Nightmare Day

by Leafdoggy

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Slice of Life, Main 6
Length: 10707

Twilight devises a grand new way to celebrate Nightmare Night.

Twilight Sparkle loves Nightmare Night. Planning it, setting it up, pulling it off. Her only wish is that it could last longer. This year, she's decided to make that wish come true. Plunged into darkness, Ponyville must band together on a quest to stop Nightmare Night from becoming Nightmare Forever.

Published 2019-06-23 22:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-06-23 22:00:01 UTC

A New Dusk

It’s a bright and sunshiny morning in Ponyville. Or at least, it should be. Today, however, as the early risers slowly trickle out into the streets, they find no sun to greet them. Rather, the moon hangs proud in the darkened sky, casting the world in its soft glow. Puzzled ponies wander the streets, wondering what to do. Some steadfastly go about their day as usual, while others simply return to the comforts of their beds. The moon does not flinch, though, and one by one the ponies of Ponyville come to accept that today is just going to be a very dark day.

Stranger yet than the frozen night sky is the town’s utter lack of concern over it. Or at least, it should be. Would be, on any day but today; any morning apart from the morning before Nightmare Night. While, yes, this particular oddity was unprecedented, and Nightmare Night has never left the confines of its nighttime festival, there has been a notable escalation in the events of recent years. That it would come to spill out of its designated timeslot is, well, unsurprising.

What is surprising is just how explosively the day’s festivities begin. An hour or so into the day, once the majority of the town has filtered out onto the streets, comes the sudden crack of lightning, the boom of thunder, and the roaring of wind. The sky in the center of town lights up, visible to any who look, and illuminated before the ponies of Ponyville is the massive form of Twilight Sparkle.

“Everypony, I need your help!” Twilight’s voice reverberates throughout the town. “I need you all to gather in the town center, where I am waiting. It is absolutely vital to the survival of Ponyville that as many ponies join me as possible!”

Another bolt of lightning arcs through the sky, slicing the image of Twilight in two, and the thunderclap tears apart what magic remains in the night sky, leaving only a faint shimmer against the darkness overhead. Throughout the streets ponies gather themselves and slowly, be it with confusion or curiosity or excitement, they make their way towards the town center.

Tall, proud, and trying very hard to keep a straight face, Twilight Sparkle stands behind a podium and watches the ponies file in. Rows upon rows of ponies, mingling, gossiping, laughing. Soon the large square is full to bursting with life, and Twilight clears her throat to gain their attention.

“Ponies of Ponyville!” she announces. “As I am sure you have all noticed, the day has not come. First, and foremost, there is no need to be alarmed. I have the situation well under control. As you might have guessed, this is the work of none other than Nightmare Moon!” She pauses for the feigned gasps of the crowd. “She’s back, but she’s still weak. I’m using all my strength to keep her contained to Ponyville. This is where I need your help! Throughout the town, Nightmare Moon has hidden away the keys to seal her away again. I need some brave ponies to find these keys for me! I suggest that anypony interested in joining the hunt gather in the town hall after this. And to everypony else? I suggest that you go, and have a wonderful Nightmare Day!”

Inside the town hall, Rainbow Dash yawns. “Couldn’t she have just done like, a Nightmare Afternoon?” she asks.

“Aw, cmon Dash, get into the spirit,” Applejack responds. “This woulda been awesome when we were younger.”

“It is awesome,” Scootaloo says. “I mean, we don’t even have to go to school!”

“Nightmare school,” Sweetie Belle says, and the three young ponies share a laugh.

“Enough bickering, now,” Rarity says from across the room. “Shall we get things started? It looks like we have all the interested ponies.” She turns and addresses the small crowd, a scattered group of twenty or so. “Now, there’s no need to be too formal, but this does seem like it will require some teamwork. As such, I propose we keep a home base somewhere to gather any clues we get.”

Mayor Mare waves from the crowd. “Oh, I could do that,” she says. “I should stay and oversee the fair anyway, so anypony can come to me with information.”

“Excellent!” Rarity exclaims. “With that settled, let’s set off! I would suggest small teams of two or three to make things simple.”

A murmur fills the hall as the ponies chat and decide on groups. Slowly, the crowd dissipates as duos and trios set off on their hunt. As the final group heads out, only one pony remains in the hall, her legs quivering.

“Um, g-guys?” Fluttershy asks the empty room. “I d-don’t have a group yet...”

A Race Against Time

Rainbow Dash strains herself as she soars through the sky. “Hurry up and find something,” she groans through gritted teeth. “You aren’t exactly the lightest pony in town.”

Below Rainbow Dash, dangling under intertwined legs, Pinkie Pie laughs. “That’s just cuz there’s a lot of me to love!”

“I know, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash says, “but I’m dying up here.”

“Oh, Dashie, look, look!” Pinkie shouts, pointing excitedly with one of her free back hooves.

“Quit kicking! Do you wanna get dropped?”

“But look! There’s a thingie!”

The two drop from the sky and land next to the thingie. Upon closer examination, they find that it’s more of a statue, crudely carved from stone in the shape of a crescent moon. Inside the empty space of the crescent is an elaborate clock face, hands pointed to 12.

“Well this is new,” Rainbow Dash says. “What do you figure it is?”

“I think it’s a moon,” Pinkie replies.

“Well, duh. But like, what does it do. Twilight said we’d find keys or something right?”

Pinkie hums and fiddles with the clock. “Oh, look!” she says. “You can set the time. I bet that does something!”

“Kay, uh, what time is it now?”

“10:47” Pinkie tells her. “Already tried that though.”

“What about like, dawn? Or dusk?”

“Mmm.... Nope, doesn’t work.”

“Why don’t we just like, turn it through all the possible times? That wouldn’t take that long.”

“Well that’s no fun! We shouldn’t cheat, we just gotta solve Twi- oops, I mean Nightmare Moon’s puzzle.”

Rainbow Dash groans. “Well, we aren’t solving it here. Where else are there clocks?”

“Well, there’s the clock tower.”

Rainbow Dash hits herself in the forehead. “Duh, of course. Okay, let’s go. And no kicking this time!”

Rainbow Dash stares up at the massive ticking clock face with a grimace. “I really figured it would just be stuck at a time that we would copy. Now what?”

“I guess we just look around,” Pinkie offers. “Maybe it’s written somewhere.”

Painstakingly, the two ponies search the clock tower for any hint of something off. Testing every brick to see if it’s loose, pulling every floorboard, lifting every stone. It’s slow, grueling, and ultimately pointless, as they turn up nothing.

“This is boring!” Rainbow Dash shouts. “Stupid clocks.” She flies up to the top of the tower and delivers a swift kick to the clock face. A strong one, too, because the clock shudders in response. The metal groans and bends and, with a pop, the minute hand falls off. A massive thud echoes out as it lands mere inches from Pinkie Pie’s head.

“Dashie!” Pinkie yells. “You broke it!”

“I barely touched it,” she protests.

“Well, now you get to fix it.”

Rainbow Dash sighs and lugs the heavy metal slab up to the clock face. Just barely, she’s able to drag it through the air and back into place. She slides it back to where it was, and then some more, and looking closer she sees that there’s a lot more space for it to take up.

