One October evening, in a dark room inside Sugarcube Corner...
“Gather around, filly friends!” Pinkie exclaimed. “For I am about to tell you a true tale of terror!”
“This better actually be scary,” said Sweetie Belle, pouting and crossing her front legs. “Rarity’s story was super lame. It was the same living mannequin story—again!”
Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie with a raised eyebrow. “I say if this turns out to be about a cake, we bolt.”
Scootaloo hopped up and down. “Well I’m excited. Pinkie’s really creepy with how she pops up everywhere with her smile!”
Pinkie frowned. “Uh, thanks?” She shook herself and waved her hooves with a wide grin. “When I say this is a true tale of terror, I mean a truly true tale! It all happened last Nightmare Night, when the students of the School of Friendship all went out trick or treating…”
“Alright, I got the routes right here,” said Sandbar as he rolled out three maps on the ground in his dorm room. His five other friends gathered around them, and he continued. “These are the three best routes for candy, and if we split up, we can hit all of them and then meet up at the town square for all the games!”
Silverstream clapped her hands together. “Ooh! This is so exciting!”
Ocellus nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never gone trick or treating before!”
Silverstream chuckled. “Well, that too, but I was more talking about the map!” She lifted one up and watched with glee as it flapped between her claws. “An image of the town printed on paper, that helps us know where to go? Amazing!”
“Yona never gone trick or treating either!” the yak exclaimed, lightly stomping. “In Yakyakistan at this time of year, yak go around with torches and smack the heads of any yak acting strangely.”
Sandbar nervously chuckled. “Glad I’m not in Yakyakistan right now, then.”
“So how are we splitting up, then?” asked Smolder. “Drawing straws?”
Gallus shook his head. “I think we should just come up with groups and go with it. How about—” he hovered up and brushed his chin with a talon, looking over the others “—Sandbar and Silverstream, Yona and Ocellus, and me and Smolder.”
The other students shrugged and murmured in agreement.
Soon afterward, each group changed into their costumes, took their maps, and headed out.
Gallus flew into town with a plain white kimono and a wig with long black hair that seemed to cover his eyes, but actually had a minor enchantment to allow clear sight through it. Smolder wore knight’s armor and flew alongside him with a smug look. “Let me guess, those choices weren’t actually arbitrary.”
Gallus nodded, then quickly put his wig back in place. “Yup, I made sure all the, shall we say, out of control members of our group were paired up with someone reasonable.”
“Except for us, of course,” Smolder responded, and they pounded fists. “Cuz we’re mavericks.”
They both laughed as Smolder balled up their map, tossed it in the air, and set it aflame. They continued on above the festivities for another few moments, but then they both slowed to a stop.
“Uh,” said Gallus. “Where are the houses, again?”
“Wait, wait, hold on,” said Apple Bloom. “Gallus and Smolder don’t know where the houses are? Does this make sense to y’all?”
Scootaloo hummed. “Well, I guess I haven’t really seen them around town much. They tend to stick to the campus.”
All three girls nodded, and Sweetie Belle turned to Pinkie. “Alright, you’re clear.”
Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. “Uh, wow, I wasn’t aware I was going to be held to this high a standard.”
Sweetie pointed her hoof. “You brought this on yourself, Pinkie! You’re the one who said this really happened!”
Pinkie looked up and hummed. “Yeah, I guess I did say that.” She looked at the girls and stretched her front legs out. “And it did happen! Now hold on, I’m starting to get to the creepy parts.”
The pink pony swept her hoof. “Gallus and Smolder continued wandering around the town. It’s well known among us ponies that you shouldn’t leave the lights of Nightmare Night, but our griffon and dragon friend thought nothing of taking a detour into a dark alley. And thus, they ended up having a strange encounter…”
Hiding away between buildings from the hustle and bustle, Smolder counted her claws. “OK, so first we walked past City Hall toward Sugarcube Corner, got candy from the Cakes there, and then we turned, and—”
“Then we somehow ended up at Sugarcube Corner again, because apparently those are the only two landmarks we recognize,” finished Gallus.
