“Aww man,” Scootaloo sighed as she stared at her meagre stash of candy. “This Nightmare Night has been horrible.”
“It’s not all bad,” Pip offered. “I like seeing all of the funny costumes. I don’t really care about the candy.”
“Well I do! Last year the Cutie Mark Crusaders covered the floor of our clubhouse with candy. This year we will be lucky to cover the welcome mat.”
“Cheer up, Scootaloo,” Applebloom said as she playfully bumped the pegasus. “There are still lotsa houses to visit.”
“I hate to burst your bubble, but Scootaloo’s right. There are only a few houses left, and we promised Rarity we would be back before midnight,” Sweetiebelle said as she stared disappointedly at her stash.
“Well what time is it?” Pip asked optimistically.
“There’s no clocks out here,” Sweetiebelle remarked as she looked up into the sky. “But by the moon I’d say it is 11:45.”
“You can’t read the moon,” Scootaloo said as she looked around for somepony to ask.
“I can too!”
“You can not!”
“Can too!”
“Can no-”
“Will you two be quiet!” Applebloom shouted above the voices of her two disgruntled friends. “You’re making more noise than two cows at milking time.”
“What?” the three asked in unison.
“Nevermind, Its just a saying Applejack tells me every now and then.”
“Umm…” Pip asked as he tugged on Scootaloo’s batmare cape.
“Well it’s a dumb saying,” Scootaloo said angrily, her nerves beginning to wear thin from her lack of success. “It doesn’t even make sense!”
“Yes it does. Have you ever heard the dairy cows early in the morning?”
“Where are we?” The question pulled the group out of their argument and into a heavy silence. In their wanderings they had not realized that they meandered down an abandoned cobblestone road. The light of the city was barely visible against the blackness of night that had become all too apparent. The irritation was immediately replaced with a deep sense of dread that loomed over the group like a hungry ghost.
“Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked. “Please tell me this is,” she swallowed her fear, “Sweet Apple Acres.”
“I- I- I don’t t- t- think so.” Applebloom began to shake. She took several deep breaths, forcing the fear out of herself. “We need to find somepony who can help us get back to Carousel Boutique.”
“If we ever get back,” Scootaloo whispered as she looked at the looming trees overhead.
"S- Scootaloo, b- be quiet," hissed Sweetiebelle. "Of c- course we're gonna get b- back."
By now the group was huddle together, clutching one another like something would pull them away.
“A- are there any b-bats out here?” Sweetiebelle asked.
“Don’t be silly. B- bats only live in c- caves.”
“Th- then what are those?” Sweetiebelle mustered up the courage to point up at two small points of light high in the treetops. The rest of the group turned their heads towards the lights. They blinked. The group shrieked in terror and toppled onto the ground in a quivering pile of fear. Trembling, they could do nothing but stare at the two lights in the sky. After a few seconds of waiting for whatever it was to drag them off to their lair, or whatever it is that evil things do at night.
It took several minutes for the eyes of the group to adjust to the darkness. Slowly they realized that the lights were not from a creature, but from a house. The small black building stood on top of the hill, cloaked with a light dusting of fog that seemed to float around it.
“Maybe there's some pony inside," whispered Pip. “Maybe they can help us,” he suggested as he began to walk down the road. The group stuck to him like glue, shuffling down the road in a mass of fearful foals. Bravely, the group shuffled forward, inching their way to the even smaller, scarier, and windier dirt path that led to the house on the hill. With no other options presenting themselves, they slowly crept up the jagged path. Eventually the dirt changed to stone steps, mangled and worn from the constant erosion of decades of neglect. Small streams had worn away tiny gullies in the stones and young plants and mosses had pried the small cracks into jagged scars that would shift as the group stepped up each stair.
It was not an easy feat for mind or body. Climbing centuries old stairs to a mysterious house would have been frightening enough in daylight, but this was night, nightmare night to make matters worse. The fear was so thick it felt like a dense fog that tried to keep them shackled to the ground. The building was even less inviting, its stones covered in moss and cracks that housed dying plant life. The large home must have been a mansion in when it was built, several hundred years ago from the state it was in. The large wooden doors were partially rotten and their hinges were rusted beyond belief.
“You should knock, Scootaloo. You are the bravest after all,” Sweetiebell said as she pushed scoots toward the door.
“Applebloom is ten times braver than me,” Scootaloo said as she dragged Applebloom out from the group and hid behind her as if the door was the source of their fear.
"No," yelped Applebloom. "Sweetie's the bravest. I don't want to knock."
“Will you three cut it out?” Pip shouted as he stepped out of the group and walked up to the door. “Its just some doors.” The trio could not respond, their eyes affixed on the little colt as he raised his hoof to knock on the wood.
“Who goes there!” a thunderous voice shouted from above them. The group immediately glued themselves together as they screamed in fear. “Stop screaming!” The group continued to scream. “Weren’t you looking for a little spook?” the voice asked, taking on a less thunderous tone. An old wiry stallion stepped out of the door, an amused smile on his face. “It is nightmare night after all.”
Slowly the screaming stopped and Scootaloo spoke up. “We're lost mister, we just want to go home.”
“Well don’t you want some candy first?” he asked as he stepped back into his house. “No pony ever comes to my home during nightmare night, they haven’t for years.” He dragged out a large cauldron of sweets. Immediately the group perked up at the unimaginable amount of candy before their eyes. “I buy so much every year and nopony ever comes to see me. I can help you get home, but first I need somepony who can help me get rid of some of this cand-” Before he could finish his sentence, the group had begun raking in the sugary treasure into their bags, filling them to the brim in mere seconds. The stallion laughed a hearty laugh at the antics of the young foals.
“Thanks mister!” Pip squealed as hE lifted his massive bag onto his back.
“Now, you little ponies said you were lost.”
“Yes, can you show us the way back to the Carousel Boutique?” Sweetiebelle asked as she tied up her bag and placed it on her back.
“I can indeed,” the stallion said as he stared down the path.
“Where on earth did you four get all of this candy?” Rarity asked as she waded through the large pile of sweets on the floor. "This is even more than last year."
"We got it from this old stallion just out of ponyville," said Pip happily as the rest gorged themselves on the mountain of candy beneath them.
"What old stallion?"
"Y'know, the one who lives in the mansion on the hill? It's kinda far away from everypony else. He's really nice." Pip paused and looked up at Rarity who seemed to have frozen in place. Her entire body was qivering. "Miss Rarity?"
"Y- you went into the mansion?"
"What do you mean the mansion?" Pip echoed. The others had stopped their feast to listen into the conversation.
"The stallion who lived in that house… he died years ago. His ghost has been haunting it ever since."
"W- what!?" gasped the four friends
"You need to give that candy back now! If you don't give it back before sunrise, he'll be able to steal your soul."
"WHAT!?" they all yelled. The immediately rushed around the room, picking up all the candy that was strewn across the floor and shoved it back into their bags. With a hurried goodbye, they exited the boutique, letting the door pound on its frame in their hurry to redeem themselves.
Rarity smiled as she watched them leave. Once they were out of earshot that smile became a giggle, and that giggle became a hearty laugh.
"The coast is clear,” Rarity snickered. “They totally fell for it.”
Slowly an old, wiry stallion slipped out from a separate room, stifling a laugh of his own.
"So they believed you then."
"Oh yes. I can’t believe how much fun that was. I now know why Rainbow Dash and Pinkie love doing this so much."
The stallion chuckled. "Yes I haven't had this much fun in years." He sighed. "I guess I'll have to hurry back to my house, they were running like mad.” The stallion walked out of the house and cantered off into the night.
