Nightmare Night, the scariest night of the year, is finally here and Sandbar, excited to show his friends the celebration and its traditions, suggested to go out as a group that night to experience all of it. Yona, Ocellus, Silverstream and Sandbar are waiting outside of the dorms for their last two friends to arrive.
“Where are they? The moon is already out and we wanted to go before that even happens”, Sandbar criticizes his friends' tardiness but quickly the topic changes due to his little observation.
“Oh! The moon is so big and bright tonight! So pretty!”, Silverstream shouts as she rises to the air and points at the moon, which glows in all of its glory.
“A full moon... Interesting”, the Changeling mumbles to herself but Yona drowns her out with her own loud voice.
“Smolder here! Smolder! Hi!”
“Hey, soooo... Gallus ain't coming.”
“What?!”, the remaining four ask at the same time, looking at her with shock on their faces.
“Yeah, I saw him coming out of the nurse's office today and he said that he was feeling sick. But we should not worry and just enjoy the night, at least that's what he said.”
“Poor Gallus”, the hippogriff, who immediately landed upon hearing the news, mopes and the rest of the group follow suit.
They stay silent for a bit until Sandbar decides to respect the griffon's wish and still go through with their plan.
“Come on guys! Gallus wants us to have fun and we will do exactly that! Okay... I meant to ask that from the start but I waited for everyone to show up so... What exactly are you guys dressed as?”
“I am a big spider! A yak spider. Yak spiders are the scariest”, Yona exclaims as she shakes her body and, with that, the four additional furry legs connected to it.
“I am an anglerfish. Look at my little light!”
Silverstream, who takes to the sky again, pokes against a little bulb hanging in front of her face. That bulb is connected to a wire , which is connected to another wire which she wears like a floral wreath on her head. She presses a little button at the bulb's base, which causes the bulb to switch between different modes. It starts with a normal glow, followed by blinking, dimming and finally nothing,
“But you are flying”, Smolder interposes but apparently Silverstream does not really understand what she is getting at.
“So?”
“Fishes do not fly.”
“Oh riiiiight...”, the hippogriff finally realizes and she begins to think but quickly comes up with a good solution.
She turns the crown around, which moves the bulb behind her head, and with a joyful expression announces her new costume.
“Now I'm a firefly!”
“... Actually not bad. I'm impressed”, the dragon admits, giving her friend a thumbs up.
“Good idea Silver. And what are you dressed as, Smolder?”
“I'm a dragon... Isn't that scary enough?”
“Well...”, the pony thinks for a bit, not really knowing what to say to that.
A small part of him expected Smolder to not dress up but other rest really wanted to see what costume she would come up with... Looks like the minority was right here.
“S...Sure! What's scarier than a dragon after all?”
“Exactly. Next!”, Smolder immediately tries to draw attention away from herself, which makes Ocellus the new target, “What about you, Ocellus? What are you suppose to be?”
“I... I don't really know... The thing is, I can be whatever I want to be but I don't know if that counts as a costume...”
“Sure! Everything can be a costume. Just be creative and think about it.”
“Hmmm... Ah! I have an idea!”
Ocellus turns around and runs back into the dorms, just to return after a minute or so.
“Tada! What do you guys think?”
She is now wearing her costume from the play they once put on for Celestia's “ones-versary”. It is still messed up and patches are covering some of the tears in the purple fabric. The tip of the horn is completely missing.
The four friends stare at her, confused at what she is supposed to be and neither of them is brave enough to make a guess.
“I'm a badly hurt pony. There is nothing worse than someone who got hurt, right”
“Oh yes!”
“Ah now I see it.”
“Makes sense.”
“Yona loves idea!”
They all praise Ocellus idea, which causes her to smile sweetly at them.
“Sandbar, tell us something about your costume”, the Changeling asks her friend, a request he has just been waiting for.
“I am Count Ponlock, one of, if not,the most famous, or should I say, infamous, vampires to ever haunt Equestria! He tyrannized countless of villages and still is the reason for many nightmares. One day, he just disappeared but some say he is still out there, recovering and preparing to strike and spread fear all over again.”
The others stare at him with wide eyes, trying their best to understand any of the things he just said.
“Simpler said, I am a vampony”, the pony tries to simplify his explanation, which seems to be helping because the others are finally commenting on his outfit.
“Wow! That's really cool!”
“Cool cape and those fangs looks so intimidating. The fake blood makes it look even more dangerous!”
“Not a bad costume, Sandbar.”
“Yona loves idea!”
Sandbar blushes and rubs the back of his head, ruffling his straight mane a bit which returns some of its usual fluffiness.
“Thanks guys but, to be honest, those fangs are really uncomfortable to wear. I'll just keep them in my pocket until I need them. Anyway, we should better get going. There is a ton of stuff I need to show you so be prepared for the scariest night of your lives!”
The group leaves their school behind and head for Town Hall, the place where their adventure officially begins.
Groups of fillies and colts, dressed up and on the hunt for candy, cross their path when they make their way through Ponyville. From time to time they see a mare or a stallion, possibly a parent, accompanying them, looking out for them and helping them with their bags of sweets.
“Sandbar also hunted for candy?”, Yona asks the male next to her, who blushes a bit upon hearing that.
“Well yeah, all of my friends from school went so I joined them. Been a few Nightmare Nights since my last time hunting though.”
The other four bandy looks for a moment before Smolder asks the question everyone has on their mind.
“How many?”
“Oh, a few... Okay, last year with a friend of mine. But we were only the chaperons for his little sister and group of her friends. Barely got any candy.”
“You still got candy? Even without asking for it?”
“Yeah, it was like a reward for spending time with the little ones and for doing a good job. Parents really appreciate your dedication and hard work.”
“Aw, Sandbar is so caring and responsible! You would be a great big brother!”, the hippogriff, who is hovering above them, compliments the pony.
“He is a big brother, Silverstream. He told us all about his family and his little sister.”
“Oooooh yes, of course! How is the little angel doing?”
