Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

The whole of Equestria waited and watched with eager anticipation as the sun started to disappear beneath the horizon and the full moon started to rise.

Canterlot mountain was aglow with various lights acting as a beacon in the distance for many ponies around the countryside.

The city itself was alive with excited squeals, laughs, and crowds of ponies chatting and moving around on their nightly festivities.

There were kids and even adults of all races and colors trick or treating. Music played in the streets near the center of town as a crowd gathered around a stage with a band of ponies dressed in skeleton costumes. Spooky good times were being had all around as everyone celebrated the return of their lady of the night.

Up in the palace, Princess Luna herself was standing on a balcony and looking down into the busy streets with her older sister.

The royal sisters were each dressed in some form of costume to join in on the festivities outside. Luna, against the wishes of many of her advisors, was sporting a puffy frilled vest and a tricorn hat with a skull on it to resemble a pirate.

The princess of the sun opted for a compromise between fun and spooky, and something befitting a mare of her status. She wore a faded white dress with many holes poked in the fabric, along with a bit of dark eyeshadow and pale face paint to make her look like some sort of wispy specter in white.

Celestia looked up and smiled warmly as she saw her sister looking around like a proud parent watching their children have fun. It seemed like the blue alicorn was fully acclimated to the concept of Nightmare Night.

"It looks like this may be the biggest Nightmare Night in recent memory," Celestia said.

Luna looked up, a smile barely deemed acceptable for someone of her stature still plastered on her face. “Indeed it does… I wonder why that is?” She turned to her sister curiously.

“Perhaps it is because this is the first Nightmare Night since everyone has grown to accept you again?” Celestia mused.

“I’m not certain if that would cause such a drastic change,” Luna said, a hint of bashfulness underneath her regal exterior that only her sister could pick up on.

Celestia snorted softly and let her smile grow a bit. "Nonsense, sister. I grant you that not everyone in Equestria likes you, but then not everyone in Equestria likes me."

"Are you still certain that you don't wish to implement the stockades for such ponies?" Luna asked, receiving a flat look in return that made her chuckle. "I am only jesting, sister."

Celestia smirked a bit. "As much as the thought entertains me some days, I think that would be frowned upon by the general public."

Luna nodded and stifled another giggle. Her expression returned to a more pensive one as she glanced down at the city below and all of the crowds of ponies moving to and fro.

"Do you really think that they like me so much?" She asked a bit sheepishly.

Celestia looked at her sister warmly and nodded. "Of course. If you are still having doubts, perhaps you should go see for yourself?"

"Perhaps I will." Luna nodded to herself, taking a few steps toward the balcony. "I've been meaning to take a walk around the city. Perhaps I could even fetch us some candy by… treat or tricking?" She smiled hesitantly.

"Sister… I almost can't believe you would abuse your stature in such a way," Celestia faux frowned, causing Luna’s expression to fall slightly. She then looked around, as if to check to see if they were being listened in on, before turning back to her sister. "But if you insist on such activities, could you bring back a few caramel squares?" She said in a softer voice, smiling as she did.

Luna grinned and gave an eager flit of her wings as she nodded agreeably. She looked like an excited filly, and her ridiculous costume made the comparison even easier. “Of course.”

Celestia watched as her sister hopped up onto the balcony. The blue alicorn spread her wings and paused briefly to look back.

“See you later?” Luna asked.

“See you later.” Celestia nodded.

With that, Luna turned ahead and gave a quick flap, taking off into the air and descending down from the castle and into the city where she disappeared from view.

Now that she was alone, Celestia took one last look out at the city before shifting her thoughts downstairs to the costume ball. There would be punch, bobbing for apples, and a crowd of her subjects wearing their most creative and fun outfits. With any luck, she could find her faithful student and favorite niece.

“I wonder if it would be considered cheating if I won the costume contest?” She looked down to her tattered white dress and smirked. Normally, she wouldn’t be caught dead in such an ensemble, but that was part of why she enjoyed Nightmare Night so much. It gave her an excuse to wear something silly or unconventional without having upper society descend into madness.

With a brief tug at her dress and a pat to keep her mane in place, she stepped out of her chambers and headed toward the ballroom.

After a few minutes of walking, music could be heard softly drifting through the halls from up ahead. It wasn't quite energetic enough for a dance, but it was upbeat and vaguely eerie enough to fit the holiday.

