A bat flit across the face of a monstrous harvest moon, its leathery wings sweeping through the chill autumn mist, leaving swirls and spirals in its wake. It flew back and forth, eating the last bugs of the season. Fat as it was, it would need every scrap of weight it could put on before the harsh winter months. Already a few of its fellows had secluded themselves in caves and hollow trees, snug and plump, lost in the half sleep that would last until spring. A moth stirred from the grass, its gossamer wings making it a pale ghost in the moonlight. A quick snap of tiny jaws and the mouthful was gobbled down. With a surge of it’s wings, the bat flew on into the night. As it neared a barn blazing with light the creature became somewhat curious. Usually at this time of night the barn would be empty, dark and inviting. Instead the bat could hear the sounds of ponies busily at work inside.
It would’ve flown closer for a better look, but a sudden chill down its spine made it think twice. An instinct, that even it barely understood, screamed loud and clear in its tiny head. Danger! Best to move on and find more prey. Best to find a safe spot and sleep the deep, dreamless sleep. Best to go far, far from here to do it. There was nothing here for a tiny bat. Nothing but death.
“Applebloom!”called Applejack, putting the last of this batch of caramel apples on a tray lined with waxed paper to cool. Benches set up in the barn lined the walls, half filled with the sugar coated fruit. “Where has that filly gotten off to?” she muttered to herself. A cauldron, half empty but for a hissing puddle of sweet brown syrup, cooled over a pile of smouldering coals just outside the barn door. The barn itself was warm and snug, filled with lantern light and the sweet scent of sugary treats. Quite the contrast to the chill night outside. Even so, Applejack couldn’t help drawing the cool air into her lungs with a satisfied smile as she stepped out to look for her sister. She loved this time of year. Winter would be here soon enough it was true, and that had its own work and worry, just like spring and summer. But the autumn months, after the harvest, were a time of relaxation and fun for the Apple Family. With the crops in, safe and sound, money would come rolling into Sweet Apple Acres before too long. It was a tradition in their family to share the wealth, and what better way than to provide all kinds of apple themed treats and games for the kiddies for Nightmare Night?
Nightmare Night. It was the first holiday to come after the harvest, so the Apple Family always did it big! Of course, the holiday had always been more about treats than tricks at Sweet Apple Acres. Every year Granny Smith would have tubs set up in Ponyville for the townsfolk to bob for apples. She had taken to turning in early and letting Applejack make sure they stayed full of crisp, delicious apples, but Granny Smith was still an important part of the festival. Every year, since Big Mac was old enough to pull a plow, he’d offer hay rides for the community as well. Even Applebloom seemed to be taking more of an interest in the festivities. Last year she’d gone around with Pinkie Pie collecting candy with her friends, but this year she seemed to be really interested in helping Applejack make up a few homemade treats to pass out at the festival in town. A few of the recipes Applebloom was trying out seemed a mite odd, but Applejack didn’t mind trying new things so long as they were able to finish making their batch of usual treats as well. The only problem was, after helping Applejack spear a few apples and dip them in the bubbling caramel, Applebloom seemed to have quickly lost interest and wandered off to do her own thing.
Really, Applejack shouldn’t have been surprised. Applebloom had a habit of getting distracted by the least little thing. Applejack should have been done with this hours ago, but as it was, she still had about half the apples left to dip. Worse, she was running low on caramel and firewood. “Applebloom!” called Applejack again as she went to the side of the barn where the wood pile was kept to get a few fresh sticks, “Get yer flank back over here missy, wherever ya’ve run off to! We got a lot of apples left ta dip a'fore we store 'em in the barn to dry, and we’re gonna be burnin' the midnight oil with all yer dilly dally’in!” The country pony paused and listened. The fog that curled through the orchard tonight did strange things to the familiar sounds of the farm, muffling noises that Applejack would normally find comforting, amplifying those she couldn’t identify. She didn’t hear the sound of any tiny hooves coming her way, nor did she hear her little sister’s voice calling out in response. What she thought she heard was giggling. High, girlish giggling just on the edge of her hearing. It wasn’t something anypony wanted to hear all alone on a dark night. “Easy girl, yer just spookin' yerself,” Applejack reassured herself under her breath as she quickly piled a few dry branches on her back for the fire.
She really wished that Granny Smith didn’t go to sleep so early and that Big Macintosh wasn’t off in town helping set up for tomorrows celebrations. More than anything she wished Applebloom would stop wandering off on her own. A farm was no place for a young filly to go exploring by herself, especially at night. Applejack had heard too many horror stories of colts playing around on farm equipment and hurting themselves. Perhaps more dreadful were the stories of fillies falling into old sink holes or boarded up wells and nopony finding them until months later, if they found them at all. A thought suddenly occurred to Applejack as she headed back towards the front of the barn. “Applebloom yew better not be'a plannin’ on trickin’ me! It's ain't Nightmare Night just yet!" when there was no answer she tried, "Ah’ll tell Big Macintosh on yew!” There was still no answer. At least no answer she wanted to acknowledge as being more than a figment of her imagination.
As she rounded the side of the barn, a sudden burst of flame whooshed into life, painting the fog bright orange. Applejack jumped back, the firewood she carried on her back scattering at her hooves. She almost bolted, there and then, but calmed down when she realized the flames were under the cauldron. Somepony had gotten the fire going again while she’d been out back at the woodpile. Had Applebloom gone to fetch more wood and she’d just missed her going around the other side of the barn? As Applejack drew closer she saw that whomever had built up the fire had used too much fuel. The flames were licking up the side of the cauldron, bright and hungry. Already she could see that the caramel that had been left in the pot was bubbling up. At this rate it would burn and blacken, going completely to waste. “Oh Applebloom, sweetie, ya can’t use that much wood! Ya need a low heat for this kind'a treat.”
She went to drag the cauldron out of the fire and save what she could of the caramel, careful to avoid the leaping, flickering flames, but found the old pot wouldn’t budge. It was usually only this heavy when it was full, not half empty like it was. Applejack did the best she could, tugging the cauldron inch by inch away from the barn. Once it was on a patch of damp dirt she went about kicking sand over what flames she could, trying to tame the wild fire. The flames subdued a bit, so Applejack decided she’d try to get her sisters help to get the cauldron back in place. “Applebloom, you in here?” asked Applejack as she cantered into the barn. The lanterns had all been blown out. By the light from the fire, Applejack could tell that the barn was empty on the inside. Empty that is, save for a pile of sticky popsicle sticks that used to have caramel apples on the end, sitting boldly on the benches. Even the apples that hadn't been dipped yet were missing. A tiny voice, a girls voice whispered, “hungry,” and then giggled sweetly. So that was what was going on!
“Applebloom, Ah can’t believe yew! Those treats were for tomorrow, to share with all the fillies and colts that came lookin' for sweets ta bite! How could yew and yer friends be so selfish as ta eat the lot a'fore they even had a chance ta dry!?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had to be in on this. Sweet Apple Acres produce might be good enough that a filly would like to try to eat a whole bushel in one go, but one filly couldn’t have eaten all the apples she’d dipped by herself. Even three managing it was a stretch, but that was the only logical conclusion she could come to. “Applebloom get out here young missy! Yew and yer friends! Or Ah swear, Ah’ll be writing Celestia a letter about how Ah learned ta break a fillies rump with mah bare hooves!”
Still there was nothing but silence. Well...almost. There was that high, girlish giggling again. It sounded like...it sounded like it was coming from the cauldron. But that wasn’t right. It didn’t make any sense. How could the girls be hiding in that bubbling hot mess? Applejack moved tentatively towards the cauldron, her eyes darting back and forth. Beyond the glow of the fire, there was nothing but darkness, mist, and fading moonlight. The smoke from the partially quenched fire burned her eyes as she looked into the big black pot, ready to jump back at the first sign of a trick. She froze. Her eyes locked on to the sad, shriveled up figure curled into a ball at the bottom of the pot. She was completely covered in bubbling brown sugar, but even so, Applejack could tell right away the tiny figure was her sister.
She screamed. Applejack reached into the cauldron with her bare hooves, burning her limbs on the still hot metal as she closed them around Applebloom’s unmoving form, the pain of her seared flesh nothing compared to the agony that tore at her heart. How had this happened!? Had her sister somehow fallen in!? Why hadn’t she cried out!? Why hadn’t she screamed!? Applejack ran into the barn where there was a trough of water and quickly dunked Applebloom’s body into the cold liquid. The caramel was already starting to set, the sticky gunk wouldn’t come off. Applejack did the best she could, but a part of her knew it was already too late. Her sister wasn’t breathing. She tried hammering on her tiny chest, put her mouth to her sisters and breathed air into her lungs. It did nothing but leave a sickly sweet taste in her mouth, pieces of half dried caramel sticking to her lips. That was too much for her. She fell back on her haunches, wiping at her mouth withher hoof, trying to get the taste out of her mouth...the taste of death and candy. She felt her gorge rise as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. How could this have happened? What kind of a horrible sister was she?
That’s when she heard the laughter again. It filled the barn, vibrating through the straw beneath her flank, and seemed to echo inside her chest. Inside her head. There were words too, in a childish sing song voice, “Nightmare Night! What a Fright!” Applejack got up, backed away, wildly turning her head back and forth, trying to find the source of the song and that horrible mocking laughter. “Where are y'all!? Who are y'all!? Did yew do this!? Did ya do this to Applebloom? What did mah sister ever do ta deserve this!?” Applejack howled, tears of anger and sadness spilling from her eyes. She backed slowly out of the barn, away from her sister’s body, turning around and around. Where was the laughter coming from? She stumbled out into the cool night air, still reeling from what had happened to her sister, still haunted by the laughter of children she couldn’t see. If she had watched where she was going, she might not have tripped over a well placed hoof. She didn’t realize she had stumbled into the fire until the flames were chasing themselves through her tail and flickering up into her mane. Panicked beyond all reason, she reared back on her hind legs, and fell right into the still cooling cauldron.
She screamed then, loud enough to wake the dead, as her flesh burst and blistered from the heat and the sticky caramel seeped into her wounds. Everywhere the metal of the pot touched, a layer of skin stuck, sizzling and smoking as it parted from the rest of her body. Blinded by the smoke of her own flesh burning, the stench choking her even as she fought for more air with which to scream, she tried desperately to climb out of the cauldron. The sides, slick with her own blood, slipped beneath her painful fumbling. The giggling rose all around her, the laughter loud and menacing. A face peered out of the smoke. It was huge, its eyes pinwheels of madness, its teeth sharp and pointed. “Give Us Something Sweet to Bite!” It sang gleefully as it lunged forward. Applejack felt those sharp teeth close around half of her face. One eye went dark as it popped between a pair of sharp fangs. Her shriek faded to a gurgle as the monster ripped away part of her face and throat, chewed and then swallowed the bloody wad of flesh.
With a burst of adrenaline, Applejack managed to scamper out of the cauldron and crumble to the earth. She felt something crack as she hit the dirt, but that didn’t matter. She just had to run, she had to get away! She couldn’t get up properly, but still she dragged herself through the dirt. A mad idea seized her. If she could get to the barn...just get to the barn and close the door, she could buy herself some time to think. Just to think. Tears spilling from her one remaining eye, she labored over the earth, the few feet between fire and safety now seeming miles. Any moment she expected the monster’s teeth to find her again.
With mild disbelief, Applejack tumbled into the barn and slammed the door behind her. She panted heavily, finding it hard to suck air into lungs while there was a hole in her throat. She started coughing uncontrollably, suffocating on her own blood and terror. Something slammed into the door behind her like a freight train, making her shriek and whimper. The wood splintered as laughter shook the frame of the entire barn. She stood on her hind legs with her back to the barn door, bracing her burnt and melted limbs against the door and the slippery, straw covered floor as best she could. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t handle something like this on her own. She needed help. She needed help right now! As she opened her mouth to scream again, this time to yell as loud as she could to call for help, she felt something suddenly thrust between her jaws.
It was as if it happened in slow motion. The wooden door blossomed, opening like a rare red flower, all spines and petals gaping wide as if to entice a lover. Shards and shrapnel shred open Applejack's back, sending a shower of scarlet spurting from her that splashed across the barn door in a pattern that looked almost like wings. She never had time to register the pain as the thing that caused the hole, something large and cylindrical, was forced clean through her back and up through her ribcage and into her mouth from her throat. She couldn’t tell what it was at first, but the taste of dirt on the fence post mixed with her own blood as as the sharp end skewered her tongue. The post that had so recently been buried in the earth transfixed her as it poked up her throat from deep inside her guts. She felt her teeth break and her jaw pop loose from the rest of her skull as, with another forceful shove, the post shattered the door behind her and the creature began to force its own body through. She felt parts of her she had never felt before burst within her body as the thick shaft of wood churned her internal organs to mush. The monster, whatever it was, tore through the barn door like it was tissue paper, a look of triumph on what she could see of its twisted face. She didn’t even feel the shards of wood embedded in her back anymore, only the massive shaft that had been stuck clean through her. It was almost a relief when her burning lungs collapsed and the rhythm of her heart slowed, stuttering its final beats. The last thing that flickered across her consciousness before she finally died was the figure raising her into the air and smiling, giggling all the while. And then taking another bite of the caramel coated Applejack.
Why is it so cold mummy?
It’s been cold like this for the last few years, dear heart, you know that. Those pegasus have been trying to freeze us out, thinkin' we’d give them more food if they made it ‘ard for us. But we’ll show them that Earth Ponies are made of sterner stuff!
The pegasi? Are you harping on about that again sweetie?
Who else, dear? You said yerself when you’re out plowing the fields with my brother that you’ve seen them darting about in the clouds above.
Aye, trying to figure out what those high and mighty unicorn’s have done to make it snow and cold all the time! You mark my words, those pegasi are as stumped as us about all this. It’s magic that’s in those clouds, and magic what’s bringing this unnatural cold upon us.
Could...could the unicorns make them go away daddy? Could they make it stop being cold?
They can do anything love! Anything at all, them. Why just a fortnight ago, when I and yer uncle went to deliver our tithe, I seen one of them fancy unicorns taking some of our produce and putting it into a box of his. Powered by magic it was! One end went in strawberries, the other end, out popped this strange creamy concoction that was as cold as any snow drift
Oh, you and your tales. You’ll be giving her ideas that those horn heads are all powerful next. Their hooves are in the dirt as much as ours but they act like their even higher in the clouds than the pegasi! Not so different from us earth ponies that lot, but they always have to be putting on airs. We don’t need you spreading their propaganda for them!
But it’s true! He said he ran something called a Sweets Shop. Told me to stop in with my daughter next time I was in town and he’d give her a treat.
Next time you were in town. Do you mean the city daddy? The castle? Oh I’ve never been, you know how much I’ve wanted to go daddy! To see all the high lords and ladies!
Yes, well, your Da and I will have to have a talk about that. You get on with your chores. Step lively, brisk work of the limbs will do wonders to keep the chill out of your bones.
It was a bright autumnal day, about a week before the nightmare would begin. The breeze was crisp and sent leaves dancing and tumbling playfully in the streets, even as the sun still shone merrily. Though it was sad to see summer end, the ponies of Equestria knew the necessity of all four seasons, so most of the town of Ponyville walked with a spring in their step despite the chill that hung in the air. None were perhaps as chipper as Pinkie Pie, though. The self proclaimed friend of every pony, the pink mare was a ball of energy as she went about putting up decorations for the coming Nightmare Night celebrations. There was so much to do, even with help, she had to start a week in advance to get it all done in time. This was no chore for Pinkie though, she loved decorating like this and watching the town transform before her eyes from its usual quaint self to one just a little bit scary, but fun.
