It's The Great Pumpkin, Applejack!

A small white unicorn trotted along the outskirts of Ponyville, a bouncing pink earth pony behind her. The Pink one often stopped to kick a pile of leaves, which annoyed the white one. The two were heading to a pumpkin patch just outside of Ponyville. Nightmare Night was a little less than a week away and the duo needed a pumpkin. Pinkie Pie had come to stay in Ponyville for awhile and Rarity's family offered to put her up. Sure, Rarity found her to be slightly annoying, but she was also good company.

Fall was in full swing in the small town. Leaves of gold, red, and orange either decorated the trees or decorated the ground, Everypony was wearing a light jacket or a scarf, and a chill followed the wind. Most of all, the buzz of foals and parents alike getting ready for the upcoming holiday spread throughout the countryside.

As the two entered the pumpkin patch, Pinkie sped forward to look for potential pumpkins. She came back with a small one. "Too small" The young unicorn told her. Then the pink pony came back with a slightly bigger one. "Too lumpy." Said the perfectionist. Pinkie came back with yet another pumpkin. "Too orange." Yet another rejection. Then Rarity's hoof pointed to the biggest pumpkin in the entire pumpkin patch, it was easily the same size as her. "That one!"

After paying for the pumpkin the duo walked out of the pumpkin patch with Pinkie pushing the pumpkin along, quite clumsily in fact. She often tripped, or stumbled and let the pumpkin roll along without her. Once she even ended up on top of the pumpkin, at that Rarity just rolled her eyes at the poofy pink pony.

When they finally got it back to the house, Rarity and Pinkie both put the pumpkin on the table. Pinkie sat in a chair beside her friend and watched as the unicorn brandished a knife with her magic, cut a hole around the stem of the giant pumpkin, then start pulling the goop out magically. Pinkie's face twisted in horror and she turned a pale shade of green.

"Oooh, you didn't tell me you were going to kill it!" She let out a wail, raised her head to the ceiling, and fountains of tears sprouted from her eyes. Rarity just rolled her eyes and continued the carving.

Later in the day and on the other side of town, in the middle of a golden brown apple orchard, a little filly and her pet dog were raking up leaves. The filly: pale orange coat, straw-like mane and tail, and three apples adorning her flank. Her dog: white with black ears and snout and a red collar around his neck, he was about the same size as her. Her name was Applejack, his name was Snoopy. They had already raked up a sizable amount of leaves and put them in a huge pile in the middle of the orchard.

Snoopy wasn't helping as much as he was goofing around. Whenever a leaf fell he would blow at it to keep it from hitting the ground, he would keep doing that until it finally landed on the pile of leaves Applejack had made. She often gave him a 'Thanks, Ol' pal' to which the dog would just wag his tail happily.

After a hard day's work she expected a moment of relief, she expected a nice hot meal and a soft bed to sleep in. What she didn't expect however, was for the pile of leaves she'd been making all day to suddenly and violently explode. She stood there with a defeated look on her face as a familiar poofy maned pink pony popped her head out of what remained of the leaf pile, in one hoof she held a lollipop which was now coated in leaves, much like her mouth.

"Never jump into a pile of leaves with a wet sucker..." Applejack and Snoopy both frowned. Applejack shook her hoof at the party pony in anger, but was stopped from scolding her by a voice from behind.

"Hey Applejack, I've got a hoofball, how about practicing a few place kicks?" Indeed, Rarity the unicorn did have a hoofball levitating in the air before her. But Applejack knew that trick, she'd fallen for it a time too many...she was just too trusting of that pesky pony to not pull it away at the last second. "I'll hold the ball, and you come running and kick it." Yep, same trick. Applejack could feel it in her gut.

"Oh brother...Ah don't mind yer dishonesty as much as I mind yer opinion about me. Y'all must think ah'm plum stupid." She turned her back on the little white pony, a scowl on her face.

"Oh, come on Applejack." Rarity sat down and placed the hoofball in the correct placekick position.

"No." The little farmer stood adamant in her defiance of the crafty unicorn.

