To the foals of Ponyville, with the exception of Hearth’s Warming, the most anticipated and fun holiday was Nightmare Night. Not just because of getting the chance to parade around in costumes and get free candy from neighbors or complete strangers. But for the biggest event that ponies of all ages look forward to – the Nightmare Night Carnival. Set between the town and the wild Everfree Forest, stands, games, rides and circus-like shows were set up overnight that bid everyone welcome.
If one were to enter, they would notice the Nightmare Night motif was everywhere. From the color combinations of orange, red, green, purple and black striped tents; jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, black cats and bat decorations; the stands of cotton candy with caramel apples, sugar cookies, candy and popcorn; and the attractions that range from kiddy rides to the most horrific haunted houses with everything in between – every square ache screamed the holiday with pride. Even the carnival rides didn’t escape the theme as they too had names like “The Jack-O-Lantern-Go-Round” to the roller coaster called “The Screamer.” This festival of all things Nightmare Night had something for everypony.
Among this crowd of costumed characters of nearly every age, four fillies with bags of candy were searching for a new ride to go on. One wore a white gown with her mane done up like the Bride of Frankenstallion name Autumn Sprucewood, one that was wrapped in toilet paper imitating a mummy called Violet Diamond, a small filly with a white sheet with eye holes known as Summer Blossom, and the tallest of the group in a vampire cape named Lily Nightshade.
The latter of these fillies had a bored expression as she led the way. “Sis, when are we gonna go on something a little more interesting?”
Her sister in the ghost costume looked up at her. “But I don’t wanna go on something scary.”
“I didn’t say that I want to go on something scary, I mean something that’s a little… you know… fun.”
“Like what?” Violet the Mummy questioned. “Some of the rides were too short to go on.”
“Still sucks if you ask me,” Autumn commented as she adjusted her towering mane. “I was sure that I would get to ride the rollercoaster this year.”
“But there’s gotta be something,” Violet said. “Something that we could all have some fun riding on without being told we’re too short.”
“And nothing too scary!” Summer exclaimed.
“Don’t worry about that.” The elder sister said as she rolled her eyes. “I’ve already gone through the haunted house for my age, and even for me, it’s so cheesy that it might as well be made out of cheddar. Hold on girls.” She paused as she looked around the carnival. “There’s gotta be something for us here.”
As she looked around, Summer tugged on her sister’s vampire cape. “What’s that?” She asked as she pointed with a covered hoof. The three of them turned their gazes towards what the youngest was looking at. There near the edge of the forest was an old black hearse that had windows on all sides, black velvet curtains with gold tassels, a pair of brass lit lanterns on the front with a cloaked figure hitched to it while a stallion in a raggedy jester’s outfit playing a mindless tune on a beaten mandolin. Near this was a simple sign that simply said: Hearse Ride.
“Was this always here?” Autumn asked but the four of them looked at one another. Even though they have faithfully returned to the carnival every year as long as any could remember, and they know the layout of the grounds very well, none of them have noticed this before.
“Maybe it’s a new ride,” Violet suggested.
“Wouldn’t hurt to take a look,” Lily said as she took a few steps forward. However, she felt a pull from her cape, making her crane her neck over to her younger sister.
“I don’t like the look of it.” She said. “It looks scary.”
“That’s unlikely,” Lily pulled her cape away, “it’s probably like one of those hayrides. I doubt that it wouldn’t be that spooky, to begin with. Let’s go check it out.”
“No.” Summer whined. “I don’t like it.”
“Don’t be such a baby,” Autumn told her. “We’ll just go up and ask if it’s scary. If it is, we won’t go on it. ‘Kay?”
Reluctantly, she nodded and stayed very close to the girls as they went up to the hearse in which the minstrel took notice of them.
“E-Excuse us,” Violet said. “Is this ride scary?”
Both he and the hooded driver looked at one another. The stallion on top of the hearse shifted his head back to them with his bell covered cap jingled. Soon the Pegasus jumped off and landed right in front of them.
“Oh no, no, no, no.” He said in a sickly-sweet voice to comfort them. “This ride shouldn’t be terrifying one bit! Nothing more than a ride into the forest.”
“Okay.” Lily raised an eyebrow. “So how does this ride work?”
