight looked up into the sky; the sun was already setting.

“Oh no!”

Quick, go to Chapter 28!

Chapter 42

Wait, what? Did you really just click on the last chapter like that? I thought I made it perfectly clear in the beginning that the end of the story is not the last chapter, but hidden in the middle somewhere. You will have to fight your way through it yourself.

Do you really need cheats to find the story’s end? It’s not that hard, really. What do you want me to do? Write an online article on some gaming blog? “Hey there guys, today I will show you my five hundred pages long tutorial on how to beat ‘A Nightmare Before The Night’!” Is that what you want? Are you really that desperate?

Of course, if you’re here just because you wanted to mark the remaining chapters as read once you were done with the main storyline, no worries.

For everyone else:

→ Chapter 1

Chapter 1 [START HERE]

STOP RIGHT THERE!

Did you stop?

Good.

Hi there, and welcome to A Nightmare Before The Night! This is not a normal story, but an interactive My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan fiction, based on the CYOA concept (Choose Your Own Adventure). This means you get to decide what Twilight Sparkle, the protagonist, will do!

At the end of most chapters, you will have to decide between two options, though occasionally you will only get one. This is also the reason why none of the chapters are longer than 1,000 words. Choose wisely! There is only one correct path to the end.

Do not click on a random chapter! This story is completely mixed up, and you would only spoil the fun for yourself if you jump to a random location. Also, the finale is hidden somewhere in the middle; do not click on the very last chapter.

Have fun!

Begin:
→ Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Where? Where? Where?!”

Twilight searched through every nook and cranny of her bedroom that looked like it would hide something from her for several minutes, getting more and more anxious with each and every passing one.

“Spiiiiike!” she screamed eventually.

Her number-one assistant appeared seconds later. “Yes, Twilight?”

“Where did I put the key?!”

“You mean the one and only thing that can open that safe?” asked Spike. “The key you made from indestructible diamonds so that I couldn’t eat it? The key you created yourself so that nopony could steal the fireworks? The key that—”

“Yes!” she interrupted. “And don’t you blame me for taking extra precautions to prevent another drama caused by ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders Pyrotechnicians Yay!’”

“Well, I’m sure putting the fireworks into a spell-proof safe, not even you can open was the best course of action here.”

“I can open it with the key, so shut it!” said Twilight with a groan. “Just tell me where it is.”

“It should be in your saddle bag.”

“I know! But it isn’t there!” Twilight sighed. “The mayor asked me to get the fireworks early.”

“You could call a key service.”

“Har har. Very funny, Spike. You were watching me when I made that key, and you know it’s one-of-a-kind. Sticking anything but that thing into the lock won’t help me at all.”

Twilight kept on staring at the metallic rectangle, almost hoping it would magically open itself. Ironically, the only magic this safe could produce was the magic that forbids any other magic.

“So… what now?” asked Twilight after a while.

“Well, sitting around here whining about it won’t get you the fireworks either. You have to find a way to get in there.”

Twilight stood up again, confidence flowing through her ever-so-slightly. “You’re right, Spike. Just…”

… what way should Twilight go first?

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

→ Go back to town center and look for the key there? Go to Chapter 23!

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Later that day…

“Hopeless,” said Twilight, laying on a park bench, stroking her tail in a careful manner. “I can try whatever I want, but there’s no way I can get to these fireworks without my key. And now Nightmare Night is about to begin.”

Twilight tried to stand up, but immediately fell back into her self-pitying situation, now sobbing heavily. She didn’t notice Spike, dressed in his dragon costume like last year, walking up to her.

“There you are, Twilight. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Hey, what’s wro—”

“I have failed,” interrupted Twilight, in a monotone voice. What came next was a shower of drama in the form of her recapping the entire event of the day to Spike, hoping he would find the mistake.

The purple dragon didn’t understand a word of Twilight’s exaggerated and overly-detailed explanation of the day, but he did understand how serious the situation was for her. “Well, I think there’s only one way to find a good ending to this story.”

Twilight sniffed, but looked at Spike with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Which would be?”

“Simple, use that time spell you used the other day, only this time to go back to the past. Start over, and learn from the mistakes you made so you won’t mess up this time.”

