The day started like any other day; lectures, classes, occasional daydreaming. Just what any other kid would do. I personally was excited for that night. Everything was all set. Smolder and Cozy had planned this for weeks. Since it was going to be their first Nightmare Night, Smolder thought this would be a great way to celebrate it. Just something to spook the other with. It was more of Smolder's idea than Cozy. She asked Cozy Glow to help her since none of them would have expected her to do something like this. Today, she just needed to make sure that everything was all set to go.
"Smolder, I thought we were supposed to meet in the library," Cozy was slightly annoyed.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," she apologized to Cozy. "I ran into Spike in the hallway and we started talking. I completely forgot about meeting you."
"It's fine. You're here now."
"Anyways, you got the book?" Her voice got excited.
Cozy Glow sat her bag down on the ground and pulled out a book. Nothing was on the cover and the color was a faded brown with a couple of water stains that were now imprinted on the book. A few pages were held together with tape so they wouldn't fall out. Though it wasn't close to falling apart, it did have to be handled with care. Which was why she was holding on to it. She knew it would be ruined with Smolder.
"Right here." She showed it off to her. Cozy Glow didn't want to actually give it to her so she opened the book for Smolder to see. She leaned in closer and looked at the page.
Her face turned from excitement to confusion. "What is this? I can't read it."
"Of course silly. It's in pony Latin," Cozy Glow smiled.
"You can read Latin?" She asked doubtfully.
"No, but Ocellus can...or somewhat can. She's going to help me translate after school."
"Perfect. Now we wait for tonight and by tomorrow it will be the talk of the school. Every creature will definitely be freaked out by it," She mischievously chuckled.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cozy was unsure about it.
"Relax, Cozy. It will be fine." She gave her a light punch on Cozy’s shoulder.
"I just don't want to start trouble," She said.
"We're not doing anything wrong. Just causing a few spooks."
"A few spooks, huh?" Cozy laughed knowingly.
She crossed her arms. "It will be worth it."
"Okay, I trust you." However, Cozy didn't fully believe she knew what she was doing. Maybe that was the reason why she agreed to help smolder.
"Lunch was about to end so that was all the time we had to talk. The next time I would see her would be with the others."
"And this is the book you were talking about?"
"Yes, Princess Luna." She pointed at the page I was on. "That was the story we were looking for."
I kept looking over the page. It showed a mother and daughter tied to a pole being burned alive in front of a cheering crowd. You could have mistaken it for a party for a special occasion. Well, it seemed to them it was. I gagged at the sight.
"So what happened next?"
"That night we met in my room. We had a few things planned before Smolder and I would do our thing. But first, we had to get it all set up so I decided to start with a movie. You know something small. I didn't have a lot of good movies. Luckily though, Sandbar brought over a bunch of films for us to pick from."
Sandbar dumped a pile of movies onto the floor. The group glanced over and looked at the varieties. There were horror films, romance, actions, and even a few classic films that were obviously older than any of them.
“Wow, so many many choices. We get to watch all of these, Sandbar?” Silverstream screeched in excitement
"There is no way we could watch them all in one night," Sandbar chuckled.
"Yak don't want to watch something too scary."
"Why a movie? Why don't we do something more exciting?" Smolder groaned as she flew around the room.
"Like what?" Sandbar asked doubtfully.
"Hmmm, I don't know. Just not sit around and watch something."
"I'm sure a movie could be fun." Cozy got up from her spot and jumped off the bed. She trotted to the pile of movies, bumping her book bag in the process. The bag fell on its side and a book fell out of it.
Cozy started looking over the movie. Gallus saw that Cozy Glow didn't realize that she knocked her bag over. He sat the bag up straight again and glad the book to put it back into the bag. He got a glance at the cover which had different symbols surrounding a crescent moon.
"Umm Cozy," he stared. Cozy looked back behind her and saw him holding the book. "What is this?"
"I thought you would be smart enough to know what a book is, Gallus," Smolder said sarcastically.
"Shut up. You know what I mean."
Cozy quickly jumped over and grabbed the book from him. "It's nothing."
"Surely doesn't look like it," Gallus said.
"Is that the book you showed me early, Smolder?" Ocellus asked.
"Yeah..."
"Don't worry about it. It's a book about demons, spirits, and things like that," Ocellus then said. "Cozy and Smolder needed help reading it since it's in pony Latin."