“Hey Pinkie, how do you tighten a clock hand?” She calls out.

“I dunno. Turn it? Maybe like, backwards.”

Rainbow Dash shrugs and starts pushing. As it clicks into place and starts to tighten, she speeds up, flying in a circular blur around the clock face. Time races by as the clock spins, around and around and around again. Then, with a loud snap, the hands stick in place, sending Rainbow Dash careening into the ground below.

“Twilight’s got something coming after this,” a dizzy Rainbow Dash grumbles as she picks herself back up.

“Hey, look!” Pinkie says. “The clock stopped.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Did you not see me getting a concussion?”

“No, I mean, it stopped ticking. Look!”

The statue makes a satisfying click as the hands settle into place, matching the final resting place of the clock tower, and right on cue a small hatch opens in the base. Pinkie digs around inside and pulls out a small piece of paper.

“What’s it say?” Rainbow Dash asks.

“I dunno. It’s just gibberish.”

“What?” She walks over and looks over Pinkie’s shoulder. “Dude, you’re holding it upside down.”

“Oh! Hah, oopsie. Uhh, look like a poem. Let’s see, ‘Though Ponyville is a town of sweets, one food remains the-’”

“Augh,” Rainbow Dash cuts her off. “More puzzles. I’m out, let’s give this to the mayor and find something more our speed.”

Pinkie giggles. “Yeah, sure. I wanna see what other kinda stuff she has in store for us.”

Fair Play

“Why do I gotta do it?”

Sweetie Belle’s whining echoes throughout the fairgrounds. Teeming with life, the Nightmare Night celebration is in full swing. Games, contests, treats and more, everything a pony looking to have some fun could want. Colorful neon signs glow bright against the dark sky, beckoning the Cutie Mark Crusaders from stall to stall.

“Cuz you’re the one with magic,” Applebloom tells her. “None of us are strong enough to pick it up.”

Sweetie Belle groans. “Fine,” she says, and with some effort lifts the heavy mallet high over her head and drops it.

The hammer hits the plate at their hooves with a loud thunk, and the disc flies up, lighting up signs on its way. First one light, then two and three, then- it falls back to the ground, landing with a dismal clink.

“Hey, I did pretty good that time!” Sweetie Belle cheers.

“Yeah, but we wanna hit the bell, remember?” Scootaloo says.

“I know,” Sweetie Belle says, “but I don’t think that’s gonna happen. It’s impossible, there’s no way Nightmare Moon expects us to do that.”

“Yeah, alright,” Applebloom concedes. “Where to next then?”

The group tries to pretend they don’t hear the ding that rings out as they walk away, nor the raucous congratulations for Cheerilee.

“What’s even left?” Scootaloo asks. “I think we might’ve tried everything.”

“Well, then we start over from the top!” Sweetie Belle declares. “What was the first place we checked again?”

Applebloom shakes her head vigorously. “Nope, nuh-uh, no way I’m doing that apple bobbing again. I’m still spittin out seeds.”

“Okay,” Sweetie Belle hums. “Maybe we should question the ponies in the fair. One of them might be a double agent!”

“If they’re a double agent, why would they tell us that?” Scootaloo objects.

“Yeah, that’s true,” Sweetie Belle says. “I dunno then. Maybe there’s nothing in the fair.”

“Hey, we didn’t stop at that booth!” Applebloom exclaims, pointing at a darkened box in a corner of the fairgrounds.

“Cuz it aint open,” Scootaloo says.

“Well, let’s try anyway,” Applebloom says, dragging the other two along with her.

“Sorry, kids,” the pony operating the attraction tells them. “Dunkin booth can’t run cuz my dunker didn’t show up. Can’t dunk without a dunker, that’s the first rule of dunkin. Ya dunk?”

“But this might be the key to beating Nightmare Moon!” Scootaloo pleads.

“Well I don’t think she’d be a very good dunker,” the operator says. “Too big for the booth.”

Scootaloo groans, and Sweetie Belle hits her shoulder. “What if one of us got dunked?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“Well, sure, that’d work,” he says. “But dunkin’s hard work. You sure you’re up for it?”

“Easy!” Scootaloo says, and the booth operator flashes a toothy grin and kicks a switch. A cascade of lights flows up into the booth, illuminating it brilliantly for all to see. Blinding strips of neon tracing the edges of a clear box holding water and a precarious chair, flashing arrows pointing at a tiny target, stylized drawings of ponies splashing into pools. The children gaze in amazement at the incredible display.

“Alright, whichever one of y’all is dunkin, go around the side and hop in,” he tells them. “The other two can try to dunk ya.”

“Not it!” all three ponies shout at once.

“Aw, dangit,” Applebloom says. “Now what?”

“Rock Paper Scissors?” Sweetie Belle suggests. The other two nod and get ready.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!”

…..

“This game don’t work without fingers,” Applebloom says dryly.

“Let’s just take turns,” Scootaloo says. “We’ll all get dunked, so it’s fair.”

“Sure,” Applebloom says. “I can go first. Get it over with.”

Applebloom sets herself up over the water, technicolor signs pointing down at her, taunting players. Scootaloo is first up, grabbing a ball as soon as she can and throwing with all her might. It flies at a breakneck speed and slams into the wall of the booth, about ten feet above the target. Applebloom laughs and sticks her tongue out. Scootaloo blasts out three more balls, all of them going just wide.

“Scootaloo, you’re supposed to hit the target,” Sweetie Belle says.

“Well you do it if it’s so easy,” Scootaloo retaliates, tossing her friend a ball.

Sweetie Belle catches the ball awkwardly and walks up to the counter. Slowly, carefully, she lines up her shot, and with a valiant toss she… doesn’t even reach the wall. Applebloom laughs as the ball bounces along the ground and bumps harmlessly into the wall.

Grimacing, Sweetie Belle lifts up a ball using her magic and blasts it straight forward.

The booth lights up as the ball hits its mark. Flashing lights, sirens, music, all victorious. Applebloom’s laughing cuts short as her seat drops out from under her and she plunges, flailing, into the chilly water below.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle cheer and laugh, celebrating until Applebloom interrupts them, shaking water off as soon as she’s close enough to hit them with it. “Your turn, Sweetie Belle,” Applebloom grumbles. The other two snicker again.

“Hey, wait, look!” Scootaloo suddenly exclaims, pointing above the tank. Following her gaze, at the top of the tank is a bright, glowing, single letter. “Was that there before?”

“I dunno,” Sweetie Belle says. “Hey mister, what’s that letter?” she asks the operator, but he just shrugs in response.

“I bet it’s a key!” Scootaloo says. “What’s it mean, though?”

“Maybe there’s more,” Applebloom says. “Y’all better get in there and get dunked just in case.”

With another concert of light and noise, Sweetie Belle falls into the water, and another letter reveals itself. Then Scootaloo follows suit, as does a third letter. Onlookers gather as the three cycle through, dunk after dunk, and soon others join in with them. Before long a line of ponies waits to be dunked, and a message loudly displays itself on top of the booth.

“So what’s it mean?” Scootaloo asks as the three try to dry off.

