Junea laid her mostly skeletal head on the dried stiff skin of Zom’s shoulder as she followed their foster filly, Bonnie with eyes that, though sunken allowed her to see past the crypt’s door.
“Zom, stillness of my heart, it worries me when our dear Bonnie Bones goes out under Celestia’s sun.”
“I share your concern, Junea, breath of my death. She is not so alone as you fear. Celestia may be high in the sky but she shares it with the Nightmare. The Moon is out also to watch over our mortal child.”
Admiring Bonnie’s spirit, that had her out under such adverse conditions just so that she could graze the grass smooth and level over the grave of her friend as a surprise when he arose after the night had fallen, the pair watched her with some concern. It was always possible that some well meaning mortal might try to steal away the nearly grown filly that they loved and had raised.
They need not have worried. The cloud white filly with her black mane and tail looked up from her task. Her eyes narrowed and she gave a near silent snort of anger. With no sound at all, she floated up, ghost-like and took a place in a tree overlooking the graves, tombs and crypts of her family and friends.
They came all too soon. They were watching all around them, every direction but up. Morgripe and his two buddies, who had tried before to vandalize the graveyard were back, with pry bars, hammers and a small bucket of red paint.
They were chatting among themselves cheerfully. “Should'a thought of this before! Come in daylight, day before Nightmare Night!” “They ain’t gonna find out what we done until tomorrow, if then!” “They’ll think it was done at night! All we gotta do is be with other ponies all night! It is perfect!”
Bonnie had heard and seen enough. Using the stealth that she had learned from the many ghosts of the Ponyville graveyard, she floated out of her tree. Being mindful that Celestia’s treacherous sun could cast a shadow that would give her away, she chose her position with care and simply dropped!
She added the power of straightening her forelegs to the strong double buck that lifted Morgripe off his hooves and face planted him in the grass! His paint splashed all over him as his hammer and pry went flying their separate ways!
As her hindquarters landed from kicking Morgripe, she reared and struck with both forehooves at the neck to shoulder joint of his nearest accomplice! Her strike drove him from his hooves too!
The third pony simply ran! The terrified yellow pony left meadow muffins in his wake as he streaked for the gate!
Morgripe was trying to rise, so she casually hoof struck his side, rolling him belly up. She gave his remaining accomplice a steely eye as he got to his hooves. He reached for his fallen tools and she silently shook her head no.
Shivering, he left. Bonnie leaned down to the fallen Morgripe and hissed in his ear, “This is the fourth time that you have tried to disturb this graveyard. This is your last time! No pony will ever find you or any trace of you.”
He looked up and saw no trace of mercy or pity in her eyes. Shivering, he quaked, “What are you going to do to me?” His eyes caught the back wall of the cemetery and he whined, “What happened to the wall? It is all tumble down and growed with moss.”
Bonnie glared at him. “You are going to a Nightmare party. The wall between the waking world and the border of Nightmare is now down.”
Just then, a lovely gray mare’s head lifted over the tumbled stone of the wall. “You called, Bonnie?” she asked.
“Yes, Flowering Ash, I did. This was it’s fourth time trying to desecrate those who rest under Celestia’s sun. I thought that you might want it for refreshments at the party.”
“How thoughtful of you, dear. Are you coming, this year?”
“I am. Reverend Smallflower gave me some toys and games for the Forgotten Foals. Do you have refreshments for me?”
As the lamia’s huge serpent’s body slithered over the wall, she replied, “With Canbe living among us, yes, Bonnie dear. There is plenty for mortals too.”
Morgripe’s eyes bugged out as he saw Flowering Ash, a lovely mare back to the end of her ribs and enormous serpent from there on back. He drew in a breath to scream.
Flowering Ash punched his belly, driving the wind from him. She locked a strong foreleg about his neck and cast a coil about his body and slithered back across the wall.
Bonnie quietly gathered up the fallen tools and retired to the crypt that she shared with the liches Zom and Junea. Soon the authorities arrived. They did find the splash of red paint that the two miscreants had described, but that was all. They looked about in a reasonably careful way but found no sign of the missing Morgripe. They did not really look too hard. Nobody really cared much for him. Always in trouble of some sort. If he really was gone, good riddance.
Shortly after the police ponies left, a spare white pegasus wearing a flat black hat knocked politely at the door to Zom and Junea’s crypt. Bonnie poked her head out through the still sealed panels of the door.
“Reverend Smallflower! Are you coming to Nightmare Night with us?”
He ducked his head. “I am indeed. I have brought a few more refreshments for us of a mortal persuasion. Shall we go?”
Together, they stepped across the fallen wall to the borderlands of Nightmare to celebrate with their friends, the Ancient Ones and the Forgotten Foals.