A grim reaper, a pirate, and an invisible unicorn walk up to a house...
It was a chilly night in the small town of Ponyville. The moon was high, shining pale light on thatched roofs. The streets were blanketed with thin wisps of fog. Decorations of bats, spiders, and ghosts hung from doors and windows. And the air was filled with a mixture of screams, shouts, and laughter.
Nightmare Night was in full swing this year. All around town, ponies of all ages were wandering around town dressed in costumes. Some danced or played games in the town square. Others snuck around pulling pranks on anyone passing by. And of course, fillies and colts darted from house to house like mice, filling their bags with candy.
One filly was hot on the hooves of her friend when she tripped on her black cloak. Reaching back to check her saddlebags, she found all her candy still there.
“Come on Apple Bloom!” the pegasus filly ahead of her scolded. “We don’t have all night!”
Apple Bloom lifted the hood of her cloak to get a better view of her impatient friend. “I’ll be right there Scootaloo! Just give me a second!” she replied as she brushed herself off.
“Second’s up.”
“Ten seconds,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. She adjusted her cloak for the seventh time that night, and picked up her small cardboard scythe.
“Aren’t you sick of carrying that thing around?” Scootaloo asked.
“Would I be a grim reaper without a scythe?” What about you? Doesn’t that eyepatch make things a mite bit difficult to see?” Apple Bloom gestured to her friend’s pirate costume.
“Eh, it’s not so bad,” Scootaloo shrugged. “Honestly, the hard part is making sure the rest of my costume stays in one piece.”
Apple Bloom glanced to the addition attached to Scootaloo’s left side, and smiled. “Well if it helps, ya did a good job with it.”
“Thanks, but that doesn’t make it any less heavy,” Scootaloo rolled her shoulders.
“Ya need a break?”
“No, I’m good. Let’s go before all the good candy is gone.”
The two fillies continued down the street to Bon Bon’s house. A few moments after knocking, the door opened to reveal Bon Bon dressed as a devil. Behind her, Lyra Heartstrings was dressed as an angel.
“Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sang.
“Oh wow, you two look great tonight!” Bon Bon smiled. She reached grabbed a basket of candy from a nearby table, and placed a hoof-full of candy into their bags. “Say, where’s Sweetie Belle? I thought she’d be with you two.”
“Well, duh! She’s right here,” Scootaloo gestured to her left side. Attached to her costume was a wire frame made into a rough outline of a unicorn filly. A cloak was draped over its body, with a fedora placed on its head. A candy basket hung from its left “hoof”.
“You are gonna give her some candy too, right?” Apple Bloom smiled, gesturing to the basket.
Bon Bon eyed the wire frame with some suspicion. But after a few moments, she chuckled and dropped an extra hoof-full into the basket.
“Thanks Bon Bon,” Scootaloo made the unicorn frame’s head nod.
“You’re welcome. You fillies have a happy Nightmare Night.”
“You too!” Apple Bloom called back, having already started back down the street.
Apple Bloom waited a moment for Scootaloo to catch up. “You think we should hit a few more houses?”
Scootaloo inspected the candy held in her pillow case, as well as the basket, then looked back to Apple Bloom. “Yeah, I think we can fill these up a little more. You wanna hit Doctor—” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide. “Whoa!”
Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Doctor Whoa? Who the hay is that?” Scootaloo pointed behind her. Apple Bloom turned around, and stumbled back with a small scream. A few inches away was a skinny earth pony filly dressed as a clown, and wearing the creepiest smile she ever saw.
“Hey there little filly,” the clown said with a lisp. “Let’s put a smile on that face!”
Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chest and laughed. “Whoa nelly! You really got me there Twist. Great costume!”
“Oh, you should’ve seen the look on your face. It was priceless!” Apple Bloom turned to find Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laughing nearby. Diamond Tiara was dressed as Princess Platinum. Silver Spoon was dressed as a mad scientist. “Oh, I wish I had a camera,” Diamond Tiara giggled.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up,” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.
“Oh, don’t feel too bad about it,” Silver Spoon smiled. “You should’ve seen Diamond Tiara’s reaction. She had to have jumped six feet in the air when Twist came around the corner.”
Diamond Tiara shot a quick glare toward her friend while everyone else laughed. “Anyway...how’s your night going?”
“Arrg, it be goin’ well!” Scootaloo said in her pirate voice. “Check out the plunder we been collectin’ tonight!” She hefted her pillow case off her back and held it open for everypony to see.
“Not bad, not bad at all,” Diamond Tiara whistled.
Twist looked around Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “Hey, where’s Sweetie Belle?”
