Go to Sleep: A Halloween Story

Canterlot City - Modern Day

The city of Canterlot was in a buzz of fear after what's been happening over the past few weeks. People have either been going missing or been found brutally murdered in their homes in the dead of night. Those who've been found were found ripped apart as if it were an animal attack. The situation's gotten so bad that the mayor has been considering forbidding trick-or-treating on Halloween night. She's already issued a curfew and doubled police patrols. Armed people patrol their homes and keep their doors and windows locked at night.

Despite everything that's been going on, there were people that were somewhat fascinated by the killings. At Canterlot High School, the students were distracted with their own theories about what exactly could be going on. The Rainbooms sat in the cafeteria mulling over what they think could be going on.

"I think it could be a serial killer!" Rainbow Dash proposed.

"A serial killer that rips people apart like an animal?" Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Jack the Ripper did the same thing, so it has to be a serial killer," Rainbow argued.

"But to this extent? I think it could be some kind of animal," Applejack said.

"What animal leaves candy in their prey's mouth?" Twilight asked.

"Perhaps this is some form of new brutal serial killer," Rarity said. "People can be more brutal than any animal."

"True," Applejack said.

Pinkie Pie jumped up into the air with a raised hand. "I have an idea about what this could be!"

"You don't have to shout, Pinkie. We're right here," Sunset said kindly.

Pinkie sat down in her seat and leaned forward. She had a very pronounced look of seriousness on her face and motioned for the others to lean closer to hear what she had to say.

"I think... it was the Sleeper that got them," Pinkie whispered.

Everyone but Sunset rolled their eyes and groaned. Sunset just looked confused while the others said their piece on the matter. Applejack was the one to address their friend's suggestion first.

"Sugarcube, do you really think that a bedtime story monster is eating people in their sleep?" the farm girl asked.

"What else could it be?" Pinkie asked in rebuttal. "The victims were ripped apart in their sleep with no obvious way they could've gotten into the house and the victims had candy stuffed into their mouths. It has to be the Sleeper!"

"Pinkie, the Sleeper is nothing more than a town legend. There's no way that the Sleeper is the one doing this," Rarity said.

"Then what do you think it is if not the Sleeper?" Pinkie asked with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe it's a brutal serial killer that's mimicking the legend," Twilight said.

"Then how would they have gotten in the house?" Pinkie clapped back. "You saw the news reports, there was no sign of a break in and almost no evidence apart from claw marks underneath the windows."

"Like Twilight said, it could be a serial killer acting like the Sleeper," Rainbow said.

At this point, Sunset's question was buzzing around in her head like an angry hornet's nest. She jumped with as soon as she an opening in the conversation.

"Who or what is the Sleeper?" she asked with a louder tone than she intended.

The others turned to Sunset to answer that very question. Pinkie Pie looked the most shocked.

"You've never heard the legend of the Sleeper?" Pinkie asked.

"I haven't exactly lived here long," Sunset said.

"Well, it's one of the more popular scary stories in our town," Twilight said. "It's almost as old as the town itself."

"The Sleeper is a monster that eats people while they sleep and leaves candy in the mouths of its victims," Rainbow said.

"Laaame! That's no way to really tell the story of the Sleeper!" Pinkie said.

Pinkie proceeded to jump onto the table and motion to everyone in the cafeteria with her hands. Her friends could see where this was going.

"Is Pinkie about to sing?" Twilight asked.

"Yep. This might be good," Sunset said.

With everyone's attention fixed on Pinkie Pie, the girl began to sing.

Gather round, I'll tell the tale
Of a monster, leave you pale
A beast that haunts the wooded hills
Comes by night, blood it spills
Dressed in black,
The Sleeper will attack!

(Chorus)
Go to Sleep!
The Sleeper wind find you!
Go to Sleep!
The Sleeper will eat you!
Go to Sleep!
There is nothing you can do!

The Sleeper comes and hunts at night
Leaves behind a grisly sight
Leaves tasty candied treats
In the mouths of those it eats
When ravens abound,
You know the beast's around!

(Chorus)
Go to Sleep!
The Sleeper will find you!
Go to Sleep!
The Sleeper will eat you!
Go to Sleep!
There is nothing you can do!

When the owls call at night,
The Sleeper comes to give you fright!
When the monster screams to air,
Please look out and beware!

