Candy Land
A dusty mirror in a dimly lit room, forgotten under a layer of cobwebs, sat silently... Almost expectantly. Unlike the other broken down bits of furniture and scattered books this item did not have the air of an abandoned object. Rather, the looking glass almost seemed to be waiting, like a patient if annoyed companion who's compatriot has been late one too many times. A disturbance in the air causes the webs to shift, the dust to fall in tiny waterfall like cascades. The ancient, mummified corpses of long dead flies and the spiders who caught them dance and twirl in a parody of their former lives. Without warning, a bright flash of light illuminates the storage room, sending tattered dust covers dancing like so many ghosts. The room was suddenly occupied.
The cloaked figure grinned as her hooded eyes darted back and forth. This was all familiar. Good. The element of surprise was on her side, but she didn't have a moment to lose. Without so much as a whisper, the pony moved swift as a fleeting shadow across the dusty floor. With only a moments hesitation, she pushed open the door to the storage room, and stepped out into the palace halls. All was dark and quiet. It was the middle of the night here, just as it had been in the world that the cloaked figure had come from. There didn't seem to be any guards about, which was all the better for her plans. Still, she moved quickly, but cautiously through the hallway. The spell that silenced her hoof steps would only work for so long, but if she was fast, she could snatch the element of magic before Celestia would be any the wiser. She could sense the power of the elements nearby, but they were faint. It was odd how truly still everything was.
There wasn't even a hint of a breeze, a breath of air. Indeed, the cloaked figure couldn't help but think that the edifice was not unlike a neglected tomb, a sepulcher long abandoned. Just how long had she really been gone? Was it possible that what had seemed like a few years to her had been ages on this side of the portal? Had she somehow miscalculated? With a growing sense of unease, she set hoof into the main hall, and her breath caught in her throat. The palace was a wreck. The few remaining tapestries, torn to shreds, hung limply from the walls and archways. A shimmering carpet of jagged multicolored shards was all that remained of the stained glass windows that Celestia had once cherished so dearly. Beyond those glass-less apertures lay only darkness, as if something had blotted out every star in the sky. The cloaked mare wasn't sure if she was relieved or terrified when she discovered that the windows were merely blocked by piles of rubble. Apparently the very masonry of the palace, that had stood for time immemorial, lay thick enough on the ground to bury what remained of the great hall. What had happened here? Had there been some sort of attack? Some terrible cataclysm? Or had the old citadel simply been left to the ravages of the ages and now lay in the relentless jaws of entropy? There was only one way to find out. Deciding that the need to gather information now trumped her need for stealth, the stranger risked a translocation spell. She only hoped that the balcony was still there.
In a flash of green not unlike the last rays of the setting sun, the hooded unicorn found her hooves on solid, if sticky ground. The balcony still existed, though its shape was irregular and bizarre in the chilly moonlight. She had been right in one regard, it was indeed night. If the position of the stars were any indication, it was the right time of year as well, indeed even the correct era, but everything else was terribly, terribly wrong. Beneath the glow of a high, full moon, she could just glimpse the landscape through a thick pall of mist and fog. Equestria spread out below in a twisted parody of its former majesty. The land was luminescent in the dark, sparkling beneath a sugar frosted coating that seemed to dust everything. The distant forests, supported by thick candy cane tree trunks, lifted glowing candied leaves to the stars. What should have been grassy fields stretched far into the distance in bright pink bubblegum shades. A green gloppy sludge, that passed for a river, bubbled and fizzed along its banks. The very air was heavy and cloying, the scent of so many sweets threatened to suffocate the mare. And the city! Once proud and prosperous Canterlot lay in ruin. What few parts of it still stood were now bizarre gingerbread versions of their former glory. Even the balcony upon which she stood, the refinements of the palace itself, all had been transformed into a confectioners mockery of its once sublime beauty.
A chill seemed to penetrate the cloaked ponies body from all sides, though it had nothing to do with the misty atmosphere, even if it was as cold as a Windigo's heart. No, there was deep, dark, ancient magic at work here; the kind that made every hair in her mane and tail stand on end. Lowering her hood, even Sunset Shimmer couldn't help but mutter, "By Celestia's beard... What is going on?" Her red mane vibrant in the silvery light, Celestia's former apprentice felt all her dark ambitions evaporate as she looked down upon the wreckage of the ones mighty pony civilization. What good had all her planning been? What use now did she have for a mind controlled army? Did she really want to conquer this dump?
A distant mountain rumbled suddenly on the horizon, interrupting her thoughts. Was it some kind of volcano? Was that what had blanketed everything in this unnatural candy shell? What truly bizarre feat of magic could spawn such a thing? Had Discord somehow been freed from his stone prison? No, this mountain was something else. As the unicorn watched, lights flicker all across the mountain as tiny blue flames sparked to life all along the craggy surface. The mountain shook again, this time causing the already crumbling city to pitch and heave violently, as though it were a ship caught on a stormy sea. The earthquake intensifying, it was all Sunset Shimmer could do to hold on to the balcony's railing as the mountain rose, and seemed to blot out the night sky. The quakes came in a steady rhythm now, accompanied by a series of thunderous booms. Nearby buildings shattered into cookie crumb pieces, while a great exhalation of frigid air seemed to sweep away the fog.
It was then that Sunset Shimmer could see what the mist had been hiding. Bones. A thick carpet of them were strewn all across the city. The bare, naked bones and smiling skulls of long dead ponies gleamed brightly beneath the pale glow of the moon. As the moving mountain loomed over her, Sunset could see that their were other polished skulls set in the side of the candy crag, though there were far too many to count. Wreathed in azure flames, the skulls jaws hung open in inaudible screams.
