In the city of Canterlot, there sat an old mansion. The mansion had been abandoned for as long as any pony could remember. The ancient brick had gradually faded to a dull grey color. Every window was shattered from within. The garden's had become overgrown, tangled jungles where only shadows lurked.
A group of fillies and foals nervously approached the house beneath the uncaring gaze of a full moon. As they walked up the gravel path, they cast anxious glances about. The shadows seemed to possess a life of their own. They danced about the younglings, painting images of horrid ghosts and vicious goblins on all sides. The fillies pushed on, forcing their trembling hooves to obey.
They finally reached the front porch. The door had long ago given in to rot, lending it a certain ghoulish appearance. Cobwebs hung thick all around, and a reddish stain lay splattered across the doormat. The fillies stood before the door, unwilling to approach. Then one of them, braver, or perhaps more foolish than the others, swallowed her fear and stepped up. She raised her hoof high, and closing her eyes tight, gave a slight knock.
The door swung open, and a vicious horde of skeletons lunged out! They leaped for the fillies, who screamed in terror and covered their eyes. The skeletons abruptly vanished, replaced by a mare's cheerful laugh. A young unicorn stepped out onto the porch, a black cape over her back and a pair of plastic fangs in her mouth.
"Relax, relax, I promise I won't bite!" The fillies fearfully looked up at her. She smiled down and held up a bowl of chocolates. The fear in the fillies eyes was replaced by delight at the sight of the sugary treat. They surged forwards as a crowd, grabbing candy to stuff into their sacks. The unicorn smiled at their antics. "Just one each," she reminded them. Once their bags were full, the fillies stepped back.
"Thank you!" They chorused.
"You are welcome," replied Color Swirl. "Now, you should get out of here. If you hang around too long, the ghost of the house might come and eat you!" One of the fillies scoffed.
"Yeah, right! Every pony knows ghosts aren't real!" Color Swirl smirked.
"Oh, is that so?" The filly nodded.
"Yeah! I've never seen one, so they can't be real!"
"Oh, really?" Color Swirl asked, her grin spreading. The fillies looked at her in confusion. "But you have. You've been speaking with a ghost this whole time!" With a sudden evil cackle, Color Swirl vanished from sight. The fillies screamed and ran back towards the road, trying to escape the nightmare house.
Color Swirl waited until the fillies were out of sight before ending her spell and going back inside. "I love Nightmare Night," she declared. "It's the perfect excuse to brush up on my illusions." A pair of costumed figures stood in the mansion's main hall.
"Since when do you need an excuse to use your illusions?" Asked a pegasus with a sheet over his head. "You seem perfectly willing to use them to mess with me year round."
"That's not practice," clarified Color Swirl, "That's purely for my own amusement. There is a difference."
"It does give life around here a little spice," admitted a hulking minotaur Frankenstein in between handfuls of candy. The ghost glared at him.
"Whose side are you on, Brawn? You're supposed to back me up!"
"Brawn can just appreciate my artistry better than you, Stratus," said Color Swirl as she strolled over to a couch and threw herself upon it. "Some pony shout if more trick or treaters come. I'm gonna take a nap."
Check Mate entered the room. He was dressed in nothing more than a casual suit and tie. Stratus and Brawn glanced him over.
"Really?" Asked Brawn with a raised eyebrow. "You couldn't cut loose and get just a little into the holiday spirit?" Check Mate merely smiled.
"The goal is to dress as the scariest thing one can imagine, is it not? Well, I am dressed as the secret leader of an underground criminal organization with goals to plant itself deep within the existing government. Can any of you think of something scarier than that?"
"Sure," replied Stratus. He glanced over at Color Swirl. "Tight spaces." Color Swirl glared at him.
"Don't push it, bub," she growled. "Freaky things happen on Nightmare Night."
"Quite true," said Check Mate. "This night annually sees increased reports of crime across the board, only a fraction of which is ever truly explained."
"So then why are we all staying cooped up in here instead of going out and doing business?" Asked Stratus.
"Well, even criminals need a holiday sometimes," responded Check Mate. "Besides, tonight is no night to frolic carelessly about. Strange things are afoot, and ponies would be wise to bolt their doors and keep their heads down until the sun rises."
"Don't tell me you believe all that stuff about spirits," scoffed Stratus. Check Mate shrugged.
"I believe that there is much to this world we do not fully understand. In my mind, discounting any possibility without definitive evidence is the most foolhardy thing a pony can do. Besides, even stories and legends can be turned to the advantage of those willing to use them. For example, this house was purchased at significantly below market value largely due to rumors of a ghostly infestation." Stratus raised an eyebrow.
"You're joking."