“Of course! Spike, you’re a gen– wait.” Twilight frowned. “I’m sure I can’t use that spell again.”

“But didn’t you hear me? You will be traveling back in time! That’s totally different.”

“I’m not sure it works like that…”

“Details, details.” Spike rolled his eyes. “I’m sure we can ignore the little laws of magic for this.”

“But…”

“Nightmare Night is going to be ruined.”

“NOTHING CAN MAKE TWILIGHT SPARKLE GIVE UP! NOTHING!”

Hop, hop! Back to the start, where you belong!

And please, don’t embarrass yourself this time.

→ Chapter 3

Author's Note

Something tells me this won't be the last time I'll see you here…

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Come on, Spike!” Twilight stopped in her tracks and sat on her rump. “Hit a beaten pony again when it’s already cowering on the ground!”

“I’m afraid you’re correct with your guess, Twilight,” said Spike as he walked over to his boss. He held the letter towards her. “Important message from Celestia about… Well, I guess you should just read it yourself.”

Twilight gulped. She took a deep breath, paused for moment, and enjoyed the silence before the storm. Then she picked up the letter with her magic, unfolded it, and began reading out loud.

“Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I’ve just been informed about your library being the only building in all of Ponyville not being decorated for Nightmare Night in the least. This is the first time my sister will attend to this festival as a planned special guest, and she is very excited about it. I do not want you to ruin that moment for her because you’re too greedy to spend a few bits on decorations.

Fix that, or it’ll have consequences. Write back to me as soon as you get this message.

-Princess Celestia”

Twilight awkwardly looked over the letter a few more times. “Let me tell you, Spike,” she started, “you definitely didn’t do anything wrong by picking the pink interrobang banner. I am confused out of my mind.”

“Might explain why you forgot to buy decorations in the first place.”

“Keep your smart-flank remarks to yourself. What to do now? If I decorate I probably won’t have any more time to get the fireworks, but if I don’t do it I’ll fail anyway!”

When both ways are, apparently, bound to failure, what to pick?

→ Get the decorations? Go to Chapter 11!

→ Get the key? Go to Chapter 29!

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Better continue chasing the squirrel. I doubt Vinyl meant my key,” Twilight told herself as she raced down the street. “Hey, stop!” she commanded the squirrel.

Twilight paid little attention to the busy ponies that flickered past, most of which stopped for a second to shoot a curious glance as she shot by with only her target in mind.

“I said stop!” Twilight said that in the hopes the ponies around her would lend her a hoof in catching the little critter, not because she actually expected it to stop.

Because of that, she was incredibly surprised when the distance between the squirrel and her quickly closed, allowing Twilight to slowly catch up with it. The squirrel was panting heavily, clutching it's knees with tiny paws—Twilight may not have been the fastest runner, but she definitely had a lot of endurance. Changing its direction to the nearest hollow tree, the squirrel gave one last sprint, and then hid itself inside a hole on the side of the dead bark.

“Hah, you can run, but you can’t hide! I saw you getting in there! You’ve trapped yourself!”

Twilight reached up and inserted her hoof in the hole, then waved it around wildly in an attempt to find the culprit.

“Come on, you gotta be in here somewh– OW!” She hastily pulled out her hoof to find two small, bleeding bite marks on the base of it. “You little rat!” She inspected the bite and sighed. “That’s going to leave a bruise…”

What to do now?

→ Try to get even with the squirrel on the easy way? Go to Chapter 33!

→ Or rather do this the hard way? Go to Chapter 18!

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

“I never reject anything that’s for free as a matter of principle. Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie moved behind the stand, and levitated an identically-looking pack of nuts out of it. She held it in front of Twilight. “Here you go! Enjoy!” A noticeably forced grin appeared on Trixie’s face.

Twilight hesitated. “Uhm… I don’t want to sound rude here, Trixie, but why aren’t you taking one of the many other packages?”

Completely unprepared for Twilight asking about it, Trixie stuttered, “Uhh… these a-are… special nuts! Yes, that’s right. Extra special nuts for Twilight Sparkle, the pony who opened my eyes!” She moved the bag an inch closer.

Twilight paid the awkwardness of the situation no heed, and gratefully accepted the gift. She started munching on a few nuts immediately.

“Mmmh, deesh tasht delishus!” she mumbled with half her mouth full of nuts.

