Something Sweet to Bite: A New Generation

"The beast is coming to your house. The beast is coming to your town" - Roky Erickson

Posey shut her front door and slumped down with her back against it, her head in her hooves.

This had turned out to be one heck of a Nightmare Night. Trick-or-treaters, one after the other, had banged on her door demanding candy apples, carrots, and other treats even before the sun had really had a chance to set. Which would have been fine if that had been anything other than just the first trickle of ‘treaters’ she’d end up having to deal with, but that was far from the reality of the situation. Instead Posey had gotten pounded by one large group of ponies after another, many of whom she suspected were well past the 'sell by date' for tricking and/or treating. But what could she do? It was tradition to pass out treats on Nightmare Night and as much as Posey would have rather drawn the curtains and curled up with a good book she had instead made one emergency trip after another to the corner store to restock treats for the endless flow of would be tricksters.

Perhaps another pony would have found the whole situation more amusing and less challenging, but even Posey had to admit that she was sometimes a little bit… High strung. It wasn't her fault that it didn’t take much to shock or surprise her, she had just been born with very little patience and a short temper to go along with it. Well, maybe that was somewhat her fault, but it wasn't like she didn't make an effort! Of course she enjoyed a harmless Nightmare Night prank as much as the next pony, but Jump scare after jump scare quickly grew tiring, and everypony thought they were a comedian! It made events like Nightmare Night a trial even when the flow of pranksters was light.

The real low point of the evening had been when she opened her door after hearing a knock to find no trick-or-treaters what-so-ever on her doorstep. Then all of a sudden Sunny and her entire crew of friends suddenly jumped out at her! Posey screamed and tossed her treats into the air before running back inside her house, slamming the door behind her. Then she had heard a loud belch followed by an unmistakable poof; One that had become all too common when Sparky, the baby dragon with the magic flame breath, was around. Sure enough, the little menace had managed to turn Posey's prized flowers into pasta! Pasta of all things! The Sunny bunch at least had the good grace, or perhaps the common sense, to make themselves scarce before the Earth Pony could really lose it but sadly her blood pressure was already up and her face crimson with indignation by the time they ran off into the night.

Posey's head was pounding as she massaged her temples with her hooves, trying to calm herself down. There finally seemed to be a lull in the night's guests after that, and it had come none too soon. The bowl of treats by the door was empty again and the young mare didn't have it in her to run to the store to refill it even one more time. What Posey felt like she needed right now was a nice warm bath, maybe a little nip of cider, and a good long nap! Maybe one that would last until tomorrow afternoon! That was why, as she slowly got to her hooves and began to walk away from her front door, that the knock that immediately followed was so very unwelcome. The sound vibrated in her head, making it impossible to ignore her holiday caller though she desperately wished to. Instead, putting on a brave face and a smile she didn’t really feel, Posey opened her door for like the hundredth time that evening and greeted... An empty street?

Oh no, not again!

The mare quickly darted her vision from side to side, making sure nopony was hiding where she couldn’t see them, but there was no sign of any pony at all as far as she could tell. There was just her jack-o-lantern spilling its merry pumpkin light out into the darkness. The night was calm and a little chill. A full moon hung low over the horizon, the phantoms of clouds drifting in across the bay sweeping past it giving the round orb the illusion of motion. Thick banks of fog were beginning to roll into town, glowing hauntingly beneath the moonlight. A common sight this time of year as warm air off the bay met with the Autumn wind blowing down the plains from the distant mountains. There was something else that rode with the breeze though... A slight cloying scent, strangely sweet, yet it spoke of corruption underneath like rancid meat. Living in a seaside town Posey was used to the occasional fishy smell at low tide, but this was something else entirely.

It was something far more putrid.

Something revoltingly close by.

Posey held a hoof to her muzzle to block her nostrils.