“Maybe it’s a code?” Sweetie Belle suggests.

“It sure aint a word,” Applebloom says.

Sure enough, before them was just a long string of seemingly random letters with no obvious connection.

“Should we go back to the mayor?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“We don’t need help,” Scootaloo says. “We just gotta… figure out what we need to figure out.”

“Well, how do we figure that out?” Sweetie Belle says.

“I dunno,” Scootaloo tells her. “Let’s figure it out.”

Well Laid Plans

“I am simply not dressed to be plodding around in the mud looking for heavens knows what,” Rarity says.

“Why’d you join up, then?” Applejack asks her. “This is a scavenger hunt, not a fashion show.”

The two walk down a dark side road of Ponyville, no real destination in mind. Howling winds urge them along in a futile attempt to spur them into action. They meander along slowly, paying no mind to the world around them, neither making a move to break their leisurely stride.

“Well, somepony has to approach this with reason,” Rarity says. “It’s Twilight, do you really think that she hasn’t included some less hands-on parts in this?

“Well, why’d you hafta drag me along? I aint exactly the reasonin sort.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short, Applejack. You’re smart enough to reason out Twilight’s puzzles, and with Fluttershy out of the running for obvious reasons, you were the calmest pony I could team up with.”

“So I was the best worst option?” Applejack rolls her eyes. “Gee, thanks.”

Rarity huffs. “Don’t be like that. I genuinely think you are perfectly suited to tackle this. I, on the other hand, am not at all suited for the rough and tumble physical challenges. Let’s just leave those to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.”

“Assuming they can find the challenges in the first place.”

The two ponies chuckle together. “How about this, then,” Rarity suggests. “We go wait with Mayor Mare, and whatever clue comes our way first decides our fate.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Applejack agrees.

“We got beat by Pinkie and Dash?” Applejack gawks.

“Yes, it seems they solved a puzzle at the clock tower,” Mayor Mare explains. “You just missed them.”

“Well, it appears my worries were misplaced. Maybe I should have teamed up with Pinkie Pie after all,” Rarity jokes. “So what is this clue they delivered?”

“It seems to be a riddle,” the mayor says. “It says ‘Though Ponyville is a town of sweets, one food remains their favorite treat.’”

“Apples?” Applejack asks.

“Not everything is Apples, dear,” Rarity responds.

“Yeah, yeah. It fits, though,” Applejack says. “Ponyville loves apples.”

“Well, I suppose it is worth checking,” Rarity concedes.

“Absolutely not!”

“Aw, c’mon,” Applejack says. “We already checked the rest of the farm.”

“Which means the next step is clearly not here,” Rarity protests. “We should go elsewhere.”

“Where else could the clue be pointin?”

“I don’t know.” Rarity sighs. “Can’t you do it?”

Bickering fills the air of Sweet Apple Acres. An eerie glow grips the farm, the moonlight painting a grim landscape. The orchard has few lights, and as such, no lack of shadows to haunt the night. The farmhouse provides the only oasis of light, faint as it may be, and in the umbra of the encroaching shadows stand Rarity and Applejack, bright as ever.

“You know you’re not strong enough to pull me back up,” Applejack says. “I aint gettin stuck at the bottom of a well just to keep your hooves dry.”

“That well hasn’t brought up clear water in years. I would get filthy!”

“Well, would you rather risk gettin wet, or go back and say we couldn’t even solve as many puzzles as Pinkie and Dash?”

Rarity huffs. “If this doesn’t pan out, I reserve the right to deliver whatever punishment I deem fit.”

“I can accept that.”

Soon Rarity is off the ground, a rope tied around her waist gently lowering her into the dark abyss. The stone well is old, covered in moss and grime, and in recent years deterioration has let in the elements. Instead of water, buckets only bring up mud, and over time this mud has come to cake every surface of the cramped descent, a fact which Rarity is acutely aware of.

As the moonlight vanishes, she lights up her horn, illuminating a dim circle around her. Slowly spinning, she carefully examines every brick for anything different. A hole, or a loose looking spot, or discoloration. Anything that looks out of place, so long as she isn’t required to touch it.

A breeze catches the rope and sets it swinging, careening Rarity towards a wall. She flails and throws her legs out, bracing for impact, trying as hard as she can to catch herself rather than slam her body into the wall. Perhaps offering her legs to the muk will save her body.

Moments later, a shrill scream echoes out of the well.

“Everythin good down there?” Applejack calls down.

“Don’t you ever clean this thing?” Rarity yells.

Applejack suppresses a laugh. “Just find the clue and you can get out.”

Grumbling, Rarity peels her torso out of the sticky mud and continues her search, agonizing over each identical surface. The bricks start to blend together, become one mass, slipping through her mind, until she’s snapped back to reality by a splash as her hooves meet water.

“Stop, stop!” She yells out, and the rope goes taut.

“Find somethin?”

Rarity scans the walls, even prodding at some to check them. Brick by brick by brick, her expression going more sour with each one. Then, a gasp, a flail, a swing, a grab. Rarity has found her salvation, hidden away at the edges of torment. She snatches up the small box like her life depends on it, holding it proudly above her head.

Then she drops it.

“What was that?” Applejacks calls as the splash rings out.

“I found the box.”

“Woo! See, I knew it. So you’ve got hold of it?

“Not exactly.”

Applejack frowns. “Well, grab it then!”

“I can’t.”

“Why the heck not?”

“It’s in the water.”

Applejack sighs. “Rarity, it’s like six inches.”

“Six inches of dirty, muddy well water! I would smell it on my fur for weeks. It’s just not possible, I can’t do it, absolutely-”

Applejack rolls her eyes and drops the rope, plunging Rarity to the bottom of the well. A splash echoes out, followed immediately by a shrill, enraged screech.

“You got the box?” Applejack yells over the noise.

“Pull me back up this instant!”

“If you aint got a box when I see you, you’re goin back in the drink.”

A few minutes later, Rarity tosses the box on the ground and scrambles out of the well. She glares at Applejack, who fails to hold back a laugh at the sight of her friend caked nearly head to toe in mud.

“Get over here, you,” Rarity shouts as she dashes at Applejack. “You’re not getting out of this clean.”

Braving Terror

The back streets of Ponyville can be dark and dismal at the best of times, and today is no exception. Empty, shadowy, the few lights flickering away their last gasps of life. An unnatural chill hangs in the still air. These streets are where, with shaking legs and quivering lip, Fluttershy finds herself in her quest.

She yelps and leaps away as she accidentally bumps into something in the middle of the road. Her hooves instinctually fly up to bury her face, but she pries them away before long, and sighs in relief when she sees that it’s just a building.

Ramshackle and squat, it can hardly be called a building really. A shack at best, but even that is generous. Most would probably just call it a structure. The structure, four short walls of thin planks adorned with a crooked roof, sits smack dab in the middle of the street, beckoning investigators. On one face of the structure is a door, smooth and pitch black. The door would hardly be visible were it not for the large, red letters scrawled across it, warning away the curious.

TURN BACK

WRONG ENTRANCE

HORROR BEYOND

Fluttershy, folded in on herself as much as possible, stares at the door. Her teeth chatter. Her knees buckle. She glances in the direction of the festival, then back at the door. Then the festival. Then the door. Then, still, the door. She shakes her head, grits her teeth, and opens it.

