It was a quiet, peaceful night in the Kingdom. Every pony lay in their bed, or the closest approximation they could find in some cases, and slept peacefully.
The full moon shone in the night sky, framed by the stars, and if any were awake, they would have seen a green shooting star fall through the sky...and grow larger as it neared the city.
As the star descended, it burst, releasing a sickly green light that was soon blanketed in a physical black substance, almost like shadow...but not.
A figure formed, a dark shadowy creature with eyes that glowed with that same sickly green light. It looked like a horse, but even taller. It ran around the city, shadows stretching behind it, surrounding every building, every dreamer.
And soon, the shadows engulfed the citizens of the Pony Kingdom as they slept, smothering their dreams in nightmares.
Horseshoes shivered, looking around. She was in a dark forest built of dead, twisted trees. The ground was dry, lifeless and the sky overheard was dark and cloudy. For some reason, it seemed very familiar.
She looked closer at the trees, paling as she saw huge gashes in the bark that looked like something massive or incredibly strong at least tore through them. She looked at the ground, seeing more gashes, a trail like a giant snake had slithered across...and hoofprints.
"No..." her eyes widened in horror and realisation. "This isn't..."
There were terrified screams and she ran, running deeper into the forest, until eventually, she saw...
Two ponies lay on the ground, unmoving, as lifeless as the dry ground they laid upon. She recognised them instantly. Her parents. Standing over them was a dark shadow, but she knew what it was, even if she couldn't make it out clearly.
She backed away, shivering in terror, eyes wide as she stared at the monster that killed her Mum and Dad. The Bandersnatch turned to her, its green eyes narrowing as it spotted her, a cruel smile on it toothless maw. She ran away, no longer the knight in-training she was, but rather the small, helpless child way back then on that fateful night.
As she ran the Bandersnatch took chase, looming large over her small figure, demolishing the trees that stood in its path.
Lickety Split looked around, shivering in a cold sweat. His eyes wide with terror as he stared, surrounded on all sides by that which he feared most.
PLATYPUS. He was surrounded on all sides by Platypi, some big, some small, all piled together, leaving him no chance to escape.
He screamed in terror.
Razzle Dazzle looked around. She was surrounded by thick darkness, she couldn't even see her hooves in front of her. Trotted slowly, nervously looking around for something, ANYTHING.
Worthless child.
She blinked, looking up. "Wh-who's there?"
Useless. Weak.
She shivered. "W-who are you!? Wh-why are you saying those things about me?"
You should be grateful the Master Merlin took pity on you! At least under his tutelage you won't embarrass us anymore, at least you won't be in our hair anymore!
Her ears fell flat as she looked up at the huge shadowy figures that rose up above her. "Mother. Father."
Why couldn't you be more like your sister? She is a prodigy! She has been able to master spells even we couldn't! And what have you been able to do? You can't use a simple levitation spell! You are a disgrace to unicorns everywhere, let alone our family! We never want to see you again!
She covered her ears, tears falling as she ran, a new voice speaking in the darkness, this one also very familiar.
Mother and Father love me best. You are nothing, you're just a disgusting parasite.
She bit her lip, looking ahead as she ran, eyes widening hopefully as she spotted her closest friend Horseshoes stand ahead of her. "Horseshoes!"
"I don't wanna be friends with you anymore." Horseshoes stated coldly and bluntly, turning away and walking off into the shadows.
Razzle Dazzle shook her head, not believing what she had seen. She slowly backed away, bumping into something big. She yelped in fright and turned to see...her master, her mentor.
"Do you really think you have made me proud?" Hocus Pocus said, glaring icily at the unicorn in derision. "Did you really think I was teaching you out of charity? You were merely a challenge, to see if I could make a useless Unicorn like you into something decent. But, even under my watchful eye, you fail. You always fail everyone, don't you? I give up. If you refuse to learn anything I will no longer teach you, you are no longer welcome in the towers."
She shook her head, tears falling, her lip trembling. "No. Please, please no."
"Goodbye, Razzle Dazzle. And good riddance."
And suddenly he vanished.
Razzle Dazzle collapsed to the ground, sobbing as she was left along in the darkness, despair filling her heart.
You have nothing. Your parents abandoned you, your sister hates you, your friends are sick of you and even your beloved teacher, who you saw as a father figure has had enough of your pathetic uselessness. There is no reason to keep on going. You are nothing; no one will miss you if you disappear.
