It was the night of Nightmare Night, all the little fillies and foal ran about in their costumes as they went house to house filling up their buckets or sacks with sweets and treats. Zombies, ghosts, ghouls, and a manner of all kinds of spooky outfits..and some not so spooky. After all, it was more mainstream these days. And where was the dwarf one might ask? Well, Zargan was just putting the finishing touches on his own Nightmare Night costume. Princess Luna wanted him to join in on the festivities so badly, she was going to get what she wanted.

Zargan’s trap door to his home suddenly flew open before a flood of mist seeped from the entrance, a silhouette emerging from it as a hooded figure on top of a mechanical horse strutted forward wearing a tattered cloak and worn armor with no head. In one hand, he held the reigns of the demonic mech equine while in the other, he he;d a metallic pumpkin head with a traditional but rather spooky face on it that had fiery magical energy flowing through it. Where was the dwarf’s head one might wonder? Well, he was actually wearing a breathable mesh mask that he had enchanted with the rune of unseeing, basically making the wearer invisible..or rather the part that was being worn anyway.

Zargan let out a low laugh which was distorted and lowered, giving off that spooky and demonic sound as the large mech horse reared back with a demonic whinny before charging off down the road. He was off to frighten all the ponies in Ponyville, big or small. This is what happens when one invites an inventor and warsmith to holiday events such as this. You get to see what they can really create. Something told Zargan that he was going to be causing a bit of trouble, but it was too late now. He was deep into his role now and was ready to play it up to his full potential.

The sound of thundering hooves echoed throughout the square as ponies went about their Nightmare Night fun. They all turned toward the direction of said sound and soon saw Zargan upon his imposing steed as he rode up with the pumpkin head in hand. He let out another horrific demonic laugh as the fire flared from the jack-o-lantern’s mouth and eyes. The ponies let out screams of terror as they all ran for cover and hid from the imposing figure that sat upon the mech steed as it circled the others in the square who weren’t quick enough to hide “Hahahahahaaaaa, cower in fear ya pathetic mortals…I, the Great Dullahan have come to take yer souls from yer worthless corpses to drag ya down into the darkest corners of the netherworld were ya will all suffer for eternity!” he shouted in an evil tone of voice as the pumpkin still radiated that fiery energy.

He was really getting into this role to the point where he was actually having a blast, it wasn’t until he heard the sound of all the foals and even some adults crying and sobbing for their lives that he blinked a few times behind his mesh face covering. Perhaps he had gonna a little too far for this kind of holiday..? He releases the reigns of the mech horse and pulls up the mesh covering to reveal his face to the cowering crowd “I had no idea that my performance would cause all of ya such a panic…I was just tryin’ to get in the spirit of thins’..” he said as he placed the pumpkin on the back of the steed and hoped off before pulling the mesh fully off.

Once he hopped off and the ponies saw that it was just the local dwarf, they let out a sigh of relief and walked over to him with unamused faces at first, but soon marveled at his costume and even the mech horse that he rode in on.

“Woooooow and you MADE this who thing?!” one of the foals said in awe as they walked around the monstrous mech steed and admired his tattered cloak and armor. “How in the world did you make your head invisible like that?!” one of the mares asked as they noticed the mesh mask in his hand. “Is that how you made your voice all spooky too?!” asked another stallion. It seemed that since they knew who it really was, they were all about his whole get up. Zargan held up his hands to have them give him some space. Never before had any of the citizens of this small town ever come up to him and asked him some many questions of interest. It actually felt pretty cool that they took an interest in his hard work as he did put a lot of work into it.

“Well, to make the mech horse move, I put a magical core into it and used it to channel my own magic into said core to give it life. Think of it like a construct or a golem in a way. But not quite there yet since it isn’t sentient. So I suppose it falls squarely under the golem category. As for the invisibility of my head and the voice distortion, this mesh mask has two runes on it that give it enchantments. The rune of unseeing and the rune of vocal distortion. Pretty neat huh?”. They all agreed with eager nods, whispering going on through the crowd that surrounded him before the group began to spit off, forming a path as the slow clap was heard, and a certain familiar blue alicorn made their way toward Zargan as the other ponies bowed.