“As energetic and cute as ever. My parents are staying home with her, she's a bit young for Nightmare Night but I am sure when she's older, I get to accompany her to her first hunt! Already looking forward to it. Hey look! There is Miss Pinkie Pie. She is usually in charge of the apple bobbing.”
“Wait, why isn't Miss Applejack in charge of it? I thought apples were, like, her entire shtick”, Smolder asks but, at first, only receives a giggle in return.
Eventually, Sandbar answers her question though.
“You don't believe how often ponies ask that. It is true that this would be the perfect job for Miss Applejack and, at first, she was in charge of it but ever since her family expanded their corn maze, she's been too busy to do anything else so she chose Pinkie Pie as her replacement. And it was a good choice for sure, she's always making it fun and exciting!”
Yona and Ocellus look at each other with confused expression upon hearing these last words and the two begin to whisper.
“Wait... did Sandbar just call “apple bobbing” exciting?”, the changeling asks and apparently Yona can't understand it either.
“Sounds boring.”
The group reaches the pink party-pony, who is dressed like a seamare, and her wooden tub filled with a liquid that does not look like water at all. It has an orange hue to it and its surface reflects the moon perfectly.
“Hey there, Happy Nightmare Night!”, Pinkie greets the five students, who greet her back before taking another look at the tub.
“Wanna take a turn and bob in the tub? Actually it's bob for something in the tub but it doesn't have the same ring to it. So who wants to try it?”
“Come on guys, you gotta try it”, Sandbar agrees with the mare and takes a look over his shoulder to see his friends, who are still fixated on the liquid in the tub.
“What is that? It looks gross...”, Smolder complains while pointing into the tub.
“That's part of the game, silly! I'm not gonna tell you anything until one of you tried it sooooo... Who will it be?”
“I'm out! Water and dragons do not like each other!”
“My costume would get soggy and my fake horn is not water-resistance”, Ocellus excuses herself but she quickly remembers something and turns her attention towards the hippogriff above them, “Silverstream, this is your chance to be an anglerfish again. After all, your head would be surrounded by water, perfect for a fish.”
This sparks the female's interest and, with a serious expression, she turns the crown around once more and returns the bulb to its original location.
“Okay, I carp do this! … Get it, because anglerfishes and carps are both fishes.”
Sandbar can't help himself from giggling but no one notices that because Pinkie Pie's hearty laughter drowns it out.
“Haha not bad! That's haha the spirit! Now...”, she stops, obviously holding back another laugh as she pulls something out of the pocket of her coat.
She reveals a deck of cards and, simultaneously, finishes her sentence, “go fish!”
The two females share a laugh as Silverstream lands right next to the tub and, after calming down, submerges her head and the bulb in the liquid and begins her search for whatever feels like something she could be looking for. The others are watching her move from the left side of the tub to the right side and, after hearing an extremely muffled sound, they see how her head begins to emerge again.
“Wait, what?!”
“Is everything alright?”, Ocellus asks her obviously confused friend, who is busy staring at the liquid, which still shows a few waves from when she removed her head.
“I swear I felt something near my beak. I even bit into it and tried to get it out but I must have dropped it or something... Can I try again?”
“Of course”, the pink-maned mare reassured her student with a big smile, “Try it as often as you like. There is no limit for fun!”
Silverstream answers with a smile of her own before she dives back into the tub, focusing on the object she felt so she recognize it easier. Another sound escapes when she jerks her head upwards again, her beak as empty as before.
“No way! This time I'm sure I had it! It is round, has a strange texture and an even stranger taste.”
“Does not sound like apple”. Yona comments her friend's explanation and Ocellus and Smolder agree with her.
“We just call it apple bobbing. It doesn't necessarily mean that apples are the objects. Last year Pinkie Pie used sponges..
They had such a strange consistency but it was a lot of fun so I'm sure she chose something great again this year. Silverstream, anything else you could te- … Oh...”
The group was so busy with their little talk that they didn't notice that the hippogriff already returned to the wet world on her quest for unknown objects. She emerges multiple times for a second or two to form a word before sinking back into the liquid.
“Why...won't...you...come...OUT!”
A muffled scream reaches the creatures' ears and little bubbles appear on the surface before Silverstream's head breaks through it and this time she actually brought something along! A red round thing is hanging from her beak, stretching a bit as gravity pulls it towards the ground.
“Ew! What is that?”, Ocellus shrieks the moment she sees the thing and Yona shows the same kind of behavior.
“I don't k-”, Silverstream explains, dropping the object in the process and stopping her sentence midway upon noticing what she just did.
The moment the red ball lands on the ground, it bursts open with a splash as it wets the ground beneath it and a rather big part of the surrounding area, turning it darker than the dry areas.
“Oh no! I dropped it! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop it and why are you laughing?”, she panics and immediately apologizes to Pinkie Pie, who is rolling on the floor, busy laughing her little heart out.
The other females are as confused as Silverstream but Sandbar has an idea what is going on so he investigates by, first, looking at the destroyed object and, after that, dipping his hoof into the liquid and licking it afterwards, tasting a very familiar sensation.
“That's apple juice...”, he mumbles, loud enough for the other five to hear, “That tub is filled with apple juice. And those things, they are balloons filled with something else... I guess water, that would make the most sense.”
“Ding ding ding! Correctomundo! They are water balloons.”
“But why? That's really random”, Smolder asks the mare, who seems quite happy about the question.
“That's easy! When someone thinks of apple bobbing, they think about a tub of water filled with apples. I did the exact opposite! In my game, you bob for water in a tub or apple juice. Genius, isn't it?”
Upon hearing this explanation, the group stares at their teacher before giggling a bit and, eventually, breaking out in laughter. The whole concept sounds stupid but the execution was brilliant and, when thinking about it, it does make a bit of sense and for Pinkie Pie to even think so far, is deserving of such a reaction.
“See, I told you Miss Pinkie Pie is doing a good job. And the rest of the events will be as good. Ready to go?”
“Oh, giving your friends a tour of Ponyville's Nightmare Night?
“Yeah, they have never seen it so I really want to show them everything”, Sandbar explains, which creates a sparkle in the mare's eyes.