Smolder sighed. “You know what? Let’s just follow the next group that passes us.”
They started heading out, but then they heard groaning behind them and both of them stopped.
The dragon raised a bemused eyebrow. “You think some kid is trying to scare us?”
“Maybe,” Gallus responded, “but do you smell that? It’s like a sugar bomb. Guessing someone started eating their candy early and got a stomach ache.”
“Well I’m going to scare them anyway,” said Smolder with a toothy grin. “You ready?”
The griffon nodded and they silently counted down. Then they turned and lunged, with Smolder releasing enough fire to light up the alley and startle their would-be scarer.
“Boo!”
A purple mare stared ahead with eyes focused past the two students. The flame’s light bounced off her coat in strange ways, with an odd shininess, and the pony’s face showed no reaction to the surprise. As a result, Gallus and Smolder found themselves more startled than their victim and they unthinkingly backed out of the alley as the light dissipated.
Soon enough, the more advanced parts of their brains caught up and Smolder put a name to the face. “Professor Sparkle?”
The mare walked forward and the street lights washed away the shadows. In the light, she still seemed oddly shiny, but there was no question that this was Twilight Sparkle.
Gallus released a sigh of relief. “Oh, OK, it is you. What are you doing out here?”
Twilight’s expression didn’t change. “I am having a Nightmare Night,” she said in an unusually monotone cadence.
Smolder found herself instinctively keeping her distance and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, you feeling alright, Professor?”
Still no reaction on her face. “I am alright.”
Smolder hummed and scratched her cheek, then Gallus snapped his talons. “Oh! Ohh! Now I get it! Smolder, this isn’t the professor. It’s the Tree of Harmony!”
“Yes, I am the Tree of Harmony,” said the pony, and Smolder relaxed her tense muscles. The unchanging expression, the odd appearance of her coat, all of it was now explained.
The dragon smiled. “Woah, it’s crazy so see you out here. I didn’t even think you could leave the treehouse. So you decided to check out Nightmare Night, huh?”
Gallus continued. “You’ve just been a tree all these years, so I’m guessing it’s your first one?”
The Tree of Harmony replied, “Yes, this is my first Nightmare Night.”
“Hey, same as us!” said Smolder. “How about you join us? We’re going to get candy from a bunch of houses. Though I’m guessing you’ve had a bunch already.” She waved her hand in front of her nose. “You smell like you’re full of sugar.”
“Yes, I am full of sugar,” replied the Tree.
“You’re way ahead of us, then,” said Gallus, and then he shrugged. “Also, I guess magical hologram things can eat candy. Who knew?”
The Tree stared. “I would like to feed more.”
Smolder looked to the side and saw a group of costumed ponies walking away. “Well, there’s your chance. I found some other trick or treaters, so let’s follow them.”
The students and their magical friend walked down the street, but moments later, groans once again emerged from the alleyway. A blue-coated stallion slowly crawled from behind a garbage bin. He started breathing in heavily and shook, then collapsed as a light brown goop oozed out of his mouth and nostrils.
The Nightmare Night festivities continued.
“Yes, Apple Bloom?” Pinkie cheerfully asked after the filly in question raised her hoof.
“So I know about the Tree of Harmony and all that,” said Apple Bloom, “but why is it a pony that looks like Twilight?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, I was wondering that too, but I didn’t want to look like the only pony that didn’t know.”
Pinkie hummed while playing with her mane. “Well, actually, I don’t know what’s going on with that.”
Sweetie Belle shot up and pointed her hoof. “That’s bad writing, Pinkie Pie!”
Pinkie put her front legs up defensively. “Hey, I was just telling this story how it was told to me.”
“Sweetie Belle, chill!” said Scootaloo, then she closed her eyes sagely. “I think the information provided here will be enough context for the rest of the story.”
“Sheesh, Rarity repeating that mannequin story really did a number on her,” mumbled Apple Bloom.