The bushes shook gently in the night breeze and Posey coughed in disgust. The bushes! Those stupid pasta flowers that Sparky had made must be going bad already! She should probably go ahead and clean them up now or she was going to wake up to the reek of rotting pasta in the morning. The mare went back inside to get a trash bag and some gloves for her hooves. It took her a moment to find everything she needed, rummaging around under her kitchen sink, and she was too distracted to notice that she had left her front door wide open. Ghostly wisps of fog drifted inside, along with the abattoir stench, spilling over the threshold and into the Earth Pony's home.

When Posey went back to her porch, irritated but determined to get to work, the mare made a surprising discovery as somepony had already done her work for her! The mare's bushes were completely pasta free. It was a weird sort of trick to pull, but the she wasn’t about to complain if some trick-or-treaters had decided to clean up her hedgerow. Or maybe it had been some particularly smelly passing wild animal? Posey didn't care to speculate.

Now seemed as good a time as any to call it a night before any more strange occurrences had a chance to happen. Posey turned around and made the universal sign of ‘No More Candy’ by flipping off her porch light and closing her curtains. Thinking that she probably should have done that hours ago Posey put her gloves and the unopened trash bag into the empty treat bowl and, closing and locking her front door behind her, went back to her kitchen to put everything away.

However, when she trotted back into her kitchen she was in for a bit of a shock. There, over at the sink, was a mare she had never seen before pouring herself a tall glass of water! Posey watched mesmerized as the stranger brought the clean glass to her lips and took several long, slow, gulps of cool clear water before setting it back down on the counter with every sign of refreshment - even giving a little satisfied sigh. The rim of the glass was now coated in an oozing black filth that Posey could smell from across the room, the same substance which the mare couldn’t help but notice was now smeared tracked all across her floors! The source of the gross slime seemed to be the strangers costume and the candy bucket by her side, which steadily drizzled the foul substance with her every movement.

“What are you doing!?” Posey exploded, her annoyance with her night boiling over into pure rage at the gall of this filthy pony's invasion of her home!

The home invader seemed nonplussed by Posey's displeasure and merely languidly turned towards her, licking her lips with a long black and orange striped tongue. She rumbled, “Thirsty,” in a predatory fashion, as if that was all the explanation that was needed. The stranger's stomach then audibly growled. "Mmm... Hungry!" The costumed mare then picked up their skull shaped bucket and thrust it in Posey’s direction. A more grotesque thing the young mare had never seen in her life as it had been fashioned to appear like a decapitated pony’s head, complete with meat and sinew still clinging to the bone! The 'handle' of the bucket was made to appear to be composed of the severed heads braided mane. The hollowed out skull had a few pieces of candy stuck inside it, but mostly what it contained was more of the fetid dark substance that oozed from the hollow eye-sockets and dripped onto the kitchen floor as the invader shook the pail up and down eagerly. The only further elaboration from the unwelcome guest was for her to croak, “Trick or treat!”

“I’m all out of candy!” Posey angrily retorted, her eyes locked onto the candy bucket as her face twisted into a mask of revulsion.

Was this thing really just some tasteless prop? The smell that came off of it, the stink of rotten meat and charnel putrescent, made it seem all too real. What was worse was that despite the skull lacking any skin, Posey thought she found the things features familiar. As if the ruined face may have once belonged to somepony she had seen before, perhaps even one she saw from day to day around Maretime Bay. The face being almost recognizable made the fake decapitated head all the more unsettlingly realistic. It was fake, right?

That thought opened a pit of fear deep in Posey's stomach and quickly turned her anger into apprehension. The young mare realized now might be a good time to exercise some series restraint and reign in her temper. Biting off this pony's head might conceivably result in her losing her own. The last thing she wanted to do was antagonize the disturbing individual standing before her. “There’s some left over pie in the cold box though," she offered, "If you want a slice...”

“A slice... A slice?” echoed the intruder quizzically in a voice that was disturbingly similar to Posey’s own. The uninvited guest then started to giggle, high and sharp and girlish. She laughed as if Posey had said the funniest thing in the world in a voice that sounded far too young to be coming out of so large a pony. She chanted manically, “A slice, slice, slice, SLICE, SLICE!”

