Nightmare Night was quite possibly the loudest night of the year for Ponyville. The central Equestrian village always pulled out all the stops in their holidays, and the mid-autumn celebration of the legend of Nightmare Moon was no exception. The entire town was alight with decorations and attractions for the festival; plastic skulls, cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns, apple-bobbing, the whole shebang!
And of course, what would Nightmare Night be without dressing up and candy?
This was always the time of year where ponies, adults and foals alike, broke out their best costumes and paraded them around to their peers. Pirates, ghosts, superheroes, clowns and much more trotted around the town, enjoying all the festivities as the party was in full swing. Musicians on the constructed stage played an upbeat jig to add to the cheer of the evening.
After the confusion of last year's event, Princess Luna was made this year's guest of honour, and even came all the way from Canterlot to assist with the arrangements! Needless to say, Mayor Mare, and local organiser Amethyst Star were more than happy with the alicorn's help.
One of Nightmare Night's oldest, and arguably most popular traditions, is trick-or-treating; costumed foals (and even adults!) going from house to house to fill their buckets and sacks with as much candy as possible. With all the stomach and toothaches to come the day after, Dr Horse and Minuette were never strapped for Hearth's Warming money.
This story of three trick-or-treaters in particular begins in the town square, more specifically, inside Carousel Boutique. Ponyville's leading fashion store was the business and home of Rarity, a unicorn mare and the Element of Generosity. The fashionista was Ponyville's number one clothes designer, who had her work cut out for her when orders for Nightmare Night costumes began arriving as early as the start of September!
Being no stranger to such demands, every single order was filled in time for the big night, and she decided to reward herself with a night out.
Which, of course, meant supervising her little sister and her friends while they went trick-or-treating.
"Aaand, done," the mare chirped, standing back and admiring her work, "Oh Sweetie Belle, you look simply precious!"
The unicorn filly in question, Rarity's little sister, was dressed in a frilly little white-and-pink dress, matching her white coat and pink-and-purple hair. A matching flower crown sat on her head, propped up by her little horn, and a little white rose sat on her chest area.
"It looks really great, sis!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, turning in place to inspect her costume before throwing her forelegs around Rarity's chest in a hug, "Thanks!"
"I'm just happy you like it," Rarity admitted, smiling and putting a foreleg around her little sister, "It was the best I could do on such short notice, with all those orders I had to fill. I only finished the last one this morning, and I just barely got my own done in time!"
The older unicorn was dressed in a classy brown trenchcoat, with a pink belt and matching bow around the chest, and a fetching hat.
Before the filly could get another word out, there was a small rapping on the front door.
"Oh, I'll get that," Rarity insisted, letting go of her sister and trotting toward the door. Just as her hoof was inches away from the handle, the door swung open, accompanied by the delightful jingle of the shop bell. Two fillies bolted into the shop, stopping just in front of Sweetie.
"Hey Sweetie Belle!" A yellow earth pony named Apple Bloom greeted, dressed in a wolf mask and shirt, with little matching paw-slippers, "Y'all ready to go?!"
"You better be!" An orange coated pegasus named Scootaloo added, wearing a blue bodysuit sporting yellow lightning bolt patterns, her purple mane and tail still showing, and a pair of yellow tinted goggles over her eyes, "We don't want the other foals getting all the good stuff!"
"Oh, I'm so ready!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, hopping in place with a wide toothy grin, "Those houses aren't gonna know what hit 'em!"
Following the fillies were a pair of mares, both Rarity's age. One was a blue pegasus named Rainbow Dash wearing a raggedy shirt, an eyepatch, a sash holding a little plastic sword, and a tricorn hat sporting a pony skull picture, only showing a bit of her rainbow-coloured mane. The other was an orange earth pony named Applejack, wearing a brown duster coat, matching her cowpony hat, with a toy gun on the belt. A yellow ponytail sat over her shoulder.
"Evenin', y'all," the earth pony greeted, waving a hoof with a grin, "We're ready if you are."