Since it was afternoon and school had let out, a few of the town’s children were helping her spread fake spider webbing around the post office. They had to clear away a few very real cobwebs before they started. Not many ponies visited the post office themselves these days. “Ugh...this is a waste of time. I don’t know why daddy insists we help with these decorations when no pony is ever going to see them,” moaned Diamond Tiara. “The only ponies that bother with the post office are practically Nightmare Night decorations themselves!” The pampered filly sneered at a pair of near-sighted, elderly ponies who were busy trying to figure out how many bits it would cost to send a package to Baltimare.
“Totally,” agreed Silver Spoon, as usual, ”It’s a waste of time when their eyesight is so bad they can’t even actually see the decorations anyway.” Silver Spoon turned up her nose and walked over to the box of decorations, inspecting them. “Besides, if they did, it might give them a heart attack,” she said with fake concern. “We should really move on to somewhere more interesting like the mall or the bowling alley. At least then we could do a little shopping or have some fun...after we finished decorating of course.” She feigned a look of innocence, knowing from experience that her silver tongue and good looks were the key to getting her way.
“Now girls, The mayor has trusted us to decorate the whole, entire town!" exclaimed Pinkie, spreading her hooves in the air as if to encompass all of Ponyville. "It wouldn’t be the whole town if we only hung spider webs and pumpkin lights in storefronts and shopping malls.” Pinkie Pie bubbled as she went about festooning the quiet post office with black and purple streamers. “Besides, its way more fun to transform an old boring post office into someplace exciting than it would be to make an already interesting place more exciting!” She smiled awkwardly as the postmaster gave her a look from behind the counter. “No offense!” Just then, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo tumbled in front of Pinkie Pie all at once. They were supposed to be spreading the webbing in the rafters, but had somehow managed to get themselves hopelessly tangled up with one another. Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara led the other children in laughing at their misfortune. It didn’t take Pinkie long to extract the trio of friends, though she almost got herself just as badly tangled in the process, “What happened?”
“Ah’m sorry Pinkie Pie, it was all mah fault. Me an’ mah friends got to talkin’ about all the candy we was gonna get come Nightmare Night and Ah must have gotten a little distracted.” Applebloom grinned sheepishly.
“Yeah,” chimed in Scootaloo. “We had a ball last year going around with you and collecting candy!”
“Even after we left half of it for Nightmare Moon, we still had plenty to share,” added Sweetie Belle cheerfully. “I’m sure we’ll have lots again this year, even after we leave our tribute!”
“Ugh, leave it to you blank flanks to still be giving up your candy to ‘Nightmare Moon’. Everypony knows it’s just Celestia’s sister. She’s not going to gobble you up if you don’t give her some of your candy!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
“We kept all our candy last year,” added Silver Spoon,” and as you can see, we’re doing just fine. It was truly amazing too. You know the neighborhood where I live, they give out full sized candy bars by the hoof full. We were still eating Nightmare Night candy at Hearth’s Warming!” The spoiled fillies smiled, drinking in their peers jealousy, both real and imagined.
“But I’m sure it won’t matter if you do decide to leave a few ‘fun size’ treats in the dirt,” grinned Diamond Tiara in a predatory fashion, “So the big bad princess won’t gobble you up!” At that the pair laughed uproariously. Applebloom and her friends just looked at each other. Sometimes Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s sense of humor just didn’t seem all that funny. Even so, Applebloom wasn’t one to back down from a challenge.
“Well, we ain’t gonna leave any of our candy then, either. In fact, Ah bet we can collect more candy than you two, even with yer fancy full size candy bars!” said the fiery haired filly.
“Oh really? Care to make that a bet then? Whoever has the most candy wins. Let say, the losers have to give up all their candy?” said Silver Spoon, a grin playing at the corner of her mouth.
“You’re on!” cried Scootaloo.
“Now hold on girls, you can’t go crazy hoarding candy like that! Leaving an offering for Nightmare Moon is an important Nightmare Night tradition,” said Pinkie Pie.”I mean sure, it’s tempting to hold onto all of those gummy bears, and candy apples, and candy bars, and...and pixie sticks, and lollipops and gumdrops and...what were we talking about?” The pink pony fanned herself with a rubber bat, clearly flustered. “Oh right! But you couldn’t really keep them all for yourself! That’s not what Nightmare Night is about! Right?”
“I...guess you’re right Pinkie Pie,” said Sweetie Belle, looking down sadly at her hooves.
“Backing out of our wager already then?” asked Diamond Tiara with a snide look on her face. “I guess it would be difficult for you blank flanks to compete with us if you’re going to fall for all this ‘tradition’ nonsense. Looks like we win by default. We’ll expect your candy at the end of Nightmare Night. Don’t go throwing too much of it away at the foot of some statue in the woods now!”
“Now hold on!” cried Applebloom, “We ain’t going ta be throwin’ away any candy and we ain’t gonna be welchin'on no bet. You have your candy ready to fork over to us by the end of Nightmare Night! And may the best filly win!”
“Uh...maybe we should move on girls.” tried Pinkie Pie, a little nervous at how serious things had gotten between the young friends. “Who wants to help me decorate the library?”
“PINKIE PIE!?” exclaimed Twilight Sparkle in bafflement, “ What are you doing?!” A gaggle of fillies and colts had invaded Twilight Sparkle’s home and were clambering clumsily over her neatly arranged shelves. She and Spike had worked the better part of the afternoon taking the autumn audit of what books were checked out, what books were checked in, and what books were in need of repair before they could be returned to the shelves. Now entire stacks of books were slipping, sliding, and plain being knocked over by careless little hooves. And in the middle of it all, Pinkie Pie stood cheerfully, half covered in fake spiderwebs and streamers.
“Oh, hey Twilight!” Said the pink pony, clearly delighted to see her friend. In the background Snips and Snails tripped over one another in their efforts to hang bat winged streamers along the stairs leading up to Twilight’s room. They landed in a clumsy, laughing heap that nearly toppled an entire shelf of books. “I was hoping you’d be home soon,” said Pinkie Pie, “Mayor Mare is having me decorate all the public buildings in Ponyville this year for Nightmare Night, but it wouldn’t be half as much fun getting the library ready if I didn’t have your input as well!” Pinkie Pie draped a forelimb over Twilight’s shoulder and guided her through the barely controlled chaos of laughing and shouting children. “I was thinking ‘Bats! Bats everywhere!’ hanging from the ceiling and the stairs. Something to really catch everypony’s eye when they walk in!”
Twilight couldn’t help being distracted as fillies ran back and forth, some trailing decorations in their wake while others just seemed to be playing some kind of game. “But Pinkie, this is my home! We didn’t decorate the library last year, inside or out.”
“I know! And I got to thinking, that was a real shame. It’s unfair that folks can only enjoy the fun of Nightmare Night downtown or in the big shops and not in other places like boring old post offices and libraries.” Twilight glared at her friend, “No offense! I just wanted to make sure that no matter where a pony goes in Ponyville that the spirit of Nightmare Night will be with them, you know?”
Twilight stared into Pinkie Pie’s sincere grinning face. For all the bedlam, it was tough to face that hopeful, well meaning smile and not cave just a little. “I...guess Pinkie Pie, if the mayor approves.” The party pony gave a happy little leap, pounding one hoof in the air before Twilight quickly added, “but please don’t go overboard! And do your work quietly! This is still a library and other ponies have a right to expect peace and quiet when they come here.” Pinkie Pie gave a little salute and seemed as though she was about to say something in reply when a loud crash came from the back of the room. With all the close calls, it was only a matter of time before an entire shelf of books would be knocked to the floor. Far from anypony being hurt, however, the perpetrators were shouting at one another amid the wreckage of scattered books. Diamond Tiara and Applebloom’s animated argument threatened to damage the books further as each filly seemed to be stomping mad.
“Will not!”
“Will so!”
“Will not!”
“Will so!”
“Girls, girls, what’s all this about?” cried Twilight, using her magic to separate the two fillies.
“She started it. She keeps saying we’re going to chicken out, but Ah won’t stand for her talkin’ ‘bout us that way!” cried a very agitated Applebloom.
“Oh please, Appleblank," sneered Diamond Tiara. "Like there’s anything you can do about it!” Twilight settled the pair back to the floor but still held them back from each other.
Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie as she struggled to keep the fillies from hurting themselves or anypony else. “What in Equestria are they talking about?” she demanded.
“Oh, you know how kids are,” mumbled the pink pony, smiling nervously. “They...kind of have a bet going about who can collect the most candy." Pinkie quickly added to the fillies, "But they’re just going to have to collect that much more after they leave some for Nightmare Moon, right girls?”
“As if,” replied Silver Spoon flippantly, standing with her nose in the air next to her friend.
“No way!” retorted Scootaloo, jumping in the air and fluttering her little wings in irritation.
“But leaving a tithe of candy for Nightmare Moon is one of the oldest traditions of Nightmare Night!” said Twilight Sparkle, shocked. “No bet can be worth breaking from tradition like that. I mean remember last year? Wasn’t it fun to leave a little candy so Nightmare Moon wouldn’t get you?”
“Geez, listen to her," said Diamond Tiara dismissively, sharing a glance with Silver Spoon, "You’d think she was just some common pony and not Celestia’s student. Did you leave any candy for your teachers sister?”
“Well...no," admitted Twilight, "However, I did when I was younger. Every Nightmare Night my brother and I would leave a little pile next to the statue in Canterlot. Though that was just a statue of Luna, not really Nightmare Moon. Celestia didn’t seem to like the image of her sister as a monster. I remember when...”
Twilight’s eyes grew misty with memory, but Silver Spoon sighed heavily, interrupting her. “I’m sure you have many wonderful memories of the good old days, but do you really think Luna is going to ‘get’ anypony that doesn’t leave her candy? She didn’t get you, after all," she pointed out disdainfully.
“Well of course not silly, Twilight isn’t a filly!” laughed Pinkie Pie, trying to diffuse the situation.
Twilight for her part, however, seemed to grow thoughtful. “No...I guess she’s right Pinkie Pie. There’s no point in lying. Princess Luna may be a little strange, but she’s not dangerous. Nightmare Night is fun pretend, but honestly I don’t see any harm from them not giving up a bit of their candy. Even if it is against tradition.”
Pinkie seemed genuinely shocked by her friend’s words. “Don’t listen to her girls,” said Pinkie urgently. “We have these traditions for a reason. The decorations, the costumes, the jack-o-lanterns, the offerings to Nightmare Moon; they were started to protect us! There’s no good reason to turn your back on all that now! Not so close to Nightmare Night,” the usually jovial pony pleaded, her deep blue eyes wide with worry. The girls and Twilight gave Pinkie a funny look, not really understanding what all the fuss was about. “Here, I’ll show you, I know it’s around here somewhere...”
Pinkie Pie started rummaging through the fallen books. It always amazed Twilight that, regardless of how disorganized the library might become, Pinkie Pie could always turn up just the book she was looking for. She wouldn’t normally have suspected it to have something to do with the party ponies ‘pinkie sense’, but the alternative was that Pinkie Pie might have a better grasp of the libraries organization than Twilight, Spike, and Owlowiscious combined. Somehow that was a more unsettling conclusion than Pinkie's sixth sense. “Here it is!” Pinkie Pie cried triumphantly as she lifted an old, dark book from one of the piles that were bound for the repair room. It didn’t look like much, or even as if it had anything to do with Nightmare Night. Instead of the Mare in the Moon, a Crescent Eye, or some other Nightmare Night symbol, there was only a woodcut of a few pieces of candy carved into the cover
“Ye olde Tricks and Treats? Wow Pinkie, that book looks like it’s seen better days.” Twilight examined the book closely. It was hard to tell if it had been damaged in the fall from the shelves or if it had already been in such poor shape. “You should put it back so Spike can fix it up before it falls apart.” Twilight’s magic enveloped the book, but Pinkie Pie held onto it firmly.
“No, seriously Twilight!" the party pony urged. "You and the girls should really read what this book has to say! There’s more to Nightmare Night than just getting as much candy as possible.” Pinkie looked shocked at her own words but struggled all the harder against the pull of Twilight’s magic. “And this is me saying that! You know how much I love sweets!”
“Let...go...Pinkie!” Twilight strained, her magic insufficient to shake off her friends oddly adamant grasp.
By now Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had wandered away to make some other ponies life miserable, but the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched the struggle between Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie go back and forth. All three winced as a loud rip echoed throughout the library and a cascade of book pages fluttered through the air. Between the two of them, Twilight and Pinkie had managed to break the books fragile spine, sending its delicate pages in all directions. Both ponies seemed shocked at what had happened.
“Uh...” started Applebloom. “We’ll just, head on now Pinkie. Ah got chores Ah need ta get ta doin' back home.”
“Yeah, and I promised Rainbow Dash I’d pick up her dry cleaning,” added Scootaloo as she nudged a distracted Sweetie Belle.
“Oh...oh yeah, and I need to go make sure that uh...Rarity’s order of new material for her Nightmare Night costume came in!” managed Sweetie Belle, her eyes glued firmly to the floor.
The trio were going to scurried away before what would surely be an explosive argument between the two friends, but Sweetie Belle hung back a moment. Her eyes had lit on a few of the pages that had fallen from the old tattered book. No pony was looking as she discretely stuffed the pages into her school bag and trotted quickly after her friends.
Outside, Applebloom and Scootaloo were already a good ways down the street. Applebloom kicked at a pile of dead leaves. Any chores, real or made up, forgotten as the pair headed toward Sweet Apple Acres and the privacy of their clubhouse. Applebloom was still furious. “Ah just can’t believe Diamond Tiara! Why does she and Silver Spoon always gotta turn everythin’ into a competition? I mean landsakes, Nightmare Night is supposed to be fun! Who cares who gets the most candy or not?”
“Seemed like you did, back there,” chimed in Scootaloo, crunching a few dead leaves herself.
“Ah know, Ah know!” Applebloom sighed heavily. “Ah just can’t help it. Those fillies get under my skin worse than ticks on a hound dog. But it’s too late to back down now. We gotta find a way to beat em!”
Scootaloo gave her wings a few humming bird-like flutters as she bounced in the air, trying to cheer her friend up. “That shouldn’t be too hard. It’s three against two! Even if we did end up leaving a little candy for Nightmare Moon.” Applebloom glared at her friend who quickly added, "Which we’re not! I’m just saying even if we did, we should still have more candy than they do at the end of the night.”
“Hey...I guess you’re right Scootaloo.” said Applebloom, smiling as some of her anger drained away. "Them two ain;t got a chance against the combined might of tha Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
“Don’t be so sure...of that,” panted Sweetie Belle as she finally caught up with her two friends. “Remember what happened at the egg hunt during the last ‘Spring Has Sprung’ celebration?”
Scootaloo tilted her head back as if she were trying to visualize the event that Rarity’s little sister spoke of. “Yeah...Diamond Tiara bet she would find the most chocolate eggs. We thought for sure we had beat her, but then it turned out she had a good fifty baskets worth of chocolate. I had no idea there were even that many eggs hidden!”
