Everypony Hail to the Pumpkin King

Chapters

Chapter 1: Just Because I Can't See It, Doesn't Mean I Can't Believe It!
Chapter 2: Take A Chance And Roll The Dice
Chapter 3: Haven’t You Heard Of Peace On Equestria And Goodwill Toward Mares?
Chapter 4: I Never Intended For This Madness
Chapter 5: It's Much More Fun When Lives Are On The Line
Chapter 6: Pumpkins Scream In The Dead Of Night
Chapter 7: Although I'd Like To Join The Crowd...

Chapter 1: Just Because I Can't See It, Doesn't Mean I Can't Believe It!

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she placed the final book onto the bookshelf, her aching frame leaning against the ladder. It had taken hours and extreme concentration, but she had finally managed to reorganize the entirety of her book collection to her new system that Spike had helped her to develop.

"There we are!" Spike proclaimed, sliding down the ladder by the poles. "That's the last section!"

Twilight smiled blithely. "Thanks for the help, Spike. I'm just glad we got to finish before..." She blinked as she glanced at the clock. "Wow, it's almost midnight! We should get you to bed, Spike."

Spike yawned, though he still gave Twilight a bit of an accusatory look. "Don't you have to get up early so you can help Amethyst Star with the plans for the Nightmare Night festival?"

Twilight's cheeks warmed, but she merely coughed to diffuse her own discomfort. "Well, I'm not a baby dragon who needs their sleep, now am I? Besides, this is hardly the latest I've stayed up."

"Yeah," Spike concurred. "We should get to bed, though. Who knows what kind of crazy might come in for us?"

Twilight laughed a bit. "And we wouldn't want to be tired for that, now would we?"

Right at that moment, there was a loud SLAM! that came from down the hall, followed by rapid hoofsteps that resembled that of a thundering stampede. The doors to the library swung open and banged against the wall as a very eccentric looking Pinkie Pie appeared in the doorway.

Spike, after getting over his initial shock, turned towards Twilight with his usual "What did I tell you?" expression. Twilight merely rolled her eyes at him before turning back to Pinkie.

"Pinkie, what are you doing here?" Twilight questioned. "It's almost midnight!"

Pinkie zoomed across the room and grabbed onto Twilight by the shoulders. "TwilightyouarenotgoingtobelievewhatIfoundinthewoods!"

"What?" Twilight blurted out, completely confused.

Pinkie grinned even more. "I said, 'You are not going to believe what I found in the woods!'"

"Why were you in the woods?" Spike asked, blinking in befuddlement.

Pinkie giggled. "Oh, that's easy! I was bouncing around town but I wasn't paying attention and I ended up going into the woods and at first I was kinda scared but then I remembered that sometimes it's fun to be scared! So, I kept bouncing through and I ran into this giant talking skeleton only he wasn't a pony which is super weird and he could talk, too which is also super weird, but he was so, so, so fun to play with and he told me that his name was Jack, like a jack-o-lantern, you know?"

"What?" Twilight repeated, feeling no less enlightened by the conversation.

Pinkie wasn't deterred. "After that, we talked for a bit and I found that he was from this place called Halloweentown, though I haven't figured out why it's called that, and we found out that Halloween is supposed to be his world's Nightmare Night! Crazy, right?"

"Doesn't even begin to cover it..." Spike muttered, but he listened nonetheless.

"Then, he told me that he had to get home, and I remembered how my Granny Pie told me about crypts being portals to different worlds and suggested that to him!" She blinked. "Huh, you know, I don't actually know if he got home or not... Guess I'll have to go look for him!"

"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight exclaimed, darting over to her friend as she prepared to make a grand exit. "What in the wide world of Equestria are you talking about?"

Pinkie arched a brow. "Uh, have you not been paying attention? What is there for you not to understand?"

Twilight frowned at her. "Everything! What do you mean you found a giant talking skeleton in the woods?"

Pinkie smiled again. "You were listening!"

"Pinkie!"

"Oh, right!" She giggled. "Sorry. Anyway, I was just walking through the Everfree— well, more bouncing than walking— but then I ran into Jack!" She stood up on her hind legs and waved her hooves. "He walked like this, and had bony fingers that could walk around like spiders!"

Spike gulped. "W-What?"

"And he could take off his own head!" Pinkie giggled once more, unaware of Spike's discomfort. "I wish I could take my own head off! I mean, I could, but I couldn't really put it back on, y'know? He said he even does it to recite Shakespearean quotations! Can you believe it?"

"I don't believe it," Twilight said, her brows furrowed.

Pinkie blinked in shock, her theatrics screeching to a halt. "What?"

"I don't believe it," Twilight repeated. "I mean, a giant, talking, bipedal skeleton that can detach its own limbs?" She shook her head. "It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

"Yeah, but Discord doesn't make sense either, and you don't have trouble with believing in him!" Pinkie observed.

Twilight sighed. "Pinkie, you're my friend and I love you, but do you really expect me to believe something so crazy? I mean, I'm not calling you a liar—"

"But you are!" Pinkie protested. "You're saying that I can't be telling the truth and that means you think I'm lying!" She frowned at her disapprovingly. "I don't lie about this stuff!"

"I'm sorry, but unless you give me substantial proof that indicates that you're telling the truth—"

"But I am telling the truth!" Pinkie huffed in anger. "Why would I lie to you about this?"

"To sc-scare us for Nightmare Night..." Spike stammered. "Walking skeletons with detachable limbs..." He shuddered. "That's pure nightmare fuel!"

Twilight pointed at Spike. "See? Even Spike doesn't believe it!"

"S-Sure..." he agreed not-so-convincingly.

Pinkie pursed her lips. "Fine! If you don't want to listen to me when I'm telling the truth, how about I don't tell you anything at all!"

She zoomed out of sight.

"Pinkie, wait!" Twilight called out. She sighed and turned back to Spike. "Can you believe her?"

Spike shook his head at her. "N-Nope."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "She'll come back around later, I'm sure. Right now, let's just get to bed."

"Y-Yeah..."

Twilight walked out of the library without a bother while Spike dragged on behind her, fear gripping his chest. Hopefully he wouldn't see any walking, talking skeletons anytime soon.

Sally paced around the room, her hands clasped together tightly. Her heeled shoes clacked against the floor and echoed throughout the empty, spacious room.

"Jack..." she murmured, releasing her hands to twiddle with the threads that bound her hands to her arms.

A small yelp came from the entrance of the room and she turned to see Zero fly in through the door. She smiled at the sight of him, but frowned once more as she saw his gloomy expression.

"Still no luck?" she asked.

Zero whined in response.

She sighed and faced to the window. "Jack, where are you?"

Jack had gone out to the woods, much to her chagrin, to try to find some dead things for the town's upcoming celebration of Halloween. However, he disappeared that very same night and none of the citizens seemed to be able to place his exact location. Not even the mischievous trio of pranksters, Shock, Lock, and Barrel could say where he went off to. Sally had initially presumed them to be the perpetrators for his disappearance, but a good scolding and couple yanks on their ears was enough for them to show that they hadn't a clue to where Jack had gone.

Zero whined once more and he floated over to Sally's side. She stroked his transparent ears absentmindedly and continued to look through the window.

"It's not like him to be gone this long..." Sally observed. She looked at Zero. "The last time he did this, he found Christmastown!"

Zero's nose brightened up, just like it did the night that Jack decided to fly off and act as Santa Claus. Sally shook her head in a fond manner as she recalled how he had mispronounced Santa's name as "Sandy Claws" and smiled a bit. Her smile faded as she stepped closer to the window, the sun rising higher and higher off in the distance.

Zero yipped.

"I know I should be getting some rest," she told him, sighing a bit. "But I can't sleep with Jack gone like this."

Zero nodded his head towards the cabinets, where her ingredients for potions and clothes' dye were.

"I'm not going to take nightshade to make myself sleep." She frowned at him. "I'm not Dr. Finklestein."

Zero began to pout.

"Oh, come on, now, you can't get mad at me for worrying," Sally protested gently. She clasped her hands once more. "It's just... Jack gets into a lot more trouble than he intends to, and I don't want him to get hurt in the process."

Zero nudged her side affectionately, sensing her unease.

"I know, I know, I should have more faith in him." She turned back around, where she saw Jack's sketches for the town's celebration. There were many scribbles that Jack had made into his journal and piles of crumpled up paper that had been torn out of it. Sally, knowing better than to offer advice when she had none, left him be when he was brainstorming. But, when he got too quiet...

She should have checked on him last night.

"Do you think he wandered out for no reason?" Sally asked Zero.

Zero cocked his head to the side in a confused manner.

She pulled at the thread on her shoulder. "I mean... Maybe he didn't go to collect anything at all."

Zero yapped at her.

"I know, I know, he would never do such a thing... But... He just went off, barely an explanation for me." She gripped her hand tightly. "I just wish that he would be more open with me..."

Suddenly, the door swung open, and Sally jumped so quickly that her hand tugged on her thread. Her left arm fell to the floor and wiggled around a bit in alarm, then laid limp.

"Sally?" Jack questioned, arching a brow at her.

"Jack!" Sally exclaimed. She ran to him and wrapped her one arm around him. "Where have you been?"

Jack pulled away from her. "Sally, I'm—"

Sally put her hand on his face. "Are you hurt? Did you get lost in the woods? Why did you disappear like that? You scared me half to life!"

"Sally, dear, I'm fine," he told her. He glanceded over her shoulder. "Also, why is your arm on the floor?"

Sally turned around and looked at her arm, which appeared to be waiting for her to reattach it to her body. She sighed a bit and grabbed onto it. She pulled out the needle from her hair and the thread from her pocket routinely, as she had done dozens of times before.

"You startled me," she answered. She frowned at him as she began to put her arm back on her shoulder. "Where have you been, Jack?"

Jack smiled at her. "Sally, you're not going to believe what I found!"

Sally began to sew her arm back on. "What is it? Did you find any dead things for the celebration?"

Jack grinned even wider. "Better! I found an entirely new world!"

Sally almost dropped her needle. "What?"

Jack nodded. "Yes! You see, I was in the woods, and suddenly, I had awoken in this weird place that had leaves on the trees! But, get this: it wasn't Christmastown!"

"What?" Sally blurted out.

"And as I was wandering around, trying to find my place, I met this talking pink pony!" He clapped his hands together excitedly. "Oh, she was such good fun! I've never met a pony quite like her!" He paused to think about it. "Actually, I've never met a pony at all, but that's not important!"

Sally glanced at Zero, who shared a concerned look with her.

"Then, she told me about this holiday that her town celebrates called Nightmare Night!" Jack exclaimed. "It's supposed to commemorate the date of princess turning corrupt or something along those lines, but it sounds just like Halloween!" He smiled his usual toothy grin. "Also, the mare loves a good scare!" Jack paused in telling his story and stared at Sally with a peculiar expression. "You sewed your arm on upside down."

Sally glanced at her arm, which was facing towards the sky. Her arm smacked her head and she frowned a bit. "You distracted me."