“Anyway,” said Pinkie Pie, “our friends and the not so Twilighty Tree approached their first house…”
“You know,” said Smolder, “you should really be wearing a costume, Tree of Harmony.”
The Tree of Harmony replied, “Costume?”
“Like what I’m wearing,” Smolder replied, knocking on her helmet. “I’m Sir Dudley, dragon knight. And Gallus is dressed as this one ghost mare that comes out of projectors.”
“We know this is already a costume for you, since you’re normally a tree and all,” said Gallus, “but you kind of stick out. Can’t you, like, use magic to change your appearance?”
Without blinking, the Tree replied, “I will require additional fondant.”
Smolder and Gallus looked at each other, their faces twisting.
“Is that a fancy way of saying fondue? Like the cheese?” asked Smolder.
“I thought fondue was already the fancy way of saying it,” replied Gallus.
“Would a magical tree need cheese to do magic?”
“Makes about as much sense as anything else.”
Interrupting their deliberation, a familiar voice shouted out, “Twilight! There you are!”
Rainbow Dash swooped down, wearing a pirate costume, complete with an eyepatch. She lifted it up from her eye and said, “Probably shouldn’t have been looking for you with this down. Hey Smolder, Gallus!”
“Hey Professor Dash!” they both said.
“Anway, Twilight, I really need to talk to you,” said the pegasus. “In private.”
“Uh, Professor,” said Gallus, “you should know that this isn’t—”
The Tree of Harmony raised her hoof. “It is fine. I will talk to her.”
Gallus and Smolder looked at each other and shrugged. “Well, suit yourself. We’re going over to that house.”
The students walked away as Rainbow and Twilight walked over to another alley. “What’s that about?” asked Gallus. “Monster attack?”
“If it is, it’ll probably spill over to us anyway,” said Smolder, with her arms crossed behind her head. “So we can chill and get candy until then.”
Meanwhile, Rainbow and the Tree of Harmony stopped in the dark alley and they faced each other.
“So, have you heard about what’s going on?” asked Rainbow.
“No,” replied the Tree of Harmony.
“Well, I guess I have to be the one to tell you what Pinkie did, then,” Rainbow said, then flew up and pointed her front legs in exasperation. “But first, why in Equestria aren’t you wearing anything?! It’s Nightmare Night, Twilight! Do they not dress up in Canterlot, or something?”
“I am wearing fondant,” replied the Tree.
“What, you mean you’re wearing a cheese costume? Of yourself? I don’t know, Twi, even for you that sounds really weird.” She flew around her, examining the costume. “So, are you inside there, or something?”
“Yes.” The Tree opened her mouth and Rainbow flew close to take a look. “Take a loooooooooooooooo—”
Brown ooze erupted out of the Tree of Harmony and engulfed Rainbow Dash, whose screams were deafened by the sludge.
Smolder rang the doorbell, but then quickly turned to Gallus and said, “Wait, what were we supposed to say?”
Gallus’s eyes widened. “Uh, it’s..”
The door opened and a gray mare with blonde hair stood behind it.
“Nightmare Night!” Gallus said, with Smolder awkwardly repeating after him. “Uh, Nightmare Night! Give us something good tonight!”
The mare’s eyes crossed and she chirped, then she dropped some candy in the students’ baskets.
They pumped their fists as they left the house. Walking back to the street, they saw the Tree of Harmony walking toward them, now wearing a pirate costume of her own.
“Oh hey, looks like Professor Dash gave you her costume,” said Smolder. “So what did you talk about?”
“We talked about fondant,” said the Tree of Harmony.
Gallus scratched his head. “I guess it was just about the costume, then.”
“Oh, by the way,” said Smolder. “Tree of Harmony is a bit of a mouthful. Do you have a nickname, or…?”
The Tree of Harmony paused to consider this. “You may call me Harm.”
Gallus laughed. “Morbid. I like it!
“Unrelated question,” Harm started, “what are dragon and griffon digestive systems like?”
Smolder raised an eyebrow. “Definitely unrelated.”
“Oh, you’re asking about how we handle candy, aren’t you?” said Gallus. “I guess griffon stomachs can handle candy just as well as ponies, though we’re more the pastry types.”