“What a great idea! You absolutely can't miss out on the corn maze! I heard Applejack and her family outdid themselves this time! And you gotta pay a visit to Rarity, her costume is so good! She is in her store, repairing costumes of ponies who come by. And, of course, you can't forget about the tradition of taking a walk through the Everfree Forest during the night, it always gives me the creeps but it is always worth it!”
“Yeah, we were planning on... wait, what? What tradition? I never heard of that before.”
“Everypony knows about it! There is a path that leads into the Everfree Forest and stops when it reaches a big boulder shaped like a skull. Touch it, say that you are not afraid of the Nightmares of the night, and turn back until you are out of the forest. It is really scary but you will feel double as good when you complete it! You HAVE to give it a try. All of Ponyville did it... I mean, at least the adults.”
“But isn't the Everfree Forest d-d-d-dangerous?”, the Changeling asks the mare, who shakes her head and tries to take away her fear, hoping to convince her to give a try.
“Usually the path is dangerous because you could run into all kinds of creatures. Especially timber wolves during their hunting season, which is over by now so don't worry. On this night, it is completely save. Generations of ponies have done it and there was never any problem so I wouldn't worry about that. I could tell you where to find that path.”
Sandbar looks at the others, who are not that sure what to think of it, but it is always better to be save than sorry. Maybe they will change their mind later so knowing where the path is can not hurt.
“Sure, that would be great!”
“Okay-dokay! So, you need to...”
Pinkie Pie explains the way to the path in great detail, while still making it easy enough to remember. After finishing it, the five friends wish their teacher the best of luck before continuing their tour, heading into the direction of the Carousel Boutique, looking forward to seeing Rarity's impressive costume.
After a short walk they spot a bigger group of ponies standing in front of the boutique, most likely with the same goal as they, at least that is what they assume. Upon coming closer though, the five friends realize that their interests were different after all. The group consists of six fillies and two colts, all dressed up in creative and terrifying costumes reaching from witches to robots to clowns. They are being accompanied by two mares and two stallions, who are rocking matching costumes. One pair is dressed as a ghost bride and groom, while the other is dressed as a neanderthals, most likely a couple as well. The group of friends peek through the many cracks the wall of ponies did not cover and spot Rarity, who is eagerly working on an orange and green dress. A sewing needle is flying through the air and pierces the fabric on one side and comes out the other, repeating this action over and over again until the unicorn mare cuts the thread it held in its eyelet and attaches it to the inside of the dress so no one can see it.
“Alright, all done. Here you go, Sweetie”, Rarity says with a gentle smile on her face as she uses her magic to levitate the dress towards one of the mares, who uses her own horn to take it and hand it over to the stallion she came with.
“You are a real lifesaver, Rarity! Sunny Sky was so sad but look at her now.”
The orange-maned mare points at the little filly, who is currently busy putting on the repaired dress.
“Here, you must accept a few Bits for you effort”, she adds as she levitates four golden coins in front of her face but Rarity simply shakes her head and uses her own magic to place them back in her costume's pocket.
“Thanks but no. This is my way of celebrating Nightmare Night. I remember how sad I was as a filly when my costume tore or got dirty. This way I can help those in need and seeing the sparkle in a pony's eye after I fixed their costume... That is really reward enough for me. And your nice words about my costume were really flattering as well so I think we are more than even. Just enjoy the rest of the night and be careful but come again if you need me. I will be here for a while."
“You are the best! Thank you!”
The little filly gives Rarity a big hug before running off with the rest of her friends, closely followed by the four grownups.
“Generosity personified”, Yona mumbles and the rest of the group agrees with her.
“There is a reason why she represents that Element. I would have totally taken those Bits”, Smolder shares her own opinion and, after a bit of hesitation, the rest of the group agrees once more.
“We all know that Rarity would do anything for her-”
“Darlings! What a surprise to see all of you and in such fancy costumes. What brings you to my little store on this scary night?
“Happy Nightmare Night!”, the group greets their teacher before Ocellus explains how their evening went so far.
“You came here just to see my costume? How nice of you! I had no idea Pinkie Pie would talk about it as if it were an actual attraction one should absolutely not miss out on. I'm flattered and I will certainly tell her that.”
“Yeah, about that costume... What are you suppose to be? A... salesmare?”
“What?”, the unicorn mare asks the hippogriff, who is examining her current wardrobe, “Oh, that old thing isn't my costume, Darling. That is my work apron. You won't believe all the different costumes I have already fixed tonight. Stains, torn fabric, loose threads and so much more. This apron is there to protect my perfectly white coat. It is so difficult to get stains out of it, especially paint and glue.”
“That explains the splashes of paint and the residues of dried glue and... is that a bobble eye?”, Ocellus wonders after taking a closer look at the piece of clothing.
“Well, yeah... There was an alien costume with countless of eyes glued on it... Now it has one eye less but, to be honest, I haven't even noticed it and neither did the colt or his parents. I totally forgot about it because the second I am done with a costume, I usually change back into my own one. Speaking of it, wait here! I'll be right back.”
With that, she quickly runs back into her store, just to return ten seconds later, completely dressed up. She is wearing a purple, gold and black bodysuit and is rocking a long, green wig, which hides her horn, and styled and dyed her tail the same way. Magic sure is useful for things like that. She is also using it to levitate a dark blue orb decorated with lightning in front of her.
“Tha... Tha... Tha...”, Sandbar stammers upon seeing the magnificent outfit in front of him but the rest of the group is more confused than impressed.
“Wow...”
“That's quite the style.”
“Yona likes colors.”
“You are all too kind! I do think I outdid myself this year but it's not nearly as good as my costume from last year. I was a phoenix with a beautiful gown and a colorful tail. This is just a simple outfit and a perfectly styled wig.”
“I love it”, Silverstream praises the mare and her outift, “The outfit looks great and I love the mane! So crazy and green. Great... erm... vampire or-?”
“Vampire? I thought it was a zombie?”, Smolder interrupts her friend.
