A Nightmare's Night for Fillies

             “Nightmare Night, what a fright, give me something good to bite!” The foals chanted as they stood outside Sugarcube Corner with their bags wide open, looking up as the door slowly opening revealing Mr. and Mrs. Cake dressed in giant slice of cakes for costumes, while the twins were bouncing and giggling on Mr. Cake’s back dressed in little cheery costumes.

              Mrs.Cake dawwed at the foals and cooed, “Oh, you're all so adorable!”

              Mr. Cake smiled, and started placing candy in the foals bags. He soon looked upon Luna and smiled at her “Oh hello, you must be new. Don’t recall seeing you around here before.”

      Luna blushed and quite shyly replied, “Hi.”

      “I’m Carrot Cake but you can call me Mr. Cake.” The lean yellow stallion replied as he placed candy in Luna’s bag.

      “Thank you, I’m Nyx.” Luna whispered.

       “Mrs Cake smiled, “Oh, did you move to Ponyville?”

        “Nyx” sighed and whispered, “No, I just came to visit for Nightmare Night.”

        “Well, I hope you enjoy your stay here.” Mrs. Cake replied back.

         Nyx nodded,waved her right forehoof, and shouted, “I will!” Before she left with the other foals.

     Twilight smiled, as Nyx came bouncing towards her. “Wow looks like you got a lot of candy.” She commented.

     “Yeah! I never had so much fun in my life!”  Luna shouted back.

      Just then, Pinkie came bounding up to them in her chicken costume shouting “Twilight!” She bounced right in front of them, tackling Luna into a hug as she asked Twilight, “Oh, so this is that Nyx filly you were telling me about?!”

       Luna gave her a smile and gasped, “Yeah, I'm guessing you’re Pinkie Pie.”

                   “Yeserie little filly!” Pinkie replied, as she placed Luna on the ground and took out a camera, snapping a few photos.

    ”Thanks, Pinkie.” Nyx commented.

     “No problem, sweetheart.” Pinkie chirped.

     Luna galloped away with the rest of her friends, while Twilight turned to Pinkie and asked, “Pinkie, I have to ask, are there any tips on keeping these foals in line? I’ve already had problems.”

        “No not really, but you seem to be doing a fine job.” Pinkie commented.

         “It only seems that way,” Twilight admitted. “Nyx especially has been quite a hoofful.”

         Pinkie gave her friend a big smile, “I can take over if you like. Want me to do so?”

        “No, no, it’s fine. I can manage tonight, besides it seems like you're busy.” Twilight insisted. Regardless of how she felt about all of the foals, she knew she had to watch over them in order to keep Luna posing as Nyx under wraps.

         “Yep! But I can-” Pinkie began.

         Twilight interrupted by shaking her head, “It’s fine, you can go back to looking for candy.”

         “Alright, but just ask if you need help,” Pinkie offered as she bounced away. “Just say the word and I’ll come bouncin.”

          Twilight watched her pink coated friend disappear into the distance, then she turned her attention back to the foals. “Come on, the night is young,” She told them. “There’s still tons of candy left to collect.”

          With Twilight leading them, the crowd of foals went door to door chanting and asking for candy.

           Luna and Pip were falling behind, both lugging their large hauls from Sugarcube Corner, as they trudged along the road, trying to keep up with Twilight and the rest of the foals.

           Eventually, Luna had to drop her bag and stop to catch her breath. She panted and was starting to feel the aches and strains on her small body from carrying such a heavy load.

           Pip was tired as well. He placed his bag of candy down right beside Nyx to rest. Luna looked up with a weak smile and asked him, “Hey, Pip, how was your haul?”

           Despite being tired Pip turned his head towards his new friend and responded quite gleefully, “Terrific ,I think this is the most candy I’ve ever collected since moving here!”

             Luna chirped. “That’s wonderful! I’m glad to hear that.”

             Just then, The Cutie Mark Crusaders came by, dragging their loads of candy and grunting, while struggling to keep their bags from spilling. “Hey, you two need help?” Scootaloo offered.

