//------------------------------// // 301. Scare Master - Part 3 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// “Hello?” The five stallions entered Town Hall, finding it quiet, empty, and dark, as opposed to the loud, merry, and bright festival going on outside. Blueblood lit up his horn, casting a golden periwinkle radiance, as he led his friends inwards, “Well, ordinarily Town Hall would be locked during a holiday like this.” “Eeyup,`cept it ain’t, so Ah s’pose wer’ where wer’ s’posed t’ be,” Big Mac added with an agreeing nod. “I guess Midnight unlocked the doors for anypony who made it to this point in the Scavenger Hunt,” Thunderlane surmised. “I hope the next clue ain’t so spooky...” Cheese had not enjoyed the coffin outside Hayseed’s gardening shed. “There’s the office for funeral services,” Soarin pointed to a door, “let’s check it out.” The five of them crowded through the door and found it was a simple office with a desk and chair, filing cabinets, but the most eye-catching feature was the desk lamp turned on with some kind of card in its light. Blueblood picked it up with his magic and floated towards them so they could read it. “Hmm, this is a business card for the Ponyville Lumber Depot.” “Phew!” Cheese was relieved that the clue this time was straightforward and in no way scary. “That’s on the far side of town,” Soarin commented, “and it’s getting late. If we’re gonna win this Scavenger Hunt we’d better hustle!” “Let’s ride!” Big Mac led the charge out of Town Hall but Blueblood made sure to leave the business card back under the desk lamp, to be a good sport. Double Diamond led his friends, Night Glider, Party Favor, and Sugar Belle through a shortcut he’d suggested. But somehow, that shortcut led them to one of the more isolated alleyways of Ponyville. “Nice shortcut, DD,” Night Glider groaned, which complemented her zombie pony costume. “Okay, so maybe the fog got me a little mixed up,” Double Diamond apologized, glad for his Abominable Snow Pony costume keeping him nice and warm on this chilly night. “Well, I hope we find our way soon,” Party Favor sighed, not looking like a happy clown in his clown costume, “I’m pretty sure somepony else got to the coffin by the shed in the park before us.” “Don’t worry, everypony, you have me to light the way,” Sugar Belle giggled in her birthday cupcake costume, using her lit-up horn as the candlelight. “Let’s try this way!” As Sugar Belle led her friends, they found the alleyways eerie. They heard the chilly breeze, distant sounds of trash being blown by said breeze, a distant yowl of a cat, and the only lights were coming from ponies’ backdoor porch lights. The fog made it even spookier, and then a cloud began to block out the moon- *whoosh* “Did you hear that, Night Glider?” asked Double Diamond as they took the straight way down an intersection of alleyways.. Silence. “Night Glider?” Double Diamond looked back and stifled a gasp to see nopony behind him. “Uh, guys? Where’s Night Glider?” Party Favor and Sugar Belle stopped and looked back as well, the former saying, “Wasn’t she right behind you?” “She was, and so was this sound I heard,” Double Diamond looked around, seeing only the intersection. “I don’t know what it was, it was so soft I almost didn’t hear it. That’s why I asked if Night Glider heard it but all of a sudden she’s gone!” “Maybe she took a wrong turn. I’ll go find her,” Party Favor took the left alleyway. “In that case I’ll take the other way,” Double Diamond volunteered. But before he left, he looked to Sugar Belle, “Hey Sugar, stay here and keep your horn lit so we can find you after we find Night Glider.” “I’ll be waiting,” Sugar Belle promised but when she realized she was alone after Double Diamond and Party Favor took off, she called out, “But don’t take too long, okay?!” ... ... ... “Oh...” Sugar Belle began to shiver, and the fog around her made her feel as though she were surrounded by ghosts. “HELLLLLPPP!!!” “Huh?” Sugar Belle wasn’t sure, but did she just hear somepony call out for help? It sounded like it came from the alleyway Party Favor took. She slowly moved towards the alleyway Party had gone down, but didn’t see horn nor hoof of him. That didn’t stop her from softly calling out, “Party? Are-are you okay?” *BELCH* Sugar Belle eep’d and leaped up before spinning around to look down the alleyway Double Diamond had taken. She didn’t see him either, and her horn light flickered as her heart began to