“Yeah, you three usually go everywhere together,” Silver Spoon nodded.
“She’s right here,” Scootaoo gestured to the wire unicorn attached to her. “She’s the Invisible Mare.”
Silver Spoon starred at Scootaloo with a bemused look. “Did you seriously make that just to score some extra candy?”
“What?! No!” Scootaloo protested. She turned to the wire unicorn. “Do I seem like the type of pony who would do that?” she asked. The wire unicorn shook her head.
Diamond Tiara shook her head with a chuckle. “Looks ridiculous, but props on the puppeteering.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “I do my best.”
“Say Apple Bloom, you two—” Twist began.
Scootaloo coughed, gesturing to the Invisible Mare.
“—three wanna come with us?” Twist corrected. “We were gonna go to the festival and play some games, then go to your family’s corn maze.”
Apple Bloom scratched the back of her head.”That’s mighty temptin’, but we’ve been out and about since sunset. We were gonna hit a few more houses, then call it a night.”
“Wow, you got an early start!” Twist elbowed Apple Bloom. “Trying to get the best sweets before everypony else, eh?”
“The early bird gets the worm,” Apple Bloom shrugged.
“Well, see you around I guess,” Diamond Tiara said.
As the three earth pony fillies turned to leave, Silver Spoon stopped. “Wait, one more thing, about the corn maze. No offense Apple Bloom, but your brother’s performance was awful last year.”
Apple Bloom giggled. “Yeah, the whole mummy gimmick was kind of a last minute thing. Don’t worry though, he’s got somethin’ better for tonight.”
“Great, what’s he doing?”
Apple Bloom smiled and gave a low chuckle. “Let me put it this way, don’t be surprised if you come runnin’ out of that maze before reachin’ the end.”
Silver Spoon’s pupils dilated. “W-what does that mean?”
“Have a good night Silver Spoon,” Apple Bloom walked away with a grin.
“Wait, what did you mean by that?” Silver Spoon called out.
“Hey, Silver Spoon!” Silver Spoon turned to find Twist and Diamond Tiara were a couple houses ahead of her. “What’s the hold up back there?” Stealing a last glance towards Apple Bloom, Silver Spoon galloped back to her friend.
Once she was away, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo let out the laughter they had been struggling to hold in. “Oh Celestia, did you see the look on her face?”
Scootaloo wiped a tear away as she finished laughing. “Imagine the look on her face when she sees Big Mac,” she said with a shudder. “Where did he get all that fake blood?”
“Made it himself,” Apple Bloom answered. “Used corn syrup, chocolate sauce, and red food colorin’.”
“Cool!” Scootaloo glanced up at the moon. “We should probably get going.”
Apple Bloom slowly pulled her hood back up. “Very well. Let’s go my swashbucklin’ friend.” Picking up her cardboard scythe, she led the way to their next house, gliding across the wet grass like a ghost. About thirteen steps later, she stepped on her cloak and fell flat on her face. “Oh, come on!”
Scootaloo knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique. Moments later, Rarity opened the door, dressed as a black cat.
“Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sang.
“Well, if you insist,” Rarity smiled. Bringing out a basket of candy, she deposited a king sized candy bar in all three containers. “Did you make that yourself Scootaloo?” she gestured to the Invisible Mare.
“Yep,” Scootaloo nodded.
“Excellent work, though I can’t say the Invisible Mare has the best sense of fashion.”
Scootaloo blushed.
Meanwhile, Apple Bloom stepped back from the boutique to get a look at a certain window on the second floor. “Speakin’ of which, how’s she doin?”
Rarity frowned, stealing a glance at the staircase behind her. “She hasn’t left her room all day. I got her to eat some soup earlier, but she’s still out of sorts.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo frowned, their ears drooping. “Why’d this have ta happen tonight of all nights?” Apple Bloom mumbled.
“Well, you think this’ll cheer her up?” Scootaloo glanced to the basket held by the Invisible Mare.
Rarity smiled. “I think it just might dear. Give it here, I’ll bring it to her for you.”
“Actually…” Scootaloo fidgeted in place. “I was hoping we could give it to her ourselves.”
Rarity looked from the two Crusaders to the steps, then back. “Are...you sure about that?”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo nodded without hesitation.
Rarity put a hoof to her chin for a few moments. “Come in, I may have something that’ll help.”
The two fillies followed her inside. While Rarity paced around the house, they took a moment to admire the decorations she had put up. Plastic ravens were perched on various shelves, staring at the fillies. Spider webs were woven across the ceiling, embedded with small gemstones.
“Wow, awesome job decoratin’ the place,” Apple Bloom smiled.
