//------------------------------// // Day 7 October 31st Friday: War on Nightmare Night // Story: Diamond Tiara's Birthday Wish - 366 Days of Fun // by Theo Vellum //------------------------------// I’m awoken yet again by the high pitched sound of my alarm clock. However, this time I quickly shut it off and jump out of bed. I see Dazzle stretching his legs, having been woken by the alarm himself. “Hey Dazzle, you know what today is?” Dazzle looks at me with dreary eyes. “It’s Nightmare Night, silly, and you know what we get every year for Nightmare Night?” His eyes light up instantly. We both know what this means. “Free candy!” I shout out, holding Dazzle’s paws as we do a happy dance. “Hey kids.” Randolph struts into the room, hiding something behind him. I can tell because he’s doing that weird sideways walk he always does when he’s hiding his more private stuff when we catch him. I still wonder what that stuff is. “Guess what I’ve got for you?” “Is it candy? Please let it be candy!” Dazzle and I both give pleading gestures. “I’ve got something better! I’ve made you two great Halloween costumes! Here, check them out!” ... Oh no. He’s going to make me wear them, isn’t he? Those... Those things... When is he going to learn he is horrible at making those costumes? I mean, I’ve never even heard of the characters from those old timey cartoons until he shows us them! Who is this Pophoof the Sailorcolt? And did he just make me a colt’s costume? Ugh... I know he’s well-intentioned, but... “Is something wrong, kids?” Uh oh, he noticed. We can’t exactly refuse. At his age, he feels like if he can’t do certain things as well as he used to then he’ll push himself even farther to make himself able. I don’t want to see him hurt himself doing some insane stunt... “I- I’m sorry Uncle Randolph, I already have a costume...” I see his eyes droop down. Oh... Sorry Dazzle! I’m going to owe you one! “But Dazzle doesn’t, he can still wear yours!” “She can? You are such a good kitty! Thanks so much for giving my costume a chance!” Randolph envelopes Dazzle in a great big hug. I giggle at the mistake in gender but stop when Dazzle gives me a death glare. This is to be a fun Nightmare Night, to be sure. We spent most of the rest of the day trying to find our Father’s hidden candy stash, to no avail. We will just have to make due on the candy we get tonight. Speaking of which... Silver Spoon has a plan to get us as much candy as possible. “Alright, here’s the plan.” Silver Spoon lays out a map of ponyville before Dazzle and I. “I have marked out all the houses in Ponyville which give out the best and worst candy, along with the most and least candy. I have mapped out a course that will take us through what I like to call Chocodile Boutique, Twinkie Lane, and Caramel Candy Land. As long as nothing goes wrong, we should all have a great feast of candy.” And my blood sugar will reach the comical levels of Dazzle’s. Excellent... “So, I suppose it’s time we put on our costumes? I can’t wait to see what your costume is, DT. And you too Dazzle!” I can hear growling next to me. Sorry Dazzle... First up is Dazzle’s costume. Now why Randolph chose to give Dazzle a costume of a cartoon MOUSE of all things is beyond me. I have to say though... He looks so adorable in that tattered costume. I’m glad looks can’t kill though. Silver Spoon gets her costume on next. I have to say, it certainly is spoony. It comes with a giant model spoon and everything. She really worked hard on it. Finally, I showed her my costume. Radiance of the Power Ponies! I explained to her how we can totally play off each other. Like we are on some epic quest to collect candy to power a counter machine to a supervillain’s candy destruction laser. Squealing in delight, Silver grabs the map and runs downstairs, ready for a night of wanton candy collection. This is going to be so good... “Ok... We’re almost to Chocodile Boutique! I can’t wait to sink my teeth into that delicious chocolate treat!” Silver Spoon smacks her lips, fantasies of a world filled with chocodiles most likely filling her mind. I can’t wait for the twinkies myself... Hey, who’s that walking up to me? Is that Featherweight? He’s wearing a tuxedo, nice costume. “Um... Miss Diamond Tiara?” “Yes, Featherweight? I thought you’d be taking pictures around town for the school paper, which I am no longer in by the way.” I say adding a bit of bitterness in my tone at the end. Being bitter is hard work after all. “Um... I kinda sorta heard that you had a crush on a certain someone... Would you mind telling me who that is, maybe?” He looks at me eagerly, what is he going on abo- oh no. “You... Think I have a crush on you? I’m sorry but...” “Aw I knew it! Sweetie Belle tricked me! There goes my dreams!” Featherweight gallops away and my face contorts into rage. Darn it, Sweetie Belle! I don’t have time for awkwardness right now, I need to get my free candy! I just hope she isn’t at Carousel Boutique. “DT, are you alright? If you are having any love troubles I’ll-” “Silver, for your own good just drop it. Or I may be forced to do something drastic.” Silver and Dazzle both step back quite a few