Sandbar scoffed. "You believed in that stuff?"
"I don't know. I wouldn't go far to say yes but I would like to," she answered.
"I believe in them," Silver Stream jumped in.
"Yak doesn't like to think about dead creatures," Yona scarily spoke.
"Who does?" Smolder pointed out.
"It can be very interesting. They are so much to learn about them," Ocellus said.
Cozy opened the book and laid it on the floor. They all gathered around it as she flipped through the pages. They all saw the pictures of monsters and demons bleeding and fighting each other or ripping apart ponies limb from limb.
"I don't like this," Silver Stream said. "These monsters don't look so nice."
"Where did you get this?" Sandbar gasped.
"Oh….well….I…borrowed it from Spike," Smolder nervous smile was enough to convince them of her resolve but the earth pony only responded with a concerned and sarcastic expression.
Smolder leaned back with a smile on her face. She grabbed the bag and pulled a few things out. The group only watched as they waited to see what the dragon was up to. Then her orange scales tightened as fire erupted from her mouth. The room was centered by a small fireplace that was lit ablaze by the dragon. She took a small pile of dirt and created a mist over the flames.
“Oh, throughout history there have been many tales and stories about the afterlife. Many Gods and spirits roam around our lands, unseen to our very own eyes. But...but the worst are demons,” The calls of the young orange dragon filled the darkroom.
“Demons?” the young pegasus pony stuttered.
“Oh yes, terrifying creatures that come to eat your soul,” The orange dragon growled.
“Yona isn’t scared of soul-eating creatures. Yona would crush it.”
“Well, you should be!” the dragon roared. “You’re brute strength won’t help you. They fear no living creature and tear through anything in their path."
"Come on Smolder," the blue griffin scoffed. "There's no way demons are real. I mean spirits that come to eat your soul; that sounds completely stupid."
"Oh...but they are real. Very real indeed. They have been thought out by many who have learned of their terror. It has been written in books and told in songs of the shape-shifting spirits of deception." The dragon encircled the group as her voice was but a mear growl in the night.
"Wellll golly!" Came the cries of the small pony. "These things sound pretty scary." Her sweet kind-hearted voice took little command over the room. Instead, it was but the mere presence of a puppy's wine that filled the room.
"Why yes Cozy, they are," Smolder grunted with some satisfaction.
"Come on," the older blue-haired earth pony laughed. "I'm with Gallus on this one, that can't be real."
"Well mister big brain," Smolder scoffed. "I don't see you bring any evidence or facts to the table."
"Well….neither are you," the earth pony chuckled.
Smolder hovered in the air for a moment as she chuckled became more devious. "Ocellus!" She called out as she snapped her fingers and pointed to a spot next to her.
"I would rather stay out of this debate," the bright young changeling chuckled.
"You're the office book worm of this group and therefore this is your place amongst us." Smolder swooped down and picked the changeling up. She sat Ocellus beneath her and dropped a book in front of the little changeling. "Read it and see it."
Ocellus backed up from the book which was full of mysterious markings and had clearly been made from an unknown substance.
Smolder landed next to the book and flipped to a bookmarked page. "Ahhh ha!" She called out. "Demons. "The legendary harvesters of time and despair." Smiled looked up from the book as the group started to slowly gravitate to the open knowledge.
"I don't know," Cozy Glow's cutie innocent voice opposed. "This book feels like the sort of thing that we shouldn't have."
"Oh come on," Smolder laughed. "Twilight is always reminding us to read more, so this is a great started."
"Ya… I doubt Twilight would approve of this….book," Gallus smirked.
"Well you wanted proof, and now you've got some." Smolder ran her claw across the page as she started to read the inscription. "These dastardly spirits are not bound by our world and only seek to flood it with despair and death. It is unknown why they are naturally led to this inclination, but it still brings them great pleasure. They feed off of the fear of the living and care not for their well-being. Instead, they use the living as pawns to bring death and destruction to the living world, and usually, any encounter with them ends in utter ruin. What is best known about these spirits is that where they go, death will follow."
Smolder looked up from the book with a smile full of her sharp teeth. She saw the horror that stained the group's faces and even chuckled as she saw Yona hide behind her ponytails.
"So what do you think?" Smolder gowled.
"I think I wanna go home," Cozy cried.