“Told you.” Swallowing the bunch, Twilight raised her hoof to say goodbye, and turned around. Trixie did the same.

“Huuhh… I feel… weak…” Twilight moaned after a few steps.

Then, she collapsed on the spot.

Trixie’s fake smile turned into a vicious grin. “Hah! I knew Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t reject anything that’s for free! Next time check if somepony hasn’t put any anesthetics into your nuts.” She laughed. “Now, it’s time for Trixie’s revenge!”

Stepping forward towards the sleeping librarian, she noticed the metallic helmet laying next to her. With a wicked grin she took it.

“Trixie has not a single clue what this thing does, but she knows everything can somehow be sold on the black market!”

She put Twilight on a nearby park bench, packed all the nut packages into the stand, and ran off.

Open your eyes! Go to Chapter 41!

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Arriving at the tree, not even bothering to check if the squirrel was still there, she started prattling.

“Listen to me! I mean, uh… look at me! I really need that key! Right now! If I don’t get it in time, bad things will happen! Mayor Mare will be incredibly angry at me for not delivering the fireworks, let alone in time! She will probably write a detailed letter to Princess Celestia, saying how I have failed at my task as her protegé, and she will probably banish me into the Everfree Forest for all eternity, where I will have to teach the basic anatomical functions of a pony body to fillyschool dropouts for the rest of my life! And she will probably remove my horn, so I will have to do everything with my mouth, like an earth pony! But I’ve been a unicorn all my life, and even my cutie mark says magic is what my life is about! And—”

“BE QUIET ALREADY!” a voice interrupted Twilight from behind her. “Ah can’t stand to hear it anymore!”

Twilight spun around to the source of the voice and raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Applebloom? What are you doing here?”

“Ah came here ta see mah squirrel… friend… ta pick up mah… gift…” Applebloom explained uneasily, a slight hint of anger in her voice.

“Is that the reason why this squirrel is stealing bits and valuable items?” Applebloom walked backward a step, her sudden change of expression to shocked being an obvious answer to Twilight’s question. She sighed. “Applebloom, why are you playing loan shark? Not to mention, with a squirrel? And how did you manage to do it anyway?”

“Ah… Ah…”

“You wanted to get your cutie mark?” Twilight finished for her. Applebloom nodded. “Well, I’m talking to the same pony who suggested the pyrotechnician idea, so I’m not even that surprised. In fact, spare me with the details. Just pick up your damn money and give me the key from that tree hole.”

Applebloom climbed up to the hole and put all of the bits she could find in there into her saddlebag. After a few seconds of being up there, she said, “There ain’t no key here. It must’ve taken it with it.”

“What?! What in Tartarus am I supposed to do now?”

Only two options.

→ Try finding the squirrel? Go to Chapter 35!

→ Give up before you even start? Go to Chapter 28!

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“Free stuff with nothing in return? Go nut yourself!”

The squirrel imitated a facehoof with its small paws. You know, even with my oh-so-small brain I could’ve thought of a better wordplay. ‘Go nut yourself!’ Are you serious?

“Bla, bla, bla. Words. You’re a squirrel, how can you even know what an insult is?”

Excuse me?! said the squirrel in aggravation. I’ll have you know I’m level seventy-two paladin at Fluttershy’s cottage!

Twilight blinked, taken aback by the sudden revelation. “Uhh… what?”

Oh, yeah… she’s been weird lately. She thinks she’s been living in a world of virtual animals, and the only wait to get out of there is by ‘finishing the game.’ Worry started to form on the squirrel’s face. Oh no… tell me, did she make you eat her soup?

“Hmm? Oh, no, I declined the offer because I didn’t want you to run away before I return.” Uneasiness unfolded in Twilight. “Why are you asking?”

Ohhh… Yeah, I don’t think that’s something you should know. Let’s just say she’s become a little… psychotic.

The squirrel climbed out of the tree hole.

Anyway, I gotta get going before my loan shark returns. Later!

It sprinted away, leaving Twilight baffled and bursting with weird questions. What was wrong with Fluttershy? Where was the key? And why was there a parrot staring at her. “What are you looking at?!”

Twilight thought about the possible options she had.