“I'm pretty sure she is supposed to be a friendly Windigo”, Ocellus shares her own opinion.
“She's a Swamp Pony, it's obvious”, Yona adds herself into the conversation and the four females begin to argue until Sandbar puts an end to the whole debate.
“What are you saying? She is not a vampire or a Swamp Pony or anything of that sort! Don't you girls read comics?”
The other students shake their head and, for the first time tonight Sandbar really wishes for Gallus to be here. At least he reads comics! He also remembers that the two of them once swapped their own collections so the other can get into their series, which worked perfectly. He would immediately recognize who Rarity is portraying just like he did, but now he needs to explain it.
“Power Ponies? Ever heard of them? No?”, the pony sighs in defeat, “Alright... The Power Ponies are a group of superheroes who protect the city of Maretropolis and SHE is the Mane-iac!”
Sandbar points at Rarity, who just stares at Sandbar with wide eyes and an slightly open mouth.
“The Mane-iac is the strongest and most dangerous villain of the Power Ponies series and the Power Ponies' archenemy! She uses her mane to attack and has complete control over it. Rarity's costume is amazing! She even nailed the mane-style, that's insane!”
The four take another look at Rarity, who is just as surprised as they are but that quickly fades away into pride and happiness and a big smile forms on her face.
“A real fan I see. Spike gave me that idea with his Humdrum costume last year. I did some research and began reading the comics as well. They are quite good. Sometimes the writing leaves much to be desired but the origin stories and the drawing really make up for it.”
“Oh”, Silverstream interrupts Rarity's explanation, “Now that you mention it... I think Gallus told me about her once and I saw her on one of the covers of those comics he brought to one of our meetings. She really looks like her! That's amazing! Now I love it even more!”
She begins to cheer for Rarity, who blushes and thanks her for it. The group talks for a bit about their own costumes before excusing themselves to go to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Say hi to Applejack! I will show up later and try the maze myself. Have fun Darlings!”
“We will! And don't forget the tradition!”, Silverstream yells back, which surprises Rarity.
“Tradition? How... How do they know about my secret Nightmare Night hot chocolate tradition? I bet Pinkie Pie told them about it... No problem, I'm glad to share it with such kind creatures. Now that I think of it, I could go for a cup but first I should change back into my apron. Don't want to stain my costume. Now... where did I put the marshmallows?”
The unicorn walks back into the boutique and closes the door, waiting for more ponies to spend the holiday with.
It takes a bit longer until they reach Sweet Apple Acres and on the way they run into a few familiar faces like Rainbow Dash, who is dressed as a Shadowbolt, Twilight Sparkle and Spike, who are rocking a wizard and apprentice outfit, and Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon, who are simply dressed as each other. The CMC are also on the hunt for candy, all three of them dressed like animals. Scootaloo is a bat, Apple Bloom a fox and Sweetie Belle a lion. Upon reaching the Acres, the group immediately spots the entrance to the gigantic corn maze not far from it. A rather short line of six ponies has formed in front of it but on their way to it, the line slowly dissolves and, upon reaching the entrance, is completely gone.
“Yeehaw! I didn't expect to see ya'll here tonight but I'm sure glad you showed up. This year's maze is the best one my family has put on for years so ya better don't miss it. Just go in and have fun but be careful because I have no idea what the rest of my family has put in there.”
“Thanks Miss Applejack. Let's go”, Sandbar replies before entering the attraction.
“Yak will protect friends.”
“And who will protect you?”, Smolder asks Yona, who turns around and tells her that she doesn't need someone to protect her.
“Of course you don't”, the dragon answers as she roles her eyes and passes her, looking forward to how this whole idea will play out.
The plants grew high enough to hinder any creature from peeking over, except when they fly but why would anyone spoil the fun that way.
“Maze not scary at all”, Yona mummers as they go deeper and deeper into the maze, coming closer to the center with each step they make.
“We've been here for like two minutes. They are saving all the good stuff for later so we run around like panicking chickens. I bet once we reach the center, the real fun begins.”
Smolder, motivated by the explanation of her changeling-friend, takes the lead as she maneuvers the group around corners and through long, straight paths. A few spiderwebs and pumpkins decorate the way she is leading them on, as well as a scarily dressed scarecrow with a pitchfork in its straw-hand and a zombie-mask covering its pillow-shaped head. Upon noticing it, Silverstream lets out a short scream, not really out of fear but surprise.
“Calm down Silver. That's just a scarecrow.”
“Oh I know, that mask and the pitchfork just caught me off-guard.”
“Let's go! We are almost in the middle of the maze... I think...”, the orange dragon says as she pushes Ocellus and Silverstream.
The hippogriff giggles and waves goodbye to the scarecrow and Yona, who was also a bit surprised by the pitchfork, takes a bit of the black fake-fur, rolls it into three little balls and covers the sharp ends of the tool with them.
“Now no danger.”
“Yona! Come on!”, Sandbar calls out to her and, upon hearing that, the yak hurries to catch up with her friends.
“Yona coming! Yona coming!”
The group continues their journey but it does not take long for a eerily similar-looking scarecrow to show up and shortly after that another one, which they stop in front of.
“Why do they have so many scarecrows?”, Smolder asks as she leans her back against the object made of hay and sticks, “That's the third in a row! Are they supposed to be scary? Newsflash, they are NOT! Those mask look cheap and what's wrong with that pitchfork? They didn't even clean it up! Look at those balls of fur.”
“F-F-F-F-Fur?! B-B-B-B-Balls of FUR?!”, Yona stammers, just noticing the very familiar-looking objects Smolder pointed out.
“Yona? What's wrong?”, Sandbar asks as he tries to calm her down but a completely panicked Yona screams right into his face.
“That's my fur! Yona put it there when we first met scarecrow! See!”
She shows the group where she picked it from and, indeed, the amount of fur on the pitchfork matches the size of the now bald spots in her costume.
“Wait... So you are telling me... This scarecrow was back there and is now here! It... It can walk?!”, Silverstream tries to make sense of the yak's explanation, who nods frantically.
“Eeyup...”, a dark, harsh voice sounds out from behind Smolder.