As the stranger continued to babble it finally clicked that the sickly sweet rotting smell that the Earth Pony had noticed before had not been coming from her bushes, but rather from this deranged pony who must have been hiding in them! Had the 'pasta' bushes attracted her to Posey's abode, or was it something else? Had she been the one to knock earlier? What exactly was she after? Panic rose inside of Posey and the young mare's eyes were already darting for the front door as the stranger suddenly snatched a butcher knife from the rack by the sink and lunged after her!

Posey screamed and ran for the front door, but the intruder was right behind her, whipping the knife blade back and forth across her back and flanks! The cuts weren’t deep as the knife was actually a little dull, but each shallow slice caused a fresh panicked scream to come bursting from Posey’s throat! After what felt like ages but must have been only a few short seconds, the young mare reached the front door and fumbled ineffectively with the lock. By then Posey's hooves were already getting slick from her own blood and shaking from fright, so struggle as she might she couldn’t get enough of a grip to unbolt the door and free herself. It didn’t help that the maniacal pony was so unrelenting in her assault, slashing Posey open repeatedly again and again as she laughed and laughed like a demented child.

Not getting anywhere with the door, Posey finally gave up and instead ran for the stairs. It wasn't the smart thing to do and she knew it, but she just wanted to get away from the barrage of cuts so she could buy herself some time to think. If Posey could just get a little bit of time, and a little distance, then maybe she could come up with another way to escaping her tormentor! The Earth Pony's adrenaline was pumping now and, though she realized there was nowhere she could go once she made it up the stairs but to her bedroom, there was the slim hope that she might be able to slam her bedroom door in the crazy mare’s wild-eyed face if she ran fast enough. At least that would stop the terrible bite of the erratically slashing knife into her body, if only for a few moments.

Panic and blood loss made climbing the stairs feel like climbing Mount Everhoof. Posey's legs felt like lead weights as she stomped up each step in what felt like the slow motion reserved for dreams. It was like one of those nightmares where you are being chased by a monster but the hallway or stairs you're running down seem to stretch on infinity. The sadistic mad mare stayed on Posey too, slicing at her legs and underbelly from below. The deranged intruder must have found a sharper part of the blade because the knife dug in deeply now, cutting one of the tendons in Posey’s hind legs, sending her sprawling as her hoof flopped uselessly at the end of her leg. Though she screamed all the louder, the young mare didn’t let this new pain stop her. Instead, with a burst of terror fueled speed, Posey leaped up the last few steps to the top of the landing. Her momentum carried her forward and she slammed into the wall at the top of the stairs, knocking down several paintings and a potted plant in her haste. Even so, she had reached the upper level! Gathering her strength in her one remaining good hind leg, Posey hurled herself into the relative safety of her bedroom, and tried to kick the door closed behind her.

Unfortunately, with her tendon cut, Posey was not as fast as she had hoped she would be and all she managed to do was to collapse on the floor before her tormentor caught up to her. Her attempt to kick the door shut in her attackers face only led to her uninvited guest having to briefly push the door aside as if it was no impediment at all. Then the vicious stranger leaped on top of Posey, her deranged smile wide as the young mare shrieked afresh at the horror of her inability to escape what was coming next. The home invader seemed to be done playing games now as she stabbed Posey repeatedly in the stomach, neck, and back - poking holes all over the poor pony's prone form.

Posey writhed and bucked but couldn’t seem to shake the reeking, cackling creature off of her. The EArth Pony couldn’t run, so now the only choice that remained was for her to fight!

Slamming one of her front hooves into the carpet, a flash of green magic surged through Posey and into the floor. In mere seconds a thick green vine broke through the floorboards and smashed into her attackers giggling face, slamming her into the nightstand by her bed, which toppled over under the invader's weight. Posey grunted in momentary triumph, until out of nowhere a hammer came down on the limb that had performed her magic! The hoof capsule shattered to pieces as blow after blow rained down on the appendage! A squeal of surprise and pain ripped its way out of Posey’s already raw throat. She was screaming so hard now that all that came out was a hoarse wheeze as, one by one, her attacker pinned down her legs and pounded her hooves to powder with a sledge hammer that had seemingly come from nowhere!