The minstrel took a moment in an awkward pause. As if he was choosing his words carefully. “It’s all very simple. If you go in, I’ll give you these chocolate roses…” He then produced from his pocket three artificial roses with dark green stems that each had a chocolate molding of a rose that was covered in white foil that gave its flowery appearance. “Then we’ll go for a ride for a few minutes while I sing my song. And that’s it!” He added this with a grin.
“Well…” Summer said, putting a clothed hoof near her chin. “I guess that doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Besides,” Violet remarked. “Even if the ride is disappointing, at least we get candy at the end.”
“Well in that case.” Lily held out her bag as she and the other fillies held out theirs to all say: “Trick or Treat.”
The minstrel laughs in delight as he passed out each rose to them. “Wonderful! So please,” he went around to the back of the antique hearse to open its door. “Step right in!”
Four pairs of eyes looked into the old death wagon. Besides being completely empty, the floor of it was covered in red shiny velvet with small black curtains draping at each window. It was a small space but not one that the four of them couldn’t fit into. So, one by one, they crawled right in. After all, four were successfully inside, the minstrel closed and latched the door.
“Uh… What are you doing?” Autumn asked in an uneasy tone.
“Oh, don’t be afraid.” Said he with a grin. “This is merely a precaution to make sure you don’t fall out is all.”
So the fillies watched as the minstrel flew on top of the hearse in which they began to move. The driver pulled them all along away from the bright festive lights of the carnival and into the woods in which the only source of light they had was the two lanterns on each side of the hearse and the moon above. At first, they moved through at a reasonable, slow pace on a path of twisted trees. The lights from the lanterns cast shadows on the nearby trunks and branches. From inside the hearse, the fillies looked out at the deformed faces, arms, and claws of wood as if they were grotesque statues of monsters.
“Sis,” Summer whined as she hugged her older sister closer, “I don’t think I like this.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Autumn said as she tapped a window with her hoof. “There’s nothing jumping out of us. We’re just going through the forest on a dark ride. The guy himself said that this shouldn’t be scary.”
“Oh, quite right.” They heard the minstrel’s voice above them. “I can assure you that there’s not a single jump scare in sight. But I can hear the little one is becoming afraid in there. Perhaps a little song is in order to help calm your nerves?”
The girls heard him moving his instrument as the mandolin was dragged across the roof of the grim carriage before he strung the strings as if to test it if the tuning was right. They heard him making some adjustments to a few strings before there was an awkward pause from above. Before the fillies could ask what was going on, they suddenly heard a plucking of chords to the opening of a song. The melody that came out of the instrument almost sounded like the kind of tune one would dance to give its giddy rhythm. But at the same time, there was something rather… off about it. Perhaps it was the chords that gave an eerie tone or maybe the musician played the wrong notes.
Then he began to sing in that sickly-sweet voice.
“Do you ever think as a hearse goes by
“That you’ll maybe the next to die?”
The fillies inside the hearse looked at one another. This was supposed to be a comforting song?
“They wrap you up in bloody sheets
“To dump you ten thousand feet.
“They put you in a pinewood box,
“And cover you up with dirt and rocks.
“It all goes well for about a week,
“And then your coffin begins to leak.”
As the minstrel picked up the tempo, the hearse did too. Gradually gaining speed through the dark woods.
“The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out.
“The worms play pinochle on your snout.
“They eat your eyes, they eat your nose
“As you begin to decompose.”
“Sis.” Summer hugged her older sister tighter. “What’s happening?”
“A big green worm with demon’s eyes
“Chews through your stomach and out your sides.
“Your stomach turns a rancid grease
“And pus pours out like melted cheese.
“You spread it on a slice of bread
“And that’s what you’ll eat when you’re dead!”
As the minstrel’s voice echoed inside the hearse. The girls start to notice that they were still going in a straight line – away from the carnival and further into the darkness. While the musician above sang on and strung on his mandolin, the trees were moving past them at an increasing pace and even the road was getting bumpier.
“Why aren’t we turning around?” Violet asked with worry in her throat. “Where are we going?”
“Hey!” Lily banged the ceiling with her hoof. “Hey, where are you taking us?!”
“I wanna get off the ride!” Summer shouted hysterically, burying her covered face in her sister’s vampire cloak.