pound in her barrel. She took frantic soft breaths, trying and failing to calm down... when the fog thickened in the alleyway they’d all come from before splitting up, and she heard heavy footsteps. Heavy but soft, so they couldn’t be from hooves. Despite her rising panic, Sugar Belle was frozen as she heard it coming, and she knew it was big, even as the fog masked its movements. Then the cloud above finally passed, and the moonlight shined down, illuminating through the fog and Sugar Belle gasped in abject horror to see the outline of this horrible something stalking her through the mist. Then its eyes glowed icy blue, and she heard a distinct yet soft growl as it lowered its head towards her... and then blew out the light of her horn, like she really were a cupcake with a birthday candle. Sugar Belle screamed as the fog suddenly swirled around her, blinding her in its chilly vaporous embrace before she heard a hungry growl and was surrounded by teeth and a tongue! Ponyville Lumber Depot was a large warehouse located not far from Blueblood’s own personal airship constructing warehouse. The business kept afloat by purchasing, selling, and distributing lumber, not only in Ponyville but from many other lumber businesses across Equestria. At one point, the Depot’s manager had tried cutting down trees from the Everfree Forest to use as lumber, but bad things happened to the pony lumberjacks who did, as well as anypony who bought the lumber made from the Everfree’s trees. The rumors and superstition led to many ponies refusing to do business with the depot for a while that it almost went bankrupt, especially after somepony lost his leg when an Everfree log loosened and crushed it. It was only when the manager swore no more lumber would be cut down from the Everfree Forest did the strange accidents and bad luck stop. The warehouse was surrounded by a chain-link fence, and the yard had huge piles of lumber, some loaded in wagons, with signs indicating from where they came and where they were going, and who was purchasing them. The wide-open gate was clue enough that they were supposed to be here, but the five friends still found this... intimidating as they walked about the Depot’s yard, uncertain of what to expect or where to look for the next clue. Cheese winced at the sight of so many saws and axes gleaming in the moonlight, and whispered, “I hope we find that clue quick, this place is spooky at night!” “Relax,” Blueblood sighed, starting to get a little tired of this runaround, “I’m fairly certain Midnight’s next clue is close by.” “You can say that again.” Everypony looked to see Thunderlane pointing to what was oddly a trail of sawdust. Following it led them around back the Depot, towards a woodpile and an axe sticking out of a dead stump with a note tied to the axe’s handle. Blueblood picked it up and everyone crowded him (to his chagrin) as he began to read the clue. “’Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Moon, if she doesn’t get you, the Beast will soon. To Whitetail Woods, go feast your eyes, for deep within you’ll find your prize. Though beware the late hours of Nightmare Night. For that is when the Beast whets his appetite. If still you seek some Nightmare Fun, I have just one word left for you: RUN.’” Not a moment after Blueblood finished reading that clue did the five friends hear the sinister silence be broken by a chilling howl! “Let’s git!” Big Mac suggested and nopony argued as they quickly made tracks. Thankfully, the depot wasn’t far from Whitetail Woods, and the five friends stood outside those woodlands, enshrouded with a fog so thick one could cut it with a knife. It was eerily silent, the quiet almost sinister, and the moonlight’s guiding glow only seemed to make the sight before them even more mane-raising. “Um, on second thought, guys,” Cheese chuckled nervously, “why don’t we call it a night and just go home. There’s no shame in throwing in the towel, right? Right?!” “No way, we made it this far, we’re not quitting just because we get cold hooves,” Thunderlane declared, flaring his wings while straightening his fedora, “Eyes on the prize, boys!” “Whitetail Woods is nowhere near the size of the Everfree Forest,” Blueblood considered, “yet it is still plenty thick with trees and foliage in certain areas. I haven’t studied any maps on it so I can’t even guess as to where Midnight will have placed the prize.” “Ah’ve been here a few times an’ remember a few places