The earth pony cleared his throat as he slowly closed the book. "This is definitely something we shouldn't have."
"Oh come one Sandbar," Smolder teased. "Admit it, you're scared.
"I'm not scared, this is…. I mean… where did you actually get this book?"
"I already told you," Smolder scoffed.
"Come on, did you really get this from Spike?"
"Yup," She chuckled. "I swear it."
"And why would Spike have this book. I mean what is it even made of? Cause it isn't paper." SandBar ran his hoove across the page to feel its weird properties.
"I really don't know the answer to either of those questions,” Smolder replied. “But clearly he too knows the truth of these terrifying creatures.”
“Yona doesn’t want to meet any demon,” Came the cries of the frightened yack
“Trust me,” Smolder laughed. “No one does.”
"I don't know," Sand Bar scoffed. “I'm not still not convinced that demons are real.”
“Really,” Smolder scoffed. “Alright Mr. Sceptic, what’s going to convince you.”
A small devious smirk washed its way across the pony’s face as he chuckled. “How about you show me.”
“What?”
“I’ll believe you if you show me one.”
The whole room came to a sullen silence as an odd feeling of dread and awe-filled the empty space. Smolder hoovered in the air as she stared down at the opposing blue earth pony. The rest of the group exchanged glances of approval from one another as the silence droned on.
“So I have to show you a demon?”
“Yes,” Sand Bar froze for a moment as his brain slowly processed his command. “Oh wait, I mean no! They're not real so there’s nothing to show.”
“Woh woh woh,” Smolder laughed. “You can’t make a challenge like that and then just back down. If they’re not real then what’s the issue if I show you?”
“Well, you can’t show me because they aren’t real.”
“Why not give it a try then?”
“Listen,” Sand Bar chuckled as he cleared his throat. “Say they were real. You said it yourself that no pony lives to tell about, so it would still just be a really bad idea.”
“Yona is confused,” The Yak laughed.
“About what?” Replied the blue pony.
“I thought you were an earth pony, not a scaredy-cat.”
“What!?” Sand Bar turned to see the rest of the group giggling at the remark.
“Ya SandBar,” Smolder taunted. “That just sounds like a cheap excuse to hide the fact that you're scared.”
“Come on Smolder,” He pleaded. “It’s not like that. It’s perfectly normal for someone to be a little skeptical. Professor Twilight is always reminding us to question things.”
“Ya well, Twilight also reminded us that a good argument is only made better through facts.” The Dragon’s face lit up with glee as she took in an enormous amount of pride.
“Alright right Mrs. Smarty,” Gulus scoffed. “How exactly do you intend to do that”?
The room was stained by another ocean of silence. Smolder slowly descended to the ground as her mind started to race. She tilted her head as her thoughts started to drag on her physics. She turned to her commands to see their reactions. Their faces were stained with concerned yet curious expressions. She knew that they were wondering exactly what she was going to do just as much as she was.
“That’s a good question,” Sand Bar added. “How do you plan on showing us, a demon?”
Smolder only continued in her silence as her mind continued to race.”Welllll….. I…. You see….” Her drawn-out high pitch voice-only brought amusement to the skeptic griffon and earth pony. “There is one place…. I think….”
“Well golly Smolder, surely you don’t mean Savannah?!”
“Who and the what now?” Smolder and Sand Bar said in perfect unison.
“You never heard about Savanna?” Cozy Glow’s sweet concerned voice flooded the group’s curiosity with glee.
“Who in Equestria is Savannah?” Gallus chuckled.
"Well, about 60 years ago, there was an old small village on the other side of the EverFree Forset. The villagers there were afraid of the forest and anything involving dark magic. However, there was a family that lived in the Everfree forest and they had a young beautiful daughter named Savannah. She was always known in the village for singing in the Everfree forset the same song every day. She had a big heart and treated everypony with kindness. She had such a bright view of life, always saw the good and never the bad."
"However, some held a huge hatred towards her because she a strange love for dark magic. They say she was using it but she always said otherwise. Even the town leader wasn't so fond of her. So when a pony in the village died, they blamed her for it. Even though there was no proof she did it and they killed her. Rightfully angry by this, Savannah placed a cruse on the village and one by one her murders died mysteriously until the village was no more. Even though the village has been gone for many years, they say anypony who goes to her old house can still hear her singing her song."
There was a moment of awkward silence as they all stared at her with surprise and fear.
