Nightmare Night was quickly approaching. After last year it nearly getting cancelled on his first ever, Pipsqueak was anxious. Surely that was just a fluke. Nothing would happen this time other than trick or treating with his friends. Right?
He pulled on his costume, glancing at his adorable vampire self. He noticed a tear in the cloak. His shoulders sunk then he remembered. Sweetie Belle's sister was a seamstress! Maybe she would repair it for him. Pipsqueak took it off then headed off to Carousel Boutique.
On his way, he paused ever so slightly. Mayor Mare was speaking with a couple other mares. They seemed....worried.
“Sugar Glen's filly went missing and hasn't been seen.” The mare reported.
“That's not all, a hoof-ful of young ponies have gone missing. In Canterlot too.” The other mare spoke.
Mayor Mare frowned. “Perhaps we should cancel Nightmare Night...to keep a closer eye on our young ones.”
No!!! They couldn't cancel Nightmare Night again! They had barely had it last year.
Pipsqueak knew what he needed to do.
He needed to find the missing ponies and save Nightmare Night!
Pulling his cloak on and summoning his courage, he set out.
His hooves took him to the edge of the Everfree Forest. He didn't quite understand why his hooves brought him here. But...if the mares and stallions couldn't find the little ponies...this would be one of the few places he didn't check.
Quivering slightly, he took his first step into it. Then his second. “I can do this....for Nightmare Night...” he told himself.
In he went.
The darkness wrapped around him like the cloak he wore. He shuddered, drawing it closer. He had heard so many stories about the creatures that lived in here. Hopefully he wouldn't come across any of them. “I need to be brave...” he said, reassuring himself. Until a branch snapped underhoof, sending him into a gallop aimlessly.
“I-it was just a branch...” He mentally chastised himself for getting scared and running. Pipsqueak turned in a circle, trying to see where he came from. The gloom pressing in didn't help that all the trees looked the same.
“...Oh no...”
That was when he heard it. Soft lilting melody. There was something haunting about it...Maybe that was clue! It was better than standing here at the very least. He followed the sound until he came upon what appeared to be a large imposing building. A manor house. He'd never seen one this grand before. Nor had he ever heard mention about this existing.
“You look lost.” A voice said from somewhere on his left. Pipsqueak whipped his head around to locate the source of the sound. It was a stallion on a low handing tree branch to the left of entrance. He had a short spiky mane that was about a dark blue/black. But what the stallion was wearing gave him pause. He was dressed in a suit.
“Er...yes sir.” Pipsqueak said. Maybe the stallion would help him. “I'm a bit...lost...”
“That's a shame...why don't you come inside? You look cold.” A voice from his right said. Turning, Pipsqueak saw a mare on a similar branch to the stallion. She had a heart shaped eye patch over her right eye and wore a pale pink dress with black straps.
“Ah...I....if that's okay...” Pipsqueak wasn't sure how he felt about two of them. But there was safety in numbers right?
The pair nodded, getting down from the branches in perfect synchronization. That...was unsettling.
“Come on in, it hasn't been a very lively place.” The stallion said.
“Why don't we play a game?” The mare smiled. Together they opened the doors to the manor house.
A game? Pipsqueak loved games! “Okay! What game?”
He missed the glance the mare and stallion shared. “Come, let's get you some cider to warm your insides first. Then we'll play.”
The pair led him inside. Pipsqueak glanced around. It was a bit on the dark side here, lit sparsely by candles. They cast a subtle, eerie glow. But it was better than being out in the forest where any of the creatures could have made a quick of the small colt.
There was a sitting area with a slight fire. Cups were waiting next to a lovely pot that was full of cider. “Allow me...” The stallion said, pouring and passing Pipsqueak a cup. “What brings you here?”
“I was looking for the missing ponies.” Pipsqueak said, taking a gulp of cider. It really did warm his insides. He felt the fatigue from the day and the adventure through the forest layer on him like warm blankets, the cider tucking him in. A yawn escaped him.
“I see...” The stallion smiled. “Perhaps...we can help you.”
“You can??” That was what he had hoped for.
“Yes.” The mare said. “You seem tired...come. You can rest in one of the rooms.” She urged him to follow. Legs feeling like lead, Pipsqueak followed.
“Which one....?” The mare pondered, walking down the hallway.
“What's your name?” Pipsqueak asked her as he stayed close.
“You can call me Treat.” she smiled.
“Are you a pirate?” He asked, referring to her eyepatch. If she was, she was a really well dressed pirate.
Giggling ever so slightly, she shook her head. “No. I'm not.” She opened a door. It was a bedroom but there were already a pair of fillies in there. “Oops, wrong door.” Treat closed the door but not before Pipsqueak saw. He recognized them instantly.
One of them was Spring Heart, the young filly the mare had spoke of who had gone missing. And the other was....Sweetie Belle?!
He shook off the exhaustion and started backing away from Treat. “What's wrong?” she asked, stepping closer to him.
“Y-You're the...”
Treat smirked.
“You really should just sleep.” The stallion said from behind him. There was the briefest scent of what smelled like cinnamon and Pipsqueak's world went black.
He stirred a while later, his world still dark. Where was he?? Pipsqueak tried to move but found his body immobile. He shook his head a couple times. A slip of cloth fell from his left eye. Blindfolded??
He blinked and saw Treat and the stallion sitting at a table that had a cake, a tea pot filled with something...he wasn't sure he wanted to know, and candles. Both of them were looking straight at him.
Pipsqueak blinked again and the pair had moved right in front of him.