Smolder hit her stomach. “Dragons eat rocks. We can handle candy. It usually gets burned on the way down, though.”
“Interesting,” said Harm. “Yes, I will take that into account.”
The group continued on.
Several houses later, the students’ baskets were filling up with candy, though most of it was on the small end.
“You know, we’d probably have more big candy if we followed Sandbar’s map,” Gallus remarked, looking down at his stash.
“Oh come on,” Smolder said with annoyance. “We both decided being mavericks was the right move. Besides, we wouldn’t have run into Harm otherwise.”
Gallus stopped and pointed ahead. “We wouldn’t have run into them either.”
“Woah, guys!” exclaimed Sandbar as he ran up to the group. He wore a crab costume, with fake claws and legs jutting out of his sides. “Your map wasn’t supposed to take you over here.”
Silverstream flew to them too, wearing an open shower curtain with a shower faucet hanging above her. “Yeah, you guys are way off! Ooh, is that Professor Sparkle?”
Sandbar put on a smug smile. “Didn’t think you two would be the chaperone types.”
Both Smolder and Gallus blushed. “No!” the dragon exclaimed. “That’s not what’s going on! This is actually the Tree of Harmony!”
“Gnarly!” exclaimed Sandbar. He walked to Harm and put a front leg on her pirate coat. “Happy to have you on this fine Nightmare Night, Tree of Harmony.”
“Appropriate for the season, she’s going by Harm,” explained Gallus.
“Wow, spooky!” Silverstream happily exclaimed. “How are you liking Nightmare Night, Harm?”
“Nightmare Night is good,” Harm replied. “I have been feeding well.”
“What a weird way to word that. Anyway!” Silverstream reached behind her shower curtain and pulled out a six-foot Horselerone. “Trick or treating’s been great!”
Smolder and Gallus gaped. “OK,” said the griffon, “we’re never going to doubt your Nightmare Night maps again, Sandbar.”
Sandbar nodded. “As you should. Well, now that we’ve met up, wanna go to the Town Hall festivities and wait for Yona and Ocellus?”
The group, minus Harm, shrugged and agreed, so they all walked to town square.
A band could be heard playing cheesy Nightmare Night themed songs, with the bass thumping through the ground. As they got closer and closer, Harm started slowing down.
Smolder turned to look at her. “Harm? What’s up?”
“I am not comfortable going there,” she replied.
The group looked ahead, then back at her. “Because it’s too crowded?” asked Sandbar.
“Correct.” Harm pointed to another direction. “Let us go there instead.”
The group looked to the decrepit old house with creaking windows and a foreboding atmosphere. Or so it was made to seem. A sign at the entrance labeled it as “Super Spooky Haunted House!”, making clear this was purely an attraction.
“Looks kind of lame,” said Gallus.
Silverstream frowned. “I don’t know, it looks scary.”
“Relax, Professor Pie’s running it this year,” said Sandbar. “It isn’t going to be scary, but it should be fun.”
“It’s what Harm wants for her first Nightmare Night, so we might as well,” said Smolder. “Let’s go.”
They approached the entrance, and out popped…
“Me! Pinkie Pie!” exclaimed the pony in question, who wore a fake moustache. “I just had to include myself in the story!”
Having known her for a while, the students ignored this exclamation. “Hey Professor Pie,” said Sandbar. “How’s the haunted house going?”
Pinkie sighed. “Kind of slow, honestly. Guess ponies don’t expect scary from me. Plus, Rainbow Dash was supposed to help out, but she’s been gone for a while, so we don’t have any handlers inside. Have you seen her, Twilight? By the way, hi Twilight!”
“Yes. She gave me this costume,” replied Harm.
“Sounds like Rainbow!” said Pinkie. “Did she tell you about the cake?”
“What cake?” asked Sandbar.
Pinkie smiled. “There’s a dangerous cake on the loose!”
“A dangerous cake?” Smolder said with narrow eyes. “Seriously?”