Little sparkles of green magic glinted ineffectively from the useless fragments of her hooves before sputtering out entirely. Posey held up the bloody, shaking stumps before her shocked face, the soft tissue that made up the pulpy insides of her hooves jiggling like jelly as she sobbed and silently screamed over and over. The cruel stranger merely mimicked Posey's motions, dropping her hammer for a moment so she could point and laugh at her suffering. Earth Pony’s had only just gained their new plant magic recently after living without it for thousands of years, and now this monster that ridiculed her loss had found a way to take it all away from her with nothing more than sick sadism and a handy blunt instrument.

Posey's torturer seemed to at last be satisfied with the damage that they had inflicted. The invader danced away, still laughing and mimicking the way Posey dangled her ruined hooves as she stared at them in dismay. Giggling maddly, the ghoulish mare turned away from her victim and left the room, the sound of her own hooves clattering down the stairs giving Posey no relief from the agony she had been left in. This clearly was not mercy. Was her malefactors intent to leave her broken to slowly bleed to death, anguished and alone?

As she pondered this, Posey he heard it. -chirp-

Where was that noise coming from? -chirp-

There it was again! -chirp-

It was Posey’s cell phone! -chirp-

She was getting a text message!

Gritting her teeth, every movement bringing a fresh wave of excruciating pain, Posey began to slowly crawl across her bedroom floor to the fallen night stand. Her wounds stung as they twisted and stretched with each motion, blood oozing from her limbs that felt like they were on fire. The pulpy remains of her hooves smeared into the carpet and felt like they were being rolled in acid dipped needles or a nest of fire ants. Even so, Posey bore it all with only the occasional whimper, trying not to give away how close she was to salvation in case her attacker were still nearby. Ruined though her hooves were, if she could just get to her cell phone then maybe, just maybe she could call for help!

For the second time in as many moments, something that might have only taken seconds felt like it stretched out for an eternity as the mutilated mare drug her broken body the last few inches to her bed side. With movements rendered clumsy by her flayed limbs, Posey reached the table, huffy and puffing with exertion. Weak as a kitten, the mare groaned as she pushed aside the splintered wood and the broken glass from the lamp, trying to find her phone among the debris. The splinters and shards were the least of her pains, but having to dig through this last obstacle to her potential deliverance made the pricks and stings all the worse for the impediment they posed to her only chance to save herself!

At last, success!

Posey's raw bleeding nerves brushed against the cool smoothness of her phones plastic shell. The flayed mare fumbled with the touch screen, trying to unlock it, smearing blood and viscera all over the smooth screen. The background was a picture of her mother, who had apparently been the one texting, likely to check up on her daughter as she had done every night since Posey had moved out to live on her own. The image of a mother coated in her daughters gore was gut wrenching and brought fresh tears to her eyes, but Posey had no time to think about that just now. She had to call for help!

The injured mare had just managed to hit send when a shadow fell over her. Though it was painful to do so, Posey turned away from the phone to glance over her shoulder and moaned in abject despair at what she saw. Her attacker had returned, loaded down with supplies she could only assume were meant to bring her fresh pain and misery. Apparently the murderous mare had raided the kitchen as in one hoof she now held a familiar cylinder, the container of Posey’s artisanal pink sea salt. Clenched in her grinning maw there was also a nearly full bottle of malt vinegar and slung over her back was a plastic bag filled with fresh lemons.

Renewed shrieks erupted unbidden from Posey’s throat as the intruder sprinkled the salt over her ragged form. She then reached down and really ground the coarse pink crystals hard into her open wounds. Without pausing, she uncorked the bottle of vinegar and upended it, emptying its contents so that the writhing mare was drenched in the stinging acidic juices which also seeped into her cuts. The sadistic pony made sure to grind more hooves-full of the salt into the young mare's wounds, making sure each gouge received attention. Posey's entire body seized and convulsed with the pain as she thrashed uncontrollably.