Celestia descended the steps of the main foyer, passing by a few guards as she did. Up ahead, she could see a few late arrivals making their way toward the ballroom. The various ponies immediately brightened their faces as their sovereign strolled up to them and briefly mingled with them before continuing on her way.

A short walk later and Celestia found herself entering into the wide-open space of the ballroom, though right now it was a little claustrophobic. There were ponies of all shapes and sizes crowded into the room, gathered into their own groups around tables or just standing around. All of them were clad in some sort of outfit, ranging from classical monsters, to princesses, to cowponies, and vikings. The alicorn even spotted a few ponies dressed like her or her sister, most of which were flattering, some of which were spot on, and still others less than accurate.

The room was sufficiently decorated to fit Nightmare Night by this point. There were cobwebs and fake bats dotted around the ceiling, with blue and black streamers wrapped around the various columns and arches. The two long tables near the center of the room were topped with black cloth patterned with webs, with a variety of themed foods and snacks in decorative bowls. There was even a green-tinted mist coming off of the punch bowl, which was shaped like a witch’s cauldron.

Once everyone noticed the princess entering the room, any conversations halted and were replaced by surprised gasps and excited murmurs. Celestia smiled and waved to the onlookers for a moment before the energy in the room gradually shifted back to what it was before she entered.

“Princess!” A familiar voice called from through the crowd.

The few ponies in front of her parted, and a purple unicorn dressed in a lab coat with absurdly large goggles and wild black and white hair came trotting up to her with a bright smile.

“Twilight?” Celestia blinked, a bit surprised at the odd costume the unicorn was sporting.

“Do you like my costume?” Twilight asked, strutting her stuff and showing off the whole of the ensemble. “I was going to pick Clover the Clever, but then I saw this.”

“It’s certainly... interesting.“ Celestia paused before managing a smile. “But yes, I think it’s quite fitting, given your academic talents.”

From behind Twilight, Cadence and Shining Armor walked up and paused beside her. The pair were dressed as a queen of hearts and a knight respectively, which strangely seemed almost normal for them.

Along behind them, Spike came scampering up beside his unicorn caregiver. He had a strange animal costume, consisting of a doofy looking brown dog head with foam fangs and green eyes, and a similarly crude-looking brown suit with leaves and twigs jutting out of it. Even his tail was covered.

“I love your outfit, Celestia,” Cadence said cheerfully, pointing out the alicorn’s gown with her plastic heart-shaped scepter.

“Thank you. I like all of yours as well. Although…” Celestia paused, looking down at the young dragon and resting a hoof to her chin pensively. “What are you dressed as, Spike?”

Spike seemed a bit surprised at the alicorn’s confusion. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m a timberwolf!” He wiggled his tail and let his oversized hat bob a bit, giving the illusion that it was half of a wolf’s head.

“Oh, I see. Very nice.” Celestia nodded to herself, smiling a bit as she watched the dragon dissolve into a giddy mess at her compliment. She looked up again and diverted her gaze behind the group, seemingly looking for someone that she wasn't finding. “Where’s Tom? I thought he would be with you.”

“He’s with the girls Trick or Treating.” Twilight explained.

“Is that so?” Celestia said.

“Yeah, Pinkie roped him into going, but I don’t think he minded very much,” Twilight added.

Shining Armor chuckled a bit. “Free candy tends to be a great motivator.”

“I’ll say.” Spike chimed in. “After the costume contest is over, I might join them.” He added, salivating a bit at the prospect of so many sweets.

“Hmm… well, I hope he has a good time,” Celestia said.

Twilight puffed through her nose a bit and smirked. “I’m sure he will, considering he has Pinkie with him. It’s not every day that she gets to share a friend’s first Nightmare Night with them. If anything, he might have too much of a good time.”

The others chuckled warmly at the thought of their human friend being overwhelmed by Pinkie Pie and her own unique brand of fun. They only hoped that they could have half of the good time that the pink mare was probably having.

Elsewhere, on the streets of Canterlot, Fluttershy walked alongside her three pegasus friends on their way toward the lower levels of the city.

The group were each sporting their own costume for the night’s festivities. Rainbow Dash had a nearly accurate-looking Wonderbolt outfit on, complete with the flight goggles she had borrowed from Sunspot.

