Nightmare Night. A day all fillies and colts looked forward to. A day of awesome costumes, fun games, good natured pranks, and above all, tons of free candy. The town of Ponyville was once again getting into the festivities of the holiday. They were hoping that this year’s celebration would go much more smoothly than last year’s. What with the unexpected arrival of Princess Luna and all the drama that followed.

Much had happened in the year between that Nightmare Night and this one. One memory that stood out in many ponies minds was the near disastrous wedding of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. When the Changelings and their queen, Chrysalis, showed up in Canterlot and began their invasion, there had been much panic until they were finally defeated and expelled. Still, many were left terrified of changelings as a result. But in an attempt to alleviate their own fears, many of the town’s foals dressed up as changelings for Nightmare Night. After all, it was supposed to be a night all about the things that scared you. They tried to make light of the shapeshifting invaders with their costumes.

Three particular fillies in such costumes were a trio known throughout the town as the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. The Earth Pony and Pegasus were just dressed as regular changelings, with fake fangs in their mouths, black holes painted on their legs, fake wings on their backs, and clear contact lenses on their eyes. Sweetie Belle, however, decided to go the extra mile and dress as Queen Chrysalis herself. Thanks to help from her fashionista sister, Rarity, Sweetie now sported a mane and tail that was dyed to match the teal color of the changeling queen, a stripe of bluish-green paint down her back, a fake black horn placed on top of her real one, with holes in the fake, and a tiny little crown on her head. She also sported the same painted leg holes, fangs, and wings as her two friends.

“This is gonna be the best Nightmare Night ever, huh Sweetie Belle? Ah mean, yer highness Queen Chrysalis.” Apple Bloom giggled.

“Yes, my subject.” Sweetie replied. “We are going to gather all the love from this little town. And there’s nothing ponies love more than free candy. So if we get the candy, we get the love! So come, let us get the candy and all the love that comes with it! MWAHAHAHAHA!”

“As you command, my queen.” Scootaloo joined in.

The three fillies then went from house to house, asking for candy from the house’s owners. By the time they were done, their bags were full to bursting. Every so often, they would run into a foal or group of foals that were also dressed as changelings. Whenever they did, the CMC would walk over to say hello. Every time they did, Sweetie Belle would call herself Queen Chrysalis and ‘demand’ that her subjects get as much of the candy they loved most as they could. The other foals would laugh and play along, telling the ‘queen’ that they would gladly obey her ‘orders’.

“This has been one of the best Nightmare Nights ever!” Scootaloo cheered.

“Ah know! Ah got twice as much candy as last year!” Apple Bloom added.

“Me too!” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “But I think we should be heading back to Sweet Apple Acres now. I think the games and costume contest are going to start soon. And I want to-OOF!”

Sweetie had been so busy talking to her friends that she didn’t bother looking where she was going. As a result, she had accidentally bumped into another pony. This pony was a unicorn mare with a light greenish grey coat and a scarlet mane and tail. Her Cutie Mark was that of a ladybug with three leaves under it.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” The mare snapped.

“I’m sorry. I guess I got caught up talking about all the Nightmare Night festivities.” Sweetie Belle apologized.

“Ah yes. That one holiday about costumes and candy. What are you supposed to be, anyway?” The mare asked.

“I’m Queen Chrysalis of the changelings! And these two are two of my evil changeling minions!”

A silence followed for a time before the mare spoke again.

“…what?”

“Yeah. After those bug ponies invaded at that wedding, a lot of ponies have been scared of them. And I don’t blame them. They scared me too. They were creepy. Not to mention they hurt lots of ponies and tried to suck up all our love like we were nothing but juice boxes. I didn’t know there were things out there that could be that evil. Anyway, since Nightmare Night is all about the things that are supposed to scare us, I thought it would be fun to dress as their big scary leader and pretend to be evil like her all night. Lots of other foals are dressed as changelings as well. You should come with us to town and see them. A lot of the townsponies will be there by now for all the fun.” Sweetie Belle explained.

“I…I see.”

None of the Cutie Mark Crusaders seemed to notice that the mare in front of them was growing more and more irritated with each word out of Sweetie Belle’s mouth. Despite that, she wanted more information about these supposed foals dressed as changelings.

“Very well, child. Lead the way.” The mare stated.

“Alright, follow us! What’s yer name, by the way?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Crackle Cosette.” The mare answered after a moment’s hesitation.