"And we indeed are, girls," Rarity chirped, practically bouncing over to her own friends.
Rainbow Dash pulled a confused frown, tilting her head with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, Rarity? Didn't ya wear that to Canterlot not too long ago?"
"It's still in style, darling," The unicorn purred, smirking and striking a small pose with a flourish, "Besides, nothing wrong with a little advertising, is there?"
"I guess," the pegasus mumbled, rolling her visible eye.
Applebloom's ears perked up, as if she had realised something. "Hey, y'all think there's a cutie marks fer trick-or-treatin'?" Her two friends blinked at her, considering this notion.
"You think so?" Scootaloo asked, tapping her chin, "What would a trick-or-treating cutie mark look like?"
"A candy bag?" Sweetie Belle suggested, tilting her head, "Or maybe a candy wrapper?"
The three fillies exchanged excited grins, and put their hooves together for a three-way hoofbump.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TRICK-OR-TREATERS! YEAH!" They yelled at the top of their lungs, causing the older mares to flinch mid-conversation.
"Alright, y'all," Applejack spoke up, getting the fillies' attention, "Let's move out, while y'all still got the energy!"
The three friends bounded out the door, squealing with excitement, with their guardians walking after them and chuckling at their anxiousness. They couldn't wait to get this night started!
Nopony staying indoors on Nightmare Night was safe from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. If there was a light through the window, they were going to visit. And they were going to get plenty of candy. Their older sisters (surrogate, in the case of Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo) were more than happy to follow along and chat, comparing their latest adventures around Equestria.
The three fillies considered themselves experts on the art of trick-or-treating, despite how simple the concept truly was. Step one, knock on the door. Step two, repeat the years-old rhyme of "Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!" Step three, profit.
After about an hour and a half, the fillies took a break to compare their candy, while their watchers were sat on the bench next to them.
Most of their spoils was roughly the same, mostly candy bars and little bags of hay chips. Nothing exactly groundbreaking, and not an awful lot either. The Cakes over at Sugarcube Corner were nice enough to spare a cupcake each for them, however.
"Who the heck thought 'bite-sized' chocolate bars were a good idea?" Scootaloo complained, her goggles pushed onto her forehead so her lilac eyes scowled into her bag.
"Probably the same pony who thought licorice was a good idea," Sweetie Belle huffed, smelling the candy in question and sticking her tongue out, "Blech, sour!"
Applebloom reached a 'paw' into her bag, and fished out something that wasn't even candy at all. "Who the hay gave me a rock?!" She spat, tossing the tiny stone onto the dirt floor.
Step three definitely needed some work.
The mares, overhearing the fillies' complaints, looked toward them. They all hopped off the bench and walked over.
"Lemme have a look, squirt," She asked Scootaloo, who let her peek into her candy sack and pull out a bite-size chocolate bar, "What the heck?! This couldn't feed a flea!"
"Ah think it's cuz nearly everypony's out on th' town tonight," Applejack guessed, then tried to console the younger trio, "But they all liked yer costumes! That's somethin', right?"
"Well, they should have shown just a bit more appreciation, don't you think?" Rarity complained, puffing her cheeks indignantly, "I might have finished Sweetie's costume last, but I put the most effort and love into it!"
The Crusaders exchanged defeated looks, about ready to call it quits, when suddenly Rainbow Dash perked her ears up, as if something had dawned on her.
"Hey, ya haven't been to Fluttershy's yet!" The rainbow-headed pegasus realised, and pointed toward the path to the pony in question's home, "C'mon, she loves sweet stuff, she's bound to have somethin' awesome!"
"Rainbow," The desperado mare chided with a raised eyebrow, "Y'all know how much Fluttershy hates Nightmare Night. Can't say fer the life'a me why she hates it so much, but y'all should still respect it."
"Oh, I feel rather bad that she's left out," Rarity chimed in, glancing down the path, "I think we should at least pay her a visit."
