//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: I Never Intended For This Madness 
// Story: Everypony Hail to the Pumpkin King 
// by Harmony Charmer 
//------------------------------//

	Rarity both loved and hated Nightmare Night with a severe passion. On the one hoof, it gave her a chance to exercise her expertise in costuming and show off her creativity. There have been many a year where she won local costume contests, clad in her own craft. On the other hoof, it meant that she had to share that expertise with everypony else.

It wasn't that she hated to aid others in their festivities; she relished it greatly. However, when everypony in town came in year after year to order a costume, the process became very tiresome. The frustration only grew when she spent months in preparation making costumes to save time and nopony even spared her displays a glance. While it was flattering to have ponies want custom-made costumes made, it hurt to think that they didn't care about her own creativity.

"Thank you, come again," Rarity told the mare as she handed over a parcel with her costume inside.

"I just might!" the mare replied, grinning. She peeked inside of the parcel and squealed excitedly. "Thank you so much for making this last second. I couldn't imagine going to my friend's soiree without something to wear!"

A Canterlot dweller, Rarity guessed. The mare was thin and towered over Rarity, although her sweet tone and kind eyes made her less intimidating. Her ruby mane was in close ringlets and trailed past her neck elegantly, making her porcelain coat look even more striking. 

"I assume it's a masquerade?" Rarity questioned, smiling a bit in return.

The mare nodded. "Indeed! My friend Upper Crust is holding the event and she absolutely fell in love with the old parties they held way back when." Her smile faltered. "In all honesty, I think she did it to distract herself from domestic problems."

Rarity arched a brow, but didn't pry. "Well, just be sure to have a good time at your soiree."

"I will, thank you!" The mare gathered her items and spared Rarity a light wave on her way out. When she was gone from sight, Rarity let out a long breath. Although she was rather frustrated with the season's workload, it made her happy to know that someone was so enraptured by her work.

She stepped away from the counter and back towards her display racks. Rarity sighed as she flicked through her costumes and saw not a single one had even been tried on. She pulled a couple down from the rack and patted them gently to rid them of any dust that accumulated since their placement. However, as she was getting ready to put them back, the doors to the boutique came flying open.

"RARITY!" Pinkie screeched, rushing over to Rarity. She grabbed a hold of her shoulders and pulled her face uncomfortably close to her own. "I NEED TO KNOW WHAT MY MEASUREMENTS ARE!"

Rarity blinked and shuffled awkwardly in the heap of fallen costumes. "M-Might I ask why you need them in such a hurry?"

Pinkie let go of her and stepped back. "I need my measurements for my costume!"

It took all of Rarity's control not to sigh in annoyance. "Alright. I'll go get them and we can start discussing what you want for your--"

"No, no, I'm not asking for you to make it for me!" Pinkie corrected rapidly, waving her hooves. She glanced at the pile of costumes on the floor. "You seem pretty busy already, huh?"

That time, Rarity did sigh. "Darling, you don't know the half of it. I mean, I spend all this time working on all these costumes months in advance and nopony even bats an eye at them!" She threw her hooves up in exasperation. "Noooo, everypony wants custom-made!" She rolled her eyes. "And then they complain about the extra cost and the waiting period..."

Pinkie smiled sympathetically. "I getcha! It's like how everypony wants a fresh batch of cookies, but then gets mad when they have to wait for it."

"Precisely, my dear," Rarity replied, smiling. Her smile disappeared when she mulled over Pinkie's words. "Did you say you were making your own costume?"

Pinkie blinked and suddenly, she seemed very uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah! That's why I need my measurements!" She laughed nervously. "I don't know how to do it right and I wanted to make sure that somepony knew what they were doing, you know?"

Rarity raised a brow. "Well, I have your measurements down to memory, Pinkie, but I know I have them written down somewh--"

"Awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed a little too quickly. "Then Sal-- I mean, I can started on my costume!"

Rarity furrowed her brows in thought. "Pinkie, dear, are you alright? You're acting a bit strange..."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine!" She yawned a bit, then smacked a hoof over her mouth. When she finally put it down, Rarity suddenly noticed the lines under Pinkie's eyes. "I just, uh, been staying up late, trying to come up with what I wanna do for my costume."

"Well, I can't say I haven't done the same thing, but are you sure that you're--?"

"Totally!" Pinkie waved a hoof nonchalantly. "Just really nervous and excited for Hallo-- I mean, Nightmare Night!"

Rarity remained silent for a moment and gave Pinkie a quick look-over. "Well... since you insist, I'll go grab my notes from my file cabinet."

When she entered her workroom, Rarity trotted over to her file cabinet and flicked through her top drawer to find Pinkie's starred file. She slipped it out, check its contents, and returned to the display area, where Pinkie waited in antsy bounces. 

"Here you--" Rarity blinked and saw that both the files and Pinkie disappeared from sight. "--go."