innit,” Big Mac spoke up, “not sure if Midnight left th’ prize at any of `em but at least Ah know th’ area, more `r less.” “Okay guys, I know you don’t want me to,” Soarin flapped up, “but I can’t take this anymore! I’m just gonna fly and look for the prize from above!” “No wait, Soarin!” Cheese cried out as their friend took flight, “Rule number one in scary situations: Never split up!!” But Soarin was already much too high to hear his friends’ protests, and with each beat of his wings he rose even higher and higher until he beheld the entirety of the Whitetail Woods. Blueblood was right, this woodland area wasn’t that big, but there were some rather thick patches here and there and very few clearings, not including a couple of ponds bridged by a creek that branched from a river that ran along once side, and the trail that was often used by Ponyville during the Running of the Leaves, which wasn’t far off. “Heh, no way that Beast can get me up here,” Soarin smirked before concentrating. Sharp as his pegasus eyes were they weren’t designed to help him see in the dark, despite the full moon providing a helping glow. “Now... where would Midnight have hidden that-” Before he could finish that sentence, he found himself hurtling towards the treetops with a hungry growl in his ears, his wings pinned to his barrel by huge strong paws, and just before he we enveloped by the leafy environment below, he managed to look up into the eyes of the Beast, and screamed like a little filly. Blueblood, Big Mac, Thunderlane, and Cheese Sandwich stood there with dropped jaws and eyes wider than dinner plates at what they had just witnessed. They never even saw it coming, never even suspected the Beast could fly. But it had, right out of the night sky, from behind a shadowy cloud, on wings like a giant bat yet its wingbeats had been silent like an owl’s. The Beast had struck from above and free-fallen into Whitetail Woods all the while holding Soarin in its grasp before they both vanished over the tree line. ... ... ... “And that’s why you don’t break rule number one,” Blueblood deadpanned, ending the morbid moment. “What he- He wa- It jus- I don’t-” Cheese flabbergasted, trying to find his voice, until Thunderlane smacked him in the face, and Cheese took a moment before calmly saying, “Thank you,” and cleared his throat, “WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!?!” "Either Midnight is taking this too far, or there really is a Beast out here," Thunderlane answered grimly, "I just hope Soarin's okay." "Take care," Blueblood suggested, "Be mindful of your surroundings. Forget the prize, we gotta find Soarin and get the heck out of here!" "Eeyup," Big Mac led them in. The Whitetail Woods was a beautiful place, perfect to go on nature-walks and enjoy natural scenery any time of the year. During the day. At night, with this eerie fog and the full moon glow, not to mention knowing a pony-eating Beast was on the loose, it was quite possibly the scariest place the five stallions had ever been. Their senses were on red-alert, their ears perking at every sound, doing their best to see in this foggy darkness where the shapes of the trees and the foliage could actually be something far more monstrous... "Oh! I just wanna find Soarin and get the hay outta here!" whined Cheese, earning him a collective SHUSH from the others, "Sorry, it's just... in the horror movies, you have Rule Number One - Never separate from the group. But then there's the next rule!" "And what, pray tell, is that?" Blueblood was afraid to ask, with a roll of his eyes, only to get his cheeks smushed between a freaked-out Cheese Sandwich's hooves. "Rule Number Two!" the Party Pony answered in a shuddery whisper, "The monster and-or villain hunts down the good-looking comic relief guy- ME!!!" "Get a grip, Cheese Sandwich!" aggravated Blueblood, "as long as we stick together and stand our ground we'll be fine." "He's right," Thunderlane agreed, adding with a firm tone, "there's nothing to be afraid of." A distant mournful howl interrupted the conversation, as if some nightmarish entity begged to differ, causing Cheese to shiver even more as he hid behind Big Mac. The wrapped-up pony patted Cheese on the back a couple times before jerking his head towards the main trail, saying, "C'mon, y'all." As they walked down the trail, Big Mac stepped over what appeared to be an upturned root. However, Cheese didn't see it and- "Yow!" Kerplump! Mac, Blue, and