The fillies' looks of despair turned into excited ear-to-ear grins. It was true, Fluttershy always had loads of candy in her cottage, and they were sure she'd share some with them!
"C'mon, sis!" Applebloom pleaded, hopping onto her hooves and leaning her forelegs against Applejack's chest, "Can we at least go and visit?"
"Well, Ah dunno," The Element of Honesty muttered, glancing aside in thought, "Ah mean, Ah guess it wouldn't hurt..." Accidentally looking down and being met by a trio of puppydog-eyes sealed the deal, and she rolled her eyes with a smile. "Oh alright, Ah'm sure Fluttershy'll appreciate it."
"YES!" The Crusaders cheered, instantly putting on victorious smirks and sharing a three-way hoofbump before speeding off down the path to Fluttershy's.
"How come that never works when I do it?" Rainbow Dash huffed, pouting like a filly.
"'Cuz it's you doin' it," Applejack retorted quickly, smirking at the pegasus before trotting after the fillies.
"It is rather cute, Rainbow," Rarity admitted, giggling politely into her hoof before following along.
"You're darn right it is," the pegasus muttered under her breath, before taking to the air and hovering after her fellow Elements.
"NO! GO AWAY! NO VISITORS ON NIGHTMARE NIGHT!!" A fearful mare's voice nearly vibrated on the cottage door, in an impressive combination of shouting and nearly whispering.
If there was one pony you'd never see walking around on Nightmare Night, it was the butter-coated and pink-maned pegasus, Fluttershy. Notorious for her quietness and meek demeanour, the poor mare was practically frightened by her own shadow! Every year on this very night, she would lock herself up in her cottage with her animal friends, hide somewhere, and wait it out till morning.
She was indeed the Element of Kindness and not of Bravery.
"Fluttershy, darling," Rarity sighed patiently, "Come on out, it's only us."
"How do I know it's really you?" Fluttershy muttered from behind the door, "You could be Changelings! Or monsters in really, really good disguises!"
Rarity quietly sighed through her nose, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack exchanged exasperated scowls. Meanwhile, the Cutie Mark Crusaders sat on the bridge on the path to the cottage, the small stream trickling peacefully beneath them.
"They're gonna be there fer a while," Applebloom muttered to her friends, who just nodded in agreement. The trio let out a collective sigh and just watched at their guardians' fruitless efforts at getting the cowardly pegasus to come out.
It was Sweetie Belle who perked up first, feeling something warm tickling at her nostrils. Instinctively, she took in a whiff, and her eyes widened with pleasant surprise!
"Hey girls," She whispered to her friends, "You smell that?" She lifted her nose up a bit.
"Ah don't smell nothin'," Applebloom muttered incredulously, then blinked as she felt the same warmth at her snout. A quick snort put a grin on her face. "Wait, yeah Ah do!"
"I smell it too," Scootaloo purred, her tiny wings buzzing with glee at the delightful smell, "Smells like cakes, pies, cupcakes..."
A trio of filly stomachs started growling in unison, causing their owners to look down at them, then at each other with shy grins.
"Where d'ya think it's coming from?" The pegasus continued.
"Over there!" Sweetie squeaked, standing and pointing a hoof behind them. Her friends turned themselves around and gasped at what they saw.
The scents they smell were all linked to one thick, snakelike trail of mist, which was split into three going up the fillies' noses and leading toward a house on the other side of the path leading to the Everfree Forest. It was almost opposite to Fluttershy's cottage!
"Has that house always been there?" Sweetie Belle asked, head tilted, "I don't think I've ever noticed it before."
"Me neither," Scootaloo agreed, blinking confusedly, "You think they just moved in?"
"Ah ain't heard of somepony movin' in lately," Applebloom added, snout scrunching up a bit.
The three friends exchanged nervous looks. The whole thing seemed rather sketchy.
"M-maybe we should ignore it then," Sweetie Belle suggested hastily, then a little wave pulsed through her part of the scent mist and up into her snout, causing her eyelids to droop and a grin to cross her muzzle, "then again, that smells really delicious..."