Pinkie nodded. “Yup, super dangerous! I don't know how, since you could just eat it, but hey, I suppose not every creature is me.” She shrugged.
“Can you tell us more?” asked Sandbar, with a decidedly more worried expression.
Pinkie tilted her head and shifted her eyes to the side. “Well, I was making a Twilight-shaped cake to celebrate her visit from Canterlot, and I decided to use some nightmare powder I found in an ancient tomb in the batter to give it some fluff, but then while I was putting the fondant on, it just got up and left! Starlight got upset and now she has everypony out looking for it. Neat, huh?”
“That doesn’t sound neat,” Sandbar replied.
“This is very interesting,” said Harm. “Well, let us go inside.”
“Alright! Enjoy!” exclaimed Pinkie, and the group walked in.
Smolder sidled up to Gallus. “Hey, did you notice how Professor Pie mentioned fondant?”
“Yeah. And how the cake looks like Twilight,” Gallus replied.
Eerie music piped in through speakers in the hallway as the two students looked ahead. Silverstream and Sandbar stuck close together, and Harm showed no signs of suspicious behavior as she walked in front of them. A white cloth on a string swung by them, to little acknowledgment. Gallus and Smolder looked back at each other.
“Looking back, our friend Harm didn’t say she was the Tree of Harmony until we suggested it,” Gallus continued.
Smolder put a hand to her face. “Plus, she’s calling herself Harm.”
Gallus rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that was probably a dead giveaway. Should we double back and tell Professor Pie?”
“I don’t know how dangerous a cake can be, but we shouldn’t make her suspicious,” said Smolder. “Let’s keep an eye on her until we get out of here.”
“Hey, what are you guys talking about?”
They looked up to see Silverstream’s face close to them. She flew in front of them, hovering backwards.
Smolder was a bit taken aback, but said after a second, “Well, to sum up, we’re pretty sure Harm is actually the cake Professor Pie told us about, but be quiet about it. We don’t want her to know we know.”
“How did you confuse a cake for the Tree of Harmony?” Silverstream playfully rolled her eyes. “Come on, you two.”
Gallus pinched the top of his beak. “Look, the Tree of Harmony acts weird, the cake acts weird. They both look like Professor Sparkle. Easy mistake to make. Anyway, we should find a moment to tell Sandbar too.”
He peeked his head around Silverstream, only to see there was no one ahead of them. He stopped in place, and Smolder soon joined him. Silverstream turned around, frowned, and said, “Well that isn’t good.”
Smolder ripped up a piece of the wooden floor and lit one end of it on fire. Even with better lighting, there was no sign of Sandbar or Harm ahead. They turned around, searching frantically, and the flickering flames caught an odd reflection far behind them. The students froze in place, and focusing their full attention there, they could see Harm standing still, staring at them. Sandbar laid prone to her side, with a pulsating brown slime trickling out of his mouth
Now recalling the feelings she had when first seeing the nightmare cake, Smolder’s eyes widened and she said, “We should run.”
Unused to galloping, whatever mass was inside Harm’s coat moved with such force that it broke through its pirate costume and its left pony legs, forming an additional five gooey legs, tilting the pony body, and snapping the head to the side as it rushed forward. The three students screamed and flew down the hall, Smolder dropping her torch, Gallus’s wig flying off his head, and all three dumping their candy bags.
After several moments of hard flapping, they came to a large open room with a throne at the right wall, where a cloth ghost with googly eyes flew out of a panel. Not seeing the way forward at first, the students all broke in different directions. Gallus proved to be the unlucky one, as Harm tackled him and stuck him to the ground with its goop legs.
“Gallus!” both Smolder and Silverstream exclaimed. They rushed to his aid, with Silverstream grabbing the remaining pony parts and trying to pull her off and Smolder breathing fire on the monster—cautious not to get the others caught in the flames. After some moments, Silverstream pulled out her Horselerone and repeatedly smacked her. Regardless, Harm showed no acknowledgment of their actions, with the flames failing to catch on her moist insides. Slime poured out of her mouth into Gallus’s as his eyes widened.