Once the group made it back to the town square, they saw that the Nightmare Night fun was indeed in full swing. Some ponies were bobbing for apples while others were listening to Zecora tell the traditional tale of Nightmare Night. All throughout the town there were stands selling candy and pies and all other manner of goodies. There was also a band playing spooky music on a stage. Once Zecora had finished her story and the band played their last note, Mayor Mare, dressed in the same clown costume as last year, took to the stage.

“Alright, everypony! It’s time for one of the most exciting parts of the evening, the costume contest! All ponies wishing to participate come up on stage.” The mayor called out.

“I’m going up there! Wish me luck, girls!” Sweetie Belle called out.

Sweetie Belle galloped on stage as quick as she could, joining a large number of other ponies in intricate getups. Each pony on stage took turns describing their costumes and why they should win the contest. Once Sweetie Belle’s turn came, she began chattering away excitedly.

“Hello, everypony! My name is Sweetie Belle. But tonight, you can call me Chrysalis, queen of the changelings!” Sweetie yelled before giving an evil laugh.

“Alright Queen Chrysalis, what made you decide on this costume tonight?” The mayor asked.

“Well, I was at the wedding when the changelings invaded. The queen and those scary bugs caused a lot of damage and hurt a lot of innocent ponies. Personally, I think she was going to enslave us all and make us give her love until we died. I got really scared during the whole thing. Anyway, I wanted to try and get over it by dressing as her for Nightmare Night. I know a lot of foals who dress as the things that scare them so that they can be less scared. And I wanted to give it a try.” Sweetie Belle answered.

“That sounds like an interesting way to deal with your fears. Especially a fear of something as scary as the changelings.” The mayor responded. “Thank you, Sweetie Belle.”

The mayor went through the rest of the contestants before conferring with the judges. Once they had made their decision, Mayor Mare came on stage to deliver the judges’ decision.

“Alright, everypony! After much deliberation, we have decided on our winner. And this year’s costume contest victor is…”

Everypony held their breath as they waited for the mayor to finish her statement.

“…Sweetie Belle! And her getup as the nasty Queen Chrysalis!”

Many ponies cheered for Sweetie Belle as she was given a small trophy to signify her victory.

“Congratulations, Sweetie Belle. Is there anything you’d like to say to everypony to commemorate?” Mayor Mare asked.

“There is. If I may paraphrase Chrysalis herself…”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and began singing.

This day has been just perfect

The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small

All the candy I'll soon control

Every chocolate, gummy, and more

Who says a girl can't really have it all?

Sweetie topped off her brief song with an evil sounding laugh. Those that had also been at the Canterlot Wedding give off a laugh, as they remembered the changeling queen singing a similar song while her invasion was unfurling.

Everypony was so wrapped up in their fun that nopony noticed Crackle Cosette storming off in a huff.

A week later, Twilight Sparkle was walking through town buying some supplies. She needed more quills, ink, and food if she was going to survive the week without going insane. But just as she approached the pony that sold the best quills, a voice called out to her.

“Twilight! Twilight!”

Twilight turned around and saw her Number One Assistant running toward her as fast as he could.

“What is it, Spike? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“It’s the mayor. She sent me to come get you. She said something’s really, really wrong and needs your help.” Spike replied.

“What is it? Did she say what’s wrong?”

“She wouldn’t say. She was frantic. Almost panicky. She just said to get you as fast as I could.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?”

Her need to get quills long forgotten, Twilight turned tail and galloped towards town hall as fast as her legs could carry her, Spike right on her hooves. When they got there, the pair saw the mayor pacing the floor with an absolutely horrified look on her face.

“Mayor Mare, I’m here!” Twilight said. “Now what is it you need my help with? Did Discord do something? Did a monster come out of the Everfree Forest? Did the Cutie Mark Crusaders accidentally offend another minotaur?”

“No! It’s worse! So much worse than any of those things!” Mayor Mare shrieked.

“Then what? What is it?!”

“We’re being sued!”

A deafening silence filled the air for several seconds before Twilight found her voice.

“Huh?”

“You heard me! The entire town of Ponyville, and every citizen therein, is being sued!” The mayor repeated.

“Okay, I can get why that would scare you, but why ask for my help? I may be smart, but I’m not a lawyer.”

“Twilight, it’s not so much that we’re being sued so much as it is who’s suing us.”

“Well, who is it?”

“It’s Queen Chrysalis and the entire changeling hive!”

Author's Note

Well, here's my first chapter of my first story, with more of both to come. Hope you enjoy.