"I-is that true?" Silver Stream's voice was shakey.
"Yep. All of it," Smolder answered.
"Come on. It can't be," Sandbar said.
"Why not?" Smolder snapped.
"I lived here my whole life and I never heard of that," Sandbar explained.
"That doesn't mean anything!" Cried Smolder. Sandbar shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Well, they is only one way to find out."
"You don't mean-" Ocellus started.
"Why yes, I do. We should go to the house and try to find Savannah," Smolder smirked.
"This is crazy," Sandbar crossed his hooves.
"It would be more fun than watching a movie," Gallus shrugged.
"See. Thank you, Gallus. Alright, who's in?" Smolder's voice rose in excitement.
"I am!" Cheered Silver Stream. "It does sound like fun."
"Umm Yona not sure about this." Yona shivered a little.
Ocellus looked down at the book, unsure of herself. "Yeah, I don't know either." She flipped throw the pages, each one scaring her more than the last.
"Don't worry. None of this is real," Sandbar resurrected her.
"Then there shouldn't be no problem going," Smolder throw back at him. "Or you could just stay here and watch a boring movie alone while the rest of us goes out and have fun without you."
"Okay, Yona goes if all her friend goes too."
Ocellus looked over to Sandbar. "I'll go if you think it's a good idea."
Sandbar saw he was outnumbered and sighed heavily in defeat.
"Fine. Only to prove you wrong."
The moon hung low in the sky as its light forced its way through the thick layer of clouds. The cold blanketed the ground in a thick layer of mist. The students all stood in front of the old broken-down house that was reak of horror. The ambiance only helped instill a silent scream that echoed in each of the children.
“This is the place!?” Gulous’s whisper scream seemed to be captured by the old rotting wood.
“Surly,” Cozy whispered as she gulped.
“Yona doesn’t like this place,” The Yak whimpered as she hid behind her braids.
“Well,” Smolder gulped. “You said you wanted proof, so this is how I’m going to show you.” Even the mighty dragon cowered before the swaying of the night sky.
“Are you really sure you want to do this?” Sand Bar objected.
“Well if it’s the only way….” Smolder turned to see the group of cowering animals looking at the slaughterhouse.
The group slowly trailed behind the one brave cowered that was a mighty dragon. She led the group like a shepherd to the flock of sheep. The wind seemed to pick up as they approached the old wooden door. Smolder slowly turned the doorknob and listened with concerned ears as the old rusted gears ground together in the rotting metal.
The door slowly creaked open with a loud awakening as if it were a sleeping giant that awoke from years of slumber. The rest of the house seemed to follow the same awakening as the moonlight hit the surfaces that had laid dormant for many years.
The group walked into what appeared to be a large walk-in the hallway. They looked around at the large old rusted decore that seemed like it was once welcoming to those who entered. However, all that remained was a shadow of a tragic past.
“So what exactly is the plan here?” Sandbar asked as he kicked over a broken photograph.
“Well it’s like I said, you have to find a mirror.”
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Sandbar gulped.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of a creepy old house.” Smolder tried to hold back the quivering fear within her to little avail. Luckily for her, her sad attempt was masked by the cowering mist that hung over their heads.
“What, No, of course not. I just don’t think we should be….”
“Well if you’re not scared then let’s do this,” Smolder interrupted.
Sandbar only grunted as he watched the prideful dragon walk towards one of the broken-down hallways. The group followed like a pack of wolves in search of their next meal. The hallway’s style followed the rest of the house’s design of rotting wood, old and broken photos, and the signs of mold and other scavengers.
The bathroom was perhaps the one room that showed signs of the past. The large mirror was still intact and timed seemed not to disturb its stature. The group pilled into the half-decent bathroom as Smolder walked up to the mirror.
“Alright, so what do we do now?” Gallus asked.
“We say the chant that brings her forward.” Smolder shrugged as she wiped the mirror in front of her.
“And exactly is supposed to happen?” Sand Bar gulped.
“I guess we’ll see,” Smolder chuckled.
“Wait,” Sand Bar gasped. “You have no idea what is supposed to happen?”
“I mean… I guess she just….apears.”
“Well, this bad idea just turned into a horrible idea,” Gallus gulped.
“What even was the chant?” Ocellus whispered into the dark.