“Oh me oh my, what's with this guy?” Trick asked. He frowned. “Who said you could rise before it's time?” It was only now that Pipsqueak noticed that Trick's eyes were different colors. His right eye was red and the left was blue.
“I-I...”
“If this blindfold really doesn't work then maybe I'll just make you blind.” Treat said.
Pipsqueak laughed nervously, scared.
She giggled. “Hey come on you really shouldn't laugh.” Treat took the rest of the blindfold from him. “But it's cute that you think you can.”
“What shall we do with him?” Trick asked.
“I think he should join our family.” Treat said. “What do you say?”
Thinking quickly, unsure of what would happen should he decline, Pipsqueak agreed. He was shaking like a leaf during the running of the leaves.
“No need to be afraid...” Treat said, stroking the young colt's mane tenderly.
“Or perhaps you'd like some nice warm milk. It looks like your heart is beating hard enough to escape your chest.” Trick undid the restraints and offered Pip a hoof up.
It took him a moment, but he took Trick's hoof.
“Welcome to our cozy home we fill with love.” Treat said, taking his hoof in hers. “You'll find you fit in well here...”
Of course he would...with all the other young fillies and colts that had gotten unlucky. He'd play along for now...while he figured out how to get the others out with him. Just how...he wasn't sure yet.
Treat whisked him off to a room that he would presumable call his own. Feeling satisfied, she left him alone.
Perfect.
He paced slightly. What would the CutieMark Crusaders do? He'd have to be a hero. The others depended on him! They didn't know it, but they did.
But Trick and Treat would undoubtedly stop him...why would the other still be here if they could just up and leave? Summoning up his courage, Pip peeked out the door. The hallway was empty. That was reassuring...and unnerving. If they weren't there...where were they? Would Treat really make him blind? He snuck out quietly.
The door to his left was where Sweetie Belle and Spring Heart were...and what of the others? Were there others?
He poked through a couple of the doors. Maybe he should be relieved that he didn't find others...but that was unsettling. Where were they...?
In another door, he found two young colts. Pip slipped in. They seemed rather groggy. The scent of cinnamon was heavy. He poked them with his hooves. “Come on, we need to get out of here.”
Grumbling and shaking off the vestiges of sleep, they stumbled after him. Pip stopped, checking the hallway. He needed to collect Spring Heart and Sweetie Belle. Then escape without being caught...could he manage that?
No, there was no room for doubt. He would manage it. Some how, some way. The hallway was still empty thankfully. He crept across the hall with the colts in tow, slipping into the other room.
Sweetie Belle blinked when she heard the door open. Fearing the worse, she played like she was asleep until a face she recognized came into view.
“Sweetie Belle!” Pip said in a hushed tone as he shook her. “We need to get out of here.”
“Pip??” she blinked. Of all the ponies...him? How?
“Come on.” he sifted, stirring Spring Heart as well. She was like the colts were, groggy and almost as if they were under a spell. He didn't want to entertain that possibility.
With everyone at his back, he felt a bit...proud. But wary. He was acting as the leader...but he'd never been one before. Not truly. Honestly, he was the youngest of the group. But he would save them.
Peeking out of the door, he heard hoofsteps. But seeing no one, he urged the group onwards towards the stairs that were away from the sounds. They went down the stairs as Treat came around the corner.
Pip saw her before she saw him. He almost froze. What would she do if she caught them? He didn't want to find out.
They moved, sticking to the shadows. She stopped, checking into the rooms. His breath caught. She would find out that they were missing any moment now.
The door was right there. They could do it.
“They're gone!” Treat called.
Uh-oh.
Pip pulled the door open. “Go!” He urged the group. Coming out of their daze, they started running just as Trick and Treat came down the stairs.
Pipsqueak trembled, following them through the door. He picked up his speed, knowing that the pair could easily catch them if they wanted. The group ran, passing by the trees he had seen Trick and Treat in when he arrived. “Come on! We gotta go!” He felt his little heart pounding away.
Trick and Treat came to a stop by the trees. “Such a shame...” he sighed.
“They were perfect for our cozy home filled with love...” Treat said, watching their retreating backs. Trick patted her back.
“Next year...next year.”
Pipsqueak and his intrepid petrified group of ponies eventually found their way out of the Everfree Forest. They didn't stop to catch their breath until they were safely in the Ponyville square.
“We...we.....” he gasped. “we made it.”
Lights in the nearby homes flickered on as ponies looked out to see what was going on.
“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity shouted, galloping to her little sister. “There you are! I was so worried!” The white unicorn gathered the smaller one in her arms.
“I'm okay, thanks to Pip.”
“Is that so??” Rarity seemed shocked.
“Heh...yeah...I guess it is.” He seemed a bit sheepish and proud of himself.
Rarity snuggled him as well. “Thank you for saving her. If there's anyway I can repay you...”
“Um...well...I was...hoping you could repair my cloak for my vampire costume...?” he showed it to her. It had gotten even more ripped when they were running for their lives from those two.
“Of course darling. I'll even make you a new one.” Rarity smiled, relieved that her sister was in one piece.
Mayor Mare came out, having heard the commotion. “You rescued the ponies? That was incredibly dangerous.” she frowned. “...But...I think that was a very brave thing to do.” she smiled kindly at the young colt.
Pipsqueak looked up at her. “Does...does this mean Nightmare Night is actually on? It's not cancelled??”
“Nightmare Night is a go.” Mayor Mare announced to cheers from the other ponies. He smiled brightly. He had saved the day.
But...he would never forget that manor in the middle of the Everfree Forest and what had happened there.
