Black Gold
A Nightmare Night Special
by Golden Flare
Golden Flare has a sense of humor, everypony does. Even more so on Nightmare Night, when Ponyville's most notorious pranksters, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, prank nearly everypony in town, Golden's no exception. Allow me to explain.
A few years back...
Golden has been hit with just about every prank in the book by those two, whoopee cushions, joy buzzers, fake lottery tickets, even the old thundercloud trick from when Princess Luna made her first appearance in Ponyville, Golden wishes he would've been there for that, he respects all of the Princesses, Luna most of all, even after what she's done in the past.
But I'm getting off topic. Bottom line is, their pranks have always been harmless, just for a few laughs, hay, even Golden got a laugh out of a few of them.
"Heh, guess I should have seen that coming." Golden always said when he got pranked.
But one Nightmare Night, they took one little prank too far...
One year ago...
Golden was walking down the path, watching the children go Nightmare Nighting, it was a cute sight, he'll admit. He walked past Zecora, telling her Nightmare Night stories like she does every year, it was a nice contribution, he thought. Normally, he'd wait for the evitable Nightmare Night prank, from his favorite mare and her best friend; ever since Pinkie and Golden started dating, he didn't mind the pranks from her as much, he enjoyed seeing her, especially when she's smiling.
But suddenly, something crashed into him and pulled him out of his thoughts. It was Rainbow Dash in her old Shadowbolt costume, she wears it every year.
Old habits die hard, as they say, he thought.
"Oh! Gol-den! I'm so very sorry! Look, you're covered in mud!" Rainbow says nonchalantly. A little too nonchalantly. "Here! Let me..." she pulls out a raincloud with a devilish smirk, "clean you up."
She kicks the cloud and rainwater pours down on Golden, washing the mud from his mane and coat.
This is odd. This can't be her Nightmare Night prank... he thought.
Then, without warning, she stops the downpour and flies around and around Golden, creating a miniature tornado, until she stops, and looks at him; his mane was a tangled, bunched-up mess, it looked like Twilight's when she first met Rainbow Dash after her little clean up, Twilight told him all about it. Then Rainbow burst into a fit of laughter, Pinkie popped out of an alley, laughing her flank off as well, she must've saw the whole thing. Soon, every resident in Ponyville came onto the scene, giggling, laughing, chuckling, you name it. Then they started calling him names,
"Golden Mess!"
"Wet Flare!"
"Wet Flare? No, 'Wet Blanket', that makes much more sense!"
He's dealt with pranks before, but this... this was different.
"What's wrong, Golden?" Rainbow sneers, "Can't handle a little prank?"
Everyone was waiting for his signature Nightmare Night catchphrase (at least, that's what Rainbow calls it), believing he was okay with this...
But his next action shocked everypony; he flew up to Rainbow, and grabbed her by the front of her costume.
"I will enact my revenge upon you swiftly and without mercy." Golden growled.
He let go of her and flew off to his house, with his damp tail between his legs.
"What... just happened?" she asked nopony in particular.
Present day
October 31, 2014
Today, Golden was going to be true to his word. He devised his most elaborate strategy all year, he was going to dress up this year, in a jet black suit, a deep purple, wind-blown wig, and a pair of black framed, yellow lensed goggles. He will soon call himself, Shadow Blaze, Equestria's most dangerous prankster. All of Ponyville will pay for his humiliation. Especially, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
"Oh, Goldie, it was just a prank! We didn't mean to hurt your feelings!" Golden mimicked Pinkie.
Everyone apologized to Golden the day afterward last year, he said he forgave them, but his mind, clouded with vengeance, had other plans for them...
Golden then mimicked Rainbow, "You can't get revenge on me, because I'm awesome, and you're an egg-head storywriter! Whataya gonna do to get back at me?"
"Oh, you'll see, Rainbow..."
Golden stared out his window at the town, grinning with malicious glee.
"...You'll see."
With that, he yanked both the curtains across his window, Ponyville no longer in his view, and vice versa.
Later that night...
Golden was preparing his costume for his big plan, giggling the entire time, he was anxious to prank the hay out of the town.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Golden quickly hid his costume and went to open the door, Pinkie Pie was standing in the threshold.
"Hey Goldie!"
"Hey, Pinks."
"Do ya wanna come Nightmare Nighting with us?! I promise we won't prank you anymore! Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie said quickly.
Golden chuckled at her, he was used to Pinkie's speedy ramblings, "This wouldn't happen to do with the fact that you're dressed as me, would it?"
Pinkie was wearing a full red outfit with wings poking out of both sides and a yellow, messy wig. She looked like she could be Golden's twin.
"How'd ya know?"