Then she took the helmet and hit herself with it. “Oh by Celestia, why am I such an idiot?! Why didn’t I ask the squirrel whom it gave the key to before it ran off?”

Dumblight Twilight, ladies and gentlemen!

→ Try finding the squirrel? Go to Chapter 35!

→ Give up? Go to Chapter 28!

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Drastic situations call for drastic measures. And a drastic measure is mercilessly hitting you with a hammer, my dear safe.”

The insane unicorn looked through her selection of tools until she found a hammer big enough it might actually do the job. She put the other tools back into their original place, carefully organized, and prepared herself.

“Three… Two… One… ASSAULT!”

Steel connected with steel, creating an ear-shattering noise. Twilight cringed at the louder-than-expected cacophony, closing her eyes and pressing her ears against her head.

After the reverb had faded away, Twilight carefully opened her eyes again.

“Oh, come on!”

Not a single scratch could be seen on the safe. The spot she’d hit with the hammer almost seemed like it was mocking her. But Twilight didn’t give up.

She hit the safe again. And again. And again.

But apart from almost causing herself getting conductive hearing loss from the increasingly loud noises, nothing changed. Frustrated, she threw the hammer away.

After a few seconds of dwelling in defeat, she walked to her window, looking over the busy Ponyville. A smile formed on her face when she found something that just might save the day, laying unsupervised next to a nearby construction site.

“Well hello there, you fine jackhammer…”

Many hours and a few virulent words later, Twilight walked out of Ponyville’s court, unable to understand what just happened.

“A fine! For being ‘a bad role model!’ You don’t borrow heavy utensils to break a safe open, not even in such a case of emergency!”

→ Go to Chapter 28!

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Twilight let the squirrel get away and ran to Vinyl instead. She didn’t even fully stop before asking the agitatedly, “What key?! Where did you find it, Vinyl?”

Vinyl looked at Twilight and raised a brow. “What do you mean ‘find’? I crafted it myself,” she explained.

“Oh… I thought it was mine…”

“Well, technically it isn’t even a key. It’s an artifact powerful enough to destroy the world in less than twenty-four hours if it falls in the hooves of an evil foe, able to cover Equestria in darkness and fire for a thousand years, able to kill Princess Celestia herself. Something no mortal pony should ever touch or lay eyes upon, or else its soul will be forever marked by its horrible beauty!”

Shattered once more, Twilight said, “I was really hoping you knew about the whereabouts of my key, not some silly-filly garbage I don’t care about. No offense, Vinyl.”

“None taken,” Vinyl reassured her.

“Uhm…” Octavia started, “why exactly aren’t you horrified by what Vinyl just told you, Twilight?”

Twilight spoke up. “Because I don’t know what cruel demon does this to me! Now I’ve not only lost a bit and have gotten no coffee, I also am no step closer to my key! No key, no fireworks!”

Octavia blinked a few times.

Twilight sighed. “You don’t understand it, do you? There is nothing worse than a Nightmare Night without fireworks.” She turned around. “Anyway, I need to go. Maybe this land isn’t doomed yet.”

Well, what now? Squirrel or breaking the safe open with raw violence?

→ Try finding the squirrel? Go to Chapter 35!

→ Try breaking the safe open? Go to Chapter 16!

Chapter 25

Chapter 25

“Not now, Spike, I’m in a hurry here!” screamed Twilight to her assistant and ran off.

Spike just sighed and mumbled to himself. “Why did you even make this banner for me to wave around when you ignore it anyway? Do you have any idea how long it took to get that interrobang right?”

Twilight rested against a wall, panting heavily. “Looks… like… I’ve… shaken… him… off…”

“Oh, hey there, Twilight!” a new, childish voice said. Twilight down, and saw Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing in front of her, overly happy expressions drawn onto their faces. “Busy getting in the mood for Nightmare Night?”

“Oh… hey, girls,” said Twilight. “Yeah, I need to get to Rarity. Say, why are you so happy? I don’t see any cutie marks on your flanks.”

Scootaloo’s grin widened further. “We actually just came from Rarity. She gave us a useless ‘glass key’ she didn’t need. Apparently it was indestructible. We just came to a blue nut seller and got a nice bit off of it. She ran off after that.”

