Brave New World, Discord's Revenge

A few days later

Nightmare Night

***

It was Nightmare Night at the Earthling's residence and everyone was dressed up. Except Jake, who required a little explanation of what Nightmare Night actually was.

"Jake, why aren't you in costume?" Sam asked, while Rainbow, who was wearing her Shadowbolt costume, tried to fix the Slenderman mask over his face.

"I don't understand this holiday... I never celebrated Halloween back on Earth, so why should I celebrate Nightmare Night?"

Sam sighed. "Basically, you just knock on people's doors and ask for free candy, and if they don't give it to you, you trick them!"

"So... It's like a mugging?" Jake replied, hopefully.

Sam nodded, fearfully.

"Fantastic!" He beamed. "I shall acquire my hockey mask, gun and other items of DOOM!"

Jake launched himself up the stairway in search of his weapons.

Sam and Rainbow looked at each other and shrugged.

"He's so random..." Rainbow murmured, still trying to fix Sam's mask. "He should go out with Pinkie."

"Great idea!" Sam replied, nodding.

Twilight entered the room, she was wearing a black trench coat, monochrome scarf and a matching top hat. She smiled and twirled her long, flowing coat around. Aimee followed her in, wearing a Steampunk outfit.

"Wow, you both look awesome!" Sam complimented.

"Thanks!" Twilight replied, still twirling the back of her coat, the way the Professor used to. It was fun to do, no wonder he liked it.

Ebony and Tom entered the room, both dressed as werewolves. Ebony's costume was a dark, navy blue colour, while Tom's was a deep, crimson red. They reminded Aimee of the wolves off Okami. They both snuggled each other as they walked in.

Twilight looked over at the portrait of the Professor on the wall. She sighed then brought herself to return to reality. She smiled at her friends.

"Shall we?" She said, beckoning to the brand new, Jake-proof, door.

Jake came down the stairs wearing a white hockey mask, a black suit and a gun hostler with a loaded firearm inside. Over his left shoulder he carried his trusty chainsaw. Jake inspected the sign on the door, frowning at it.

"Jake-proof..." He murmured. He raised his chainsaw. "We'll see about that!" He struck the door with his chainsaw.

There was a burst of light, and the crackle of electricity and Jake was lying face first on the ground.

"Eugh..." He moaned, attempting to get up. He rubbed his eye, noticing how painful it was.

Everyone laughed at him, then proceeded through the door to the festivities outside. Many pony's were dressed up in their favorite outfits enjoying the free sweets of the evening. Jake ran up to the nearest house and shot two of the windows.

"This is the magic police, give us all of your candy and no more windows will be harmed!" He yelled.

A wall-eyed mare appeared at the door. She was smiling, slightly...until she saw her departed windows.

"What did my windows ever do to you?" she questioned.

"They're far too transparent for they're own good..." Jake mused.

The mare sighed. "I guess I'll be cleaning that up?"

"Can't I have my candy? Ever since I hurt my eye, I've been craving nothing but candy!"

"Eurgh... fine." The mare gave Jake some sweets. Jake's face lit up like the Blackpool Illuminations.

"And now, for my next trick...ah sod it, I can't think of anything clever to say." Jake muttered.

He walked up to the mare's windows and sprayed them with some sort of transparent sealant.

"Instant-Window." He mused. "Never leave home without it." He blew the top of the lid of the "Instant-Window" as if it were a smoking gun.

The mare looked mightily impressed with this feat.

"Wow! Thanks mister. You've fixed your own problem. My name's Derpy Hooves. What's yours?"

"I'm Newt Pipington British-hooves!" He yelled. Derpy tilted her head. "Actually, my name's Jake. It's not flashy or awesome. But it suffices."

"Cool, I'll guess I'll see you around, huh mister?"

Jake didn't reply as he was already to busy shooting the neighbours windows with his pistol. Derpy sighed then returned to her house. She checked the windows. They were spotlessly clean and completely undamaged.

***

Throughout Ponyville, a shadow was leaping across the rooftops. It was being chased. It lept from chimney stack to chimney stack, avoiding the chaser. The chaser, wearing a hood and cloaked in darkness, however, refused to allow this out of it's sight.

It crashed down upon one of the rooftops and pulled out a rope with a small, metal hook on the end. It thrust the hook at it's catch and brought him to his knees. The hooded figure walked up to him.

"Don't try that again." It whispered. It took down it's hood, revealing a unicorn horn.

The horn glowed with a terrifying red aura, then it sent a stabbing pain into his victim. The victim cried out in pain for a few seconds, before laying quite still on the rooftop.

The figure pulled up it's hood again, and insured the armor it was wearing was sufficiently attached. Satisfied, it lept to the next roof-top. It lept between thatches roofs and jumped between alley-ways. It sat on the top of one of the roofs in a sitting position overlooking the town.

It used it's glowing red magic to propel itself to the taller buildings in Ponyville, eventually landing on top of the Town Hall. It smiled, wildly and sat on one of the roof's outcroppings, poised.

