Author's Note

tw: gore (after the girls go to sleep)

Inspired by the Something Sweet to Bite series by Knackerman

Also, Happy (Belated) Chinese New Year!/Lunar New Year! for anyone that's celebrating.

Candymare

It was a calm afternoon when the Crusaders departed from Sweet Apple Acres. They were on their way to the farm next door to have a sleepover with Apple Bloom’s neighbor. They rode their bikes along a dirt road until they reached a quaint little area of land with a very imposing carrot shaped building. As they parked their bikes at the farm’s entrance, a girl their age came to greet them.

“Hey girls, glad you could make it! Name’s Megan... Megan Williams... but I guess Bloom already told you that. Come on in, I’ll show you girls around,”

They wandered through the Williams’ farm, passing by the horse stables as well as the neatly lined carrot patches. Megan talked endlessly about every nook and cranny of the farm, everything from the mysterious well in the backyard to the shed nestled in an unkempt grove.

They made their way inside Megan’s house by a small patio door that led directly into the kitchen. The interior of the house was warm and cozy. It had a certain old school charm to it. There was a landline on the wall. It appeared to still be in use.

The girls went up to Megan’s bedroom. It was a sight to behold. It was as if walking into a bizarre time capsule of everything from the 1980s to the 2000s. A boxy television, complete with a VCR, sat in a corner. A bulky laptop sat on a desk near a window. Shelves were lined with toys, most of them being maned wolf figurines from the first generation of “My Little Maned Wolf”.

“So what do you girls wanna do?” said Megan.

It had been a few hours since the sleepover began. The girls talked, danced, sang karaoke, and played video games. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom ended up in a fiercely competitive game of Mario Kart 64. After all that, the group ordered some pizza for dinner. That is when they found out Diamond carries around her very own fork and knife.

It was now early evening when the girls finished dinner and were now wondering what they should do.

“What do you guys wanna do now?” asked Megan.

“Hmm. We could watch a horror movie?” Scootaloo suggested.

“I’m down for that,” said Diamond Tiara. Apple Bloom also nodded in agreement.

“So, what horror movies do you have?” asked Sweetie Belle.

Megan pulled out a box of VHS tapes and began rummaging through them.

“Let’s see. We’ve got: The Glistening, Tennessee Buzzsaw Massacre, Tuesday the 13th, A Nightmare on Oak Street, Candymare-”

“Wait. What’s that last one about?” asked Scootaloo.

“Candymare? That one’s about some urban legend. Something about a killer candy horse that haunts a neighborhood on Halloween. They say if you say her name five times, she’ll appear and shank ya with a candy cane,” said Megan.

“Ya know what, that actually sounds kinda interesting. It’s the only one of these we haven’t seen anyway,” said Apple Bloom.

The group made themselves comfy on beanbag chairs. Megan put the tape into the VCR and pressed play. 90 minutes of thrilling suspense, mystery, and gore graced the screen. They watched eagerly, jumping at every jumpscare, feelings of dread filling up as the movie progressed.

As the film came to a close, the girls soon became rather bored. They found themselves twiddling their thumbs, trying to figure out any way to finish off the night.

“How about we try summoning the Candymare!” Scootaloo said eagerly.

“Summoning her? Scoots, are you insane?!” said Apple Bloom.

“You chickening out? It’s just an urban legend anyway. Are you scared she’s gonna get you?” said Scootaloo teasingly.

“I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?” said Megan.

So the girls all filed into the small, cramped bathroom. Looking straight into the mirror, Megan began to chant:

“Candymare, Candymare, Candymare, Candymare, Candymare ”

The wind howled outside. The lights flickered. Then there was nothing. Underwhelming , thought the girls.

And so the night’s activities came to an uneventful close. The girls snuggled into their sleeping bags, ready for another day of adventure.

The night edged on. Moonlight crept in through the open window. All were now sound asleep. Then came a low pitched neighing. It increased in pitch, sounding more and more distressed. The girls woke up confused, Megan most of all.

“Weird. The horses never act up at night,” Megan said “I’ll go check up on them,”

“Ya want us to come an’ help?” said Apple Bloom.

“Nah, it’ll be quick. It’s probably nothing. You girls just stay here,” said Megan.

Megan descended the stairs, hastily put on an outdoors outfit, and went out through the kitchen’s back door. Outside, a thick fog had settled over the farm. As she walked over to the stables, Megan noticed the branches of the nearby trees were growing in a strangely crooked shape. The cold autumn air pierced her skin. The frantic sounds of neighing got ever closer. In the suffocating darkness, she could only faintly make out the silhouettes of her equine companions. Megan rushed over to the stables and turned on its lights.