Thunder all froze up but sighed to see Cheese had just faceplanted into the ground, his sombrero falling off. He lifted his face, spat out a pebble, and chuckled nervously, "Uh, I'm good." They all sighed and shook their heads before continuing. But as Cheese was standing up and dusting himself off, he felt something curl around his rear fetlock and looked in horror to see something that was most definitely not a root suddenly ensnare him! "AUGH!!! GUYS, HELP!!" The others turned and gasped to see Cheese was being dragged away by his hind leg, which was ensnared by something long and furry. He was being dragged towards a large burrow-like hole at the base of a tree, but Mac and Blue quickly hurried over and grabbed their friend by his front hooves. They grunted and groaned, as whatever had its grasp on Cheese was STRONG. Thunderlane hurried over and started beating on the furry tail? Tentacle? He wasn't sure, but he started slamming down on it with his hooves. He heard an annoyed snarl from within the hole, as another furry limb lashed out, knocking Thunderlane, Blueblood, and Big Mac away, and they could only watch as Cheese was dragged under, screaming, "WHAT'D I TELL YOU?! RULE NUMBER TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!!!" And then, the hole Cheese had been dragged into, suddenly closed up, Blueblood, Mac, and Thunderlane each looking freaked out! "Okay, this has officially stopped being fun!" Thunderlane raised his wings, ready to fly if he had to. "Eeyup!" "Now, uh- Don't panic!" Blueblood pulled off his hat, as his mane was feeling sweaty, "We-we can still save our friends, maybe... maybe if we get the prize Midnight will show up and help us!" "Okay! That-that sounds like a plan!" Thunderlane agreed, "Let's go!" The three started galloping down the trail when they heard a haunting mournful growl, and looked back to see the fog turning dark and bunching up. Then the fog rose up and formed a figure with piercing blue eyes that turned angry red surrounded by a sickly green, and purplish miasma flowed out the corners of the eyes. Big Mac and Thunderlane felt their hearts jump into their throats as they remembered seeing eyes just like those... when the Crystal Empire returned! Blueblood lit up his horn and fired a Magic Arrow spell at the figure, which snarled in vexation as the bolt of mana went through it, creating a gaping hole that quickly closed up. The beastly fog continued to slither towards them, so Blueblood looked back, saying, "Go on! I'll hold it off for as long as I can!" "Don' be crazy, haystack!" Big Mac protested, "Ya cain't beat tha' thing!" "I don't need to beat it!" Blueblood responded before he looked back at their amorphous adversary and pawed the ground with his hoof, his horn aglow even as the monster rose up like an ocean wave... before it came down and Blueblood charged forward, his horn shining brightly even as it all crashed down upon him. "BLUE!!!" Thunderlane and Big Mac called out to their friend but it was too late. The fiendish fog dispersed and all that was left of Blueblood was his hat. "This can't be happening!" Thunderlane flipped out, starting to finally panic for real, "This-this-this is jus- It's supposed to be a dumb game!" "Pull it t'gether, haystack!" Big Mac grabbed Thunderlane by the shoulders and gave him a shake before meeting his eyes, "There's still a chance, but now, we gotta run!" The same mournful howl from before sounded as if to punctuate Big Mac's words, and the two stallions got galloping. They ran along the trail that led deeper into Whitetail Woods, hoping that it would lead them to the prize. Terror spurred them onward, along with a fading hope that there was still time to save their friends. The moon had reached her highest point, casting her guiding glow directly downwards, so the two had an easier time seeing in the dark. That didn't however stop them from seeing the ridge they were running straight towards and any moment no- "YOW!" "NNNOPE!!" "OUCH!" "OOF!!" "EECH!!" "DAMMIT!" "LOOK OUT!!" "A-HA-HOW!!" Thunderlane groaned in pain, and grunted as he lifted his head, only to feel Big Mac's big keister weighing him down and his cropped tail and some of his mummy bandages coming down over the dark gray pegasus' eyes. "Mac..." he groaned, "would you be so kind as to, I dunno.... get. Off. ME?" "Whoop! Ergh, sorry there, haystack," Big Mac got up, allowing his friend to do so as well, when they heard heavy foot falls