"I'll hold it steady" Applejack turned back just in time to see Rarity give her a kind smile. Applejack trotted to the other side of Rarity, sat down and crossed her front hooves.

"No."

"Please...?" Rarity's voice sounded so innocent, but Applejack was wise to her ways.

"Y'all just want me to come runnin' up to kick that ball so y'all can pull it away and see me land flat on mah back and dang near kill mahself." She crossed her arms with a little more oomph to get her point across that she was serious.

"This time you can trust me!" The unicorn had produced a sheet of paper from somewhere and held it out to the farmer. Applejack turned to look at what she held. "See? Here's a signed document testifying that I promise not to pull it away!" Applejack took the document away from her and read it over rather quickly.

"It is signed!" She got up and trotted away from the trickster. "It's a signed document!" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Ah guess if ya have a signed document in yer possession, ya can't go wrong. This year, ah'm really gonna kick that hoofball." She said it with such determination and zeal, that she formed a victorious grin on her face. The document fell to the ground as she turned and got a running start at the object of her discontent, right as she got up to the hoofball and brought a leg forward to kick it, Rarity pulled it away. Her leg had been swinging with such momentum that it carried her into the air. "AHHHHH!" She hated falling, mainly because she knew how bad it would hurt. She landed flat on her back with a  solid thump.

Rarity put the hoofball down and levitated the contract over to her. "Peculiar thing about this document.....it wasn't ever notarized."

Later that evening at Applejack's house, Pinkie sat down at the table with a piece of paper and her lucky pencil. She knew what she was going to write, mainly because she wrote it every year. Her mouth-writing was atrocious and barely legible, exactly what you would expect from a little filly.

Dear Great Pumpkin,

I'm looking forward to your arrival on Nightmare Night.

She paused to think. Pinkie didn't notice Applejack come up behind her and look over her shoulder.

I hope you will bring me lots of presents.

"Who're y'all writin' to, Pinkie?" Pinkie put her pencil down and turned to face the country filly. She prepared herself to give the questioner the standard answer she gave to every pony.

"This is the time of year to write to The Great Pumpkin." Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Every year on Nightmare Night, The Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch and flies through the town with his bag of toys for all of the foals!" Pinkie put her hooves on the table. Just the thought of the mystic orange gift-giver made her excited.

"Ah reckon y'all are a few apples short of a bushel. When are ya gonna stop believin' in stuff that just ain't true?" The question was punctuated by Applejack throwing her hooves into the air then putting them on the table. Applejack had heard enough of the pony's crackpot ideas and theories to know that Pinkie believed in some ridiculous things...and it was about time she stopped.

"When you stop believing in that pony with the red suit and the white beard who goes 'Ho Ho Ho'!" Silly Applejack and all of the other fillies and colts always talked about that guy around Hearth's Warming Eve, but Pinkie had never heard of him or seen him. So she thought they were the crazy ones. Applejack just rolled her eyes.

"They're obviously separated by denominational differences." The orange pony took her hooves off of the table and trotted away, clearly annoyed by Pinkie's logic. Relieved of the distraction, Pinkie picked up her pencil and started writing again.

You must get discouraged because more ponies believe in Sneighta Hooves than in you.

Snoopy walked up behind her, hopped in a chair and looked over the letter.

Well, Let's face it...Sneighta Hooves has had more publicity. But being number two, perhaps you try harder.

She looked over to see Snoopy laughing hysterically at her letter. She glared at the dog as he walked away still laughing. As he left, Rarity walked in and looked over the letter.

"Not again! Writing a letter to that....ridiculous pumpkin! You make me the laughing stock of the neighborhood, Pinkie!" Rarity, ever the drama queen, slumped in a chair and outstretched a hoof dramatically. "All they ever talk about is my house guest who always writes to The Great Pumpkin!" Rarity turned to the earth pony. "You must cut that out Pinkie, lest the whole town thinks you've gone mad!" With that, the unicorn trotted back out of the room, leaving Pinkie to frown and look at the letter before her.

