//------------------------------//
// Level 13 - A Bowl of Cookies 
// Story: Dead Heart 
// by Leila Drake 
//------------------------------//

Spike hurried down the road to Sweet Apple Acres, firmly clutching a giant scroll in his claw. The sun was not going to set for another two hours yet he was already late.

He passed the fence of the Acres, then turned left to cross a meadow. The trees along the fence had started to lose some leaves though most of them, golden and red, were still remaining on the branches. It was pretty warm for a late October day. Spike was sure that tomorrow would be just as nice. Rainbow Dash was a big fan of Nighmare Night; the only thundercloud would probably be her small prank cloud.

Finally, the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse came into sight. Spike heightened his pace, almost tripping over a root of the clubhouse tree.

He climbed up to the entrance and barged in, huffing, "I'm here, I'm here!"

"Thank Celestia! We were worried ya wouldn't show up anymore."

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were already present as well as the other two new members of the club, Dinky and a brown colt with orange hair and a funny propeller beanie. Spike had forgotten his name; he was going to get initiated today as the second male member of the group.

Spike couldn't wait for it. The colt shared his kind of humor. They had had the new amazing costume idea for this year's Nightmare Night. It had been hard to prepare them under their siblings' noses. As far as Spike knew, nopony except the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Time Turner knew about the idea.

"Did you bring the pamphlet?", asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yep!" Spike presented the scroll.

"Awesome!", commented Scootaloo. "Before we start, Dinky, did you get your costume?"

Dinky nodded and grinned sheepishly. "I needed some help from Mara and Rarity, though. I didn't tell Rarity about yours, I promise!", she added quickly when the other Crusaders groaned.

"Good", said the colt. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"I know, I know, Button." Dinky waved with her hoof.

Spike frowned and shook his head. "I hope we aren't taking this too far. Twilight might get the wrong idea..."

Apple Bloom put a hoof on his shoulder. "Now dont'cha worry, Spike! Ya told us the human's got a sense of humor and if Time Turner says he'd be okay with it we should be fine. Besides, it's way too late ter try and get different costumes now. We came up with the idea this summer after all."

"Yeah, and my dad's a good judge of character, says Mom."

"All right." Spike sighed. "I just don't want him to feel uncomfortable is all. But I really want to do it, too! Look, I even got some silver paint to make a nice finish."

Scootaloo squeed. "This Nightmare Night is going to be awesome!"

- - -

"Were you serious when you said you wanted a pet?", asked Twilight.

"I wasn't that sure when I told Discord but... I think I'd actually like to get one. You think I could drop by and have a look?"

I probably should not tell her the kind of pet I want quite yet.

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. I would love to find a good pet for you."

Twilight smiled and put down her teacup. She sighed and stretched, rising from the couch. "My cup is empty, does anypony else want some more tea?"

Priest shook his head. "No thanks." He was sitting on the couch next to Twilight, a bowl of cookies on his lap. It was half full but only because he had made sure to keep a box of cookies next to the couch for refilling.

Fluttershy sat on a large purple pillow on the ground, facing her new friend. "Where is Spike? He left in such a big hurry."

"He's with Sweetie Belle at Applejack's farm", said Priest. "I forgot to ask her friends' names the other day. One of them has this big bow in her hair."

"You mean Apple Bloom and Scootaloo? They're calling themselves the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. I think I saw a new filly with them recently. They are quite a hooffull."

Twilight returned from the kitchen and sat down next to Priest. "They are to anypony else, but Fluttershy here managed all right when they had a sleepover at her cottage."

"Oh, it was nothing, I guess I'm good with fillies like I am with animals."

"Come on, Fluttershy! You made a cockatrice un-petrify me in the process!"

Fluttershy blushed and cringed, a small smile on her face.

"Is that true?" Priest's eyed widened. "How the hell did you do that? You don't look like the fighting type to me."

"I wasn't fighting, I, um, I used the Stare on it."

"Uh-huh." Priest nodded sagely, then grinned and shrugged. "Fluttershy, I don't know what the Stare is. Some kind of Evil Eye?"

