Author's Note

Hello gentlecolts, mares, and fillies/foals of FimFiction! Pencilmancer here. So this here is my first fanfic on FimFiction, as well as the first public non-school related story I've done since 2012. I'm far too late for any October entries but for those like me everyday is Halloween/Nightmare Night! Being my first story I can only ask that you don't expect anything mind-blowing or anything of that nature; this story was created as an ice breaker more than anything. But enough of my ramblings. Please read on, enjoy, and leave feedback, and I hope to see you all soon!

Sincerely

ThePencilmancer

Pinkie's Exploration

Pinkie Pie beamed happily as she bounced around Ponyville on her tail, waving toward anypony who she came across. Earlier that morning Mr. and Mrs. Cake had taken their toddlers along on a vacation in the Crystal Empire and had left Pinkie Pie with a day off without worrying about taking care of Sugarcube Corner while they were away. This left Pinkie with a rather serious dilemma:what to do with her free time. While she normally went to check on Twilight and the others, her friends informed her of their own plans. Rainbow Dash bought tickets to the Wonderbolts where she'd spend the day, Fluttershy's animals became ill so she would remain in her house taking care of them, Rarity went up to Canterlot with Twilight for some special shopping, and Applejack went to Appleloosa to visit Braeburn.

With her friends otherwise preoccupied Pinkie decided that she'd visit Wise Delights, a bakery that moved into Ponyville a few weeks before. It became known for its peculiar building design and fancy delicacies that rested within. Some compared it to a shop in Canterlot but without the tedious task of traveling. Competition seemed friendly between Wise Delights and Sugarcube Corner considering the new bakery didn’t try to outdo the other, simply offering ponies something different for a higher price. Pinkie had heard the Cake's talking about possibly working with Wise Delights for Nightmare Night this year since Sugarcube Corner steadily became more busy with Pinkie's Nightmare Night parties.

When Pinkie arrived at the Wise Delights, she discovered a small, two-story building that looked like a combination of a castle and a mausoleum. Its gray stone walls were colored with blue-tinted windows that sparkled in Celestia’s sunlight. The mahogany-red roof had been crafted in the shape of a cone, marked with a long metal rod supporting a pain black blag. Upon each roof corner rested a vertical blue/purple spiral cone pointed toward the sky. Hanging above the door was a shield-shaped white sign with a slice of pumpkin pie severed with whipped cream painted on both sides.

While it could be off putting to some, Pinkie Pie could feel a welcoming vibe emit from the building. It can't be that bad with all the compliments I've heard! Maybe the owner liked Nightmare Night so much they incorporated it into their building design. Or maybe his bakery is haunted and he built it to please the ghosts?! Pinkie shook her mind free of that last ridiculous thought. Don't be silly Pinkie; everyone knows to giggle at the ghostly! Not wishing to waste anymore time Pinkie pushed through the front door of Wise Delights, unsure what to expect.

A soft chine of a bell echoed in the bakery but Pinkie failed to notice it as she was immediately greeted by rows of glass displays filled with delicious-looking treats attached to both the wall and floor. The interior had been designed to be welcoming, if not a tad plain. Chandlers holding candles provided lighting while a soft violet rug cushioned customers’ hoof if waiting for their order. The ordering counter was made of solid pine which one could see their reflection in. All of this Pinkie Pie registered in her mind, yet her attention was drawn toward the food which Wise Delights sold. Some treats she could recognize, but many goods appeared foreign or exotic. The pink pony felt her sense of smell overloaded by freshly baked bread among smells that couldn’t identify. Look at all these treats! Her mind screamed in excitement. There’s so many new sweets to try! So many new flavors to enjoy!

Pinkie had a hard time containing herself as she continued to browse the wide selection around her. Each case held a different type of treat; one case held variously crafted cakes while a different case displayed pastries ranging from frosted to cream-filled. All items on display appeared to have been crafted by hoof and an experienced one at that. Pinkie knew the difference between a cake made from scratch and a cake bought from somewhere that was simply decorated, and these cakes were hoofmade pieces. Everything else must’ve been hoofmade as well. That impressed Pinkie; some bakeries secretly bought items which they would then claim as their own, but here she could see the imagination of someone at work in everything she saw.

Before Pinkie could continue her googling she felt as if someone was watching her. Looking up from one of the display cases she found herself staring back at a pair of glowing amber-colored orbs settled in otherwise empty eye sockets. She let out a soft scream and fell onto her flank, scooting backwards in fright. Before her stood a skeleton unicorn pony who almost stood as tall as Big Mac. wearing a blue suit that covered the frost half of its body, as well as a grape purple bow-tie. Unlike most skeletons where their bones were white, this skeleton's bones were cherry red in color. Upon its head rested a gray head cover used to keep hair out of food despite having no hair. Its cutie mark depicted a light gray oven with a black coffin behind it. Being a skeleton its cutie mark floated a few inches away from its flank due to the magic used in reanimation.

Pinkie's mind froze up as she stared at the skeleton that now towered over her, then smirked as she began to giggle and laugh. Her rowdy laughter echoed throughout the bakery which only made it louder to her foe. When Pinkie finally calmed down she wiped her eyes expecting an empty pace before her. What she got was the skeleton giving her a questionable look before letting out a deep sigh at her reaction.