"I assure you, I am not. Rumor has it that this house is currently possessed by the spirit of Baron Nutmeg, the original owner. Nutmeg had a reputation for paranoia and mania, and they say that his ghost lingers on, guarding the secrets of this house."
At that moment, there came a knocking from the door. Color Swirl rose to her hooves and stretched. "Great story, Check," she yawned, "but if you'll excuse me, I have trick or treaters to attend to." She crept over to the door, waited a moment, then flung it open and released an illusory horde of skeletons onto the porch.
"Ah ha ha-huh?" She poked her head out of the door and looked around. "Hello? Any pony out there?" She glanced back at the others.
"No pony there," she declared.
"Maybe it was the ghost," teased Stratus. Color Swirl snorted.
"Yeah, that must be it." She poked her head back out the door. "Hey Nutmeg! We bought this place fair and square! Buzz off!" She slammed the door and returned to the couch.
Brawn reached into his bag of candy only for his hand to come out empty. He rose from his chair and began to walk towards the kitchen. Check Mate raised an eyebrow.
"Perhaps it would be best if you refrain from consuming any more candy tonight, Brawn." Brawn grinned and patted his stomach.
"Don't worry, I'm a five hundred pound minotaur. Pretty sure I don't have to worry about my blood pressure any time soon." He went through the kitchen door and disappeared from view.
In the kitchen, Brawn rummaged through the cupboards. The guild was well stock with candy for the holiday, but Brawn was only interested in peanut butter cups. He went cupboard to cupboard to locate the tasty treat.
As Brawn opened yet another cupboard, he heard a loud bang from behind him. He turned around to see one of the entire row of cupboards behind him had slammed open. He looked at the windows, but they remained closed.
"Can't have been the wind," he muttered to himself. He smiled. "Must be a Nightmare Night prank." He resumed his search for candy. His search was interrupted yet again by a clattering from the rear cupboards. "Guys, I know this is a prank. You can knock it off now..." his voice trailed off as he turned around to see a bizarre sight. The bags of candy in the open cupboards had burst open and the candy within had spilled out and dropped to the floor. But it did not stop there. Instead, the candy began to swirl together. Brawn watched in shock as the candy piled up atop itself, slowly taking on the semblance of a pony.
When it was formed, the figure let out an evil cackle. "Fools! You thought me gone! But I, Baron Nutmeg, am not one to be dismissed so easily! This remains my home, even in death! And you trespassers shall feel my wrath! Ah ha ha ha ha!" Brawn stared at the figure wordlessly. Then he punched it squarely in the face.
The figure's head exploded in every direction. There was a cry of pain, then the candy collapsed to the floor. Brawn contemplated the remains, then returned to the main living room.
"Guys, the weirdest thing just happened to me," he said, then stopped in his tracks.
The living room was filled with a swirling magical energy. Color Swirl floated in the center of the room, her eyes glowing bright blue. Everything but the couch floated along with her, swinging about in wild circles. Stratus and Check Mate crouched behind the couch, staring at Color Swirl. Stratus threw a glare at Brawn.
"Oh really? Tell us all about it!" Brawn rushed over the couch and threw himself down beside them, just avoiding a flying lamp.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"If we knew that, then we would be doing something other than sitting here," replied Check Mate. "As far as we can tell, this is either the most intense prank Color Swirl has ever conducted, or some outside force is manipulating her." Brawn peered over the top of the couch. He could see that although Color Swirl's eyes glowed blue, her horn was lit with it's usual purple aura. He dropped back down.
"Whatever's happening, I think it's using her magic," he said. "If we can knock her out, it might stop whatever's going on. C'mon!" The three of them rushed out from behind the cover of the couch, but were immediately chased back by the barrage of flying objects.
"Dammit!" Said Stratus."No way are we getting through that crap. If only we had something to throw." Brawn looked down at him.
"You raise an excellent point," he said. Then he picked Stratus up. Stratus' eyes widened and he immediately began trying to wriggle free.
"No! I refuse to be used as a torpedo! Brawn, don't you dare do this! Check, tell him to put me down!" Check Mate glanced out at Color Swirl, then back to Brawn.
"Try not to miss." Brawn nodded, then hurled Stratus. The pegasus flew screaming through the air, narrowly avoiding the flying debris. He slammed into Color Swirl, and the two ponies went crashing to the ground. As soon as they landed, the light in Color Swirl's eyes faded and the maelstrom of objects fell down. Brawn and Check Mate rushed over to the two ponies.
Color Swirl's eyes flickered open. She looked up to see Stratus sprawled on top of her. "Oh no. Tell me I didn't get blackout drunk and make poor life choices."
"You may relax," said Check Mate, "you did nothing other than destroy our living room."
"Oh thank Celestia," sighed Color Swirl, as she leaned back and closed her eyes. Then they snapped back open. "Wait a minute, I did what?"
