//------------------------------// // 300. Scare Master - Part 2 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// The Haunted Maze was okay, as far as holiday-themed attractions went. But it wasn’t all that impressive, especially to a group of stallions who’d been there and done that. The “bones of ponies who didn’t make it out alive” were just sticks painted white, Big Mac’s ambush scares as a mummy were ruined by his "eeyup” habit, and the “eyeballs” were of course just peeled grapes. Honestly, the creepiest thing about the maze had been Granny Smith’s mask at the entrance. After deciding to take a break, Big Mac joined his friends to look for the next clue of Midnight’s Scavenger Hunt. “Whattya think the clue meant by the next one being in plain sight?” asked Cheese Sandwich as the five of them took the next left, and all of them groaned to see it was a dead end and doubled back. “I’m guessing it means we’ll know it when we see it,” Thunderlane replied as they passed by Ditzy Doo and Dinky, who were dressed up as Twilight and Spike respectively. “But we’d better hurry. More and more ponies are coming to the maze and one of them might find the clue before us.” “We could always fly up and find that clue faster,” Soarin suggested. “Now, now, let’s not take any unfair advantages,” Blueblood chided, “We are the Guardians of Harmony, we’re practically a knighthood and that means we act with honor.” “Eeyup, an’ no self-respectin’ stallion tries t’ cheat jus’ t’ win some prize,” agreed Big Mac. “And playing the game like this just makes it more fun,” added Cheese as they came around a corner, “not to mention all the suspense, wondering what’s gonna happen ne-” “Hey, lookit that!” Soarin pointed ahead and they all saw it was another dead end, except this one had a headstone and something carved onto it. “Think that’s it?” “Let’s see,” Thunderlane stepped forward while the others crowded around him and peered over his shoulders while Thunderlane read, “‘Don’t close your eyes, don’t try to hide, The Beast approaches with silent stride. Should you find yourself in doubt, where North meets West is your way out.” “Where North meets West?” echoed Soarin, not understanding. “Ooh, and it says we gotta be careful,” Cheese added with a shudder, “Midnight might not have been kidding about that Beast he mentioned before.” “Th’ way is out...” Big Mac thought before saying, “Since wer’ in th’ maze, Ah reckon th’ clue means there’s another way outta here aside th’ entrance. But Ah helped put this thing t’gether, an’ Ah don’ know where another way out could be.” “Where North meets West...” Blueblood considered, “Two directions meeting... at a point!” “But how does that apply here?” pointed out Thunderlane. “There’s lost of paths in this maze where North and West can meet.” “But hold on,” Blueblood looked down at the ground and drew two lines in the dirt, one vertical, the other horizontal, and making them meet, “The vertical line represents North and the horizontal one is West. What do they look like when they meet?” The others looked carefully at what Blueblood was hinting and then they all got it, “A corner!” “Exactly!” Blueblood smiled as he wiped the liens away, “And even a maze can have corners, and if I’m correct the way out we need to find is located where the maze’s exterior corner is where north meets west!” “Way to go, Blue!” Cheese cheered, “Now let’s find that exit, before somepony else catches up, or the Beast comes along!” They hurried down the way they came, and Soarin said, “Cheese, I’m sure Midnight’s just trying to make this scavenger hunt thing a little more scary with all that beast talk. We’re gonna be fine.” Elsewhere in the Maze, Joe and Chili, dressed as a handsome secret agent and a foxy femme fatale thief, were wandering, unsure of what they were looking for. “Ah, this sucks,” Joe sighed, “We’re gettin’ nowhere fast, we’re never gonna find that clue!” “Well, even if we don’t win this scavenger hunt, sweetie,” Chili said, “I’m still having fun. It’s a perfect Nightmare Night, full moon, a chill in the air, and even this fog, really builds the suspense.” “Yeah, no kidding,” Joe eyed the fog, rolling along the ground like the breath of the dead, “it’s really starting to give me the creeps. Maybe we should just get outta here an’ go back to the Nightmare Night festival.” A growling sound filled the air and Joe sighed, “Aw c’mon, Chil! You don’t need to growl about it.” “Th-that isn’t me, Joe!” Chili pressed up against Joe, and he felt her anxiety as they heard the growling getting louder and then they heard footsteps, soft but heavy. “What is that...?!” Joe’s voice wavered in rising terror as he held his mare close. “I can’t tell if it’s coming from behind us or in front!” Chili began to shake. Then, they saw them in the foggy darkness. A pair of eyes a piercing pale blue, like icicles, and then a maw opened, revealing fangs that flashed in the moonlight, and a dark form slowly became visible in the fog. Joe and Chili gasped in silent terror and found themselves frozen in fear as the Beast pounced! Massive paws knocked the two apart, and Chili felt her head strike a rock as she fell to the ground while Joe cried out in horror. Though dazed, Chili remained conscious as she saw the Beast, huge and