“Yona... Was that you? Ocellus? Silverstream? Sandbar? ”, the dragon asks her friends, her wide eyes looking at each of the creatures individually as she says their names.
They all look at each other before shaking their heads from side to side, causing Smolder to gulp audibly as she slowly turns around, distances herself a few steps from and stares into the masked face of the scarecrow.
“W-W-W-W-Was that... you... s-s-s-scarecrow?”
A few seconds go by in which all of the friends concentrate on the scarecrow's mask. Suddenly, it moves slightly up and down, immediately followed by a big step towards the group, which sends a shiver down each of their spines.
“It's alive!”, Ocellus screams and the others join her, each screaming something different.
“What do we do?”, Silverstream asks and, almost instantly, Smolder has an idea.
“Ruuuuuuun!”
The group dodges the scarecrow as it tries to grab one of them, and run past it around every single corner that they come across. On their way, they accidentally scare other visitors, like Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon and Cheerilee, with their behavior and their screams. Even Maud Pie and Mudbriar, who are taking Boulder and Twiggy on their first Nightmare Night together, seem uneasy when the group of panicking friends passes them (and by that I mean they don't act any different than usual). The group turns around a few more corners before Smolder, who is leading the pack, sees something that looks like the exit not far from them.
“Guys! There! Let's get out of here!”
One last sprint and the group find themselves outside of the maze... and right next to two stallions and Applejack, who are staring at them.
“We... are back at the entrance...”, Ocellus mumbles, a bit embarrassed about their behavior and the way they reacted.
The two males look at each other and giggle as they pass the group and enter the attraction, leaving Applejack and the five friends behind.
“So... Was it scary?”, the farmer mare asks.
“Definitely”, Smolder answers with a blank stare.
“Was it exciting?”
“No doubt.”
“Was it fun?”
“The most I had all night! That thing in there was so spooky and the way it tried to grab us. What was that?”
“The scarecrow, I assume. I knew that role would be perfect for him. Big Mac tricked almost all of our guests with that costume. His quiet personality helps too, I s'ppose.”
“Big Mac? As in Big MacIntosh, your brother? No way! I would have never guessed”, Silverstream comments on the mare's explanation and the rest of the group agrees.
“He was amazing!”, Yona adds, accompanied by an excited squeal which causes the cowgirl to giggle.
“Glad y'all enjoyed it. I'll tell him about this later but what are your plans for the night?”
“Not sure yet actually... There is something we thought about but... We never really deci-”, Sandbar explains but Smolder interrupts him.
“I am pumped right now! Let's do it!”
“Yes! I'm up for it. Now seems to be the perfect time for it”, Silverstream joins her friend's cheer and, a moment later, the whole group is ready for the adventure.
“Looks like you five have the evening cut out for ya. Have fun with... whatever it is you were talking about.”
“The tradition of course! Come on guys, this way.”, Sandbar leads the group away from The Apple family's farm, leaving a confused mare behind.
“I had no idea someone else had the same tradition as my family. Then again, everyone loves popcorn. Now that I think about it, I'm starving out here. I should really make some myself and the rest. Good thing we have so much corn from the harvest.”
“Alright... Miss Pinkie Pie said to turn left at the big oak and cross the bridge. Then just follow the path until you reach a fork in the road. The right one follows the outskirts of the forest, while the left path leads deep into it. We should take the left one and just follow it all the way because it will lead us to the big boulder. Actually quite simple.”
“Yeah... simple... Just follow a dark and mysterious path through a threatening forest, which is known for its dangerous creatures, strange and creepy plants and wild magic... No big deal...”, Ocellus whispers as she hides behind Yona.
The big adrenaline rush the five of them experienced began to wear off the second they made up their mind and, ever since then, doubt and worry plague some of them, especially Yona and Ocellus. Silverstream, Sandbar and Smolder are still as confident as ever that this will be the best thing that happened yet even though the thought of going alone into a place like the Everfree Forest does leave a bad aftertaste.
“Don't worry Ocellus, we will be together this whole time. You heard Pinkie, nothing bad ever happened and tonight will be the same”, the pony tries to ease his friend's worried mind and, luckily, it seems to be working as her worried expression fades into a weak but noticeable smile.
They reach the big tree and, from then onward, follow the directions given to them. A few minutes of walking later, they arrive at the fork that would change their lives forever... okay, maybe not their lives but at least their night.
“Here we are... This is the last chance to back out. Anyone?”
Sandbar looks at his friends, who all exchange looks, trying to see anyone who would like to ditch and do something else instead but no says anything. All of them are here to experience this night and everything it has to offer, including this test of courage.
“Alright”, the pony says and takes a deep breath before continuing, “Let's go!”
The five take the left path and, after a short walk, they find themselves right in front of the entrance to the Evergreen Forest. The wood is dark, silent and possess the same strange and uncomfortable aura the five already associated with it.
“A-At leasts its quiet”, Silverstream tries to bring out the one positive aspect but the second she says that the hoot of an owl reaches their ears, rendering the hippogriff's attempt useless.
“Just an owl. If that's the worst thing we will meet tonight, I would call it a big success”, Sandbar jokes and he actually manages to raise the group's spirit a bit.
“Let's just hurry inside, get to that stone and show this forest who the best creatures are!”
Smolder's inner fire must have ignited because now she is the one motivating the group and leading them into the dark area, closely followed by Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona and Ocellus, who brings up the rear. The first few meters are silent but the sound of cracking sticks begins to echo through the wood and with every step it repeats itself, making it sound like a whole herd is hiking. The darkness increased more and more the deeper they go into the forest because the trees block out any light the moon reflects as well as most of the stars above. A few pretty purple, yellow and red flowers decorate the sides of the path but neither of them stops to appreciate their look. Especially because no one knows if those flowers are safe or not because even the flowers can't be trusted in this excuse of a forest.
“Me wonders how long the way is”, Yona asks the others but none of them really knows the answer.
“Pinkie Pie never said anything about it as far as I know. She just said to follow the path so we should reach it eventually”, Sandbar answers.