paces. “Well c’mon you two! We need to get back on our candy route!” I might look like I’m being pushy, but I have a feeling we need to finish this route quickly. Before we get roped up in whatever the CMC is plotting... “Thanks for the chocodiles, Miss Rarity!” “No thanks are needed, little dears! Have a great Nightmare Night! Oh... And... Dazzle, you look just... Er... Fabulous! Just Fabulous!” The half hearted attempt at cheering Dazzle up did not go well. He was once again reminded of his costume and was giving me the evil eye. But I didn’t care, it was time for Twinkie Lane! Oh the delicious, fattening, sugary goodness! Nothing can ruin this! Not- “Attack!” I find myself being pelted with water balloons, and I do the first thing that comes to mind. Run away from whoever is throwing them! Once the attack stops, we realise we’ve been literally flushed out of Twinkie Lane. I poke my head around the corner and what do I see? I see the CMC and a few others preparing more water balloons in the distance. We all run until they are out of their reach. It isn’t until I stop to catch my breath that I realise my costume is totally ruined! Why... Why are they doing this? There’s gotta be some reason! “Diamond Tiara! Silver Spoon! I’m so glad I caught up to you!” Oh no... It’s... Button Mash, I thought he was still locked up in his house. “What are you doing here, Mashed Potatoes? Can’t you see us wallowing in our own self-pity?” “It’s terrible! It’s tragic! It’s the worst thing ever!” I hope it’s not a monster. “It’s Twinkie Lane! The CMC have completely taken control of it and are going to get all the Twinkies for themselves! And their cohorts but mostly themselves!” Wait a second... “How do you know our nickname for it? Only Dazzle, Silver and...” I glare at Silver Spoon. She isn’t the most tight-lipped of ponies, that’s to be sure. “Wha- What are you looking at me for? It’s not like I lost the plans one day and they suddenly reappeared in my saddlebags later. Heh heh heh...” Wait, did Button Mash steal them? “No! It’s not what you think! Scootaloo went through your stuff the other day and found your secret route. They know how much you love Twinkies, Diamond Tiara. So they ended up taking this part of the route for themselves, they even tried to recruit me! But I was holed up in my room at the time, so...” “Why did you come out anyway? Weren’t you scared?” “Mom said she killed the monster deader than dead, my Mom is so cool! But... She had to give me proof, and then she told me she’s the one survivor at the end of the movie that killed the monster! Awesome!” Dazzle and I exchange an understanding look. He’s so annoying. But he might be useful for a change. “Ok, listen you guys, I have a plan!” We whisper away into the night. This is going to become a war for the twinkie legacy. “Button Mash has news from the enemy! He comes with a peace offering from them!” I hope this works... “No way. Diamond Tiara giving us a peace offering? As if!” I can hear Scootaloo’s voice reeking with suspicion. This... may have been a bad idea. “But he brings us three whole bags of candy! They must have had a great haul!” “Bring the candy over here, we will inspect it personally!” I can hear Scootaloo’s voice coming closer. This is it, time to give them a surprise! As soon as the bags were opened we soaked them with our water blasters. A quick trip back to my house was just the thing we needed to give them a surprise soaking. The quick attack scatters them, and now it’s just a matter of driving them off the lane and taking the candy that was so rightfully ours! Unfortunately, not everything went so smoothly. They soon start a counterattack. We have the jumbo blasters though, and they only have so many water balloons. We won’t be running out of water anytime soon. Even if Button Mash decided to keep out of the actual fight. Soon they will be forced to retreat. The CMC would not get their treat. We will have pulled off quite a feat. Soon this war will be ours to beat! ... Or at least it would, until Silver Spoon and Dazzle’s water blasters ran out. Sweetie Belle is the only one left nearby now, and I’m almost out myself. I lean in for a shot, making sure to get water on her lovely princess costume. It has somehow avoided the soaking so far. But curse it all, I miss! Oh boy, now she’s going to get reinforc- Huh? Was that a water balloon? Who? What? Where? I look around frantically, and I see Featherweight off in the distance, holding quite a few of the water balloons and charging straight for Sweetie Belle. Needless to say, Sweetie Belle runs away screaming. “Woohoo! We did it! Your plan worked like a charm, DT!” We all breathe a sigh of relief. With all this candy they left behind, we have enough for three straight days of eating! Four, tops! Dazzle reaches his paw to one of the Twinkies. I smack it away before he can open it though. “Now, now, Dazzle don’t you want to wait till we get home to eat? Besides, we still have to show off our costumes to everyone in Caramel Candy Land.” Dazzle responds with a spray in the face. I guess he wasn’t out after all. Needless to say, this was a very exciting Nightmare Night. Day 7 END