Darkness spills out of the portal before her. The darkness flows along the ground, grows through the air, claiming the world as its own. It devours the darkness already present, makes it obsolete. To see it is to see less than nothing, a lack not only of all things, but of nothingness itself. This darkness is not an absence of light. Light is an absence of this darkness.

“It’s just Nightmare Night,” Fluttershy mutters under her breath. “I’m not in danger. It’s just Nightmare Night.” She repeats this mantra, over and over, and then plunges into the unknown.

The door slams shut behind Fluttershy, trapping her in the inky blackness. Squealing, she wheels around, feeling desperately for the door handle. She finds no handle, though. She doesn’t even find a door; just a cold stone wall, an oppressive monument to her seclusion.

Swallowing hard, Fluttershy turns back towards the void and starts to feel her way blindly through. Legs trembling, she moves at a snail's pace, testing every inch of rocky ground, prodding every jagged wall. It’s slow going but, to her relief, she finds it to be straightforward. No turns or intersections to bar her travel, just a long, long tunnel.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spots a faint glimmer of light.

Fluttershy makes a mad dash towards the light. A source of salvation, a guiding star. To her relief, it comes quickly, no magical trick to keep the light away. She flies ever closer to the growing spot.

Actually, she seems to be approaching it a bit too fast.

She skids to a stop just as she can make out the source of the light; a massive, blazing fireball. She stops running for it, but it does not stop flying closer to her. The ball of heat speeds up, growing closer at an astonishing speed. Fluttershy dives down and covers her head just as it flies past, singing her mane.

Fluttershy peeks back down the tunnel. The fireball is speeding away from her. Then, to her dismay, it starts slowing down. Slowing, slowing, stopping… turning around. Fluttershy scrambles up as the fireball sets its sights on her again. She runs forward, eyes shut tight, fleeing through the darkness on blind instinct. Behind her, the light grows dim again, but only for a moment. It accelerates quickly, and is soon gaining on the pony. It’s only a matter of time before it incinerates her.

Fluttershy drops. The fireball disappears, hidden behind a wall of stone, and then blasts by overhead. She breathes a sigh of relief, taking time to catch her breath, until she realizes where she is and yelps. Air is rushing past her as she plummets through unimaginable darkness. No floor, no walls, no point of reference. The darkness surrounds her, engulfs her. It swallows the air around her, blocks out the noise of falling, provides only darkness to breathe. The darkness consumes Fluttershy utterly.

Then she lands, light as a feather, in a small, dimly lit stone hallway. The smooth walls are lined with flickering torches, small but blinding after the darkness, which reveal unimaginable depths on either direction. Before her, carved into the stone wall, is a massive, ornate archway. The floor beyond the arch is lit for some distance by the torches in the hallway, but the light reaches no walls, falling instead into darkness.

Fluttershy sighs. “I need a break.”

Divisive Twists

Tired and caked in mud, Rarity and Applejack push open the door of Sugarcube Corner, a chime announcing their arrival. “Rarity,” Applejack is saying, “we aint got time for you to take a bath. Not unless you plan on losin to-”

A snort from inside the building cuts her off, which quickly develops into a burst of laughter.

“Rainbow Dash,” Applejack grumbles.

Sugarcube corner is, as always, bright, bubbly and colorful. Pinkie takes great strides to keep the lobby adhering to her ever changing tastes, and you can never know if on any given day you’ll walk in to a fresh coat of paint or some bizarre art installation, but Pinkie never fails to have the loudest interior design in Ponyville. Amidst today’s visual noise, a bright orange color scheme packed with holiday decorations, stand Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, laughing giddily.

Behind the two, ominously, sits a large pitch black door, installed seamlessly into the building.

Rainbow Dash wipes tears away and stifles her laugh. “Did you-” she snorts again. “Did you guys have a good Nightmare Day?”

“Yeah, yeah, yuck it up,” Applejack says. “How in the sam hill did you two beat us here?”

“Oh, I saw the door when I woke up this morning,” Pinkie says. “So we just came when we got bored.”

“Of course ya did,” Applejack says.

“No need to be a sore loser, dear,” Rarity tells Applejack before turning her attention to the other two. “So what’s through the door?”

“Iunno,” Rainbow Dash says. “Pinkie wanted to wait for somepony else before we went in.”

“I see,” Rarity says. “Well, let’s not delay then, shall we? Onward we go!”

The door creaks loudly as they open it and peer inside. They’re all braced, prepared for the worst, but what greets them instead is just a normal hallway. Light carpet on the floor, gaudy orange on the walls. In any other context, there would be nothing off putting about this hall in the slightest.

“Uhh, is this supposed to be here?” Rainbow Dash asks.

“Nope!” Pinkie replies as she prances in without a care.

Applejack holds up a hoof to try and stop Pinkie. “Now, hold up, I don’t think-” before she can finish there’s an ear shattering slam as a wall shuts behind Pinkie and she vanishes.

The other three ponies dash inside, prodding at the wall and calling out for Pinkie. Then, another slam as a wall blocks the door, trapping them all inside. A new hallway forms beside the trio, giving them a new path, but they preoccupy themselves with trying to contact Pinkie.

On the other side of the wall, Pinkie hears nothing. She stares curiously at the new blockade, and the sea of orange stares back. Then, she shrugs and hops away, whistling a tune to herself.

“This aint workin,” Applejack tells the others. “And there’s no way Pinkie’s waitin for us past that wall anyway. We oughta just move on.”

“I suppose,” Rarity agrees. “We have to stay together, though. No more getting split up.”

The others nod, and they set off down the hallway, huddled into a single mass.

The hallways evolve into a labyrinth before the four ponies. An incomprehensible maze of twists and intersections. Pinkie climbs up one set of stairs, while the others climb down another. The halls begin to shift their dimensions, becoming wider or narrower on a whim. The colors warp, the lighting becomes erratic. Through this, the ponies press on, trusting that the journey must end at some point.

Pinkie’s path is actually much simpler than the other. The terrain is always navigable, the turns straightforward. The worst she encounters is a somewhat low ceiling, but for the most part she bounces along, content in her wayward exploration.

The route laid out for the group is far less gentle. The ceiling undulates in waves, at points lowering so far as to force the ponies to crawl along on their bellies. The carpets become thick and tangled, tripping them and making travel exhaustive. The hallways themselves begin to turn on an axis, disorienting the group as gravity shifts underneath them.

“Uh, guys?” Rainbow Dash calls out as they walk through a particularly narrow hallway which has forced them to spread into a line. “Hold up a sec, I’m stuck on the rug.”

“Again?” Applejack sighs. “You need to spend more time on the ground. Ya done forgot how to walk.”

“Quit teasing and gimme some help,” Rainbow Dash tells her. “I can’t get loose.”

“None of us can turn around in this hallway,” Rarity says. “I’m afraid you’re on your own.”

“No, seriously,” Rainbow Dash says, fear creeping into her voice. “I think it’s like, pulling me or something.”

“Dash, it’s a carpet,” Applejack says. “How the heck would it be pullin you?”

