Attack of the Moonlight Madmare

It was a clear night. Neither clouds nor stars marred the inky darkness, and Luna’s moon bathed the world below it in its beautiful silvery glow. Normally, ponies would be out and about, but things were different this Nightmare Night.

The town of Ponyville was unusually quiet. Doors were locked and windows were shuttered, and every doorstep had an offering of raw meat on it.

Whispers in the town told of a mare who would transform on the night of a full moon. She would become a savage beast, full of rage and hungry for blood and flesh. And that night just so happened to be the night of a full moon.

In the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle and her friends discussed the odd behavior.

“Girls, there is no such thing as the Moonlight Madmare,” the alicorn said, rolling her eyes. “It’s just some old pony tale.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head, her poofy hair bouncing with the rapid movement. “Nuh-uh, Twilight,” she said, “the Moonlight Madmare is real! I saw her with my own eyes! She’s got the body of an earth pony and the eyes and fangs of a batpony!”

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, pinching the skin between her eyebrows, “you probably just saw a mare wearing a costume. There has to be a logical explanation for all this.”

Rainbow Dash sat in her seat, arms crossed and her muzzle fixed in a pout. “I was gonna pull the most awesome prank tonight,” she grumbled. “Stupid full moon! Stupid Moonlight Madmare!”

“Look, Dash,” Applejack said, “none of us are too chipper about the situation, but we all remember the last few full moons. Ponies up and went missing in the night, only for skeletons to be found in the morning. The strangest thing was that the skeletons were all picked cleaner than a plate at an Apple Family reunion.”

Rarity nodded. “Applejack has a point, darling,” she said. “Though I must say it is quite a shame; I had the most fabulous costume made for tonight.”

Fluttershy cowered behind her long hair, trembling like a leaf as she gripped the fuzzy white fabric of her sweater sleeves even tighter. “U-um, excuse me, but if it’s okay with everypony else, can we please just pretend this isn’t happening?”

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, a sad look in her eyes, “but we can’t just pretend that this isn’t happening. Now, I’m sure that there’s an explanation for everything, and I’m even more sure that this is all a big misunderstanding. We’ll get through this together, just like we always do.”

A knock at the castle doors made every head turn. Twilight steeled her nerves and went to answer the door, much to the dread of her friends.

Out on the doorstep was an overweight earth pony mare doubled over in pain, her eyes tightly closed behind her thick glasses as tears streamed down her pale face.

“Oh my Faust, are you okay?” Twilight asked, concern written all over her purple face.

The mare could only groan through her clenched teeth, but shook her head as she clutched her stomach.

“Come inside,” the alicorn said. “We’ll get you some ginger ale and crackers.”

As the mare followed her inside, Twilight couldn’t help but think that she had seen fangs, but quickly brushed it off as nothing. She heard a low growl come from behind her and assumed it was the mare’s stomach.

In the meeting room, the other five mares waited anxiously for their friend to return. When she did, they breathed a collective sigh of relief. Their relief was short-lived when the strange mare followed Twilight into the room.

“IT’S HER!” Pinkie Pie shrieked.

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, “Pinkie, I told you the Moonlight Madmare is just an old pony tale! This poor mare is in pain, and I’m going to find out what’s the matter. Come on, now, it’s okay.”

With that, the mare followed Twilight out of the meeting room and down the hall, leaving the other five to talk among themselves.

“Now, I don’t want to beat the hornet’s nest,” Applejack said, “but did y’all see that mare’s teeth?”

Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t be rude, Applejack,” she said. “Not everypony has perfectly white teeth.”

“Naw, naw, I mean it looked like… like…” the farmpony trailed off.

“Spit it out, AJ!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Applejack swallowed the lump forming in her throat. “...like she had fangs.”

Fluttershy began to weep quietly as she curled up in a ball. “Pinkie was right,” she said through her tears. “Faust help us all.”

Meanwhile, in her study, Twilight sat the mare down and opened a medical book with her magic. She heard another low growl and asked, “Is it gas?” Yet another low growl was the answer she received, prompting her to turn around. As she looked into the mare’s glowing yellow eyes, she froze on the spot like a deer caught in headlights.

Her heart threatened to burst out of her chest as the mare sniffed the air around her, steam billowing from her flared nostrils with each exhale. As the mare slowly rose to her hooves, Twilight opened her mouth to scream, only for terror to take the sound before she could make it.

“BLOOD!” the mare screamed, lunging toward the alicorn and knocking her to the floor. Pinning her down, she bared her glistening fangs at her prey, gazing deep into the violet eyes of the terrified princess before she sank her teeth into the soft flesh of Twilight’s neck.

Blood quickly began to pool on the carpet below and sprayed all over the mare as she tore out Twilight Sparkle’s throat. That unmistakable coppery-sweet smell filled her nose, and she let out a low growl as she ate.

After a long while, she grimaced as another stomach cramp gripped her. She needed more meat. She needed fresh meat. Tears pricking at her eyes, she let out a pained growl and rose to her hooves. She could smell fresh blood nearby. With another growl, she made her way back to the meeting room.