"Heh, just a hunch." Golden smiled, but quickly frowned, "Sorry, but... I think I'm gonna stay in this time."
"Awwww!" Pinkie whined.
"But... maybe I can make it up to you. How bout, tomorrow night, at that café that Twilight and Spike go to for lunch?"
"It's a date!" Pinkie declared, she wrapped her forelegs around Golden for a brief hug and peck on the cheek. "See ya later, Goldie!"
"See ya, Pinks."
After the door closed, Golden resumed his work, when he put the finishing touches on his costume, he put it on.
His new purple mane blown back much like Fleetfoot's from the Wonderbolts, the black suit he was wearing made it look like he had a black coat instead of a red one, and his goggles concealed his blue eyes, lest anypony saw them and recognize him.
He was no longer Golden Flare...
"I am... SHADOW BLAZE!! AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!"
He climbed the stairs of his two-story home and opened the hidden trapdoor that lead to the roof. he leaped off and flew into the night, putting his plan into action.
At the Town Square, everypony was enjoying Nightmare Night; game booths were set up, colts and fillies were going door to door, getting candy. It was so lively this year, they are unaware of the dangers that will soon occur...
At the "Bobbing For Apples" booth, Applejack was wearing a pair of overalls, a red plaid shirt, and her usual Stetson hat, there was no doubt she dressed as a farmer this year, "Step right up, y'all! C'mon an' bob for an apple!"
Two pegasi mares walked to Applejack booth; one had a purple coat and a light blue, spiked up mane, the other had a lighter purple coat and a pink bow in her bluish-green mane.
"Hey, Cloudchaser, can I try this one?" the mare with the bow asked.
"Sure Flitter." the spiky-maned mare answered.
The mare named Flitter made a "squee" sound as she smiled and rushed up to the booth. She dunked her head in and pulled out with an apple in her muzzle. She turned to show the mare named Cloudchaser her prize.
"AHHHHHHH!" Cloudchaser screamed.
Flitter spit the apple out, "What!? What's wrong!?"
Cloudchaser pointed at her face, "LAKE LEECHES!!"
Flitter looked back in the barrel and in the water's reflection.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!!"
"What in the hay?!" Applejack exclaimed.
Twilight and Spike, dressed as Star Swirl The Breaded and a baby dragon respectively, rushed to Applejack's booth to see what the problem was.
"What's going on?!" Twilight asked.
"Somepony put lake leeches in ma' apple barrel!" Applejack said.
Twilight looked at Flitter and used her magic to pry the leeches off of her face.
Flitter leaped up and embraced Twilight, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!"
Twilight quickly discarded the leeches when Rainbow and Pinkie showed up.
"RAINBOW DASH!!" Cloudchaser screamed, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"
"Do what!?" Rainbow asked in surprise.
"Ya put lake leeches in ma' apple barrel!" Applejack accused.
"No I didn't! Did you, Pinkie?"
"Nope! I would never play a prank THAT dangerous!" Pinkie said.
"Well," Twilight began, "if you two didn't do it... who did?"
It was then they heard a maniacal laughter that their skin crawl, "AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!"
"What was that!?" Flitter asked in fear.
Twilight focused her eyes towards sound of that voice and noticed somepony running along the rooftops.
Twilight used her wings and flew after the perpetrator, "STOP!"
The mysterious pony laughed even harder when she said that. He opened his own wings and took to the sky, effectively losing the mare that was pursuing him.
"What has happened, Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight turned around to see Princess Luna with a serious expression upon her features.
"Princess Luna, there's a rogue pony who put lake leeches in Applejack's apple barrel!"
"Lake leeches? Why, that is dangerous! They would drain somepony dry!"
"I lost him in the skyline, but I bet he'll strike again."
"Then we must make haste, onward to the Town Square!"
As the two princesses made their way to their destination, they heard a shriek of terror. They flew at deadly speeds to the frightened voice, but when they made it, it turned out to be Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie, what happened?!" Twilight asked frantically.
"T-The candy... the candy... WASN'T candy..." Pinkie shakily responded.
"What does thou mean?" Luna asked.
"Eggs... spider eggs..."
"WHAT!?" Twilight screamed.
"S-S-Squished o-one..." Pinkie pointed at the ground, the remains of a dead spider laying there.
Twilight examined it closely and gasped when she found a certain mark on it; a red hourglass.
"Black Widow..." Twilight whispered.
"This fiend hast gone too far!" Luna declared.
"We have to find him, or who knows what'll happen!"
Shadow Blaze chuckled in sinister enjoyment at his next evil (but deadly) prank, "And now for the Pièce de résistance..."