When Pinkie had finished her little performance, everyone in the cafeteria started to clap for her. Pinkie took a few stage bows before sitting back down with her friends. Laughing, Sunset looked to Pinkie.

"At least I know what the Sleeper is now," Sunset says. "But are you sure that it's a monster doing this and not a person?"

"I'm certain it has to be the Sleeper! There can be no other explanation!" Pinkie argued.

"Still think this is a serial killer, Pinks," Rainbow said.

The bell rang loudly, indicating the end of lunch. As they got back to their classes, they had to put their Sleeper theories out of their minds. This had to be the work of a human, not a folklore monster.

*****

Sweet Apple Acres - Later The Night

Applejack was more than ready to get to bed. Ever since she arrived home from school, she had been gathering apples like there was no tomorrow. It was around the time of year where the apples would be nice and fresh, so they had to get them ready for the Apple Family's upcoming Halloween celebration.

There would be candy apples, apple pie, apple cider, apple-bobbing, and the corn maze. To make this happen, the family had to get as much of the crop as they could.

Applejack was the last one to complete her work as Big Mac became sick with the flu and Apple Bloom had to complete her homework. She was walking up the trail with the last of her portion of the harvest when she noticed a thick fog rolling in from the denser portions of the orchard.

"Better get this into the barn quickly. Hate to get lost out here at night," Applejack said to herself.

She hurried her pace through the orchard as the fog seemed to almost chase her. As she walked, Applejack noticed that she couldn't hear anything but her own footsteps. The silence was very bizarre due to how thick it was. When she rounded a corner, Applejack saw something fly into one of the trees. As she got closer, she realized that it was a large barn owl gazing at her with large dark eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew! You scared me there for a second, little guy," Applejack said.

The barn owl just stared at Applejack for a good while. Something about the owl's stare felt off. The owl didn't move its head at all. It stared at Applejack like it would stare at a mouse, fierce and predatory. Suddenly, the barn owl let out a deafening shriek in Applejack's direction. The poor farm girl was so startled that she nearly dropped her buckets of apples.

"Uh... have a good night, little owl," Applejack said.

Applejack could feel the owl's gaze on her as she rushed past the tree where the owl was perched. All she wanted to do was drop off her buckets of apples, go to bed, and forget about the shrieking barn owl. She didn't have that far to go at this point. Her mind was starting to wander as she felt like she was still being watched from the fog creeping in and the branches of the leafless trees started to look like grasping claws.

The farm girl burst through the tree line and saw the family homestead. The lights were off as expected, since everyone should be asleep by now. Curiously, there was a large flock of ravens perched on the roof of the bar and in the nearby trees. The ravens were all looking at Applejack all at once. She had seen ravens around the farm before, but they never focused on one of them before. The ravens began to call all at once in a way that reminded Applejack of laughter.

The ravens continued their "laughing" when the door to the barn slowly opened to reveal darkness beyond the doors. Applejack's heart began to race and her stomach dropped. A sound emanated from the barn that was gradually drowning out the "laughter" of the ravens. It was a girl's laughter. A loud cackling slithered out from the barn an towards Applejack's ears. It sounded oddly familiar, too.

After thinking about the laughter, she recognized the laughter to be her sister's laughter. It must have been Apple Bloom playing a prank on her or something. Applejack gave a laugh she hoped didn't reveal her nervousness.

"Alright, Apple Bloom! You got me! Really funny," Applejack said. "Save some of that energy for the Halloween celebration."

She couldn't see Apple Bloom within the dark barn, but her voice called to her from the darkness.

"I will, AJ. Say, could you help me sort out which batch of apples we'll be using for the party?" Apple Bloom asked in a tired voice. "I'd like your help with this before bed."

It was a bit weird that Apple Bloom would be trying to sort out the apples in the dark, but Applejack remembered that Apple Bloom would often forget things when she's tired. Good thing she had a flashlight on her phone.

"Sure, I'll help you, sis. Then it's straight to bed, you hear?" Applejack asked.

"Sure thing, Applejack! Just get in here and help me out, will ya?" Apple Bloom replied.

Applejack walked towards the dark barn and pulled out her phone and turned on its flashlight as soon as she entered the dark barn. As soon as she did, the barn doors closed and locked. Applejack swung her flashlight around the barn to find that Apple Bloom wasn't in the barn. There was no one in the barn at all.