***

Jake had gathered quite the number of sweets by the time he had arrived at the main square. He looked around, cautiously. He remembered Owen's wise words: "You can never be too careful, unless you have OCD."

"Wise words..." Jake muttered. "I'm sad that he's gone."

He walked into an alley way and turned a corner and a small body fell from the roof and landed square in front of Jake.

Jake looked at the body in disgust. He looked up and saw a hooded figure staring down at him.

"Hey! At least dump it in a car compactor!" He yelled, shaking his fist. "Or throw it off a pier! Either or!"

The hooded figure lept from its position on the roof and landed neatly on a thatched house beside it. Jake shrugged off what he had seen and stepped over the ruined corpse in front of him.

"Hey Jake!" Sam said as he approached him. "I..." He stopped when he saw the dead corpse. "Wha? Did you kill this poor pony?"

Jake shook his head, violently. "No! The idea that I would hurt any other living, sentient being is... far-fetched!" He slowly hid the chainsaw behind his back.

"Jake... Why are this ponies hand's missing?"

"Wha? Oh, yeah. Now THAT was me." He smiled contentedly, while chomping on a knuckle.

Sam looked distraught. "Wha? When did you take up cannibalism?"

"Well, considering I'm technically a human, it can't technically be classed as technical cannibalism. Technically." Jake continued to argue his point. "Plus when I started to commit genocide, no-one complained."

Sam backed away from Jake, wondering if it was such a good idea to be close to him with that oversized chainsaw balanced over his shoulder and that gun in his holster.

A unicorn walked by, he was dressed in a tweed jacket with a crimson bow-tie. He held a small gilded pocket watch and had a belt with a long, thin sword inside its sheath. He had a short, black mane and his eyes were a deep hazel brown. He looked at the dead body.

"A murder..." He murmured. He had a distinct British accent, suggesting that he was from Trottingham. He wandered over to the dead body and examined it. "No signs of any mortal wounds, aside the hands of course. So that suggests that magic did this. Something powerful too." He lifted up the dead pony's hoof.

"No signs of a struggle." He whispered.

He turned to Jake.

"Did you see the murderer?" He questioned.

"Yes." Jake replied. "He was wearing a hood and it appeared to be wearing something shiny...What's so funny?"

The pony was smiling. "You said 'he', which insinuates that the murderer was male, but it may well have been female. But that's society for you." He continued to examine the body.

Ebony walked up and saw the pony in the tweed suit.

"Owen!?" She yelled, almost thrusting her hooves around the pony.

The strange newcomer seemed bewildered, but suddenly regained his bearings.

"No, I'm afraid you are mistaken. My name is Detective Huxley of Trottingham Yard, or was. I'm retired now, you see. But it's nice to look into mysteries once in a blue moon." He looked down at the body.

Ebony looked disappointed and embarrassed. "Oh! I'm ever so sorry..." She mumbled.

"No matter. Mistakes happen... Aha!" The Detective picked up something. It appeared to be a strand of hair.

"Hmm. Green in origin. Oddly, our victim here has a navy blue mane." He pulled out a notepad using his telekinesis and a pen. He began to scribble down notes.

"Unicorn...and has a green mane..." He read, after writing down his notes. "Now all we need is something a bit more factual."

He walked off in the direction of the main square, where all the festivities were being held. He turned a few corners before reaching the square. The others followed him. Ebony grabbed hold of Twilight as she walked passed her. Twilight looked confused.

"Hey, Ebony! What's the rush?"

She pointed at the Detective, and Twilight almost screamed.

"It looks just like him. Doesn't it?" Ebony whispered, afraid that the Detective would hear. She explained to Twilight about the murder and how this pony was experienced in this profession.

A pony bumped into the Detective, knocking him to the ground. The pony looked shocked and so she helped the Detective her his feet. The Detective nodded his appreciation.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful. I'm looking for my friend, Lyra, you haven't seen her, have you?"

Before the Detective could respond, the mare had ran off into the crowds in search of her friend.

"Bon Bon?" Twilight thought. "I wonder where Lyra's got to..."

The Detective shook himself and looked at the pony that had just left him. He tilted his head to the left in thought.

"How odd." He mused.

A loud thud sounded behind the Detective. He turned slowly, but was punched in the face by another pony. He fell to the ground, but got back up, brushing the dust off his coat as if it were a mere annoyance. He looked at his attacker.

"Harpsichord..." He snarled. "What business do you have here?"

Harpsichord looked at the Detective. She smiled. She was wearing a black cowl and a hood, which was obscuring her face.  She was also wearing some form of plated metal armor. However her biggest feature was the brooch she had strapped to her chest. It was pulsing with dark, crimson energy.

The Detective realised what it was immediately.

"The Alicorn Amulet..." He whispered in fright. He backed away, as Harpsichord began to gain energy. She displaced some of her energy, throwing the Detective off into a building, where he hit it with a crunch. It sounded like a beetle being crushed under a boot.

He tried to get up, but his old age had gotten the better of him. He opened his eyes and Harpsichord was standing over him.

"Happy Nightmare Night." She uttered.

He froze as she was pointing her glowing red horn at the base of his skull.