"Oh, no, no, it's not like that. I just stared at it because it threatened the girls and petrified Twilight and Elizabeak, my chicken. It gave in eventually. I'm really glad it did, I can't really control my Stare that well. The last time I used it on purpose I..." she rubbed her cheek. "I don't want to talk about it, if that's okay with you."

"Okay." Priest leaned back and grabbed another cookie from the bowl. "Damn, these are good. Are they from Sugarcube Corner?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, they are a new flavor, a recipe of Pinkie Pie. She's doing most of the baking since Mr and Mrs Cake have their hooves full with the foals. Would you mind giving me another one?"

Priest handed the bowl over to her. "Dig in."

As the pegasus took a few cookies from the bowl and placed them on her saucer, Priest scratched his left arm and eyed Twilight.

"'Cutie Mark' Crusaders, huh? Are they on a quest for their Marks or something?"

"Exactly", nodded Twilight. "They always think up new ways of trying to get their Cutie Marks. It's totally adorable. I think they just like to be together and have fun."

"Sounds legit. The Crusader thing sounds funny to me, though, I think you would know why." Priest smiled wryly.

Twilight frowned and levitated her Azeroth journal over to the couch. "Let's see... I think I have something on this... Ah! Here! The 'Argent Crusade'. Yes, I can see what you mean." She giggled. "But believe me, some of their ideas turn out to be kind of dangerous so the name is fitting in a way."

"Oh my, Twilight, there's crusaders in Priest's world, too?"

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, but... they are usually warriors and the like. We saw some of them in Dalaran when we did our research on portal magic. I guess you could compare them a tiny bit with your royal guard except they assembled for a certain purpose. They teamed up to defeat an evil King called, er..." She quickly shuffled through the pages with her magic. "Where do I have that note...?"

Priest cleared his throat. "The Lich King."

"Right." Twilight blushed. "Sometimes I rely on my books so much that I forget you know those things."

He laughed. "I know, Twilight. Don't sweat it."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "What's a lich?", she asked, gracefully taking a bite of the next cookie.

"Er", said Priest.

Twilight looked at him and frowned, then shrugged with her wings. "Just be careful with how you put it."

He sighed. "Well, you noticed that I'm not the healthiest fella."

Fluttershy swallowed and nodded. "When you were a pony, you looked m-more dead than alive. I don't mean any offense, I just noticed..."

"Nevermind that. But you hit the nail on the head there. My point is, I'm not, um. You know, we don't have to talk about this..."

Fluttershy swallowed again, this time not because of the cookie in her mouth but to collect strength. "We are friends now, Priest. I know you won't hurt me so whatever it is, you can tell me."

"Fine. - I'm undead."

The pegasus stared blankly.

"Fluttershy...?" Priest slowly waved his hand in front of her face. "Are you... okay?"

She blinked and jerked her head back. "Sorry, I... did you say, 'undead'? ...As in, 'not alive'?"

"Yeah."

This is getting old, he thought. Maybe I should make a pamphlet or something I can hand to new friends.

"Aaanyway, so is a lich. There's a difference but that would probably take it too far. So there you have it."

"O-okay. Thanks for telling me... I guess?" An anxious frown darkened Fluttershy's features.

Priest shrugged. "I hope this doesn't change anything, me being undead. You're a nice pony, I'd prefer to be your friend."

"You are nice, too, and no, it doesn't." She smiled shakily. "I just need some time to get used to it."

Twilight grimaced, obviously uncomfortable with the subject of Priest's condition coming up again. "Now that Fluttershy knows what a lich is, could we maybe move on..."

Priest rolled his eyes. "You know, Princess, you really need to work on your subtlety. So what is it you wanna ask?"

Twilight blushed and coughed. "I suppose you already noticed that there's a holiday tomorrow."

Priest nodded. "Yeah, I heard some ponies talk about it. They said something about Nightmare Night."

"It's a holiday around spooky thinks like ghosts and such. It came up after Nightmare Moon was banished. There is the story that she comes back at Nightmare Night to gobble up foals so they have to collect candy and give her an offering. She's supposed to take the candy instead of the children." Twilight smiled knowingly. "Of course, she never came to Ponyville except on the thousandth anniversary of her banishment when she was freed from the moon."

Priest nodded. "And you took care of that."

