Four Squires sit around a campfire among other groups resting on the western foot of Canterlot Mountain. They were all dreading spending Nightmare night away from their friends and families, but their regiment ran through to Hearthswarming. A tall stocky Earth pony from Manehattan shuffled her hooves around while trying to get comfy on her log.
"Are you okay, Turnbuckle?" A turquoise green pegasus asked from across the fire.
She rolled around and groaned with a huff. "I'm tired and bored!" whined the young mare before she slumped on her log.
"You know that you're going to be standing for hours as a Royal Guard, right?" A short yet toned earth pony spoke up.
"Shut up, Iron Bastion!" She whined again while throwing her head back. "If I wanted to get nagged at by a shrimp I'd've stayed at home with my sister."
"Guy's, it's only been two hours," The lime green mare spoke up again. "How about we talk about something to pass the time?"
"Heck, it's nightmare night!" A unicorn with long shaggy hair pulled into a messy ponytail said. "Why don't we tell scary stories?"
"Dude, what are you, nine? Scary stories aren't scary anymore," Turnbuckle snorted.
"I'm not here to frighten ya, I just wanna hear some stories," He shrugged. "Wanna go first, Doldrum?"
She gasped a bit and looked around before running a hoof through her hair. "N-Nah, I don't have anything to tell," She chuckled nervously.
"You're from Ponyville, right?" Iron Baston asked Doldrum.
"Yeah, why?" She tilted her head just as Turnbuckle sat up and looked her up and down.
"I shoulda figured you were from Ponyville," She snorted a bit before going to pick at her hooves.
Iron Bastion rolled his eyes and scooted a bit closer to Doldrum. "I asked because I hear a lot of crazy stuff happens over there," He said with an intrigued glint in his eye.
"Yeah, like, don't you guys have bugbears and stuff?"
"The bugbear was chased away by a lone detective years ago, Nova," Doldrum laughed a bit before tapping her chin. "Well, there's one that my grandpa Zephyr told me one year that creeped me out for a week."
"What was it about?" Nova asked while pulling the blanket from his bag.
"He called it, The Mare of Discord," She said as ominously as her soft voice allowed.
"Sounds lame," Turnbuckle yawned while poking the fire with a stick.
"Ignore her," Iron Bastion waved her off before leaning in to hear the story.
"Well, this was back when my Grandpa was in his twenties, and he's nearly eighty now. But he used to tell me about mare he knew who disappeared one day."
Back when he was a young stallion he knew a mare who's name was Fluttershy. She was kind, timid, and loved animals dearly. It was said that she was even one of the old elements of harmony. But one day she met, Discord the God of Chaos. They battled, and the more they did the more she fell enamored with him. One day they wed and she went with him to reside within his dimension. She would always come back and fulfill her duty as an element and a mentor. But, one day she never came back. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and months into years until everypony lost hope of her return.
One day though, when grandpa was walking by her old house to pay his respects, he noticed a green flash come from behind him. When he turned to face whatever had just appeared, he found a young mare with long pink tattered hair stepping out of a portal. It was her, his friend who went missing so long ago.
"H-Hello...?" She called out to him, her hooves planted and her eyes shut.
"Can you see me?" She asked.
Grandpa froze there seeing his friend seemingly alive for the first time in almost twenty years. He wanted to speak, to say hi, to hug her, but for some reason, he couldn't move. She started to walk closer to him, her hooves made no sound. It didn't even seem like she was even making contact with the gravel path where they stood.
"I can't see you," She said again, her voice still and soothing.
"Why... why can't I see you?" She whimpered out while continuing to move closer to him.
Grandpa still couldn't move... but he did find it in him to speak. "O-Open your eyes..." He said cautiously.
She stopped walking and did just as he said. When she fluttered her eyes open, Grandpa was stricken by an insurmountable feeling of dread, fear, and confusion. He said he could see the gates of Tartarus opening and she was his reaper. Her eyes were a blazing green among a sea of inky black that leaked down her cheeks like corrupted tears. Grandpa tried to move, or say anything but her stare froze him entirely. She started to move towards him, looking as if she were walking on air. She reached out to him, nearly placing her hoof to his chest when he broke free of his trance and ran away.