and looked up the way they came and saw it. It was huge, bigger than a bison, but while its mass was bulky it was much more slender and it stood noticeably taller. It was covered in thick shaggy fur as black as pitch. Its body was ape-like, with long meaty arms that ended in sharp claws while its legs were stifle-jointed and had paws. Spreading from behind its back were the leathery wings of a bat, and writhing off of its shoulders were snaky tendrils of shadow. The head however was unmistakably that of a wolf, its maw opened to reveal razor-sharp teeth and fangs dribbling with drool, and a fat pink tongue hung out as it glared hungrily down at the two ponies as a long whip-like bushy tail rose up behind it, like a cat ready to pounce. "Thunder..." Big Mac said warily as he kept his eyes on the monster leering down on them, "Get goin'!" "Not a chance, Mac!" Thunderlane gaped at his friend like he was crazy, "I'm not leaving you to face that thing by yourself!" "Thunder, Ah'm jus' gonna slow you down," Big Mac reasoned, "Y'gotta find th' prize an' get Midnight here quick as you can. Ah can prob'ly hold `im off for a lil' while but it's gotta be you an' those wings o' yers." "But Mac-" "GO!!" Big Mac shouted as he saw the Beast lunge down, and the sight of the monster coming spurred Thunderlane to take flight! The Beast landed with a heavy THUD onto the ground at the bottom of the ridge, and glared across the way towards Mac. The farmer pony narrowed his eyes, snorted with fervor, and pawed at the ground. Pony and Beast stood there, waiting for the other to make a move, but the big red stallion's patience was legendary. It wasn't long before the Beast snarled and started running. Big Mac cracked out a crick in his neck and shoulders before rearing up to flail his front legs and charged to meet his opponent head on! The gap quickly closed and Big Mac lowered his head and took a leap...! Into nothing?! As soon as his head made contact with the Beast, what should have been an epic headbutt became Mac taking a head over tail of a tumble across the ground. He barely managed to get up and see the fading smoky wisps of the Beast's body being blown away by the night wind. "Wha' in th' Sam Hay- URGH!!" Big Macintosh was suddenly tackled from the side, and found himself pinned to the ground, a heavy paw on his throat, and he gazed up to see the Beast glaring down at him, hunger written all over its vicious face. Then, to Mac's horror, the Beast grew! It hunched its back as its muscles ballooned, its limbs lengthened, its bones seemed to snap and crick as it growled in pain. Big Mac breathlessly gasped as the Beast now towered over him like wolf over a lamb! Then, the Beast forced Mac around before clamping its lupine jaws onto his rump, and Big Mac struggled to get loose, only for the Beast's paw to pin him even harder to the ground. Then, the Beast grabbed Mac by his barrel and lifted him up as he felt its jaws widen around his backside, his hind legs were forced up, and the Beast threw its head back, letting gravity do the rest. "NNOPE!! NNOPE!!!" Big Mac screamed but his struggles only caused him to sink further down as the Beast began to swallow. Thunderlane had put distance between himself and the Beast, but he'd heard his friend's screams and stopped. He hid in a tree and looked on in horror as Big Mac was swallowed alive, the Beast's throat expanding to accommodate the large earth pony stallion, and before Thunderlane knew it the Beast's jaws completely encased Mac in its mouth and there was a loud GLUCK sound, and the huge bulge in the Beast's throat slid down its chest and Thunderlane saw its belly bounce downwards as he realized Big Mac had dropped entirely into the monster's stomach. The gut expanded and thrashed, the stallion inside squirming in terror. This can't be real... this can't be real!!! Thunderlane's mind raced and then derailed as he saw the Beast look straight in his direction and he knew that somehow the Beast was aware of his location. The Beast pulled its lips back into what was unmistakably a smile, sinister and hungry, as it licked its jagged chops as the fog around it seemed to rise up, completely concealing it before it blew away in the breeze, the Beast vanishing without a trace. "Screw this, I'm flying!" Thunderlane flew up high into the night sky and gazed down. "Now... where is that- !!!" Something gave off a haunting glow right in the middle of a large clearing smack dab