"Yes, we did. When Princess Luna returned, we had a hard time explaining to her what the holiday was about..."

He laughed and took another cookie. "I can imagine the awkwardness. And she's still okay with it?"

"Surprisingly, yes. She wanted to cancel the celebration at first but we convinced her that it was about having fun, not mocking her past."

"Admirable. I don't know if any royals I know would have been okay with something like that. On the other hand, we have something similar. It's even on the same day."

Fluttershy's ears perked up. "It is?"

"Uh-huh. Hallow's End celebrates the freedom of my people. We were under a spell of the Lich King and the day we got our free will back became the most important holiday. It was a different holiday before that but when you go through hell and back... let's just say the citizens of Undercity put a lot of effort into the festivities."

"Undercity? Is that where you come from?"

"Nope, I was born somewhere else. It's the capital city of the Forsaken Lands."

Fluttershy frowned. "That's not a very nice name."

"No, it's not. But it fits. The living don't want to have anything to do with us anymore."

"I'm sorry", said Twilight. "I am beginning to understand why you didn't talk much about your past. What changed your mind so suddenly?"

Priest ate another cookie. "Friendship", he said bluntly. "You're not avoiding me. You even seem to seek my company. Though that's an honor I don't really deserve."

"Don't be silly", said Twilight. "We talked about this."

"Right", said Priest. "I know. I'm just trying to get used to it, okay?" He stuffed a cookie into his mouth.

Fluttershy coughed. "How do you celebrate Hallow's End? Is it very scary?"

He hummed. "Maybe a little. But we have this tradition with giving away candy, too. Then there's enchantments to turn you into, say, a cat or a frog. It's not permanent since it's supposed to be a prank."

Twilight beamed. "That sounds just like what we do! The foals and many adults wear costumes that night to confuse Nightmare Moon. It's a lot of fun. I got the chance to dress up as Starswirl the Bearded."

"Let me guess; he was a famous high level mage?"

Twilight smiled proudly. "That he was. My costume for this year will be a different one, though. I'm going as Clover the Clever since I already have the basic parts. I could keep it after the play at Hearth's Warming Eve and decided to change it to make it historically accurate."

She floated a sketch over that depicted a dark purple pony with a brown cloak. Twilight had marked the changes with red ink, straightening the hem of the cloak and adding several bells. "It's almost finished. I only need to attach two more bells." She smiled happily. "Rarity would have been much faster and better at it but I take pride in always making my own costumes for Nightmare Night."

Priest smiled and reached for another cookie, only to discover that the bowl was empty. "Ah crap, not again." He bent over the side of the couch to refill. The box was empty as well.

Twilight giggled. "Would you like to join us tomorrow when we go to town? I heard that Princess Luna is going to attend again."

Priest slowly put the bowl down next to the box. "Sure. Why not."

"But how are you going to get a costume? The shops are already closed", said Fluttershy. "That is, if you want one."

"I think I'll just get some bandages."

Twilight laughed. "You want to go as a mummy?"

Priest grinned, standing up to get the tea for Twilight. "Yep. It's not much effort and with my white hair it should look convincing enough. Not to mention the skin tone."

"I can't argue with that", mumbled Twilight to herself.

Fluttershy smiled and got to her hooves. "That sounds like a lot of fun. I'm going to excuse myself, if you don't mind. It's time to feed the critters before they go to sleep."

Priest returned from the kitchen and set the teapot down on the round library table. "No problem. It was nice talking to you. And thanks for not freaking out..."

The pegasus shyly held out her hoof and Priest bumped it with his fist. "You coming tomorrow, too?"

Fluttershy nodded. "I have a costume, too. It's a surprise."

"I'm looking forward to it", said Twilight and hugged Fluttershy. "Take care."

"You too. Good night everyp- body." Fluttershy walked over to the library door and left with a smile on her face.

Priest put his hands on his hips and shook his head as he watched her close the door from outside. "That pony is something else."

Twilight poured herself some tea and sat down at the table, opening a book that had been on the top of her usual pile. "I'm glad you put your differences aside."

"Me too." But I don't know if I'm gonna enjoy tomorrow night, he added in his thoughts, his mood already turning sour again.