            Luna turned to see her new friends coming towards her and Pip, and she smiled as she'd told them. “We’re fine, Pip and I just needed to catch our breath for a second.”

            Pip curiously turned to The Cutie Mark Crusaders and asked, “So, have you three gotten a lot of candy too?”

           “Yeah, I got quite the haul.” Sweetie Belle boasted, displaying her heavy bag.

            “I didn’ expect to get so much candy this year.” Apple Bloom grunted as she dragged her bag of candy by her teeth.

            Scootaloo crawled up to them with her bag of candy strapped to her back while shouting, “Yeah, this was the best year ever! I can’t wait  to eat all of it!”

          “Wait, we have to give our candy to Nightmare Moon, remember?” Pip told them.

          But Scootaloo laughed, “Not this year! Luna said she wasn’t coming.”

          Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo and with a fake gasp she replied, “Wait, we should still offer her candy though, we don’t want to be eaten!”

           Apple Bloom laughed at Sweetie Belle’s remark and added, “Yeah, why not? We can still make it fun!"

           Then while the three fillies were talking about Nightmare Moon, Luna noticed Pip was now sitting on the dirt road and looking quite blue. She came over to the colt’s side and sat right next to him. Then she asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

             Pip looked up and half heartedly smiled, “Oh, nothing.”

             Luna pondered to herself, “He’s upset about something, I just know it. I want to find out what’s wrong, but I don’t want to seem too nosy.” After considering for a moment, she told Pip “Hey, we're friends now. You can tell me anything.”

              Pip looked up at his new friend. He couldn’t really explain it, but he felt like it was best to tell her what was bothering him. “I...I was hoping to be scared tonight. Like during my first Nightmare Night. But since Princess Luna’s not coming this year that means I won’t be scared.”

                Luna nearly gasped, realizing that she may have inadvertently ruined Nightmare Night for Pip (and who knows how many other foals) in her haste to be young again. While trying not to look too guilty,  she looked at the ground and whispered, “I'm so sorry Pip.”

               Pip forced a smile onto his face as he replied. “It’s alright, I’m still having a great time.” But it was clear to Luna and the Cutie Mark Crusaders that Pip was lying.

              As soon as Pip finished speaking, Apple Bloom’s eyes lit up! She came up to Nyx and asked, “Hey Nyx, can ya come here for a sec?”

             Nyx turned and trotted over to Apple Bloom, where she asked, “What is it Apple Bloom?”

              “I...I think we can scare Pip to make up for Nightmare Moon not showing up.” Apple Bloom whispered earnestly.

              Her curiosity aroused, Luna smiled and asked, “Really, what’s the plan?”

              Apple Bloom whispered and continued, “Well, how about we go to the haunted house that Diamond Tiara’s dad made? He put a lot of bits into it from what I heard.”

     ”Then what?” Nyx whispered.

    “Then, you can scare him.” Apple Bloom suggested.

    “Me, but why me?!” Nyx cried with an expression of uncertainty.

     “Well, you can use magic right?” Apple Bloom responded.

      Nyx tapped her horn ,”Well yeah but I don’t know how to really use it yet. Unlike Sweetie Belle."

     “Only a little,” Sweetie Belle explained. “Besides, you seem more powerful than me for some reason.”

       Apple Bloom they added, “How about this? We’ll lead Pip into the haunted house, then you go inside and spook him with your magic somehow.”

      Nyx turned to Pip (who was still sitting alone) and sighed, “Alright, I’ll try. But he won’t be mad?” She asked the Cutie mark crusaders.

     “He’ll be fine, he likes being scared.” Apple Bloom reassured Nyx. The four fillies then came back to Pip and Apple Bloom told him, “Hey how about we all leave our candy with Twilight and go to the haunted house at Diamond Tiara’s place?”

     Pip, suspecting nothing, agreed. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!”

     Just then, Twilight approached the small group and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia! I thought I told you all to stay with the group?!” She scolded.

    The five foals all looked up as Luna sheepishly replied, “I’m sorry, Twilight. But...um... can we go to the haunted house at Diamond Tiara’s place? Please? We’ll leave all our candy with you so we don’t lose it.”

