//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Invitation // Story: Nightmare Night // by Sennerazen //------------------------------// The autumn air was crisp and cool when Fluttershy ventured into Ponyville for supplies. Her animal sanctuary was running low on a number of things, but she had avoided going to town for several days, knowing Nightmare Night decorations were appearing, and having no desire to see any of them. But venture she did, slipping about the narrow lanes and alleyways between shops, hoping no one would stop and talk to her in case the query about attending Nightmare Night festivities arose again. Dusk was upon them when she finished her errands, and she was going to drop by Twilight’s castle before returning home. She was surprised by the invitation to the party a week earlier, but Discord had spent half an hour explaining in detail how nothing at all scary would occur and even taken to inviting her closest friends. She felt almost relaxed. She took the invitation from her coat pocket and read it again. Discord’s Not Scary or Frightening-in-Any-Way Nightmare Night Party Where: Discord’s house When: Nightmare Night, 7:00 p.m. Who: YOU Smiling to herself, she nearly bumped into Twilight, whose head was down, reading a long scroll as she walked. “Oh, Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “I was just coming to see you.”  “Fluttershy," Twilight said, stopping short. "I didn’t expect to see you out this late.”  “Oh, no.” Fluttershy drew out the invitation. “I just wanted to see if you were coming to Discord’s Nightmare Night party. You haven't said anything about it.”  Twilight laughed. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”  “Oh,” Fluttershy blushed. “You really don’t mind spending Nightmare Night with just me and-“  “Discord? Fluttershy, it’s amazing! I’ve never been to Discord’s realm before. None of us have, except for you. What’s it like?”  “Uh-“  Twilight snapped her fingers. “Spike, when did you go to the post office? How much was the postage?" "Huh?" Spike said, looking up at her. "The post office. You went there, right?" “What for, Twilight?”  Twilight frowned, turning to Spike. “You did send my reply, didn’t you?”  “You didn’t write one, Twilight,” he said quickly. “First you made a comment about the weather, and then you said how nice it was for Discord to throw a not-scary-or-frightening-in-any-way Nightmare Night party for Fluttershy, and then-“ “All right.” Twilight frowned. “Well, please RSVP for us today.”  Spike dutifully began scrawling on a new scroll of parchment. "So, Fluttershy, do you have a costume?" Twilight asked. Shaking her head, Fluttershy's eyes strayed in the direction of Rarity's boutique. "I wasn't sure I should dress up at all. Are you?" A glint passed over Twilight's eyes as they narrowed. "Ha-ha! I've been working on it all year!" Surprised by her own outburst, she cleared her throat and then said, more quietly, "I just have to iron a few parts, but it's ready to go. I hope you feel as though you could dress up a little, if you really wanted to. I'm sure Rarity- no, I know Rarity has been waiting for you to show up at her doorstep for years for something like this." "Really?" "Of course! Remember when you used to model? But then Rarity was jealous over your fame and fortune and you didn't even like... sorry," she added when she saw Fluttershy's face fall. "Eheheh. I just mean, sewing is her life. She loves making things for us. She'd have made mine, but I had, er, very specific plans." "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see her." "I'd love to go with you, but I'm late for... nine different things. Um. Now ten. Discord's party. Heh. I'll see you, Fluttershy," she called as she strode away, Spike nearly running to keep up with her. And so it was that Fluttershy found herself at Rarity's boutique, just before closing time. She had half hoped Rarity would be too busy to help her, but she was ecstatic. "Do you have any ideas about what you'd like to be? A bunny, like Angel? Or a dragon, now you're not scared of them anymore?" Rarity asked, chuckling when she said the latter. "I'm not sure about this, Rarity. You know I don't feel comfortable in costumes. Not on Nightmare Night." “Well, you did dress up as Princess Celestia for that play. You were positively darling in that.”  “I don’t know…”  Rarity squealed. “Oh, I’ve just had the most perfect idea! I know just what to make for you, darling.”  “N-now, I don’t really-“  “Yes, yes, I know. Let me see, now, no masks, nothing at all terrifying, nothing you can’t run away in… you leave it all to me, sweetie.” Rarity briskly took Fluttershy’s measurements and shooed her out of her boutique so she could get started, leaving Fluttershy dizzy in the street.  