“That’s because there weren’t that many hidden,” Sweetie Belle slowed to a cantor beside her friends as she caught her breath. The trio turned onto the dirt road that led out of town. It wouldn’t be much longer until they were at their clubhouse. “I overheard my sister gossiping a while after that, and she was saying that Diamond Tiara didn’t even bother hunting for any eggs. Instead her father had gotten her an entire pallet of those chocolates from his outlet store. All she did while we were running around like a bunch of agitated chickens was fill up her baskets, laughing the whole time.”
“But that’s cheatin’! Why didn’t ya say anythin’ sooner Sweetie Belle!?” demanded Applebloom, stomping in the dust.
“Well, I didn’t want Rarity to know I was eavesdropping on her. Besides, we had already forked over our eggs months ago! There was no getting them back.” Sweetie Belle looked down sadly as she walked. “Rarity was just as outrage when it happened, but there was nothing anypony could do. There was no rule against somepony ‘finding’ a pallet full of eggs.”
“So you think she’s going to do the same thing this time?” asked Scootaloo as the trio weaved their way through the outskirts of the apple orchard.. “You think she’s going to get Filthy Rich to just...buy her a bunch of candy and then she’ll say she collected it?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. I don’t remember seeing her or Silver Spoon once while we were trick or treating with Pinkie Pie last year.” said Sweetie Belle matter-of-factually.
“So that’s it, we’re beat before we even start!” Applebloom smacked her head dramatically into the front door of the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. “We’re done for!”
“Not necessarily,” said Sweetie Belle as she gently nudged Applebloom out of the way so she could open the door. The unicorn filly rummaged in her saddle bag as her friends followed in behind her. “Though we’d never be able to come up with the kind of money Diamond Tiara’s dad has, there is something we could do.” Carefully Sweetie Belle spread the pages she snatched at the library on the tiny table the fillies used to make their plans.
Scootaloo examined the old wrinkled paper, “Hey...aren’t these pages from that book Pinkie Pie was trying to show us?”
“Yup!”
“What do ya have in mind?” asked Applebloom, confused.
“I noticed something about these pages before we left the library. A lot of that book looks like it was history and mythology. Except these pages right here are recipes for all different kinds of classic Nightmare Night treats and candy!” Sweetie Belle beamed, self satisfied in her own brilliance, but her friends just stared at her. “Don’t you get it? We can’t buy extra candy like that cheating Diamond Tiara, but we can make extra candy instead!”
Scootaloo screwed up her face suspiciously, “So to counter her cheating, we’ll cheat too?”
“Don’t think of it as cheating,” said Sweetie Belle, smoothing out the parchment. “Think of it as evening the playing field. We’ll still go trick or treating on Nightmare Night, but if Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara don’t, then we’ll have more candy than they do for sure! This is just to make sure they play fair. And since these pages seem to have all the original recipes for a variety of candy, no pony can accuse us of just buying store bought candy. It’s the perfect plan!”
“Ah don’t know Sweetie Belle,” said Applebloom. “It seems a might dishonest to me.”
“I’m with Applebloom," said Scootaloo, settling on her haunches. "I want to put those two high and mighty fillies in their place as much as the next pony, but this doesn’t feel right.” Scootaloo looked over the pages, “And besides, this seems like it might be a lot of work, too. We’re not exactly the best chefs in Ponyville. Pretty much everything we try to cook we end up burning.” She made a face, remembering a few incidents with some very burnt cupcakes.
“That’s the best part!” said Sweetie Belle excitedly. “I’ve been looking for something to do with my sister for Nightmare Night since she won’t let me help make costumes. Rarity is a great cook, and I’m sure she’ll help me make all kinds of sweets. I bet if Applebloom asked Applejack, she would help out too.”
“That's...actually not a bad plan.” said Scootaloo thoughtfully. “I could probably talk to Pinkie Pie and get her to help me make some candy as well. Pinkie’s always looking for an excuse to make more sweets.”
“The trick there is keepin’ her from eatin’ what she makes,” giggled Applebloom. “But I dunno girls, are ya sure y'all want ta do this? Ah ain't one ta back down from a challenge, it's just even with help, Ah gotta say Ah still have mah doubts.”
“Let me put it to you this way Applebloom,” said Sweetie Belle, passing each filly a page from the old Nightmare Night book with her magic. “Do you really think you can stand to see that smug look on Diamond Tiara’s face if she takes all our candy again?”
It’s more beautiful than I could have imagined! The buildings are so tall! Look at them soaring so high! And all the pretty flags and banners! Oh daddy, why did you wait so long to bring me here?
Because, my little moppet, the castle can be as dangerous as it is beautiful. Much like its inhabitants, really. This city is even more dangerous to the likes of you and I. Keep your wits about yerself my dear, there’s magic about here and no mistake. Ponies appearin’ and disappearin’ all the time there is. One more little filly disappearin’ won’t bother these folks none.
Oh magic! Real magic! Do you think we’ll get to see some daddy?
I’ve no doubt my love, these unicorn-folk can’t seem to live without it. Not that we can either, mind. Somepony has to raise the sun or the crops don’t grow. Step lively now, there will be plenty of time to gawk after we’ve delivered our goods.
Wow! Is that where we’re going Da? The other buildings were so stately but this one looks like...why I don’t know what it looks like! So many bright colors, so many happy faces! And the smell, oh what is that heavenly sweet smell!?
I knew you’d like it dear. Yes, this is that unicorn fellows sweet shop I mentioned. I have to admit, it is a sight! It looks like a sweetie itself it does. Best we bring our produce round the back. These unicorns can get right stuffy about what sorts can walk through their front doors and what sorts can’t.
Do we have to? It’s so dark this way. The front is so inviting.
Front or back makes no difference to our business moppet. Business first, then as I say, plenty of time for gawkin’ and messing about before we go home.
But I don’t even want to think about going home! Not yet! This place is so amazing Da. I wish we could stay here forever and ever!
And who would take care of yer mum if we did that my sweet? Put such thoughts from your mind. Here’s our patron now! Ho gov! Brought you a fresh shipment, I have, and my little one as you suggested! She’s ever so fascinated by your shop she is. Is it alright if we have a step in and have a look about?
Certainly. Why I insist good sir. Come right in. Ah, and is this the daughter you spoke of so glowingly?
Indeed she is your lordship, the apple our eye this one, our pride and joy!
Hello little one, I do so adore children. It’s why I took this shop over when my dear grandmother passed away.
(Da, he closed the door by just lookin’ at it! Was that magic Da?)
(Indeed it was dear, now mind your manners, don’t whisper in front of the gentlecolt!)
Here you are little one. A taste of something sweet, as I promised your father.
Oh, cor! I’ve never tasted something like this! It’s so rich and creamy. Oh what’s it called?
Chocolate. One of the finer varieties we offer here. Here, have some more.
My goodness. This ones even sweeter mister. I love it! So fine, I can hardly believe it! I could just eat them all day!
I’m so glad you feel that way.
Here now, you’ll spoil the child you will. We’ve not but greens and flowers to eat at home, and we count ourselves quite lucky to have that with this unnatural cold we’ve been having.
Please...allow me to indulge the child. I do so love to see a happy, smiling face on somepony who truly appreciates my confections. It won’t hurt her, I assure you. Here child, try this one, I think you will find it most interesting.
Oh, this one tastes funny Da. It’s sweet enough but it also tastes kind of chilly. I feel funny.
Well of course you do sweetheart. All that sugar in yer little body, bound to make you feel odd. I think that's enough gov. Begging your pardon, but she’s just not used to such fancy things as you have here.
No Da, I feel really, really weird. All floaty and....strange. Da...Da...where are you? Why can’t I see? Why can’t I hear!?
…
What...what did you do? Where did she go?
She’s underfoot I’m sure. Most children are. But nothing you need concern yourself with. The child is quite safe. You, on the other hoof...well. The city is quite dangerous, you know. There’s magic about. Ponies appearing and disappearing all the time. One more little pony disappearing won’t bother anyone.
Stay back! What are you doing with those knives!?
I thought that was obvious dear fellow. Making you disappear.
Nightmare Night. Fluttershy hated Nightmare Night. With furtive glances, she moved from window to window inside her cottage, looking out onto the fog choked gloom. The harvest moon rode low on the horizon, washing the scene in a ruddy orange glow. With it’s light dying slowly by the second, the stars winked and shimmered as they grew brighter with each passing moment. Their twinkling presence piercing the misty darkness like so many sparkling knives, offering little comfort to the apprehensive pegasus. Fluttershy could hear the distant laughter and screams floating just above the music drifting from Ponyville, but she wanted no part of these celebrations. Oh, the little bats and black cats were cute enough. She didn’t even mind the tiny spiders. Even though she refused to carve one herself, she actually thought the jack-o-lanterns were more goofy than sinister. Those were all fine, but even so, ever since she was a little pegasus filly she had spent Nightmare Night quaking in terror.
It didn’t help that, growing up in Cloudsdale, the predominant decoration in her fillyhood had been wreaths of lightning and peals of thunder. It didn’t help that she was such a poor flier that she couldn’t keep up with the other pegasi children as they had flit back and forth collecting treats across the inky sky. She always ended up on her own, cold and in the dark, with only sudden flashes of lightning and ringing thunder for company. What was worse was that, on Nightmare Night more than any other night of the year, the darkness between those flashes were pregnant with far more disturbing terrors! Especially if you had a friend named Rainbow Dash who loved the trick part of ‘trick or treat’ more than any amount of treats.
It wasn’t entirely Dash’s fault though, nor was she the only pony that seemed to delight in Fluttershy’s terror when she was little. The yellow pegasus just seemed to be an easy target for spooky tricks. She couldn’t help that she’d jump at the slightest sound or cringe from the silliest mask. It was just who she was. The fact her screams were thought of as adorable didn’t help matters in the slightest. So Fluttershy locked herself away on Nightmare Night. No decorations, no fellowship, no candy, and certainly no visitors if she could help it.
This was well known in Ponyville. Over the years her friends had learned to give her privacy on Nightmare Night, but that didn’t stop the occasional mischievous filly or colt from coming out to her cottage to torment her. Fluttershy really didn’t hold it against them, it was in the spirit of the holiday after all. She just hated the holiday and wished everypony would just leave her alone.
There were, of course, the occasional unavoidable visitors who didn’t know about Fluttershy’s reticence. Last year her friend Twilight had come out to see her. The shy pegasus wouldn’t have minded that so much, but she had brought Nightmare Moon with her! Even if it was only Princess Luna, Fluttershy had thought for sure her heart would burst in her chest. It had been one of the scariest Nightmare Night’s in her adult life. Thankfully nothing all that bad had really happened in the end, but that just made Fluttershy feel the need to be all the more vigilant. Tonight for example, tonight had been the quietest Nightmare Night that the troubled pegasus had seen in year. The peace was welcome. She was loath to admit it, but so far the night had been perfect.
Even so, Fluttershy couldn't relax. The soothing sounds of the forest around her home in a late autumn evening should’ve been enough to lull anypony into peaceful repose. However, the usual chirp of crickets and distant calls of owls were absent tonight. There was only one kind punctuation to every sighing breeze, infrequent but still present, the sharp screams of the ponyfolk down in Ponyville. It occurred to the pensive pony that the music of the towns traditional costumed dance had long since died away. Thinking about it, it was late enough in the evening now that the dance should have been long over and most of the town should have been winding down their frightening frivolity. The young trick or treaters heading home for bed to get up for school in the morning, and those who had work doing likewise. It should have only been the very dedicated to the holiday or ,privately Fluttershy thought, the very stupid who would be up this late.
So Fluttershy remained prowling in her cottage, long after she should have been asleep, trying to figure out why the nights activities didn’t seem to be ending. Why was it that the screams, that sounded more bone chilling by the moment, were echoed by childish giggling? Surely most of the children should be asleep by now. Thus lost in thought, Fluttershy never saw any pony walk up the little path that led to her door. The knock echoed like a clap of thunder in Fluttershy’s ears, causing her to leap straight up in the air and give a tiny squeak. She thought for sure the noise must have been enough to wake the dead, but it couldn’t have been that loud as her bunny, Angel, was still sound asleep on the living room rug. The knock sounded again at her front door, and this time the frightened pony could identify that this was all the noise was.
Carefully, she brought herself to the door and gave her traditional holiday greeting, “GO AWAY! NO CANDY HERE! VISITORS NOT WELCOME ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!” She listened intently, hoping to hear the sound of hooves clip-clopping away. Instead there was only silence. Still afraid, but mildly curious, Fluttershy crept toward one of the windows that looked out on the path leading from her home. There was too much fog to see anything clearly, but she could just make out a silhouette standing perfectly still. Then the knock came again. “Please go away!” tried Fluttershy, “I just want to be left alone! Can’t you just leave me alone?!” But there was no answer. Fluttershy pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear some tell tale sound that would let her know if her uninvited guest was going away or still haunting her doorstep. She couldn’t hear anything. Then the thought occurred to her, what if the pony on the other side of the door was hurt? What if she had come to her for help but couldn’t speak? Her curiosity momentarily overwhelming her fear, Fluttershy tentatively opened her front door, just a crack...just enough to see whoever it might be who was out there.
No pony stood on Fluttershy’s doorstep. Confused, she opened the door a little wider, letting a few tendrils of fog drift into her home. There was no sign anypony had been there. It must have just been the fragile ponies own over active imagination, Fluttershy reasoned. She breathed a sigh of relief.
However, her respite would be short lived, as it was shattered by a sudden high pitched squeal from behind her that made her whirl and slam the door. Fluttershy’s pale eyes darted around the room, trying to find the source of that high, keening sound. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this. She found that it was Angel, laying as flat as possible against the rug, every hair of his normally soft bunny coat bristling amd looking for all intents and purposes like a little ball of pure primal fear. He was squealing like mad between teeth gnashing in what she could only assume was terror. Fluttershy had never seen him so afraid. “What’s wrong Angel? You’ve never been phased by Nightmare Night before.” She tried to comfort him, reaching with one hoof to try and smooth his fur. As her foreleg came close though, Angel suddenly lunged up and bit Fluttershy hard enough to draw blood. With quick little leaps, he bolted up the stairs that led to Fluttershy’s room. Shocked more than hurt, the tender-hearted pegasus almost didn’t hear the knock as it echoed against her door once again.
It wasn’t terror that sat inside Fluttershy’s heart at the sound of the uninvited strangers return, but a new emotion that smoldered and burned. Angel had never bit her before. Whomever it was that was out there, they had scared Angel very badly, and it seemed like they wanted to do the same to her. One night out of the year, all she wanted was to be left alone. Was that too much to ask? She hated Nightmare Night. She hated the scary costumes, the frightening decorations, the noisy children, and the irresponsible adults. She hated that children were encouraged to go around menacing adults for treats. She didn’t even like candy that much! Well she wasn’t going to stand for it. Whoever was at her door was about to get a piece of her mind. Fluttershy threw open her front door and filled her lungs so she could tell everypony, anypony, exactly where they could go. The words died on her lips.
Pumpkins.