But the minstrel continued to sing, a little louder than before. As he sings, the hearse slowed down a little as they noticed they were going up a hill.
“And the worms crawl out, the worms crawl in.
“The ones that crawl in are lean and thin.
“The ones that crawl out are fat and stout.
“Your eyes fall in and your hair falls out.”
Violet, who was the last to get into the hearse tried to push on it, but it still wouldn’t budge. “Hey!” She called out as banged on the glass. “We wanna get off! Let us out!”
“Your brain turns into maggot pie,
“Your liver starts to liquify.
“And for the living, they’re at rest…”
The song, for a brief moment, stopped altogether when everything became quiet. At first, the girls were confused as they looked around, trying to peer through the windows that the hearse had come to a brief stop on top of the hill. What’s more, they didn’t hear anything from the other two stallions. Not the stringing of the instrument nor the clip-clop of hooves. It was all still.
“Are they gonna let us out?” Violet asked until there was a heart-stopping thud from the glass door. The girls let out a shriek from the unexpected noise. It was the cloaked driver that had his hoof on the window. None of the fillies could make out his expression in the shadows. But at the same time, they’ve noticed that his hoof wasn’t near the latch, but rather in the center. Then he put both forehooves on the glass and started to push.
“H-Hey!” Autumn screamed at him. “What are you doing?!”
The driver gave a hard push to move the hearse forward. As it began to move, the strings began to pick up as the minstrel sang loud:
“As you sink further to Tartarus!”
“We’re gonna die!” Lily screamed as did the rest of the girls as within that tight space, there was a confusion of movement and fabrics that convulsed to bang and kick at the windows while the minstrel above them was singing hysterically.
“And the flames rise up to drag you down
“Into the fire where you will drown!
“Your skin melts off as you descend
“As Tirek tears you limb from limb!
“Your suffering will never end!”
The hearse was going faster than it ever did before as it raced steeply downward into the unknown. The girls try what they could to break the glass, but it stubbornly wouldn’t budge. The youngest was wailing as she clawed at the glass or cling onto her sister. As for the other three, their hearts set the tempo to a frightening pace as they screamed and panicked to get out while the musician’s voice screamed into the night.
“And the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
“The worms crawl all over your dirty snout!
“For when your bones begin to rot,
“The worms remain, but you do not!”
All of a sudden, the steep angle of the shifted as for a moment, the hearse felt weightless before there was an icy splash. They all realized that the hearse was driven into a boggy lake.
“HELP!!!” They screamed and cried as they continued to bang at the glass. However, at the door of the hearse, water was leaking in through the cracks of the door’s frame. Slowly filling the tight space with wintery cold, murky water. Like drowning rats, the four girls try to claw and cram towards one end of the death carriage at the one side that had air. They screamed for help as space was quickly becoming filled with water. The last thing they saw before it capsized into bog was a pair of stallions that stood at the water’s edge. And once submerged, the lit lanterns had gone out.
At the bottom of the hill but near the bog’s edge, the cloaked driver and minstrel watched as their hearse, with the terrified fillies inside descend into the smelly swamp water. Both of them had a satisfied look on their faces.
“How long do you think we have until we have to leave?” The cloaked driver asked.
Looking up at the moon, the minstrel hummed in thought. “Well, since they didn’t have an adult with them, and they were at the fair with what I can guess is everypony in town, I’d say we have a window of opportunity for… probably the whole night before they realize they’re missing. Still…” He turned around and began to walk up the hill, mandolin swung over his back. “That was rather fun. Expensive, but fun.”
“What? For that old hearse?” Asked the driver with a smirk. “Admit it, that was worth it.”
“Oh, indeed it was. Still, we got the whole night, and we don’t want to get too carried away. So…” He looked over his shoulder. “Caramel apples?”
“Why not. It’s Nightmare Night. Since we’ve got our main entertainment out of the way, let’s celebrate.”
As the two murderers reached to the top of the hill that looked over at the town and the fairgrounds, the minstrel sang the last verse of his song as they began to head towards it.
“Do you ever think as a hearse goes by
“That you’ll soon be the next to die?
“When your eyes fall out, and your teeth decay,
“That is the end of a perfect day.”