He kicked the storm cloud he had with both his hind legs and set off a thunderclap and a few lightning bolts, which set off a bunch of other storm clouds he had cleverly set up, so if he set one off, he set them all off. Lightning bolts shot at the ground every which way, nearly striking the ponies beneath them. Shadow Blaze flew up to the highest point of Town Hall and laughed maniacally into the night sky.
"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!"
He looked down at all the ponies cowering with a psychotic grin on his face. As he continued to view their suffering, his grin began to waver; the lightning bolts were causing damage to the houses and narrowly blasting the citizens, Black Widow spiders chasing the little kids across town, and several ponies with lake leeches running while smacking their faces, desperately trying to get them off.
He realized too late what he had done as his crazed, victorious grin shifted into a look of sheer horror. He moved his goggles up to his forehead and muttered three words in his shocked state, "I did this."
"HALT!"
~~Shadow Blaze~~ Golden nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that. Luna's Royal Guard was flying towards him with Princess Luna and Princess Twilight right behind them.
"Eep!" Golden squeaked as he quickly replaced his goggles and flew away.
He flew and he flew, trying to get away from his pursuers, but with little avail.
"THOU SHALT HALT, IN THE NAME OF THE PRINCESS OF NIGHT!!" Luna spoke with her Royal Canterlot voice.
Chills ran up Golden's spine when she spoke. I'm dead. I'm sooooo dead. he thought.
Golden made a hard right in an alleyway, and when Twilight, Luna, and her Royal Guard turned to follow, he was gone.
"FIND HIM!!! SEARCH EVERYWHERE!!!"
The guards bowed and flew off to search the town. Twilight and Luna flew back to Town Square to help settle the commotion. Golden popped his head out of a garbage can, checking his left and right for anypony, and flew back to his house.
Luckily, Golden left his trap door ajar and swiftly returned inside, gripping the handle with his tail and slamming it shut. After he finishes removing his costume, he vows to never prank anypony again, so no one gets hurt. He lit a fire in his fireplace, not just for warming up, but for something else too...
"For years, I have allowed Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to prank me every Nightmare Night. It was all in good fun, nopony got hurt, and we all shared a good laugh. But then, their prank last year really set me off, more than it should've.
"They all apologized for laughing and mocking me that day, but I was still resentful. Tonight, I got my revenge upon those who wronged me... and I feel terrible. I never meant for anypony to get hurt, but they did, and it was all my fault.
"My mind was so clouded with hatred and longing for vengeance, that I noticed far too late what my pranks were doing to everyone. And now, I stand here, with my costume, the only piece of evidence linking me to Shadow Blaze..."
With that, he threw his goggles, suit, and wig into the fire, burning Golden's persona into an unidentifiable ash. He walked over to his couch and laid down on it, watching his former self go up in smoke.
"Good riddance." Golden said with a glare.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Golden winced under that sound. He got up and answered the door, it was Pinkie Pie again.
"Goldie, are you okay?!" Pinkie asked in fear.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. What's wrong?" Golden said, trying to be nonchalant about the situation.
"Some meanie pants almost destroyed Ponyville with his pranks!"
"Oh... So, that's what all that noise was about. I thought it was the kids running from Princess Luna after she scared them."
"Nope! He's gone, though. Mayor Mare said that tomorrow, everypony's going to help rebuild the town after everything that happened tonight, so..." Pinkie gave a deep sigh, "they're cutting Nightmare Night short this year."
Golden inhaled sharply through his teeth, "That bad, huh?"
"Yeah... Everypony's going to bed early to get enough sleep for tomorrow..."
Golden remember Pinkie loved free candy, and his spider egg prank, he had to make it up to her.
"Well... if you want... I have some candy that I bought to give to the kids on Nightmare Night, but I think you need it more than they do."
Pinkie gasped loudly and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Goldie!!"
"And... I was wondering if you could spend the night with me."
"Of course, silly willy! You're my boyfriend!"
Pinkie sped through the house and found her way to the candy cabinet, munching away at the sweets. Golden just chuckled and join her in finishing off the candy.
Can't let it go to waste, right? he thought.
Soon, he and Pinkie retired to his bedroom, where they shared the same bed. Golden smiled contently, knowing that he's safe in his girlfriend's forelegs.
...But on the other side of the room, near the door, stood Shadow Blaze; Not physically, but psychologically. For now he waits till next Nightmare Night, inside Golden's psych, to act on his dastardly plan to control him once more.
"You'll be back..." Shadow Blaze began as he took off his goggles to reveal his piercing red eyes and grinned evilly, "...And I'll be waiting.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha..."
"AH-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha..."
"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!"
"AH-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!"
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!"
The End
...?
Author's Note
Happy Halloween and Happy Nightmare Night!
...Watch out for deadly alter egos.