The same pulses had flown into her friends, who adopted the same expressions. It was as if the willpower was being sucked out of them by this delectable aroma!
"Yeah, we won't be too long," Scootaloo purred, licking her lips, "Just getting some candy, right?"
"Eeyup," Applebloom chuckled, rubbing a pawed hoof over her belly, "Ah wonder if they got apple fritters..."
Making sure their guardians were still distracted, the Cutie Mark Crusaders slunk away from the cottage, and followed their noses across the path, toward the strange house without a care in the world.
As they got closer, the three fillies noticed that the house looked remarkably similar to Fluttershy's cottage, even in the evening light. There were much less birdhouses, and the roof was made of stone, like in olden days, instead of Fluttershy's grasslike roof. A warm, amber glow emanated from the open window, where the misty trail was leading to...or coming from.
As the fillies approached, they couldn't help but feel a bit more comfortable. This house, strange as it was, certainly had a very inviting air around it.
"Actually don't look so bad," Applebloom commented, grinning to her two friends, "who knows, they might be good folk inside."
"Yeah, maybe they've got their cutie mark in building houses or something?" Scootaloo guessed, shrugging her shoulders, "Maybe that's why they got a house set up so quickly?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," Sweetie Belle agreed, looking up at the dark wooden door, "Or from that smell, maybe it's in baking!"
Adopting greedy grins, the girls rapped their small hooves gently on the door and waited anxiously for an answer. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get one.
The door slowly opened with a soft creak, and standing before the Cutie Mark Crusaders was a tall unicorn mare. She sported a svelte figure, similar to Princess Luna, her coat like ebony and long strands of lavender mane flowing over her right shoulder from beneath a black, jagged witch's hat. A matching cloak covered most of her body.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders wasted little time in holding out their treat sacks and chirping the age-old rhyme with ear-to-ear grins. "Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!"
"Why hello there, little ones," the mare greeted, putting on a warm, almost motherly smile, "Oh my, what darling costumes!"
Sweetie Belle beamed. "Thank you, ma'am!" Her werepony and Wonderbolt friends furrowed their brows a bit. They were meant to be ferocious and awesome, not cute!
"Ponyville certainly has the best trick-or-treaters I have ever seen," the witch giggled into her hoof, and looked over her shoulder, "I think you three deserve something special for those costumes, hm?"
The fillies, two of them quickly forgetting their annoyance, nodded excitedly and donned toothy grins. Though, as the mare's head disappeared behind the door frame to get something, Applebloom raised an eyebrow as she spotted something. She could see the edge of a black pot further in the house, similar to Zecora's cauldron. A familiar looking mist was coming from it.
"Here we are!" The mare chirped, causing the filly to quickly forget her curiosity and look forward to her treat.
The tall witch smiled, her horn glowing a soft lavender with the familiar hum of magic in the air. A trio of small buckets emerged in a matching aura, floating in front of the fillies. They were black, and sported the ears and mischievous grin of a cat.
"These are my special 'anytreat buckets'," she explained, grinning and flashing them a mischievous wink as she allowed the girls to take them, "they're magic~"
"It's so cute!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, grinning lovingly at the bucket held in her own green magical aura.
"It's pretty nice," Applebloom agreed, holding the bucket in her hooves.
"It's empty!" Scootaloo complained, one eye closed as the other bore into the hole. Her friends had a look in theirs, and indeed, the buckets didn't have a single treat inside!
"Ahh, but that's where the magic comes in," The mare explained, smirking at the fillies, "All you have to do is hold the bucket in your hooves, or magic, in the little princess's case, and say to it what you would like to eat. And it will pop out of the bucket, just for you!"
"Oooh!" The fillies stared up at her with wonder, eyes widened.
Applebloom looked down at the bucket in her hooves, feeling a bit sceptical about this idea being put into practice. "So y'all are sayin', if Ah said Ah wanted an apple fritter, it'd pop up in this here bucket?"