Jack chuckled, his bony fingers failing to clamp his mouth shut. "Sorry, Sally."

Zero yipped at Jack and sniffed him vigorously, then gave him an odd look. He floated towards the door, looking back to bark at them.

"What is it, boy?" Jack asked.

Zero zoomed out of the room.

"Zero!"

"Jack, wait!" Sally shouted as he darted out after Zero. "Ugh, not again..."

Her now detached arm tapped her shoulder, then held itself in a way that might as well have said, "Well? Are you gonna go after them?"

Sally sighed and ran out after Jack with her arm in hand, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into.

Author's Note

Anyone who can guess which part of the movie the chapter title comes from gets a internet hug.

So, yeah, after two years, I finally decided to post a sequel to "What's This?" I realize that I squandered some pretty good potential with that story immediately after writing it, but the sequel I had planned didn't started developing until after New Years'.

Then, of course, school and college got in the way of me getting this out the next ~~Halloween~~ ~~Nightmare Night~~ WHICHEVER HOLIDAY that came around, so here it is, two years late. Better late than never... right?

BTW, I got the Jack icons from this site right here!

Chapter 2: Take A Chance And Roll The Dice

After she stormed out of the castle, Pinkie was livid. The late hour ensured that nopony would see her tromping through the streets of Ponyville, but, at that point, she didn't care if anypony did see her.

What was Twilight's problem? Why did she think it was so ridiculous for Pinkie to have met Jack? For Celestia's sake, one of their best friends had weekly visits with a chaos god who could make cotton candy clouds rain chocolate. Was a talking skeleton really so far fetched? Besides, Jack seemed a lot nicer than Discord, who only seemed to enjoy messing with ponies for his own amusement. Jack was lot kinder with his brand of scaring, meaning it to be fun for everyone, not just him.

It was sad that Twilight didn't believe in Jack. Pinkie figured that he'd get along well with her, and perhaps the rest of her friends. Rarity would probably compliment his attire and ~~demand~~ ask that he allow her to make him a suit or at least pick his brain for inspiration. Rainbow would be pumped to have another friend who enjoys pranking and scaring others during the fall season as much as her. Applejack and Fluttershy... well, she wasn't sure what they might like about him, but she was sure that they'd come around to it.

She stopped suddenly and stomped her front hooves. "Ugh!"

Pinkie inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, taking a moment to diffuse the anger burning in her chest. The heat subsided and she opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that the Ponyville path was no longer under her hooves and that she was once again in the threshold of the Everfree. She sighed and looked at the trees peevishly.

'I need to start paying attention more,' she thought, turning away from the forest and making her way back to town. She stopped once again and spared the forest another glance. Not paying attention had been the reason she met Jack in the forest to begin with. In fact, she had gotten a little lost on the way there, just as Jack had.

Her heart stopped suddenly. Jack had been lost.

"Oh no!" she cried out, grabbing her head in horror.

She had sent Jack wandering into the forest, not even bothering to check if he had gotten to the crypt. While she knew the Everfree well enough to get to the crypt, she might have miscalculated and sent him down the wrong way. What were the odds of him actually getting back to Halloweentown when he had no idea where he was?

Pinkie didn't seem to know when, but she started running. The trees were a blur as she hopped over the trees and roots that laid in her path, nothing in the world mattering except for Jack's safety. As tall and scary as he was, Pinkie knew for a fact that there were some fearsome monsters that roamed the Everfree at all hours. The terrifying part was that Jack didn't know that.

She tripped over a root and went flying across the terrain for a wild moment before hitting the ground. Her face flattened against the ground and she felt her entire body sink. Pinkie lazily lifted her head as her eyes rolled around and failed to gain focus. She gave her head a good shake and the trees ceased to be blurry.

'Am I lost?' she wondered, picking herself up.

After shaking off the mud and leaves, Pinkie scanned her surroundings. Her eyes zoned in on a shadow of a fence in the moonlight and she grinned.

"The crypt!"

Pinkie ran towards the direction of the shadow and, soon, the fence came into view. She leaped over the fence with ease and landed neatly on the other side. Her joy was depleted for a moment when she saw the graveyard come into better focus in the darkness. The tombstones were lopsided and weathered down to the point where only a few letters and numbers could be deciphered. No names or birthdays could be read from the memorials; Pinkie knew because she had tried.

She walked through the graveyard carefully, paying mind to the fallen tombstones so that she didn't step on them. It was especially hard to do so in the darkness, but Pinkie kept her eyes peeled to avoid disturbing the site. She also kept a lookout for the fences, considering that a lot of them long since fell down and no longer marked the boundaries of the cemetery.

It wasn't strange of her to spend time in graveyards; it was actually how her family made most of their money in her time at the farm. They cultivated rocks that would be polished into tombstones for the deceased and commemorated their time in Equestria. It was sad, but Pinkie understood how important it was. Without the tombstones, the ponies six feet under would remain faceless, nameless, and unknown to the living.

Finally, the crypt's outline came into her line of sight. She scurried over, still respecting the ground beneath her, and viewed the crypt carefully. She saw nothing to indicate that Jack had been there, which only fed into her worry. She plopped down on the ground and pursed her lips in a disappointed pout.

"I hope he's OK," she said out loud, her brows furrowing. Pinkie faced the tombstones. "Do you all mind if I stay here for a bit and make sure that Jack got home safe?"

There was no answer, save for the wind whistling past her ears.

"I'll just wait for a couple minutes," she conceded, "I'd call out for him, but I'd probably end up finding something else that wasn't so nice."

Again, the tombstones remained silent.

"Just a couple minutes." Pinkie turned back to the crypt and watched, hoping and wondering.

"Zero, wait up!" Jack exclaimed, leaping over a fence with his cat-like agility.

The impromptu chase had Jack barreling after Zero, who didn't take heed to any of Jack's commands. Zero hadn't even considered slowing down when Jack threatened an exorcism.

"How about you wait up?" Sally yelled after him, lagging behind him. "You know I can't run very fast!"

Sally herself wasn't in high spirits. Jack was listening to her just as much as Zero was listening to him, and it was frustrating to say the very least. Still, she continued after them, her arm in hand.

"Curse him and his lack of solidness!" Jack hissed angrily, winding through the streets. He held up his hand and made half the size of a megaphone with it. "Not all of us can pass through walls, you know!"

A passing ghost's head snapped in their direction. "Hey!"

"Jack, hush, you'll upset the ghouls!" Sally called out, following right after him. She slid to a stop as Jack came to a halt, nearly bumping into him. She looked around, then stopped to see Zero floating just a couple feet in front of them. "Oh!"

Zero turned around and yipped at Jack, who approached the transparent pooch.

"What is it, boy?" Jacked questioned.

Zero whined and looked ahead of them, where the barren woods laid before them.

"Is there something in there?" Sally asked, stepping up beside Jack.

"Hold on a moment..." Jack tapped his bony finger to his chin. He snapped his fingers. "I was in there last night!"

Sally looked at him. "I know that, Jack."

"No, I know that, too," he replied, shaking his head, "I just mean that's where I was when I ended up in that strange new world!"

Sally's eyes widened. "Did you find another doorway?"

"Not that I can remember. All I know is that I was in there and then I woke up that world."

Zero let out a yap and hovered over to the edge of the woods. He waited expectantly for Sally and Jack, his red nose blinking excitedly.

"Should we go in?" Sally questioned, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder.

He turned to her. "You don't have to come in, if you don't want to. Besides, you still need to sew your arm back on."

Sally looked to the hand that was one Jack's shoulder, suddenly realizing that it was actually her detached arm. She sighed. "No. No, I'm going with you."

"Are you sure?"

Sally nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I don't want you to get hurt."

Jack smiled at her. "I'll try not to get us killed... Anymore than we already were."

Sally giggled a bit, and began to walk with him into the woods. "So, Jack... Is there anything else about this new world that you want to tell me about?"

Jack seemed excited at the thought. "Oh, yes! See, I had only just awakened there, and when I did, I heard someone singing this old witch's chant."

"There's another world that has witches?" Sally asked suddenly, her curiosity piqued.

"I'm not sure, I'd have to ask." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, as I was wondering, trying to find out where I was, I heard that chant and waited to see who it was."

"Was it that pink pony you talked about earlier?"

"Yes, it was! And let me tell you, Sally, she's a total scream!"

Sally found herself smiling as Jack described the world that differed so much from their own. He was always so ecstatic and full of energy, it was almost odd to see someone so peppy within a place that could be so gloomy. But, despite his oddities, Jack was loved by all, and he knew it, too.

"...And it turns out that their holiday is actually supposed celebrate the banishment of a princess who was corrupted by the darkness," Jack continued on. "I asked her what they did to celebrate it, and there were so many things that crossed over with ours! It's incredible how these worlds work!"

"What exactly crosses over?" Sally found herself asking.

Jack grinned. "Jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, scaring your friends for a good fright and a good laugh!" He laughed a bit. "Those ponies sure know a good time, if Pinkie was any correlation!"

Sally tilted her head a bit. "What is she like? This Pinkie?"

Jack smiled even more. "The mare was rather... peculiar, I'll say that." He frowned a bit. "Nothing seemed to scare her, however."

Sally blinked. "Nothing? Did you try that thing you do where you stretch out your face and scream like a banshee?"

"Yes."

"Well, what about hissing? That usually scares the pants off of everyone!"

"She just hissed back!" Jack said with a laugh. "She even had a cat tail to boot!"

"She did not!" Sally protested in disbelief, trying to cover her laughter.

Jack nodded. "She did, I swear it!"

Sally couldn't help but break into laughter at that. "Oh, Jack, that's hysterical!"

He laughed with her, but his laughter was cut short. Sally turned to see what caused him to stop so suddenly and saw Zero had also coem to a stop. Zero growled at a tree that was couple feet from them, and even as Jack and Sally took residence by his side, his growls did not cease. The tree he was leering at was colored, unlike the gray, dead trees that surrounded them. There were even a couple leaves on the branches near the ground, green and full of life.

Jack and Sally didn't like it one bit.

"What is this tree doing here?" Jack questioned, touching a leaf. He pulled away almost instantly, a look of disgust on his face. "It's so... bright."

Sally frowned a bit. Jack had a bit of a thing when it came to live things and bright colors ever since the incident with Christmas all those years ago, and she hated to see him still be so bothered by it.

"Jack, perhaps we should leave..." she suggested.

Zero ceased his growling for the moment, then floated over to the tree. He circled the tree curiously and barked loudly to gain their attention. Jack walked over cautiously, with Sally close in tow, and he stopped at where Zero was.

"Well, this is strange..." Jack murmured, arching a hairless brow.

In the tree was a large, gaping hole that seemed to go on endlessly. No creatures thrived within it, from what they could see, but they could hear the light whispers of something dwelling inside.

"Jack, do you think this is..." Sally trailed off suddenly when she saw the troubled look on his face.

Zero leaned his head into the hole notably, a small whine escaping him. Suddenly, Zero was sucked down, his glowing form gone from sight.