The very next evening, Rarity summoned her to the boutique to have her fitting. Fluttershy felt rather badly that Rarity had slaved so hard for the past 24 hours just to make an outfit for her for Nightmare Night of all nights, but her guilt was replaced with admiration when she saw her friend's creation. It consisted of a tea-length pleated black skirt, black tights, and boots. The top was a tucked-sleeve sweater in muted orange, with a smiling black bat in the center of the chest. A matching orange hair ribbon completed the look.  “Rarity, it’s beautiful,” Fluttershy gushed as she looked at herself in the mirror. “Thank you.”  Rarity squealed and pranced in place on the balls of her feet. “I knew you’d like it! It took me quite a long while to get the right shade of orange for your hair, but once I figured that, it was all a breeze.”  “I do hope you’ve had time to make yourself a costume.”  “Darling, please. It’s what I live for." Rarity stuck in a handful of pins here and there, to get Fluttershy's measurements exactly. "I'll just take a little more in here and take out a little there. All right. Go ahead and change back." Fluttershy took the outfit off much more carefully than Rarity had helped her put it on, but Rarity snatched it from her and said, "Now, don’t mind me. You go home and rest up for tomorrow." *** Fluttershy did not sleep easily, though she reminded herself of Discord's promises of a fright-free night. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine the fun she'd have with him and their friends, the interesting things she might see in his house, and, of course, Discord's companionship. Nightmare Night morning dawned clear and cold, and Fluttershy did her best to think of the upcoming party rather than cringe at the crunch of a leaf outside or scream when a breeze rattled the windows. It turned out to be a long day. Angel was, somewhat surprisingly, comforting to her as the hours ticked by and the party loomed ever closer, but by seven o'clock she was dressed and primped and felt a bit exhilarated to be with Discord again and see what he had done to his place. Discord had placed a portal in front of Fluttershy's cottage for guests to arrive by, but when Fluttershy and Angel stepped near it, they were suddenly at Discord's front door. Knocking on the door, Fluttershy's nerves resurfaced. The door cracked open by itself and Angel kicked it open when she hesitated. They were the first ones there, but the living room was a splendor of color and gaiety that neither could take their eyes from. Angel immediately spied a bowl on the floor filled with carrots and other fresh vegetables and hopped away as Fluttershy slowly turned about the room. There were three long tables, firmly bolted on the floor. One was covered with candy; the other two were covered with appetizers, cakes, treats, and entrees of food. Everything was in black, purples, and blues. There were glittering gold and silver stars and crescent moons scattered on the tables, floor, and floating unobtrusively in the air Game stations were placed all about the room. A large wooden bucket with water and bobbing apples hung upside-down from the ceiling, and there were two silvery spiderwebs in one corner, but when Fluttershy drew near, she found several of her spider friends from Ponyville relaxing in them. She smiled in spite of herself and took in the room once more when she heard a commotion outside. The front door opened and Pinkie Pie, her sisters, Rarity, and Applejack came in. Fluttershy made to greet them, but they were too busy fixing stepped-on costumes and making comments about Discord's front yard to notice her, and then more people came, followed by more. Angel, having stuffed his face with the entire bowl of vegetables, let Fluttershy hold him again so he could rest. The crowd heated the living room, and though Twilight and a few others waved to her and complimented her outfit, her brother Zephyr Breeze was the first to strike a conversation. He was wearing a heavily-studded black pleather jacket over a torn black tank top. Studded braces covered his wrists and his hair was a spiked and slightly shaved and a rainbow of greens and blues. Fluttershy coughed when she saw him. “Zephyr, you're here? What are you?”  “A metalhead, sis. You didn’t think I’d do all this to my hair and supple, moisturized skin without extensive planning, did you? ‘Cause let me tell you, this kind of perfection takes hours of hard work.”  "But what are you doing here?" "I was invited. Really, sis, you act as if I had no friends." “I’m glad to hear you’re still working hard.”  Seemingly assuaged, Zephyr Breeze straightened his jacket, smoothed his hair, and sauntered toward Rainbow Dash.  Rainbow was less than thrilled to be in attendance, for just hours before, Discord had appeared beside her on a cloud and told her that if she did anything to frighten or tease Fluttershy in any way, he would never invite Rainbow Dash to another party of his for as long as she lived.  “Shoot, Rainbow Dash,” Zephyr drawled as he oozed around her, “if I’d known you were going to be a Viking, I’d have done the same. We could’ve pirated the seas together.”  Rainbow Dash peeled herself from him. “Uh, that’s okay, Zeph.”  “Come here on your lonesome?”  “I came here with my friends. Look, can’t you talk to some other girls for a while? Pinkie’s sisters, maybe? Limestone? I’m, like, sixty percent sure she’d love to talk to you.”  Zephyr’s eyelids fluttered as he looked sideways at Pinkie’s sisters, who were dressed as rocks and grouped near the largest punchbowl and in varying states of revelry.  Fluttershy milled about, snugly holding Angel in her arms. From thin air, Discord appeared beside her, startling her into a quiver, but Angel’s warm, comforting body kept her from bolting. Discord was dressed as something she couldn’t identify, with a long red cape tied at his throat and matching red horns on his head. He leaned down and lay his arm across her shoulders. “Fluttershy! So glad you could make it.”  “Of course,” she said, catching her breath. “I told you I would.”  “And look, here’s Angel, too,” he said with less affection. He grinned and snapped his fingers. A tiny crooked witch’s hat appeared on Angel’s head, tied under his chin with an orange bow. Fluttershy was too astonished to react at first, then stifled her laughter and set the squirming Angel on a chair.  Angel tore the hat from his head and threw it on the floor. Fluttershy knelt to pick it up. “That wasn’t very nice. I could have saved it for next year.” Angel stuck his tongue out at her and stalked away to hide under the tablecloth of the candy table.  “And what are you dressed as?” Fluttershy asked Discord.  “Just a little someone from another dimension. I’ll explain it to you later. Punch?” “Yes, please.”  Discord puffed out his chest like a bird about to sing and marched to the candy table while Fluttershy clasped her hands with a slight case of nerves and gravitated to Celestia, who had just stepped through the portal. She was dressed immaculately as a fairy princess.  “Fluttershy, it’s so nice to see you out on Nightmare Night at last,” the princess said. Fluttershy blushed. ”Nice of Discord to throw a party I’m not too scared to attend, rather.”  “I can’t stay long myself. I’m afraid the sun still needs to be brought up at the usual time tomorrow.” Her eyes crinkled with silent laughter. “Time here seems a little... different.” “I’m glad you could make it for a little while.”  “You’re almost in costume. You look beautiful.”  “Thank you." Fluttershy turned modestly. "Rarity made it for me.”  “She really is something, isn’t she?”  Fluttershy looked at her black patent shoes. “I’m not half as beautiful as you are, though. Did you make your costume?”  “Luna helped a lot,” the princess said. “If you’ll forgive me, I’ve got to say hello to the others.”  Discord returned in time to bow slightly to Celestia, who in turn nodded before turning away, but his eyes narrowed slightly at someone just behind Fluttershy. “Who is that?”  “What? Who? Oh! Discord, meet my brother, Zephyr Breeze,” she said, waving her brother over. Zephyr swiveled his head around and tossed his hair back so he could look up at Discord through the strands. “So you’re him, huh?”  “’Him’?” “The- the- ‘Discord’, you know. The real Discord, master of chaos, and so on.”  Discord was still, seemingly torn between turning to Fluttershy for help and throwing Zephyr out a window, but Fluttershy stepped between them. “Zephyr, this is my friend, Discord. Weren’t you going to say something?”  “Say something?” Zephyr blinked.  “About thanking someone?”  Zephyr cleared his throat and grabbed a note out of one of his many leather pockets before reading, stilted, “Er, thank you for the invitation, uh, Discord. Sounds like you’ve been quite a friend to my sister.”  “Yes,” Discord sniffed. “Yes, I have.”  “Yeah. So, what is it you do again?”  Discord reeled back. “Do? I don’t have to do anything. I am chaos personified.”  “Ah, well, it’s just, when you’re a working man such as myself, you hardly have time to throw these little soirees and get-togethers, for fun, you know.”  “’Soirees’?”  “Sure, sure. Flutter-Butter told me you never invite anyone here, is all.”  Discord smiled. “Funny. She never mentioned you to me, ever.”  Fluttershy thought Discord’s smile was perhaps a bit too sweet. “Of course I did,” she said. “I told you about him when he finished school, remember? Didn't you send him an invitation for this?”  “A-ha. So you did, dear Fluttershy. How absent-minded of me.”  “Zephyr, why don’t you go say hello to Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy said. "She’s over there in the helmet.”  Zephyr’s eye twitched. “I did. She needs some space. I think I’ll go say hello to that kite over there. ‘Scuse me, sis. Uh, Discord.”  Fluttershy smiled at Discord. “I forgot you’ve never met before.”  “I suppose you did mention him a while ago. He didn’t seem very… my.” He blinked at her and her smile faltered.  “Is something wrong?” Discord shook his head. “You look lovely. Rarity’s handiwork?”  “Of course.” Fluttershy looked down at her outfit and held her skirt out to show it off. “I couldn’t bring myself to wear a costume even if this isn’t a scary party.” She sighed. “It must be who I am now.”  “I should tell you that costumes are overrated, but I love dressing up! I get to be a whole new me!”  “Why should you want to be a whole new you?” she giggled.  A lightbulb appeared and disappeared above Discord’s head. “I’ve never thought about that before. I’m almost certain my adoration of dressing up has nothing to do with a negative view of myself.”  Fluttershy took a sip of her punch, then spluttered and coughed. As Discord hit her back, she indicated the far corner. “Zephyr,” she gasped through a coughing fit. “Oh, he’s blowing it.”  Discord hesitated before snapping his fingers. A two-dimensional skeleton with a red scarf around her neck and pale lavender hair appeared next to Zephyr, who, when he turned to face her, was immediately smitten. Starlight's clouded face cleared and she returned to the company of Sunburst and Trixie. It seemed everyone was there now, all in fantastic costumes. Sunburst, Starlight, and Trixie were dressed as a lightning bolt, a kite, and the North Wind, respectively. Rarity made an uncanny imitation of Coco Pommel, while Rainbow Dash sported a dramatic Viking ensemble and Applejack was a green and orange dinosaur. Even Big Mac and Sugar Belle were there, dressed as a pumpkin and a slice of pie. Twilight Sparkle was dressed as Starswirl the Bearded yet again, but had modified the costume a little after meeting the man himself. Spike was a skeleton and Pinkie Pie was an elaborate pink and blue jellyfish with tendrils sticking out almost everywhere. Luna was dressed as Nightmare Moon, but was so wide-eyed and laughing as she played games that Fluttershy forgot to feel nervous at all, and she soon found herself laughing as she watched Rainbow Dash try to bob for an apple upside-down. Discord had probably tied the apples to the bottom of the barrel, for Rainbow could not tug an apple from the water despite her efforts. She felt Discord lean his shoulder against hers and murmur, “Now, see, the old me would have invited you here an hour earlier, so I could have you all to myself." Fluttershy smiled. “You’re so kind to invite everyone. I’m not so afraid when I’m with friends.”  “You don’t have to be afraid with me, either. It’s just another night, just another party like we always have.”  “Maybe… but somehow I know it’s Nightmare Night, even when I tell myself it isn’t.”  “The holiday doesn’t even exist where I’m from. How could anything bad happen? And if anyone here tries messing with you, I’ll snap them back home so quickly you won’t have time to say-”  “Discord, there you are,” an imperious voice called out.  “Right. Discord, there you… huh?” Discord blinked and found Luna walking stately toward him. "I had been meaning to ask you about something. It has to do with that small door that is half-hidden by the black lace curtains of that window," Luma said, pointing behind her. Discord glided to her and turned her away from Fluttershy so they could speak in private, so Fluttershy joined Pinkie, Rainbow, Twilight, and Applejack at the toss-a-spider beanbag game. The beanbags were fluffy pink spiders with smiling red mouths and gentle blue eyes. Perhaps it was something to do with Applejack's farming background, but she was always a perfect shot, even better than Rainbow Dash. "Are you all having a good time?" Fluttershy asked when they finished a round. "Fluttershy, this is great!" Pinkie shrieked, bounding into the air so her jellyfish costume floated around her. "The upside-down apple-bobbing, the pink-spider tossing, the rainbow lollipops spinning!" She finished her list with Fluttershy's face gripped between her hands. Prying her face from Pinkie, she said, "I just mean, it isn't very 'Nightmare Night'. I mean, not the way you're used to." "We do kind of the same thing every year," Twilight said. "It's fun to change it up a little." "Sure, " said Applejack. "I already helped Granny with the corn maze. For the little ones, you know, before it got dark. I always wanted to know what Discord's house looked like." "Yeah, you never tell us anything," Rainbow said. "I thought it'd be more... chaotic than this." "Oh, he's just being nice." Fluttershy laughed quietly. "Usually his furniture is floating around all over the place. We even drink our tea upside-down." Rainbow and Applejack glanced sideways at each other; Applejack grinned. "Tell you what, sugar cube," she said to Fluttershy. "The next time Discord wants to invite us over for anything, you tell him we'll be right over." "Yeah, he only ever invites you, like you've got special privileges