The orange pegasus herself was wearing a hot pink and black ensemble of a dress, with spiked bands around her wrists and dark eye shadow made to resemble a goth teenager. Her hair was even tied up into pigtails.

Blue Bolt was dressed as a gentlepony of sorts, with a patterned black and blue vest and white undershirt on. He also had a monocle on and a top hat on his head.

Fluttershy had opted to dress in a simplistic bunny outfit, complete with puffy round tail, whiskers, and floppy ears. For what it lacked in creativity or pizazz, it more than made up for in fluffy cuteness.

The four walked for a bit, weaving through crowds and alleyways as Sunspot led them, and eventually found themselves standing before their destination.

A large building loomed over them, seemingly a mansion that had been converted into a horror attraction. A crooked iron fence wrapped around the property, with a few signs hung up advertising the event. Open windows allowed for flowing curtains to billow out into the night, with eerie yellow or green lights in certain rooms. A twisting cobblestone path led up to the front doors, where a small gathering of ponies were waiting to be let inside by the staff, who were all dressed in appropriately scary attire.

Fluttershy cringed as she watched a small group of kids come screaming out of a side exit. Through the open door, an eerie cackle could be faintly heard that made the hairs on her tail bristle inside her costume.

“Are you s-sure we can’t just go trick or treating with the others?” She asked softly, doing her best to keep her knees from knocking together.

Rainbow Dash frowned slightly as she turned to her timid friend. “Aww, come on, Flutters. We can’t just back out now. You said you would be ok with this.”

“I know… I’m sorry.” Fluttershy looked down regretfully before stealing a glance up at the eerie manor and inching back. “It’s just, now that I’m actually here, I’m starting to have… s-second thoughts.”

Blue Bolt offered the yellow mare a sympathetic expression before looking up to the attraction pensively. “Hey, this place has three different kinds of experiences, right?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Rainbow said.

“Well, why don’t we all go through the least scary one together, and then you and I can go through the big one after,” Blue suggested.

Hearing this, Rainbow Dash’s face brightened up. “That sounds like a great idea!” She took a moment to reign in her excitement and turned to her friend. “How about it, Fluttershy?” She asked, smiling in hesitant anticipation.

Fluttershy felt bad as she looked at the eager faces of her friends looking at her. She looked up to the mansion once more, the feeling of unease threatening to make her cower back again, and swallowed her apprehensions.

“Ok… I think I can do that.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash pumped a foreleg in the air. She grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof and dragged her along behind as she excitedly trotted toward the building.

Sunspot and Blue Bolt watched the tracks being made in the dirt from the yellow mare getting pulled along. Fluttershy tried to weasel out of her friend’s iron grip, either out of fear of where she was going or fear of being pulled off balance and dragged along the ground, but she eventually admitted defeat.

“Have they always been like this?” Sunspot asked beside her, not breaking her stare ahead at the two mares.

“As long as I’ve known them.” Blue Bolt smirked. “Come on, let’s not keep her waiting. We might be next.” He suggested. Hearing this, Sunspot glanced to him and then back ahead with newfound urgency.

Soon enough, or rather, not soon enough for some of them, the group made it up the marble steps and entered into the lobby of the haunted house experience.

What appeared to be the foyer of the mansion stood before them, heavily modified and decorated to make it duller and foreboding. The area was dark, with just enough light to make the various cobwebs and props look believable. There were thick curtains hung in three doorways, two of which were across from each other downstairs, while the third was up a grand staircase full of eerie-looking portraits.

Standing in the middle of the room was a tan stallion dressed in a dingy-looking suit with a crooked red bowtie. His black hair was just disheveled enough to imply that it was on purpose to fit with his attire.

Spotting the four ponies entering, he smiled creepily and walked up to them.

“Welcome to Shadewood manor, travelers! A great many thrills, chills, and shocking good times await any souls brave enough to enter these walls. But beware, for many unspeakable horrors lie in wait inside.” The stallion explained, a very rehearsed air about his speech. “Have you come to explore the manor?”

“You bet.” Rainbow nodded eagerly. Most of the others shared in her enthusiasm, though one of them looked like a scared little filly.

The stallion chuckled warmly. “Splendid! Which path would you like to take?” He turned and gestured behind him at the three curtained-off doorways. “There’s the beginner experience, the intermediate experience, and the hair-raisingly terrifying thrill seeker experience.” He explained, pointing to the left door, the right door, and the upstairs door respectively. “The intermediate path is five bits per head, and the thrill-seeker path is ten per head.”

