//------------------------------// // One Year Later... // Story: Hearts of Hay // by bahatumay //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie chortled with glee as she sorted through her candy haul. “Chocolates and caramels and butterscotch toffees,” she sang.  “Muffins and cupcakes, both eaten real sloppy,” Pumpkin joined in. “Cookies and brownies and everything sweet,” Pound added. “These are a few of my favorite treats!” they finished in unison before all falling apart laughing. Apple Bloom cracked a smile. She’d only stopped by Sugarcube Corner for some caramel corn and popcorn balls, but now she was getting candy and a show. “Good haul tonight?” “You know it!” Pinkie crowed. “After all, you’re…” “Never too old for candy!” they finished in unison, and then they all shared another laugh and a high hoof.  “Well, if you decide you need a break, we’re doing the haunted corn maze again this year,” Apple Bloom offered. “Loads of fun and frights!” “Ooh! I’ll have to add that to the list.” Pinkie reached into Pumpkin’s mane and pulled one out, then retrieved a pencil from behind her ear and did just that.  Apple Bloom smiled knowingly. Classic Pinkie.  “So, this is the infamous haunted corn maze?” Gallus asked, giving it a good once-over.  “Oh, yeah,” Sandbar said. “This is classic Ponyville Nightmare Night. You guys are in for a treat.” “If you say so,” Gallus said, unconvinced. “Doesn’t look too scary.” “Yeah,” Smolder agreed. “Who’s afraid of corn?” “It’s not the corn you need to fear,” an eerie voice interjected suddenly from behind, making them jump. Apple Bloom, with blood and zombie makeup caked on her face, crawled up from a hidden passage. “It’s the creatures inside, horrifying beings given life from your nightmares! Beware, beware!” Her performance was met with less than rave reviews. More like raised eyebrows.  But Apple Bloom didn’t seem to mind. “Three may enter at a time,” she said, still using her spooky voice, “but stay close! Not all three of you may leave!” Gallus, Smolder, and Ocellus happened to be first in the group, and they approached the line. Before they crossed, Apple Bloom leaned in. “Oh, and, uh, please don’t touch the decorations,” she advised in her normal voice, holding the back of her hoof over her mouth. “They don’t like that.” Gallus blinked. “You got it,” he said patronizingly, clearly convinced she was just a little too into character tonight. They made their way through the corn.  “There sure are a lot of scarecrows here,” Ocellus commented nervously.  “It’s a corn field,” Gallus said dismissively. “There’s gonna be- yipe!” For he had accidentally stepped on a wire and activated the first trap: a spring-loaded wooden plank with a scary pumpkin drawn on it.  Gallus scoffed. “Meh,” he said, downplaying his previous reaction.   Ocellus huffed. She’d been scared.  “Look, all I’m saying is, if you want to scare a griffon, you’ll have to try a little harder.” “Empty wallets,” Smolder suggested in her best eerie!Apple Bloom impression. “No more biiiiits!” Gallus did flinch at that, and then glared at his dragon friend. With a cocky little smile, Smolder took the lead.  As they continued, the jumpscares increased, and the atmosphere darkened. Creepy vines, eerie lights, cobwebs, and the occasional flickering lamp.  The decorations became more complex, but also slightly familiar. The horrifying vampire in garish clothing and doused in fake blood became a little less terrifying when Professor Rarity’s eyes caught the light.  A terrifying mummy became a little more silly when it became apparent she was still wearing an anachronistic hat, and a plant monster who seemed a little too interested in how changeling biology worked turned out to be Fluttershy’s friend.  And then it grew silent.  Expecting a scare and then not getting a scare plays tricks on the mind. Was somepony watching them? What about that noise, was that the rushing of the wind, or ponies rushing through the corn behind them? Did somepony run across the path behind them? All they could see was the occasional scarecrow.  “Alright,” Smolder said hesitantly. “Maybe it’s not so bad.” Ocellus squeaked indignantly. After what felt like an eternity, the end finally came into view.  “Yeah, that was pretty good,” Gallus conceded, but clearly relieved. “Silverstream is going to scream her head off.” And then he bumped into a scarecrow decoration that seemed to have been left right in the way, knocking it over. It rolled across the ground, its limbs splaying and wrapping around itself and its body twisting in ways no pony’s could, and its hat rolled dolefully away.  “You touched a decoration,” Ocellus hissed.  “Nice going, dude,” Smolder teased.  “Hey, griffons hunt in the day,” Gallus defended himself. “Our night vision stinks.” “Uh, guys?” Ocellus said shakily.  “So do dragons,” Smolder retorted, “and you don’t see me-” “Guys,” Ocellus repeated, more urgently this time. “Chill, it was an accident. Forgiveness is magic, right?” “Guys!” “What?”  Ocellus pointed at the scarecrow.  The scarecrow’s body had unfolded itself and pushed itself up. It began shuffling forward, looking down, head scanning, as if looking for something.  They looked around, but there was no visible aura or sound of magic. What was animating it? Wires? Finding what she was looking for, the scarecrow reached down, picked up her hat, gently dusted it off, and then put it back on, adjusting it to her liking. Then, she turned back to the group. “Please don’t touch the decorations,” she said softly as she took a step forward, her stitched mouth moving with her words. “We don’t like that.” All semblance of bravado evaporated. Gallus screamed and turned to run, only to have Smolder pull him back to use as a springboard to leap over him in a mad dash to the exit. Ocellus quickly followed.  Apple Bloom poked her head in and gave her a knowing smirk. “Ok,” Cornsilk conceded with a little smile, adjusting her hat, “maybe it’s a little fun to be scary.” “All aboard! Crystal Empire express departing momentarily.” Anypony who was anypony was wearing a costume tonight. Even the train had been decorated with Nightmare Night livery. So nopony gave the old mare dressed as a patchy old scarecrow in the back corner of the car a second look. When the train arrived at the station after what felt like an eternity, she stepped off the train and looked around. It was strange.  Strange, and yet so familiar.  The architecture hadn’t changed much. Multi-faceted crystal houses in brilliant colors still lined the center street on the way to the Crystal Heart. Though they may have been wearing costumes, the shimmering of their crystal bodies was unmistakable, unlike the other, dull living ponies she’d seen (and run from).  It quite literally felt like she was coming home. She continued walking, reminiscing about some of the streets she was on. That was where the Crystal Farmer’s Market would be. This was where the Crystal Faire would be, with the tiny ewes with big appetites. She paused as she saw something she didn’t recognize: a statue of what looked like a giant lizard holding a heart. That was odd. She tilted her head, trying to make sense of this. And then she heard an old stallion’s voice that made her freeze.  “Crystal Eyes?”