Scootaloo and the School of Ghouls

Scootaloo gawked at the sight of a five foot tall alicorn entering the scene, his black eyes gazing upon her curiously as his red mane flowed in a wind that came from the portal... and soon, that wasn't the only thing.

"OOF!" both Twilights cried as they entered the Nightmare Realm, followed by:

"Ack!"

"Eep!"

"Uggggh...."

Clatter!

"Bloody Hell!"

...As the rest of the group jettisoned out of a glowing yellow doorway behind the young filly, each landing less than gracefully.

The 'mortals' of the group then gazed upon Darksong, Rainbow putting on a glare, Twilight giving a slight smile, and the Crusaders backing away in fear.

"Ah, more mortals!" Darksong grinned wickedly. "I'm glad! For now I have all the elements I need for my perfect feast!"

The Crusaders gave a gasp.

"EEEP! HE'S GOING TO GOBBLE US UP!" Sweetie cried, before scurrying back towards the yellow doorway behind her.

Its door was quickly encased with black magic, however, slamming shut, and revealing what was upon it: paintings of the six Elements of Harmony surrounding their two princesses, the two chasing each other in a circle while trying to nip at each other's tails.

It was the door to reality.

"You don't wish to partake in Darksong's breakfast he has prepared?" Darksong said in a hurt tone, before putting on a ginger smile and clapping his hooves. "Darksong has prepared mortal versions of hay bacon and eggs! As well as apple crisp!"

"Heh, thank you, Darksong," Twilight Sparkle smiled.

"Ah, the student of the light!" he called, before quickly giving her a guilty glance. "Darksong... I mean, uh... I… never had the chance to apologize for my hoof-"

"It's quite alright," Twilight smiled warmly, before giving a wink. "As long as your breakfast makes up for it!"

Darksong sighed in relief, before gesturing towards the entrance to the hall. "Come then, mortal band of students and heroes! You must tell Darksong if his apple crisp is too sweet!"

A tiny voice, however, soon halted him in his tracks:

"Um... Mr. Darksong, is it?" Scootaloo squeaked. "What exactly is this place?"

"A good question, my young student of the night!" he smiled, before gesturing about and dramatically stating: "the Temple of the Doors is a gateway to every other holiday realm, as well as the world from which they are spawned from!" He leapt in front of the doorway with the egg upon it. "The Spring Festival, led by Carrotlove the Spring Bunny!" And then in front of the one with the sponge upon it. "The Spring Cleaning holiday, led by Billy Hays the Oxyclean Pony!" And in front the one with a mistletoe upon it. "And of course, Hearth's Warming Eve! (the holiday that sold out)," he added with a cough, before smiling widely again. "Led by the honorable (but fat), diligent (when it comes to being a corporate mascot) Yuletide the Gift Pony!"

"Oooooo," Sweetie and Apple Bloom chirped.

"We should definitely visit there! Imagine all the free toys and stuff we could get on a factory tour!" Sweetie beamed.

Darksong quickly frowned. "But children, don't you wish to see more of the Nightmare Realm? The realm spawned from the GREATEST HOLIDAY TO EVER GRACE THE MORTAL LANDS!?"

"Yeah but... yoyos," Apple Bloom said, twirling a hoof into the floor with a frown.

"And slinkees!" Sweetie grinned. “And besides, who doesn’t love Hearth’s Warming Eve?!”

The two then leapt together before singing:

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!

With the kids jingle belling,

And everyone telling you,

'Be of good cheer'!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's the hap-happiest season of all!

With those holiday greetings,

And gay happy meetings,

When friends come to call,

It's the hap- happiest season of all!"

Rainbow Death and Soulshard merely gazed at them blankly.

"Children, I believe you have the wrong idea of what it truly is..."

Darksong then gave a huff, grunting forth:

"It's the most corporate time of the year!

With the kids always yelling,

For what new garbage they're selling,

'Buy it or be queer!'

It's the most corporate time of the year!

It's the crap-crappiest season of all!

That now makes mothers tremble,

At what sort of resembles,

A Zerg rush to the mall!

It's the crap-crappiest season of all!"

Rainbow Death gave a smirk before continuing with:

"There'll be parties for hosting,

Your boss to be toasting,

So that holiday bonus you may know!

And though its long-ago stories,

May have been quite heart-warming,

It's now just a big stupid light-dancing show!"

The two then lept together and sang:

"It's the most corporate time of the year!

There'll be much annoyance,

As you try to keep buoyant,

In that flood of shopping and beer!