“I don’t know, but it is!” Rainbow Dash shouts, suddenly in a panic. The strands of the carpet wrap themselves tightly around her legs and start shifting back, pulling her away from her friends. “Do something!” she shouts, but her voice fades as she’s dragged away into nothingness. Rarity and Applejack can do nothing but listen to their friend scream as she’s spirited away, soon hearing nothing but the echoes of her voice in their minds.

“Twilight’s gettin better at this,” Applejack remarks.

“Yes, it really is quite impressive,” Rarity agrees. “Not many can get a scare out of Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie Pie plods along, humming a tune. She’s lost in her own thoughts, eyes closed, world shut out. Then, her smile fades, and her eyes pop open.

“Hmm,” she ponders. “Twilight! I’m bored!”

The empty hallway gives no response.

“C'mon!” Pinkie says. “Just let me reach the end already!”

Her enclosure pays her no heed.

“Twilight?” Pinkie pleads.

“Hoo!” Rainbow Dash lets out as she catches her breath. “I’ll admit, that one got me.” The hallway the carpet deposited her in is identical to the one they first entered in every way. No strange dimensions, no warped colors. Just a long, straight corridor.

Then, as she walks, it changes again. This time, however, it changes its make-up entirely. The walls lose their uniformity, become jagged. The colors fade into a dusty gray. The lights dim, and are replaced with torches. Soon, Rainbow Dash finds herself walking through a cold, stone cavern.

Ahead of her she hears a yelp, and instinctively starts sprinting towards it. Shapes form before her, first a muddy mass, then with more definition. A large, yellow form, surrounded by others. Rainbow Dash doubles her pace.

“Oh, hey Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouts as the pegasus skids to a halt beside them.

“Wha-” Rainbow Dash’s jaw gapes. “What are you guys all doing here?”

“We’re stopping Nightmare Moon, duh!” Sweetie Belle says.

Fluttershy gives a shaky smile. “I, um, guess I beat you here this time!”

“Hey, Rarity,” Applejack asks. “Is it just me, or is this hallway gettin steeper?”

“I can’t say I’ve noticed a difference,” Rarity says. “Are you getting tired?”

“It just feels like I’m climbin a hill,” Applejack tells her. “You really don’t feel that?”

“No, the ground is perfectly level.”

Applejack grunts as she struggles forward. “No, hey, stop for a minute. Somethin aint right.”

Rarity stops as Applejack props herself against the floor, beginning to lose her traction. She presses her body against the ground, fighting for any bit of friction to keep her upright, but it’s a battle she can’t win. Rarity reaches out and grabs her just as she slips, falling backwards into the hallway.

“Applejack, you’re slipping!” Rarity shouts.

“Don’t let go,” Applejack implores. “This oughta sort itself out soon.”

“I don’t know if I can keep my grip!”

“What’re you talkin about, Rarity?”

“My hooves, they’re just…” Rarity grins. “They’re just so muddy.”

Applejack winces. “Rarity, don’t you dare!” Before she can get another word out, though, Rarity drops her, chuckling softly.

Pinkie Pie dashes blindly through the hallways. “Twilight, you can’t keep me here forever!” she shouts into the air. “It’s not fair!”

Pinkie slams into a wall as she tries to round a corner too fast, knocking the wind out of her momentarily before she starts running again. She gasps for air as her hooves pound the carpet, pushing her ever forward. The hallways start to warp and twist, making up for lost time, dizzying the pony.

Then, Pinkie hits a dead end. A single wall adorned with a black door. Frantically, she pulls the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. She yanks with all her might, and the handle pops off and lands with a clunk on the carpet. Pinkie groans and turns to run the other way, only to be met with another wall, another door, another broken handle. She looks around in a panic and realizes she’s in a box, four tiny walls with four broken doors taunting her.

Pinkie flops onto her back in despair. “I guess this is it,” she says. “Twilight got corrupted by Nightmare Moon and is gonna torment me forever. This’ll be my last Nightmare Night ever.”

Then the floor disappears below her.

Rainbow Dash lets out an “oof” as Pinkie lands on top of her. Pinkie is followed quickly by Applejack, who announces herself with a scream as she drops down through the hallway before rolling to a stop by the others as gravity rights itself.

Smug and giddy, Rarity turns back to continue down the hallway, only to be immediately halted as a wall of smoke blasts out in front of her. An artificial wind blows down the hallway, surrounding Rarity with the smoke as it flies past her, and when it finally clears she finds herself face to face with Twilight Sparkle.

Or is it?

Well, yes, it is. Twilight Sparkle stands tall and proud, a mischievous smile plastered across her face, and adorned with her rather elaborate Nightmare Night costume. Her mane and tail flow as if in a wind, streaks of inky blackness swimming through them. Her horn is pointed into a vile weapon. Her cutie mark has changed, now backed by a swirling void. Most noticeable of all, however, is the deep purple and gold crown that adorns her head, signifying her status to all who see it.

“Congratulations, Rarity!” Twilight announces, her smile splitting her face. “You lasted the longest of all your friends.”

“Oh?” Rarity responds. “Well, how splendid. Why does that bring you here? Is there some special award?”

“Oh, yes, absolutely,” Twilight says. “You get to be the main attraction in tonight’s show!”

High Stakes

“Where the heck is that girl?” Applejack grumbles, leaning against the cold stone wall.

“Right?” Rainbow Dash nods.

“I’m sure she’ll be here any time now,” Fluttershy tells them. “Let’s just be patient.”

“It’s been like thirty minutes!” Rainbow Dash protests. “How long’s Twilight gonna make us wait?”

“You mean Nightmare Moon,” Scootaloo says.

“Oh, no,” a voice says, echoing through the air around the group. “She means Twilight.” Past the grand archway, a set of torches blazes to life, beckoning the ponies inside. At the same time, the lights at the far ends of the hallway flicker out of existence, followed by the next closest lights, and so on, a wave of darkness threatening to consume them.

Fluttershy is the first pony to brave the unknown, unthinking in her flight from the encroaching darkness. With the mold broken, the others quickly follow suit, filing into the large cavern just as the void swallows their resting place. The darkness forms a solid wall behind the archway, not entering this new haven, yet allowing no light to escape. None of the ponies dare to test its strength.

“Guess we’re in it now,” Applejack says.

“Woo!” Pinkie Pie shouts, trotting forward. “Finally!”

Following her lead, the group walks further into the vast cave. As they reach the edge of the lit torches’ light, more torches activate themselves, followed by a third set, and a fourth. A path is illuminated for them through the endless abyss, and as the last set of torches light up, they reveal a massive, ornate throne. Purple velvet lined with gold, with jagged black accents running through the surface, mixing into an eerie design. The accents converge, swirling together into a point at the seat of the throne, drawing the eye to the one seated upon it. Twilight lounges, legs kicked over the armrest, glass of wine to her lips, awaiting her guests.

Twilight sets aside her drink and stands as the heroes stride up to her. A trail of emptiness seems to follow in her wake as she moves, a forgotten afterimage. She bows elegantly, the lights dimming with her gesture, then rights herself and regards the group with a wicked smile.