Helplessness. Powerlessness. Shame. Anger. Disappointment. And probably a hundred other negative emotions. All crashing down at Twilight in that instant.

“T-Twilight? Are you… alright?” Scootaloo asked hesitantly.

“You bet your blank flanks I’m not.”

Chapter 28 is over here!

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Sure! I could use a little snack. I didn’t have a particularly charming breakfast today.”

Trixie let out an over-the-top gasp. “Oh you poor thing! Nuts are the best thing you can have then, that works wonders! As you know, nuts are great for your nerves.”

Instead of taking one of the many packages from the counter, Trixie levitated up from below the counter an identical pack of nuts. She presented it to Twilight.

“Here you go! That makes five bits.” Twilight wondered if Trixie felt any pain holding such an intense grin.

Twilight hesitated. “Uhm… I don’t want to sound rude here, Trixie, but why aren’t you taking one of the packages on display?”

Trixie seemed to have been caught completely by surprise “Uhh… these a-are… special nuts! Yes, that’s right. Extra special nuts for Twilight Sparkle, the pony who opened my eyes!” She moved the bag an inch closer. “You know what? Since it’s you, you can have the bag for free. A welcome gift from the Great and Powerful Nut Seller!”

“Oh, now that changes everything of course. Thank you for your generosity, Trixie. You’ve really improved your attitude!”

Twilight took the bag, and poured some nuts into her mouth.

“Mmmh, deesh tasht delishus!” she said through the mouthful.

“Told you.” Swallowing the bunch, Twilight raised her hoof to say goodbye, and turned around. Trixie did the same.

“Huuhh… I feel… weak…” Twilight moaned after a few steps.

Then, the ground rose up to meet her.

Trixie’s fake smile turned into a vicious grin. “Hah! I knew Twilight Sparkle wouldn’t reject anything that’s for free! Next time you ought to check if somepony hasn’t put any anesthetics in your nuts.” She laughed. “Now, it’s time for Trixie’s revenge!”

Stepping forward towards the sleeping librarian, she noticed the metallic helmet laying next to her. With a wicked grin she took it.

“Trixie has not a single clue what this thing does, but she knows everything can somehow be sold on the black market!”

She unceremoniously dumped Twilight onto a nearby park bench, packed her nut stand, and ran off.

Wake up at Chapter 41!

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The coffee stand was about half a minute of walking away. When Twilight arrived, she saw Mr. Cake standing at it, currently serving a customer. She noticed a sign saying, “Second Cup Is Free!”

“Hello there, Twilight!” Mr. Cake said once he had finished serving the other pony.

“Hello, Mr. Cake. I see your job for today’s preparations is to make sure nopony falls asleep. You’re even generous enough to give two cups for the price of one!”

Mr. Cake chuckled lightly. He leaned forward and started whispering so that only Twilight could understand him. “Between you and me, the price for one cup is also almost twice as high than it usually is. We’re somewhat short on cash after Pinkie thought it was a good idea to spend all of our savings on party decorations.”

“Oh, I see. No problem.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” he asked.

“I’m looking for a certain key. Big, transparent. You haven’t seen anything like that, have you?”

“I’m afraid not, sorry.”

Twilight was slowly getting used to the disappointment, but that didn’t stop her from lying flat her ears once more. “Oh well, at least I could take a short break to take a cup of coffee.”

“Of course!” He poured Twilight a cup. “That’d be two bits.”

She opened up her saddlebag and levitated the required amount of money onto the counter. “There you g—”

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a squirrel shot up from behind the stand. It picked up one of Twilight’s bits in its mouth, and hopped away.

Without any hesitation, Twilight started chasing after it. “Hey, get back here!”

Mr. Cake looked at the purple blur bolting away, then at the cup, then at the one bit still on the counter. “Well, she didn’t take her second one, so…”

The brown squirrel seemed to mock Twilight’s attempts chasing it, as it held its speed just a little bit above hers with ease.

As she perused the squirrel further the squirrel, she passed Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. “Lemme tell you, Octy, since I’ve gotten that key…”

Oh no, what now?

→ Continue chasing the squirrel? Go to Chapter 9!

→ Check out what Vinyl was talking about? Go to Chapter 24!

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“Of course!” said Twilight, smiling once again at the great kindness of Fluttershy. “I don’t think taking a few minutes to taste your soup could do much harm. I’ll gladly take bowl.”