It's the most corporate time of the year!"

"Yeah, the Nightmare Realm hasn't exactly been on good terms with Hearth's Warming Eve ponies lately," Rainbow Death grunted, glancing at the mortals of the group. "They say the Twinkling Lands used to be a holiday of bright cheer, of warmth and heart... and now it's just covered in factories. The holiday has lost its meaning." She then narrowed her eyes. "Plus, that stupid holiday is starting to encroach on our territory! Every year, advertisements come on earlier and earlier... soon they'll be placing friggin' wreaths out on Nightmare's Eve instead of pumpkins!"

She then turned towards Twilight Soulshard, grinning. "But not us! We're not selling out! We're totally working hard to preserve what Nightmare Night is!"

Soulshard blushed slightly. "Well, we're trying to at least. Our efforts have met with... mixed results, as you all know."

Rainbow Dash gave a chuckle. "Yeah, I'll say."

"Anyway," Twilight Sparkle said, rolling her eyes. "How about that breakfast... we haven't exactly had a chance to eat."

"Right! TO DARKSONG'S DINING ROOM OF DOOM!" Darksong shouted, before blushing slightly. "He hopes he has folded the napkins properly."

☼☼☼

"Not bad, Darksong," Twilight smiled, sipping on a cup of coffee after finishing her last apple crisp.

Darksong, now wearing a pink 'kiss the cook' apron smiled widely, before gingerly clapping his hooves again. "Darksong Shadowbane is glad you approve, child of light! Though he is afraid he had to go off a Nightmare Realm cookbook. However, he was sure to use fresh and not rotten fruits, though he still wonders if he prepared the earth worms properly for the extra flavor in the apple crisp..."

At that, the mortals in the group's eyes widened in horror, before immediately gagging and spitting out whatever they had in their mouths.

"Oh no! Did Darksong do something wrong?!" he gasped, glancing away from them in shame.

"Mmm, well I don't know about the mortal food but your nightmare food is good," Rainbow Death called, busy chowing down on an apple crisp... which Scootaloo now noticed was squiggling with live earth worms as well as apples. She then glanced down at her apple crisp... only to notice the same thing.

She gave a shrug, before continuing to munch.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Twilight groaned, her cheeks puffing outwards with a green coloring.

"Er Darksong, mortals don't really like... earth worms," Soulshard said, simpering. "No offense, but you... probably should have used a mortal cookbook instead of trying to make a nightmare one compatible."

"Meh, whatever. You've got a wicked touch, Darky," Rainbow Death beamed, patting him on the back. "How are things working out with Nightmare Moon, by the way?"

"Ooo! Well, we had a most enjoyable time zombie hunting the other day!" Darksong said, his spirits lightening.

"Zombie hunting?" Sweetie said, scratching her head and gulping down a glass of water, still wincing.

"Yeah, the Nightmare Realm kind of has a minor... pest control problem," Soulshard simpered. "Though we love all zombies, really, even the more… mindless ones, they tend to eat up our crops. So, we make sport out of neutralizing them."

"Ten time zombie hunting tournament extraordinaire!" Raindow Death beamed smugly, patting a hoof on her upper chest. "Got ten skulls on my cabinet from the last hunt alone, the Tank varieties, too... as well as three gold trophies!"

"And yes, that's quite impressive," Twilight Soulshard explained to the mortal visitors in a proud tone.

"Ooooo," they all beamed, all except Rainbow Dash, who folded her arms.

"Pffft, give me a scythe and I could do that," she pouted.

Raising an eyebrow, Twilight quickly changed the subject with:

"So, what's next on our plate?" she asked.

"Well, Darksong has some more apple crisp-" Darksong said.

"NO!" Twilight cried, before giving him a slightly apologetic glance and yawning again. "I mean uh... I'm fine, Darksong." She then took a deep breath. "Anyway, I don't know about you all, but the whole Horsehood adventure tonight has made me kind of tired."

Soulshard gave a nod, before explaining:

"Well, us teachers..." she said, before glancing at Rainbow Dash. "And honored visitor, will be taking an airship up to Bogmorts so we may arrive early. It has quarters upon it if you wish to sleep." She raised a hoof. "However, the students will be going by the Bogmorts Express."

She then glanced on a ticking clock on the wall, with two bat-wings upon it as clock-arms.

Her eyebrows quickly rose. "Actually, we should probably get going sometime soon."