"Zero!" Jack exclaimed, shoving his head in to see where he went.

"Jack, no!" Sally cried out, reaching for him.

Then, just as Jack was getting ready to climb out, he was jerked back inside. He let out a screech and tried to push himself out, but to no avail. Sally saw this and grabbed a hold of his legs, but her one arm was no help to either of them. Then, almost inevitably, they both came tumbling into the hole and out of their world.

Author's Note

You know, for a character that is so often associated with emo and goth culture, Jack is the peppiest dude to ever pep.

Also, sorry for not having this out sooner, I just wanted to make sure everything was nice and edited before I got it out to you guys... The next few chapters are already written, they just need to be spruced up a bit before being released to the public.

Chapter 3: Haven’t You Heard Of Peace On Equestria And Goodwill Toward Mares?

"Got any three's?" Pinkie asked, gazing over her hoof of cards.

Gummy blinked irregularly, gumming on the cards that were in his mouth.

Pinkie frowned. "Shoot! I thought I would have had you that time!"

The graveyard in the Everfree was as gloomy as the last time Pinkie was there and she still had yet to see any signs of Jack. Her wait in the cemetery the night before didn't go on for long, but it was enough for her to decide to bring Gummy along with her the next time she was there. The Cakes' couldn't figure out why she was antsy to get off work or why she was so tired, but neither of them asked her about it. While it bothered her a bit, she was also thankful to be able to come back to the crypt without having to explain herself.

Pinkie sighed as she set her cards down. "I can never beat you, Gummy."

Gummy just blinked irregularly once more.

Pinkie smiled at him and pulled him into a tight hug. "I still love you, though!" She pulled away a bit. "No, I love you more!" She frowned a bit and pulled him closer. "No, really, I love you more!" She let out an angry huff and shoved his face into hers. "I LOVE YOU MORE!"

Gummy once again blinked irregularly.

Pinkie put him down in front of her. "Hmm... Well, I'd say 'Let's play another round of Go Fish!', but you already beat me 13 times." She gasped excitedly. "Wanna play patty cake?"

But, as she was awaiting Gummy's riveting response, she heard a loud crash come from inside the crypt. Dust crumbled off of the foundation and Pinkie let out a terrified squeal. She grabbed Gummy and leaped behind a tombstone, hoping she wouldn't accidentally knock it over. Finally, the doors to the crypt opened and long shadows crept out underneath the moonlight.

"H-Hello?" she called out. "Is somepony out there?"

Suddenly, a ghostly light zoomed out of the crypt and flew around the graveyard at an erratic pace. Pinkie ducked down and held Gummy close while the apparition let out terrifying howls. Meanwhile, a long, thin silhouette descended from the crypt and into the graveyard sluggishly, which only heightened Pinkie's fear.

"Zero!" shouted the figure, sending Pinkie's fears away, "You're gonna wake up every ghoul within a mile with all that howling!"

Pinkie peeked her head from behind the tombstone. "Jack?"

The figure turned towards her. "Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie's eyes widened and she couldn't help but smile. "Jack!"

"Pinkie!" Jack exclaimed back, dashing towards her. He stopped suddenly when he saw the tombstones, but it didn't deter his excitement. "I can't believe we found you!"

Pinkie grinned wildly and leaped onto Jack, squeezing his thin frame tightly. "You're here! You're really here and not a figment of my imagination!"

Jack pulled away for a moment, his brow arched upwards. "You thought I was a figment of your imagination?"

Pinkie's smile faltered a bit. "No, but my friend Twilight did, and she though I was lying to her about you!" She smiled a bit as she got back on the ground. "Boy, was she wrong!"

"Jack, who are you talking to?" a light voice questioned. A light tread of footsteps followed after, timid and hesitant.

"Who's with you?" Pinkie asked, blinking at Jack. She gasped as she saw another tall figure come into the graveyard. "Whoa!"

The figure was very tall in comparison to Pinkie Pie, but they were shorter than Jack. They had long, red hair that looked like yarn and a dress on that was made from different patches of fabric. It was nicely made, and would probably impress Rarity if she ever saw it. Another thing that Pinkie noticed was that, like Jack, the figure stood on two legs, but, unlike Jack, they appeared to only have one arm.

"Jack, I can't find my other arm!" the figure cried suddenly, looking left and right frantically.

Pinkie blinked. "Wait, you lost your arm? How?"

The figure glanced at Pinkie, then did a double take. "What the— Jack, is this...?"

Jack nodded, grinning a bit. "Allow me to introduce the two of you." He gestured to Pinkie. "Sally, this is Pinkie Pie. This is the mare I told you about."

"Oh," Sally said simply. "It's nice to meet you, Pinkie. I... I was wondering if Jack was actually being serious about you, and I suppose now I know."

Jack frowned at her, but Pinkie put a hoof on his leg, mostly because she couldn't reach his shoulder from her spot on the ground. "It's OK, I wouldn't believe hearing about a talking pink pony if I never met one either!"

Jack smiled a bit. "And Pinkie, this is my better half, Sally Finkelstein."

Pinkie smiled at him slyly. "Oooooo, Jack, you never told me Sally was your girlfriend!"

Sally's blue skin turned red around her cheeks. "Jack..."

Jack chuckled a bit. "It's fine, I'm sure Pinkie is mature enough to handle being around a couple, no?"

Pinkie nodded. "Uh-huh! I live with a married couple, actually! Mr. and Mrs.Cake, to be exact. They just had twins!" She paused. "Do you two have any kids?"

Sally's face turned even redder, and Jack just chuckled again. "No... Not yet, anyway."

"Jack!" Sally gasped. Her face was nearly the same shade of her hair.

Pinkie giggled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you two! I was just curious, is all!"

Jack chuckled again. "It's quite alright, Pinkie. I'm just glad that you two could meet."

A small bark came from the crypt, causing the three of them to turn their attention away from each other. Pinkie's jaw nearly fell to the floor as she watched a ghostly dog with a glowing red nose come floating in with a limb in its jaws.

"Zero!" Jack cheered. He patted his thighs. "Come here, boy!"

"My arm!" Sally squealed, rushing forward. "Oh, I'm so glad that I got you back..." She ran her hand through her hair, then paused. "Oh, skulls! I left my needle back at home!"

"Need help with that?" Pinkie asked, stepped forward. She pulled a needle and spool of thread out of her mane. "I only have pink thread, though."

Sally blinked at her. "You keep needles in your hair, too?"

Pinkie nodded excitedly. "Yep! It's easier than carrying a bag!" She stopped for a moment. "Wait, let me check something real quick!" She dug a hoof into her mane, loud banging and noises clamoring out of it. She whipped her hoof out, showing a rainbow spool of thread. "Oh, I found another one! Awesome!"

Sally giggled she began sewing her arm back on. "You were right, Jack. She is pretty funny."

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. "I am? I wasn't even trying to be funny."

Zero suddenly barked, then came flying to the tombstone where Pinkie hid Gummy. Gummy jumped up suddenly and tried to snap his jaws onto the dog, but fell onto the ground with his mouth open as he slipped through the ghost.

"What is that thing?!" Jack squawked. "It just tried to attack Zero!"

Pinkie picked Gummy up. "No, silly, this is my pet alligator Gummy! He ain't got no teeth!" At that moment, Gummy latched his jaws onto her curly forelock. "See? Harmless!"

Jack and Sally eased up. "Interesting... A gator with skin and no teeth?" Jack mused aloud.

"This place is all kinds of strange," Sally commented.

Pinkie shrugged. "You get used to it. We have a chaos god as a regular resident in our town now, so no one is really shocked when anything weird happens."

When Sally looked to Jack with a concerned expression, Jack held his hands up. "She did not mention that when I was here last time."

"Yeah I did! When I brought him up, you talked about this guy called Oogie Boogie and how got caught up in an accident with a giant whisk!"

Jack frowned at her. "Not helping."

Sally shuddered. "Oogie Boogie... I hope to never see that monster again!"

"I thought you loved monsters?" Pinkie pried gently, her curiosity rising.

Sally shook her head lightly. "We do... Just the ones that don't try to kill us or bring harm to the entire town."

"Oh." Pinkie looked off a bit. "I guess that's understandable... I mean, we did have Discord sealed up in stone for about a year before we let him out for reformation."

"That wasn't an option for Oogie," Jack said firmly. He waved a bony hand. "But that's not important. Pinkie, I came here because I wanted you to meet Zero and Sally, but I believe that the residents of Halloweentown are probably looking for us."

"Aw, you're leaving again?" Pinkie whined. "But you only just got here!"

"We could come back after Halloween?" Sally suggested.

"But then Nightmare Night will be over, too!" Pinkie pouted. "And Twilight will think I'm tardy and a liar."

Sally mouthed out, "Twilight?" cluelessly before glancing at Jack, who merely shrugged. She turned to Pinkie and crouched down to come to her level. "Would it be alright if we showed up after we finished the festivities in Halloweentown?"

Jack grinned. "What a lovely idea! We could come back and visit the town, just like Pinkie suggested!"

Pinkie gasped with delight. "You mean it? You'll show up?"

Jack nodded. "Of course! I promise it on my mother's grave!" He paused. "That is, if she's dead..."

Pinkie clapped her hooves giddily. "Hurray! Now I can introduce you to Twilight and all my other friends!" She squealed. "I bet Rarity would love to see how good you are at sewing!" She gasped. "Oh, no! I don't even have a costume yet!"

"Perhaps you could be a witch?" Jack suggested.

Pinkie gasped again. "That's a great idea!" She leaped into the air. "I could defy gravity itself if I had a magic broom to go with it!"

Sally giggled. "I believe I can make that possible... With proper measurements, of course. I've done clothes for werewolves and vampires, but never for ponies."

Pinkie smiled. "And I've never met a talking skeleton or his girlfriend, either, so that makes three firsts!"

Zero yipped.

"Whoops, I mean four!"

Jack frowned a bit. "It's a shame that we can't stay longer. I'd love to see more of this world."

"You'll see it soon enough!" Pinkie told him. "Just come by on Nightmare Night and you'll get to see Ponyville at its scariest!"

"I'll be sure to," Jack replied. "Let's just hope that the town is satisfied by this year's preparations!"

"Make sure to include confetti!" Pinkie added. "Confetti is always a nice touch!"

"I'll take that in stride." Jack took Sally's hand. "Come on, now, we must hurry back. I'm sure that the mayor is worried about us being missing."

"I'll have to take your measurements when I come back" Sally told her, halting Jack's movements. "I'll make adjustments before Hallo— I mean, Nightmare Night."

Pinkie smiled at her brightly. "Thanks! I really appreciate your help! And I bet I can get my friend Rarity to give me my measurements for you, so you don't have to go through the process."

"That's very kind of you," Sally replied, smiling back at her.

Jack grinned at the two of them, then pulled Sally a bit closer. "We have to go now. I'll be sure to make it here as soon I can, Pinkie."

