The Fallen: Alicorn Amulet

The spraying ceased and Shadow Dust stepped back to admire his work. On the side of the house he had used a spray can to create an image of Nightmare Moon crushing a young foal. Her hooves were dug into his chest and with a final spray of red paint the blood was depicted and the masterpiece completed. He pulled up his hood and stepped out of the ally into the street. Across from him were Nefaria and Midnight Fire rolling on the ground laughing. The unicorn shook his head from side to side while watching the two scared fillies run away from them. They had jumped out from a nearby bush both dressed as timberwolves, stealing the breathe and candy from the terrified children.

The three egged, tee peed, and vandalized houses to their fullest. The best part about Canterlot was the downtown area. No rules, no restrictions, just danger and adrenaline. After each was thoroughly satisfied with their mischief, they took a carriage to the Everfree Forest, being a princess certainly had its perks.

Empyrean set the bowl of candy on the step outside his friend's house and smiled. He could see children going around collecting sweets from all the houses of the neighborhood. They all ran with glee and good fun. At the end of the street was a small filly being shown around by her parents, Empyrean remember his first Nightmare Night.

Empyrean slowly walked up to the front door of the house. It was decorated with cobwebs and spiders. Smoke glided across the brown wood of the steps and slipped into the cracks in between. A single, dim red light shown from inside the house.  He knocked on the door gently.

"No, no, no." His sister corrected him. "Like this." She said hitting the door exponentially harder. He winced as the loud sound of her hoof hitting the door found its way to his ears. The door opened and a pegasus with a bowl on her back leaned down smiling at the small ponies. "Nightmare Night! What a fright, may we have something nice to bite!" Nefaria chanted (overtime this saying would change into the modern version). The pegasus outfitting in a vampire costume lowered her head revealing the candy to them. Nefaria's horn glowed a scarlet hue and two pieces of candy floated into her bag. Empyrean did the same only taking one.

"Thank you!" Empyrean waved from the sidewalk. He caught up with his eagerly, galloping sister. "I thought the rules were to take one so everypony would have enough candy for everypony else."

"Oh! The next house looks really cool!" Nefaria chimed not hearing him in the slightest. The house she was observing had magical flames burning on its rooftop (not doing any actual damage), the garden was filled with plastic faces of horror, and the doorway was filled with two doors fashioned to look like the Gates of Tartarus. When the door to the house had opened it revealed a small pegasus with a bowl of candy in his mouth. He was dressed in an outfit of the royal guard. He set down the bowl filled to the rim with candy and looked at them happily.

"Hi! I'm Midnight Fire! What's your name?"

Empyrean was brought back to the present by the sudden music that turned on inside the party. He closed the door, blocking out the cold air and the distant memory.

The two archaeologists were rummaging through the rubble. They moved stone and dig holes. They had been the first to arrive at the site of the broken mountain. The scavengers searched for anything that would get them the money for their next meal. The head archaeologist was called over by his assistant. He had in his hooves a heavy black book. It was quite large and had handwriting on it neither of them recognized. The younger apprentice opened the book and scrolled through its pages. They were filled from top to bottom in a beautifully written handwriting. The words seemed to flow and connect together. But with sharp tips to each letter and darkly written beginnings to each line. He flipped quickly through the pages and carelessly cut himself. The paper cut went deep and as he recoiled a single drop of blood fell onto the pages. As the assistant sucked on his wounded hoof he noticed the blood red stain seep into the binding of the book. His eyes went wide as the words on the pages disappeared and were replaced with a pair of eyes. The golden pearls of magic seemed to instill fear in him as they looked into his eyes. The assistant tapped his mentor on the shoulder showing him the book.

"Whaa..." His voice trailed off. He extended his left front hoof and touched the pages. A spear toothed smile appeared on the pages and hundreds of tendrils of black magic exploded from the pages. They quickly wrapped around the two explorers and sucked them into the open novel. Laughter as dark as pitch and as loud as a hurricane emanated from the open opus and echoed through the empty land. The royal carriage that stopped at the sight of the mountain's destruction shook violently and the armored zebras inside looked at one another before exiting the vehicle. They too searched the sight of the crumbled mountain until they found the dark journal at its center.