"You mean you don't remember?" Asked Stratus as he climbed to his hooves. "Just after Brawn went back to the kitchen, your eyes lit up and you went nuts. You started levitating and throwing things around, then Brawn went nuts and started throwing me around!" He punctuated this last part with a glare at Brawn. The minotaur just shrugged.
"It would seem we have an uninvited guest for Nightmare Night," said Check Mate. "Now the question is, what do we do about it?" They all turned to face Color Swirl.
"Don't look at me," she protested. "I don't know the first thing about ghosts! I always thought they were just an old wives tale. Although," she raised her hoof to her chin, "the library here is pretty well stocked. There might be some information there."
"Perhaps, but I believe that the prudent course of action is to leave the house immediately," said Check Mate. "If Nutmeg's objections are with us taking residence in the house, it stands to reason he would cease his assaults if we were gone. We can return tomorrow, in the light of day, and determine a better plan then."
"I agree," said Brawn. "Let's get out of here." He went to the door and gave it a firm shove. He slowly turned to face the others. "It won't open."
"So push it harder!" Said Stratus. Brawn turned back to the door and threw his weight against it. The door refused to budge even an inch.
"No good," said Brawn, "It's shut tight."
"Not a problem, we'll just get out a different way," said Stratus. "Every pony stand clear!" He picked up a chair and charged towards the window. He hurled the chair straight at the glass. The chair simply bounced off. The window remained unaffected.
"It seems the ghost does not want us to leave," remarked Check Mate. "I believe we should make haste to the library." The thieves left the living room and went to the library.
The library was located within the northwest tower of the mansion. Brawn threw open a set of mahogany double doors to reveal hundreds of books lined up on the shelves. Color Swirl clapped her hooves together.
"Let's get started," she said cheerfully. The four thieves began to scour the library for any information on ghosts. They ransacked the shelves, piling up books on the floors all around them.
"I found something!" Called out Stratus. He held up a dusty old book bound in the hide of an unknown creature. The title, Supernatural Denizens, was scrawled messily on the cover. The thieves gathered around as Stratus set it down on a table. He flipped it open and began leafing through pages.
"Ghosts, ghosts, where are the ghosts?" He muttered to himself. "Ah, here it is! 'Ghosts may be formed in the aftermath of the death of a creature, provided that creature possesses a strong connection to something in the real world. The ability of a ghost to interact with the world is strictly limited, unless they are able to act through a host entity, such as another creature. Such actions take a tremendous amount of energy from the ghost, which must spend time recovering in between such acts.'"
"Skip to the part about killing the damn things!" Color Swirl interjected.
"I'm getting there!" Shouted Stratus. "'A ghost cannot be destroyed, but their connection to the world can be severed, leaving them effectively powerless. The body which once housed the ghost's soul must be burned to ash, then sprinkled with salt. Once these steps have been taken, the ghost will be powerless to interact with the world.' Damn it, we can't get to the graveyard as long as the ghost has us under house arrest like this!"
"We may not need to go anywhere," said Check Mate. "Rumor has it that Nutmeg had his remains interred in a secret crypt within this very house. That could explain his strong connection to this place. Stratus, when you first searched this house, did you find a crypt?"
"No, and trust me, if there was one, I would have found it!" Protested Stratus. "I went over every inch of this place!"
Just then, the lights went out. An evil cackle echoed throughout the library.
"I believe the ghost has regained it's strength," said Check Mate. The four thieves stood back to back in the center of the room, watching for any sign of the ghost. An empty silence hung in the air. Then, there came a noise. A faint scratching emanating from the walls. The guild cast fearful glances all around them, trying to pinpoint the noise.
There was a loud cracking sound, then a hole burst through the fireplace. A skeletal hoof reached up through the hole and seized the edge, straining to pull up some weight.
"Oh, sweet Celestia," uttered Color Swirl, "his bones were buried inside the walls!" The rest of Nutmeg's skeleton rose from the fireplace. His bones were a ghostly white, all flesh scoured from them. His skull leered with an eternal grin, as his empty eyes turned to face the living.
"I've got this!" Roared Brawn, who lunged forwards. He picked up a heavy recliner as he ran, lifting it above his head. With a mighty bellow, he brought the chair crashing down onto the skeleton. The chair splintered into hundreds of pieces which ricocheted about the room.
But the skeleton was unharmed. It cocked it's head as though amused, then lowered it's head and charged. It struck Brawn in the chest, sending the minotaur flying back across the room. He struck the opposite wall with a thud. His head dropped down over his chest.
The remaining three ponies stared in horror at their companion, then turned back to face the skeleton. It began to paw at the ground, like a bull preparing to charge. The ponies turned and ran for the door. Color Swirl and Stratus lifted Brawn up between the two of them, grunting with effort.