It was as if a pumpkin patch had sprouted in her front yard like magic. Jack-o-lanterns, as far as the eye could see, their soft glow lighting the fog as the moon had done before it set. It took a moment for Fluttershy’s mind to register what she was seeing. Somehow in the space of time it took her to check on Angel, her entire front yard had been filled with grinning, grimacing, ghoulish, and ghastly jack-o-lanterns. They smiled up at her from her front stoop. They glowered down from the nearest trees. A few even bobbed along in the brook that ran beside her cottage, eyes glowing despite the water that must surely be able to quench their candle flames. Just on the edge of hearing, Fluttershy could sense hushed giggling moving around the side of her house. This had to be some kind of prank.
“R-Rainbow Dash?” tried Fluttershy, “P-Pinkie Pie? Come out! This is a...very impressive trick. But it’s, um, not very funny. Please come out. You’ve frightened poor Angel and...and you’re scaring me too! Hello?” The pegasus shivered. The glowing faces seemed to be mocking her as the last sparks of bravery brought on by Angels bite winked out of existence. The laughter was no longer distant now. It crept and crawled, just out of sight. There were no screams either. The town was dead quiet. Had the screams...had they been sharper than last year? Had they always been as loud as that? Why were they silent now? Why was there no sound at all but a few light-hearted chuckles? There was something wrong about all this, especially these mysterious pumpkins. Very, very wrong.
Fluttershy squeaked and shut the door as gently as possible, before locking and barring it and turning to flee. She couldn’t stand it, she had to get away! At each window there was a glowing grin peeking inside, their burning eyes easily visible through Fluttershy’s thin curtains. She retreated upstairs, hoping to find an escape from the jack-o-lantern’s blazing glares beneath the blankets on her bed. Instead, as she entered the one place she thought she would be safe from those horrible smiles, she beheld a site that stopped her in her tracks and chilled her to the bone.
It was a cool night and Fluttershy often left one window open to let a breeze into her bedroom while she slept. She’d left the window open tonight as well, and the room was filled almost to overflowing with sneering, snarling, and screaming jack-o-lanterns wreathed in fog. This close, each face was almost familiar, though twisted by agony and fear. But that wasn’t what froze the blood in Fluttershy’s veins. There was a red smear across her bed that was almost black in the pumpkin light. A few scraps of white fur, scattered about, washed the same hue. Fluttershy might not have noticed it in the gloom, were it not for the ponies gathered around the stain, heads low, the urgent sounds of their chewing and swallowing filling the room. One pony arched back it's head, something stringy and red caught between its teeth ripping slowly, before snapping and sending a spray of scarlet liquid across Fluttershy's face. She squeaked in alarm. The liquid was still warm, and a little salty, as it dribbled down her face and into her mouth. Blood. The...creatures, stood among the jack-o-lanterns, tendrils of fog from the open window spilling about their hooves. One by one they turned from their meal. They raised their heads in unison and stared at Fluttershy, mouths set in bloody grins, eyes unblinking. They laughed as their eyes moved over her, the rest of their body's motionless...then they started to sing.
“Nightmare Night...” They started to move toward her, slowly at first. Twitching and jerking like marionettes. Growing slightly more fluid as they went, but only slightly. Their bodies making a strange rustling noise, like dead leaves, as they spread out from Angel's shredded body. His little eyes looked up at Fluttershy, glassy and dead.
“What a fright...” Fluttershy was petrified. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, her blood coursing through her veins. She couldn’t move. There was something wrong with these ponies. As they moved slowly towards her, bits and pieces of them seemed to fall off, rolling away or landing with a wet plop. They crushed the glowing pumpkins beneath callous hooves as they drew nearer, and Fluttershy couldn’t help but think of them as her friends skulls. Flames began to creep over her bedroom carpet from the exposed candles.
“Give us something...” She felt herself sinking to the floor, every muscle in her body shivering, shaking. Her mind was as blank as their unblinking eyes. Fluttershy’s vision began to fade as panic seized her in unrelenting jaws, yet she could still make out their razor sharp smiles as they drew within inches of her trembling face. Their breath was oddly sweet, the taint of blood only slightly stung her nostrils.
“Sweet...to...bite...” As the nearest pony loomed over the prostrate pegasus, something inside her snapped. With a shout full of guttural anguish and despair, Fluttershy lunged at the distorted pony with a snarl and took a bite out of its nose. The creature flinched, a bizarre, warbling shriek rising from its throat as it backed away. With a howl bordering on madness, Fluttershy plunged through the thickening flames and shattered pumpkins. She spread her wings wide as she surged over two grinning ponies and out through the open window, flying free into the chill night air.
Fluttershy’s wings ate up the night sky as they never had before, trailing smoke from a few smouldering feathers as she left her house far behind. Her cottage glowed from the inside, much like a jack-o-lantern, as the fire spread through its timbers. Even so, she could have sworn she still heard the laughter of hungry mouths turning back to their feast. She flew blindly for a time, the stars of little use in lighting the thick fog. She had to find help. She couldn’t handle something like this on her own. Nopony could. She darted through the mist, doing her best to make her way to the home of the one pony she thought might be able to help.
As she neared the library, the fog only seemed to grow thicker. The town was silent and still, an effect of the dense fog or because everypony was...gone...Fluttershy didn’t know. She knocked as loud as she dared on Twilight’s door, her eyes closed tight in prayer, in terror, and more than a little anxiety. When there was no response, she began to beat loudly against the door, her fear of being discovered dwarfed by the realization that she might truly be alone. That was when she heard the sound of giggling behind her. She whirled expecting one of the horrible, monstrous ponies to be right behind her. She wasn’t entirely wrong. The figure was tiny, no larger than a foal, and it still wore the remnants of a Nightmare Night Costume. The end of a pillowcase was held tight in its mouth. Though the makeshift sack clearly held candy, there were other things that caused red stains to cover the otherwise white linen. Half the things face was missing, but that didn’t stop it from grinning wide as it lay eyes on Fluttershy.
Fluttershy launched herself into the air without hesitation, rising high into the sky once more. For a moment she completely lost her bearings. Fortunately it wasn’t long before the mist started to melt away, letting Fluttershy see what had become of Ponyville. It was a nightmare brought to life. Down below, the horrified pegasus could see the twisted forms of more ponies like the ones that had been in her bedroom. They moved among tattered Nightmare Night decorations and spilled candy. Some houses were burning bright, as fire spread over thatched roofs, while other homes stood dark save for glowing jack-o-lantern smiles. The worst part were the bodies...so many tiny bodies, still in their costumes. Some were dragging themselves around like the little creature Fluttershy met at Twilight’s door, others painfully still. What was worse was when she found clusters of them...eating and laughing. The strange ponies were thickest near the center of town, but they were spreading in all directions. They ate as they went, parading through the streets by the light of jack-o-lanterns. Their laughter carried on the wind, as well as their child-like song “Nightmare Night, what a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!” Fluttershy shivered uncontrollably. The shock of what she had been through, what she now witnessed, was finally setting in. She needed to land.
Fluttershy had no idea where to go. No matter where she flew, the jerky, stop motion movements of these terrifying ponies greeted her. Or worse, the half eaten remains of somepony Fluttershy once knew, somepony she had talked to or avoided talking to. Somepony she’d never have the opportunity to get to know. This was worse than a nightmare. With no other choice, she fled for the cover of the Ever Free Forest. Instinct told her to hide and hope that whatever was happening, somepony else could fix it. It wasn’t until she was shivering in the dark beneath the trees, her heart still thundering in her chest, that she realized she had a sweet taste in her mouth. Of all the odd things to happen tonight, this might have been the oddest, though not the most horrible. Not once in the entire, terrible escapade had Fluttershy eaten a single piece of candy. She had no way of explaining it at all. Yet the sweetness was there in her mouth...making her stomach roil in displeasure.
She just knew she was going to be sick.
Please stop mister. No more. I can’t take anymore!
Subject has expressed a desire to cease for the day. Suspending this cycle while the testing chamber is cleansed and the subject is prepared for the next round.
N-no...not again. I’ll be good. Please I’ll do whatever you want, just stop making me eat for a little while.
Preparing subject for manual evacuation.
Not again...oh Mum...Da. Anypony, please! Please help me! Make him stop! I can’t bare the pain, the humiliation!*wet noises*
Regurgitation and defecation complete. Continuing with notation while test chamber is cleansed. Batch five three three six: cocoa butter, salt, sugar, habanero pepper, a dash of a warming spell. Subject's response: pained and gagging, begging for water. Describes flavor as ‘like eating fire’. Suggest a different type of pepper, a milder spell, or increasing the amount of cocoa butter in the next round of testing.
W-why are you doin’ this to me mister? Wh-what did I ever do ta you?
Batch five three three seven: chocolate (cocoa butter, milk and sugar) layered over live grasshopper with a variant on the preservation spell to maintain freshness and technically keep the insect alive. Subject's response: positive until informed what she had been eating. Result: profuse vomiting. Suggestion, market confection as mystery crunch or as a delicacy to the aristocracy.
Why won’t you answer me?
Batch five three three eight: boiled sugar layered into a hard ball with the aid of a pressure spell. Subject's response: drew succulently upon said candy. When forced to chew for experimental purposes, some of the subjects teeth were broken. Blood and tooth chips spat from subject's mouth along with confection. Confection itself seemed unfazed. Suggestion, market candy as a ‘jaw breaker’ with warning about possible hazard. Supplementary note. Subject's teeth are deteriorating much quicker than previous Subjects. Suggest either reducing sugar content of remaining tests or Liquidation and acquirement of the next Subject.
L-liquidation? What are you talking about mister? Mister...please. When can I see my daddy? When can I go home? I’m sick of candy...I hate candy. I just want to go home to my momma. I promise I won’t tell a soul what you’re doing here...what you did to me. Just let me go...my teeth hurt, my tongue and throat burn, my stomach is killing me. If...if you won't let me go, at least feed me something other than candy!
Hmm...something other than candy? I may have just the thing. It’s possible it could stave off the need for liquidation. Yes...and it might just be worth observing. Batch five three three nine. Enjoy, Subject.
*Cough gag* what is this? It tastes spoiled. I mean...thank you mister, I’m really happy this isn’t more candy but...mmm...its so tough to chew.
Batch five three three nine. Subject indicates that the meat has a spoiled flavor and is difficult to chew. May have to allow for further aging to break down connective tissues. Application of heat might help with this, as well as the flavor, but advise avoiding this until a method of disguising the stench of cooking pony flesh can be devised.
P-pony flesh? W-what did you feed me?
Your father, young miss.
...What?
Or what was left of him. Most of him is in the midden heap by now, but I thought I’d keep a few scraps to try aging techniques on his meat. It’s chewy, you say? I’d hoped it would be fairly tender by now. Oh dear, retching again? I’ll have to reactivate the cleansing spells all over again.
Wh-why? Why would you do this to me? Daddy...daddy no...no...*sob*
Oh, do shut up.
“Well jeez, you don’t have to be so rude about it Scootaloo, I was just seeing how you girls were doing.” Pinkie Pie put on a hurt face, though it was hard to take it seriously while she was balancing a cake on her head.
“I’m sorry Pinkie, I didn’t mean to snap,” apologized the pegasus filly as she stirred the contents of a large bowl with a wooden spoon. “Thanks again for letting us use the kitchen while you're working. It’s just that making candy is a lot harder than somepony made it out to be.” Sweetie Belle smiled guiltily as Scootaloo glared at her. The pegasus hadn’t known it was possible to burn taffy, but the brittle black substance congealing at the bottom of a pan soaking in the kitchen sink was proof that if it could burn, Sweetie Belle would find a way.
“It’s okay,” smiled Pinkie Pie, her sunny disposition quickly melting away her cloudy expression, “I’ll be back here in a little while to help you out. I just have a few more orders to fill and a couple of customers to clean up after and then we can really get this candy making experiment underway!” Pinkie Pie darted out of the kitchen, the cake on her head doing a slight pirouette in the air thanks to the suddenness of her exit.
Sweetie Belle arched an eyebrow, “You told her we were doing experiments with candy?”
Scootaloo sighed heavily and tipped the contents of her bowl onto a sheet of greased paper. “No, I told her we needed to make candy for school. She got it in her head that it was some kind of science project. She thinks if we were going to get a good grade we should experiment with different flavors and additives to see if we could come up with some ‘stupenderific’ new flavors. Honestly I don’t care what it tastes like, so long as it looks like candy. It’s not like we have to eat what we make.”
“That’s...probably a good thing.” Sweetie Belle blushed. She hadn’t only managed to burn the toffee to a crisp, but somehow she had turned the chocolate into a bubbling tar like mess as well. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been more help.” For once she could admit she didn’t know the first thing about cooking. That didn’t stop her from trying, but even her boundless optimism was threatened by their situation. It had been nearly a week since they had made their bet with Diamond Tiara and Nightmare Night was tomorrow. Despite having had a week to prepare, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had not managed to make much candy. They tried, it was just that it felt like there was something actively trying to hold them back.
Scootaloo sighed heavily. “It’s not your fault. Applebloom has more work to do at home than at school, so tonight will be the first and only time she’s going to contribute anything. I’m glad she’ll have a chance to make sweets with her sister Applejack, but the two were already going to make caramel apples for tomorrows festival. I hope she has time to make extra treats on the side." Scootaloo shook her head in doubt and frustration. "Even if she does, I can’t help but think Applebloom’s help is going to be too little too late.” She took the bowl and spoon she had been using to the sink and ran warm water over both.
“And I know you tried Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo continued as the water filled the bowl. "But your attempts to make candy with Rarity were pretty much doomed from the start. With her being so busy selling dresses and costumes for Nightmare Night, you were lucky to make the few pieces you did," she turned off the water and went back to the counter she was working at, wiping a bit of perspiration from her brow. "Pity that Rarity insisted they be made with only fresh, gourmet ingredients and primped and shaped and molded into something that no pony will ever believe came from our trick or treating.” It was true. The treats Sweetie Belle had managed to make looked more like wedding cakes than candy. So really it was down to Scootaloo. Fortunately, though she had the least experience with trying to prepare food, it seemed the pegasus had a knack for it.
”I know, but I’m here to help you now,” rallied Sweetie Belle, “Between you and Pinkie Pie, you’ve already made a small mound of candy. We should have enough in no time!” The truth of the matter was that since Scootaloo was essentially having to take up the slack for her other two friends, the pegasus filly was getting a little testy, and perhaps rightfully so. She was, however, getting the job done. Though this had all been Sweetie Belle’s idea, and now she was doing the lion’s share of the work, Scootaloo was actually enjoying herself. Working with Pinkie Pie making treats was actually a lot of fun. That was one of the only things that seemed to be going their way. Pinkie Pie was completely oblivious to what they were actually doing, and even if she did find out, Scootaloo wasn’t sure the mischievous pink pony would care. Just to be on the safe side, they’d kept her from seeing the book pages that Scootaloo was using for most of her recipes. It was going to be a close thing, but if Scootaloo kept at it, they should have enough candy to win the bet and finally put Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara in their place.
“Yeah, well, hand me that bag of granulated sugar, would ya?” asked Scootaloo as the two fillies continued making one semi-edible treat after the other.