Smolder pulled out a small piece of paper and scanned through it slowly. “So it says we must say this phrase into the mirror at the dead of night and saturated in darkness.”
“Come again?” Gallus groaned.
“We have to read the paper out loud in pitch darkness,” Ocellus chuckled.
“So… who’s gonna do it?” Smolder asked. Her response was eyes of judgment that rained over the dragon. “Ya, I kinda figured,” Smolder sighed.
The dragon turned and stared into the glaring mirror as the group watched in awe. She took a deep breath before she turned to the changeling that stood next to the door. Ocellus slowly closed the door as the group was encased in darkness. Smolder look another deep breath as she turned back to the mirror.
“See now spirit from the depth of the night, come forth now into the absence of light.” The words of the dragon echoed through the room and filled in the gaps in the darkness. The groups’ wandering eyes scanned the room in search of any activity foreign to them. “Should I say it again?”
“I don’t think so,” Sandbar whispered. “But like what’s….”
“Stop bumping me.” Ocellus called out.
“What?” Gallus whispered back.
“Whoever’s bumping me, can you please stop?”
The group stood in silence as they waited for someone to respond. “Who bumped you?” Gallus asked.
“I don’t know,” Ocellus growled. “Whoever’s next to me.” Silence followed.
“Alright stop messing around,” Gulus growled.
“I’m not!” Ocellus growled back.
“Alright!” Gallus growled. “Whoever just touched me, you’re not funny.” The group only remained silent. “Alright! Open the door!”
Ocellus quickly opened the door and let the moonlight flood the room. The light revealed the group standing inside a decent yet dirty bathroom. “Who was doing it?” Gallus groaned.
“It wasn’t me,” Cozy proclaimed.
“Me neither,” Yona interjected.
“Wasn’t me.”
“Or me.”
Gallus looked around to see that everyone had removed themselves from the situation. “Well….Someone had to do it.”
“Clearly it was Sandbar,” Smolder scoffed.
“Me? Why me?”
“Cause you’re next to him, and it wasn’t me.”
“Well, it wasn’t me,” Sandbar objected.
“Yona thinks dragon is trying to scare everyone.”
“What!?” Smolder gasped. “That’s ridiculous!”
“Is it,” Gallus added. “It makes total sense to me.”
“In what way!?”
“Well, obviously you would want to scare us so you can prove your point.”
The group continued to throw their accusations as their voice rose in volume.
Open your eyes.
It's time to see the morning sun
Don’t cry.
Don’t run.
Let’s see what the day becomes.
Silver Stream turned around and looked behind her. She looked back to the group as they kept arguing. Did they hear it? Was it just in her head?
I wait for the time when the sun will truly rise. See now spirit from the depth of the night, come forth now into the absence of light.
There it was again. The voice sang beautifully but who was it from. She turned back to the hallway where the voice seemed to originate from. She knew it couldn't be her. She inched forward towards the door and reached out for it.
"Ummm g-guy." She stepped back shaking badly now.
The group kept yelling at each other.
"Guys!" She screamed louder this time.
The group silenced and looked over at Silver Stream.
"What?!" Smolder and Gallus yelled.
"I s-s-see s-something."
Suddenly their voices were cut off by the horrific scream of a mare. The group froze in place as the scream shook the very walls around them. She was meet with the distorted face of a screaming mare. Her head popped around the corner and her voice shook the very walls. The group all jumped back as they too screamed in return. The door slammed shut as the darkness flooded the room.
They all kept screaming as they trembled and rushing out of there. They ran into each other and knocking one over as they headed for the door. They ran out of the house and got as far away from it as they could.
"Wait! Wait!" Yona cried as she stopped running. "Yak don't see Sandbar."
Ocellus stopped and looked back where they came from. "I don't see him either."
The other soon stopped and they looked around him."Sandbar! Sandbar! Where are you?!" They all called out for him.
"Where did he go?" Smolder asked.
Ocellus gasped. "We didn't leave him behind at the house?!"
They sure didn't want to go back to the house. Before any more could be done, there was a creak heard nearby them causing them all to jump. They glanced at each other as none of them knew what to do.
Then there was a loud thump as something fell from the sky and slammed hard onto the ground in front of them. It only took them a moment to realize who it was.
The moon slowly approached the night horizon as the screams of the innocent echoed into the night sky. A bird jumped from its resting place upon a branch as the atmosphere shook in fear.