The group continues on for a while but eventually Yona notices something after throwing a look over her shoulder, or rather the lack of something.
“Erm friends... Where is Ocellus?”
“What do you mean? She should right behind... us...”, Silverstream answers the yak's question while flying behind her but, upon realizing that her friend is actually missing, she stops for second before yelling her next sentence.
“Guys! Ocellus is gone!”
“What?!”
The remaining two immediately look around for their friend.
“What do you mean with gone? She was right behind you, wasn't she?”, Sandbar asks the yak.
“Yes! I talked to her before going in here. She was there!”
“And now?”
“She is NOT!”
“Maybe... Maybe she went back! I will fly and look for her. You guys wait here, okay? I'll be right back.”
Smolder flaps her wings and ascends but Yona stops her from flying off.
“Dragon sure? Maybe Yona should come to... to protect dragon! Yaks are great at protecting.”
The orange female rolls her eyes before nodding and, with a big smile, Yona runs off with her scaly friend while Sandbar and Silverstream stay behind.
“Do you think she went back?”, the hippogriff asks and, after a bit of thinking, Sandbar nods with a weak smile.
“She was pretty nervous when we got here. Maybe she changed her mind right after going in and immediately turned around. I bet she is waiting for us to return right at the entrance. They will find her, talk to her and return in no time so let's just wait here.”
Minute after minute goes by but neither of the two return so Sandbar and Silverstream get a bit worried. Suddenly, a scream echoes through the wood, reaching the two who immediately recognize who the voice belongs to.
“Yona!”
“We need to help her”, Sandbar shouts and begins to rush into the direction the scream came from, but almost immediately stops when a creatures emerges from the shadows, staring right back at him.
Its entire body consists of bark, leaves and sticks and its bright green eyes begin to burn themselves into the minds of the two friends, who slowly back away and look for a way to escape.
“T..T...Timberwolf... Silverstream”, Sandbar whispers”, on three, we both run to get out of here and get help. Okay... one... two...”
“AHH!”
Another scream reaches the pony's ears but this time much closer and, again, the owner of the voice is no mystery. Immediately, Sandbar turns around but the hippogriff, who has been standing there a second ago, is gone and instead two bright green lights, similar to the creatures eyes, shine from a bush not far from where Silverstream was.
“Silverstream!”
The sudden increase in volume and the hectic movement seem to provoke the wooden creature in front of him, who growls intimidatingly and readies himself to pounce the pony. Luckily, Sandbar notices the change in the Timberwolf's behavior and, without any hesitation, runs deeper into the forest, trying to find a place to hide. The sound of sticks snapping whenever he steps on them cuts through the silence of the wood but so does the sound of his pursuer, who is in hot pursuit. A long howl erupts from behind him, followed by a second creature running next to him, partly hidden by the bushes and trees they pass by, scaring the young stallion even more than he already was.
Come on Sandbar! Think! THINK! Look for anything you can hide behind or to defend yourself! I need to find and save the others. I can't just run away but what am I supposed to do? Maybe I cou-
“Sandbar! Watch out!”
Suddenly, Ocellus' voice rings out from behind him. The pony's inner monologue stops so he can completely concentrate on where the voice came from but only seconds later his vision turns to black and he loses his consciousness. The last thing he feels is his body crashing into something hard and a sharp pain emerging from his face and running through his body until numbness takes over.
“O. .. S..d.ar! H..p! .uy.”
Eventually, the pony's vision returns and the blurry picture of five creatures looming above and starring down at him begins to form. Their mouths are moving and faint voices enter his ears but the loud ringing drowns them out.
“N...No... Tim...berwolves...”, Sandbar stammers with his weak voice.
Clearly whatever happened took a big toll and recovering from it takes a bit more time. A sound, similar to the howl he heard before fainting but weaker and more quiet, reaches his ear but, again, the ringing overpowers it quickly before slowly fading away, allowing him to hear the voices more clearly now. The sound, however, is no more.
“Sandbar? Can you hear us? Are you okay?”
“Oh no! This is really, really bad!”
“Good job idiot. What if he needs to see a doctor? That looked brutal!”
The sound of various female voices echo throughout his head as he tries to make out the creatures' faces.
“I didn't mean for this to happen, I swear! It was supposed to be a prank, a little scare, nothing else. Come on Sandbar, wake up... please”, a male voice takes over and its last word repeats itself over and over again until his consciousness completely returns.
Slowly Sandbar raises his upper body while he carefully rubs his forehead with one of his hooves. He tries to focus on the face closest to him and, eventually, it gets sharp enough for him to recognize the creature.
“O...Ocellus?”
He turns his head to see the faces of the three creatures to his sides, which turn out to be all of his friends.
“Smolder and Yona? And Silverstream. I thought you were all gone.”
He turns his head a bit more to see the face behind him and upon recognizing it, his eyes go wide and he immediately tries to stand up, which turns out I be a bad idea because his legs are still very weak so he immediately falls on his rear.
“G-G-Gallus!? What are you doing here?”
“Well erm... You see”, the griffon, who is clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation, rubs the back of his head with one of his talons as he tries to form a sentence but he doesn't really know what to say.
He takes a deep breath before he begins to tell the whole story.
“Okay, I wasn't really sick... like... at all. You told us all about how awesome this holiday is and how exciting it will be. Out of curiosity, I asked a few of our teachers and they told me all about their favorite memories of the holiday. Interestingly, all of them named the same thing. The year Miss Fluttershy scared the living daylight out of them. It sounded exciting and I thought this could help you make this the best Nightmare Night ever, so I asked Miss Pinkie Pie for help and she agreed. We set up this whole tradition thing to get you here so I can scare you. She even got me a few of those bright green lights and gave me this mask and costume she once made when she was part of an attraction herself. Really authentic but it wasn't made for creatures with wings so I can't really move them right now. Luckily I never needed them.”
Gallus shows Sandbar a very well-made Timberwolf-mask with glowing eyes and sharp, wooden teeth before pointing at his costume and where is wings usually are.