"I won't be joining you all, though," Rainbow Death said, scooting out from her chair and giving the group a smile. "I gots some more souls to reap. But I'll pop in Bogmorts in a bit. I've got a class to teach as a side job, after all."

She then turned towards Soulshard, giving her a hug and a wink. "Catch you later, Ms. Egghead Queen."

Soulshard rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Reap tight, and don't let the souls bite."

Rainbow then turned towards Scoots. "Oh, and Scoots, some of the ghouls here may be a bit... intimidating to someone not used to the place, but give it time and I'm sure you'll warm up to them." She then turned towards Pip and the Crusaders. "You guys as well. Just uh... time. Time is good"

"Will do, Rainbow," Scootaloo smiled.

At that, Death gave one last smile before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Show off," Rainbow Dash grunted, as Darksong began to stand up.

"Well then, Darksong is going to get back to his knitting," the alicorn smiled, turning towards the door. "Farewell, travellers from the mortal realm! May the winds of the nightmare carry you swiftly to where you wish to go!"

He then paused, however, before glancing at Twilight Sparkle. "Oh, and before he leaves, he almost forgot."

Twilight raised an eyebrow as his horn began glowing for a brief second. Soon, a spellbook appeared before him, which he handed to the mortal mare.

"This is Synergy: To Intertwine the Realms. It contains the spell Darksong used to bring dead food to life, and it should contain whatever else you need to make your stay here enjoyable." He then gave a warm smile. "May it help you with your own task of synergy."

"Thanks, Darksong," Twilight smiled, as the group stood up from the table and began making their way out of the Temple.

☼☼☼

The Everdead Forest was a peaceful, but haunting place. A place filled with blackened trees and red, thorny, devilish bushes that would make even the Everfree Forest give a shiver. It didn't help that the trees actually seemed to be alive... sometimes giving low groans and turning about on their own, almost as if they were gazing upon the group.

It was also the first place Scootaloo had a chance to see the outside world of the Nightmare Realm. There honestly wasn't much to behold, as fog stretched all around them, obscuring their vision after a good sixty feet or so. But what was still apparent was the high moon that watched over them from the heavens, its light piercing through the fog. Fangs didn't seem to mind the atmosphere, however, as the little bat seemed to be enjoying the sight the whole way, perking his head about in curiosity occasionally.

Oddly enough, it felt natural for Scootaloo to be here as well. For the first time in her life, she felt as if she was truly in her element. She had always wondered why she felt so... alone and out of place in Ponyville, even with people constantly giving her sympathy and attention she never really asked for. However, now she knew the reason. She just wished her now mortal-to-her friends would enjoy the sights as well.

"M-Ms. Soulshard," Sweetie shivered, shrinking in fear as a scream emanated out of nowhere from the deeper woodlands. "A-Are we getting c-close to Terrorsville?"

"Mhmm," Soulshard said, nodding her head with a smile. "I wish it wasn't so, though, the Everdead Forest is so horrible this time of year!"

"H-Horrible?" Apple Bloom gulped, quirking an eyebrow. "You say that like it's a good thing!"

"Welcome to opposite land," Spike grunted. "At least, that's how Twilight explained it to me. It is a good thing here."

Sweetie gave a sigh. "This place is going to take some getting used to..."

At that, the group came upon the sound of flowing water, which soon turned out not to be water at all. For flowing before them was a small creek of blood.

Upon seeing it, Scootaloo's stomach gave a rumble, and the voice in her head, which had been quiet for a while now, chirped:

'Nots as good as fresh bloods, but its will sustain you...'

"Ah, Wolfbane Creek!" Soulshard smiled. "I almost forgot about it. Go ahead and drink up, Scoots! I bet you're getting hungry by now."

Scootaloo gave a nervous nod as she began bending down towards the creek. However, before she took a sip, she took a glance at her friends, and it felt like their eyes were gazing through her...

'They thinks you're a freak... food never thinks anything more...'

Scootaloo winced, and before her tongue leapt into the blood, she paused.

"I uh... I'm not hungry."

She then lifted her neck up, gulping slightly.

"Come on, Scootaloo, you need to feed yourself," Soulshard said encouragingly. "Regular nightmare food won't give you strength."

"W-Where does that blood come from, though?" she asked.

"Noghoul knows for sure," Soulshard said whimsically, before sighing slightly. "However, the legends say that all blood belonging to those who have died in the mortal world... leaks into the Nightmare Realm, and flows through our rivers."

Scootaloo's eyes widened in horror.

"Ugh, why did you tell her that?!" bone-dragon Spike grunted.