She got up slowly, looking up at the dark, tall, shadowy creature. It was too tall to be a pony, but it looked so ponylike she didn't know what to call it. Its body was long and sinuous, a black smoke like substance curling out to form most of his body as well as forming his long mane. She couldn't even tell if he had a tail or hind legs. His eyes glowed a deep, sickly green
Come with me. Let us end your futile, worthless existence.
She nodded. "I am nothing." He turned away and she followed him, heading towards a dark cliff in the distance.
Hocus Pocus watched, tears falling, as the Kingdom was burning, reduced to rubble, forced to hear the screams of his dying people. He was trapped in stone, couldn't even speak, but he could still see, still watched. If he could scream, he would, but he couldn't.
The black pony of shadows smirked, pacing around the old wizard tauntingly. Even you, the most powerful wizard in the Kingdom, cannot save anyone. Weak, pathetic old man, believing he could do everything himself.
Hocus Pocus glared at the creature, his face stained with his own tears.
You think that as long as you can stop me, you can save them. But you can't. You're too weak. But, That's not the issue here. No, I want to break you, fill you all with such exquisite despair. And I will give it to you. You will feel the ultimate, true despair, true heartbreak.
Hocus Pocus struggled, or at least tried, but his current state left him unable to even wiggle his left hind hoof. He could only stand there, watching.
Horseshoes continued to run, heedless of her growing exhaustion, she had to keep running, to escape.
He looked back, yelping in fright as she saw the Bandersnatch draw nearer, its lips curled in a sadistic smile.
"Why couldn't you save us? Why DIDN'T you save us?"
She tried to ignore the voices of her parents, closing her eyes tightly.
"You are not a knight."
She opened her eyes, stopping in her tracks as she saw Green Acres standing in front of her.
"You're reckless, impulsive, idiotic, selfish." Green Acres didn't move, just glared down at her, his expression cold and disapproving. "You're weak. You were not strong enough to save your parents and you're not strong now. Just give up. Quit. We don't need you, and quite frankly I don't want to take care of you anymore."
He moved to the side, revealing Razzle Dazzle standing from behind. "The same goes for me."
She stared, wide eyed, something in her snapped. And she did something unexpected.
She laughed.
"Oh. Oh I see how it is now. You really had me going there. I ALMOST fell for it."
Razzle's eye twitched. "This is no joke, Horseshoes."
Horseshoes shook her head. "No see, I know that. That's what's so funny. Do you really think so little of me? You think I don't know my friends?" She pushed Razzle to the ground, smirking. "Razz can be a bit of a stuck up, but she would NEVER abandon me. And Greenie? I may drive him up the wall occasionally and annoy the hay out of him, but he cares about me. Besides," She turned to Green Acres, "you didn't call me Sis."
She turned around to face the Bandersnatch, the creature roaring in rage.
"Sure it was scary when I was a kid and it still hurts knowing my parents are gone, but really, I became a knight to get over my fears and make sure no one else had to go through what I did." She got up on her hind legs, her foreleg pulled back. "Anyway, you're not a Bandersnatch!"
It hissed and roared bearing down on her and she slammed her hoof right into its face...and it dissipated into black smoke, empty shadows in the dark.
She turned to "Razzle Dazzle" and "Green Acres" and found they too were made of the same smoky shadowy substance, along with the forest around them.
"Really, your real mistake was thinking I wouldn't notice these two looking like they do now while I'm looking like a kid."
Horseshoes smirked as her true form was restored, the shadows covering her body dissipating and the forest, her parents and her friends converged into a single large shadowy pony.
She folded her arms as the creature turned tail and left her alone, allowing her to look around herself at her new surroundings, her eyes widening as she saw a morose Razzle Dazzle walking up a cliff, beyond the cliff lay...darkness. For some reason her mind couldn’t think of anything else to call it.
"Razzle!" She ran towards the cliff, glaring as she saw the shadow pony next to her friend.
The creature turned to her, snarling as shadows were fired from its body, forming into various hideous monsters and deadly weapons. She ignored it as they struck her, cuts and bruises forming on her body. "I won't let you hurt her!"
Hocus Pocus looked up, his face growing pale as he saw Razzle Dazzle stand at the top of a cliff overlooking him and the city. He could tell just by looking what she was planning to do.
The shadow pony smirked as it could see how desperately Hocus Pocus struggled, wanting to scream.
You can't save her. Noone can save her. She will fall, and you will be helpless to do anything, only able to watch as she disappears from your life. Forever.
Razzle Dazzle looked over the cliff, seeing nothing but an ocean of swirling shadow and green light. The shadow pony stood beside her. She looked up at him and nodded, taking a single step.