It was none of this that held the unicorn's attention, however. No, it was the face. That horrible, hideous face, that hovered just above the balcony blotting out the sky. Beneath a mane of crimson tendrils that cascaded like a waterfall down one side of the gargantuan misshapen head, eyes that seemed to be the size of the moon glowed with malice and madness, focused squarely on Sunset Shimmer. This was no bizarre volcano, or mountain, but something far worse. In that horrible moment of realization, that the colossus Sunset was gazing up at in terror was in fact looking right back at her, the thing smiled. Teeth as large as the palaces shattered spires pried slowly apart and a long, thick tongue scraped across the building sized teeth leaving a trail of translucent drool. Sunset Shimmer could just see a reflection of herself in one candy corn colored tooth.
After a quick, bloody crunch, the Candy Mare's laughter was the only sound that filled that dead world.
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So this is a prequel to Something Sweet to Bite?
5504654 Mostly. The last chapter is a peak at things to come. A lot of the story was originally part of Something Sweet to Bite Too but was cut for length.
5506806
Oh, I see....wait...wouldn't that make this story somewhat confusing to those who haven't read the first two stories though?
5510668
Sadly, which is why I went to some pains to mention the Candy Mare in the title. Hopefully if someone finds the story a bit confusing they'll look at the rest of my body of work and put the pieces together themselves. (That or read my blog entries that are tagged related to this story.)
5510963
Well, yes....one could only hope for that.
Aw man I hope you write more of this. I just hope the Candy Mare gets it's ass kicked one day.
Probably should have read this before reading The Last Something Sweet to Bite, oh well. Once again it was really good. Not much to say really. I understand why it was shorter than the others but it would have been nice if it had one or two more chapters. Keep up the great writing.
Yeeeeee~<3
Stories written in this manner intrigue me. They jump around at first from one time period to the next. It can be confusing but eventually the different plots merge and its it all makes sense. Kind of how you would move from the past to the present and back again in the first story.
Here, we see the fate of the Candy Mare's mother, not to mention that of Hans and Gretel, whose origin was later revealed. It all comes together nicely during the play. It amazed me how casual Luna and Celestia were about the death of Private Pansy and nothing seemed to bother them. Being ailerons, they must have thought themselves above all foes. Not the Candy Mare, though. She's more like a force of nature itself, not a corporeal beast to be vanquished so easily.
I loved the origin of Nightmare Night and Starswirl contemplating the eventual doom the Candy Mare would play if she wasn't dealt with sooner. That world he was referring to, I wonder where it was. Hmm?
This story was definitely better than the previous one, returning to the dark roots that made SSTB and horror classic. I'd love to know how you came about developing this monstrous character as I believe she should be the official mascot of Nightmare Night...if she isn't already.
Guess she succeeded in wiping out the life on the planet, I think that was her main goal after all. Based on what I read anyways.
6599262 Or so it's implied anyways. Honestly that last chapter is meant to set up 'The Last Something Sweet to Bite' more than anything else.
6599521 Yeah got to those and I'm finishing up the last one now. Honestly I think Candy Mare is the most creative horror character I've EVER read about and I've read quite a few.
7057041 It's always tough when you lose a loved one... Even when you're not on the best of terms with them.
In fact especially then.
how did imiss this im gonna read it after i read part 3
Wow, this was great as expected and I am definitely going to give the last one a chance now. Though I still feel that these extra stories take away from the original, even if they make the candy mare even more original and Interesting, part of what made the first one so good was the lack of information.
Oh no, could the candy mare make her way to the other universe?
Haven't read this yet, but for future reference for when I do: is this actually part of the same universe, or does it just happen to feature the Candy-Mare? The description leads me to think the latter, so I was wondering.
Granted, with the end of book two, it could be both.
8624310
Same universe. Most of the events of the story take place immediately after Pumpkin Patch first escapes Lemon Drop.
You can has review!
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO END THIS FOR GOOD?!?! DAMN IT, JUST FUCKING DIE!!!!!! WHY!?!?!
9672228
It would be weird if I ended everything in the prequel.
[S C RE E C H I NG] I added this to my to-read ages ago and I somehow completely fucking forgot about it!??!?!? d;aksljd;falkjdsf;s
Well it is done. I read ALL of the Candy Mare stories and I really enjoyed this.
I'm guessing that this last chapter took place after "Something Sweet to Bite Too"?
Also this explains how she has Starswirl's powers.
10526138
Right. At the time I was sort of writing both stories, as I was always planning on doing a sequel to Something Sweet to Bite but thought a prequel might be fun too.
10597605
Well crap
I fully understand now
Alright, ngl, after listening to the narration of Something Sweet to Bite, I just sorta dismissed any other sequels, after seeing how many spin offs you wrote. Like how horror sequels are often garbage trying to live of the fame of their predecessor. I can't express how idiotic I feel.
After finishing listening to Scribbler's narration of this story here, my mind is somewhat blown. Imo this was better than the original. Like this was beautiful. Your writing style and story structure are just superb. Now I must actually read all your other stories. But yeah, extremely groovy. Marry Christmas!
10618027
Well, just make me blush why don't you?
Thank you for all your kind praise, and I'm happy that you've been able to find some enjoyment in my stories. I'm sure you'll be seeing more of your favorite candy coated mare in the future.
Well! :O Quite the unexpected ending!
And quite the unexpected improvement over its sequel. :D Not bad!