"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with ponies: Religion, Politics, and The Great Pumpkin..." She picked her pencil up once again and started writing.

Everypony tells me you are a fake, but I believe in you.

P.S. if you really are a fake, don't tell me. I don't wanna know.

At that time, Applejack's younger cousin sat next to Pinkie at the table, rested his golden-maned head on one of his wheat colored hooves and looked at her dreamily. Pinkie and him have had several encounters, none of which ended in him winning her over like he hoped. His name was Braeburn and Pinkie thought he was a nuisance.

"What're ya doin, Pinkie?" She put her pencil down and looked at him.

"I'd rather not say...you might laugh." She knew what most pony's reactions were to finding out about The Great Pumpkin, and none of them were good.

"Oh ah'd never laugh at you Pinkie.." He looked at her, still clearly infatuated, even his voice demonstrated so. "Yer so intelligent..." That made her blush and scoot away from the colt some. He always complimented her so nicely.

"I'm writing to The Great Pumpkin." She admitted, he buttered it up, so it just slipped out.

"Y'all say the cutest things..." Pinkie could practically see the hearts floating above his head.

"Every Nightmare Night, The Great Pumpkin rises up out of the pumpkin patch." She turned to him in her chair and lifted her hooves into the air. "Then he flies through the air and brings toys to all of the good little foals everywhere!" She just loved telling that story, even if it was generally frowned upon. "Would you like to sit with me in the pumpkin patch on Nightmare Night and wait for The Great Pumpkin?"

"Oh, ah'd love to Pinkie!" He leaned on her lovingly and looked up at her with those big green eyes of his.

"Hey! Now what in tarnations is goin' on in here?!" Applejack strode into the dining room, a stern look on her face. "What're y'all tryin' to do to mah little cousin?!" She grabbed Braeburn by the leg and pulled him out of the room with her. Pinkie blushed the whole time.

After her blush finally died, she folded the piece of paper, stuck it in an envelope(which she had already made out beforehoof), licked the seal and closed it. As she got up and went outside, Rarity followed her.

"And how do you think you're going to mail that letter?" Pinkie just kept going, ignoring the pony behind her. "You can't possibly reach that mailbox." As they drew closer, Pinkie knew she was right. The Mailbox was a whole head higher than her, even when she stood on her back hooves. "And i'm not going to help you." Pinkie kept ignoring Rarity, and looked up at the mailbox. The handle was pretty high up...but Pinkie had a plan. She turned around, raised her tail and gave it a few good twirls until she got enough momentum to throw it up to the mailbox. The poofy tail caught on the handle and pulled the mailbox open, Pinkie then simply let go of the letter. The wind, be it luck or be it just Pinkie Pie, carried the letter straight into the mailbox. Rarity's jaw was on the ground. Pinkie smiled at Rarity, unhooked her tail, and went back inside. Much to the chagrin of the unicorn.

"Hey!" Now Applejack came running up to the already mad Rarity. "Ah got an invitation to a Nightmare Night Party!" Indeed in the corner of her mouth, she was holding what seemed to be an invitation. Applejack did a celebratory goofy dance, to which Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Is the invitation to Berry's party, Applejack?" She still wasn't happy about Pinkie's triumph, so she still wore a scowl.

"Yeah!" Applejack spat the letter onto the ground. "It's the first invitation to a party ah've ever gotten!" She looked so happy, and since Rarity didn't get to crush Pinkie's happiness, she supposed AJ would do.

"If you got an invitation, Applejack then it must have been an egregious error." That wiped the smile right off of the farmer's face. "There were two lists, Applejack: One to invite, and one not to invite." Applejack looked down at her invitation wide-eyed. "You must have been put on the wrong list." Applejack blushed furiously and crumpled up the invitation with her hoof.

Rarity, satisfied with her work, trotted back towards her own house. As Applejack was calming down, Pinkie walked out of the house and past her holding a sign that said 'Welcome Great Pumpkin' between her teeth. When said pink filly got to the pumpkin patch, she put the sign in the ground and leaned on a pumpkin that was just the right height.