“Yikes…” Rainbow Dash flinched slightly at the prices, even though they probably weren’t too extreme to others.

“How much for the beginner path?” Blue Bolt asked, pointing to the left door.

The stallion seemed a bit surprised initially at the group’s interest in the left path, though looking at the yellow mare in their midst explained everything. “The beginner path is free, however… I must inform you that it is… far from the most exciting experience we have to offer.”

“It’s the kiddie path, isn’t it?” Blue smirked knowingly.

“Yeah…” The stallion nodded, breaking character for a moment. “But, you are more than welcome to try it if that’s what you want.”

Sunspot stepped forward a bit and glanced between the right path and the upstairs path. “If we pay for the thrill-seeker one, do we have to pay again to see the intermediate one?” She asked curiously.

“Not at all. You can go through both as long as you pay for the thrill-seeker path first. However, you can only go through each once. Any repeats would need to be paid for again.”

“Sounds good.” Sunspot said, reaching down to her side and pulling out a coin purse hidden in her dress. Much to everyone’s surprise, she pulled out forty bits and handed them to the stallion. “I’ll just pay in advance for all of us, just in case.”

“Pleasure doing business.” The stallion gave an appreciative nod. “Please enjoy your visit.” He bowed briefly and gestured around at the three paths before walking away to deposit the coins.

The others watched with stunned amazement as the orange mare returned her purse to her side. They had at the very least expected to share whatever bill would be incurred by their stay, not for one of them to just fork over the whole cost.

“Sunspot, you didn’t have to do that.” Rainbow Dash said with a sympathetic frown.

“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Sunspot waved a hoof casually. “One of the perks of hunting monsters is excellent danger pay.” She smirked.

“Well… can’t argue with that.” Rainbow shrugged lightheartedly. She turned to her two other friends and formed an eager smile. “You two ready?”

“You bet.” Blue nodded immediately.

Fluttershy exhaled tensely as she peered into the curtained-off doorway on the left. “Y-Yeah…”

“Alrighty then, let’s get this show on the road.” Rainbow Dash stated, already starting to walk ahead. The others followed behind, with Fluttershy bringing up the rear, as their cyan leader headed through the curtain.

As they entered into the actual haunted portion of the ‘haunted’ house, the ponies quickly discovered why this path was free. While the setting itself was creepy enough, though most of them had already been through an actual haunted mansion before, the quote-unquote ‘scares’ that had been prepared for them left something to be desired.

Spring-loaded sheets with ghost faces painted on them slowly popped up from behind counters or around corners. Audio tapes with spooky noises looped throughout played. Occasionally, they might find a mannequin dressed in a monster costume with a cheesy mask. All in all, it was kid-friendly and thoroughly boring for anyone with a fear tolerance higher than a shoe.

Rainbow Dash stared ahead blankly as a cardboard cutout of a timberwolf popped up with all the urgency of a snail. A semi convincing growl accompanied the cutout, though it paled in comparison to the real thing.

“Not to sound like a broken record, but this is pretty lame.” Rainbow droned, sighing as she stepped around the cutout.

“I’ll say,” Sunspot added, “even Fluttershy hasn’t jumped at all since we’ve been here.”

“Am I really such a low comparison point?” Fluttershy deflated a bit.

Blue Bolt patted the yellow mare on the back. “Of course not, Fluttershy. You’re just a little… umm…” He trailed off, seemingly struggling to come up with something uplifting to say.

Fluttershy sighed and lowered her eyes to the floor. “It’s ok… Although, I am a bit surprised myself. I guess I was making it out to be worse in my head.”

“There’s also the fact that you’ve been through a lot scarier experiences before.” Sunspot commented.

“Yeah, I’ll bet you’re way braver than you used to be.” Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

Fluttershy felt a flattered smile forming and her cheeks reddening. "You guys really think so?"

"I know so," Rainbow said plainly. "Most ponies would pass out from sheer terror at half of the things you've been through."

"Maybe she could try the intermediate level with us after this?" Blue Bolt suggested.

"Umm… I-I think I'll just stick to this one for now, thanks." Fluttershy shivered slightly at the thought of what the next level had in store.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Blue Bolt smirked and shook his head.