What came next happened so fast it made Posey gasp with shock, as she felt a blade much sharper than her kitchen knife slice across her forehead and around the circumference of her skull. Grabbing a hoof-full of her mane, the stranger grinned at Posey, lapping up the tears sliding down her cheeks. Then in one horrible wrenching motion she pulled her, and Posey felt her scalp rip free from her head! More salt and vinegar were then splashed liberally on the freshly exposed meat underneath, mixing with the hot blood that now drizzled down the poor mare’s face to mix with her tears.

As she looked up into the face of her killer, Posey at last noticed that she wasn’t a pony at all. Sharp candy corn fangs stretched in a sick smile beneath pink and blue lollipop eyes swirled with madness. A mane of black and red licorice thrashed like a nest of vipers as the creature removed the ‘pony costume’ it had been wearing the whole time to reveal the glistening candy body that had been hidden underneath.

A candy mare…? the young mare wondered in disbelief as the monsters dripping maw came closer and closer to her face. Her killer's thick black and orange tongue lashed out again to lick the bloody tears from Posey's face.

“Mmm… Hungry,” the sick freak muttered with every sign of satisfaction at the taste, like a gourmand savoring a particularly savory feast.

As if to literally add insult to injury, the monster then squeezed a wedge of lemon into the prone mare’s eyes, spurting the burning citric acid right into her pupils. Posey squealed, blinking furiously to try and clear away the stinging juices, but to no avail. Blinded as she was Posey couldn’t see what came next, but she could certainly feel it and hear it as there was a loud… CRUNCH

The young mare would never have to worry about having any migraines or headaches ever again. The Candy Mare had bitten off the top of Posey’s head, leaving only a portion of her brain still sitting in the 'bowl' of her breached skull. The Earth Pony’s body went slack with the sudden absence of a mind to control her limbs and, with the relaxing of muscles the damage done to her previously had caused, her skin to split and ruptured like that of a burst sausage. A gluttonous grin spread between the abominations bulging cheeks as she crunched bone with relish, bits of white and grey brain matter dribbling down her chin, before swallowing down the salt and vinegar flavored treat with gusto. Grinning, the Candy Mare bent down to take another bite.

Meanwhile, across town at the home of Posey’s parents, her father couldn’t help but notice that his wife paled as she listened intently to whoever was on the other end of the line. The phone call had come fairly late, but then they had been trying to reach their daughter to wish her a happy Nightmare Night since earlier in the evening. It wouldn't surprise him if his busy girl had waited until right before she was about to turn in for the night to respond to her mothers texts. It seemed to be getting harder and harder to keep in touch these days.

He had expected his wife to be thrilled to finally hear back from their little Posey, yet as the matronly mare ended the call, her hooves were visibly shaking and her eyes were distant. She sat, quiet and fidgeting for a moment, clearly anxious about something. Her husband could tell that something was amiss. He glanced over the top of his newspaper and asked “Is everything alright dear?”

Posey's mother didn’t answer right away, uncertainty scrawled across her features. Then she seemed to make up her mind and smiled weakly,”Yes dear, it's fine. Just a prank call. It’s shocking what the younger generation does for fun these days…” Yes a prank, it had to be. There was no way she’d just listened in on her daughters last anguished cries or the sounds of some thing crunching up her bones with all the delight of a fat filly gorging themselves on a pumpkin pie. Things that horrible just didn't happen in their quiet little town.

At least, she didn't think they did...

As she trailed off her partner simply grunted his agreement, dismissing the event as some sort of wrong number or childish prank, his mind already back on his paper. Neither pony paid any attention to the thick fog bank gathering outside their windows or the sweet, sour wind that whistled mournfully in the bare trees outside. There was no way they could know that the entire town of Maretime Bay was slowly being engulfed by a glowing green mist. If either of the elder ponies noticed that the laughter of the trick-or-treaters had suddenly grown strange and distant, neither said a word to the other about it.

They just sat quietly, each lost in their private thoughts, as the storm gathered.