"You better!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Zero barked, then floated to Pinkie and licked her cheek. He flew off to Jack and Sally's side, panting happily. If he had a tail, it'd probably be wagging back and forth.

"Bye, guys!" Pinkie called out as they made their way into one of the crypts. "I'll see you soon!"

"Right back at you!" Jack called back, waving at her.

The trio disappeared, leaving Pinkie and Gummy alone in the graveyard.

"Trick or trick, eat a tick, give that moron a big ol' flick!"

The mean, heartless chant came from a trio of troublemakers roaming through the woods. Lock, the devilish leader of the trio, pranced ahead of the group, swinging his small pitchfork to and fro. Trailing behind him was Shock, the smarter of the three children, sporting a witch hat that was almost taller than she was, and Barrel, a ghoulish skeleton child, gumming down on a lollipop sloppily.

"If you don't!" Lock shouted, stabbing the air with his pitchfork.

"We don't care!" Shock added, tossing up her hat.

"We'll put spiders in your underwear!" Barrel concluded, popping out his sucker to pipe in.

The trio cackled together, Shock's witch laugh overtaking the other two's laughter.

"Man, I can't wait to see what Jack and Sally are up to!" Lock cheered, "I betcha we're gonna get a sneak peek of what they're planning for Halloween this year!"

Shock cackled again. "It's bound to be awful!"

Barrel slipped his lollipop out again. "But why did they come into the woods?"

Lock and Shock whipped around to face him incredulously. They exchanged a peevish look with one another and Shock rolled her eyes. "'Because they probably wanted to avoid anyone trying to sneak a look at Jack's plans!"

"But--" Barrel tried to say.

"But nothing!" Lock interjected. He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Why don't you leave the thinking to the older kids?"

Shock tapped her chin in thought. "Then again... If Jack really was planning stuff for Halloween, then why was Sally with him?"

Lock stopped suddenly. "Hey, you're right! Sally never helps Jack with planning!"

"Duh," Shock replied, eliciting a frown from Lock, "plus, they looked like they were in a real hurry to get here."

"Wasn't Zero with them?" Barrel asked out of nowhere, prompting both of them to stare at him. "What? He was, wasn't he?"

Shock wordlessly smacked Barrel on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You couldn't have said something before we came all this way?" Shock snapped, grabbing him by his collar. "Jack could be in real trouble!"

"What about Sally?" Barrel questioned.

"Forget her, she's mean to us!" Shock exclaimed. "But with Jack gone, Halloween could get cancelled!"

Barrel's eyes widened. "But, that means no pranks!"

"Exactly!"

Lock stepped between them. "Hold it right there! What makes you think that Jack could get into any trouble that bad? He's not stupid!"

"Helloooo!" Shock bellowed. "Remember what happened with that Christmas incident a couple years back? We all thought Jack was dead!"

"But he wasn't!"

"But he could've been!"

"But he wasn't!"

"But he could have been!"

As the two opposing forces battled at each other, Barrel took a couple steps back to avoid being caught up in the storm. However, as he stepped back, a sharp pain went up his foot.

"OW!" he cried out, jumping onto one leg.

Lock turned towards him. "What now?"

As Barrel tended to his injured foot, Shock glanced down at where he stood. "Hey, look! It's Sally's needle and thread!"

Sure enough, like the little witch said, laying on the ground was Sally Finkelstein's needle and spool of thread. While dubious of the fact, the deal was sealed when they saw Sally's initials etched into the wooden spool. The trio all looked at one another in a rare moment of worry.

"Uh-oh," Barrel uttered, his eyes wide, "do you think she's OK?"

Shock searched the nearby trees. "Where could they be? "

"How am I supposed to know?" Lock retorted, "I'm not psychic! If anyone should know, it's you! You're a witch!"

"Hey! Madam Elphie won't teach me about psychic visions until I pass my broom flying test and we all know that both of you are to scared of flying to help me with that!"

"I'm not scared of flying, I'm scared of dying!"

Barrel grabbed them by the shoulders suddenly. "Hey, look at that tree!"

Both Lock and Shock turned to where Barrel was staring and went as silent as the dead. A couple yards from them was a lively tree with green leaves and tendrils of ivy wrapping around it. They all exchanged horrified glances with one another and walked slowly towards it, their hearts beating unbelievably fast.

As soon as they reached the tree's roots, Lock blanched. "Gross! It's so... alive!"

"How much you willing to bet that Sally fell through there?" Shock asked, a devious smirk coming onto her face.

"Or maybe even Jack!" Barrel commented.

Shock stopped grinning. "No way! Jack would never be so clumsy!"

"Maybe he jumped in after her," Lock suggested. "He loves her so much he'd do anything for her."

Shock scoffed. "Ugh, love. Stab me in the eye before I fall in love!"

"Will do," Lock assured her. He walked up to the tree and looked into the hole. He grinned maliciously, his sharp teeth glistening. "Looks like Jack and Sally had a nice trip!"

"I bet they found a HOLE new world!" Barrel commented, letting out a high pitched laugh.

Shock rolled her eyes and smacked both of their heads. "Quit with that laughing!"

Lock growled at her. "I was gonna, you stupid witch!" He gazed back into the black abyss. "Any idea how deep this thing goes?"

Shock snapped her fingers. "Barrel! Got any lollipops?"

Barrel glared at her. "No! Even if I had any, I wouldn't share them with you!"

Shock smacked the back of his head, then reached into his pocket as he was recuperating from the slap. She pulled out three lollipops, an icy gaze fixating on Barrel as she held them up for all to see.

"I said I wouldn't share them with you!"

She rolled her eyes and tossed them into the hole in the tree.

"Nooo!" Barrel cried out.

"What was that for?" Lock exclaimed.

"Shh!" Shock barked. She leaned closer to the hole, waiting silently.

Meanwhile, in the Everfree...

As Pinkie Pie bounced through the Everfree with Gummy on her back, she hummed another one of her favorite Nightmare Night chants quietly. She jumped a bit out of fright after hearing a small series of thuds come near her.

Pinkie's eyes flicked left and right, then stopped as her nostrils picked up a familiar scent.

Candy. There was candy in the woods.

Her eyes once again scoured the forest floor, then locked on their target as it came into view.

"LOLLIPOPS!" Pinkie screeched, springing forward. She latched onto the three different flavored pops and grinned happily she held them in her jaws. "More candy for me!"

She continued on her way.

Shock frowned after a moment passed. "I don't think this really has an end after all."

"LOLLIPOPS!" came a distant cry that startled a jump out of Shock.

"Did you hear something...?" Shock murmured, stepping away from the tree hole.

"Just the sound of betrayal!" Barrel snapped.

Lock rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you morons." He blinked, a metaphorical light bulb flipping on in his mind. "I got an idea!"

Shock rolled her eyes once more. "Is it something stupid?"

Lock frowned at her, but he held back a mean retort. "Do you guys remember when we kidnapped Sandy Claws?"

"Of course," Shock answered, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "I also remember the three of us getting trouble and not being allowed to pull pranks for three months after!"

"Like that stopped us," Barrel muttered, still sore over the loss of his candy.

Lock grinned once more. "Well, if we can come back from Christmastown, then that means that if we go down there, then we can come back from there, too!"

Barrel looked at him with confusion. "Are we gonna go after Sally and Jack?"

Lock hit Barrel's head. "Of course not! Not right now, anyway!"

"What if they don't come back?" Barrel asked fearfully.

"Then we'll worry." Lock turned back to the hole. "For now, we'll wait... And if they come back, that means that we can come back, too!"

"Your point being?" Shock countered.

Lock frowned, but continued on nonetheless. "Tomorrow, if Jack and Sally get back home safe, let's head down into this world."

"What?" Shock and Barrel blurted out, flabbergasted.

"Then, we'll head on down to this place and plant all sorts of pranks! I betcha there's something down there a lot more scary than Sandy Claws! When Halloween comes up, we're gonna give everyone the scare of a lifetime!"

Shock grinned, obviously pleased by the thought. "That's a grand idea! Let's pull out all the stops on this one!"

Barrel laughed. "Yeah! I bet they wouldn't know a good prank if it hit them right in the face!"

"And a lot of them will!" Shock snickered.

The three troublemakers laughed together.

"Alright, gang!" Lock exclaimed, "Let's get this pranking started!"

Author's Note

C'mon, were you really expecting me to pass up an opportunity to get these little troublemakers in on the action? That's wasted potential, man!

Expect another update coming soon! Editing will be done soon enough, I assure ya!

Chapter 4: I Never Intended For This Madness

Rarity both loved and hated Nightmare Night with a severe passion. On the one hoof, it gave her a chance to exercise her expertise in costuming and show off her creativity. There have been many a year where she won local costume contests, clad in her own craft. On the other hoof, it meant that she had to share that expertise with everypony else.

It wasn't that she hated to aid others in their festivities; she relished it greatly. However, when everypony in town came in year after year to order a costume, the process became very tiresome. The frustration only grew when she spent months in preparation making costumes to save time and nopony even spared her displays a glance. While it was flattering to have ponies want custom-made costumes made, it hurt to think that they didn't care about her own creativity.

"Thank you, come again," Rarity told the mare as she handed over a parcel with her costume inside.

"I just might!" the mare replied, grinning. She peeked inside of the parcel and squealed excitedly. "Thank you so much for making this last second. I couldn't imagine going to my friend's soiree without something to wear!"

A Canterlot dweller, Rarity guessed. The mare was thin and towered over Rarity, although her sweet tone and kind eyes made her less intimidating. Her ruby mane was in close ringlets and trailed past her neck elegantly, making her porcelain coat look even more striking.

"I assume it's a masquerade?" Rarity questioned, smiling a bit in return.

The mare nodded. "Indeed! My friend Upper Crust is holding the event and she absolutely fell in love with the old parties they held way back when." Her smile faltered. "In all honesty, I think she did it to distract herself from domestic problems."

Rarity arched a brow, but didn't pry. "Well, just be sure to have a good time at your soiree."

"I will, thank you!" The mare gathered her items and spared Rarity a light wave on her way out. When she was gone from sight, Rarity let out a long breath. Although she was rather frustrated with the season's workload, it made her happy to know that someone was so enraptured by her work.

She stepped away from the counter and back towards her display racks. Rarity sighed as she flicked through her costumes and saw not a single one had even been tried on. She pulled a couple down from the rack and patted them gently to rid them of any dust that accumulated since their placement. However, as she was getting ready to put them back, the doors to the boutique came flying open.

"RARITY!" Pinkie screeched, rushing over to Rarity. She grabbed a hold of her shoulders and pulled her face uncomfortably close to her own. "I NEED TO KNOW WHAT MY MEASUREMENTS ARE!"

Rarity blinked and shuffled awkwardly in the heap of fallen costumes. "M-Might I ask why you need them in such a hurry?"

Pinkie let go of her and stepped back. "I need my measurements for my costume!"

It took all of Rarity's control not to sigh in annoyance. "Alright. I'll go get them and we can start discussing what you want for your--"

"No, no, I'm not asking for you to make it for me!" Pinkie corrected rapidly, waving her hooves. She glanced at the pile of costumes on the floor. "You seem pretty busy already, huh?"