While the four pegasi were seeking some scary good times, a certain pair of monster hunters were seeking a different variety of scary fun.

Glimmer Shine stood in a small bookstore and watched as his unicorn friend went up and down an aisle, scanning titles with a quietly amused smile plastered on her face. The whiskers of the black cat costume she was sporting made the sight all the more adorkable. The stallion himself was wearing a dog costume to coordinate with the white mare, complete with floppy ears and a cumbersome tail that was more than a touch itchy.

Hearing hoofsteps coming up behind them, the pair turned to see the owner of the shop, a yellow unicorn mare with white hair wearing a witch hat, walking up.

“Finding everything ok?” The unicorn asked politely.

Glitterball hopped down from one of the upper shelves and turned to face the owner. “Just browsing, thank you. Although… do you have any recommendations for a horror thriller?”

The yellow unicorn propped her chin up with a hoof and trailed her eyes off briefly. “Well… that depends on how scary you-” She paused abruptly and looked the pair over for a moment before her face lit up slightly. “Hey, aren’t you those monster hunters that work for the princess?” She asked, doing her best to keep her excitement contained.

“We sure are.” Glimmer Shine nodded, always pleased to find someone that recognized him and his team. Glitterball seemed flattered and a little sheepish.

“Oh, thank you so much for what you do.” The unicorn said with a heartfelt smile of gratitude. “You know, I actually saw you out on the streets back when the hooded ponies invaded. I was hiding from those horrible shadow monsters.” She said, getting a bit quieter as unsettling thoughts crept into her mind. “I can’t believe that you guys were just out and about in all that chaos.”

“Well, we did what we could,” Glitterball said. “I’m glad you made it through without getting hurt.”

The yellow mare smiled appreciatively before letting her expression fall a bit. She looked around to see if anyone else was watching and tittered awkwardly while scratching her mane as she turned back to the pair of monster hunters.

“This might sound strange, but…” Her mouth twitched nervously as she worked her way up to whatever she was about to say. “I’ve heard about those magical zappy things you use to fight monsters.”

“You mean our strobes?” Glimmer Shine tilted his head, unsure of where the mare was going with this.

“Oh, is that what you call them?” The unicorn nodded in revelation. “Anyway… would you mind letting me see them?” She strained, cringing a bit as she prepared for the response to her overreaching.

The two looked at each other for a moment. Glitterball smirked a bit and shared a nod with her friend before she reached down to her hind leg and pulled her strobe from its strap. Glimmer Shine did the same, lifting the leg of his dog costume to get to the small vial, before both of them held out their weapons for show.

“Woah…” The mare’s eyes lit up like a filly on Hearth’s Warming Eve.

“These guys here use a mixture of alchemical ingredients to create a burst of positive energy.” Glimmer Shine explained.

“Do you want to try one?” Glitterball offered, holding out her strobe to the mare.

The yellow pony stared at the vial with a veiled sense of excitement, but also a sense of nervous apprehension. “Should I…?”

“Of course,” Glitterball smirked. “They’re harmless to anything that isn’t a monster, so go ahead.”

As the white mare practically placed the vial into her hooves, the owner hesitantly accepted it and looked it over. There was a certain amount of veiled fear in her eyes like she had just been handed a dangerous weapon. Still, after a moment or two of apprehension, she pointed it up at the ceiling and hovered her hoof near the easily identifiable button on the cap.

With a magical zap and a burst of light, the yellow pony yelped and dropped the vial to the floor with a tiny clatter as a colorful spark shot into the ceiling and exploded into a shower of particles.

After a moment of silence, she rested a hoof against her chest and smiled nervously. Much to her surprise, the ceiling hadn’t received any damage from the colorful projectile.

“Wow…” The yellow mare muttered, still dealing with her brief rush of adrenaline.

Glitterball snorted softly and smirked. She lit up her horn and gently lifted the vial back to her hind leg and replaced it on its strap. “First time’s always a little exhilarating.”

“You reacted better than my brother did with his first go.” Glimmer Shine added lightheartedly.

The yellow mare adopted a curious expression. “Your brother works with you?”

Hearing this, the stallion trailed his eyes to the floor briefly and swallowed uncomfortably. Glitterball’s cheerful demeanor fell as well as she looked to her friend to see how he was reacting.