--

Nightmare Night was here and Braeburn was putting the finishing touches on his costume. A white sheet lay on the floor in front of him, the giant pair of scissors between his hooves cut rough eye holes out of the converted bed sheet. Proud of his work, he set the scissors down and lifted the sheet to get a better look at it. A spooky looking face seemed to appear on it and he shrieked and dropped it.

On the other side of the room, three little fillies were putting on their costumes. Rarity was wearing a dark colored robe with a mask and hat on the ground in front of her. A sea-foam green unicorn named Lyra had a white sheet at her hooves, as did Applejack beside her.

"The secret to Halloween is to always choose a costume that is in direct contrast with your own personality!" Rarity said it so professionally, one might think that she had a degree in Halloween Costume choosing. With a swift cast of magic, she put on the red pointy had and mask. The mask itself was that of a witch: pale green with a warty nose and a mean frown.

"Is Pinkie Pie takin' me to the party?" All three older fillies turned to Braeburn, who had calmed his fear of his own Costume and now had it wrinkled up on his back.

"That blockhead of a friend of mine is out in the pumpkin patch, making his yearly fool of himself!" Rarity nodded as she talked, for she knew those words to be true.  Braeburn grimaced.

"Boy, is she strange." Lyra added to the conversation. She put on her own perfectly made ghost costume in one quick move. One could hardly tell who she was if her horn didn't stick out.

"Well...maybe there is a Great Pumpkin..." Braeburn smiled as he talked, he knew Pinkie and he knew she was one smart cookie.

"Every year Pinkie misses out on Tricks-or-Treats." Lyra stated. "And then the Nightmare Night party. He'll never learn." The other two just nodded along with the green pony's words.

"Will ah get to go trick-or-treating this year, Cousin?" Braeburn asked Applejack.

"Sure ya will, Braeburn!" Applejack re-positioned her costume to get ready to put it on.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" The littlest Apple family member bounced happily at the prospect of getting free candy for the first time. "How do we do it?"

"All you have to do," Rarity decided since she was the oldest and obviously most experienced, that she would answer the greenhorn. "Is walk up to a house, ring the doorbell and say 'Tricks-or-treats'."

"Are y'all sure it's legal?" Asked Braeburn.

"Of course it's legal!" Stated the oldest member of the party.

"Well ah wouldn't wanna be accused of taking part in a robbery.." Braeburn took his costume off of his back and threw it over his head. After a few seconds of flailing around, Rarity readjusted his costume so that it sat perfectly. Then the other Apple in the room put on her costume. Once it was over her head, all of the ponies around her could see the multiple holes that she had cut into it while trying to get the eyes just right....she wasn't very good with scissors.

"Good grief..." Rarity mumbled at her friend's poor costuming.

Two other costumed ponies came over to the group. One wearing an almost identical costume to Rarity's, save for the difference in mask, and the other wearing a ghost costume with a raccoon skin cap on their head.

"Is that you, Rainbow Dash?" The other witch asked Rarity.

"No." Rarity sighed. She didn't want to be mistaken for the tacky ball of color known as Rainbow Dash.

"Say, where's Applejack?" Asked the ghost with the cap.

"Here ah am!" Proclaimed the holy ghost. She then looked over her costume. "Er....ah had some trouble with the scissors..." Another ghost came over to the group, this one had a bright pink tail sticking out from under its costume.

"They'll never guess it's me under here..." The pink-tailed ghost said to herself.

"Oh, hello Fluttershy, glad you could make it!" Rarity went over to greet her friend. She actually got along with the young pegasi due to their shared interests in fashion and spas.

"H-How'd you know it was me..?" Fluttershy spoke aloud...well...if aloud was the appropriate word. Rarity just shrugged sarcastically and looked just in time to see Applejack's dog enter the room. Snoopy was wearing the most creative costume of the night: an old fashioned leather fighter pegasi cap with goggles to boot, a red scarf, and he was carrying what looked to be an extremely thin baton.

"What in the world kind of costume is that?" Rarity asked, clearly dumbfounded by the fact that a dog was wearing a costume....or it could have been that the colors didn't go together well in the Nightmare Night mood.