Then the googly-eyed ghost landed on the throne.
Suddenly, there were confetti explosions all around them and speakers boomed techno music. Everyone was startled, even Harm, who jumped back from Gallus. A deep voice announced, “THE PARTY GHOST HAS ENTERED. THE PARTY GHOST HAS ENTERED.”
The ghost wiggled on the throne, seemingly an attempt to dance to the music, and in return, the music and pyrotechnics only grew more intense. Smolder and Silverstream covered their ears and cringed, with the hippogriff dropping her melting chocolate bar, but this was nothing compared to Harm’s reaction. The monster screamed and writhed, and smashed its Twilight head against the ground until it cracked in half, slime coming out of the gap.
Seeing an opportunity, Smolder and Silverstream grabbed Gallus and flew to the opposite side of the room, where the music was a bit quieter. Once they landed, Silverstream shook the griffon. “Gallus! Are you OK?”
“I think we need to get this stuff out of him,” said Smolder, as she got behind him and grabbed his stomach. She squeezed hard and Gallus coughed up the brown ooze, which fell to the ground with a plop. He got up on three legs, holding a front leg to his chest and continuing to cough, but eventually his breathing calmed down.
“You alright?” asked Smolder.
“You’re not, like, turning into a cake monster, are you?” asked Silverstream.
“I think I’m good,” said Gallus. “More importantly, what’s going on with Harm?”
“It’s the music!” said Smolder. “Professor Pie’s party music is really messing with it.”
“Maybe the nightmare powder doesn’t like the good vibes?” said Silverstream.
“Can we do anything to it while it’s still?” said Gallus.
“What can we do? Smolder’s fire didn’t burn it, and I don’t think we can smash it,” said Silverstream.
“Well, to be fair, I wasn’t breathing that hard,” said Smolder.
Gallus looked down at the goop he coughed up, which writhed in reaction to the music too. “Smolder, see what happens if you really fire this up.”
Smolder took a deep breath and launched an intense flame at it. After some seconds, she stopped, leaving behind a plume of smoke coming from the ground. It cleared, and what remained was a soft, spongy, and completely still cake.
Silverstream smacked her forehead. “Of course! That goop isn’t weird monster stuff, it’s raw cake batter!”
Gallus rubbed his chin. “Professor Pie said she baked the cake, but maybe with the nightmare powder, it needed to be in the oven longer than she thought.”
Smolder pounded a fist into her palm. “Alright, cake flambé coming up!”
“I’ll go get Sandbar!” said Silverstream. “And Gallus, I need you to get down!”
Gallus blinked. “Huh?”
“You know!” Silverstream proceeded to rip off her costume, twirl on her back, and then posed. “Party! The good vibes will weaken the cake even more.”
Before Gallus could respond, Silverstream flew back into the hallway they came from. He stood there, and Smolder gave him a glare. “Start dancing, Gallus!”
Groaning, Gallus started lifting his front legs up and down, but before he could really get into the music, a blur flew past him. He and Smolder turned to see one of the speakers destroyed, with batter coming out of it. They shot their heads back to the monster in time to see it launch another glob at a speaker.
Soon, the music had died down and Harm sat there panting, with only half of the fondant making up its head remaining in place, and the other half drooping to her legs. Her pirate eyepatch slid off, revealing ooze coming out of the hidden eye.
“Uh, Gallus, you better party harder!”
Harm walked toward them slowly and Gallus desperately flailed his limbs around to some facsimile of a beat. Smolder launched a fireball at the monster, but she easily warped her body around the attack.
“I… WILL… FEED…” said the creature, as she reached a tendril toward Gallus. Smolder breathed fire on her, but she again moved too quickly out of the way.
She hoped for something, anything, to help them.
Thankfully, Pinkie’s parties aren’t so easily ended.
A hidden door opened, revealing a mannequin loosely wrapped in toilet paper, riding a cart and surrounded by speakers.
“THE PARTY MUMMY HAS ENTERED. THE PARTY MUMMY HAS ENTERED.”