     Twilight looked over the foals, now giving her puppy dog eyes. Reluctantly, she sighed, “Fine,” She used her telekinesis and made their candy bags disappear, “Meet us at Applejack’s afterwards, and don't get lost!” She told them, then she turned to Spike, “Can you go with them and keep an eye on them?”

    “Why me?” Spike asked.

    “You’re the only other one who knows the secret of Nyx,” Twilight whispered to Spike. “I can’t just abandon these foals when they don’t know the truth. I’ll give you double the amount of gems you normally get as a reward if you do this for me.”

     Spike sighed and reluctantly agreed. “Oh, alright. Just this once. But, those gems had better be worth it.” He then took off after the five foals, while Twilight led the rest of the group towards Sweet Apple Acres.

       The five foals were now at Diamond Tiara’s family mansion, where a large haunted house had been set up. It was a large replica of an old cottage that looked rundown and abandoned, with a creepy broken doorway covered in fake cobwebs and giant rubber spiders. Fake fog seeped in from underneath, with strange lights peeking through as well.

        Surprisingly enough, managing the line that was overflowing from outside the house was none other than Randolph in a zombie costume, with a torn up suit and fake blood over his face.

            At the entrance to the house stood Diamond Tiara. She was dressed with fake white wings and a large fake horn to look like an alicorn. She turned to see her friends, Luna, and Pip coming towards her, and she shouted, “Hey you guys, I was afraid you wouldn't make it.”

          “You kiddin’? No way we were gonna miss the grand openin’ of your haunted house.” Apple Bloom chirped back.

          “Yeah, this place looks so much cooler than I imagined!” Scootaloo added, in complete awe of the detail.

           “Yeah! Diamond, you and your dad are awesome!” Sweetie Belle chimed in.

            Diamond Tiara’s eyes filled with tears, as she hugged The Cutie Mark Crusaders and  shouted. “Thank you so much for coming, it means a lot! Mother says I’m wasting my time befriending you guys, but I don’t care what she thinks anymore, and I’m glad Father’s hard earned bits aren’t going to waste,” Then Diamond Tiara looked up to see Pip and Luna standing together, “Oh wow, we have a new filly in town?!” She exclaimed.

            Luna sighed, “I’m sorry, I only came to visit for the night."

          But Diamond Tiara didn’t care, she bounced up to Luna and stuck out her right forehoof, “My name is Diamond Tiara.” She told Luna.

           “I’m Nyx.” The filly replied, as the two shook hooves.

            Just then Filthy Rich came up behind them and asked, “Hello, are you all here to visit my new haunted house?”

             Pip shouted, “Yeah! Is it really scary?”

           Filthy Rich giggled, “I would say so, it cost me quite a bit to put together, but to me it’s money well spent,” He turned to Luna, “Oh, you must be new here. Ain’t ever heard or seen you ‘round these parts before.”

           Luna nodded, “Yeah, I’m new. My name is Nyx."

           “Pleasure to meet ya, Nyx,” Filthy replied. “I’m Filthy Rich, but please just call me Mr. Rich.”

          “So can we go inside?” Pip asked quite anxiously. “I would really like to see what’s in that house!”

           Filthy laughed, “Sure! In fact, since you’re friends of my daughter, I’ll get ya alll a free pass to the front of the line.” The four foals followed Filthy to the front of the line as he opened the doors.

          The foals all peered inside with the glowing lights and fog seeping through, it was already a bit terrifying.  They all shivered as Luna turned to Pip , “Hey, you okay?” She asked him.

          Pip smiled back, “Yeah I’m fine, I’ve dealt with spooky stuff before. Let’s go!”

         The foals all went inside with Diamond as Filthy called out, “I’ll see ya all on the other side!” And that was the last thing they heard before the door slammed shut behind them.

           The six foals moved through the dark halls of the haunted house with its creaking floors and fog filling the place. As the fillies (and one colt) slowly went down a dark living room filled with paper ghosts and rubber skeletons, mechanical bats flew over their heads making them shriek and laugh at them. Then them came upon a old mare like prop with a wart on her nose staring at them with a voice box repeating, “Where’s my rusty horseshoe?!”