Her attention was quickly grabbed by a lavender glow emanating from the hole in the bucket, and in the blink of an eye, a sugar-coated pastry popped out of the bucket! Gasping in awe, the earth pony couldn't help but hazard a small test bite. Her opinion could be guessed by her chomping the rest of the fritter in one go.
"It's delicious!" She exclaimed.
Her friends stared at her, then at their own buckets.
"I want a chocolate muffin!" Sweetie Belle ordered, and grinned as her bucket granted her wish right away.
"I want a strawberry cupcake!" Scootaloo requested, and she got just that in her own.
The witch mare couldn't help but smile at the fillies' enjoying their tests. "So, what do you think?"
"It's so good!" The fillies chirped, "Thank you, ma'am!" Applebloom concluded with a small burp.
"It is no trouble at all, my dears," she said.
"There y'all are!" Applejack's voice rang from a distance, capturing all four ponies' attention, "We thought y'all ran off, Ah was gettin' worried!"
The earth pony mare trotted over, accompanied by Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Even Fluttershy had come along!
"We didn't go far," Applebloom assured her, "Just across the path."
"Well, just don't wander off without tellin' us first," her older sister sighed in relief, then took her attention to the unicorn at the doorway, "Don't think Ah ever saw you round here, stranger."
"Oh, I am simply staying for a little while," the mare explained dismissively, rolling a hoof, "I meant no harm to these little darlings, just to treat them!"
Fluttershy, still in the back of the group, narrowed her eyes in curiosity. She could swear she had seen this mare before...
"Oh, Rarity!" Sweetie squeaked, and held the bucket up to her sister, "Look what this nice mare gave me! It makes any treat I want appear just by saying it!"
"Is that so?" Rarity chuckled in amusement, taking the bucket in her magic to examine it, "So if I said I wanted, say, a tub of chocolate ice cream--" She was promptly halted by the very treat she spoke squeezing out of the tiny bucket!
"Well Ah'll be," Applejack gasped in amazement, then grinned to the witch mare, "That's quite a trick and a treat y'all got there!"
Rainbow Dash's jaw nearly dislodged at the sight, and put on her best puppy eyes. "Can I have one of those too? Please?!"
"Why, certainly you can!" The mare smiled brightly, and used her magic to produce four more identical buckets from inside her door, "In fact, why don't you all have one? A little gift from me."
"Well thank ya' kindly," Applejack grinned, tipping her hat and taking the bucket handle in her teeth.
"Yes, thank you," Rarity bowed her head, giving her sister's bucket back before taking the new one.
"Sweet!" Dash squeaked, swooping up and grabbing hers out of the air, "Thanks, lady! Now bucket, gimme a cupcake!" She requested, and quickly chomped up the result.
"U-um, thank you," Fluttershy nearly whispered, tucking hers beneath her wing. She was still in wonder about this mare.
"Ah think we should be gettin' on our way," Applejack suggested to her friends s'gettin' pretty late."
"Yes, I agree," Rarity yawned politely into her hoof, "I think it's getting rather cold."
"Hey, we can have a scary movie marathon!" Dash smirked down to her friends, "If you ain't scared."
"Ah ain't scared'a nothin'," the farmpony smirked back at her friend, "Bring it on!"
"Neither am I," Rarity added, perhaps a bit hastily, "I'm just, well...thinking about the girls! They need to get inside before it's too cold, yes?"
"Hey, we can have a sleepover!" The unicorn filly piped up, beaming at her sister, "We still have the sleeping bags, right?"
"Well, yes," Rarity nodded, blinking, "but--"
"And Fluttershy can watch us!" Scootaloo added, in obvious agreement to the proposal, "She's an awesome foalsitter!"
"O-oh, well," Fluttershy giggled, blushing sweetly, "I certainly wouldn't mind watching them...if it's okay with you...?"