“Thank you dear,” Rarity called from the kitchen. “Ah, these should work.” Rarity returned with two simple pendants in her magic. She closed her eyes as her horn lit up brighter. The pendants shook in her grip as magic swirled around them. A few moments later, the glow wore off, and the pendants stood still.
“There, I think I got it right,” Rarity panted, a small bead of sweat dripping down her forehead. “These should help when you go to see her.” She levitated the pendants around the two fillies’ necks.
“Should?” Scootaloo asked.
“Well...Twilight enchanted the one I’m using,” Rarity showed them a similar pendant around her neck. “She showed me the spell just in case I needed to make another one. But I’m not quite as skilled with magic as she is.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at each other with uncertainty. Apple Bloom fiddled with her necklace for a bit before looking up the stairs. “Ya know what? Even if these things don’t work, I still wanna see her.”
“Same,” Scootaloo nodded.
Rarity smiled. “Sweetie Belle’s lucky to have friends like you two.” A knock at the door grabbed her attention. “Well, duty calls. You girls go on ahead and see her, you know where her room is.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trotted up the steps while Rarity answered the door. As they walked down the hallway to Sweetie Belle’s room, Scootaloo tugged on Apple Bloom’s cloak.
“Hold on a second,” Scootaloo said with a smirk. “I’ve got an idea.” She motioned for Apple Bloom to get closer. As she whispered her plan into Apple Bloom’s ear, a grin began to form on the farm filly’s face.
Sweetie Belle gazed out her window with a ragged sigh. She watched ponies wandering the streets, dressed up in all sorts of costumes. In the distance, she could see the Nightmare Night festival in full swing. Ponies were dancing, playing games, and watching performances. She watched the fillies and colts collecting candy, and wished that she could join them.
She pulled another tissue from the box on her bedside, and blew her nose. Sweetie Belle leaned back on her pillow, shifting a few crumpled up tissues scattered on her bed. She used her magic to gather them up and drop them into a wastebasket overflowing with spent tissues. She turned away from the window, hoping to block out the sounds of all the fun she was missing.
With a sad sniffle, Sweetie Belle tried to get some sleep. But a slow, steady knocking woke her up.
Knock...knock...knock...
“Yeah, what is it Rarity?” Sweetie Belle said with a cough.
Knock...knock...knock…
Sweetie Belle groaned. “Fine, I’ll empty the wastebasket in a bit. It’s not my fault I need to use so many tissues!”
Knock...knock...knock…
Sweetie Belle sat up. “Um...Rarity?”
Knock...knock...knock…
Sweetie Belle pulled the covers closer as she stared at the door. “Who’s there?”
A few tense moments of silence passed as Sweetie Belle waited for a response. Her breathing picked up as the door handle slowly turned. The door swung open with a slow, agonizing creaking sound. Sweetie Belle’s blood ran cold. In the dim light of the hallway, a figure stood in a long dark cloak, holding a scythe in one sleeved appendage. Its hood obscured its face, but Sweetie Belle could feel it gazing through her.
“Sweetie Belle…” the figure rasped. “I have come for thee…”
“Wha-what?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “B-but...it’s just a bad cold. I’m not dying from it...am I?”
“A cold? No...I’m afraid not,” the reaper said as it glided into the room. “You are sufferin’ from something far more dire.”
“W-what is it?”
The reaper paused for a moment. “I’m afraid you have...um...nightmare...itus? Yes! You are sick with nightmaritus!”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “Nightmaritus?”
“Yes, a most deadly disease. Comes ‘round once every few Nightmare Nights. Now, come Sweetie Belle. Your time has come…”
Sweetie Belle inched further away from the reaper. “No, please! I’m not ready!”
“We rarely are. Come now, ya’ll don’t need to be afraid.”
Sweetie Belle’s heart was racing as the reaper inched ever closer. She had never imagined Death to be like this. She always pictured it to be wearing a black cloak, but she didn’t think its scythe would be so short. And the way it bobbed and weaved as it shuffled close to her almost looked goofy. And she always though the reaper would be a guy, but it sounded like a girl. And she certainly never expected it to have a slight country accent.
Sweetie Belle stopped just at the edge of her bed, her eyes narrowed. “Wait...Apple Bloom, is that you?”
The reaper stopped in its tracks. “What?! Uh...n-no! I am the harvester of souls, messenger of death, herald of...herald of...uh…”
While the reaper struggled, Sweetie Belle quietly reached for her bedside table. Mustering up what little strength she could, she chucked the box of tissues straight at the reaper’s hood.