Music even louder than what was playing before blared out of the speakers, and Harm screamed, backing away from the students. Seeing their chance, Gallus pushed the Party Mummy closer to Harm and Smolder lit her up.
Flame enveloped the creature as she screeched and scratched at her remaining fondant. She lashed out, but she was quickly losing flexibility in her limbs and thus the students easily dodged her. The music’s thumping vibrated through her, and for extra measure, Gallus repeatedly dabbed.
Smolder continued to breathe fire, though she felt her flame weakening as the minutes passed. Soon, she had nothing more than a smolder, but the heat that remained was enough.
Harm exploded.
Smolder and Gallus held their arms over their eyes, and as seconds passed and the sound finished reverberating across the haunted house halls, they took stock of the situation. The Party Mummy was knocked over and charred, and the speakers were dead.
And where Harm once was, now stood a delicious-looking five-layer cake.
Then Pinkie hopped into the room. “Hey all, just wanted to check up on—is that cake?!”
Without waiting for an answer, Pinkie launched into the air, fell onto the cake mouth-first, and swallowed it whole.
The students let out a sigh of relief. Gallus said, “OK, I admit, this haunted house was less lame than I thought.”
Hoofsteps came from the hall, and a fully-recovered Sandbar emerged, flanked by Silverstream in the air. With a smirk, he said, “So, guess I missed all the fun.”
Smolder and Gallus rushed over to them and they all embraced.
“Glad to see you’re having fun,” said Pinkie as she laid on her back and rubbed her stomach. “I wish Rainbow Dash was here to enjoy this cake with me, though. She was supposed to be partying with the Party Mummy.”
“Did somepony say Rainbow Dash?”
The mare in question flew into the room from the hall and landed with a dramatic pose.
“Coach! You’re here!” said Smolder.
Rainbow grinned. “And I’m not the only one. These two were looking for you.”
“There friends are!” Yona exclaimed as she ran into the room.
Ocellus strolled in shortly after. “We were getting a bit worried after you didn’t show up at the festivities, so Professor Dash helped us look.”
Pinkie cheered. “Yay! Now all of us can party with the party monsters!” She looked up and only now seemed to notice the damage, frowning. “All the speakers are busted, though.”
Rainbow raised her front legs. “Well that doesn’t matter! As long as you’ve got creatures, you can party!”
The group cheered.
“Now let’s get down! Get doooooooooooooooooooo—”
Brown sludge erupted from Rainbow Dash’s mouth, and soon the same happened to Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, and Ocellus. Startled, the three unaffected creatures grouped together and backed away as the monsters approached…
“And thus ends our tale!” said Pinkie, who stuck her tongue out. “It’s a great lesson about how you should always talk to strangers, because they might turn out to be cake!”
“What? That can’t be the end!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle. “Did they die or what?”
Pinkie twisted her face. “Huh? Why would they die?”
“The cake monster was infecting everycreature!” said Scootaloo.
“Who said anything about that?” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Harm said so herself. She wanted to feed... everyone her delicious batter! But she gave everycreature way too much.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Silly cake, not waiting until she was fully baked.”
Apple Bloom shook her head. “This is why I hate scary cake stories.”
“Maybe Fluttershy will be better,” said Sweetie Belle, as the Cutie Mark Crusaders got up.
“I don’t know, I thought it was good,” said Scootaloo.
The girls walked out, leaving Pinkie Pie in the darkness.
The pink mare scrunched her eyebrows in thought. “Hmm, I guess making that monster cake last year didn’t make for a spooky enough story. Well, better luck next time.”
She hummed and hopped to a cupboard, pulling out an old and thick tome with a wrinkled leather cover, forming what one would almost think was the face of a screaming pony. She opened it up and hummed lightly as she read.
Author's Note
Based on an October 2018 Discord RP. So yes, this story was rumbling in my head even before I started publishing pony fanfics. As the title implies, this is part of a series, though who knows when I'll get to the rest. For that reason, I chose to publish this as a standalone.
