Author's Note

I’m thrilled to share this short story with you! I wrote it in a burst of inspiration, so it might not be perfectly polished, but I hope you find it entertaining and engaging.

I’m open to constructive feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts—but let’s keep it kind and supportive! Enjoy the adventure!

The Wonders Of Nightmare Night

Melody sat at the kitchen table in the farmhouse, while Applejack put the finishing touches on her costume, she was wearing a white dress with some blood spattered on it to make it look like the Bloody Bride. Applejack put a spider veil over her daughter’s head.

“There, now yarr ready for Nightmare Night, you go out there and have fun, ya understand?” Applejack chuckled, padding her daughter on the head.

“Ah sure will, Ma, Sky is also comin’ to the corn maze later on,” Melody joyfully said as she walked out of the farmhouse, and down the road, she knew the way into town by heart.

As the 12-year-old navigated her way through town, the smells of Nightmare Night greeted her nose.

“Hey, Mel,” A familiar voice called out to her.

“Aunt Rainbow, is that you?” Melody asked, turning to the voice.

“Yeah, Sky is here too, he’s excited for tonight,” Rainbow chuckled. “Ponyville looks amazing.”

Melody grinned as she heard the sound of shuffling hooves beside Rainbow. “Hey Sky,” she warmly said.

Sky remained quiet, all the while looking at the ground and not making eye contact with her.

“Are you excited for tonight? We are going into my family’s corn maze,” Melody asked, attempting to make conversation with her autistic cousin.

Sky shook his head but remained silent, Rainbow leaned down to him. “Are you sure?”

Sky looked apprehensive for a moment before sitting down on the ground covering his ears and mumbling something under his breath over and over again. Recognizing this side of her son, Rainbow sat down beside him and put a gentle hoof on his back. “You ok?” She asked.

Instead of answering, Sky got up and walked in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow and Melody followed him in silence and confusion.

Arriving at the farmhouse, Sky sat down on the front porch and looked up at the night sky as he fidgeted with his hooves.

Hearing her daughter’s hoofsteps, Applejack came outside to see what was going on when she saw her nephew sitting on the porch.

“Ah’m guessing y’all are here for the corn maze, Granny’s got somethin’ real special planned for tonight, Ah hope y’all enjoy,” Applejack said coming out onto the porch.

“I’m sure we will, but we’ve got a bit of a problem, I don’t think Sky wants to go into the maze,” Rainbow said, looking at her son in concern.

“Applejack sat down beside her nephew. “You wanna tell me, what is botherin’ you, sugar cube?”

Sky briefly looked up at his aunt, opened his mouth to say something, but then quickly closed it and looked away.

“Ah promise, it ain’t gonna be scary,” Applejack said to Sky.

“Not scary,” Sky mumbled nervously.

“Yeah, now come on before it gets dark out,” The cowgirl said, getting up and taking her daughter's hoof to lead her to the corn maze.

It loomed before them like some menacing creature about to strike, Melody reached out a hoof to touch the stocks of corn as they went into the maze.

Somewhere in the distance, laughter and the crunch of leaves could be heard, sometimes screaming echoed throughout the maze. Sky held on tightly to his mother’s hoof as they walked in.

“It’s going to be all right?” Rainbow whispered to her son, as they walked deeper into the maze.

Suddenly, old Granny Smith jumped out from behind one of the stocks of corn and yelled. “Boo.”

Almost immediately, Rainbow burst into laughter but Sky ran and hid behind his mother’s leg.

“You sure got us good, Granny Smith,” Rainbow said after her peel of laughter had subsided.

Granny Smith just cackled menacingly and disappeared back into the bush.

Rainbow Dash chuckled and shook her head, turning to look at Applejack. “Your family has got quite the sense of humor, huh?” She nudged her friend playfully.

Applejack let out a laugh. “Yeah, we sure do, Granny always says there ain’t nothin’ like a good prank.”