"Ah don't see why not," Applejack agreed, grinning to the meek pegasus, "If y'all are fine with it, of course."
Fluttershy just nodded with a smile. "I'd love to!"
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS SLEEPOVER AT RARITY'S! YEAH!" The fillies cheered, causing Fluttershy to flinch and the strange mare to chuckle warmly.
"Please, don't let me keep you," she said, smiling and waving to the group, "Enjoy your evening!"
"Thanks again fer the candy, ma'am," Applebloom said, grinning up at her. Her friends joined in with their own thanks before leaving with their guardians, who gave thanks of their own.
Fluttershy, however, hung around a bit longer. There was something she needed to know. "U-um...have we met before...?"
"Perhaps we have," the witch giggled, smiling at the pegasus, "Have a good night, Fluttershy~"
"You too, Spellbound," the pegasus chirped, and happily skipped after her friends, feeling more at ease.
"...wait a minute," she gasped, suddenly realising something and swooping up to turn around in the air, "You're the mare who--!"
She quickly halted upon realising the house was gone. Completely vanished from sight, leaving a small grassy plain, and showing no evidence of one existing. The mare simply giggled and flew after her friends.
"She hasn't changed."
A few hours had passed, and the festivities around Ponyville were starting to wind back down. Stalls and performers were packing up and leaving for home, the traditional candy offerings to Nightmare Moon had been left (and promptly picked up by Princess Luna), and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had relaxed into bed after gushing over how cool their Nightmare Night was this year while their sisters had likely collapsed into slumber in front of the TV. The older mares' anytreat buckets were left in the kitchen, while the fillies took theirs with them.
The fillies were still excited when they got up to Sweetie Belle's room, chatting about what treats they would get in their buckets and daring each other to get more and more bizarre with their orders. Even Fluttershy couldn't help but join in!
But when the sleeping bags were brought out and everypony was snuggled in, drowsiness reared its head. The girls began having trouble keeping themselves awake, and the fillies even fell asleep in their costumes! Fluttershy could have helped with that, but she had decided they already looked comfortable, so she let them be and drifted off herself.
However, in the middle of the night, Sweetie Belle began stirring. An urge was growing within her. A little itch in the back of her mind as her thoughts crept toward that anytreat bucket.
She could hear a voice. A seductive, older mare's voice calling to her. Similar to the mare she had met earlier tonight. The one who gave her the bucket.
"Sweetie Belle," it purred, taking the shape of the bucket in her head, "You must be starving~" the cat face was speaking to her!
One of her green eyes opened sleepily, automatically focusing on the centre of her quick dream. The little black bucket sitting on the bedside table, with the cat face looking right at her. Its green eyes illuminated softly in the dark.
It was captivating, like it was truly begging her to take it. To make more demands. To eat more treats!
Her mouth began to water at the possibilities. Could it perhaps make giant cupcakes? Or full-size wedding cakes? Or a giant wedding-cake?!
The temptation was far too much to resist. The poor hungry filly kicked the blanket off her and sat up on the bed, grabbing the bucket in her magic. She licked her lips and began to think of a request.
"Sweetie Belle?" A voice whispered, causing the filly in question to squeak in surprise and lose focus of her magic, dropping the bucket between her legs.
She looked down, and saw the amber eyes of Applebloom looking right at her. "Oh, Applebloom," she sighed in relief, "it's just you."
"You guys can't sleep either?" Scootaloo muttered, lifting the goggles off her eyes. The two fillies wondered if she was actually using them as a sleeping mask. Fluttershy, however, was still fast asleep.
"I couldn't help it," Sweetie Belle admitted, grabbing the bucket in her magic and causing a light green glow around the room, "I kept dreaming about this bucket for some reason, and I got really hungry..."
"Wait, you too?" Scootaloo, asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at the bucket by her side, "Weird, I was dreaming about it too."
"So was Ah," Applebloom agreed, blinking confusedly, "Ah couldn't push it outta mah head...but Ah didn't wanna neither..." Her friends nodded in agreement; they'd felt the exact same way.