Realizing her trick didn't work she began rocking back and forth. Why didn't it work? Its worked before, why didn't it work on this spooky skeleton? At least I died laughing! Seconds passed, and the skeleton didn't get any closer or cause Pinkie any harm. Instead the pony shook its head in amusement which caused a light rattling sound like maracas. This caused the pink pony to tilt her head in confusion.

"Aren't you gonna whisk me away and turn me into your corpse bride?" Pinkie's confusion became obvious when she slowly rose to her feet and began poking the red skeleton's rib cage as she tried to make sense of just what was standing in front of her. The skeleton chuckled quietly before gently pushing Pinkie's hoof aside while allowing her some breathing space. Then it spoke in a fairly quiet yet clearly masculine tone of voice.

"That....would be an interesting idea for a Nightmare Night prank, but alas, Ms. Pinkie Pie I am happily single and have no desire to be married." He ceased chuckling and fixed Pinkie with a look that broadcasted concern despite lacking any type of facial expression other than a permanent smile. "Though in all seriousness I sincerely apologize for giving you quite a scare. I'm usually at the counter to greet guests but I don't always hear the guest bell while working in the back."

Once on her feet once more Pinkie offered it a wide smile as her fears were washed away like a sandcastle struck by a wave of water. So that's why giggling at the ghostly didn't work; he's scary but friendly! I guess customers were kind enough -or scared enough- not to tell anypony about who ran the bakery. It made sense now:she never heard or saw him before because he probably went out during night hours while everypony's asleep so nopony panics!

Relieved that she wasn't going to be turned into a pony version of a black-and-white horror movie Pinkie let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Hi! You already know who I am, because I'm Ponyville's party planner! But who are you?" Pinkie began to "Ohohoh" and looked it in his glowing eyes. "Is your name related to strawberries? Or maybe cranberries?" She started bouncing around the room in excitement as she anticipated his answer.

The skeleton could only chuckle once more at Pinkie's random nature. "I wish it was Pinkie." Stepping back he made a low bow toward her before rising back to his full height. "My name is Crimson Dew. As you might be able to tell, I'm far from any typical skeleton pony. My bones took their color from my coat color when I was still a normal unicorn, giving me a distinct appearance. But enough about me. If you'd like to buy something, I can offer you a discount. You are an Element Of Harmony after all, you deserve a discount since you’ve saved Equestria so many times.”

Pinkie tilted her head, though she didn’t argue with his logic. In a way he reminded her of Rarity minus any traces of drama and was fairly jovial for being -technically- dead. For a moment she considered asking him how he was moving around but decided against it; it could be a sensitive topic and she didn't want to hurt Crimson's feelings based on a question probably best left unanswered. She had a feeling he'd tell her or somepony in time once they earned his absolute trust.

In regards to Crimson's question she took a look around the shop, searching for something that she'd be able to share with Gummy back in her room. “In that case, I’ll have…that thing that looks like a powered rolled-up egg-filled pancake!” Crimson nodded his head and headed into the kitchen, bony hooves clicking against the tile floor. Before entering the kitchen he turned his head back toward Pinkie.

"By the way, that is a lemon meringue roulade, though I can see how it can be mistaken for a pancake.” Then he disappeared as he turned around a corner leading to the kitchen. While he worked Pinkie resumed her browsing the wide selection of goods. Eventually she’ll taste everything that’s here. Time went by much faster than Pinkie expected, as soon Crimson Dew stood behind the counter with her order all wrapped and placed in a brown bag marked "Pinkie" in black permanent marker.

“There you are. That will be twelve bits.” Pinkie withdrew twelve bits from her mane and handed it over to Crimson who shrugged at her antics before accepting the money. From what he heard she was like this most of the time so it was best just to roll with it. Pinkie took the bag in her mouth and began heading toward the door. Just before she got to it she turned around and gave the skeleton a questionable look. “What day could we have a party?” Crimson put a hoof to his chin, taking several minutes to answer such a simple question.

Pinkie let out an adorable squee of joy at the answer she’d been given and waved toward him as she walked out of the door. Bobbing her head to some invisible beat Pinkie began heading back to Sugarcube Corner. She’d be sure to recommend him to her friends. And let them know that he wasn’t a monster despite his unsettling appearance; the last thing she wanted was them to do was verbally -or in Rainbow Dash's case, phyiscaly- attack him just based on appearance. I can't wait to tell the others! I only hope that Twilight doesn't freak out when she finds out; she doesn't always know her boundies when she becomes obsessed with something like when she cursed that Smarty Pants doll because she couldn't find a problem to report to Princess Celestia.

Back at Wise Delights Crimson Dew let out a low sigh as he turned the sign from "Open" to "Closed". Once that task was complete he headed into the break room where he sat in a chair in front of a portrait displaying a cherry-colored pony with a purple striped mane, complete in a suit similar to what Crimson was currently wearing. The pony held a crooked silver and brown cane in one hoof while a black top hat with a purple stripe rested upon their head. His unblinking eyes sadly stared at the portrait for an hour, eventually tearing himself away from it and heading out of the room. He couldn't dally just yet; he had orders to fill, and little time to finish them.