"I didn't mean to stare!" She gasped, her voice echoing through the night. "I'm sorry!" She cried while trying to reach out to grandpa as he galloped away full tilt back to the town. As he ran, he turned to see if she gave chase. But all he could see were two points of green light that gradually faded the further he was from the cottage. That was the last time he went to pay his respects...
"Ooh, good old fashioned creepy story!" Nova peeped up with a nod and a smile. "I like~"
"Thank you," Doldrum giggled, a bit bashful.
"Of course you'd choose ghost stuff to talk about," Turnbuckle rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Turnbuckle," Doldrum groaned. "If you're not gonna tell a story, can you at least not ruin everypony else's fun?"
"I thought it was a cool story," Iron Bastion nodded.
"Please," She scoffed.
"Why don't you tell one then?" Nova teased Turnbuckle. "I'm sure you have stories about being bugged by a homeless stallion."
"I will then!" She sat up and rubbed her hooves together. "So, this was back before Princess Twilight became a princess. My Pops and my Uncle were workin in our garage under our apartment when this crazy stallion bangs on the door. They let him in, sit him down and warm him up a bit. After he was done, they let him go and when they was about to leave about an hour later. There was the stallion's body right at the door with his throat slit!"
"That's not scary... that's just messed up... and sad," Iron Bastion shook his head.
"That, like, wasn't even a story. It wasn't even an anecdote... what would you call it?" Nova tapped his chin.
"That's how my stories go," Turnbuckle huffed while crossing her forelegs.
"If that's the case then, yeah it was a good story. Could have used more detail, but good," Doldrum smiled while Turnbuckle rolled her eyes and laid out on the stump.
"Don't let the instructors find out you're laying down," Iron Bastion cautioned.
"Bite me..."
"Got any more?" Iron Bastion asked with that same glint from earlier.
"Actually, yeah. I do," She smiled at him.
After grandpa saw her he didn't tell a soul. At the time he told me and my mom without ever having told anypony else. But she started cropping up more and more around Ponyville and the surrounding areas saying the same thing "I didn't mean to stare..." Then, one day the late fashion designer Rarity was returning home to see her old friend, Spike Princess Twilight Sparkle's adopted Dragon Brother. They'd been friends since Spike was young and they hadn't seen one another for years. After having lunch she returned to her old home at the Carousel Boutique.
Upon her return, she met with her sister on the eve of Fluttershy's disappearance. They set out to do the same as my Grandpa in paying their dear friend her respects. They left around midday and had a picnic at her favorite spot, leaving flowers and notes to wish her a peaceful rest. They were going to move on to her cottage when the sun dipped below the horizon. Just as it set though, a green flash came from a few hills away.
When they trained their eyes on it, they saw a young mare with tattered pink hair walking calmly towards them. She kept her eyes closed, blindly moving forward. "What was that?" Sweetie Bell asked a bit intrigued.
"I haven't the foggiest idea," Rarity answered while keeping her eye on where the flash came from. They were about to begin packing when multiple flashes lit up the fresh dusk around them until they could see the ghost in better detail.
"You see that too, right?" Sweetie Bell asked with anxiety written in her tone.
"We should go," Rarity agreed as two more flashes came from behind them. When she turned, she could see the ghostly form of Fluttershy stepping out of one of her portals.
Rarity froze along with her sister while Fluttershy's spirit stood there. "Can you hear me...?"
"Fl-Fluttershy...?" Rarity shook.
It tilted its head in a stiff motion. "You know me...?"
"Fluttershy!" Rarity gasped, trying to contain the trembling in her body. "What... what... happened to you?"
She straightened her head and stayed silent before saying softly, "I didn't mean to stare..."
"What do you mean, dear?"
Fluttershy again stayed silent before asking, "Can I look at you?"