“Well… he used to. He’s uh… he’s not with us anymore.” Glimmer explained.

A brief moment of confusion crossed the yellow pony’s face until the realization dawned on her and she softened her eyes. “Oh my… I’m so sorry. I heard that you lost some of your team before the invasion… I didn’t think-”

“It’s fine.” Glimmer Shine said, forcing a more neutral expression. “It’s dangerous work, and… he knew the risks, but he was fine with it as long as he was helping ponies in need. I like to think that as long as I’m still doing that, that I’m keeping his memory alive.”

The yellow mare frowned softly as she saw a hint of lingering pain in the stallion’s eyes. It seemed like the wound had mostly healed, but she just prodded it and brought it back to his attention.

“Well…” She cleared her throat uncomfortably and managed a slight smile. “If there’s anything you need help with, please let me know.”

“Right,” Glimmer Shine nodded, clearing his throat as well and shaking the gloom from his features. “How about some recommendations? I don’t know about you, but I came here to read and unwind.” He bobbed his head toward Glitterball.

The owner seemed a bit surprised at just how quickly the stallion shifted tones, but she nodded and flashed a smile anyway. “Of course. Right this way, please.” She motioned for the pair to follow her.

Glitterball watched for a moment as her companion headed off with the owner, already having a conversation about what he was looking for. She let her thoughts drift, her features falling flat as she did. She was glad that Glimmer was doing better, but she could only imagine how he still felt on the inside. If her own feelings were anything to go by, she knew that he still hurt deeply over the losses they suffered that night.

“You coming, Glitter?” Glimmer Shine asked, breaking the unicorn from her thoughts.

“Yeah… be right there.” Glitter stated, trotting over to join her friend. If he could get right back to enjoying Nightmare Night, then so could she.

Outside on the streets, the night was alive with laughter and lighthearted squeals of joyful terror. All across the city, groups of foals, family, and friends went from house to house, storefront to storefront, and anywhere else they could to acquire some tasty treats.

One such group was made up of Pinkie Pie and her friends. The pink mare was accompanied by Applejack, Rarity, the crusaders, Sparkplug, and Tom. Everyone was wearing the costumes they had picked out earlier, with Rarity sporting a light purple wedding gown complete with veil, and Sparkplug wearing a cardboard robot costume that had been lovingly painted gray with various accents.

The others all watched as Scootaloo and her fellow crusaders led their human friend up to a house. Apple Bloom knocked on the door before stepping back and sharing an excited grin with her friends as they all prepared their plastic pumpkins, which were already somewhat filled with a variety of candy.

After a moment, the door opened and a teal earth pony mare came out holding a large bowl full of enough sweets to send even Pinkie Pie into a sugar coma.

“Trick or Treat!” The three fillies exclaimed in unison, holding their buckets up eagerly.

“Goodness… what scary costumes.” The mare noted lightheartedly, looking between the trio. She trailed her eyes up and was a bit taken aback to see something taller than her, only to recognize it to be Equestria’s resident human.

“Oh my… you’re that human fellow, aren’t you?” She asked before cringing awkwardly. “Err… of course you are. That was a stupid question, sorry.”

“Don’t worry, this is as weird for me as it is for you,” Tom stated with a smirk.

“Right, well…” The mare chuckled nervously as she took a few hoof fulls of candy and deposited them into each of the four buckets held out to her. “Happy Nightmare Night.” She waved.

“Wow…” Scootaloo smiled as she saw how much her horde of candy had grown.

“Thanks!” Sweetie Belle said cheerfully.

With that, the four stepped away from the house and rejoined their friends, who were just getting back from visiting a house of their own.

Pinkie Pie took a piece of candy from her own bucket, which was nearly overflowing by this point from the sheer volume of houses she had already been to, and popped it into her mouth. “I love Nightmare Night!”

“I second that.” Sparkplug said, looking to her own pile of candy and already picturing how fast she would demolish it later.

“Personally, I think giving so much candy to children at one time is unhealthy.” Rarity chimed in.

“Aw, lighten up, Rare. It’s only once a year.” Applejack nudged the unicorn with a playful smirk. “Besides, a lil’ candy never hurt anypony. Just look at Pinkie.”

“Yeah! I eat candy all the time, and I still keep a girlish figure.” Pinkie said, showing off her somewhat slim figure. She might not have been the thinnest among her group of friends, but given her diet, she might as well have been a supermodel.