terrible. Before it, Joe may as well have been a newborn foal, and he was one of the larger stallions in Ponyville. Chili was helpless as Joe’s head was engulfed in the Beast’s maw, and she could do nothing as the Beast lifted Joe in its jaws, like a bird, and began to swallow him down no matter how hard Joe kicked. Chili was horrified as the moon shined through the fog and she saw the Beast’s form. It looked like a blend of a wolf and a gorilla, and she cried out in terror as the Beast swallowed Joe down with a mighty GULP and Joe, outlined by a lump, fell all the way into the Beast’s belly, which bounced from the weight of the stallion dropping in, and the Beast let out a hearty BELCH. Chili whimpered and very carefully tried to scoot away as the Beast licked its lips and happily rubbed its belly, before it set its eyes on her! Chili screamed as a maw filled with fangs lunged right at her... “Did you hear something?” Soarin asked as he and his friends found the corner of the maze they were looking for. “Nnope.” “Nuh-uh.” “Not me.” “Me neither, but let’s see what we have here.” Blueblood looked at the corner, “This is the place, a corner where North meets West. Except where’s the way out?” “Maybe we just go through the wall?” Thunderlane suggested, and since nopony else had a better idea, they gave it a try. Big Mac was surprised to find the corner was rather thin compared to the rest of the maze’s walls, and said, “Ah think we got it.” He carefully moved through the wall of cornstalks and hay, and when he disappeared completely through it, he called, “C’mon through, boys, looks like we have our next clue here.” Once the others made their way through, Big Mac was pointing to another headstone... only to find it didn’t have a rhyme on it, but a name. Here lies Ol’ Hayseed, Ponyville Park Gardener “Wha- Is this for real?!” Cheese grimaced, afraid that this was an actual grave. “It can’t be,” Soarin protested, “Just last week I saw Ol’ Hayseed swing by the weather office! He was requesting a rain shower to pour a few days after Nightmare Night!” “Not to mention this headstone is brand new,” Blueblood pointed out. “But if this grave is false, what does it mean?” “Well, Ol’ Hayseed hasn’t kicked the bucket, we all know that,” Thunderlane conjectured, “so maybe... maybe this clue is directing us to Hayseed or- No- it’s telling us to go to the park!” “Let’s git!” Big Mac led his friends away from the maze. A few minutes after they left however, two more ponies came out of the maze corner, Comet Tail, dressed up as a vampire hunter and his friend Lucky Clover, a mad scientist. “Whoa! Lookit this clue!” Lucky pointed to the headstone. “Now I know that’s not real,” Comet said, sounding self-assured, “I saw Ol’ Hayseed at the Nightmare night Festival before we came here.” “But whattya suppose it means?” asked Lucky, looking to Comet but finding his mad scientist goggles misty. “Oh, excuse me.” He took them off and rubbed the lenses on his lab coat, “Must be getting late, the evening air.” “I... don’t think that’s the air,” Comet responded warily and Lucky looked up to see a strange fog surrounding them, and then they both felt an odd dizziness for a moment but easily shook it off. “Let’s just figure out this clue quick and-” *Grrrr....* Both stallions froze and Lucky whimpered, “Please tell me that was your stomach!” “It’s not yours?” Comet whined in response. The two of them slowly looked behind them to see a large hulking black figure panting hungrily, revealing a muzzle full of sharp teeth. Before either of them could open their mouths and scream, the Beast caught them both in its massive maw and GULPED them down, sighing with content at their struggles inside its belly... Ponyville Park was normally a bright and happy place full of foals at play, ponies enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, often while dabbling into their hobbies. In other words, the park was one of the liveliest places in Ponyville on any given day. Tonight? Especially on Nightmare Night? It was creepy. A carpet of fog covered the grass, mist rising around the bushes and trees and lampposts, with the moonlight glowing through it, creating an eerie shadowy atmosphere. A few Nightmare Night decorations had been set up, such as jack-o-lanterns, fake cobwebs on the bushes and park benches, and balloon ghosts floating about without direction. The five friends had a bit of a shiver as they slowly walked into the park, on the lookout for whatever it was they were looking for (and maybe also that Beast they kept hearing about). “Hard to believe just this morning the park was so bright and happy,” Cheese shuddered under his sombrero, “now I don’t wanna be here at all.” “Eeyup...” Big Mac agreed, almost tripping on his own bandages. “Oh c’mon, guys!” Soarin pushed up the face-guard of his helmet, “so the park’s a little freaky-looking at night, big deal!” “Let’s just find whatever the clue is and get outta here,” Thunderlane huffed, pulling his trench coat a little tighter to fend off the nightly chill, “Maybe we’re supposed to find Ol’ Hayseed.” “Hayseed could be here,” Blueblood supposed, “but I imagine he’s more likely to be at home asleep. Though he does have a shed for his gardening tools close by.” “Sounds as good a place as