That time, Rarity did sigh. "Darling, you don't know the half of it. I mean, I spend all this time working on all these costumes months in advance and nopony even bats an eye at them!" She threw her hooves up in exasperation. "Noooo, everypony wants custom-made!" She rolled her eyes. "And then they complain about the extra cost and the waiting period..."

Pinkie smiled sympathetically. "I getcha! It's like how everypony wants a fresh batch of cookies, but then gets mad when they have to wait for it."

"Precisely, my dear," Rarity replied, smiling. Her smile disappeared when she mulled over Pinkie's words. "Did you say you were making your own costume?"

Pinkie blinked and suddenly, she seemed very uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah! That's why I need my measurements!" She laughed nervously. "I don't know how to do it right and I wanted to make sure that somepony knew what they were doing, you know?"

Rarity raised a brow. "Well, I have your measurements down to memory, Pinkie, but I know I have them written down somewh--"

"Awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed a little too quickly. "Then Sal-- I mean, I can started on my costume!"

Rarity furrowed her brows in thought. "Pinkie, dear, are you alright? You're acting a bit strange..."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" She yawned a bit, then smacked a hoof over her mouth. When she finally put it down, Rarity suddenly noticed the lines under Pinkie's eyes. "I just, uh, been staying up late, trying to come up with what I wanna do for my costume."

"Well, I can't say I haven't done the same thing, but are you sure that you're--?"

"Totally!" Pinkie waved a hoof nonchalantly. "Just really nervous and excited for Hallo-- I mean, Nightmare Night!"

Rarity remained silent for a moment and gave Pinkie a quick look-over. "Well... since you insist, I'll go grab my notes from my file cabinet."

When she entered her workroom, Rarity trotted over to her file cabinet and flicked through her top drawer to find Pinkie's starred file. She slipped it out, check its contents, and returned to the display area, where Pinkie waited in antsy bounces.

"Here you--" Rarity blinked and saw that both the files and Pinkie disappeared from sight. "--go."

"THANKS RARITY!" Pinkie called out from the front door, waving erratically. The door swung shut behind her after she kicked off into a sprint. Rarity saw her running through the store window and raised a brow in incredulity.

"What is going on with her?" she murmured, her eyes following Pinkie until she disappeared down the path.

Before she could begin to think it over, the front door opened and in came another customer. Rarity bit down on a sigh and shook her head. She'd have to worry about Pinkie alter; for now, all that mattered was getting through the work day.

Jack and Sally's re-appearance in Halloweentown did not go without attracting the attention of the townspeople. The Mayor, stricken with worry, had his head turned around all day during the town's group search to find their local hero and his significant other. Things quite literally turned around for him when they disclosed that they'd gone to the woods to gather up ideas for the coming town celebration, which elicited a couple of catcalls and howls from the crowd of spectators.

"Next time we go to Equestria, I'll give the excuse," Sally told Jack, her face blood-red.

When the day was done with, and Jack had assured the Mayor that he wasn't about to go sneaking off when Halloween was "just around the corner, Jack,", he was prepping himself for doing the exact opposite. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to work on his plans while spending time with Pinkie, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to carry a couple of supplies with him in case.

After he gathered all of his things, Jack glimpsed at Sally. "Are you ready, Sally?"

"Almost..." she replied, stuffing another patch of cloth into her satchel, "I have to make sure that I have all my fabric samples."

Jack watched her struggle to slip in the fabric and arched a brow at her. "Are you certain you'll need all of those?"

"I just want Pinkie to look her worst," Sally said simply.

"Still." Jack fished out a velvety strip of fabric and held it up for him to inspect. "I feel like you'll overwhelm her with all this. I don't want her to think you're being put out."

Sally narrowed her eyes and wordlessly slipped an extra needle into her hair. "You're gonna be put out if you keep telling me how to do my job, Skelly."

Normally, he would have been annoyed by her nickname for him, but her tone made it seem less of a tease and more of an insult. Jack exchanged looks with Zero, who appeared just as clueless as he felt. He took a look at Sally and noted how tight the stitches on cheeks were.

"Still upset over what happened when we got back yesterday?" Jack questioned lightly.

Her stitches tightened. "What makes you ask that?"

"You look like you're about to bust a seam."

Sally's eyes cut towards him. "If you must know, yes, I am still upset about yesterday. While it was nice to meet Pinkie and I'm very happy to get to see her again, I don't exactly care for the entire town whispering about me everywhere I go."

"They're talking about us?" Jack blurted out, shocked.

"No." She focused on her satchel again. "Just about me."

Jack was silent for a long moment. "Why just you?"

"Because you're petrifying," she replied, glancing back at him, "and they know if they say a word against you, they'll have a thousand tossed against them." Sally closed her satchel. "No one's scared of a local mad scientist's random experiment that can't even hold her limbs together."

Before Jack could respond, a knock came to the door. Sally's eyes found Jack's and when she saw that he was as surprised as she was, she let out a sigh. She walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the Mayor, his face white and creased with worry. He waltzed in without introduction and faced Jack with a painted frown.

"Jack, have you heard?" the Mayor exclaimed, shaking his hands in terror, "Oh, tell me you've heard!"

"What is it?" Jack asked, stepping forward.

"The pumpkin patch has been massacred!" the Mayor replied, eliciting a gasp from Sally.

"What?" Jack leaned down to the mayor's level and grabbed him by the shoulders. "When and how did this happen?"

"Sometime last night," he cried, "someone broke into the patch and kicked every single one of them in!"

Sally clasped her hands in front of her chest. "That's awful! Who would do such a thing?"

The Mayor shook his head sorrowfully. "I haven't a clue! The werewolves are out to sniff out who could have done it, but it's nothing definitive yet." The Mayor threw his hands into the air. "How will we celebrate Halloween without any pumpkins?"

"There has to be a supply somewhere," Sally pressed, shaking her head in denial.

"Not a single one survived the massacre," he told her woefully, "there are the seeds, but there's hardly a thing we can do with those!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "We have to find out how this happened. We can worry about what to do without the pumpkins, but for now, we have to find out who did this."

"But, Jack, what about..." Sally tried to say, but then her eyes met his.

"I'm sorry, Sally, but we'll have to cancel our plans." He took her hands in his. "I extend my apologies."

Sally nodded as she found the meaning in his words: "Tell Pinkie I'm sorry."

"I understand," she replied. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe."

"I will." He stepped back and released his hands from hers. Jack followed the Mayor outside and spared Sally another glance on his way out, mouthing another apology before leaving at last. When the door closed behind them, Sally watched them from the windows and saw them deep in discussion.

She sighed. "Looks like our Halloween is turning into a Nightmare Night after all..."

Author's Note

The alternate title to this was, "I Sense There's Something In The Wind..." Yes, I plan on making sure that every single chapter references a quote from Nightmare Before Christmas, and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

Also, I really love writing about Jack and Sally, you guys. Their relationship has such an interesting dynamic and I feel like there's so much more to it.

Chapter 5: It's Much More Fun When Lives Are On The Line

"One, two, a ghost says boo!" Pinkie chanted, "three, four, vampires at the door!"

Another night, another chant into the woods of the Everfree. Pinkie was absolutely incapable of holding in her excitement for the night ahead of her, her bounces growing higher and higher with every bound.

"Five, six, there's a wicked witch! Seven, eight, monsters at the gate!"

It took nearly all of her self control to get to the threshold of the forest without practically exploding with glee. The citizens of Ponyville didn't spare her another glance as she exuberantly hopped through town, considering it wasn't strange of her. Still, none of them could know why she was so happy or just where she was going.

Not yet.

"Nine, ten, it's Nightmare Night again!" Pinkie finished, sticking her landing over the warped graveyard fence. She expertly maneuvered around the tombstones and towards the crypt, lightly humming a random song that accumulated in her head.

The moonlight creeped through the trees and illuminated the cemetery with an eerie light, casting long, dark shadows across the tombstones. Yet, Pinkie wasn't frightened by the spookiness, but rather enthralled by it. She counted the shadows to pass the time and then the tombstones, then counted which tombstones held shadows. She almost began to count which tombstones had names, but then stopped when she realized that none of them did.

The crypt door creaked open, and Pinkie turned excitedly. "Hiya there!"

Sally stepped out of the crypt, disoriented. "Ugh... remind me to bring something to soften the trip down here..."

"Where's Jack?" Pinkie asked, stepping over to Sally.

Sally shook her head. "He sends an apology for not being able to make it, but something's happened in Halloweentown that requires his attention."

Pinkie gasped. "Oh, no, is everything OK?"

"I'm afraid not," Sally replied, shaking her head again, "someone destroyed all the pumpkins in town sometime last night."

"WHAT?!" The trees shook from the resonance of Pinkie's voice and several birds flew from their perches to scurry away from the sound. When the wilderness settled after a moment, Pinkie put her hooves to her face in horror. "How can you celebrate Nightma-- I mean, Halloween without pumpkins?!"

"That's exactly what Jack's trying to figure out." Sally sat down on the steps of the crypt. "I don't know who could have done such a thing. No one in town has a mean bone in their body."

"Well, since your town has ghosts, maybe that's why!" Pinkie frowned when Sally didn't laugh. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood."

Sally sighed. "It's alright, it's just... today's been a little hard, is all."

"Wanna talk about it?" Pinkie smiled at her earnestly. "It's OK if you don't want to."

"Thanks for the offer, but I came here to help you with your costume, not to talk about my troubles." Sally put her satchel on her lap and opened it up. She tugged out different patches of fabric and placed them down in front of Pinkie. "I didn't know what you would prefer, so I grabbed a bit of everything."

"Wow, these are really pretty!"

"Pretty?"

Pinkie giggled. "Pretty in the spooky sense!"

Sally smiled. "Thanks, but these are just a couple of my samples. I have dozens more back home."

"You and Rarity!" Pinkie exclaimed, laughing endearingly. "She's Ponyville's local designer and one of my best friends!" She gasped suddenly. "Speaking of, I went by earlier today and grabbed these for you!"

Pinkie whipped a file out of her a mane, startling Sally a little bit. Sally took the file from her gingerly and opened it up to see full sketches and measurements for Pinkie written in expert cursive. Her eyes widened at the different designs for different attire, the complexity of the designs impressing upon her.

"These are extremely well done," Sally complimented, still going over the notes. Her hand traced over one of the designs lightly. "Are these dresses she's made for you in the past?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yep! She's only made a couple for me, though, since I don't really like to wear dresses to parties all that much." She smiled. "But, it makes her happy, so I let her make me one when she can. And they're really pretty, too, so I love 'em anyway!"

Sally flipped onto a different page and found series of personal notes that were nearly illegible. She pulled the file up closer to attempt to read it better, her eyes squinting to try to make out words.

Likes pink and frilly attire... A little indecisive and tends to be a little uncoordinated when it comes to colors... A big fan of props and food related items...