"Why he's an Equestrian Revolution Flyin' Ace!" Said Applejack, clearly proud of her strange, strange dog.

"Now I have most definitely heard everything..." Rarity mumbled. "Alright everypony, we'll go trick-or-treating, then off to Berry's for the Nightmare Night party!" All of the other fillies, and Braeburn, cheered and went off into the night to go collect their free candy.

Snoopy turned on his heel, held the baton straight, and marched after the kid. Applejack, who was holding the door, saluted him as he passed. When he got outside, Snoopy turned and headed for the backyard.

On their way into town, the group of costumed young ones ran across Pinkie in the pumpkin patch. The welcome sign right beside her. She turned to the group and smiled.

"Ooh! Have you all come to sing pumpkin carols?!" You could tell she was bored out of her mind because she actually thought up a whole book of 'pumpkin carols' which she had on the pumpkin in front of her.

"No, Pinkie. You are going to miss all of the fun, just like last time." Rarity threw her hooves up into the air out of pure annoyance.

"Don't talk like that, Rarity...The Great Pumpkin knows who's been good and who's been bad...you'll be sorry." Pinkie looked at her friend pleadingly, sadly. Her childlike wonder was still intact.

"Oh good grief..." Rarity sighed.

"He'll come here because I have the most sincere pumpkin patch...and he respects sincerity." Pinkie Pie huffed and stared straight ahead in contempt of her friend. The only colt in the bunch took off his costume.

"Do ya really think that, Pinkie?" His eyes were wide in admiration. He trotted over to her.

"Tonight the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch." She flapped her front legs wildly. "Then he'll fly across the sky and deliver presents to all of the good foals!" She grinned at the little colt.

"Well that's a good tale..." Braeburn deadpanned.

"You don't believe in The Great Pumpkin? I thought little colts believed everything you told them...I thought little colts were supposed to be innocent..." Pinkie rested her head on the pumpkin, clearly confused. Braeburn just stared at her in confusion.

"Alright, Braeburn. Are you staying with her or are you coming with us?" Rarity gestured to the group of trick-or-treaters behind her. "We can't waste all night!" Rarity stormed off and the group followed her, including Braeburn. Then the little colt looked back at the smiling, waiting Pinkie and stopped. Hearts fluttered though his head, he had to go back and wait with her. he dropped his costume and ran back to the pink pony.

"I'm glad you came back, Braeburn! Now we can just sit in this pumpkin patch and you'll get to see the Great Pumpkin with your own eyes!" Pinkie's eyes bulged comically, then she just plopped down on her haunches and looked around. Braeburn, still standing, took a cursory glance around the empty pumpkin patch. "Each year The Great Pumpkin rises out of the most sincere pumpkin patch...I don't see how any pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one!" She slammed her hoof on the ground. "He's gotta pick this one!" Brabeurn just smiled. "You can look all around and there's no sign of hypocrisy, just sincerity as far as the eye can see!"

Meanwhile in the center of town, the merry band of trick-or-treaters were at their first house. Rarity, being the self proclaimed leader of the group, knocked.

"TRICK OR TREAT!" They all yelled it out at the same time, the door opened and each foal took their turn getting their own fair share of candy. After they all had their sweets, they convened in a circle to discuss their goodies.

"I got five pieces of candy!" Exclaimed Lyra.

"I got a chocolate bar!" Rarity proudly proclaimed.

"I got a quarter!" Fluttershy celebrated quietly.

"I got a rock..." Deadpanned the holy ghost known as Applejack.

Onto the next house the group went, and the same events happened. they'd get their candy, they'd go off to the side and everypony would proudly tell the others what delicious confectioneries they received, then Applejack would announce that she procured yet another rock. This cycle repeated itself many times until the witch that wasn't Rarity decided to break the silence in between houses.

"Say, where's the Equestrian Revolution Flying Ace?"

"Oh, he's probably getting ready for takeoff for the next air patrol.."