any t’ hide a clue,” Big Mac agreed. Finding the shed wasn’t a problem, though the open coffin set in front of the door was rather disturbing. “Gentlecolts, I am starting to think Midnight’s reaching the point of going too far,” Blueblood grimaced at the sight of the coffin. “Well, I’ll admit, it’s a little scary,” Soarin shrugged, “but lots of ponies set up fake coffins for Nightmare Night decorations.” “Except this thing’s a real coffin, and there’s also a note inside,” Thunderlane picked it up and his friends listened as he read “‘Ponyville Funerary Service’. Now why would Midnight be telling us to check out a funerary service?” “There’s no building in Ponyville that specializes in funerals,” Cheese Sandwich pointed out, “that’d be really depressing for anypony who worked there.” “But there is an office at Town Hall where one goes to discuss funerary services,” Blueblood brought up, “Maybe the next clue is at Town Hall.” “Then let’s go, I don’t wanna look at this coffin for another second,” Soarin was already trotting off, Big Mac following with his usual ‘Eeyup’, and the rest followed. The Crusader Colts had given up and left the Haunted Maze. Twinken was dressed up as a Canis Minor, Rumble was a bandit with a black and white striped shirt, a black eye mask, a black knit cap, and his “bandit bag” doubled as his bag full of goodies he’d already gotten from trick-or-treating, and Button Mash was dressed up as Asriel from Undertail. “This sucks, we searched all over that maze for ‘where north meets west’ but I still don’t have an idea of what it meant!” Rumble grumbled. “Aw, it’s alright, guys,” Twinken assured, “we can still have fun at the Nightmare Night Festival back in town.” “That’s cool, we can get some treats from Mr. & Mrs. Cake,” Button Mash suggested as the three of them trotted down the path, which was becoming carpeted with an eldritch fog. “Uh... you guys wanna race? Not that I’m scared and wanna get back into town as fast as we can or anything!” “I’m not in the mood for running...” Rumble said tiresomely. “Let’s just walk. It’s spooky out but it’s also kinda pretty.” *snap* Twinken’s ears flicked and he looked back down the way they came, but the fog, and a cloud blocking the moon, cast their surroundings in near-total darkness. At least it did for Rumble and Button. Ever since becoming a lunar pony, Twinken had slowly begun to notice how sharper his senses were. Where total darkness could render a normal pony completely blind, it was now still adequately perceivable for Twinken, like walking in a dark room but still being able to see the shapes and faint colors of his surroundings. His hearing improved as well, and he knew whatever had made that sound just now was a fair distance away. He also noticed how he could feel it whenever the moon was out, like it made him feel stronger somehow. He focused his red eyes, the pupils narrowing into slits like a cat, and his vision was improved further, allowing him to see the bushes and sparse woodland around them. As well as a large dark shape moving about in the distant foliage. “M-m-maybe we should hurry back to town,” Twinken’s voice wavered a little but he did his best to keep his cool, “It’s getting a little too spooky out, for my tastes.” “But that’s exactly what makes it so cool,” Rumble responded with a smirk as he trotted forward to lead his friends. “A creepy moonlit night, the ground covered with this spooky fog, it’s a perfect Nightmare Night!” *WHOOSH* Something had just moved incredibly fast, and when Rumble and Twinken turned around... there was no Button Mash!!! “Button? Button! Where’d ya go?!” Twinken looked around for his friend a tad frantically. “Uh, he... he’s probably just trying to scare us,” Rumble brushed it off with a chuckle, “Okay, good one, Button. You can come out now!” From the darkness came a BURP of a response. “Did you hear that?!” Twinken’s little hooves were really staring to shake. “Oh I bet it’s Button eating some of his candy,” Rumble brushed it off again. “C’mon, Button, the joke’s over now!” “Rumble... I don’t think that was Button,” Twinken whimpered, his ears folding back, “Let’s get outta here!” “Twinken, come back!” Rumble yelled after the little unicorn colt as he began to gallop off down the trail. “This is just Button’s idea of a Nightmare Night prank, you don’t have to be-” Then, bursting from a shadowy bush on the side of the trail, a large mass growling with hunger pounced on Twinken, who screamed before Rumble heard a SLURP and a GULP before the big thing seemed to vanish like smoke! The little gray pegasus stood there, frozen in shock at what he’d just seen! “T--T-Twinken...?” Rumble whined as he realized, I just saw my friend get eaten! Maybe there was still time, he could turn around right now, and if he hurried he could get back to the Haunted Maze and warn Granny Smith and the Crusader fillies what had just happened. But as he backed up, just before he was going to turn around, his rump bumped into something. He froze, and reached back with his wing, feeling something big and furry, before he heard a growl, and a line of drool dribbled down in front of him. Dread filled him, he didn’t want to look up, but look he did. He was swallowed whole and alive before he ever had a chance to scream!