"Hmm..." Sally hummed out, tapping her chin.

Pinkie leaned over to look at the file. "Whatcha thinkin'?"

Sally closed the file with a smile. "I think I have an idea of what to do for your costume, Pinkie."

"Really?" Pinkie said excitedly.

"Really." Sally glanced down at the patches of fabric. "But, maybe I should take a look at my samples back home before deciding on what to do for colors."

Pinkie cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why?"

"Er... Well, I think I have a couple more that you might like a lot more."

Pinkie furrowed her brows for a brief moment, but she eased up. "Okie dokie lokie!"

Sally smiled, but it faded quickly. "Pinkie?"

"Yeah?"

"You said you'd listen if I wanted to talk to you about something, right?" Sally asked lightly, her hands clenching together.

"Of course!" Pinkie proclaimed. "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Well... It's about Jack."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Is everything OK between you two?"

Sally sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "I don't know. I mean, I care about him and I want to stay with him, but... I feel so..."

"Wonky?" Pinkie suggested.

Sally raised a brow quizzically, but nodded nonetheless. "Yes, wonky. I mean, I never think about it, but yesterday, when we got back home, everyone was talking about us disappearing and I couldn't go anywhere without anyone talking about me... I felt so exposed and criticized."

Pinkie nodded, signalling her to go on.

"I just feel like... no one takes me seriously." Sally twiddled with the ends of her hair. "I'm not scary like Jack or bold like the other monsters in town..."

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Pinkie drawled. She threw her hooves into the air. "Sally, you're one of the most scary monsters I've ever seen! I nearly had a heart attack when I first saw you!"

Sally's cheeks tinged red. "That's very kind of you, but you don't know what the other monsters back home are like. I'm just an experiment by the local mad scientist, not a bloodsucker or a screeching ghoul."

Pinkie puffed her cheeks out. "I may not know what the monsters in Halloweentown are like, but I've seen more than enough monsters in Ponyville alone to know a scary one when I see one."

"Pinkie--"

"And then there's the monsters we fought outside Ponyville," Pinkie continued, "like Nightmare Moon! Back before we freed Luna, Nightmare was scar-ee!"

"Pinkie."

"And don't even get me started on the Changelings!" Pinkie turned towards her suddenly. "They invaded Canterlot during Twilight's brother's wedding and nearly deposed Princess Celestia, y'know."

"I don't know, actually, but now I kind of want to," Sally interjected. She sighed. "I appreciate what you're saying, I really do. But, it's hard to believe it when you can't feel it."

Pinkie frowned. "OK, I understand." Her smile returned. "I still think you're scary, though!"

"Thank you." Sally put a hand on Pinkie's head. "I really appreciate it."

"Hey, Sally? If you're feeling bad, then you should talk to Jack about it. I know I feel better when I talk about my feelings with someone I care about."

Sally let out a heavy breath. "I don't want to burden him when he's dealing with so much back home. With the pumpkin supply gone, then Halloween is sure to be a disaster... and not the fun kind."

Pinkie let out a long hum of thought. "I miiiight be able to help you with that, actually... Be back in sec!"

Before Sally could say a word, Pinkie disappeared from sight, leaving a pink streak and a trail of dust behind her.

The marketplace in Ponyville was nearing its closing time, the stalls gathering their goods to store until the next morning. The evening air was brisk and smelled of decaying autumn leaves. Long since fallen leaves from the Running of the Leaves crunched beneath the departing stall owners who carted their belongings back home to restock.

However, Golden Harvest, one of Ponyville's local farmers, heaved a heavy sigh when she took a look at her stockpile of pumpkins that cluttered her stall and shook her head. While her family was particularly known for growing and selling carrots in the market, it was a tradition of theirs to grow pumpkins for the fall season. Unfortunately, their harvest left them in a great abundance of pumpkins that remained still in her stalls. A few passing ponies spared a glance their way, but only a fraction of them bought even a single one.

"Not a good business day, huh?" Applejack asked as she passed by with her cart. Golden enviously noticed that her cart was near barren.

Golden shook her head. "Nope."

Applejack smiled sympathetically. "Sorry to hear that, Goldie. How'd you do on carrot sales?"

"Alright," Golden replied despondently, "it just sucks that I couldn't sell a lot of pumpkins. You'd think they'd be in high demand at this time of year."

Applejack shrugged. "Ah'm guessin' they're waitin' until it's closer to Nightmare Night to actually get them so they don't rot when they carve 'em up."

"Still." Golden blew out the lanterns that hung over her head. "Hopefully we get some business sooner than later... I'm real worried we're gonna end up eating pumpkin pie for the next couple months like last year."

At that exact moment, a pink blur came barreling into the marketplace and zoomed right towards Golden's stall. Her heap of pumpkins disappeared in front of her and was replaced by a heaping bag of bits.

"KEEP THE CHANGE!" screeched the pink blur, carting a ton of pumpkins behind it. The blur and the pumpkins faded off into the distance.

Golden stared at the bag of bits, then at where the blur was, then at the bag of bits. "What."

"...I stand corrected," Applejack breathed out finally, her eyes wide, "looks like somepony really needed some pumpkins."

Golden turned towards her. "Was that... Was that Pinkie Pie?"

Applejack gazed at the bag of bits, then at where the mysterious pony-- or whatever it was-- had been. After a moment of long silence, she narrowed her eyes. "What in tarnation could she be doin' with all those pumpkins...?"

Pinkie returned to the graveyard, a stockpile of pumpkins stacked precariously onto her back. Sally stared at her in wonder as she stood on shaking legs and managed to balance the overwhelming amount of crop on top of her.

"Sweet screaming pumpkins," Sally said out loud, "where'd you get all those?"

Pinkie shook her head and let out a heavy pant. "Don't... worry... about... it..."

"How am I supposed to get all of those over to the other side? I can barely carry one of those things by myself!

Pinkie's legs gave one final tremble before giving out beneath her. The pumpkins remained in a terrifying balance and Sally stepped back to avoid the potential fall. Pinkie lifted her head off the ground and she stared at the crypt. "You're gonna need a really big cart..."

Sally sighed. "Pinkie, you didn't have to do all of this. We could have figured something else out."

"But Nightmare Ni-- I mean, Halloween isn't the same without pumpkins!" Pinkie cried out in protest. She stood up again, the pumpkins dipping forward before settling back into a disorganized stack. "Open up the crypt."

"Pinkie Pie--"

"It'll be OK, I promise!" Pinkie took a couple ginger steps forward. "Head inside and wait on the other side. If you can, get Jack. You're gonna need his help for this."

Sally looked between the crypt and Pinkie in quick succession. She finally sighed and opened the crypt door, turning back slightly to get another look at Pinkie. Pinkie smiled at her reassuringly and nodded.

Sally stepped inside, praying that everything would turn out alright.

Chapter 6: Pumpkins Scream In The Dead Of Night

The search went on until the moon reached its peak. Jack and the Mayor led the pack of werewolves in and out of every single pumpkin patch that spotted Halloweentown, but not even an inkling of a scent could be traced back to anyone. The grave keepers were guiltless and held solid alibis, as did the rest of the towns' monsters. All that could be found in the patches were creepy crawlies and screeching bats.

"Do you really think it wise to question our fellow monsters?" Jack asked the Mayor.

The Mayor shook his head. "This is hardly our first bout with pranks and sabotage, but this--" He shivered. "--is unlike anything we've ever seen before."

Jack clenched his teeth in troubled thought. Not even Lock, Shock and Barrel could be connected to the smashed pumpkins, he knew, considering they were already caught for putting spiders in Madam Elphie's brew for the upcoming celebration. They had spent the previous night in their rooms with their bottoms sore while the pumpkins were being busted into.

"I can't believe one of our own could do such a thing," Jack murmured, shaking his head, "it just isn't right."

"None of this is, Jack." The Mayor put his hands over his face as it turned around to his stark white frown. "I hate to think that one of our very own monsters could do something so... evil."

When the moon had risen past the treeline and the entire town was barking with complaints, Jack and the Mayor called the investigation to a pause. Before long, the entire town was shut into their houses and quiet. Jack sent a farewell to the Mayor before making his way back over to his own home, exhausted and drained of any motivation.

Jack was greeted by Zero yipping at his heels, panting and barking excitedly. He reached down and patted him lightly on the head, although it did little to soothe Zero's erratic behavior.

"Sally?" Jack called out, slipping out of his shoes. When no reply came, he turned to Zero, who stared back at him cluelessly. "Sally, are you there?"

Again, no reply.

Jack trotted up the stairs. "Sally? Where are you?"

Zero barked and Jack turned back towards him. Zero levitated in front of the door, a high pitched whine escaping him.

"She's still out?"

Zero appeared to nod. Either that, or he was bobbing his head with excitement. Jack sighed exasperatedly. "Well, I suppose I have time to stop by Equestria..."

He crammed his feet back into his shoes and made his way out the door. Zero floated behind him, whining. Jack glanced down at him and saw a strangely pensive look on his face. He reached down and offered a reassuring pat on the head, though it appeared to do little to sooth Zero's anxieties.

With the town sealed away in their homes, Jack wasn't disturbed on his stroll to the forest. He worried over how they were handling the pumpkin massacre and felt his worry shift into indignation at the reminder. The residents of Halloweentown were known to scare others for the sake of a good laugh, but whenever things went too far (and they rarely did), apologies were always granted and cordially accepted. However, smashing every single pumpkin in town hardly warranted any forgiveness. Not to mention the fact that the deed was done when Halloween was just around the corner.

Jack shook his head. He was beginning to think like the Mayor. But, then again...

Zero snapped him out of his thoughts with a loud bark. He whipped around to look into the trees and saw no one roaming, but remained apprehensive nonetheless. He stared down at Zero, who was flickering with angry defensiveness.

"Is anyone there?" Jack called out, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny.

Zero barked once again. Jack turned around once again and caught sight of a heaping silhouette that stood several yards away, previously unseen. He glimpsed at Zero and confirmed that the mysterious figure was the object of Zero's fury. He held a hand in front of Zero to quiet him down and stepped cautiously through the trees to get closer.

He came to a sudden halt when he caught sight of a thin silhouette within the illumination of the moon. It was separate from the pile and stood still, almost as if lying in wait. Jack turned back to Zero, who remained where Jack had ordered him to stay. However, the ghostly dog lost his sudden hesitation and came barreling past Jack like a gust of wind.

"Zero!"

But, Zero didn't attack the figure like Jack initially thought. Instead, he seemed excited to see them and eccentrically yipped at their heels. As the light from the thin moon made its way through the trees, Jack got a good look at the figure and felt a smile appear on his face. "Sally?"

Sure enough, Sally stood before him, circled by Zero. She returned his smile when she caught sight of him. "Jack?"

"Sally!" He bounded over towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace. He was sure that if she had any breath, he would have squeezed it out of her. "You scared the death out of me!"

When Jack pulled away from her slightly, she looked up at him. "I was only gone for a couple hours... Is everything alright?"