Meanwhile Pinkie Pie bustled about her business, working the front counter of Sugarcube Corner. The entire bakery had been transformed into something of a haunted house. Cobwebs hung here and there, along with ghosts and bats, and more than one fake skeleton was posed humorously on extra chairs. It was unclear if anypony but Pinkie really appreciated the holiday decor, but it hadn't hurt business. Most of the dine in customers that came in for afternoon snacks had left so now she was just gathering up any dirty plates and restocking the display case. There would be a few take-out customers later, the bakery did brisk trade after all, but things always seemed to wind down in the afternoon. Pinkie Pie was just putting more bat and pumpkin shaped cookies into a skull shaped jar on the counter top when she heard the bell to the shop door ring. It was odd to get a customer at this time of day but Pinkie Pie was ready to greet them with her biggest, most cheeriest smile. As soon as she saw who it was, however, her face fell. “Oh, hello Twilight. Shall I go get Mrs. Cake so she can take your order?"
“No, I’m not here for treats.” said the unicorn, a little gruffly. “Though I’m sure they’re delicious and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them! And before you say anything else, I’m not here to fight with you either Pinkie!” Pinkie Pie lowered her hoof. Twilight had preempted everything she was about to say, so for once, the pink pony was speechless. Celestia’s favorite student smiled sheepishly and started to pull something out of her saddle bag. “I came to apologize Pinkie. We haven’t really been on proper speaking terms this past week or so and I realize now that was mostly my fault.” She set the book “Ye Olde Tricks and Treats” on the counter between them. It still looked old and beat up, but it was clear most of the pages had been rebound to the weathered spine.
“Mostly your fault, huh?” Pinkie Pie eyed her suspiciously,”Did you read it?” she nudged the book with one hoof as if she expected it to jump up and skitter away like a living thing.
Twilight frowned, “Yes I did. I’ve got to say Pinkie, I can see why you’d be so upset now. A lot of these old myths and legends are down right blood curdling. The horror stories of today have nothing on these old folk legends. Some of them I’ve come across before, but never in such graphic detail. The one about the Headless Horse...” Twilight Sparkle’s words trailed off and she visibly shivered. “I don’t think I’ll be able to tell that story at slumber parties anymore. I just wanted to say I’m sorry I got so mad at you Pinkie Pie.”
A sappy smile spread over Pinkie’s face as she said, “Don’t worry about it, Twilight. We were both kind of at fault. I certainly didn’t mean to tear the book apart between us.” Without warning, Pinkie vaulted over the counter and hugged her friend tightly. Twilight was surprised at first, but then reciprocated the gesture of affection, bringing a happy end to an unhappy feud. They parted and the party pony’s face grew uncharacteristically serious. “I hope you can see why I’m worried about the girls now though. Even if it is all just stories, there’s bound to be a grain of truth in at least one of them. Just like the story of the Mare in the Moon. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I’m not one for believing in superstitions Pinkie, but when it comes to you, I’m willing to put logic aside and accept certain things on a little faith.” Twilight smiled and nudged her friend playfully. “Just don’t push it. We’ll work together and make sure everypony has a fun and safe Nightmare Night. Where have the girls been by the way? I haven’t seen the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ since they were helping you put up decorations.”
“Oh, they’ve been super busy, just like me! They’ve been making candy for a school project or something and I’ve been helping out when I can. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are in the kitchen right now. I promised I’d give them a helping hoof once I finished out here.” A thought seemed to occur to her. “Oh, hey, do you want to help out too Twilight?”
“Uh, I don’t really know the first thing about cooking Pinkie. I know how to conjure a few mana strudels and that’s about it.”
“Oh come on , it’ll be fun!”
“I don’t know-”
“Pleeaasee~?”
Twilight looked into her friends huge pleading eyes and sighed. She just finished making up with her, and already her friend was trying to get her to do things that would throw off her daily schedule. Still, she didn’t want to threaten that fledgling peace by denying her friends request...even if she really didn’t have the time for something as silly as making candy for a school project. Actually, come to that, why would Cheerilee possibly want her students making candy right before Nightmare Night? Wouldn’t there be plenty of candy after everypony went trick or treating? Something here didn’t exactly add up. “Sure Pinkie, why not? Lead the way.”
Scootaloo was just finishing up her last batch of peppermint swirls when Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle came into the kitchen. This would have been fine but Sweetie Belle was looking over the torn pages, from the book Twilight Sparkle had just finished mending. This was not the bets time to see if there was anything she thought she could make that might not burn. Things kind of got a bit out of control from there. “What are you two doing!?” bellowed Twilight sparkle.
Sweetie Belle hastily tried to hide the pages as Scootaloo smiled as innocently as she could manage. “Hi Twilight! Fancy seeing you with Pinkie Pie! I guess this means you two made up?” Twilight Sparkle glared at the pegasus filly as Sweetie Belle fell off the stool she was sitting on and the torn pages went everywhere. “Oh and what are we doing? Um...just, making candy for a school project. Right, Pinkie Pie?” One of the pages landed gently in front of the pink pony’s hooves. Pinkie Pie was not smiling.
“Is that what you’re doing Scootaloo? Because to me it looks more like you’re using up Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s supplies to win the bet you made with Diamond Tiara...”
“And using stolen property from the Ponyville Library to do it!” finished Twilight Sparkle as she used her magic to gather up the torn pages from “Ye Olde Tricks and Treats”. “I knew that there were some pages missing, but I had thought it they had either crumbled to dust or had gotten lost in the library. How could you girls take these pages without permission?”
The pair of fillies looked down guiltily. “We’re sorry Twilight, but Diamond Tiara always cheats at these sorts of things. We just thought we’d even things up. We didn’t mean to hurt anypony. I promise we were gonna give the pages back.,” said Sweetie Belle. “Just...not before Nightmare Night.”
“You lied to me Scootaloo?” asked Pinkie, the slight twitch of her lower lip showing she was clearly hurt.
“Well...all I ever said was that we were making candy for school. Which was true, we thought Diamond Tiara might finally stop bullying us if we could beat her just one time.” Even as she said it, she could see that this answer was not good enough for the pouting pony. “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. We should’ve been honest from the start. I guess we just weren’t thinking straight.”
“I’ll say you weren’t! When your teacher hears about this I’ll bet she’ll-” Pinkie Pie put up one hoof over Twilight's mouth before she could finish speaking. She seemed to be staring at the pages as they floated in Twilight’s magical grasp. Her eyes narrowed.
“Did you make all the candy this week from the recipes on these pages?” asked Pinkie, seriously.
“Well, most of it, yeah. Why?” asked Scootaloo perplexed. She had expected the two older ponies to be chewing them out, not asking questions with obvious answers.
"Twilight, we need to gather up all of this candy and take it to Nightmare Moon’s statue, NOW!” said Pinkie Pie, suddenly alarmed.
Twilight looked as confused as the girls did. “I don’t really think that matters right now Pinkie.”
“It’s the only thing that does matter Twilight, because I think I know what story these recipes come from.” The pink pony quickly moved into action. She tipped the unfinished treats Scootaloo had been working on into the wastebasket and started going around the kitchen, gathering up other sugary candies and snacks from the pantry. “What’s the title, on the first of those three pages?”
It took a moment for Twilight Sparkle to sort through the pages. She knit her brow as she read, clearly thinking this was all more of Pinkie Pie’s silliness. However, when she found the page in question, her face paled. “The Candy Mare.” Twilight dropped the ancient pages carelessly and scrambled to help Pinkie Pie. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat where they had this entire time, watching the two older ponies freak out as they gathered up all their hard work. They were used to seeing Pinkie do strange things with frantic energy, but watching Twilight snatch up every last piece of candy corn as if the fate of the world depended on it was a disturbing sight to say the least.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared a glance. The white unicorn shrugged. She was as clueless as Scootaloo. “Uh...who or what exactly is the Candymare?” The two older ponies paused in their frenzy long enough to glance at one another. A silent question passed between the two. Pinkie Pie nodded, and continued gathering treats. Twilight cleared her throat, a bit nervously, and began to tell a story.
"Once upon a time..."
Once upon a time, in the land where ponies lived and played before the founding of Equestria, there was a filly who dreamed of nothing more than seeing the castle where the noble unicorns lived.
But the filly was the daughter of poor earth ponies, and their lot was to farm the land even as the enchanted winter of the Windego’s withered their harvest and choked their fruits on the vine.
Despite their hardship, the tiny family was happy, for the filly blessed her mother and father with smiles and love that helped them bear their burdens.
The filly’s father, knowing of his daughters wish to see the castle, made arrangements with a business partner to allow her into the city for one day, and one day only. (For in those day, earth ponies could only be in the city on business.)
The filly was delighted when her father told her the news. She was even more delighted when she beheld the castle town first hand! She wanted to see everything, to take it all in, but her father still had business to do, so they met with his partner.
Now Lemon Drop, the unicorn, was the owner of the candy shop in the castle town. Though the children loved him, they didn’t know that he had a twisted heart.
Lemon Drop didn’t understand children, and he couldn’t taste anything sweet, only sour. He made his living on recipes his grandmother had written down, but he could never get the flavors quite right. Slowly, he was losing money. Soon he would lose his shop.
But Lemon Drop had a twisted heart, as I said, and he had formed a twisted plan. In those days nopony cared if a pony from one of the other tribes disappeared, and it wasn’t hard to entice earth ponies to bring their children to see the city.
He would let them come into his shop and eat his sweets. Then he would kill their parents and spirit the fillies and colts away, forcing them to eat all of his strange and twisted attempts at making better candy.
A similar fate was to befall the happy filly of our story, and her father, when they visited Lemon Drop’s shop. A similar, horrible fate, yet different in ways too terrible to imagine.
For those children whom Lemon Drop often stole away would shortly die, unable to live on candy alone. But this little filly, with her heart so full of love for life, did not. She lived. And lived. And lived.
A breakthrough! It’s astonishing to say the least, but I think, no I know, that all my hard work has finally paid off! The current Subject's body grew stiff and still after introducing new batches of confections laced with preservative spells and trace elements of alchemy. I’d thought to have run into another failure, another brick wall, but shortly the Subject awoke with the most delightful fit of laughter.
*thump*
While it was true she was babbling something about having a bad dream, the Subject was absolutely begging to try various batches of candy, both new and old. The Subject has been eating non-stop for hours with every sign of relishing my candy craft! I will need to research why the other Subjects failed to survive this round of testing while the current Subject seems to be thriving, but for now it’s all I can do to keep her hunger satisfied.
*Thump*
That sound in the background of this recording is the Subject throwing herself at the walls repeatedly. I was worried at first she might injure herself as some of the other Subjects had attempted before her, but she seems to calm whenever she is fed. All she wants is to eat my candy. I’ve never seen such an appetite for what I have to offer! I think for the first time I understand why my family was so dedicated to this business!
*THUMP**CRASH*
Hold on, what’s this? Somepony is in the main shop. Who’s there? I warn you, I will call the castle guard if you try to steal any of my creations. What? Little miss...what are you doing out of the testing chamber?
...hungry...
Hungry? Of course, of course, I’m working on another batch of confections for you right now. Just go back to the testing chamber...there’s a good girl.
...but it's Nightmare Night...heh...
Nightmare night. You said that before...hmm...perhaps my experiment isn’t quite the success I’d hoped. Still, come along, we’ll see what we can do in the next phase of testing.
...but it’s Nightmare Night...oh what a fright...I hunger...I need...I want...Oh, please, please, pleasepleaseplease...give me something sweet to bite bite BITE!...heheheh...
What are you doing? No...no, no!
Heheheheheh...so sweet...fresh meat.
Lemon Drop was found, but his twisted heart, and much of his twisted body was not. Not all at once, at least. That night an entire castle of ponies vanished. In those days, nopony cared if a pony from another tribe were to disappear. It wasn’t until the next day when the earth ponies came to make their daily deliveries, and one particular mother came looking for her daughter and husband, that the grizzly discoveries were made.
There was no real explanation, but whispers began to spread through the various tribes of a monster that begged for treats, but was more than happy to feast on the flesh of ponykind. The creature haunted the edges of society, hiding in the depths of dark forests and bogs. It was said it would lure children away if it had the chance, never to return.
It was worse one night out of every year, the anniversary of the unicorns disappearance. Soon the tribes came to call it the Nightmare Night. Parents would disguise their children and themselves in costumes on that night and leave piles of treats outside of their doors, hoping and praying to fool or please the monster. Many stayed up all night, waiting for the first rays of daylight to drive away the darkness that preyed upon their lives. For it was found strong light could drive the beast back, but not away...not for long. Only sunlight seemed to lay the creature to rest, only for her to rise again come the night.
Over the years this monster that had been a little girl seemed to delight in punishing all of ponykind. Those she could not devour, she tormented with mean spirited tricks and traps, often as deadly as an encounter with the monster itself.
Those houses that left out treats seemed to fare better, but none were spared her wrath. Perhaps she was merely playing with her food...as she was quick to follow ponykind to Equestria after it’s founding.
It wasn’t until the rise of the Pony Sisters that this creature was at last driven back permanently into the darkness. Luna, the Mare of the Moon, tracked down the beast and purified it with moonlight, making it fall dormant, in the dark of night just as it would in daylight. Thus, it was that the Candy Mare, as she was known, was rendered not but candy. This Luna further purified and scattered.
So it is that we honor Luna on Nightmare Night by gathering treats in her name and offering them as tribute to she who saved us from the Night Mare, the Candy Mare. May this story be tribute to her throughout the ages. Leave you a few treats to be purified by the image of the Mare of the Moon. And may the Candy Mare never rise again.
“So the recipes-” began Scootaloo.
“Are a list of the different confections that Lemon Drop force fed his victims,” Twilight finished for her. “The story was vague on why the list was included, only to say that the creation of such treats are expressly forbidden. Apparently a large part of the reason for the tributes paid to Nightmare Moon were actually part of a purification ritual to render candy, all candy in Equestria, safe to eat.”
“Um...that’s not what Cheerilee taught us in school,” said Sweetie Belle, breaking the silence that followed the last of Twilight Sparkle’s words.
“That was one wild story Twilight. Do you really think the candy we made is...what...a recipe to make a monster?” said Scootaloo nervously, a disbelieving chuckle in her voice.
“I don’t know what I believe girls, but I know you’re in a lot of trouble, and we may be in even more trouble if we don’t do what the story suggests. There is a bit of residual magic around the statues of Nightmare Moo- I mean Luna. If it is some kind of purification spell from ancient times that clings to her image, then it won’t hurt to leave this ill gotten candy out there as tribute.” This was all that Twilight said before continuing to help Pinkie gather up all the treats Scootaloo had worked so hard to make.
For her part, Pinkie Pie already had on her scarf and two bulging burlap sacks strapped across her back. With a stern look, she was heading out the back door and towards the edge of the Ever Free Forest. Neither filly had ever seen such a severe look on the usually chipper ponies face. For the first time they grasped just how much trouble they were really in. There was no way they could possibly win their bet now.
“Have you noticed that its always kind of dark here?” asked Pinkie Pie in hushed tones as she and Twilight drew near the statue of Nightmare Moon. The trees seemed to shift back and forth against the purple hues of the oncoming twilight. Leaves danced gently between the two ponies, the harsh skittering sound of the playful wind putting the pair on edge.
“It’s just because the Ever Free Forest has such dense foliage. It absorbs much of the light from above, even though we’re only at its edge,” responded Twilight Sparkle, though a little less confidently than she normally would.