"STOP!"
She paused, turning to see Horseshoes running towards her, sporting several wounds on her body.
"What the hay are you doing!?" The earth pony yelled. "Are you an idiot or somethin’!? Don't you realise how much you mean to us, to me!? If you're doing what I think you plan on doing, you will only hurt me, Lickety and Mister Pocus!"
The unicorn shook her head. "I'm worthless. Useless. I'm a disgrace to Unicorns. I deserve to die."
"No. You. Don't!" Horseshoes leaped and stood in front of Razzle, blocking her from the cliff. "You're my best friend! I will not let you do something as...dangerous as jump off a cliff!"
Razzle Dazzl growled, tears falling. "Why do you care so much!? Who cares what matters to me, all that matters to you is becoming a knight!"
"So what!? I'm not allowed to care about my friends AND have a goal!? Razzle, don't let that shadow creep trick you! All he's trying to do is show you what you fear most, but as long as you can face your fears, he can't touch ya!"
"But...But..."
"NO buts!" The brown coated mare jumped at her friend and caught her in her arms and the both fell down the hill harmlessly, away from the danger of the cliff. "I will never let anyone ever hurt or say bad things about you! I am your best friend Razz, I always got your back!"
Razzle sniffled and sobbed, pressing her head close to her friend’s neck in shame and misery. "I...I thought..."
Horseshoes sighed and gently rubbed the grey unicorn's back with her hoof. "Hey, it's ok now."
NO
They both looked up as the landscape, the cliff and the ocean of shadows swirled and merged with the shadow pony, forming a giant form of it. Cracks slowly formed over its mouth and muzzle and then its muzzle cracked apart, leaving a mouth like shards of broken black glass, a green glow emanating from within its mouth much like its eyes. Monsters and weapons formed and dissipated from its form like smoke from a fire as it stood high above in the sky.
This is not how it goes. You are supposed to be overcome with despair, and then once that happens you die. 'Face your fears'? Something as childish as that has never won this game! What makes you so different, so special, from everyone else!?
Horseshoes glared. "Who the hay are you anyway!?"
A nightmare. YOUR nightmare. I am Somber. I am your despair.
"Yeah well you're just another jerk to me!"
It chuckled, rising up.
Foolish child. No matter. Time's up, so I'll be on my way. But don't think I am done with you, Horseshoes, Razzle Dazzle. You'll wish you had fallen by my hand before the year is through. You would have been spared so much pain, so much torment, so much...despair.
And then every pony woke up.
Horseshoes and Razzle Dazzle sat on the grass, on a small hill overlook the city.
"Well, that was something."
Razzle nodded slowly. "So...it's too much to hope it was all a dream, correct?"
"You kidding!? You'd have to be an idiot to ignore something like that as 'just a dream'!" She lay back, her forelegs spread wide as she looked at the sky. "Still, Mister Pocus can look into it. I'm not a knight yet and you're still just a student. Let the important people handle it while we just enjoy the festival."
Razzle Dazzle huddled against herself, curled into a nervous ball. "So, it's all happening tomorrow?"
"Yep, a week of partying, games and good food! Can't wait!"
The two friends sat there, ruminating on what had happened, as well as thinking of the future.
"You don't seem as angry as I thought you would be." A masculine voice spoke in the dark, regarding the glowing green eyes of their guest as it slithered in the shadows.
Of course not. Yes, I am rather displeased I lost the game, but in the end it just means they get to experience more despair, and that is something I want.
"At least tell me you got some useful information." The deep voice sounded unimpressed.
I did. I know exactly where the talisman is being held. All we need now is for the Gizmonks to finish their weapons for us. Unless, of course, we just go in ourselves, with our power combined we might be able claim it
"No. There are too many foes, and the terrain is not to our advantage. Besides, I'd rather not waste valuable resources."
Either way, what we do and how we do it is all up to you, Midnight Tyrant.
Author's Note
Ok, so here it is. A short, one-shot Halloween special! This episode is actually very important. Not only does it foreshadow the next couple of episodes, but it also foreshadows some other plot developments later down the line.
In case you were wondering, Somber is a reimagining of Sombra. I decided to focus on his shadow theme as well as fear and despair, which were also a big part of his character, what little there was of it. I originally wanted him to be completely silent until the end, but it didn't work out quite that way.
Sadly, I don't think this story is as scary as I wanted it to be...
Oh well! Hope you all enjoyed it and please comment!