“The moment you guys left the school, I dressed myself up, prepared everything and followed you. I had a few ideas how I could get you to come in case you wouldn't but, luckily, you all took the bait so my plan was working perfectly. Ocellus was the first one I snatched and let in on my little scare.”
“At first, I wanted to warn you guys but I remembered how much fun you had back at the maze so I decided to help him”, the changeling continues, “We watched you and when Smolder and Yona came to look for me, we asked them to join and help us. Getting Smolder to join wasn't hard but Yona was a bit more skeptical. Eventually, she agreed to cooperate though.”
“That was also the reason why we were gone for so long. We had to stall for a bit to get in position and when Yona screamed to distract you guys, I got into a bush and prepared the lights. Ocellus transformed into a Timberwolf and distracted you guys long enough for Gallus to fly in and take Silverstream away. Her scream wasn't planned but helpful.”
“I love screaming.”
“Yona love screaming.”
The hippogriff and yak look at each other and laugh.
“When you took off running, we wanted to chase you for a bit before finally ending this whole thing but then that stupid rock showed up and, before we could even stop you, you ran right into it. I am really sorry for that. I should have checked the path completely before going through with this”, Gallus finishes the explanation.
“So... this was all fake?”
“Except for your bump just now... yes, mostly. It wasn't as funny as I imagined and, again, I am really sorry for th- Are... are you okay?”
The group of friends look at their pony-friend in confusion as he begins to make strange sounds which turn into a laughter after a bit.
“Oh no! I think the damage to his head is worse than we thought”, Silverstream begins to panic and begins to check for external injuries but Sandbar immediately calms her worries as he explains his reaction, still laughing loudly all the way through.
“Haha nonono Silver, I'm fine, just a bit dizzy but that'll go away. I just think that, for a prank, this was really something! The buildup, the execution, the whole plan itself! Gallus nailed all of it to a T. The lights, the howls, the mask and that fake story Pinkie told us. All of it were perfect!”
“Funnily, only the tradition part of it was an actual lie. The rest was true, I asked Miss Fluttershy about it. I just wanted to make sure it's safe out here. She then said a bit more about it but I wasn't really listening anymore. Too busy planing.”
Another giggle escapes the stallion but Silverstream butts in, her face showing signs of confusion.
“Wait, did you say howls? As in... plural? More than one? Two at least?”
“Yeah, one when I ran away and one when I woke up. Don't know why you needed the second one but it was still very realistic.”
Smolder, Gallus, Silverstream and Yona bandy looks before all focusing on Ocellus, who is as confused as Silverstream was, especially when she notices her friends looking at her.
“I”, Ocellus stammers, “I only howled once... When I was chasing you, I promise. I changed back right before you hit your head.”
“True”, Smolder backs up her friend's alibi, “She was the one who called out for you too.”
“Maybe your head was still ringing. That was quite the impact after all”, Silverstream tries to explain what happened but one single sound shatters all of her reasoning and puts all of the friends on edge. A howl, followed by another one, louder and longer than the first.
Immediately the group comes together in a hug, but no the friendly “long time no see” or “Hey! Nice to meet you” kind of hug. It's more like a “We are doomed” kind of hug.
“Now that was no ringing, that's for sure!”
Silence returns but not for long because the sound of sticks breaking begins to echo through the forest, getting louder just a tiny bit with every repitition. Suddenly, not as far away from their current position as they would like it, a few pairs of glowing green eyes appear, coming closer and closer with each step, breaking sticks and rustling leaves in the process.
“T...Timberwovles! And a whole pack of them”, Sandbar whispers.
“And they are coming this way”, Ocellus adds, her voice shaking as if an earthquake affected it.
“But I thought there were no Timberwolves in this area”, Silverstream reminds them but Gallus, with a shaky voice, snaps them back into reality.
“Well, there are some and they are heading this way! Hide!”
The group follows the griffon's command and each of them tries to find a good hiding spot. Sandbar, Gallus and Silverstream each dive into nearby bushes while Yona hides behind two bigger rocks a bit further away, trying her best to look like brown rock, and Smolder and Ocellus share a hollow trunk. From their new positions they wait and hope for the creatures to move along once they reach them. They all try their best to keep quiet but when the wolves finally appear, two of them, Yona and Sandbar, can't keep themselves from breathing noisily and, in the process, catching the predators' attention. They begin to smell the air and come closer and closer to the bush where Sandbar is hiding in.
I messed up big time... They will find him and that's all my fault. But I can fix this! I will fix this!
Without any warning, the griffon jumps out of his hiding spot and runs off, startling the monster long enough to create a bit of distance before they chase after him with loud growls and another howl.
“G-Gallus!”, Sandbar shouts as he tries to chase after them but he trips over a root, causing him to land on his stomach.
The rest of his friends help him up before they try their best to catch up with their enemies. For a moment they lose sight of their friend and the wolves but, luckily, their bright eyes stick out like a yak in a group of ponies. It looks like Gallus is leading them in big circles, starting from the side of the boulder where they hid and restarting the loop through the forest on the other side of it.
“What do we do? How can we help?”, Yona asks panicky, looking for anything they can use to either attack the wolves or scare them away.
The rest help searching but at that moment, Sandbar remembers something and an idea begins to form, creating more and more details until it is complete.
“That's it! Ocellus! I need you and your ability. The rest of you, hide until I say so.”
Gallus, in the meantime, tries his best to escape the wolves, who begin to catch up with him.
(with Gallus)
Whenever one of the wolves tries to take a snap at him, Gallus takes a quick leap to regain some of his distance but he knows that he can't keep this up forever. He really wishes he had taken that outfit off. That way he could fly away whenever he wants but now, he is a sitting duck... or griffon. He takes another long leap over a tree stump and actually manages to widen the gap between his pursuers and him, but not big enough for them to lose interest in him so Gallus can still hear their hasty steps behind him. Suddenly, he feels how something pulls him into a bush and a scream escapes him which quickly dies when his beak is being shut tightly. With wide eyes he stares at the creature in front of him.