In the soft orange glow of the lights, Megan could finally see the horses clearly. And those things weren’t horses. They appeared to be made of various candies, with gaping holes in their sides. Fruit roll innards piled out of their bodies. Their pink glowing eyes stared into Megan’s soul. The poor girl stood frozen in fear. Those things advanced, easily jumping the stables. Their licorice manes squirmed around like tendrils before lunging straight towards Megan.

A blood-curdling scream could be heard from the second story window.

The Crusaders were on edge. What the hell just happened? , they all thought. They rushed out of the house and ran directly to the stables, where they were greeted with a horrifying sight. Megan was slumped over, blood pooling out of a gash in her side. Her intestinal tract had been freshly ripped out. Small bits of candy were growing on her arms. Something stood next to her. It resembled a little girl, only every part of her was made of candy. Her wispy, red licorice hair flowed in the wind. And her eyes, sunken in like a decaying corpse, yet their vibrant shade of pink indicated anything but. It stared at them, its intent clear.

Its body shifted and contorted. Its neck stretched and jutted out. Hands turned into hooves. It got on all fours. It became apparent who this thing really was: The Candymare .

The Crusaders had no time to think. They ran into the woods. The Candymare galloped behind them before it vanished between the trees. The girls ran and ran, until a small shed came into view. They heard rustling along the forest floor. They quickened their pace. Their hearts were racing. They heard the thundering, rythmic thumping of hooves getting ever closer. And closer. And closer.

The Candymare came charging through, its jaws at an unnatural angle. Three Crusaders ducked out of the way. Diamond Tiara did not.

“Diamond!” Apple Bloom cried, tears falling down her face.

A sickening crunch. The ripping of flesh, muscles, ligaments. Garbled screams of pain and terror. The Crown had given way to the guillotine.

The Crusaders kept running. They couldn’t dare to look back now. They made it to the shed. Inside, the faint moonlight gleamed through a small window, illuminating a scattered collection of tools.

“What do we do?!” said Sweetie Belle.

“I say we fight that bitch,” said Scootaloo.

“With what?!” said Apple Bloom.

“Who cares? She needs to pay for what she’s done,” said Scootaloo.

Shuffling could be heard outside. Bizarre, distorted groans could be heard through the walls. They almost sounded like speech. They sounded like their fallen friends. They sounded like they were moving towards the front of the shed.

The Crusaders quickly grabbed the nearest weapons: shovels.

The door had flung open. The Candymare ambled in, its candified, zombified victims following suit. The Crusaders stood their ground, their hands tightly gripping their shovels. The limping, rotting, candied forms of Megan and Diamond limped towards them. As much as it hurt to harm them, they needed to be dealt with. And the Candymare needed to be distracted. It was three against three. One for each. And as they say, to divide is to conquer.

Except division was an idiotic strategy. All three enemies rushed for Sweetie Belle. The poor girl hadn’t any time to react before being pulverized. The candy creatures bit into her, tearing flesh and limbs. The Candymare swung a candy cane hook into her back before hoisting her up and leaving her hanging. The hook gouged itself deeper and deeper into her back. Sweetie Belle screamed and screamed, her voice growing hoarse, until The Candymare went for the jugular, silencing her for all eternity. Once all was done, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo could only stare in sheer horror. Then, the creatures’ eyes snapped in their direction.

They ran. They ran out of the shed as fast as their legs could carry them. Their minds kept thinking back to the sickening sounds of Sweetie Belle’s demise, the events replaying like a broken record. Their legs ached, but their adrenaline carried them all the way back to the house. They barged in through the kitchen’s back door.

“We need to get our bikes and get the fuck out of here,” said Scootaloo.

“Shouldn’t we call somebody first? We could tell ‘em we need their help?” said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo was about to retort that there were no working phone lines, when the Candymare appeared out of thin air. It lunged towards Apple Bloom, yet she never got hit. Scootaloo jumped in front of her, suffering the brunt of the Candymare’s attack. She became wrapped up in the mare’s licorice mane, before being slowly digested through the mare’s mouth.

Apple Bloom could only watch in horror as her friend let out muffled screams that grew weaker and weaker. All that remained was a pool of blood, its vibrant color seeping into the floorboards. The Candymare grinned, its sharp teeth on full display. Its eyes glared at her, as if it were sizing up its next meal.

It lunged towards her.

Apple Bloom jolted up, taking in uneven breaths. She looked around her. Everyone was fast asleep.

Oh thank god, Apple Bloom thought, It was just a dream.