"THANKS RARITY!" Pinkie called out from the front door, waving erratically. The door swung shut behind her after she kicked off into a sprint. Rarity saw her running through the store window and raised a brow in incredulity.

"What is going on with her?" she murmured, her eyes following Pinkie until she disappeared down the path.

Before she could begin to think it over, the front door opened and in came another customer. Rarity bit down on a sigh and shook her head. She'd have to worry about Pinkie alter; for now, all that mattered was getting through the work day.





Jack and Sally's re-appearance in Halloweentown did not go without attracting the attention of the townspeople. The Mayor, stricken with worry, had his head turned around all day during the town's group search to find their local hero and his significant other. Things quite literally turned around for him when they disclosed that they'd gone to the woods to gather up ideas for the coming town celebration, which elicited a couple of catcalls and howls from the crowd of spectators.

"Next time we go to Equestria, I'll give the excuse," Sally told Jack, her face blood-red.

When the day was done with, and Jack had assured the Mayor that he wasn't about to go sneaking off when Halloween was "just around the corner, Jack,", he was prepping himself for doing the exact opposite. He wasn't quite sure if he would be able to work on his plans while spending time with Pinkie, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to carry a couple of supplies with him in case.

After he gathered all of his things, Jack glimpsed at Sally. "Are you ready, Sally?"

"Almost..." she replied, stuffing another patch of cloth into her satchel, "I have to make sure that I have all my fabric samples."

Jack watched her struggle to slip in the fabric and arched a brow at her. "Are you certain you'll need all of those?"

"I just want Pinkie to look her worst," Sally said simply.

"Still." Jack fished out a velvety strip of fabric and held it up for him to inspect. "I feel like you'll overwhelm her with all this. I don't want her to think you're being put out."

Sally narrowed her eyes and wordlessly slipped an extra needle into her hair. "You're gonna be put out if you keep telling me how to do my job, Skelly."

Normally, he would have been annoyed by her nickname for him, but her tone made it seem less of a tease and more of an insult. Jack exchanged looks with Zero, who appeared just as clueless as he felt. He took a look at Sally and noted how tight the stitches on cheeks were.

"Still upset over what happened when we got back yesterday?" Jack questioned lightly. 

Her stitches tightened. "What makes you ask that?"

"You look like you're about to bust a seam."

Sally's eyes cut towards him. "If you must know, yes, I am still upset about yesterday. While it was nice to meet Pinkie and I'm very happy to get to see her again, I don't exactly care for the entire town whispering about me everywhere I go."

"They're talking about us?" Jack blurted out, shocked.

"No." She focused on her satchel again. "Just about me."

Jack was silent for a long moment. "Why just you?"

"Because you're petrifying," she replied, glancing back at him, "and they know if they say a word against you, they'll have a thousand tossed against them." Sally closed her satchel. "No one's scared of a local mad scientist's random experiment that can't even hold her limbs together."

Before Jack could respond, a knock came to the door. Sally's eyes found Jack's and when she saw that he was as surprised as she was, she let out a sigh. She walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the Mayor, his face white and creased with worry. He waltzed in without introduction and faced Jack with a painted frown.

"Jack, have you heard?" the Mayor exclaimed, shaking his hands in terror, "Oh, tell me you've heard!"

"What is it?" Jack asked, stepping forward.

"The pumpkin patch has been massacred!" the Mayor replied, eliciting a gasp from Sally.

"What?" Jack leaned down to the mayor's level and grabbed him by the shoulders. "When and how did this happen?"

"Sometime last night," he cried, "someone broke into the patch and kicked every single one of them in!"

Sally clasped her hands in front of her chest. "That's awful! Who would do such a thing?"

The Mayor shook his head sorrowfully. "I haven't a clue! The werewolves are out to sniff out who could have done it, but it's nothing definitive yet." The Mayor threw his hands into the air. "How will we celebrate Halloween without any pumpkins?"

"There has to be a supply somewhere," Sally pressed, shaking her head in denial.

"Not a single one survived the massacre," he told her woefully, "there are the seeds, but there's hardly a thing we can do with those!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "We have to find out how this happened. We can worry about what to do without the pumpkins, but for now, we have to find out who did this."

"But, Jack, what about..." Sally tried to say, but then her eyes met his. 

"I'm sorry, Sally, but we'll have to cancel our plans." He took her hands in his. "I extend my apologies."

Sally nodded as she found the meaning in his words: "Tell Pinkie I'm sorry."

"I understand," she replied. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe."

"I will." He stepped back and released his hands from hers. Jack followed the Mayor outside and spared Sally another glance on his way out, mouthing another apology before leaving at last. When the door closed behind them, Sally watched them from the windows and saw them deep in discussion.

She sighed. "Looks like our Halloween is turning into a Nightmare Night after all..."