Back at the farmhouse, Snoopy got on his doghouse, preteneded it was an old Equestrian Revolution fighter and was going to hunt down the Red Baron. It was going so well until he was shot down by the menace. He landed, got out and trekked through the land 'behind enemy lines' he sneaked and crawled all throughout Ponyville, looking for his nonexistent enemies.

Back with the group, they had finished their trick-or-treating and were heading to Berry's party. they each had sacks full of candy, or rocks, and excitement in their hearts...that was until they came across the sad sight of Pinkie Pie and Braeburn...still sitting in the pumpkin patch, still waiting for The Great Pumpkin.

"Has The Great Pumpkin been by?" Lyra laughed haughtily at her sarcastic remark. "You missed tricks or treats and now you're going to miss the party! What a way to spend Nightmare Night." All of the foals, sans Pinkie and Braeburn, laughed at the pair's expense. Braeburn frowned, Pinkie's smiled never faltered.

"Y'all think you're so smart! Just wait until The Great Pumpkin comes!" Braeburn shook his hoof at the fillies as they walked away. "He'll be here! Ya can bet on that! Pinkie knows what she's talking about!" He gestured to his crush beside him, still yelling at the group even as they went out of earshot. "Pinkie knows what she's doing!" Meanwhile, Pinkie just sulked. braeburn spun on his back hooves to face her. "Alright, where is he?" He was pretty fed up that he missed his first Nightmare Night so he could sit in a pumpkin patch with some filly.

"He'll be here.." Somehow, she didn't seem to sure about that.

"Ah hope so...ah have my reputation to think about, ya know!" Braeburn sat and sulked.

"Just look! Sincerity as far as the eye can see!" Pinkie was sweating now, she didn't want to disappoint the little guy, but she was also looking for a little self-assurance.

At the party across town, everypony was having fun. Games were being played, pumpkins were being carved, and Berry's famous punch was being gulped down cups at a time. But back to the pumpkins: a group of fillies, Rarity and Lyra included, were using Applejack's flank as a drawing board for the pumpkin's face. the little farm filly could only sit there and blush out of annoyance and humiliation as the unicorns drew on her flank.

After the two torturous fillies were finished, they let Applejack clean her flank, even after the insistence that it was priceless work of art and shouldn't be messed with. Then every foal at the party gathered around a big wooden bucket filled with water and apples in the middle of the room. Rarity was, of course, the one that volunteered to show the other what to do.

"Alright, listen up, this is how you do it." She was about to go in for a particularly tasty looking apple when somepony in the crowd yelled.

"Yeah, you should be good at this Rarity. You have the perfect mouth for it!" Rarity raised her head and frowned at the group standing around her. She then turned back to the bucket, dipped her head in the water and reemerged seconds later with an apple in her teeth...and on the other end of that apple was Snoopy, holding onto the apple with his teeth.

"EEK!" Rarity let go of the apple and stumbled away. "My lips touched dog lips!" Of course they really didn't touch Snoopy's lips, their teeth just touched the same apple. but Rarity, Being the pint-sized drama queen she was, ran away screaming in terror and yelling for bleach. Snoopy just grinned at the retreating diva and strode out of the house, going back to stalking behind enemy lines and looking for the dastardly Red Baron! Well...until he came upon the pumpkin patch and the two ponies who were still sitting in the exact same spot as earlier.

"If'n anypony had told me that ah'd be waitin' in a pumpkin patch on Nightmare Night, ah'd have said that they were plum loco." The little colt crossed his forelegs and huffed impatiently.

"Well, just think Braeburn! When The Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch, we'll be the first ponies to see him!" Pinkie was trying to keep his spirits up just as much as she was trying to keep up her own. A sound came from somewhere in the patch of orange vegetables. "What's that?!" Pinkie shot up and looked around, Braeburn, in the sudden excitement, held onto her. "I HEAR THE GREAT PUMPKIN!" She exclaimed in pure joy. The rustling continued and a shadow could be seen against the moon. "There he is!" She turned Braeburn towards the supposed Great Pumpkin and pointed out the moving silhouette. "THERE HE IS!" The shadow rose in the pumpkin patch, just like Pinkie predicted. "It's The Great Pumpkin! He's rising out of the pumpkin patch!" Pinkie was shaking with anticipation, Braeburn just stared in disbelief. Pinkie fell on her back and promptly fainted due to excitement.