The three looked down at their buckets, then back at each other.
A grin appeared on Scootaloo's face. "Hey, wanna see who can make the weirdest order outta these things?"
"Like an eating contest?" Sweetie Belle guessed, blinking once, then grinned determinedly. "You're on!"
"Yer challengin' an Apple to a eat-off," Applebloom scoffed puffing out her chest proudly, "Y'all ain't got a chance!"
"I'll go first," Scootaloo announced quietly, then whispered into the bucket, "I want a razzleberry pie."
The bucket glowed a soft, eerie green inside, and in no time at all, a full-sized pie squeezed itself out of the bucket, tin and all! She sniffed it and gave a small nod of approval, before biting. Her eyes shot wide open as her senses nearly exploded from the delicious raspberry and blackberry mix, and she proceeded to cram her face into it!
Applebloom was next. She grabbed her bucket and whispered to it, "Ah want a big apple fritter! One the size of mah head, with cream on top!"
And like Scootaloo, her wish was granted as the oversized pastry popped out of the bucket. And, again like Scootaloo, she stuffed it right into her face and chewed it up with glee.
The little hostess was left, and she had something good in mind, advertised by the smirk on her face. "I want a pizza...made of pastry bread, cream sauce, strawberry jam topping with chocolate chips, sprinkles and gummy worms!"
Her friends went wide-eyed at overhearing the demand, which weren't really helped when the bucked produced a rolled up pastry, which unfurled itself to be exactly what the filly ordered! And she quickly found out it tasted as it good as it sounded!
The buckets were really put to work fulfilling these fillies' bizarre wishes, but with their enchantment, they always delivered exactly. The girls ordered their strange treats, and ate up exactly what they wanted. It was a dream come true on Nightmare Night!
What they didn't realise, however, was that their greed was coming at a price...
While the girls happily got lost in a sea of gluttony, they were beginning to bloat from its waters. Their costumes began to stretch and strain as the calories from their constant barrage of treats began to take form on their bodies right away. Their stomachs converted the invasion of empty calories into body fat straight away, and so began to swell and widen with actual blubber, while keeping the fillies nice and hungry!
Sweetie Belle's belly pushed against her dress, stretching out its ruffles and testing the limits of the hoof-stitching. Her legs began to thicken with adipose, creating slabs of blubber on her upper forelegs and flanks. Her hooves began to thicken while gripping her bucket, laying on her back as a waterfall of chocolate sauce poured from it into her mouth.
Applebloom's werepony costume began to pop and rip its fabric, allowing slivers of buttery yellow blubber to bulge out. Her mask began to stretch as it became filled with a pair of chubby cheeks and a double chin, soon to be triple.
Scootaloo's costume, being a skin-tight jumpsuit, was taking it the worst. Its tight fabric caused the suit to tighten, her fattening face ballooning out of it like a large muffin. The rubbery suit began to squeak as rips appeared, orange slivers of flab appearing amongst the yellow and blue.
But of course, they weren't just growing fatter; they were growing greedier and lazier. Their orders became less about complexity, and more about size. Carriage sized wedding cakes and cupcakes the size of Applebloom's big brother were just a few of the things occupying the room and being devoured.
And Fluttershy, having not used her own bucket, remained oblivious to any effects, and so snoozed peacefully in her sleeping bag.
"O-oh...oh my goodness," Fluttershy gasped, having a look at the state of Sweetie Belle's bedroom. She hadn't noticed it when she woke up, being too groggy to do anything but use the bathroom for the first time in the day, but when she returned, she saw the room was an absolute mess!
Giant cupcake wrappers, platters, dollops of cream and jam, and piles upon piles of crumbs were scattered all over the floor. It was as if a war between desserts had taken place in the night!
And right before her sat the Cutie Mark Crusaders...well, she thought it was them, anyway.
The three little fillies were enormous! Having gorged on enchanted candy all through the night, the girls had unwittingly ballooned, only stopping when they had become too sleepy, or lazy, or both, to continue their glutting.