“Do you guys just not have diabetes or something?” Tom skewed his expression a bit.

Pinkie blinked. “Dia what now?”

Meanwhile, Sparkplug stole a glance at the contents of the human’s pumpkin bucket, only to pause as she noticed that it was oddly empty compared to everyone else’s.

“Hey, Tom, why don’t you have a lot of candy?” The gray mare asked curiously, drawing everyone’s attention to the human and his meager haul.

Pinkie gasped as she saw how little candy her friend had. “Oh my gosh, what happened? Did someone steal your candy? Did they not give you as much because you look different? Those meanies!” She glared in the direction of the house that the human and the fillies just went to.

“Woah, easy there, Pinkie,” Tom said, hoping to de-escalate what was probably about to be a potential egging. “It’s not that big of a deal. I’m not just here for the candy. I’ve been enjoying having fun with you guys.”

“Aww…” Pinkie’s expression melted into a warm smile. “I can go get you some more if you want.” She offered.

Tom shook his head gently. “Nah, I don’t want to put you out like that.” He said. Suddenly, he looked down as he felt a tiny nudge at his leg.

“Do you want some of mine? I have extra.” Sweetie Belle said, holding up her nearly overflowing bucket.

“No thanks, Sweetie. I’m good… really.” Tom smiled and patted the filly on the head, briefly ruffling the top of her costume.

“Well, the night’s still young.” Applejack said, peering down the street to see another grouping of houses further ahead. “I’m sure everyone will have a good haul by tomorrow.”

“Agreed. Let’s get moving, shall we?” Rarity suggested, looking to her friends to confer their opinions. Everyone seemed eager to move on and get back to trick or treating.

With that, the group headed down the street again, weaving through a small crowd as they went.

Apple Bloom looked down at her bucket before glancing over to her orange friend. “How’re you doin’ Scootaloo?” She asked curiously. While Sweetie Belle seemed to be doing the best out of the three of them, only Scootaloo’s bucket wasn't full to the point that the pile inside could be seen.

“Pretty good,” Scootaloo said, glancing down to her bucket. “Although, I kind of wish I had more candy bars. I keep getting those hard candy things.”

“Maybe we can trade later? I like those.” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” Scootaloo smiled in anticipation.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Pinkie watched from the back of the group as Tom made his way to the front. While the fillies were busy chatting with each other, the human took a handful of candy bars and snuck them into the young pegasus’ bucket with all the finesse of a seasoned thief on his way past. The two mares watching shared a slight smile with each other as they realized why the crusaders had so much candy this early.

About fifteen minutes went by as the group went to and fro. They went from house to house, mingled with passing crowds and admired each others’ costumes, stopped at a few games set up in small booths along some of the plazas, and all-around had a good time.

Eventually, Tom slowed to a halt and glanced off toward the distant castle. He contemplated something for a moment before turning to the others and sighing.

“Well, it’s been fun, girls, but I think I’m going to head off. I’d like to spend some time with Twilight and Spike and check out the costume contest.”

“Aww…” Sweetie Belle frowned softly.

“Are you sure you can’t stay?” Scootaloo pleaded.

“Now girls, I’m sure Tom will see us again later.” Rarity said.

“Ok… bye, Tom.” Scootaloo and her two friends waved as the human walked away.

“Oh! Wait a minute, Tom!” Pinkie called after the human and trotted over to him, causing him to turn around. “Why don’t I hold onto your candy for you? I’ll keep it safe, I promise.”

“You sure?” Tom said hesitantly, already handing over the plastic pumpkin.

“Yep!” Pinkie nodded. “There’s no sense in you carrying it around everywhere. I’ll just drop it off for you later.”

“Alright… thanks.” Tom nodded before waving to the group and heading off on his own.

Applejack walked up to the pink mare and watched as she emptied about half of her stash of candy into the human’s bucket. “Wow… Tom did pretty good from the look of it.” She smirked.

“I can’t just sit back and watch his first Nightmare Night end without candy.” Pinkie stated.

“Never change, Pinkie,” Applejack added, resting a hoof on her friend’s back.

The two mares watched the human leaving for a moment longer before they made their way back to their group. There was still much to be done before the night was through, and they had a feeling that the best was yet to come.