"Brawn, you need to lay off the candy," gasped Color Swirl. Check Mate held the door open for them. They hurried out of the room, and Check Mate slammed it shut just as the skeleton began to charge. Check Mate kicked a grandfather clock down in front of the door, barricading it shut. The door let out a groan of protest as the skeleton struck it on the far side.
"We need fire and salt!" Shouted Check Mate.
"The kitchen!" Cried out Color Swirl. "We can use the oven!" Check Mate moved to help carry Brawn, and the group frantically made their way to the kitchen. Behind them, they heard the door crash off of it's hinges.
They pushed through the kitchen door and dumped Brawn in the corner. Check Mate began barricading the door, as Stratus began rummaging through the cupboards for salt and Color Swirl frantically piled wood into the oven. They could hear the skeleton's bones creaking as it made it's way down the hall towards them.
The flame in the oven had just begun to catch when the skeleton struck the door. Check Mate braced himself against the door to hold it closed. Stratus, who had finally found a salt shaker, rushed over to join him. Color Swirl blew on the flames, willing them to grow. The skeleton struck the door a second time, nearly breaking it off it's hinges. Color Swirl threw every scrap of wood she could find onto the pile, until the sound of the skeleton was nearly drowned out by the roar of the flames.
The skeleton slammed into the door a third time and finally broke through. Check Mate and Stratus were thrown backwards by the force of the blow. Check Mate lay pinned beneath the wreckage of the door. Stratus leaped to his feet and rushed the skeleton. He lifted the salt shaker and threw a cloud of salt into the air before him. The skeleton hissed as it struck him, but batted Stratus aside with a single hoof. He slammed against the wall and slumped down. The skeleton turned it's attention to Color Swirl.
She stood cowering before the open door to the oven. "Just leave us alone!" She screamed in terror. The skeleton slowly approached, oblivious to her cries. Color Swirl looked up at the abomination looming above her. The skeleton lifted it's front hooves, and brought them crashing down with enough force to crack the floor.
Color Swirl vanished the second the hooves touched her. The skeleton stared about in confusion, before something struck it from behind. It turned about, snarling, to see the real Color Swirl standing behind it, her horn blazing with magical energy. She fired another blast, this time launching the skeleton back into the oven. It cried out as the flame touched it's body.
"Stratus! Salt!" Stratus lifted his head woozily, then tossed the salt shaker to Color Swirl. She caught it, spun, and hurled it into the oven, slamming the door shut behind it. The skeleton shrieked and pounded on the iron door as it burned. Color Swirl desperately held it shut, even as the blazingly hot iron burned her skin. She remained there until long after the skeleton's cries had faded.
Check Mate, Stratus and Brawn finally recovered enough to limp over to her. They gently pushed her aside and opened the oven. Nothing remained of the skeleton but a pile of bone white ash. Stratus turned to Color Swirl.
"Before you threw in the salt, you should have made some sort of salt related one liner," he said, his voice laced with exhaustion. Color Swirl grinned.
"Next time, I'll be sure to do that," she panted.
"So that's it then? It's gone for good?" Asked Brawn. "It better be gone for good." Check Mate shrugged.
"Who knows? For now, I think it is safe to assume it is gone."
"In that case, I'm going to bed." Stratus stretched, wincing with pain. "But first I need a hot bath."
"I think I'll hit the hay too," said Color Swirl. "If I see a single trick or treater in a skeleton costume, I may just incinerate them on the spot." Brawn merely nodded his agreement.
The three of them walked off, leaving Check Mate alone in the kitchen. He stared at the pile of ash for a while. Finally, he turned and retired to his room for the night. If he had remained for just a minute longer, he might have seen the ash begin to glow faintly, or heard the faint cackle.
The sun rose the next morning, heralding a new day. Fillies and colts awoke with aching teeth and monstrous stomachaches from all the candy they had consumed. Ponies set to work tearing down their spooky decorations, transforming their houses from haunted horrors back to regular homes.
The residents of a certain ancient mansion did not wake up until late that afternoon. When they finally awoke, they did not speak a word of what had transpired the previous night. They all remembered the events well enough without reliving them. But as they sat in silence, they were each consumed by a creeping fear.
What unnatural happenings might occur, come next Nightmare Night?
Author's Note
This is a side story for The Equestrian Thieves Guild. It contains no major plot points for anything happening in the main story. I just wanted to write something to get into the Nightmare Night spirit, so I decided to put some of my characters in a bizarre position. I'm not much of a horror movie aficionado, so I don't know much about the tropes and such. I do know that this story undoubtedly contains plenty of clichés, but it was fun to write.