Jack sighed tiredly. "As well as they can be, at the moment... No sign of who could have destroyed the pumpkins."

"Oh, Jack, that's awful," Sally told him, her brows furrowing in worry, "what about Lock, Shock and Barrel? Where were they?"

"Locked up in their houses all night. Madam Elphie made sure they can't sit for a long while with the prank they pulled on her." He sighed once more. "I suppose it should be comforting that it wasn't one of our own that did this, but I'm not quite sure which I find more upsetting. If it wasn't one of us, then it must have been an outsider of sorts."

Sally's eyes widened. "But who? It's not like the Easter Bunny is out wreaking havoc on the pumpkin patches." She raised a brow suddenly. "He isn't, right?"

"No, I made sure that things were alright between us a long time ag--" He stopped suddenly. "Sally?"

"What is it, Jack?"

Jack, almost in a daze, pointed over her shoulder. "What's that behind you?"

Almost as if it were the first time, both Jack and Sally took a long look at the pile that was accompanying Sally. Jack couldn't recall whether or not it had been there the first time they went down to Equestria together, but then again, he hadn't really been focused on anything but the tree.

Sally, despite the peculiarity of the situation, was surprisingly nonchalant. "Pumpkins."

Jack's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"Yes, I told Pinkie about our shortage," she continued, only extending his shock, "she ran out in a hurry to go grab some from town after I told her about it."

"How many did she get?" Jack exhaled, his hands trailing over the pile in awe. He retracted his hand, somewhat fearful they would disappear.

Sally shrugged nonchalantly. "Not sure, but she carried them all back herself. And when I asked how she was going to get them all over here, she just told me--"

She didn't get to finish what she was about to say. Jack wrapped his arms around her at the waist and lifted her high into the air, eliciting a high-pitched shriek from her. He gave one long twirl before putting her down.

"What was that about?" Sally demanded, trying to steady herself.

"Sweet merciful death itself, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself!" he exclaimed, laughing. Jack stepped over and tentatively put a hand over one of the pumpkins. "And how'd you get them all stacked so nicely?"

"That was Pinkie Pie," Sally told him, smiling a bit more, "I waited out here while she tossed them through the tree and they all landed out here like this on their own."

Jack stared at the pile in wonder. "Impressive."

"An understatement, to say the least. I mean, I wasn't even sure what to do when they all got over here, but then you showed up and... well, here we are now."

"Here we are indeed!" Jack cheered. He took her hands in his. "Sally, darling, the shiver down my spine and the haunting voice in my head, of all the scary things to happen, this has got to be the most terrifying and unexpected thing to happen this Halloween season."

Sally blinked in surprise and for a long moment, was stunned into silence. When she got over her shock, a startled smile came onto her face. "Do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely!" Jack laughed once again. "Everyone's going to be scared alive when they see all these pumpkins!"

"Jack," Sally said suddenly, "I... I need to talk to you about something."

Jack's smiled faded. "What is it? Is everything alright?"

"It's just..." Sally shook her head and smiled. "Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore."

Jack chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that problem has been solved. Let's head back to town to tell the Mayor about your discovery!"

She held up a hand. "Actually... I had something better planned..."

Sally leaned over and whispered something urgently into his ear. Jack let out a laugh and clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh, you devilish thing, you! I never took you for the mischievous type!"

"Hey, you don't think Dr.Finkelstein just let me sneak out, do you?"

Jack took her hand in his once again and led her down the path with Zero behind them, immersed in light conversation. However, as they made their way back to town, they remained blissfully unaware of the audience that watched them from afar. Hidden by the cluster of trees off in the distance, Lock, Shock and Barrel were crammed together in their porcelain tub to avoid being seen.

"Ugh," Shock muttered, sticking her tongue out in disgust, "they are so gross."

"You're telling me," Lock concurred, shaking his head, "I can't believe Jack of all monsters would be so mushy."

"Who's Pinkie Pie?" Barrel asked suddenly. When Lock and Shock turned towards him hostilely, he took on a defensive stance. "What?"

"You moron, that's who Sally was with!" Shock snapped, bonking him on the head. She shoved him into the faucet. "C'mon, we have to hurry if we're going to get back home in time! Madam Elphie will have us by our hides if we don't get back soon."

Barrel's eyes rolled in his head lazily before he got them to focus. "I was gonna if you'd stop hitting me, you little... broom lover!"

"You don't even know what that means," Lock patronized, rolling his eyes.

"And you do?" Shock shot back, raising a brow.

"Do you?" Barrel asked, suddenly curious.

"SHUT UP!" Lock and Shock shouted, causing Barrel to cower.

A loud growl broke through their squabble and the trio came to a sudden still. Barrel peered over the bushel to see Zero hovering over them, translucent teeth bared in a tight-lipped snarl.

"Uh... nice doggie," Barrel murmured, chuckling nervously.

Zero let out a murderous howl and snapped his teeth at the trio, prompting the three of them to scream in terrified unison. Shock reached over Barrel and tugged on the faucet, jerking the bathtub away from Zero. Once the tub was turned away and righted, she twisted a knob and sent the tub flying down into the trees at a breakneck pace.

Satisfied by the disappearance, Zero floated back over to Jack and Sally on the way back to town.

Author's Note

...Jack and Sally were my original OTP, ok, let me have some cutesie moments with them, alright? And yes, I know this wasn't finished by Halloween, but don't judge me, I've been busy, OK?

Chapter 7: Although I'd Like To Join The Crowd...

Halloween Nightmare Night

It had finally come. After weeks of waiting and preparation, Nightmare Night had finally come for Ponyville.

Pinkie smiled blithely as she looked out the window of her room. The town was covered in spooky decorations and foals were already running about, laughter escaping them as they warmed up for one of the most fun nights of the year.

She couldn't wait to join them.

But, alas, she couldn't. Not yet, anyway. Sally was still working on the finishing touches for her costume, and, despite Pinkie being happy with how the costume was already, Sally still wasn't satisfied. It reminded her of Rarity's need for perfection.

"Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie jumped a little and she frantically searched for who called for her. She eased up when she saw it was just Rarity. Seeing her made Pinkie wonder if Rarity could sense that she was thinking about her.

"Darling, what are you doing staring out your window?" Rarity questioned aloud, arching a brow in confusion. Her eyes widened after a moment of inspection. "And where is your costume?"

A wave of heat fell onto Pinkie's cheeks. "Uh... Still putting some finishing touches on it! Wanna make sure it looks extra... costume-y!"

"Really?" Rarity furrowed her brows in worry. "If you'd like any help, I'd be happy to offer it!"

Pinkie waved her hooves rapidly. "No, that's OK! I... I gotta go sew something real quick!"

Before Rarity could question her again, she slammed her shutters close and pressed her entire body against it. After a moment passed, she peered through them and saw Rarity drudging through crowd, her expression pensive.

'I really hope I didn't hurt her feelings...' Pinkie thought, her eyes drifting downwards. She jumped once more as the clock tolled off in the distance, reminding her of the hour. It was growing closer and closer to nightfall, which meant it was only growing closer to the festivities. She really hoped she wouldn't be late.

"We'll be there right after we finish up in Halloweentown," Sally had told her. She even Pinkie Promised it. Still, she had her worries, considering that Jack himself wasn't even able to come since he introduced Sally and Zero to her. The town had been in a panic because of the pumpkin smashing incident and, even though Pinkie had replaced them, every monster and ghoul was on edge. There were even times where Sally had to send Zero with a message to re-schedule their meetings.

"I hope they're doing OK," she murmured to herself. She shook her head. "Maybe I should help out the Cakes... That should help me pass the time!"

She galloped down the stairs, where she was greeted by a crowd of costumed ponies. Seeing all her friends dressed up while she was still her usual self made her feel a little strange, but she couldn't help but grin at all the fun costumes that graced her eyes. She recognized a few of them as Rarity's work.

Pinkie maneuvered her way through the crowd and into the kitchen, the saloon doors swinging behind her. Mr.Cake, already in costume as the monster of Frankenstien, was holding a tray of spooky themed cupcakes. Despite his green complexion and spooky prosthetics, he was hardly monstrous-looking with Mrs.Cake's apron wrapped around him.

"Hello, Pinkie," he greeted, his nice tone clashing with his scary demeanor. He did a double take. "You're not in costume?"

"No, but I will be!" It was more reassurance for herself than it was for him. "Need any help with anything? Decorations? Candy? Anything?"

He raised a brow at her peculiarity, but he didn't question her. "We got everything covered already, Pinkie. Why don't you go get ready for tonight?"

"Right now?" she stammered.

He frowned. "Is that a problem?"

She shook her head quickly. "Nope! I just, uh, don't want you working alone is all!"

He chuckled. "That's very kind of you, Pinkie, but like I said, we got it covered. Come on, go get ready."

Pinkie glanced at the clock that was perched on the shelf. As the second hand ticked by, she felt her anxiety rise. "OK... I'll... I'll just go get my costume, then!"

As soon as she was out of the kitchen, terror clenched her heart. She ducked down behind the counter to hide from the prying eyes of Ponyvillians. 'What am I gonna do? I don't have a costume to wear!'

She peered over the counter and caught sight of the activity through the open window across from her. A crowd was already making it's way towards the center of town, where the festivities were no doubt about to start. She sank back down and put her hooves over her face in frustration.

'I can't go out without a costume,' she thought miserably. 'And I absolutely refuse to wear one from last year. Pinkamena Diane Pie does not take the easy way out.'

Pinkie stole a glance over the counter again and was delighted to see the crowd had dispersed a bit. They had probably seen the crowd of ponies as well and decided to make their way to the town square. With extreme care, she sneaked around the counter and towards the door. As soon as she was on the other side, she broke off into a sprint into a nearby alley.

All she had to do was get to the Everfree Forest, then she'd make her way down to the crypt. Pinkie didn't care if it took all night; she was going to get that costume, even if it was the last thing she'd ever do.

Nightmare Night Halloween

The air in Halloweentown was fraught with apprehension and excitement as the townsfolk meandered about, exploring familiar and new terrors alike from their fellow monsters. All the tension that came with the smashed pumpkin mystery seemed to dissipate into thin air for the time being and all the monsters that once hid away in terror were out and about. It was enough to bring a frightful grin to every monster’s face.

Well, except for the white-stricken face of the Mayor, who was still too wound up to delight in anything. The smashed pumpkins had yet to leave his mind, and not even Jack's attempts at comfort were enough to ward away the foreboding feelings.

A gaggle of witches flew overhead, cackling as they tossed down a couple hex bags onto the unsuspecting citizens. A couple of monsters let out shrieks of terror and retreated away from the crowd to avoid the onslaught. The mischievous trio Lock, Shock, and Barrel looked as though they were about to do the same, but Shock spared the bags another look and rolled her eyes. "They're just goodie bags, you morons!"

The witches cackled again as some of the monsters returned to the square sheepishly. Barrel took to grabbing as many spare bags as he could and waddled after Lock and Shock, who had already started off into one of their squabbles. Still, not even the frightened looks on his fellow monsters' faces was enough to ease the Mayor's growing apprehension.