It was true that the forest was thick, even in autumn, but the sky above the statue always seemed to be choked with dark, forbidding clouds even when the rest of Equestria was enjoying a sunny day. There was an air of magic and gloom here that always seemed slightly out of place, save during the darkest of nights. Twilight Sparkle hadn’t thought about it before, but it did seem odd that there would be a statue to Nightmare Moon here. She was a creature whom many ponies had feared in the past, even when she was locked away as the Mare in the Moon. One would have thought such an image would have been torn down or replaced, not left to brood out in the middle of nowhere. And for such an old statue, there was no moss or vines growing on its surface. Indeed, the entire thing seemed to shimmer slightly in the dying rays of the setting sun.
“I dunno about all that Twilight. All I know is I want to get rid of this creepy candy and get back home. This place is giving me a bad case of the twitch’a’twitches.” Pinkie set down her bags of candy before the statue of Nightmare Moon and retreated out of the way so Twilight could do the same. It wasn’t until the unicorn had set her bag before the image of the Princess of the Night that the pink pony breathed a sigh of relief.
“Well...uh...I guess we better go give Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo a lecture,” said Twilight, a bit uncertainly. A slight shift in one of the sacks of candy caught her eye. It almost looked like something was moving inside the bag, but that was a silly idea. She was about to mention it to Pinkie when a sudden peal of thunder rumbled nearby. Looking up the pair of ponies noticed the sky was turning pitch black over the Ever Free Forest. The forest often had its own wild weather patterns, untamed by pegasi as the rest of Equestria’s weather was. It seemed that while Ponyville behind them was settling into a calm, if foggy night, the Ever Free Forest was in for a downpour. The wind began to howl mournfully around the statue of Nightmare Moon as forks of brilliant lightning licked over the sky in long, skeletal branches. The wind turned bitterly cold.
Pinkie Pie’s teeth started chattering like mad. “Uh, yeah, great idea Twilight! Lets get to lecturing!” The pink pony grabbed her friend suddenly and ran so fast from the small clearing that they were little more than a streak of pink and purple. Behind them the contents of the bags of candy shifted again.
Perhaps it was fortunate that the only ears present were made of stone, for the sound of childish laughter might have frozen the blood and stopped the heart of a more fleshly creature. A pale mist rose from the ground, and as it enveloped the clearing, the statue to Nightmare Moon was struck by a thick bolt of orange lightning. The statue was completely destroyed. Yet as the dust cleared, something stood motionless in the smoking crater that was left behind, surrounded by empty bags. Something that smiled.
"...hungry...."
“I can’t believe we have to tell Applebloom that we’ve been forbidden from trick or treating!” shouted Scootaloo in exasperation.
"Calm down Scootaloo, it's not so bad," comforted Sweetie Belle.
“It’s bad enough we have to help Spike pass out candy at the library, but I don;t think I can handle seeing the look on Applebloom’s face when we tell her we can’t even collect a single piece of candy for ourselves.” Scootaloo propelled herself along the dirt road half halfheartedly on her scooter, the dejected look on her face mirrored by Sweetie Belle as she walked beside her. It was a strange picture on so sunny a day, especially as the pair were wearing costumes. Scootaloo was dressed up as Mare-Do-Well, though she wasn’t wearing the mask right now. Sweetie Belle was wearing a robot costume made out of the cardboard boxes Rarity’s material had come in. She’d made it herself and she would have worn it proudly if it weren’t for their current circumstances.
“At least we’ll be able to spend Nightmare Night together,” said the unicorn filly, trying to cheer up both herself and Scootaloo, unsuccessfully. Rarity had been pretty mad when she found out that the decorative delicacies she had crafted were not only made for the purposes of cheating on a bet, but were also from the recipe book of an apparent filly-napping murderer. “Look on the bright side. If we don’t collect any candy, then that means Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon won’t get any extra from us when they win the bet. We won’t have any candy of our own, but it’s only a couple of months until Hearths Warming. Then there will be loads of sweets and a nice long break from school so we don’t have to look at their smug faces!”
“I guess so,” said Scootaloo sulkily as they turned up the drive to Sweet Apple Acres. It was weird, after looking forward to this day for weeks with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension, to suddenly have Nightmare Night just be another school night. Thinking about it, she had to admit that she ought to be thankful they were still being allowed to participate in Nightmare Night at all. Neither Pinkie, nor Twilight, seemed to think that they needed to be that severely punished, but there was no way they were going to let them do anything that might let them win the bet now. They’d just have to sit back and take the teasing from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon yet again and enjoy what little of their Nightmare Night they could without trick or treating.
As they drew closer to the house, moving among the apple trees that were now stripped bare of their leaves, a wave of apprehension washed over the pair. Neither of them noticed it at first, but there were no birds singing, nor any squirrels darting about among the fallen leaves. Everything was still, there wasn’t even a breath of wind. The pair silently walked up to the front porch, neither realizing that they were holding their breath as they knocked at the front door. They stood there for a moment, fidgeting, their costumes suddenly hot and uncomfortable despite standing in the shade.
Finally Scootaloo lost her patience, “Applebloom! Applejack! Are you home!? We got something we need to tell you!” She pressed her ear to the slightly peeling wood, hoping to hear the sound of somepony coming to answer the door. She didn’t know why, but she’d even be happy if Granny Smith answered them at this point. “Where is everypony?”
“Maybe they’re all already in town?” thought Sweetie Belle aloud. A door slammed, causing the pair of fillies to jump as one. They whirled in time to see the door of the barn, not far from where they stood, swing inward on broken hinges. “Or maybe they’re in the barn?” The pair walked the short distance to the big building. A pile of ashes stood in front of the barn door. As they drew nearer to the dark portal of the open barn door, both fillies slowed. Bits of wood were scattered all around the threshold, and it was clear that something had severely damaged the barn. Neither filly seemed too thrilled with the idea of going inside.
“Hello?” tried Scootaloo. “Is anypony there?” All was silence for a moment. Just for a moment. Then a soft giggle, barely more than a whisper, seemed to drift from the darkness.
“Oh, hi girls, it's so good to see y’all! Whut brings y’all out this way?” The voice was Applejack’s. She sounded friendly, but the farm ponies voice was also distant and hollow. Almost as if she were at the back of a cave, not inside a barn. Something moved towards them from the shadows, but they couldn’t quite make out what.
“We were just coming to pick up Applebloom,” said Sweetie Belle. Something made her hold back from telling Applejack why.
“Well that’s alright. We were just finishing up with these delicious caramel apples! You two want to come inside and try a couple? I’d sure as shootin’ appreciate yer feedback on how they turned out!” There was an echo to Applejack’s voice as she moved closer. She was still just inside the barn and all they clearly make out was a pony in a hat.
“Nah that's okay,” Scootaloo said, edging away from the broken door. “We just want to grab Applebloom and get back to Ponyville. Where did you say she was?”
“Well like Ah said little missy, she’s in here with me. Here Ah’ll get her for ya! Applebloom, yer friends are here ta see ya!” Applejack turned and faded into the darkness. A few moments passed and another, much quieter voice drifted from the shadows.
“Hey girls, what’s up?” A filly’s face floated like a tiny moon, just barely moving into the light. The red bow in her hair was a dead give away though, even in the shadows
Sweetie Belle didn’t understand why, but both she and Scootaloo sighed with relief. “Not much Applebloom. But we’ve got some bad news. Pinkie Pie and Twilight figured out what we were doing.”
“They took away all the candy I made,” added Scootaloo.
“And they said as punishment we’re not allowed to go trick or treating tonight to get any candy for the bet,” finished Sweetie Belle.
“Yeah, we have to pass out candy with Spike at the library instead,” said Scootaloo making a face. “I hope your not too upset.”
“Why would Ah be upset?” asked the voice of their friend “We’ll get to hang out together all the same. So what if’n we can’t go trick or treatin’, we can fill up on some delicious caramel apples now and then eat up some more tasty treats later. Come on inside! The apples are absolutely delicious!”
Neither Scootaloo nor Sweetie Belle had expected this kind of reaction. Of the three of them, it was Applebloom that often took Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s teasing the most to heart. The candy had never really mattered to her, it was beating those two snobs that was her first priority. “Uh...that’s okay Applebloom,” said Sweetie Belle. “We really ought to get going. It’ll be sun down soon and we had best be at Twilight’s before it starts getting dark. She’ll be really mad if she thinks we’re trying to skip out on our punishment. Are you ready to go?”
Silence descended again, and for a moment neither of the girls knew if their friend was still there. Then Applebloom replied, “No, Ah’m not ready.” She paused again, and then quickly added, “Ah need help putting on my costume. Can you girls come in here and give me a helpin’ hoof? Then we can grab a few candy apples and be on our way.”
“Why don’t you just get Applejack to help you?” asked Scootaloo suddenly suspicious. Both she and Sweetie Belle had backed far away from the barn by now. “And why does your voice sound so weird?”
“What do you mean?” asked Applebloom, her voice barely more than a whisper. An echo of an echo.
“Why do you and your sister want us to come in there and eat candy apples?” whispered Sweetie Belle, her eyes locked on Applebloom’s face. Slowly that face rose, inch by inch, until it hovered high over the pair. It’s mouth hung open as it moved forward into the sunlight, exposing empty eye sockets and one fleshless cheek. Dried blood was matted around its mouth and eyes, and something else. Something brown and shiny. Caramel.
“What’s the matter with you girls!? Don’t ya like apples!?” said Applebloom’s voice as her grotesque, severed head mimed the words. Piercing childlike laughter echoed inside the barn as the head shot out of the darkness and rolled at the fillies hooves. Both girls screamed, backing away from the horrible sight. “It doesn’t matter! It’s NIGHTMARE NIGHT! WHAT A FRIGHT!” howled many voices. They swiftly faded to a child’s whisper, the hushed tones of a promise, “Soon there will be so many...sweets...to...bite.”
The laughter and the image of Applebloom’s eyeless skull filled the fillies minds as they stumbled over their own hooves to get to Scootaloo’s scooter. They had to tell somepony. This horror was completely beyond them. There had to be an adult who would know what to do. Scootaloo might not have been much of a flier, but she could burn rubber, even with a friend holding tight to her waist. Tiny wings humming, she and Sweetie Belle were a blur as they roared down the road back to Ponyville, trying to outrun the setting sun and the memory of what they had just seen.
Twilight was squeezing into her Nightmare Night costume as the first trick or treaters knocked at her door. After her Star Swirl the Bearded costume fiasco last year, she’d decided to go for a more subdued outfit. With a pair of glasses she’d borrowed a few weeks ago from Granny Smith and a white lab coat, she had made herself a Mad Scientist with little trouble. It wasn’t an especially original costume, but it was better than wearing the frilly thing Rarity had tried to get her into. As she clipped her hair back into a conservative bun, the sound of the fillies and colts singing for treats downstairs almost broke her heart.
Yes, she and the others had decided that the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have to give up trick or treating for Nightmare Night as punishment for essentially stealing from her and Pinkie Pie both. Still, part of her thought it was a shame to take away such a fun activity, even from naughty fillies that deserved it. Maybe she would let them collect just a little candy, so long as they weren’t foalish enough to try and win the silly bet they had made. Everypony should have a little candy at Nightmare Night, after all. A commotion from downstairs almost made Twilight stab herself in the ear with a hair pin. She leaned over the railing to see Spike, dressed as a Knight in Shining Armor, struggling with a hairy beast for possession of the candy dish.
“Pinkie Pie, are you crazy!?” yelled Twilight, when she realized the monster had a smiling pink face sitting in the middle of it’s mouth.
“Nah, I’m a puppy! Well, technically I guess I’m also hungry.” Pinkie, in her dog costume, looked down at the dazed and confused Spike who was sitting with a half empty candy dish. “Sorry Spike, I guess I got a little carried away. Just trying to stay in character! Ruff ruff!”
“The character of a dog?” asked Twilight.
“No, a puppy!” grinned Pinkie Pie wagging her tail back and forth as if for emphasis. “Hey, great Dentist costume Twilight! That will scare a few candy chomping trick or treaters for sure!”
“I’m a Mad Scientist.” said Twilight, putting a hoof to her forehead. Her plan to go for a simpler costume had backfired on her already.
“Oh no! Why are you mad? Is it because you’ve got a headache?” asked the Pinkie Puppy, tilting her head to one side. Just then, a screech filled the night followed by a cloud of dust that washed into the library. Spike, Twilight, Pinkie, and the other trick or treaters all descended into coughing fits.
“Wh-what’s going on?” demanded Twilight between coughs. Before she knew it, two fillies were hugging her tight. She almost broke loose of their grasp, but stopped when she realized it was Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Both of them were shivering as if it were the middle of winter. Something had scared the daylights out of them.
“Oh Twilight, it was horrible!” said Sweetie Belle between sobs, starting and stopping. Pinkie Pie and Twilight did their best to calm the girls down as the other children decided now might be a good time to move on to other houses. It took awhile, but slowly what remained of the Cutie Mark Crusaders related what had happened at Sweet Apple Acres to Pinkie and Twilight. Neither pony understood what the fillies were talking about...until Scootaloo told them about Applebloom’s half eaten head being hurled from inside the barn. Twilight couldn’t help but have flashbacks to the story of the Headless Horse. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, seemed to grasp what was going on right away.
“I thought the book said that if we took the candy to Nightmare Moon’s statue it would be purified? I mean that's what the tradition is all about right!?” All the puppyish playfulness had fled from the pink pony as she grabbed Twilight by her lab coat, desperate for some kind of confirmation.
“I don’t know! That's what it sounded like the story meant to me. Ancient pony purification rituals aren't exactly something I'm well versed in!” Part of her thought this must be some elaborate prank, or some kind of trick for the trio to get out of their punishment. However, the look on the terrified filly's faces told her otherwise. “I just don’t know Pinkie! I’ve studied magic, history, and science, but I never bothered with superstitions. I thought it was just stories, made up by ponies trying to scare each other or explain phenomena they didn’t understand. I didn’t think any of it was real!”
“Why did you help me take the candy to the statue if you didn’t think it would do anything!?” demanded Pinkie, starting to panic.
“I...thought it would make you feel better," Twilight offered lamely. "And it was a good excuse to confiscate the candy.” She admitted, blushing as she said it.
“Uh...guys...what’s going on?” asked Spike, completely lost as to what was going on.
“What’s going on? What’s going on!? I’ll tell you what’s going on! The thousand year old spirit of Nightmare Night is alive and its coming to gobble us up!” Screamed Pinkie Pie, rising slightly into the air before landing, huffing and puffing from how bad she was worked up.
Spike just stared at her. then he started to laugh. “Hah! Good one Pinkie, you almost had me going!” Spike wiped a tear of laughter from his eyes, “Hey Twilight, I’m going to get some more candy from the kitchen. Somepony just cleaned me out.”
“Calm down Pinkie, you’re scaring the girls!” Twilight hugged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tight to try and reassure them. She wished someone could reassure her. “There’s got to be a logical explanation for this.”
“Sure Twilight, somepony chopped off Applebloom’s head and did a ventriloquist act with it for laughs.” Pinkie Pie said bitterly. She shook her head at how stubborn her friend was being. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have time to sit here while you try to come up with an explanation that makes sense to you. We’ve got to warn everypony to get off the streets and lock their doors. Nightmare Night is back, for real, and we’re the only ponies who can stop it!” Pinkie Pie turned and ran out the library, yelling at the top of her lungs for everypony to run for their lives. Everypony she ran past paused just long enough to laugh and then went right back to whatever they were doing. It wasn’t unusual to see Pinkie Pie running and screaming on Nightmare Night.