Their bellies were just barely brushing against the ground, and swollen between their legs in every direction possible, even pushing against them! Their upper forelegs all sported saggy sleeves of blubber, and their flanks had become gigantic and plush, like giant multicoloured clouds with more rolls and folds, but plenty of puffiness. Their faces were perfectly round, sporting chubby chipmunk cheeks and triple, or Fluttershy could swear, quadruple chins! She could barely see their eyes from how much their cheek fat swelled beneath them.
"What in the world happened...?" The older mare asked, trying to sound assertive but it didn't really work this time. Not with the fillies.
"We dunno," Sweetie Belle mumbled slowly, "We got hungry lasht night...and we ushed our bucketsh...to get shome...shnacks..." Her voice had become deepened and slowed from the fat pushed against her vocal chords, and her cheek flab around her mouth caused her to develop a lisp.
Her two friends nodded in agreement, as much as the fat around their necks would let them anyway. Applebloom's little mask was still somehow on her face, but just barely holding on from being burst open by facial flab.
"Oh my...perhaps we should get your sisters," Fluttershy suggested, smiling to the fillies, "c'mon, easy now."
She wanted to be more assertive with them, but she just couldn't. Honestly, she found the sight of them absolutely adorable!
The fillies began slow, awkward waddling gaits toward the bedroom door, their tummies swinging beneath them like fluffy blubbery pendulums. The older pegasus hovered over them to make sure they were okay, and to giggle into her hoof at how precious the girls looked.
After, eventually, getting the trio down the stairs in an awkward single file, Fluttershy led them to the living room of Rarity's home, and gasped at what she saw.
What she walked in to see was a trio of enormous blobs, more than three times the size of a normal pony! One blue with rainbow bits, one white with purple bits, and one orange with blonde bits!
Fluttershy's face went bright red from looking at the larger blobs. They had grown so enormous that their hooves had raised from the floor, and they were pinned down by their gigantic blobby bellies, which made them look more like one of Pinkie Pie's 'weapons-grade party balloons' than bodies. They had absorbed so much blubber from their gorging that their hooves had actually been sucked into slab-like sleeves of adipose, and their faces were dominated by round, blushing cheeks. Their eyes were still visible, but you could hardly see their mouths!
"I told you," A bass, groggy version of Rarity's voice chided, "Eating from thoshe...wash a bad...idea...!"
"Aww c'mon," A familiar raspy voice chuckled deeply from the blue dollop, "What'sh Nightmare Night...without shome...indulgin'...?"
"Ah hope...thish ain't permanent," A Southern mare's voice rumbled from the orange blob, "Can't really...buck applesh...like thish..."
The fillies plodded in, unable to help but stare up at their sisters in amazement. If there was any in the adults, it was hard to tell from all that cheek fat.
"Looksh like, y'all got it too, huh?" Applejack rumbled. Her hat was the only bit of clothing left intact on her titanic form.
"Eeyup," Applebloom burped.
"If thish doesh not fixh itshelf," Rarity bellowed authoritatively to her little marshmallow of a sister, "then it ish the treadmillsh for ush...Shweetie Belle."
"Awww," Sweetie only whined slowly, not enjoying that thought.
"Hey, Fluttersh," Dash mumbled, "you alright? Ya look...warm..."
It seemed Fluttershy had been caught staring...again. But she couldn't help it, they looked so...nice! They were all so warm and cuddly-looking, and not to mention adorably helpless.
She shook her head and put on a nervous grin. "O-oh, yes! I am perfectly fine...!" She squeaked not-so-convincingly.
The blue blob opened her mouth to argue, but a cacophony of six famished, and overfed bellies filled the air...and most likely caused an earthquake somewhere, with how much the ground just shook!
A sly smirk crossed Fluttershy's blushing face as she eyed an anytreat bucket discarded on the couch. "Would anypony care for some breakfast~?"