"She might as well learn now before she picks it up off the streets," Soulshard argued.

"Yeah, well way to throw her into the deep end right off the bat," he groaned, before wincing. “No cheesy pun intended.”

At that, Rainbow gave a smile before stepping to Scootaloo's side. "Scoots... it's alright. Even if those stories are true, you didn't do anything to hurt those ponies."

Twilight Sparkle quickly nodded.

"In the end, everything we eat has something that has died in it," she stated. "Decomposing corpses eventually erode and fertilize the soil from which plants gain the nutrients they use to grow. It's all part of the great circle of life."

The Crusaders grimaced slightly at that, Twilight giving an apologetic smile.

Spike, however, gave a smirk:

"It's the Circle of Life!

And it moves us all!

Through despair and hope,

Through faith and love..."

"Yeah, yeah. Very funny, Spike," Twilight growled.

"Go on Scoots, nopony will judge you," Rainbow said, standing beside her now.

With that, Scootaloo took a deep breath before kneeling down... and taking the first slurp of the most delicious substance she had ever tasted in her life. It was salty... yet sweet, her throat tingling in delight as its warmth made itself felt all the way down.

Her eyes widened... and at that, she began to slurp it up with a vigor she had never had for any other food.

"So... goooood," she called, Rainbow wincing slightly at those words. "Oh my gosh this is... wow. It's indescribable!"

"J-Just take all you need," Rainbow gulped.

'Fresh bloods is ten times better... just ask Rainbow if you can have a little nibble... or one of your other friends... if they truly likes you... they will lets you. Hehehe… and Pipsqueak has a crush on you... Pipsqueak wills allows it.'

Scootaloo shook her head, wincing, as she took one last gulp. "I'm not doing that," she whispered. "This is good enough."

She then stood up, wiping the red substance off her mouth, as Rainbow gave her a pat on the back. "There ya go, not so bad, was it?"

Scootaloo turned towards Rainbow, shaking her head in disbelief. "You have no idea, Rainbow. No idea..."

Rainbow took a deep breath, before turning towards Soulshard. "So, onward to Terrorsville?"

Soulshard gave a nod. "Onward!"

☼☼☼

True to its name, Terrorsville was a Nightmare Night themed version of Ponyville. Twilight's treehouse was nothing but a blackened, dormant husk, a stark contrast to its vibrant, colorful 'real' world self. The carousel boutique was somewhat similar to the real world's... save for the bat-winged ponies encrusted on its poles, and the cobwebs hanging off every inch of it.

However, the most creepy sight lay before them. The Town Hall was a puke greenish entity, and filled with veins: and it actually seemed to be alive... pulsating ever so slightly. And to complete its ghastly sight, hovering over the top of it was a red, fiery eye that gazed down upon the town, swiveling every which way.

And naturally, there were jack o'lanterns... EVERYWHERE.

"Big Brother is watching you," Spike smirked, glancing at the eye.

"Actually, the Edeathstrian Legion is watching you," Soulshard stated.

"Huh? Why's that?" Twilight asked.

“Yeah, and since when did Edeathstria have a military again?” bone-dragon Spike said, raising an eyebrow.  “Ugh, noghoul tells me jack when I wake up…”

"Certain... issues have come up," Soulshard sighed, before whispering into Twilight’s ear, "I'll explain more later. It's nothing to do you with, however."

And as soon as Twilight spoke, the group began to garner attention.

"Hey everyghoul, Twilight's back!" a pony resembling Vinyl Scratch with a sideways baseball cap grinned.

"Twilight?! I thought you were at Bogmorts!" another pony called, apparently the nightmare version of Mayor Mare. She was pretty much a skeleton, with a perpetual, black grin etched on her face.

"Ehehe, hi everyghoul," Ms. Soulshard said, simpering. "How are things coming with Nightmare Night?"

"Awful, just terrible!" a version of Dr. Whooves grumbled, with a gray coat and glowing red eyes. "We only have two-hundred and fifty three days left and we still don't have any good scares planned! For the love of the drums, please come back!"

Soulshard raised an eyebrow. "I've only been gone for like a month, Dr. Whoovenstein."

The gathering was now growing even larger. Scootaloo and her friends, despite having seen most of them on Nightmare Night, were now becoming slightly nervous. There was a version of Colgate with a blood covered dentist outfit, a version of Lyra Heartstrings (who she knew as Lyra Heartstab) wielding a bloody Michael Mayers-like butcher knife, and even a version of Octavia who seemed to be wrapped in mummy-like-bandages, holding a blackened cello.