in the middle of the Whitetail Woods. He focused his pegasus eyes and saw this the "glow" coming off of this something was behaving like steam wafting off a hot meal. Deciding to get a closer look, he dived down to the clearing, landing in a meadow of silvery-white grass and saw this glowing something was some kind of small archaic-looking chest. That's gotta be it! Thunderlane zipped up to the chest, and the moment his hoof touched it, the wisp-like glow it gave off went out. Hesitantly, he opened the chest and found it empty aside from a folded piece of paper at the bottom. He picked it up with his feathers and carefulyl opened it to see it was written with something. "'Congratulations, Winner of the Scavenger Hunt'?!" Thunderlane couldn't believe this, the prize was a slip congratulating him?! "Well done." Thunderlane almost jumped right out of his trench coat, his fedora falling off, and he looked to see Midnight, still wearing his hooded cloak, descending down with his bat-like wings, his eyes giving off their pale blue glow. "Thunderlane, you are the Winner of my little Scavenger Hunt." "FORGET YOUR STUPID SCAVENGER HUNT!!!" Thunderlane roared into Midnight's face, "That beast you were talking about?! IT'S REAL!! It ate all of our friends and who knows how many other ponies!!!" ... ... ... The silence was disturbing when Midnight sighed, "I had hoped this year would be different..." "What're you talking about?!" Thunderlane demanded, "You know this Beast?" "I do," Midnight nodded solemnly as he stepped past Thunderlane and lowered his hooded face, "This creature is under a curse... Every year, on Nightmare Night, this poor soul is beset by this dreaded curse, and transformed... into the Beast. It is overcome with a painful hunger to fill its belly, and nothing can stop it." "How do you know about it?" Thunderlane looked at his cloaked friend, "Why didn't you warn anypony for real about the Beast?!" "Because, Thunderlane..." Midnight's voice deepened into a monstrous growl, and then he grunted and groaned and hunched over. Thunderlane looked on in icy terror, as Midnight's form, still covered by the cloak, shuddered and writhed. He heard bones snap and flesh stretch, Midnight growling and groaning in agony, his voice monstrous and deepening, before he began to grow. The cloak concealed his growth a short while before he outgrew it, and the hood tore as Midnight's neck and head expanded, his muzzle turning lupine and opened into a roaring maw full of silvery sharp fangs, his horn lengthened, smoothed out, and curved upwards, turning blade-like, his ears grew tufts at the end of them, his hooves seemed to crack apart to reveal large paws with terrible claws, his ruined cloak fell away to reveal his coat had turned into a shaggy pelt of black fur, his tail thickened at the vase while his mane extended down his spine and along his tail all the way to the lion-like tuft at the end, from which grew a long crescent-shaped blade-like spike of bone, and the bat-like wings fanned out, the span making them look dragon-like, before the Beast turned around to face the frozen Thunderlane as it opened its mouth and snarled, "I am the Beast!!" "M-Midnight...?!" Thunderlane tried to move but his body wouldn't respond. "And I'm soooo hungry...!!!" "M-M-Midnight... Please!" Thunderlane managed to utter out but his plea fell on deaf ears. The Beast Midnight had become snarled softly as he hunkered down, his hind quarters in the air, tail rising... and he pounced! Thunderlane felt two large paws grab him from both sides before he was flung into the air! He screamed and tried to fly, but his wings felt locked to his sides, and as he began to fall he looked down to see the Beast's maw open as he fell headfirst down its gullet! Entering the fleshy tunnel, Thunderlane felt himself completely restricted as the throat muscles pressed down on him from all side. It was hot and slimy and as he slid down further into the esophagus, it all became too much. The pressure from all sides, the hot stinky thin air, the fear and anxiety he'd experienced... Goodbye, Rumble... was Thunderlane's last thought as everything went dark. *CRACK/POP* "What the?!" "CONGRATULATIONS, THUNDERLANE!!!" Thunderlane thought he was hearing things, but when he felt his wings loosen up, he slowly stretched them out to his full wingspan. Every so slowly, with a deep breath, he opened his eyes... and found himself blinded a moment before his eyes