           The foals laughed at it, as Scootaloo gave a slight chuckle and a cough, and Sweetie Belle replied, “Hey it looks like that old mare from Rainbow Dash’s story. You know the one complaining about her rusty horseshoe.”

            “Yeah I guess that’s how I’d imagine her to look.” Apple Bloom considered.

            “Wait, there’s a story about her? I just had Father put her in there because she reminds me a lot of Mother on her bad days.” Diamond commented.

              Luna nodded and replied quite cheerfully, “Yeah, I’ve heard of the tale of the olden pony. It’s one of my favorite scary stories.”

              “Can we carry on now, please?” Pip asked, trying to hide how scared he was.

        The foals nodded in agreement, and they all continued down the hall carefully, when Scootaloo suddenly shouted. “Hey, look over there!” She was pointing at a group of frightening looking ponies made of straw. “They look like your sister, Apple Bloom.” Scootaloo commented.

         Apple Bloom giggled, “Nah, her costume looks way better than that.”

        “She dresses up like a scarecrow?” Luna asked.

          Apple Bloom nodded, “Every year she runs the apple bobbing and the pumpkin catapults.”

          The group turned a corner to see a horde of zombie ponies flash before them. Diamond Tiara shrieked, as everypony just laughed out loud. Then Pip sighed in disappointment causing Luna to ask, “This isn't scary to you?”

             “Not really, Nightmare Moon was scarier.” Pip replied.

              Once again reminded of what she’d inadvertently done in her haste to enjoy Nightmare Night, Luna whispered, “I’m sorry, Pip.”

     “Oh it’s not your fault, I’m still having fun.” Pip responded as sincerely as he could.

       Luna replied back, “That’s good, I just hope you’re having a good time.”

      “I am, really,” Pip nodded, then he apologized. “i’m sorry I’ve been complaining the whole time.”

    “Well, despite that, it’s been great spending Nightmare Night with you. You’ve been a good friend.” Luna told Pip.

    “Have I?” Pip asked. Luna nudged him as he smiled a bit more. “Thanks,” He said to Luna, then he commented. “This isn’t as scary as I thought it would be.”

     Scootaloo groaned, “I know, right? I thought that this place would be a lot scarier, especially considering Diamond’s dad put this place together."

   Sweetie Belle laughed upon seeing a fake vampire pony appear. “Well that was something, huh?” She asked.

          The rest of the foals groaned, before they suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice cry out,“Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Apple Bloom!”

        “Wait, who’s that?” Scootaloo asked, trying not to shake too much.

         Apple Bloom gulped, “I’m not sure, but it could be just a voice box. Right, Diamond Tiara?"

        Diamond Tiara shivered as she said, “I don’t think we built one to say your names. Unless Mother somehow bothered to learn them and put in here to get revenge.”

         They watched in horror as the thing shouting their names came down the hall. Then it stopped when it saw the olden pony look alike. “Woah! Is it that old crone from one of Rainbow Dash’s stories?!” It asked.

       ”Wait, that sounds like….” Apple Bloom began, before the foals then saw a small purple dragon coming from the kitchen area. Sweetie Belle squinted as Pip groaned, seeing that it was just Spike coming through the hall.

       Spike sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow, “Oh, thank Celestia I caught up with you four."

    Pip mumbled something and just walked away as The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Diamond Tiara fell onto the floor laughing. Spike scratched the back of his head, “Um...did I miss something?” He asked.

      Scootaloo was still on the floor when she responded, “No, we just thought you were a ghost or something.”

      Sweetie Belle laughed, “Yeah, you should've seen Tiara’s face.”

      Spike rolled his eyes, “Alright. Well, at least we’ve got that over with.”

     Then, suddenly, the fake vampire pony moved from its spot and started coming towards the group!

    “Hey, Diamond Tiara, is that supposed to happen?” Spike asked.

     Diamond Tiara turned to see the fake looking vampire pony in a black cloak and grey eyes coming down from it’s pedestal and moving towards them.

    “That’s a real vampire pony! Run!” Pip shouted!