Rarity looked back at her sister who had been sitting on the blanket, frozen by the presence of the spirit. She turned her attention back to Fluttershy. "...yes,"
Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, that thick black fluid leaking from them once again until her green pupils bore down on Rarity. Sweetie Bell began to whimper and cry at what she was seeing, but Rarity kept her gaze locked with the apparition. It started to move closer, slowly walking on air until she was nearly snout to snout with Rarity. Sweetie Bell, broke out of her spell before grabbing her sister and running off. The Spirit cried out in agony, before starting to give chase, using portals to cut them off. They lost her in a thicket before making it back to the main path. The whole time they ran they could hear soft sobbing followed by, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to stare..."
Those closest to Rarity say that this is what led to her death two years later. She would always be awake at all times a night complaining about feeling a presence watching her sleep and hearing the faintest whisper "Can you hear me..?"
"Whoa..." Iron Bastion looked at Nova in a shared nod of intrigue. "Did that really happen?"
Doldrum was about to speak and hesitated a moment. "Well... I believe it a bit more since Ponyville is a bit of a crazy magical place now," She shrugged while looking at the fire.
"Eh, it was an alright story," Turnbuckle said with a negging sigh.
"So you were listening?" Nova poked with a cheesy grin,
"Not like there's much else to do..." She said dryly before an old white stallion came up to them, clearing his throat.
"Sleeping on guard duty, Squire Turnbuckle?" He looked down on her with a disappointed gaze. "And you three allowing your fellow guard to do such."
"General Shining Armor, sir!" They all stood at attention with Turnbuckle hobbling up after a second.
He looked around at them and sighed. "At ease, Cadets." He took a seat on the log next to Doldrum. "The first all-nighter is always rough."
"Tell me about it," Turnbuckle yawned. "What time is it anyway?"
"Hey! Don't just ask for information! That's cheating!" Iron Bastion said like a soldier.
"Technically not cheating, but I still won't tell," Shining said with a grin. "So, what were you kids doing to pass the time?"
"Telling ghost stories," Nova nodded lazily.
"Ah!" Shining perked up with a laugh. "I think we did horror stories on our first night out," He tapped his chin. "What were they about?"
"~The Mare of Discord~,"Turnbuckle teased in a mock spooky voice.
"Ah..." Shining's smile faded.
"Have you heard it, sir?" Iron Bastion asked with a spark of energy.
"Yeah..." Shining croaked out before standing with a grunt. "Keep talking with one another... Your brothers and sisters in Armor will give you strength," He nodded before walking out into the dark lit dimly by other campfires.
No one said a word for a moment before focusing back on the fire. "...I want candy, dude..." Nova sighed with a huff.
"Some pumpkin seeds would be awesome too," Turnbuckle sighed while rubbing her belly.
"Guys, don't do that. You're gonna make yourselves hungry," Iron Bastion said with a bit of authority. "Who am I kidding..." he groaned. "I really want some pumpkin pie..."
"Contagious munchies with no food sucks," Nova huffed before looking at Doldrum staring off into the distance.
"Hey! Dee?" he called, but she kept her eyes out to the dark. "Doldrum?"
"Hm? What's up?" She asked with a haze over her.
"These two numbskulls decided to start saying what Nightmare Night food they wanted. What about you?" Iron Brigade yawned.
"I want some candy corn," She smiled. "Oh! And Pumpkin Spice Muffins!"
"Ew, candy corn," Turnbuckle snorted.
"Yeah, candy corn is pretty gross..." Nova agreed.
"I like it," Iron Bastion shrugged.
"Acting like you like the gross stuff she does won't make her like you, Iron Blockhead," Turnbuckle teased while laying back.
"YOU STOP TALKING RIGHT THERE!!" Iron Bastion squeaked while trying to keep his face away from the light.
"It's the fact that you deny it that confirms it, bud," Nova affirmed with a nod.
Iron Bastion reached for his bag and pulled his blanket over his back to hide. Later on in the night, the fire's around them had faded into smoldering piles of ash and ember. Turnbuckle was the first to fall, while Nova followed soon. Iron Bastion stayed up for as long as he could with Doldrum, idly chatting and keeping each other company through the night. Doldrum was the last to fall under Twilight's spell of soothing slumber. Just as she slipped away she could feel somepony's eyes and hear the faintest whisper, "Can you hear me...?"