“Shh! We have a plan. Just be quiet and stay here until I get you”, the pony whispers as he peeks out from their hiding spot to see how his plan is going.
Luckily, it goes perfectly as the Timberwolves pass them and head straight for the big boulder, in front of which Gallus stands, or at least someone who looks like him. The three wolves hunker down a bit before leaping through the air, aiming directly at the helpless griffon. In that exact moment, Gallus is being consumed by a bright light blue flame that raises from the ground. Without an target to hit, the three wolves crash into the big stone and, thanks to their high speed, completely fall apart.
“NOW!”
Sandbar, Smolder, Yona and Silverstream storm out of their hiding spots and begin to throw the pieces into every direction, separating them to prevent the wooden creatures from reforming anytime soon.
“Good job!”
“We did it!”
“Friends are best! Wolfs are bad!”
The group celebrates their victory and Ocellus, who changed into a tiny mouse, changes back into her old form to celebrate with them. In the meantime, Sandbar returns to the bush and helps his griffon-friend out of it.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, a bit out of breath but that's all. I guess I was too fast for them, which doesn't surprise me.”
“Good”, Sandbar answers with a smile before punching the griffon's shoulder with one of his hooves, “So I don't have to feel bad for doing that.”
“Ow!”, Gallus shrieks before he rubs his shoulder to ease the pain a bit, “What was that for? I already apologized, didn't I?”
“That wasn't for that little prank. That was for being stupid and risking your life by literally playing bait for a pack of Timberwolves without even thinking!!”
“Okay, okay it was risky and not the smartest choice, I know. But they were about to find you. What was I suppose to do? Watch how they find and eat my best friend? No way! I also wanted to make up for leading you and others here and causing this whole thing in the first place. I... I just wanted to save y-”
Gallus stops mid-sentence because Sandbar, whose angry expression changed into a gentle smile, gives him a hug, something he did not expect at all to happen.
“Thanks”, the pony says after letting go, “This was for being stupidly brave and risking your life by playing bait to save me.”
“W-Well”, the griffon stammers, “You know me! Brave is my middle name. They don't call me Gallus the Brave for nothing.”
“Sure”, Sandbar giggles, “Gallus the Brave.”
“Guys! Let's get out of here. I have enough of this stupid forest”, Smolder shouts at them, signaling for them to hurry up and join the rest.
But before they start their journey back, Silverstream stops them after noticing something very interesting about the boulder they found.
“Wait... I took another look at the boulder when we were waiting for you to wake up Sandbar and... is it just me or does this boulder look like skull? Like the shape and everything.”
The rest of the group take a closer look as well and, indeed, each of them recognizes the skull she is talking about.
“Pinkie Pie said something about a skull! And Gallus said that everything was true except for the tradition so maybe the part with the boulder wasn't made up either”, Ocellus points out and Sandbar begins to smile from ear to ear.
“Guys! We can still complete the tradition! We just need to touch it and say the sentence”, Sandbar exclaims happily, his voice full of excitement.
“I told you”, Gallus reminds him, “Pinkie Pie's story about that tradition was made up. There is no tradition to complete.”
“I know but there is no harm in doing it anyway, right?”
“He does have a point and that would at least make this whole trip somewhat of a success”, Ocellus agrees and the rest of the group shares the same opinion.
All six of them place their hoof, claw or wing on the boulder and, in unison, say the sentence.
“I am not afraid of the Nightmares of the night!”
“Great, we did. Can we leave now. One more second here and I swear I'm gonna snap! And I'm not talking about twigs.”
The dragon's threat is more than enough for the group to start their trip home but upon reaching the forest's exit, they see somepony coming towards them with a few other creatures surrounding him or her.
“Oh my! What are you six doing here? Don't tell me you were in the Everfree Forest”, Fluttershy asks with a concerned look on her face upon recognizing the six creatures in front of her.
“Miss Pinkie Pie told us it was save to go there and... It's a long story but yeah, we were”, Ocellus admits, a bit ashamed of their action because it obviously worries their teacher.
“Usually yes but not this year. Mr. and Mrs. Owl told me about a pack of Timberwolves they saw a few days ago. They should have moved on to different woods but for some reason they stayed here. I told you all about it Gallus. Don't you remember?”
The griffon's eyes shot open when the part he formerly ignored forces its way into his memory, playing inside of his head and repeating the warning over and over again. An awkward laughter escapes him as he rubs the back of his neck.
“Well... Now that you mention it. I must have... forgotten it”, he admits with a voice that reveals his guilt, “Sorry.”
“It's okay. I'm just glad nothing happened to you. But please stay away from the forest, at least for the rest of tonight, okay?”
The students nod but something bothers Sandbar so he decides to ask.
“What are you doing here if you allow the question.”
“I brought a few of my friends and a Timberwolf-whistle to meet them and lead them away so they can get back into their own rhythm and to make the forest a bit safer.”
“What is a Timberwolf-whistle?”, Silverstream asks and immediately gets an answer as Fluttershy pulls out a little wooden flute from her saddle bag.
“It's a small flute that sounds just like the howl of a Timberwolf. That sounds attracts them. Now please excuse me, I have an important task to complete.”
“Oh sure! Maybe the try the boulder that looks like a skull”, Smolder advises her teacher, “Just follow the path, can't miss it. I think you'll find them in that area. We gotta go now.”
The two parties wish each other a happy Nightmare Night as they bid each other goodbye and head their respective ways. On their way, Sandbar gets an idea he is very excited to share with the rest of his group.
“Hey! Now that we know that those Timberwolves aren't normally there, we could make our own tradition. Each year, someone tries to scare the rest while the remaining five go to the boulder and complete the task.”
“Uh! Sounds fun! Our own little tradition”, Silverstream celebrates as she hovers above them.
“Could be fun to be on the receiving end and I'm curious what you guys will come up with”, Gallus agrees and so do the remaining three.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! Yona will do next year! Yona has great idea! Friends will scream like baby yaks.”
The group laughs at the yak's excitement but, deep down they all look forward to next year's Nightmare Night.
Author's Note
I hope you liked it^^