“Welcome, friends,” Twilight announces, “to the throne room of your new ruler. Twilight Sparkle is no more. Kneel before the might of Sparkle Void!”

Flames blast out from behind the throne as she makes her announcement, the intensity casting her grandiose form into shadow. For that brief moment, the flames engulf the world, become all there ever was, all there ever will be, save for that outline. An outline not of a pony, but of a lack of flames. A brilliant void.

Rainbow Dash snorts. “Sparkle Void?” she mocks. “Really?”

A bolt of electricity scars the earth in front of Rainbow Dash, making her jump back. “You would do well to learn quickly how to treat your new queen,” Sparkle Void says.

“I think it’s a cool name!” Sweetie Belle says.

“Thank you, dear,” Sparkle responds. “It’s wonderful to see that at least the youth know magnificence when they see it. You may well have a future by my side.”

“Lucky” Applebloom says, hitting Sweetie Belle playfully. “I wish I got to be a bad guy.”

Sparkle Void laughs, loud and boisterous. “Well, why not?” she offers. “This matchup is looking a touch lopsided. How would you three like to join the winning team?”

“Hey, hang on a sec!” Pinkie protests, but it’s too late. The children cheer, running up to stand by Sparkle Void’s side.

“Excellent!” Sparkle Void boasts. “Now things are far more balanced. Oh, but this just won’t do. My generals need to be recognizable! Symbols of my power! Let’s fix this, shall we?”

Sparkle zaps her new lackeys, bestowing them with new, matching uniforms. Dark tendrils wrap around Applebloom’s legs, equipping her with winding, unnatural greaves. The same darkness flows across Scootaloo’s wings, sharpening them, forming them into a deadly weapon that ripples with blackness. Then, the darkness turns to Sweetie Belle, swirling around her head. It forms a jagged vortex, sharp but ever-shifting, a grand new horn. Finally, all three are adorned with flowing capes of Sparkle Void’s signature purple and gold.

The children gawk at each others costumes, laughing and running around enthusiastically. “This is awesome!” Scootaloo announces.

“Just one more thing!” Sparkle Void says, grinning. “You three need to pick new names.”

They gasp in unison. “Heck yeah!” Applebloom shouts. “I’m gonna be, uhh… Void Orchard!”

“Ooh, good idea,” Sweetie Belle says. “I’m Void Concert.”

“And I’m Void… uh,” Scootaloo thinks. “Void Darkness?”

“Try again,” Applebloom tells her.

“Void Evil?”

“Nope.”

“Void… Void Horizon?

“There you go.”

Sparkle Void chuckles. “There we have it! Now,” she says, turning back to the heroes, “it’s time for the show to begin. I’d like you all to direct your attention to the night’s final guest… Rarity!”

A corner of the room lights up spectacularly, revealing a large stage. Huge red curtains framing a desolate scene, empty save for one area in the very center. There sits a massive hourglass, rimmed with gold, top half filled and ready to spill downwards. In the bottom half they find Rarity, trapped and glaring with a scowl on her face.

Rarity points towards the throne. “Sweetie Belle,” she calls out, “if they lose, you are going to be so grounded!”

“That’s Void Concert to you!” Concert retorts, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

“Rarity has been so kind as to offer herself as motivation for our final event,” Sparkle Void says. “As you can see, she is quite trapped. However, that is no mere hourglass! As I am a gracious ruler, I take great pains to know my subjects well, and that has allowed me to replace the sand threatening our friend with something more befitting her unique tastes. Although she may find it a bit… crude.”

She sighs when her speech is met with looks of confusion. “Oil. I filled the hourglass with oil. It’s gonna stain her fur.”

“Aw, that’s just cruel,” Applejack says. “Can’t ya go easy on her?”

Sparkle Void laughs. “It seems you still don’t understand the situation you’re in! You know, I was going to explain our game before starting the clock, but now I’ve changed my mind.” She waves a hoof dramatically, and Rarity screams as oil begins to drip down, splashing onto her hooves. “Now, would you like to hear the rules?”

“Do we gotta?” Pinkie asks. “Let’s just start already!”

“Well, wait a minute,” Fluttershy starts, but she gets cut off.

“Eager, are we?” Sparkle Void asks. “Very well Pinkie, you can go first. You’ll be facing off against Void Concert. Let the games begin!”

Sparkle Void shoots a bolt of magic into the air, which splits and rains down, hitting all the ponies. An explosion of energy rings out as they’re flung through space, landing in the center of the room. Pinkie stands facing Void Concert, and behind their respective champions stand the two teams. Between them, the floor lights up, an array of neon lights spreading out in a web before them. Rings and lines dot the field, an incomprehensible mess.

Sparkle Void leans down and whispers into Void Concert’s ear. “Got it,” Concert replies with a nod, and she braces herself to begin.

“Hey, no fair!” Pinkie calls out. “You told her what to do!”

“That’s what I was trying to say,” Fluttershy says. “She already knows all the rules.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Rainbow Dash says. “We just gotta guess. My bet is that you have to get to the other side without hitting any lines.”

“Will you hurry it up!” Rarity yells. A puddle of oil has formed under her hooves.

Sparkle Void grins. “Yes, I suppose we ought to begin. Go!”

Void Concert sprints out immediately, zig-zagging around the playing field, stepping methodically. As she does, the ground below her lights up purple, filling the spaces between the lines wherever she lands. Step by step, she hops around, focusing on clusters of small sections, and the board starts to fill up purple.

Pinkie takes a moment to react, then starts sprinting when she realizes the game has started. She flies past the lines, hardly landing, pink lights forming scattered puddles behind her. She zooms by Concert in record time, and before long skids to a stop at the far side of the playing field.

“Woo!” Pinkie shouts. “I won!” She looks back over her conquest, a slowly spreading sea of purple dotted with islands of pink. Void Concert keeps hopping along, eyes focused, filling spaces. Oblivious, Pinkie cheers, whooping and hollering until Sparkle Void interrupts her with a pointed cough.

“Well,” Sparkle Void announces, “I believe we have a clear winner.” Pinkie grins proudly while the rest of the heroes grimace, bracing themselves. Fluttershy covers her face to hide. “Pinkie Pie…” Sparkle continues. “You lose.”

Pinkie gasps. “What? How? Why? Where?”

Sparkle Void cackles. “It was a valiant attempt, putting all your eggs in one basket like that. Unfortunately, you guessed wrong. It was quantity, not quality, to decide your fate, and my fantastic protegee outperformed you in every way.”

Void Concert smiles wide and bounds back over to her team. “I won!” she announces. “Did you guys see that?”

“Pinkie didn’t stand a chance,” Void Horizon tells her.

“Eat it, losers!” Void Orchard yells to the other team.

Applejack fumes. “You’re gonna get it, missy! Void Sparkle, let’s go, start round two!”

“Oh, but I haven’t even given out the prizes!” Sparkle Void says. “For the winning team, well, why don’t we raise the stakes a bit?” She shoots a blast of magic towards the stage that rockets into the hourglass, shaking it violently. The glass warps, remolds itself, and opens up. Rarity jumps back as the oil starts to pour in faster, surging up to her knees.