“Thank you, Twilight! I’ll just quickly reheat it”

Fluttershy motioned Twilight towards her kitchen, and prepared warming up the soup she made earlier.

“So anyway,” she said while putting the pot containing the soup onto a hotplate, “what brings you here, Twilight?”

“Oh right, almost forgot why I came here,” said Twilight sheepishly. “I need your help with your ability to talk to animals. There’s a squirrel out there hiding in a tree hole, and it stole a very important key I need as soon as possible. I tried almost everything I know apart from negotiating, since I can’t do that without being able to talk ‘Squirrel.’”

“Of course I will help you, Twilight! Everything for a good friend.” Fluttershy smiled friendly.

“Thank you, Fluttershy.”

A loud ringing from the yellow pegasus’s egg time screamed to life, indicating the soup was done. Fluttershy turned it off, and filled up a bowl, then handed it to Twilight. “Here you go. But please, be honest about your opinion!”

Twilight nodded, and the two ponies walked to the living room. She suddenly had an idea, and lightened up her horn.

“Uhm, Twilight…” said Fluttershy nervously, “what are you doing?”

“I’m casting a cloud-walking spell upon myself. I want to see if beds made of them are really as comfortable as you say.”

They both sat down on the cloud bed, and Twilight began eating the soup. Needless to say with Fluttershy’s cooking skills, it tasted absolutely amazing.

As Twilight finished eating the last spoonful of the soup, she said, “Wow, that was a really delicious, Fluttershy!”

“Thanks! And… are you feeling anything?”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy confusedly. “Huh? What do you meee…” Twilight slurred off as her tongue started to feel numb.

“Oh great, it’s working!” Twilight wanted to say something, but her mouth felt like it wasn’t there anymore. “Sorry for luring you into this, Twilight, but I needed somepony to test my new ‘Hush now, quiet now’ soup on.”

“SHU RUGGED EE?!” Twilight screamed incoherently through her impalpable mouth.

“Don’t worry. You will just take a nap for a few hours, and when you wake up you won’t remember any—”

Before Fluttershy could finish speaking, Twilight collapsed on the cloud bed.

OH UUH HAFBER 41!

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“That’s quite a hefty sum you’re asking for there, Fluttershy… I don’t think I have that much with me.” Twilight tried to put on her best puppy eyes. “And I already had quite a lot of serious predicaments today…” She left out the part about that only being two bits for a coffee she didn’t even drink.

“Oh… it’s okay, Twilight, I understand,” Fluttershy put a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. “Here, you can have it.”

“That is incredibly kind of you, Fluttershy! Thank you!” said Twilight happily, and took the helmet. “If you ever need a favor, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“It’s fine, Twilight. Maybe you can come over tomorrow and help me with my soup. I’m sure you know a lot about… easing… pain…”

“Oh, uhm, sure, why not? Anyway…” She turned towards the door. “I need to get going, otherwise the squirrel may run off. I’ll see you later at the festival, Fluttershy. I’m eager to see what your costume is.”

“It’s going to be… different, yes.” Fluttershy accompanied her to the door. “See you later, Twilight!”

Smiling about the fact she finally found something to help balance the odds against the squirrel, Twilight trotted through the park towards the tree.

“Delicious nuts!” a female voice derailed her happy train. She curiously walked towards the source. “Get your nuts here! Great and powerful nu—”

“Trixie?!” Twilight exclaimed a little louder than she’d intended to. “A-are you a… nut seller?”

“Oh, Twilight Sparkle, how positively charming to see you!” Trixie’s eyes were bright and her voice carried her unbridled happiness. “You would not believe how well the business runs during autumn. It makes much more money than my shows ever did. I hate to admit it, but… if it weren’t for you, I probably would’ve never found my real talent.”

“Uhm, right. You’re… welcome.”

“Anyway, what do you think?” She levitated a big package of nuts from the stand. “Do you want to buy some? One hundred nuts for only five bits!”

Hmm, Twilight thought, should I buy some? I’m sure the squirrel would like them…

Difficult decision. After all, it’s about money…

→ Buy nuts? Go to Chapter 30!

→ Don’t buy any nuts? Go to Chapter 13!