readjusted, and he saw he was surrounded by ponies in their costumes! He saw his friends, he saw the Crusader Colts, he saw Joe, Chili, Double Diamond, Night Glider, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Comet Tail, Lucky Clover, and several others. They all stood with him in a large room with dark pink walls, lit up with candles and jack-o-lanterns, Nightmare Night decorations covering the walls, a long table covered with treats and drinks and foods, there was a couple Spider Toss games, a game that read 'Whack-a-Spook', a skeeball game, a wooden tub filled with water and apples for apple-bobbing, armchairs and beanbag chairs with coffee tables, a boombox set upon a couple speakers, and standing in the middle of it all, garbed in his shadowy cloak but his hood pulled down, was Midnight Blaze! "Congrats to you, Thunderlane, and welcome everypony!" "Hold on a minute!!" Thunderlane cried out while pointing an accusing hoof ad Midnight, "You- you turned into a Beast! You ate me! And my friends- WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE PALE ONE IS GOING ON HERE?!?!" "It was all a trick, Thunder," Midnight said with a sneaky smile, "Did anypony notice how foggy it was all night long?" Thunderlane stood there a moment and did recall that it had been foggy the entire Nightmare Night no matter where he and his friends went. The other ponies all murmured and nodded, so Midnight continued. "The fog was actually a magical spell I cast over all of Ponyville, as well as to the locations of every clue in the scavenger hunt. Those who breathed in the fog would be subject to a hypnosis and powerful illusion, causing them to see the Beast and think they were being hunted down and eaten alive. When in fact, I was capturing the participants of my little contest every time a clue was found, and bringing them here to wait for the winner's congratulatory Nightmare Night Party!" "So wait a doughnut-picking minute!" Joe spoke up, "Youse mean to tell me, the Beast, thinking we were getting eaten- It wasn't real?!" "Of course not, Uncle Joe," Midnight assured, "It was all nothing more than an illusion and special hypnosis. Nopony was ever in any real danger, only subject to my biggest Nightmare Night prank yet!" Then he looked back to Thunderlane, "So now, Thunderlane, as the winner of my scavenger hunt, I award you this as your prize!" Midnight's horn glowed and popping into existence before Thunderlane was a pair of goggles, the frame was black while the lenses were crystalline, the strap was elastic, and somehow Thunderlane new these goggles were not ordinary. "These goggles are special," Midnight explained, "I enchanted them to allow the wearer to see in the dark and detect sources of living energy, plus they repel water, making them perfect for flying through rainy weather. In addition..." Midnight lit up his horn again, and in front of everypony present did appear a small black card, "I invite everypony who participated to join... the Midnight Society! A little club I'm putting together where the members will meet every once in a while to share ghost stories by campfire, as well as discuss plans or parties or pranks for Nightmare Night!" "Ooh...!" "Cool!" "That sounds awesome." "I could get into that!" The ponies present all shared looks of interest. "And now, I invite everypony here to relax, mingle, and enjoy this party to your hearts' contents!" Midnght declared and everypony cheered in response. They ate good food and treats, talked and joked, played some of the games provided, but as the party went on, Thunderlane approached Midnight and asked him a question. "Seriously?! The whole Beast thing and getting eaten alive was a trick?" Midnight gave Thunderlane a smirk and then said, "Get the rest of the guys over here and I'll tell you everything." A couple of minutes later, Midnight stood with his five friends in a secluded spot away from the party, Macintosh, Blueblood, Cheese Sandwich, Soarin, and Thunderlane all giving him an expectant look. "I was fibbing earlier," Midnight admitted, "I did transform into a Beast and swallow everypony here whole and alive, including you guys." His five friends all gave Midnight terrified looks and even took a step back from him. "Relax, nopony's in any real danger. Let me explain - Every alicorn has a Pocket Dimension in which they can do anything they imagine. The fog I mentioned earlier? It was actually blending the realities of the dimension we