“What do we do Twilight? Should we try to warn everypony like Pinkie?” asked Scootaloo, looking up at the unicorn with soulful eyes.
"No, nopony would believe us given what night it is,” said Twilight, despairing. “But...maybe if we could convince somepony in authority. Like Mayor Mare! I bet she could get the word out. Once everypony knows what’s going on, I’m sure we can fix this!” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo smiled slightly. “Somehow...”
“Oh...my...Celestia! I can’t believe daddy dropped us off here to trick or treat!” Diamond Tiara was furious. It was bad enough daddy was actually making her collect her own candy this year, (Always before he’d have one of his underlings to do it for her.) but tonight he was making her go door to door at shops he did business with! These stupid little mom and pop shops were so cheap. They didn’t even have real candy on offer. If they had anything at all, it was the little lollipops or mints that they had year round for ponies who were shopping with their foals! She almost felt like ripping off her fairy princess costume, wings and all, and marching home.
“Calm down DeeTee. It’s only for a few hours and then we can head back to our side of town, like last year,” said Silverspoon, trying to calm her down. She was also dressed as a fairy princess, however Diamond Tiara had convinced her to leave her wings at home. (They had been larger than Diamond Tiara's, and if she had to put up with trick or treating, she wasn’t about to have her friend strutting around in a better costume than her.) She let her keep her crown though, otherwise how would anypony know they were both princesses? “Then we can get all the candy we want and put those three little blank flanks in their place.”
“This is so tedious.” The furious filly wasn’t willing to be comforted just yet. "I mean, what was the point in getting daddy to buy all that candy for us if we still have to go door to door!?"
“Lets just get this over with,” Silverspoon knocked at the door to Rarity’s Boutique. Many of the shops they’d been forced to visit so far had either been closed, or had somepony out front in a bad costume with a candy dish full of coupons. This was the first shop they’d actually had to knock at. They were about to turn to leave when a voice drifted from behind the door ~"Just one moment!"~ Diamond Tiara stamped her hooves and gave a little groan and Silverspoon just shrugged; they waited.
A chill breeze swirled a few wisps of fog along the mostly deserted street. It had been so empty before, it was mildly surprising when they noticed another filly skipping toward them, dodging and weaving between the pools of light from the street lamps. There was the sound of the laughter of children on the wind. “Oh great,” thought the snobby fillies as one, “Company.” The other trick or treater drew closer, giggling the entire way as she skipped up the drive towards them. As she came into the half-light spilling from the windows of Rarity’s Boutique, both fillies took an involuntary step backwards. The newcomer was covered in candy, from her head to her hooves. Every last part of her had a shimmering shining wrapper or sparkly sugar coating. Even her mane and tail looked like they were made from red and black licorice. She came to a stop just inches from Silver Spoon and stared at her with wide eyes that were hidden behind some kind of lollipop swirl lenses.
“Nice costume,” said Diamond Tiara sarcastically, expertly turning fear into unreasonable hatred in an instant. “What are you supposed to be, a walking pile of garbage?” The strange filly grinned, baring long sharp teeth. Each tooth had the yellow, orange, and white pattern of a candy corn. As her grin grew her body seemed to grow to match her smile. She wasn’t a filly, she was a full grown pony; No, she was even bigger than that! She reared back on her hind hooves and suddenly reached out to grab them with front limbs that had magically sprouted claws! The long sharp shards, of what looked like peanut brittle, snatched them up and dug deep into Silver Spoon’s tender flesh as she was lifted into the air. Blood spurted all over her dress, ruining it as she shrieked from the pain. The wires of Diamond Tiara’s wings spared her this initial agony, at least. Unfortunately that just meant that, as Silver Spoon cut herself deeper and deeper writhing like a trapped animal, Diamond Tiara had an excellent view of what came next.
The Candy Mare’s grin grew so wide, it looked like it would split off the top of her head. With a snicker that slithered over her face, her maw shifted, flowing from her head. The orifice traveled down her neck and over the length of the forelimb that held Silver Spoon’s blood drenched form. The teeth slid over Silver Spoon's skin like a band saw, gouging deep bloody rivulets into what little flesh remained undamaged, sending up a pink mist as bits of meat fell in chips and pieces. The filly howled in pain and terror as she was literally eaten alive, the 'mouth' opening and closing around her body as it gobbled her down a bit at a time. Finally, the Candy Mare's hoof swelled into a giant grin and swallowed Silver Spoon's torso and still screaming head. It sent a gush of blood dribbling over the beasts candy form when the mouth shrunk back down and crushed the half eaten filly like a grape. The mouth burped and grinned wide as the empty hoof was turned toward Diamond Tiara. Then, in the fillies own voice, the mouth said, “Nice costume, nice costume, nice costume!” over and over, bloody claws twitching around the gore soaked maw.
Diamond Tiara tried to break the monsters grasp, tried with all her might, knowing in her heart she was too young and rich to die. Laughing, a second mouth opened in the palm of the hoof that held her, taking several bites out of the unicorn's back as she struggled and squealed, blood gushing from her as it had from her friend. Something gave way, at last, and she dropped from the monsters grasp! She thought she had done it, gotten away, managing to slip out of the blood soaked wire that had become her fairy wings. She was about to run as fast as her hooves could carry her when she noticed she wasn't standing on solid ground, but soft, spongy liquorice. The tendrils of candy wrapped around her like living things, and coiled tightly around her little body. She could feel the ends probing the bite wounds in her back, the tendrils forcing their way under her skin. She could feel as each strand painfully slithered back and forth inside her flesh, moving deep inside her, through muscle and down to bone. In the last moment before she was ripped to pieces, she couldn’t help but think, “Thanks daddy.” The Candy Mare only laughed harder, dancing in the shower of viscera as she tore the filly apart above her head, gobbling up the goblets of pony gore with many candy mouths opening and closing all over her body.
“Sorry that took so long,” said Rarity as she opened the door. “I just couldn’t let myself be seen without the proper accessories, and my spider silk chiffon wrap is just so hard to see once you’ve set it down.” Rarity looked around at the scene on her front stoop. The spider ornament clipped in her expertly styled mane was particularly fetching. “Oh my...I guess they lost interest. Too bad, I’ve got an entire bowl of marshmallow bats and so far nopony has had the patience to take one.” Rarity frowned slightly. She noticed a single, beautifully wrapped piece of candy sitting on her stoop. Usually trick or treaters took candy, they didn’t leave it. Still, it would be a shame to let it go to waste. Looking back and forth up the road, she grabbed the candy with her magic, then turned and went back inside. She couldn’t see the lone trick or treater skipping merrily away in the thickening fog, nor the blood stains that trailed behind her as the street lamps flickered off one by one.
"Oh Mayor Mare, at last! I need to speak with you!” Twilight Sparkle had to yell to be heard over the thumping bass. The Ponyville costumed dance contest was in full swing, and the Mayor was sitting on stage watching everypony dance. Twilight wished they hadn’t gotten Vinyl Scratch, the famous DJ Pon-3, to MC for the celebration. The music was rattling the teeth in her skull, not to mention making it difficult to be heard.
“Good evening Miss Sparkle! What a lovely dentist costume!” said the mayor. She was dressed in the same clown outfit she wore last year. The rainbow wig hiding her hair, though her spectacles were still perched on her red clown nose.
“I’m not a...nevermind! I have to speak with you, it’s extremely urgent!” Twilight leaned in as close as she could, both so she could be more easily heard and to keep anyone nearby from overhearing. Not that there was much risk of that. “There’s a killer on the loose and everypony needs to go home!”
“What!?” hollered back the Mayor, clearly not understanding. Perhaps not even really hearing. Was her wig covering up her ears?
“I said...” the unicorn took a deep breath and screamed, “THERE’S A KILLER ON THE LOOSE AND EVERYPONY NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW!” The music chose that precise moment to end. Everypony on the dance floor stopped in mid-step and stared up at the stage where the Mayor and Twilight stood. The ponies who’d been playing festival games, even the ones bobbing for apples, faces still dripping, stared as well. DJ Pon-3 herself pushed her glasses up, a stunned look in her crimson eyes. For her part, Mayor Mare looked completely dumbfounded. That was until the first wave of laughter started in the audience. Then more laughter, nervous at first, followed quickly by the Mayor’s own heartfelt guffaws.
“Twilight, what a marvelous Nightmare Night prank!” exclaimed the clown Mayor between heartfelt laughs, “It wouldn’t be funny otherwise, but I don’t think anypony expected it from you! Lets have a round of applause for Miss Sparkle!” The sound of stomping and laughter was thunderous as Twilight whirled back and forth, trying to make somepony listen. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both were with her, shouting how it was true, how everypony had to listen. But the music had already restarted and their voices, as well as Twilight’s, were drowned out once more. They had missed their chance and ended up being dismissed just as Pinkie Pie had.
It might have ended there. Twilight could have given up and gone home with her head hung low. Or perhaps she could have had a stroke of genius and sent word to the Palace, to Celestia or Luna, to inform them about the terrible danger she feared they were in. Before any of those possibilities could come to pass, fog spilled into the center of town, dampening the light of the stars and choking the harvest moon. It crept in slowly at first, its tendrils muffling the distant delighted screams of trick or treaters. As the mist sleeted through the crowd, every electric light on the string of pumpkin lights that decorated the dance floor died, one by one. When the music suddenly cut off, the silence was immediately filled by the sound of a disappointed and confused crowd. The full moon rode fat in the sky above, its glow suffusing the scene in orange light. Nopony heard the laughter at first. Nopony, that is, but Twilight and the two fillies that had heard it before. It was quiet, but it had a way of worming into your soul.
At last, there she was, standing just inside the thickest part of the mists. Death smiling so happily, she seemed fit to burst! The Candy Mare grinned like a skull stripped of its flesh, her candy body glistening in the moonlight, already soaked from head to hoof in blood. Her mane, licorice whips, writhed like a nest of serpents. Sharp, jagged chunks of candy unsheathed all over her body like curling horns and claws. Tiny mouths opened and closed all over her form, issuing the sounds of childish mirth in a ceaseless babbel. As the the laughter seeped into every heart like ice water, it suddenly changed. Music returned to the town square as each tiny mouth sang in many voice: “Nightmare Night! Oh what a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!” and a new verse, “Poison, drowning, claw, or knife. So many ways to take your life!”
By this point even the dullest of the crowd had a good look at the mare made of candy. They took in the multiple mouths singing all over the creatures body, the blood stained teeth and claws, and the look of pure madness in her candy eyes. It was almost enough to start a panic, but there were still those waiting for the joke. Nightmare Night had never been this frightening. Surely this was just some magic trick at play.
A single tendril of liquorice reached out and snatched up a cute little colt. Was his name Pipsqueak? With a flick of a candy claw it was impossible to tell. His flesh was unzipped from his belly to his throat and in a single swift motion, his hide was torn from his flesh, leaving only meat on his tiny bones as his guts splattered on the dance floor. He twitched and squealed in agony, feeling the cold autumn air stabbing him from all sides like knives. The brain inside his fragile skull went into blessed shock rather than deal with the pain. Fortunate, as the Candy Mare chose that moment to hold his dripping form over her eager mouth. She began by slowly sucking the meat off his bones, showing every sign of relishing the taste, before worrying the tiny coil of intestines that spilled from his abdomen.
At a certain point, a sufficiently large gathering stops being a group of individuals and becomes a single, complex organism. Crowds are like that. A perfectly calm, rational being in other circumstances, can become a frothing hate monger in the wrong company, without ever really realizing it. Other times an individual who would otherwise be outgoing, and the life of a party, can become somber and morose in a gathering of mourning individuals. This effect varies in strength of course. Sometimes the organism is lethargic, others it is almost painfully alert. A crowd can be slow to action, and then there are other times when the mood can switch in an instant. In this instance, the panic was immediate. An ancient fear gripped the crowd in talons of pure terror, and more than a little madness entered every eyes as they began to stampede.
Ponies ran in every direction, trying futilely to get as far away from the monster that had come into their midst as possible. They trampled one another in their attempts to flee. As the decorations and festival stands were knocked over, more and more ponies became tangled up in the wreckage, or were literally crushed beneath the hooves of those who were trying to clamber over their prone forms. More and more of them became easy prey. From up on the stage, Twilight could see that many citizens were stomping one another to death in their struggle to escape from a fate they had never imagined. They killed one another in their eagerness to stay alive.
It was a scene out of a nightmare as the creature with the candy corn grin went to work. A group of ponies found their heads forced down into the tubs for the apple bobbing, licorice whips wrapped tight around their necks. Their bodies spasmed and thrashed as they drowned, their hooves still on dry land. Others, less fortunate, were being corralled into mouths that gaped all over the Candy Mare by long arms of living candy covered in snapping and flashing claws. Some ponies were torn to pieces before being gobbled, while others were swallowed whole. The least fortunate were those who found themselves at the mercy of whirring saw like structures of candy corn teeth. Bit's and pieces of their bodies littered the dance floor as they tried desperately to drag themselves away, abandoning their amputated limbs, some having only their torso's for locomotion. It wasn’t long until blood didn't just smear the dance floor, but actively began to puddle, then to flood. All was confusion as ponies slipped and slid in the darkness and fog. Twilight turned to the Mayor. Mayor Mare’s face had gone pale beneath her makeup and her eyes held the distant look of somepony in a trance. Perhaps she had been driven mad. There would be no help there.
They didn’t deserve this, the citizens of Ponyville. Somepony had to stop this now. Twilight leapt from the stage, her horn blazing with magic that lit the scene from hell in violet hues. “Stop right there you monster!” She yelled. “I won’t let you harm another pony!” Her rage and desperation were tempered by shock. To her surprise, the Candy Mare had indeed ceased her slaughter upon hearing her words. Her living candy mane slithered back to hang lifelessly from her skull. Her claws retracted and she visibly seemed to shrink. Even her mouth behaved, slithering back into place on her face, though it remained locked in a manic grin. Many ponies took advantage of the lull in the chaos to make their escape, while others were either too badly injured, stunned, or dead to move.
“A unicorn.” The monster whispered in a single tiny voice, sharp teeth clipping each word. “I used to love unicorns, ever so much. They were glorious...they could do anything! I wanted to see them. I wanted to know them. I wanted to be like them!” Was that remorse in that tiny voice? "And now I am!" With a gush of blood and madness from hundreds of tiny mouths, the Candy Mare's entire body morphed into a wall of claw covered candy tendrils that surged toward Twilight Sparkle.
Without a moment to spare, Twilight used her magic to fling a table in the oncoming creatures path. Smashed to splinters, the Candy Mare barely paused as she destroyed the impediment. However, Twilight had bought herself a few precious seconds to mount a better defense. The wave of death crashed against a magical bubble Twilight had hastily erected, the barrier blowing the questing tentacles into individual pieces of candy. A single clawed arm pierced the magic shell, slicing open Twilight’s cheek, but that was the extent of her injury before the arm exploded within the magical field. The monster roared in pain and outrage. Twilight merely lowered her horn and began to pick the creature apart, bit by bit, tearing huge hunks of candy from the beast. The Candy Mare reeled from the attack, staggering back, trying to move out of range of the unicorn's spells. Twilight paused when she realized the monster was sobbing. Wings and tendrils sprouted from her form, ripping not at pony flesh but at the air and earth. The injured candy pony was actually trying to flee!
