Two weeks had passed since the Element Bearers had managed to seal Discord away and things were slowly returning to a state of normality.
All across Equestria, everyone seemed to be on edge; worried that things like their sandwich might bite their face off or the ground beneath their hooves would suddenly become a burning acid.
Barrier was grateful that things were finally getting back on track as he walked along the shoreline, the afternoon sun shining overhead. The sound of the waves crashing against the sand gave him a sense of calm that was only interrupted by the occasional squawk of a gull.
Hard to believe that it was just two weeks ago that things like the boats turning into popsicles or sand becoming chocolate milk mix was happening all across the land.
After enjoying the calming sounds of the ocean, the charcoal stallion trotted back to take care of his errands. Barrier could see that the nervousness and tension that had swept over the town since the incident was still present on the faces of many a resident, but its grip on them was slowly loosening.
When the dark unicorn had finally arrived home, he spotted Verdant at the kitchen table, stirring several bowls full of things with Erica, Fruity Punch and another earth pony mare by his side.
“So then I told Mittens,” the white coated mare said as she ran a hoof through her red and offwhite mane, “‘I know you mean well and it’s called peppermint, but you don’t use chili peppers to make it!”
The quartet shared a strong laugh before Verdant saw the unicorn walking towards the kitchen.
“Afternoon, Barrier.” Verdant gave a quick wave. “You remember Erica and Punch. This mare’s another friend from class; Candy Cane.”
“Hey there!” Candy waved in Barrier’s general direction, more focused on stirring together whatever she was making in her bowl. Erica and Punch broke focus from their dishes to greet the stallion.
“Nice to meet you,” Barrier said as he approached Verdant’s end of the table. “Might I ask what you’re all up to?”
“We’re planning to put together a little haunted house thing for Nightmare Night at the community center and we’re making our own candy for it,” Erica answered as she poured a cup full of chocolate chips into a bowl.
“It’s super fun and it’s cheaper than just buying candy from the store,” Punch spoke up as she picked up the chocolate chip bowl and took it to the stove.
“Just you guys wait til you try my chocolate pumpkins with pumpkin cream filling!” Candy Cane was practically brimming with excitement, her tail wagging like a puppy on a sugar binge.
“How long will it take you to finish this?” Barrier asked, his eyes roaming over the wide assortment of bowls, trays, spoons, extracts and so much more.
“Probably a while, sir,” Verdant replied before carefully picking up a bottle of food coloring with his teeth.
“Guess I’ll get something from Al’s or the Four D’s.” Barrier sighed as his horn lit up, taking a collection of milk and vegetables from his bags and stuffing them in the fridge.
“Sorry about this, Barrier,” Punch looked over her shoulder from her spot at the stove. “The community center’s closed for maintenance, Erica’s kitchen is too small, Candy’s getting her’s remodeled and Honey and I don’t really have one.”
“It’s fine, Punch. Besides, I like a good walk.” Barrier gave his shoulders a roll and headed back to the manor’s entrance. Upon opening the door, he spotted a mare that was identical to Candy Cane reaching for the handle.
“Oh, hey there,” the doppelganger said before reaching into her saddlebags and shoving a bottle full of orange liquid into Barrier’s hooves. “Tell Candy she forgot her stuff at home again and that if she eats my peanut butter ice cream again, she’s not gonna walk straight for a week.”
“I—” Before Barrier could say any more, the mare ran off with a trail of dust and scattered leaves in her wake. With an annoyed sigh, he headed back towards the kitchen.
“Miss Candy Cane,” Barrier called out, drawing the mare from her chat. “Your… clone I think came by and dropped off this bottle for you. Also, she said something threatening involving you and her ice cream.”
A chuckle came from Fruity Punch while a grimace graced Candy’s face. “See? I told you you twins look totally alike!”
“We do not!” Candy Cane pouted as she grabbed the bottle from Barrier’s hooves. “Mistletoe and I have completely different cutie marks! I’ve got a candy cane with some holly while she’s got Hearth’s Warming ornaments!”
“True,” Verdant nodded as he trotted over to the fridge, “But do you really want everyone to have to look at your butt to tell you two apart?”
“We’ve also got different tattoos! See?” The snowy mare shoved her left foreleg in front of Erica’s face, barely avoiding bopping her in the beak. “I’ve got a little green heart tattoo near my hoof and she’s got a little blue heart. Totally different!”
Punch gave a cheeky grin as her magic pushed Candy’s hoof away from Erica’s eyes. “I’m pretty sure the only ponies looking down at your hooves to see it are probably weirdos with fetishes, so your ways of telling you two apart aren’t really the best.”
“Sorry to say it, Candy, but she’s got a point,” Erica replied as she poured some vanilla into a bowl. “I’ve known you since kindergarten and I still mix you two up sometimes.”
“Alright, alright,” Candy Cane grumbled and rolled her evergreen eyes. “I’ll talk to her later about one of us getting a haircut.”
“Well, have fun, you kids,” Barrier’s horn flared before he teleported to the door. “I’m off to get some dinner.”
“Oh, by the way!” Verdant spoke up from the kitchen. “Splash said she’ll come by sometime tomorrow to give your costume those touch ups you wanted.”
“Thank you, I’ll remember that,” Barrier replied as he set out, a light autumn breeze sweeping through, flicking the odd leaf up and smacking him in the face.
***
“Thanks for the pasta, Al!” Barrier called out over his shoulder as he headed out the door.
“WHAT?” a familiar voice echoed from the back, making Barrier chuckle as he headed into the streets.
After a few moments, Barrier found himself coming across Forge with Snow Sweeper flying by his side.
“Forge, Snow,” Barrier called out, drawing the stallions’ attention as he trotted over to them. “How are you doing this afternoon?”