live in with my own Pocket Dimension. In my Beast form, I swallowed everypony and sent them to my Pocket Dimension, which is currently existing at the same time as my own stomach. Take a look around you." Following Midnight's instruction, the guys looked around and then they realized the dark pink walls around them were fleshy and moist! "How in th' hay...?!" Big Mac couldn't believe what he was seeing. "This room is a metaphysical place that is also my stomach at the same time," Midnight explained, "and I'm both here inside my belly with you guys, and at the same time I'm outside back in Ponyville, sitting in a dark corner with an aversion ward active so nopony out there bothers me." "So you mean to say we're really in your stomach?!" Soarin gaped at Midnight like the alicorn had just grown two heads. "In a sense, you're all in two places," Midnight elaborated, "My stomach and my Pocket Dimension. Everything in here is as real as I want it to be, the food, the decorations, even this avatar of myself you see. The only reason you guys can see my stomach walls is because I allowed you to by pointing them out. Everypony else here simply thinks they're in a room having a Nightmare Night Party. "Once the party's over, I'll release everypony here back out into Town Square and everypony will go home tonight with a Nightmare Night they won't soon forget." ... ... ... "When you say 'release', do you mean the front door or the back?" Cheese asked. Sometime later, Midnight woke up in the corner where he'd went into a trance, and dispelled the Aversion Ward he'd put up. Looking around, he saw that the Nightmare night Festival was wrapping up. The Cakes were closing down their snack stand, their baby twins asleep on their stroller, he saw the girls sans Fluttershy walking together in the midst of an ecstatic conversation, from which he could hear 'prank' and Fluttershy', he saw Mayor Mare talking with some ponies who carried sacks and sticks with points at the ends for picking up trash, and parents taking their foals home. "Well, looks about as good a time as any," Midnight stood up and oof'd, placing his hoof on his full belly, which felt as big and round as a basketball, and he thought with a grim chuckle, Guess I ate too much! He walked over to the front of Town Hall and faced outwards before taking a deep breath... and letting out a monstrous BELCH. From Midnight's mouth came a familiar fog that enshrouded the whole area before Town Hall, and he willed a gentle breeze to blow it away, revealing everypony who'd participated in his scavenger hunt. They all murmured in slight confusion to find themselves outside Town Hall, when Midnight called out, "Well, everypony! Tonight was quite a Nightmare Night to remember, if I do say so myself, and I do. I hope you all had fun tonight, had some good scares, and some good treats. I wish you all a safe walk home and a good night's sleep. Happy Nightmare Night, everypony!" "Happy Nightmare Night!!" Everypony responded with a rousing cheer, but it was quickly followed by yawns and 'good night's to each other as the crowd began to disperse and go home. Thunderlane approached Midnight, and the stoic look on the pegasus stallion's face gave Midnight a moment of fear that perhaps he'd gone too far and Thunderlane was angry. But then Thunderlane chuckled lightly and said, "I gotta admit, your 'Beast swallowing everypony alive' thing was probably the scariest prank I've ever seen on Nightmare Night, or any other night! Thanks for the party, Midnight, and the prize." "I'm glad there's no hard feelings, Thunder," Midnight sighed in relief, "and you deserve that prize. I'm pretty sure you'll find it comes in handy one day." "I'm sure it will," Thunderlane nodded when he felt a tap on his leg and looked to see it was Rumble, looking tired. "Can we go home, Thunder?" yawned the little gray pegasus. "I'm... feeling real sleepy." "Sure, pal, let's go," Thunderlane placed his brother onto his back so Rumble wouldn't have to walk, and then said to his friend, "Happy Nightmare Night, Midnight." "Happy Nightmare Night, Thunder, and you too, Rumble," Midnight waved them off Thunderlane began the walk home when he heard a distant howl in the night sky, and flinched a moment. He looked back at Midnight in alarm, but the alicorn shrugged and said, "Hey, don't lookit me!" The awkward moment lasted all of three seconds before they two stallions had a laugh, and both went home to hit the hay.