There was the sound of a girl's laughter again, louder and more crazed. It sounded more and more like a lunatic's cackle than the joyful laughter of a child. Applejack was getting more and more scared and angry.

"Who are you?! Where are you?!" Applejack cried out to the darkness.

The only response she got was the laughter accompanied by some other sounds. Applejack could hear the sounds of someone, or something moving around in the barn. Whooshing sounds came from all sides while long claw marks could be seen on the wooden walls of the barn while the mysterious intruder continued laughing all the while. Finally, the sounds came to a stop right behind Applejack. She turned around and focused her light behind her.

A short figure stood behind her dressed in a black cloak, with a hood covering her face. The light started to shake as Applejack's hands were trembling with fear. There was a ten foot distance between the two of them, but Applejack took a small step forwards and spoke in a tentative voice.

"Apple Bloom? Is... is that you?" Applejack asked.

The figure slowly lifted her head and, while Applejack couldn't make out a face, she could see two large eerie eyes that gave off a red glow in the light. The eyes were like those of an owl, large and fixed in their sockets, gazing at Applejack with a look that spoke of hunger. The creature standing before Applejack spoke in Apple Bloom's voice.

"What's wrong, sis? Don't you recognize your little sister?" the creature asked in a mocking tone.

The creature suddenly swung an arm at the one holding Applejack's phone. Not only did the phone fly from Applejack's hand, but her entire right hand flew off as well. The farm girl screamed in agony as she gripped a bleeding stump. She fell to the floor as the creature began to advance on her.

The light from the phone was still on, so Applejack could make out the creature's form as it approached. The thing shrieked like an owl and Applejack could make out long curved claws tipping the monster's fingers. A soft hissing sound came from the creature's throat as she could make out a strange cloud coming from the monster's hood. Applejack started to smell a sweetness in the air that started to make her feel drowsy.

Applejack's senses dulled and her vision became blurry as she continued to smell the sweetness from the cloud. Her strength was failing her second by second as the monster was now leaning over her. The last thing Applejack saw before her eyes finally closed was an open mouthful of sharp teeth coming for her throat.

*****

Canterlot City - 1762

The day was overcast when little 9 year-old Strix went to school. Her parents were happy to see their pride and joy skip off to school to get an education. Strix was looking forward to seeing the schoolmaster there.

The school in their budding town was a simple and small two-story brick building with black shutters framing the windows. Standing just outside the schoolhouse was the main schoolmaster, Mister Thornheart.

Mister Thornheart was a tall wiry man with black hair graying at the temples and a rather pale complexion. He wore a black coat with a white waistcoat and black breeches, white silk stockings, leather shoes with low-stacked heels, and a broad tricorn hat with a peacock feather in it. A pair of circular glass sat on the bridge of an aquiline nose framing his bright green eyes. The schoolmaster Thornheart smiled when he saw Strix.

"Hello, dear Strix! Are you ready to learn today?" he asked in greeting.

"I am, Mister Thornheart! I can't wait to get started on arithmetic today!" Strix replied.

"Good, now join your schoolmates and we'll get started," Mister Thornheart said.

As the teacher and student made their way to the schoolhouse, Thornheart turned to little Strix.

"I have to ask, Miss Strix, have you been hearing about how children in this town have been going missing?" Thornheart asked.

"My parents have told me of this. They said that I need to head straight back home after school until the culprit can be caught," Strix said.

"Smart people, your parents. If I may offer a suggestion, how about I escort you home after school today?" Thornheart offered with a smile. "Better that a trusted adult walk you home then for you to go home by yourself. Besides, your family lives pretty far away from the center of town, don't they."

"Well, that would be nice. I know I can trust you, Mister Thornheart," Strix said. "But why do you want to escort me out of all the other students?"

Thornheart leaned down and whispered to her with a smile.

"Don't tell your schoolmates this, but you're my favorite student," Thornheart replied. "That's why I want to make sure you get home safely."

That "favorite student" comment got Strix grinning from ear to ear. She almost felt like a princess with the attention her teacher was giving her. She walked into the schoolhouse with a boosted sense of pride. Mister Thornheart walked to the blackboard in front of the desks and tapped his ruler on the desk.

"Alright, children! Let's get started with your lessons for today!" Thornheart said.

"Yes, Mister Thornheart," the children replied.