“My my, a truly wonderfully frightening custom indeed, sir. I commend you for putting together such a terrifying piece. I wasn’t sure what to think when I saw you charging into town. I thought you may have truly been some kind of evil specter that had come to steal the souls of my subjects. Honestly, if you entered the contest, you’d win first place for sure.” she said as she now stood in front of Zargan with an approving smile. The dwarf simply smiled up at her and waved his hand dismissively at the idea “Well, I am not here to win a contest, Moony. I am simply here fulfilling a request is all. I am not gonna ruin the wee ones’ fun by not givin' them a fightin’ chance in the costume contest. Let them have their fun.” he said as he used his jet boots to levitate back onto his mech steed and settled atop it.

“Ah, fair enough I suppose. Well, what do you plan on doing now? Headed off to the Apple Farm to show off to the other ponies who are gathering for the festivities being held over there?” Luna asked as she placed a hand on the neck of the steel steed, admiring its well made construction and how fluidly it moved once the Zargan’s magic began to channel through it once more. “They are doing some kind of spooky haunted tour through the orchard there this year with all sorts of prompts and such. Perhaps….add to their terror by showing up and giving them a bit of a fright in the trees?” she suggested as she got a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Zargan grinned wickedly under the mesh mask as he slipped it back on and removed the rather large and menacing greatsword from his back “I did want to put this little toy to good use at some point tonight…” he said as he held up the rather imposing blade that gleamed in the moonlight. Luna looked at him with concern and shock on her face “You aren’t..going to hurt anyone are you…?” she asked as she was positive that one swing from that thing could split someone in two. Zargan blinked a few times before laughing lightly “Oh no, this can’t cut anything. Not even wet tissue paper.” he said as he swung it through Luna’s neck with a quick swipe, the mare freaking out and closed her eyes tight before slowly opening them to see the blade sticking through her neck….but no pain or any kind of severing. But…it was clearly there.

“How in the world…?” she asked as she pointed at the blade, her finger going through it before looking up at Zargan in confusion. “Isn’t it just the neatest little thin’ ya ever seen? I took an unused sword hilt and embedded a crystal with a rune of projection. It is given off the image of a real blade when it really isn’t there to begin with. How else do ya think I was able to swing it at ya so quickly?” he said as he placed it back on his back. “My goodness…have you ever thought about making something like this for theater use? You could make major coin. And the acting would look far more believable since the blade can stick through someone without actually hurting them. Bravo indeed, sir.” she said as she bowed her head in respect to his inventiveness.

As they continued to talk, the ponies wondered why their princess was being so casual with this dwarf. He didn’t even bow to her when she approached him. Could it be that they are in a far more friendly relationship? It certainly got them all whispering amongst themselves as they went about their activities. Soon enough, Zargan departed and rode off for Apple Acres. It was time he got the drop on more unsuspecting ponies. And doing it in the thick trees of the orchard was absolutely perfect. Just like a certain legend.

Once he makes it to the farm, he hangs back a bit and dismounts after hiding his mech horse before peeking from out behind a tree. From what he can see, he only sees Granny Smith sitting on her rocking chair with a rather impressive witch costume on, but no one else. Looks like they have all already gone off on the spook tour that Luna had told Zargan about. He sighs in relief before lifting his mesh mask up to reveal his face and makes his way up to the porch, clearing his throat a good distance away so he could get the old mare’s attention “Good evenin’ to ya, lass. Restin ya bones while everyone else is off I see.” he said as he waved to her with a genuine smile.

The old mare jumped a bit in her chair before looking over at Zargan, placing a hand over her chest as she let out a sigh of relief and offered a smile back “Well hello there, fella. Happy Nightmare Night to you. And thank you for makin’ your presence known without bringin’ me a fright. I don’t think this old heart could take it.” she said as she motioned him closer. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d be able to handle my full costume. When the ponies in town saw it, I scared just about all of them to tears..literally. The poor wee ones were about to just fall over and curl up. Some of the other adults too.” he said as he leaned against one of the wooden beams that held up the oning of the porch.

After they talked for a few minutes, Zargan lowered his mesh mask down before whistling sharply, the demonic sound of a mechanical whinny could be heard as the thunderous hooves charged forward and came to a sliding halt next to the dwarf as he stepped off the porch, the old mare now seeing his full get up once he climbs back up and takes the pumpkin back into his hand, nodding in approval with a slight chill going up her spine “Oh my, now Ah am really glad yah didn’t come chagrin’ in like that! Ah, don’t think Ah’d be sittin’ here gabbin’ with ya if that were the case. But, that’ll definitely scare the hooves off those youngins in there. Go spook’em good, fella!” she said with encouragement. Zargan chuckled and nodded..even though she could see him nodding “That is the plan. Get ready to see a crowd runnin’ back towards this direction.”. He then pulls back on the reigns as the horse whinnies and spins around on its hind legs and charges off into the orchard, his tattered cloak flowing in the wind behind him.