“Don’t let it escape! If we don’t stop it here, it will haunt the dark places of Equestria, growing stronger, and come back again next year! Somepony, anypony, use your magic to help me end her now!” Vinyl Scratch was the first unicorn to join in the attack, her horn gleaming. Lyra, and a few other unicorns who were in the crowd, quickly followed suit. The Candy Mare rallied, sending out another clawed appendage that flayed open one of Lyra's legs, but didn't have enough force behind it to do any real damage. The unicorns focused their magic and began to blasts and rip masses of sweets away. They were literally taking the candy pony apart, piece by piece, weakening her until all she could manage was to writhe in an angry ball. By the time it was over, there was almost nothing left of the once terrifying monster. As the fog began to clear and the stars once again graced the night sky, a small, still form shivered and pulsed amid the scattered candy and pools of blood.
“This is the second time a unicorn has tried to killed me," croaked a voice just on the edge of hearing. The shriveled creature, filly sized, chunks of candy falling from her body, rose to its hooves. "He smelled a lot like you.” This seemed to be addressed to Twilight herself. The Candy Mare's words quivered, but not with anger as one would expect. Rather her voice had the real fear of a child at their core. One who should have been dead a long time ago. “He had so much power! I'm not sure there was anything he couldn't do. But he didn’t know how to use it. He didn’t know how to make friends. All he knew how to do was take. So he took what he needed from others." The Candy Mare really did look just like a filly now, one that was nothing but skin and bones, it's face in shadow. "Their friendship, their families, their lives. He just took and took and took. He never gave.” The candy filly moved in a series of jerks, as if she couldn’t make her limbs obey her anymore. The tenor of her voice changed. “But I learned to take as well, I did...and the first thing I took was his wretched life! I’ve been taking life, after life, after life, for thousands of years. So many sweets, even your Princess of the Night could only put me to sleep. She couldn’t stop me. You think you can do better? I have a question for you...all of you!” What was left of her continued to shrivel and peel away, collapsing on itself. The Candy Mare lifted her face to Twilight Sparkle, little more than an empty eyed skull, and grinned hugely as she hissed, “Trick or Treat?”
At the question, a wave of darkness lifted up the skull and sent it screaming through the air, trailing wisps of greenish fog behind it, aimed straight for Twilight’s face. She had no time to dodge or craft a counterspell. Closing her eyes against the maw of teeth that filled her vision, she braced herself for the pain of their bite. It was a pain that never came. A sound like a flower pot being smashed to pieces echoed in her ears. As she opened her eyes, she found Pinkie Pie standing over the shattered skull. Apparently, at the last moment, she had leaped out and smashed the howling skull into the earth. Pinkie ground one part beneath her hooves, gummy brains splattering her legs.
“So that part was made of sugar too,” mused the pink pony absently. “She’s kind of like a pinata. Well, if a pinata could haunt the darkness for thousands of years and prey on the flesh of the living.” She smiled grimly at Twilight. “It’s not over you know.” As she said this, Twilight could see that her friend spoke the truth. Bits of candy were rolling around the dance floor, trying to reform. A hoof was taking shape here, an ear over there. Even the sugar skull was trying to piece itself back together, one fragment at a time. Pinkie Pie took a deep breath, and then exhaled before saying, “There’s only one way to get rid of candy on Nightmare Night.”
To Twilight’s horror, Pinkie Pie put her head down into the mud and blood...and started to eat. The candy crunched loudly between her teeth, but once she’d swallowed it down, the other bits of living candy seemed to slow. Other ponies joined in, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle especially, eating up as much candy as they could find. Twilight felt a wave of revulsion as ponies ate sweets that still had bits of their friends stuck to them. Everypony seemed to understand that even the most contaminated pieces had to be eaten if they were going to put a stop to the Candy Mare. Swallowing her gorge, Twilight found a piece of slightly less blood soaked candy and did her best not to vomit as she joined in. The taste of blood and chocolate mixed disgustingly on her palate. As the fog cleared completely and the moon started to sink toward the horizon, the town square was filled with the sounds of ponies sobbing...and eating.
By the time it was all over, Twilight and her friends were all soaked scarlet. Twilight's once white lab coat was a lost cause, dyed almost completely crimson by the stinking fluids that had gushed from the Candy Mare...and from her friends dead and broken bodies. She, Pinkie, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle returned to the library together, the ordeal rendering them silent as they walked like automations through the streets. The mayor had snapped out of her trance long enough to assign a few ponies to gathering up the remains of the dead, helping the injured to the hospital, and cleaning up the town square. After giving out orders she immediately broke down into hysterical laughter and was lead away by a few kind ponies. Twilight suspected they would be electing a new mayor soon. She thought about that as they trudged through the dark street; about who might be the next mayor, about the library, about anything really, anything at all. Anything to keep from thinking about what they had seen, what they had done, and the sad, hateful little monster that had hurt so many. She had to distract herself, lest she too would need some kind ponies to guide her away.
The rest of the town seemed relatively untouched by the slaughter that had happened in their midst. It was likely that many were not even aware of what had occurred. Fillies and colts still went from house to house, trick or treating. Spike waved cheerfully to them as they came closer to the library. Without saying a word to one another, the four ponies decided to go around to the back entrance and hose off before going inside. Twilight dumped her costume into the trash bin before opening the backdoor and entering her home. The library was still decorated with bats. Twilight found herself unconsciously counting them over and over. She didn’t want to think about what she had to do next. The letter she would have to write to Celestia. What lesson had she learned from all this? Was it even a lesson worth learning? This is what she contemplated as she guided the two exhausted children upstairs.
After everything that happened she couldn't dream of sending them home just yet. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could spend the night tonight. Grabbing a few towels for herself and the shivering pair of friends, Twilight dried herself and the two fillies off thoroughly before tucking them into her bed. If need be she'd sleep in the guest bed tonight. Right now all that mattered to Twilight was that she hold the girls tight as they vented their emotions. They wept over having witnessed so much carnage and the loss of so many friends. Twilight could feel tears building at the corner of her own eyes as she at last allowed herself to think about what had happened. What she had done. What they almost all had done.
Technically they weren't guilty of cannibalism, but it was close enough that she feared many would be scarred for life by participating in that alone. Thinking about the faces of all those that they had surely...tasted on that cursed candy. Twilight bit her lower lip until it bled to try and hold the sobs in check. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle managed to cry themselves silently to sleep. Perhaps their thoughts were the same as her own. Twilight didn’t want to wake them with her own sobbing. Before she might lose control completely, she left her bedroom and went downstairs to where Pinkie Pie sat, the head of her puppy costume sitting sadly next to her on a low table. There was no removing the blood stains from around its mouth, but the pink pony seemed loath to part with it.
“How are they holding up?” asked Pinkie Pie immediately. Then after taking a good look at Twilight, “How are you holding up?”
“They’re sleeping now. I wish they could wake up and this would have all just been a bad dream. I wish we could all wake up...” Twilight's words failed her as she tried to gather herself. It was getting harder each time. “As for me, I...don’t know how I’m doing. I want to be strong. I need to be strong...but I’ve never seen or heard of anything so terrible in any of my studies in my entire life. Not even the chaos of Discord was half as horrible as...as this.”
“I know,” was all that Pinkie said as she wrapped her forelimbs around Twilight in a tight hug.
“How can you be so strong Pinkie?” asked Twilight. “When the rest of us were watching that...thing, try to piece itself back together you just...took care of things.”
Her friend just shook her head, “No, no shh." She squeezed her friend tightly as she said, "Twilight, you were the strong one. When all I could think to do was tell everypony to run, you actually stood up to that monster! All I did was eat a few pieces of candy.” Pinkie gave a self depreciating smile. Her words made Twilight feel a little better, but she knew it would be a long time before she would ever feel like she had done anything worthwhile. “I’d better head back to Sugarcube Corner soon to check on the Cake’s. Will you be alright on your own?”
Twilight nodded, though she wasn’t at all sure she really would be. She could feel fear gnawing in the pit of her stomach. More fear than she’d felt when she was facing the Candy Mare down. Facing a monster was somehow easier than facing the consequences of ones own actions. As she guided Pinkie to the front door, the fear seemed to grow inside her. She was about to tell Pinkie that she wouldn’t be alright, that she didn’t want to be left alone, when Spike opened the door and stumbled into the pair of ponies.
“T-T-Twilight...” stammered Spike. The front of the baby dragons costume was soaked with blood. His sharp teeth were bared in a horrible grimace, though there was no other expression he could make. His lips and most of his face had been ripped off. He hissed through his bloody teeth as he said, “I think there might be something wrong with Rarity...” before collapsing on the spot. Just outside, a single smiling jack-o-lantern lit the dark foggy night. Twilight didn't remember carving any pumpkins. The orange glow washed over a white, ghostly figure that stood on Twilight's front stoop. The thing chewed casually, callously, blood trickling from her mouth as she slurped down purple dragon flesh. The spider ornament in her hair was quiet fetching, though the rest of her body was oddly warped and swollen.
“No! Rarity, what are you doing!?” screamed Twilight. The white unicorn’s head tilted at her name and she began to walk slowly inside. As she entered the library, her skin began to brown, and then blacken. A smell that reminded Twilight of campfire’s tickled her nose. That was when she realized why Rarity looked so strange and puffy. Her body was nothing but marshmellow. The creature that had been Rarity made a strange keening moan and slunk back into the shadows. The lights inside the library began to flicker off and on as a wind rose out of nowehre. “I don’t understand. What’s going on? Why is this happening!?” Twilight turned to Pinkie, desperate for answers.
“I...don’t know, Twilight. But I...don’t feel...so good.” The pink pony doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach as she retched up a gout of blood and candy. She collapsed into her own vomit and began to writhe on the floor in agony. “It hurts! Oh it hurts so bad! Twilight...help me...please help me!” To her horror, her friends skin began to crack, blood seeping from the fresh wounds and Pinkie’s eyes and ears. Her big, blue, blood-shot eyes were forced out of their sockets and hung by their nerve endings as she gurgled, “MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT-” Her screams were choked off as her own intestines began to rise from her mouth, spilling with a wet slap on the floor of the library. At last, Pinkie Pie's body popped like a gore filled balloon, splattering viscera all over the library. Something new slowly stood where a pink party pony had once been. It still looked like her, after a fashion.
Darkness engulfed the library as every light died, save the harsh orange glow coming from the pumpkin on the stoop. Even by that dim light, however, it was plain that the pink pony's flesh had taken on the consistency of bubblegum and her mane and tail were now as cotton candy. In the sudden darkness, there was silence in the library.
It didn’t last long.
A susurrus of voices whirled through the books, flipping pages and flapping the wings of the fake bats. From Pinkie's former flesh something white and shiny began to move, began to piece itself back together. A shattered skull took shape, rolled and turned so that the empty eye sockets gazed up at Twilight. A spine began to wriggle from the base of the thing as it giggled and squealed "TRICK! TRICK! TRICK!" over and over as it rolled around in what was left of one of Twilight's best friends. Already, the Candy Mare was coming back.
“Nightmare Night...” a voice giggled. A new jack-o-lantern flared to life just below the Pinkie monstrosity's grinning face. Her teeth were pink needles of rock candy. “What a Fright...” another voice joined in as the thing that had once been Rarity came inside and politely closed the door behind her. As the door clicked Twilight ran, stumbling in a panic in the dark. She had to make it upstairs, she had to save the children, if nopony else! She wouldn’t let them be devoured in their sleep. As she clambered up the stairs, the twisted monsters that had once been her friends came calmly, if jerkily, behind her. As she made it to the landing, two small, grinning pumpkins awaited her. In their dusky light, Twilight could see it was already too late. Two pairs of gumdrop eyes glistened at her from a single gelatinous form that writhed amid a mire of blood and tangled sheets. In death, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had fused into a single grotesque entity. Perhaps it was better that they had gone in their sleep. “Give us something sweet to bite,” their twined mouths gurgled as one.
Twilight could hear somepony hammering at her front door. She wanted to shout, “Run! Get away!” However, even as she filled her lungs to scream, she realized there was no hope. The fear churning inside her guts began to spread, filling her with pain beyond imagining. She could feel her skin stretching, her bones popping, and something living moving beneath her flesh. It was like thousands of tiny mouths biting her, eating her from the inside out. What was worse were the thoughts and images playing out behind her eyes. So much death, so much pain, and the endless darkness of a moonless existence one could scarcely call night. But she could see the fire lit circle of life, and that bright light and heat pained her deeply. All life must be extinguished if she were to know the peace and safety of the dark. If she were to escape the fear that now replaced every fiber of her being.
Twilight writhed on her bedroom floor, not even noticing the blood seeping from her every orifice. She just wanted it to stop. She just wanted to die. When the toothy grins of her former friends drew close to her pain wracked body, she didn’t resist. "At least this way, the end will be swift," she thought. She wouldn’t become like them. The creatures that had been Rarity and Pinkie Pie started to eat her with gusto, beginning with her stomach. They buried their faces deep in her bowels and chewed and slurped her flesh and fat from the inside out. Sadly, even as they ate her Twilight could see a fifth jack-o-lantern flare to life. It was her own pained and sorrowful expression carved into its orange surface. She could tell instantly, with her eyes trained to see magic, that it was no ordinary candle that burned inside that shell but the light of her very life. A life that was being taken from her. The flicker of its flames were the last thing Twilight saw before the light faded from her eyes completely. Something new rose from the tattered ruin of what was once the Element of Magic. Something giggled as it saw the world through blackcurrant eyes. Something whispered...
"...hungry..."
A knock on the palace main entrance thundered through the halls. It was very strange, thought Luna. The Nightmare Night Ball that had been thrown in her honor had ended hours ago. Her poor, sweet sister Celestia had already stumbled to bed quite some time ago, giving leave to most of the servants to take their rest as well. Luna suspect she might have to raise the sun in the morning in her sisters stead, not that she minded. It had been one of the most wondrous nights Luna could remember. It was true she had ended up having to scrap her plans to visit Ponyville as she had promised, but she was sure that the children would understand.
It was the dead of night now, however, the moon having long ago set. Usually only herself and the Night Guard were active at these wee morning hours. In fact it was odd that one of the guards hadn’t answered the knocking that threatened to wake the whole palace. Though it was their lot to patrol the night, the Night Guard did take on the duties of Palace Guards when Luna was in residence. Where were they?
Striding quickly, yet gracefully, Luna went to the grand door in the main hall and used her magic to unlock and raise the ponderously heavy portcullis. With that done, she winced as the knocking sounded once more, louder this time. With a little less exertion, the Princess of the Night opened the golden double doors, preparing to demand what exactly was going on. The words turned into a gasp of shock. She knew what had happened to the Night Guard now.
The drawbridge had been left down and the gates to the castle walls were open as usual. A sea of ponies teemed and undulated as far as the eye could see. Each grinning face was lit by a jack-o-lantern that sat glowing cheerfully at their hooves.That was disturbing enough, but what was worse were the dead bodies broken and half eaten piled at the palace door. Standing atop the pile of bodies, mouth twisted into an expression of almost painful joy, the Candy Mare grinned hungrily down at Luna. The one creature who'd ever managed to slow her down. As the mare's candy corn grin parted, the sound of her childlike voice echoed in unison from the army of candy ponies.
"Trick or Treat?"