“Pretty good, sir.” Forge gave the former captain a warm smile. “Snow and I caught an excellent movie and we were about to head back to the manor to see what Verdant’s been prepping for dinner.”
“Verdant’s not cooking tonight, Forge.” Barrier’s horn started to glow, pulling one of the several styrofoam boxes from his saddlebags, “He, Erica and some friends are working on making some candy for Nightmare Night, so I’ve got us all some chicken fettuccine alfredo.”
“Oh…” Forge’s grin quickly died and he tried to pull away. “In that case, maybe I’ll just grab my serving and Snow and I will head to his place.”
“Oh no, Forge.” Snow Sweeper grabbed Forge by the shoulders and pulled him back towards Barrier. “We planned on playing Marinara Party at your place and I don’t plan on cancelling because you don’t like being in the same place as Erica.”
“But Snow—”
“No buts!” Snow huffed as he flew in front of Forge’s face. “You promised, the game’s at your place and Erica’s not gonna do anything.” The pegasus’ face softened a little as he looked into the cobalt unicorn’s eyes. “Please, Forge. I just want to have some time with you at your place since we’re almost always at mine. Besides, once the game starts, you’ll never even notice since Erica’s in a different part of the house; it’s huge.”
Forge remained quiet for a few moments before he finally gave Snow a soft smile and a nod. “Alright, Snow. Still, I’m not sure if we’d have some food for you in the fridge.”
“Well, if you’re okay with it, there’s a little scene from a cartoon I saw a while back that I figure you can recreate with this stuff.”
“Alright you two,” Barrier interjected as he moved past them. “I’m headed to the house, so if you want this pasta while it’s still hot, I suggest we get moving.”
The pair nodded in unison and followed along with the charcoal stallion down the road. After a few moments of quiet, Snow Sweeper broke the silence.
“So Barrier, what do you plan on being for Nightmare Night?” Snow asked as he floated above the unicorn.
“I’m going to be dressed as the Cyborganizer from the newest movie, The Rebootening,” Barrier replied, making the white maned pegasus raise an eyebrow.
“Seriously? Why would you dress up as that version of the Cyborganizer? Everypony knows that the original’s way better than the reboot.”
“I wouldn’t know about that since I only saw the reboot, Snow,” Barrier stated. “All I do know is that I liked the movie and thought it would be the costume I’d feel the least silly in.”
“Fair enough, I suppose.” Snow gave a shrug before turning his attention back to Forge. “How about you, Hot Stuff?”
“My friends and I will all be dressed as the Pony Rangers. I’m in blue while Swift’s red, Hatty’s black, Gem’s yellow and Verdant’s pink,” Forge answered. “How about you, Snow?”
“Heh, I’m going as a Pony Ranger too,” Snow chuckled as he backstroked through the air. “I’m gonna be the White Ranger.”
“I think I remember Verdant saying that that ranger’s costume comes from a different hentai than the rest.” Forge’s words drew a hard bout of laughter from the pegasus, making him crash to the ground.
“Sentai, Forge,” Snow said as he straightened himself out and tried to rein in his laughter. “Hentai’s something completely different. Maybe I’ll show you when Snowy’s out of town or something.”
“Perhaps,” Forge said with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, think maybe we should take some pictures in our costumes tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a great plan to me, Forge.” The pegasus took to the air once more. “You looking forward to Nightmare Night too, Barrier?”
“Eh, not too sure.” Barrier rolled his shoulders as he walked along. “Never celebrated one before, so I don’t really know what exactly to expect.”
“Nothing too out of the ordinary,” the gray stallion replied. “Games, candy, music and dancing… Here’s hoping it goes well for you.”
“So, besides dressing like a pony ranger, what do you plan on doing, Snow?” Forge asked as the manor’s gate came into view.
“I’ll probably just do some aerial stunts, enter a costume contest, and then watch some horror movies. Same old, same old.” Snow Sweeper landed by Forge’s side as Barrier nosed the gate open.
“Hope you have fun, Snow,” Forge said as Snow stretched a wing over his back. “We’ll be in Ponyville, meeting up with Barrier’s niece.”
“At any rate,” Barrier said as he levitated a foam box in front of the cobalt unicorn. “Hope you two have a good time with that game you’ll be playing.”
“Thank you, sir,” Forge said as he pushed his way into the manor and took the box in his magic. From the kitchen, he spotted Erica. The hen gave him a quick wave on spotting him, but Forge looked away as he headed up the stairs. “Come along, Snow. It’s game time!”
“Right,” Snow followed behind the cobalt unicorn, the pegasus’ disappointed grimace going unseen.
“Alright everyone,” Barrier called out, his voice echoing about. “Dinner call!”
***
The light of the breaking dawn struck Barrier’s eyes, making the unicorn groan and roll in his bed. After a few moments of trying to fall back asleep, Barrier rose up from the bed with a yawn.
Looking to the clock on his nightstand, he saw that he had slept in far longer than intended and that it was now a quarter past ten.
The charcoal stallion tiredly pulled himself from the bed and slowly started to march to the kitchen. Just as a hoof touched down on the cool kitchen tile, a knocking came from the front door.
With a groan, the sleepy stallion pulled an about face and pulled himself towards the door; the knocking became more rapid as he approached.
“Hello?” he began to yawn as he pulled the door open, but the sight of what was at the door made him jump backwards and fall into a defensive posture instead, feeling much more awake as his pulse began to pound and his horn flared to life, coupled with a massive rush of adrenaline.
Standing in the doorway, a winged unicorn mare stepped forward with a smile. Her coat was pitch black and her eyes were a piercing turquoise. In addition, she was adorned in a familiar silver armor over which was draped over by her sparkling blue mane.
“Hello, Barrier. It’s been awhile.”