“Hurry it up out there!” Rarity shouts, her voice cracking. Rainbow Dash winces, and Applejack growls under her breath.

“And for our dear runner up,” Sparkle Void continues, “what could be better than a lovely statue as a trophy?” Another bolt fires out, striking Pinkie in an explosion of energy. Dust fills the air as magic swirls and transforms. When the commotion ends and the smoke dissipates, the heroes look on in horror as they find their friend, unmoving, petrified into stone from the neck down.

“Hey, what’s the big idea!” Pinkie yells. “This isn’t a good prize at all. I can’t even see it! And how am I supposed to cheer like this? And another thing, I- mmf! Mm, mmrm!” Pinkie gets muffled as Sparkle Void blasts her again, freezing her snout into a grim expression.

“Ahh, much better,” Sparkle says. “Don’t struggle too much now, dear, stone can be quite fragile.” She chuckles to herself.

“Can we get a move on?” Applejack calls out. “I’m ready, aint no way Apple- er, Orchard can beat me now that I know the rules.”

“Bring it on!” Void Orchard taunts, stepping up to the playing field.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Sparkle Void says. “You won’t be playing the same game. Where’s the fun in that?”

Applejack grunts, stepping up to her starting area. “Fine, just tell us the rules already.”

“Quickly!” Rarity adds, the oil rapidly climbing her legs.

Sparkle Void stomps a hoof on the ground, and the board wipes itself clear. “Very well! For you I’ve prepared a battle of wits. Which sister will prove superior in the realm of strategy? Let’s find out!”

With a wave of her hoof, the board lights up once more. Lines spread out, connecting and winding together into knots. As the lights dance, images start to form, and soon the contestants are both presented with a line of crude pictures.

“The game is simple,” Sparkle Void explains. “One round. One choice. The images before you have a hierarchy, and your job is to surmise that hierarchy and choose the image to beat the one your opponent chooses. Understand? Well, hopefully you do. Let the game begin!”

Applejack studies the figures before her. Animals of all sorts, from small to large. A mouse, then a cat, a dog, and so on, ending with an elephant. She stares hard. First, she nearly reaches for the elephant, but then pulls back. Her next choice is the mouse, but again she decides against it. Shaking her head, she reaches out and taps one decidedly. Before her the drawing of an antelope lights up, and the rest fade from view.

Orchard makes her choice soon after, and Sparkle Void steps forward. “There we have it!” she says. “Applejack, could you reveal your choice?”

“Yeah,” Applejack says, “I picked the antelope. I figured somethin in the middle was the safest bet.”

“Clever thinking!” Sparkle says. “Let’s see how it holds up. Orchard?”

Void Orchard grins. “I picked the hurricane!”

Applejack flinches. “What?” she shouts. “What kinda baloney is this?”

Sparkle Void tsks. “I’m sorry, Applejack, but I think we can all agree that there’s just no way an antelope could beat a hurricane. It looks like you’ve lost.”

Orchard snickers, and Applejack glares at her. “That was bunk!” she says. “Lemme see those pictures.”

Applejack starts dashing across the field, but Sparkle steps in, volleying a shot of magic at her. As the attack lands, Applejack’s hooves lose contact with the ground, running against the air. She scrambles for the ground, but it’s too late. Gravity has abandoned her. Her momentum carries her weightless body up and away as she flails, floating into the darkness.

“How awfully rude,” Sparkle says, shaking her head. “That is no way to behave before your queen. She didn’t even wait for the prizes! Well, too bad. That just means both prizes go to us. I’m sure you can imagine what form they’ll take?”

Rarity shouts as magic rocks her prison again, further opening the floodgates. The oil pours out now, rising up across her chest and sides. She stretches herself upwards as the inky blackness inches closer to her neck.

“Rainbow Dash?” Sparkle says. “I believe you’re up.”

Rainbow Dash and Void Horizon step up to their corners. “Yeah, alright,” Rainbow Dash says. “You’re goin down, squirt.” Horizon spits a raspberry back at her. Fluttershy trembles behind her teammate, retreating into herself.

“It seems our time is running short, so let’s make this one quick, shall we? A simple game of chance. Before you are twenty cards.” As she says this, the field lights up again, covering itself with blank rectangles. “These cards are numbered from one to twenty. Pick a card, and the higher card wins. Okay? Go!”

Rainbow Dash and Void Horizon both blast into the sky, gazing down at the board, and jet down simultaneously. A thud resounds through the cave as the two land on their chosen cards, which light up and grow to fill the arena.

“See? Simple!” Sparkle says. “Let’s see the results, now. Rainbow Dash, your chosen card…” she waves a hoof, and one card flips itself over to reveal a number. “Fifteen! Good draw. And Horizon, yours…” the other card flips over. “Aw, only a three. It would appear that the heroes have finally shown where their strength lies! Pure, dumb luck.”

Rainbow Dash jumps and cheers, while Void Horizon sulks back to her group. “Sorry, guys,” Horizon says.

“Don’t worry about it,” Orchard tells her. “We’re still winnin.”

“Yes, we certainly are,” Sparkle says. “Although this loss does mean we can’t advance the clock. Looking, though, I’m not entirely sure we need to.” Sure enough, over on the stage, Rarity is in a dire position. The oil has risen at an astounding rate, already covering most of her head. Only her snout is visible still, poking desperately out of the dark sea.

Fluttershy wails and crumples, while Rainbow Dash snarls. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy,” she says. “We just gotta win this quick and she’ll be fine.”

“Yes, I’m sure she can hold her breath for at least some time,” Sparkle agrees. “We can’t continue yet, though! Rainbow Dash, you still have to collect your prize. Come, let me present it to you?”

“Ooh,” Rainbow Dash says, strutting over to the evil team. “I didn’t think I was gonna get something. I thought my prize was just not getting turned to stone or whatever.”

“Now, Dash,” Sparkle says, stroking her friend’s cheek, “when did I ever say that?” With a wicked smile, a bitter cold starts to spread from Sparkle’s hoof where she’s holding Rainbow Dash. It accelerates in a flash, instantly freezing Rainbow Dash’s face into an expression of horror. The rest of her body follows suit, forming a beautiful ice sculpture.

Laughing, Sparkle Void gives Rainbow Dash a playful nudge, and the frozen pony starts to slowly slide away. “Fluttershy!” Sparkle suddenly announces. “Shall we end things?”

Fluttershy lays on the ground with her head in her hooves, shaking. “I- I-” she stutters, unable to get the words out.

“Yes?” Sparkle says, trotting victoriously over to the cowering pony.

“I don’t wanna play anymore!” Fluttershy shouts, her voice cracked and pained.

“Oh, shoot,” Sparkle says under her breath. She leans down beside her friend and strokes her back gently. “Hey,” she whispers into Fluttershy’s ear, “you did great. We’re wrapping up, you just sit tight and do what you need to, kay?”

Standing back up, Sparkle clears her voice. “As I was saying,” she says, “I feel bad for these so-called heroes. This can’t be the best they have to offer. Let’s give them one final shot.”

With a final bolt, Sparkle strikes the hourglass and shatters it. The glass disintegrates, and oil spills across the stage. As it spreads, it reveals Rarity, soaked head to toe in the goop and glaring at Sparkle Void. The stained pony starts to stomp over, a trail of oil falling in her wake.