“Yeah, I think she’s even funnier than Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow chuckled as they walked back to the farm.

“Don’t you let her hear it, ya wouldn’t hear the end of it,” Applejack warned.

Arriving at the house, Applejack went to open the door but stopped as a cold shiver ran down her spine as somewhere in the distance Granny’s menacing laughter filled the air.

“Looks like she’s at it out there,” Rainbow commented as they walked inside shut the door, and went into the living room to sit down for a bit.

Applejack chuckled nervously, sitting down in one of the large chairs in the living room. She looked at her daughter with a soft smile.

“Melody, would you be a deal and sing for us for a while?” The cowgirl finally asked.

“Well, Ah don’t know, my singin’ voice isn’t all that good, it ain’t like Pa’s,” Melody admitted scratching the back of her neck with a hoof.

“What are you talking about, Mel, your voice is incredible, we’ve heard you sing before, come on now,” Rainbow encouraged.

Melody just sat there and shook her head sadly. “Sorry y’all, but Ah can’t, after Pa left us for a better life, Ah told myself that Ah would never sing, ever.”

“Oh, sugar, Ah’m sorry ya feel that way,” Applejack got up and walked to her daughter putting a comforting hoof around her.

Rainbow and Sky looked at the scene before them, as outside the sun dipped lower and lower.

Rainbow slowly turned to her son and hugged him, he didn’t flinch instead he embraced her hug.

The room fell silent, the only sound that could be heard was Melody’s soft, muffled crying.

Rainbow hugged her son even tighter as she watched the two other ponies embracing. A few tears trickled down her face as she looked over and saw how hurt her niece was.

Applejack finally set up and guided Melody to do the same. “Listen to me, sugar, your voice is amazing, don’t let any pony tell you otherwise, ya hear?”

Yeah, Ah understand, but it just ain’t the same without Pa being here, he would always sing me to sleep when Ah couldn’t sleep because Ah was havin’ one of them bad dreams,” Melody cried.

Rainbow wiped away her tears and cleared her throat. “It’s Nightmare Night, I think, we should go out again.”

“No thank you,” Sky quietly mumbled.

“Well, me and Melody can go out then, and AJ you can stay here with Sky,” Rainbow suggested.

Sky didn’t look up, instead, he continued to fidget with his hooves, which he always did when he was anxious or nervous.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow, we’re gonna have fun here,” Applejack reassured her friend.

Rainbow nodded, and then she and her niece got up and walked to the door, opened it, and went outside.

As Sky continued to fidget with his hooves, he took a few deep breaths, focusing on the familiar, calming rhythm of his hooves, tapping together. Just outside the sound of Ponyville bustled with activity and a loudness that he couldn’t comprehend.

His Aunt Applejack’s voice sounded warm and friendly, his eyes shifted over to look at her. She softly chuckled slowly, getting out of her chair and walking over to him.

“Let’s go out, we can go to Sugar Cube Corner to Pinkie Pie and your cousin Bubble,” She spoke joyfully.

But Sky didn’t budge from the spot. “No thank you, it’s Nightmare Night,” he echoed his mom’s voice for the last part of his sentence.

Applejack let out a heavy sigh and slumped back in her seat. “You’re right, Ah didn’t think about that.”

Sky felt attention in the air, a mix of excitement and anxiety, swirling around him. Nightmare Night had always been a bit overwhelming for him, not to mention all of the customs and creepy decorations that were hung around town. He glanced out the window, the shadows dancing in the moonlight.

“Maybe we could watch a movie,” Applejack suggested, noticing her nephew's discomfort. He nodded enthusiastically.

“Alright, you get to pick out the movie!” She said to him, with a smile on her face.

His aunt went to retrieve a box. When she returned, she placed the box in his hooves, and he began rummaging through the box looking for a suitable movie for them to watch, nothing too scary.

When he had found the movie that he wanted to watch, he gave it to Applejack who inserted it into the DVD player and pressed play. Then they settled in for a cozy evening by the fire.