Snoopy, who had been trying to spy on the pair, saw this and hastily retreated back into the pumpkin patch. Braeburn's face just formed an angry, yet quite adorable, frown.

"Did I miss it?" Pinkie was now sitting up once more. "Did I faint?" Her voice was worried and scared at the same time. "What did he leave us? Did he leave us any toys?" Braeburn's face became more and more red with every word the filly spouted.

"AH WAS WRONG!" He shouted in anger. "AH'VE SPENT THE WHOLE NIGHT HERE WAITING FOR THE GREAT PUMPKIN WHEN I COULDA BEEN OUT FOR TRICKS-OR-TREATS!" Tears could be seen welling up in his tiny green eyes. "Nightmare Night is over and I missed it!" Now he turned to Pinkie. "You blockhead! You kept me up all night waiting for The Great Pumpkin, and all that came was a beagle!" Pinkie just stared into the pumpkin patch, not quite believing what the little colt was saying. "It's all your fault! Ah'll sue!" Braeburn gave Pinkie one last glare before marching off, yelling about missing goodies, and how Nightmare Night came only once a year and how Pinkie owed him 'restitutions'.

"And here I thought Rarity was a diva..." Pinkie just sat there and watched as Braeburn met up with the rest of the gang, all un-costumed, and they all marched towards the house angrily after hearing his rant. Pinkie yelled at them all. "Hey! Come back! He'll be here soon, I promise! A-And if he comes, I'll put in a good word for you!" She gasped when she heard her own folly. "Good grief! I said 'if'! I meant 'when'! I meant 'when he comes'!" Her eyes were wide and she was shaking. "I'm doomed...one little slip like that can cause The Great Pumpkin to pass you by..." She looked around in worry, then shouted into the sky. "Oh Great Pumpkin, where are you?!"

--

The next morning, at 4 AM, Rarity's alarm clock tolled. Her groggy eyes opened and looked at the offending device. She knew what that meant...with great reluctance, she got up, put on her tiny slippers and robe, then went to go look in Pinkie's room. She wasn't there, surprise, surprise. With a sigh, the tiny unicorn put on a jacket and headed out into the chilly morning air. She trotted through the still sleeping town, the sun wasn't even up yet, but the moon was already down, it was dusk. She made her way across town, the soft crunch of leaves under her hooves following her as she went.

When she reached the pumpkin patch, she saw Pinkie Pie laying asleep against a pumpkin, shaking like a leaf against the cold air. Rarity carefully levitated her friend onto her back, and carried her all of the way home. When they reached Rarity's domicile, the white filly placed her friend in bed, tucked her in, and went back to sleep in her own bed.

--

Applejack and Pinkie Pie sat in the newly opened bakery known as Sugarcube Corner. The place was decorated quite nicely, the ponies who ran it were nice, and best of all...they served hot chocolate. Applejack sighed deeply and looked to her friend.

"Well...another Nightmare Night has come and gone." She stated quite simply.

"Yeah Applejack..." Pinkie laid her head on the table.

"Ah don't understand it.." Pinkie looked up at her filly friend. "Ah went trick-or-treating and all Ah got was a bag of rocks..." Applejack sighed and joined her friend by putting her own head on the table. "I 'spose you were in the pumpkin patch all night..?" Pinkie just nodded sadly. "And The Great Pumpkin never showed up?"

"Yup.."

"Well...don' take it too hard, Pinkie Pie...Ah've done a lot of stupid things in mah life too..." Pinkie shot up straight and looked at her surprisingly.

"STUPID?! What do you mean, stupid?!" Pinkie flailed her hooves, looking for words. "Y-You just wait 'til next year, Applejack! You'll see!" Applejack just rolled her eyes as her friend kept rambling about The Great Pumpkin...