As the group of ponies being led by Applejack and Big Mac are led on the tour, the orchard is suddenly filled with a low mist that comes up to the knees of the adult ponies, and it seems the deeper into the orchard they go, the more mist appears. All was going according to the Apple Family’s plan…until it wasn’t. The group suddenly heard the sound of those thundering hooves off in the distance, and the eerie whinny of a mech horse as the galloping got closer and closer. “Mac…was this a part of the plan yah didn’t tell me about?” asked Applejack as even she was getting worried at this point. “N-Nope…” replied the large stallion as he gave an audible gulp, his eyes shifting as he tried to pinpoint where the galloping was coming from.

The group huddled together like a bunch of frightened chickens before Zargan came riding past them once, the movement too quick for the group to really see what was now circling them, a burst of dark and eerie laughter circling the group as the hooves pounded heavily “Oooh yes..another batch of fresh souls for me to take with me to the netherworld. I think I will enjoy killing you all just as I did with all the ponies in the town…” he said in a menacing manner before drawing the fake greatsword before charging straight towards the group, the pumpkin head flaring up with fiery energy once more as Zargan laughed evilly once more.

Eventually, the group would disperse leaving Zargan to pursue Applejack alone. He lets her get ahead of him to give her the false hope that she has lost him. But, this was all a part of his wicked plan, as this was the mare that he wanted to corner all night and impress and scare all at once. Once she came out of hiding and thought she was alone, Applejack let out a sigh as slowly made her way back to the farm. Never had she ever been so scared in her life at what she saw that night. This definitely wasn’t a part of their attraction this year.

Just as she was about to walk more, the sudden sound of a mechanical snort was heard behind her. She slowly turned around to see her pursuer RIGHT behind her, causing her to scream bloody murder before falling back onto her rear and scrambling to crawl away from her attacker. Zargan chuckled wickedly before hopping off his mount and grabbing at her light blonde tail and pulling her back agonizingly slowly before stepping on her midsection with the greatsword in hand before pointing it at her throat “No one is comin’ to save ya…” he said as he watched Applejack struggle and flail with fear and terror on her face.

“P-Please..have mercy! A-Ah don’t wanna die! PLEASE!” she cried out as she watched Zargan lift the blade up for a death blow strike, “Time to drag ya to hell, lass…” he said before swinging the blade with ease. Tears flowed from Applejack’s eyes as she watched the blade come down towards her neck. She was expecting pain and a quick death at this point but opened her eyes slowly as she looked up at Zargan and the blade that was sticking in her neck. But it…wasn’t really in her neck? She looked up at Zargan in confusion mixed with fear before Zargan removed his armored foot from her and chuckled wickedly before offering a hand to Applejack “I think it is safe to say I got ya and the rest of the Ponyville ponies good this year, lass.” He said before removing his mesh mask to reveal his face.

It took the farm girl to register just exactly what was happening right now. Once she saw who it was and that the sword was a complete fake. She wipes her tears away, pretending to shove it off like it was nothing, but still shaking like a leaf as she takes his hand “Oooh yah son of a bitch…” she said in a playful manner before taking his hand and letting him help her to her hooves “That ain’t right…ain’t right at all. But that was also damn good. Yah went all out for your first Nightmare Night, it seems. Ah am highly impressed at your get up.” she said as she dusted the dirt off the scarecrow costume she was wearing…which she felt like she didn’t put enough effort into with how she was easily outdone by the dwarf.

Zargan chuckled softly before hopping onto his mech steed once more before offering a hand to the mare “Come on, lass. Hop on. I will be happy to give ya a ride back. I don’t think ya will be makin’ it back anytime soon with those shaky legs of yers.” he said with a teasing tone. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was right. The chase through the orchard and the near death experience she had faced drained her as her adrenaline reserves were dried out. She walked up beside him and punched him in his thigh, knowing it wasn’t even going to cause any pain. But, it made her feel better. She then takes his hand before she is pulled up and placed behind him before he begins the leisurely trot back to the farm. He smiled the whole way back, knowing full well that this Nightmare Night…was a complete success.

Author's Note

Eh, better late than never on a Nightmare Night chapter. But I got it done. Hope you all enjoy.

May the darkness grant you peace.