“Rarity!” Sparkle announces as her friend reaches them. “Our final champion. You’re looking well. Have you done something with your mane? It quite suits you.” Rarity snarls in response. “Well, I don’t have a game prepared for you, so how about this. You can choose any of the three to play against me. Sound fair?”

Rarity smiles, her teeth shining bright behind the inky sheen. “Oh, I know what game I want to play.” She crouches, lowering her head, then rockets forward, tackling the tyrant. Sparkle Void flies backwards, sprawling out on the ground as oil launched from Rarity lands on her. Rarity walks over and places a damp hoof on Sparkle’s side, holding her still.

Sparkle Void coughs dramatically. “I can’t believe it,” she wheezes. “To have been defeated so easily. All my preparation for naught. But don’t think you’ve won completely.” She points a shaking hoof to her generals. “Stay strong, my pupils. Your time will come. Perhaps… next year…”

With a final, wheezing cough, Sparkle Void falls limp. As Rarity raises her hoof, the fallen ruler starts to glow and tremble, and with a stunning bang splits open, exploding into smoke and lights. The lights zoom around, dragging the smoke throughout the room, and soon none of the ponies are able to see. Then, the smoke starts to clear, and when it’s gone completely the eight ponies find themselves in Twilight’s Library, all healthy and perfectly mobile.

“Well,” Rarity says, dripping oil onto the wood floors, “that was somewhat overacted.”

Cutie Mark Codebreakers

“Is it open?” Sweetie Belle asks.

“The lights are on,” Applebloom responds.

Scootaloo tests the handle. It clicks open, and shrugging, the three ponies walk into the Ponyville library.

“What’re we even lookin for?” Applebloom asks.

“Codebreaking books!” Scootaloo tells her. “Nightmare Moon probly used some kinda easy code, we just gotta find out what kind.”

“I still think it might be an acronym,” Applebloom says.

“How do you even find an acronym?” Scootaloo asks.

“Encyclopedias?” Sweetie Belle offers.

“I guess,” Applebloom says. “Alright, I’ll do that, Scootaloo will look at code books, and Sweetie Belle, you uh… I dunno, just poke around.”

“On it!” the other two ponies announce, and they all run off into the library.

Applebloom drops a huge stack of books onto a reading table and flips one open. A general encyclopedia, first, but she’s prepared with everything she could find, no matter how specific. Textbooks on philosophy, electronics manuals, lists of lists of lists. Anything that could contain a long, unwieldy set of words.

Luckily for her, glossaries exist for just this purpose. It’s simple to find terms and phrases when they’re all provided in alphabetical order at the back of every book. All it takes is a quick glance at the right section, and you can rule out an entire book. Applebloom is able to tear through an entire stack in a matter of minutes.

Still, there are a lot of books in the library. Every stack she exhausts is another stack she has to carry back to the table. Before long she abandons this approach, opting to just check books at the shelves and drop them on the ground if they give her nothing. A layer of discarded tomes marks her path as Applebloom works her way along.

Scootaloo’s task is a bit more challenging. As it turns out, ponies have needed to hide their messages for a long, long time. The problem with this, as any aspiring secret agents would find out, is that learning an existing code means other ponies have learned the code too. So, ponies continued to create more and more complex codes, and other ponies continued to document those codes, until entire libraries could be filled just with codes and how to break them.

Twilight, naturally, has built up just such a library.

Not many ponies have seen just how many books are in Twilight’s library. It’s easy to just see the main room, maybe a side collection, and think to yourself, “Wow, that’s a lot of books.” Very few venture further in- Twilight keeps the most popular sections near the front- so they never see the vast labyrinth of wings and additions hidden away behind the scenes.

Scootaloo, having just stepped out of the ornithology hall and into the codebreaking wing, is just now grasping the full breadth of this place.

This happens to be one of the larger collections, larger even than the main hall itself. There are a lot of codes in Equestria, and for every code, there are at least two books. Plenty of these books are just lists of codes and their ciphers, yes, but the majority of them don’t even cover multiple codes. Lengthy diatribes on the political climates that led to the development of a particular code, or breakdowns of how another code impacted the field of mathematics at the time. These books are as much biographies as they are educational tools.

Twilight, naturally, strives to have them all.

Scootaloo’s first instinct is random chance. She goes to a random shelf, grabs a random book, and picks a random code from the book. Then, she runs the string of letters through the code to see if she gets anything usable. This brings her mixed results. Sometimes, she gets lucky and picks a rather simple code, running through it in a matter of seconds. Other times, she picks less forgiving codes and spends many long, grueling minutes trying to understand it. More than once, she picks up a book only to put it down minutes later, unsure of what code the book is even referencing.

When entropy fails her, Scootaloo falls to order. Slowly, methodically, she decides to just check every book, from left to right. She skips any codes that have multiple steps in the decoding process, hoping this will speed things up. Which it does, but that doesn’t bring Scootaloo any results, just a brain filled to the brim with letters and numbers.

Sweetie Belle is flipping through a drawer of index cards when Scootaloo slumps back into the main hall, ragged and exhausted. “I never wanna see another number for the rest of my life,” she groans as she plops down into a chair.

“I never wanna see another book,” Applebloom mumbles from underneath a pile of textbooks.

“At least you didn’t have to do math,” Scootaloo tells her.

“At least you didn’t have to do manual labor,” Applebloom retorts.

“At least you didn’t-”

“Got it!” Sweetie Belle shouts.

“Got what?” Applebloom asks, pushing books off of herself and sitting up.

Sweetie Belle holds up an index card. “‘Nightmare Night and the Impact of Candy Tariffs on the Local Populace: A Treatise on Childhood,’” she reads off of it. “It’s in the Holiday Economics wing.”

“Huh?” the other two ask.

“The code!” Sweetie Belle says. “It’s the first letters from the title of a book. I found it while you two were goofing off. Let’s go!”

Scootaloo leads the other two through the maze of rooms. “Here it is,” she says as the walk into the Holiday Economics wing.

“What do you think is gonna be in the book?” Applebloom asks.

“Duh, Twilight said it’d be the key out,” Scootaloo says. “I can’t believe we’re the ones that found it.”

“Here’s the book!” Sweetie Belle calls out, and she reaches up to pull it off the shelf. As she does, a click reverberates through the room, and the floor underneath the ponies vanishes.

Wailing, the ponies plummet, and with a series of thuds they land on the floor below. Before they can be relieved, though, they start to slide, and realize they’ve been dropped onto a steep slope. With no way to find traction on the smooth stone, the three find themselves plunging into the unknown.

Lights set into the walls whiz by in a blur, illuminating a winding chute before them. Sharp turns and sudden dives toss the ponies to and fro, never allowing a moment to find their bearings. With each bend the lights change, growing darker, more sinister. A red hue casts over their ride before long, painting the three into a shared nightmare. Then, without warning, the red gives way, replaced with a flash of yellow, a vibrant wall, and finally, a crashing stop.

Fluttershy yelps as a chute opens in the wall beside her and fires three small ponies into her side.