The reaper stumbled around for a few moments before falling to the floor with a short scream. Scootaloo tumbled out of the bottom of the cloak, while the hood fell back to reveal Apple Bloom’s face.
Scootaloo got up and stretched, wincing as she heard a few pops coming from her back. “Why couldn’t you be on the bottom?” she groaned.
“‘Cause I’m always on the bottom!” Apple Bloom rubbed her head. “Seriously, every time we do somethin’ like this, I’m always the one carryin’ both of you!”
“Well, it’s not my fault that you’re stronger than me. Or that you’re heavier than me.”
“Oh please, I’m not that heavy. Do you even lift, girl?”
Sweetie Belle watched the argument in front of her for awhile, until a quiet cough made them both turn to her. “What’re you two doing here?” she rasped. “Did you two come all this way just to scare me?”
“We came to see how you were doin’,” Apple Bloom said, straightening out her cloak. “The scare was Scootaloo’s idea.”
“Hey, it’s Nightmare Night,” Scootaloo shrugged. “We uh...didn’t scare you too bad, did we?” Sweetie Belle stared at them both, not saying a word. Scootaloo glanced to Apple Bloom, who looked a little uneasy. “Like she said, it was my idea. So if we went too far, I’m sorry. It was just supposed to be a little—”
“Nightmaritus?” Sweetie Belle deadpanned. “That...was what you came up with?”
Apple Bloom blinked. “Um...yes?”
A few moments passed before Sweetie Belle fell to her side, laughing. “That...that is ridiculous!”
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were soon laughing alongside her. “Hey, y'all know I ain’t the best at improvisin’,” Apple Bloom defended.
“Hey, it looked like she bought it, at least for a little bit,” Scootaloo laughed. “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle, but the look on your face was amazing.”
Sweetie Belle’s laughter then turned into a series of heavy coughs.
“Are you alright?” Apple Bloom asked.
Sweetie Belle grabbed a bottle of water from her nightstand and took a few sips. “Yeah, I’m alright.”
“So...how ya holdin’ up?”
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to answer, then sneezed. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shielded themselves but didn't feel anything touch them.
Scootaloo opened her eyes in time to see a blue bubble shimmer away. She glanced down at the pendant Rarity gave her.
“Rarity gave you magic health bubble necklaces?” Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness! The last thing I want is to get you girls sick.” She then turned to Apple Bloom. “So to answer your question Apple Bloom, I’ve been better." She picked up a nearby tissue and blew her nose.
“Yeah…”
“Anyway, I love your costumes.”
“Yeah?” Apple Bloom did a twirl.
“Do I look ready to rock the seven seas, and sail to Candy Island?” Scootaloo struck a pose, making Sweetie Belle laugh. “Oh, speaking of which. I left the rest of my costume in the hall, be right back.”
“The rest of it?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Oh yeah,” Apple Bloom laughed. “I think you’re gonna love this.”
A few moments later, Scootaloo hobbled back into the room with the Invisible Mare.
“Wha-what is that?” Sweetie Belle giggled.
“It’s you,” Scootaloo smiled. “You’re the Invisible Mare.”
“What? That looks nothing like me!”
“Oh come on, I did my best!” Scootaloo lifted the Invisible Mare’s foreleg holding the candy basket. “A lot of other ponies seemed to like it too.”
Apple Bloom grabbed the extra candy basket and hopped onto Sweetie Belle’s bed. “Alright y'all, it’s that time of the night,” she said. She placed the basket before Sweetie Belle before taking off her saddlebag. “Let’s see who’s got the most candy!”
“Finally!” Scootaloo detached the Invisible Mare and hoisted her pillowcase onto the bed. She dumped her candy onto the bed with Apple Bloom and began sorting it out. After a few moments, she noticed Sweetie Belle staring at the candy basket in front of her. “Sweetie Belle, is something wrong?”
Sweetie Belle looked to her friends, tears forming at the edge of her eyes. “Is this...really for me?”
“Of course it is,” Scootaloo smiled.
“Nightmare Night only comes once a year,” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ain’t fair for you to miss it ‘cause you’re sick.”
Sweetie Belle was at a loss for words, and desperately trying to hold back her tears. Eventually she looked to her friends with a smile. “You girls are the best!” she said as a tear slid down her cheek. “Come here you two,” she got up to give them a hug. When she got within two feet of them but a shimmering blue barrier halted her path. “Oh...right.”
Sweetie Belle shrugged and resorted to hugging the bubbles surrounding her friends. The three fillies shared a laugh and got back to counting their loot. Afterwards, they all finished their Nightmare Night properly. By pigging out on as much candy as they could eat.
Author's Note
Happy Halloween!