“Has anyone seen Jack or Sally around anywhere?” he questioned aloud.

The excitement died down a bit as the residents scanned the area and saw that neither Jack nor Sally were anywhere to be seen. A passing witch on a broom hovered over to the Mayor, her protruding nose wrinkled. “Betcha they’re out in those woods again, doing Death knows what.”

A series of snickers flooded through the group, but the Mayor was not amused. “This is no laughing matter! Besides, I don’t believe Jack would be too happy to hear you all sharing a laugh at his expense.”

The laughter died down immediately at that comment.

“That’s better,” the Mayor affirmed, his face threatening to turn into a grin. “Now, when was the last time any of you saw Jack?”

Before the Mayor could reply, a loud shriek broke through the crowd. Everyone jumped collectively and they all searched the immediate area for the source. When the town began to murmur in hushed terror, a white streak came tearing through them all, forcing the crowd open like a parting of the seas.

“Zero?” The Mayor’s eyes widened as the ghostly canine flew towards him. “Dear boy, what is it?”

Zero let out a terrified howl, which only brought on more horrified whispers. The Wolfman appeared, his expression forlorn. “Great screaming pumpkins, he says something happened to Jack and Sally!”

The witch who had made the snide comment earlier put her warty hands to her face with dismay. “That can’t be so!’

Another howl from Zero brought a new wave of shock on the Wolfman’s face. "He says that they’re down that way!”

The Wolfman pointed down to the pathway that led to the graveyard. It was a sacred area in the town and was typically only occupied by Jack, who commanded the very hills to move with each step he took. No one in town had the same sway over the place like Jack did, so many stayed away whenever he went in there. None of them ever thought that something bad could happen to him there.

Almost as if they were one, the town’s residents rushed down to the cemetery, which looked especially dreary as the sun began to disappear off into the distance. The gates screeched open as all the monsters came tumbling in, screaming frantically. Witches soared above on their brooms while the vampires took to the shadows, both groups frightful of what they might find.

"Great, screaming pumpkins!" cried out a scraggly witch.

"What did you find?" a scaly monster exclaimed.

The witch pointed to the dip on the other side of the spiral hill. "PUMPKINS!"

The townsfolk exchanged confused looks with one another, but some broke away from the crowd to go to the valley. Many followed after and stopped at the edge of the hill, completely aghast by what they found.

In the middle of the valley, spotted throughout the weathered tombstones, were bright, orange pumpkins. Some were so big that they overtook the grandiose tombstones and crypts that littered the graveyard. The dark cemetery was set aglow by multiple candles that glowed within and around the pumpkins, making the entire area look like a large candlelit memorial.

"What in the name of Hallow's Eve is going on?" screamed the Mayor, who was waving his arms around frantically.

"A good question, Mayor!"

The town collectively gasped as Jack cartwheeled into view and landed on a large pumpkin in the middle of the gathering. He was wearing a well-tailored suit that rivaled his typical one, a silk top hat perched on his head. His typical monotone color scheme was brightened up by a brilliant shade of purple that laced the inside of his coat and vest. Lace cuffs hung from his wrists like ghostly wisps of air, light and flowing. The same lace was peeking through his purple vest and was adorned by a deep, amethyst broach.

"You see, dear citizens," Jack proclaimed, clasping his bony hands together. "I don't believe we can really celebrate Halloween without any pumpkins."

The silence that captivated the town was broken by cheers. Monsters came flooding into the cemetery's valley and began to dance around the pumpkins gleefully. The witches took to shooting fireworks from their wands in celebration while the Wolfman and his fellow werewolves broke off into proud howls. Everyone was totally enraptured by the appearance of the pumpkins; everyone, except for the Mayor.

"Jack, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded, marching into the clearing. The Mayor stood in front of Jack, who remained perched on his pumpkin. "How long have you had these? Where did you find them? And how did you get so ma--"

Jack raised his hand up. "Now, now, I can't take credit for this. You see, I was not the one to find all of these pumpkins."

The crowd began to murmur suspiciously, their expressions dubious. They were silenced when Jack raised his hand again. "And, I must be frank... These are not all of them."

More whispers cut through the crowd, but they died down with just a single look from Jack. "Ladies and gentlemen, monsters and demons, spirits and ghouls... I give you, the Pumpkin Queen!"

At that moment, in the middle of the clearing, a large puff of smoke appeared. The citizens backed away and began to cough from the sudden explosion of smoke. However, all shock was completely topped over when they all saw what had shown up in the place of the smoke. A large pile of pumpkins sat in the middle of the crowd, placed in the formation of a pyramid. Standing at the top was none other than Sally Finkelstein, who was also dressed out of her normal attire. Her dress was similar to her typical day-wear, but it was more elegant than what the town had ever seen from her. Her red hair was curled into beautiful waves and atop her head was a black fascinator that held a black feather that matched the one Jack wore on his own top hat.

"Happy Halloween!" Sally exclaimed, laughing mirthfully.

The monsters below began to cheer and clap excitedly, to the point where nothing could be heard over it. Jack pounced onto the pumpkins and landed beside Sally at the top. He took her hand and began to escort her down to the cheering crowd, who parted to allow them into the gathering.

"That was fantastic, Jack!" applauded the lake monster.

"Where did you get those pumpkins, Sally?" yelled a snake-like creature.

"We love you both!" praised a young, mummified monster.

Sally's lips pursed together, but the smile on her face showed that she was anything but upset about the cheers. She exchanged a look with Jack, who smiled adoringly down at her. They looked as though they were about to share a kiss, but they were interrupted by the Mayor cutting into the middle of the crowd.

"Bravo, Jack!" the Mayor exclaimed, clapping his stubby hands together in delight. "Good show!"

Jack, though mildly irritated, smiled at the Mayor. "Thank you, but I couldn't have done it without the help of Sally. Not only did she make these costumes for the both of us, but she managed to find a whole grove of pumpkins just in time for tonight."

Sally sheepishly grinned when the town began to chant her name and waved her hand nonchalantly. "I can't take all the credit. Jack was the one who made the reveal so much better. He's always been better at the theatrics of things than I have."

"You both rock!" shouted a small monster from the back of the crowd.

"We love you, Sally!" chimed in another monster.

"And I love you, too, random monster," Sally replied, laughing a bit.

The Mayor chuckled. "Well, I believe I can say without a doubt that this was one of our best Halloween's yet! And it's all thanks to our Pumpkin King and Queen, Jack and Sally!"

The crowd broke off into cheers once again and the celebration went into all-time high. Monsters began to howl with delight and scare each other silly, the night air filled with the sounds of terror and laughter.

"Mayor," Sally began,

"Well," Jack whispered to Sally. "Are you ready to pay Ponyville a visit?"

"You know it," Sally whispered back. She pulled her satchel from behind her voluminous skirt. "I have Pinkie's costume right here. I'm sure she'll die from fright!"

"To her, that might not be a good thing," Jack observed. He took her hand and picked up the pace. "Let's hurry, before anyone sees us."
Sally nodded and she joined him in a strong canter. With the town completely immersed in the festivities, the couple sneaked away from the crowd and into the forest, Zero in tow behind them.

Halloween Nightmareween Hallownight You know what, it's in Ponyville

Sneaking through town was a lot harder than Pinkie thought it would be. Not even the darkest of alleys was vacant for her to walk through, many of them being occupied by holiday pranksters or by couples sneaking away from the activities.

"Sorry!" Pinkie exclaimed after catching a mermaid and a vampire in one of the alleys. She continued forth and slinked through the various carts and booths to avoid being caught. It probably wouldn't have mattered if somepony caught her, as long as it wasn't Rarity or, worse, Twilight, but she didn't want to take any risks. She couldn't let the others know that there was something going on with her.

'Just keep on going,' Pinkie reminded herself as she prepared to step out from behind a hay cart. 'Jack and Sally will be here soon. Don't worry. Don't worry. DON'T WORRY.'

"Hiya, Pinkie!"

She shrieked and cowered into a ball. "GAH!"

"Whoa, sorry!" came the familiar voice of Spike. "I wasn't going for a scary look this year, Pinkie!"

Pinkie looked up and she sighed in relief as she confirmed that it was Spike. Although, the frilly shirt, tight pants and blonde wig did make it a bit hard to truly think that.

"Sorry, you just startled me is all," Pinkie admitted, laughing a bit. She suddenly realized how many times she had done that to Fluttershy and immediately set out to apologize when she got the chance.

Spike shrugged. "It's cool. Didn't mean to scare ya, though." He blinked a bit as he looked at her, then arched a brow. "How come you're not wearing your Nightmare Night costume?"

Pinkie smiled awkwardly and laughed a bit tensely. "I'm, uh... on my way to go get it!"

"Oh, is Rarity doing it?" Spike questioned. He puffed his chest out proudly. "She did my costume for me, too!"

'Well, that explains that, then,' she thought. "Uh, no, someone else did my costume! A new friend of mine wanted to do something nice for me, and, well, she's still working on it."

"What's their name?" Spike asked. "Maybe Rarity knows them!"

"Uh, no, she doesn't! Actually, Rarity doesn't even know that my friend is making my costume, so--"

"She doesn't?" Spike blinked in confusion. "Why not?"

"Because... Because..." Pinkie sighed. "OK, I wanted Rarity and the girls to meet them later on tonight." She held up a hoof to silence him when he prepared to talk. "But it's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Really?"

"Really." Pinkie smiled. "Promise you'll keep it a surprise?"

"Well, as long as they're cool with you, they're cool with me, too," Spike told her, returning her smile. "Have fun getting your costume!"

"Spike!"

Pinkie felt a surge of panic when she caught sight of Twilight, who was making her way through the crowd with great difficulty. As she grew closer, Pinkie saw that she was dressed as a purple dragon, something she guessed Spike had her do in his stead.

"Gotta go!" Pinkie exclaimed, darting away. She left in a pink blur, leaving only a trail of dust behind her.

Twilight finally made it away from the cluster of ponies and sighed when she reached Spike's side. "Man, there's a lot of ponies out this year."

Spike's eyes tore away from Pinkie's departed form. "Yeah, there sure are."

Twilight's brows furrowed a bit and her eyes drifted to where Spike was looking. "Was that Pinkie you were talking to?"

"Nope," Spike replied, his eyes cutting to the side suspiciously.

"Really?" Twilight arched a brow at him. "Alright, I won't ask, then. Let's just get down to the town square. The girls are waiting on us."

Spike let out a small sigh of relief and followed after Twilight. He didn't quite understand what Pinkie was hoping to accomplish with her secrecy, but knowing her, he knew it was bound to be something worth the fuss. He just hoped it didn't have anything to do with her story about talking skeletons.

Author's Note

Jack and Sally's outfits were inspired by these figurines I found! They were found on here and here!

A bit of a long chapter compared to the others! Wanted to make up for the lack of activity as of late... School has been making it harder to do editing. Enjoy this chapter, if you can!