However, to their delight, Slendermare stood among the group as well: a certain Eldirtch Abomination they had actually grown to sort of like during Nightmare Night, black tendrils licking off his, or her (it was never quite certain, despite its name) back and into the night's breeze.

"Everyghoul, I promise I'll be back before Nightmare Night to help supervise things," Twilight smiled. "But I'm sure you can all handle yourselves."

"B-But that would require us to think for ourselves!" one of them cried, 'Derpy-Stitched', the counterpart of the ditzy mailmare who, as her name suggested, seemed to be stitched together. "You've done that for us the last forty years!"

Soulshard took a deep breath, giving them blank looks. "Fine, alright, how about I stop in in a month or so to-"

"DEAL!" they all grinned.

Soulshard rolled her eyes.

"Hey Twilight, what's with the mortals?!" one of them called.

"We brought them here for the annual Winter Pony Sacrifice Festival," bone-dragon Spike grinned. "We thought you'd all enjoy them."

The Crusader's eyes widened in horror, though Rainbow and Twilight merely gave him a glare.

"Pony wah?" Lyra Heartstab called, scratching her head.

"Nothing," Soulshard sighed, giving Spike a glare as well. "But while I'm here, I'd like to introduce you all to Scootaloo, the daughter of Sleighbell Wintercall!"

At that, the entire group let out a gasp, to which Scootaloo gave a nervous smile with a wave.

"Sleighbell Wintercall!? The vampire of the north!?"

"Oh my gosh! THE Sleighbell?! I thought he was still sleeping!"

"I heard he went nuts... fled to the mortal realm! He had a kid?!"

"He who fought in the Battle of Icecrown... this is unprecedented!"

Soulshard shook her head, grunting at her own stupidity as the crowd began to swarm a clearly overwhelmed Scootaloo.

"Hooo boy, maybe it wasn't the best idea to introduce her," Soulshard whispered to herself.

"Ya think?" bone-dragon Spike grunted.

The undead Twilight then turned back to the crowd.

"Er yeah... but we need to get going now," Soulshard simpered. "Goodbye everyghoul, and may the night watch over you!"

Ignoring her, the crowd continued to swarm like a flood of liquid annoyance about the young filly, asking question after question:

"So, did you ever meet your father? What's he like?"

"Are you half-ghoul, or full ghoul, or what? It's not like it matters, though!"

“Can I have your autograph?! Please please please please please!”

Soulshard’s eye began to twitch.

"UGH! PLEASE, EVERYGHOUL! TRY TO GIVE HER SOME SPACE!" she roared with demonic distortion in her tone, the group of mortals backing away from her slightly.

She quickly threw them a sheepish grin.

"Dawwwww..." the group groaned.

The group of mortals then sighed in relief as the crowd began to disperse, before heading towards a train station on the far side of town... that also seemed to serve as a zeppelin port. A massive black airship, with a Jolly Rogers symbol upon it and chains dangling down its side, floated slightly above it.

"Oooo," Pipsqueak said, smiling. "Now that is my kind of airship!"

Apple Bloom cocked an eyebrow.

"Pipsqueak, seriously, were you actually a pirate?" she asked. "I thought that was just a Nightmare Night thing."

"Well, what better thing to be than what you know best?" he smiled.

Apple Bloom shook an incredulous head.

"I wish I had time to show you all around the treehouse," Soulshard smiled. "But we're getting pressed for time."

Twilight nodded. "I'm sure I'll have another time to see it. But I do want to get aboard the airship and start planning my lessons." She then turned to Spike, smiling. "Did you bring the supplies I asked?"

"Uhh, yeah," Spike grumbled, dragging a large suitcase behind him.

He then began to list off: "Fifty-six parchments, seventy-three quills, thirty-six bottles of ink... and thirteen industrial-sized containers of 'Time for the Perculator' coffee."

"I'm all set, then," Twilight said, before smiling widely. "You know, I'm actually looking forward to trying to teach. I just hope the little ghouls won't be a handful!"

"Oh, I'm sure the Element of Magic will be more than enough to keep them at bay," Soulshard smiled with a wink.

"Hehe, we'll see," Rainbow grinned.

☼☼☼

And as the group trotted on, a pair of blue eyes watched from the woods, their owner quickly quirking its head slightly and smiling in delight.

"Tandem venit Wintercall filia? Lucem ac tenebras filia ... Vellem mihi numquam hoc hodie!"