or something, but- ow!" Rainbow rubbed her arm where Twilight had hit her. "This is Discord's home. He can invite whomever he wants." Twilight smiled apologetically at Fluttershy. "I'm sure he means to have you over more often, but he's... kind of absent-minded," Fluttershy told them, glancing at Discord, who was subtly turning different colors while still speaking with Luna. She did not see Rainbow Dash roll her eyes. "I confess, I might be a bit jealous," Twilight told her. "I'm so used to Discord being... discordant, that I hardly stop to think about how powerful he really is. I'd love to pick his brain about magic and chaos." "I'm sure you-" "Attention, everyone!" Discord said, rapping on a triangle with tiny silver stick. "Gatherers and wandered and friends. I would like to thank you all for attending. I hope you're having fun. I have a little announcement now about even more fun we can have. I have made... a house!" Fluttershy was the only one who smiled at his words, as the rest of the party fell silent. "What... kinda house?" Applejack finally asked. "A not-haunted haunted house!" Fluttershy paled. “Haunted…?”  “Not haunted. Oh, I left a few spiderwebs for our friends, but I cleared out all the ghosts myself. There’s nothing in there now.”  “Er…”  “Then what’s the point?” Rainbow Dash said.  Discord lay his arm across Fluttershy's back and squeezed her shoulder. “Now you can say you’ve been in a haunted house, even though it isn't haunted." "I... thank you," she said weakly, her hands absently clutching for Angel. A low hum of conversation rose from the party as they talked amongst themselves. Fluttershy , still feeling numb, jumped when Discord took hold of her wrist. "I've got it all planned out. There's a surprise for you at the end." "Sur-surprise?" "Of course!" He squeezed her in a brief hug. "The house is for the rest of them, but the prize is for you." "Discord, I don't know if I want to go into a haunted house. Or a not-haunted house. Um. Is it... just a house?" Discord linked his elbow with hers and led her to a small door by a window. "You'll see when we get inside. We'll all go together. Don't worry. I only say 'haunted' for the benefit of everyone else here." The party amassed at the tiny doorway and Discord and Fluttershy entered first. They were in a cool, dark stairwell that may have made Fluttershy nervous but for the pleasant glow of flower sconces along the walls. At the bottom, they stepped into a large stone foyer; the far wall was wood with faded floral wallpaper and cream wainscoting, but the rest were of ash-gray granite. Discord cleared this throat. "Let's break into two groups. Fluttershy, you'll be with me. Any other takers?" Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Zephyr, and Marble joined them as they headed through glass doors on the right, while the others banded together to go through the wooden door on the left. Fluttershy, without realizing it, had taken Discord's hand and was gripping it ever tighter, but if he found it painful, he didn't react. Once in the room, warm light flooded it from an unknown source. They were in the dining room and the faint sound of birdsong was coming from outside the curtained windows. Fluttershy's grip relaxed. "This," Discord said in what the others thought could have been an attempt at a creepy voice, "is the dining room. Beyond it... who knows?" Rarity and Applejack locked eyes, trying to hide their grins. Fluttershy felt brave enough to let go of Discord entirely and look around. She enjoyed looking at details of the oiled oak sideboard carved with tulips and the rosette-trimmed tablecloth. "Isn't this pretty?" she asked her friends. "Uh, sure is," Applejack said. She and the others were making a good presentation of interest, but all were unimpressed by this ordinary tour of an old house. It was just as Twilight was about to cover a yawn with her hand that the room began to shake. A second later, a sound like a metal clock ticking against the pipes in the walls was heard all around them, and then a blinding white light flashed like lightning. Fluttershy ran back to Discord, terrified. “W-what are we going to do? Discord, what’s happening?”  When Discord looked concerned, Fluttershy worried even more. “Just stick close to me," he said. "I won’t let anything-“  Fluttershy looked up in terror when Discord stopped talking. She began shaking when she realized she was alone and turned in circles to try and fathom what had happened. Perhaps Discord was still in the cheerful dining room, but she was in a rusted old bathroom without him. Tears began streaming down her face and she did not try to hide them, for no one was with her. Pull yourself together. Pull yourself together, Fluttershy! her mind screamed. She took two big breaths to try and stop her shaking body, but on the third she felt a cold hand grip her shoulder and let out a blood-curdling scream.