Rainbow Dash gave an apologetic smile, then as hard as she could, kicked off from the ground. Unfurling her wings and giving a few powerful flaps, the rainbow mare shot off into the direction her frightened friend had gone. The rest of the group watched her fade into the distance, heading off towards the field of games. Rarity gave a content sigh.
"That went well. I hope the poor dear is alright," said Rarity.
"Don't worry," Twilight said, "she's in good hooves. Rainbow may be a prankster, but she's a good friend." Rarity nodded in return, satisfied with the answer.
Rarity decided that it would be in everypony's best interests to change the subject. "Applejack, darling, this party is simply marvelous. I didn't even recognize it as Sweet Apple Acres. No doubt thanks to your professional party skills, Pinkie."
"Shucks, thanks Rarity," Applejack smiled waved it off nonchalantly, "sure was a lot of work, but Ah think the end result was worth it."
"Oh, definitely!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "It's been so much fun working with Applejack. This might be my best party EVER!!" she shouted with an especially high bounce.
"Everything looks amazing! It's obvious you guys put a ton of work into it." Spike added.
They all took a moment to breathe in their environment. Around them, ponies scurried off to one attraction or the other, while many were filing towards the barn where dull throb of a resonant bass could be heard pumping out ghoulish music. The candles flickering inside the jack-o-lanterns were a foreboding sight to say the least; scores of them littered the area, on the ground, haystacks, windowsills, and almost every surface. The sight made many little fillies hesitate before rushing past into the open door of the barn.
In the distance near the apple trees, the loud sputter of a tractor blared to life. The noise was followed by a fervent cheer by all the ponies that were its cargo. Attached by a ball and socket joint and several safety chains, the tractor pulled a medium-sized cart that could carry on average around 15 ponies. The carriage was surrounded by a small metal railing, keeping the occupants from falling out and giving them something to hold on to when the terrain got bumpy. The inside was matted with compressed hay, and around the perimeter were – surprise surprise – more hay bales so those on the ride could sit and enjoy the journey.
Spike was eyeballing the attraction zealously.
"So girls, how's about we head over to the barn? We got one hay of a party goin' on in there!" Applejack gestured.
Twilight nodded in agreement. "Sounds good, Applejack! Let's-" she was interrupted by Spike pulling on her leg. She leaned down and they whispered a short conversation, while the rest of the group looked on questionably. Finally, Twilight straightened back up.
"You girls go ahead; Spike and I will catch up. We're going to ride the haunted hay ride first, if that's okay?"
Rarity giggled lightly at the baby dragon's thirst for adventure. "Of course it's fine darling. You two go have fun, you know where to find us~!"
"Alright! Let's go let's go let's go!" Spike chanted, pulling Twilight in the direction of where the line started.
Twilight hurriedly tried to get in a few last words before Spike ushered her too far. "Uh, bye everypony! See you in a bit." The rest of the group waved as Twilight and Spike faded into the apple trees.
"Well what are we waiting for!?" Pinkie Pie asked. "It's time to paarrrr-tay!" Pinkie Pie sprinted off towards the barn, leaving AJ and Rarity to saunter towards the barn at a more practical pace. The two ponies walked side-by-side not quite knowing what to say. After all, the two didn't especially have the most in common, and the only time they usually came into contact was when the other was teasing them about their polar personality.
"Ya'know, you can hold my hoof if it gets t'be too scary for ya," Applejack joked.
"Ha – funny – ha," Rarity said sarcastically, eventually easing into a subtle giggle. "Please, it would take a whole lot more than 5-bit Halloween decorations to scare somepony of my maturity."
"5-bit? Why, Ah outta-!" AJ non-aggressively nudged the white unicorn, and they both shared another chuckle.
Halfway to the barn, the two ponies could see Pinkie Pie standing on top of a hay bale in front of the entrance. She was beckoning to them hurriedly, trying to get them to move faster. In the end it did nothing to increase their pace, and they strolled at a leisurely stride.
Rarity glanced over to AJ. "It really is quite magnificent what you have accomplished in merely a week. How'd you do it all?"
"Thank ya kindly. It took a whole lot of time an' effort, but thanks to Pinkie Pie's surprising time management skills we were able to get it all done. A'course we had some help from Big Macintosh when it came to the real heavy liftin', and even Applebloom chipped in. The Cutie Mark Crusaders helped paint a lot of these here pumpkins. The carved pumpkins were done by the farm hands, who each volunteered to do a good amount of work. This has been a bad week for business, but Ah think we've made back what we lost from this here Halloween celebration."
Rarity nodded, impressed with the complexity of it all. "You say Sweetie Belle helped a little? That would explain why she has been spending so much time with her friends and less time bothering-... er, 'helping' me in my boutique."
They finally made it to Pinkie Pie. "Took you slow ponies long enough! Come on, let's go go go!" she bounced in.
"Pinkie seems more…Pinkie than usual." Rarity noted, nearing the entrance.
AJ chuckled. "You'll see why in a second. Of all the things Pinkie worked on, this takes the cake by a mile." Rarity didn't know what to anticipate, but her expectations now rose to a curious level. She was very eager to get inside to see what Pinkie Pie was so eager to show.
Through the barn door they were plunged into darkness. It was already dark outside, but this was different. There was absolutely no light. Black velvety drapes hung low from the ceiling creating a narrow passage. The tunnel was designed so that each pony had to go single file. The drapes began to close in as they walked further in, though the music was getting louder. Finally at the apex, where Rarity didn't think she could feel any more cramped, she was squeezed through an opening and finally got to see the inside.
Orange and white lights flashed in sync with the quick beat the emanated from the hidden speakers. A rolling fog covered the base six inches of the floor, making anypony's next step uncertain but gave a sort of thrilling vibe. Cobwebs covered the rafters above, concealing the lights. The sound system itself was cycling through a variety of popular Halloween-inspired music. Overall it did have a very festively spooky feel, and Rarity couldn't help but wonder if it was too much for the younger ones. Surely with the darkness and all the décor, the little ones must be frightened? The thought was quickly dashed out when she saw a group of young fillies dancing and having a good time just like everypony else.
"Do you like it!?" Pinkie suddenly popped in front of her.
"It's incredible, Pinkie Pie! You've truly outdid yourself this time," Rarity complimented honestly.
"Aw, Thanks Rary!" she embraced Rarity in a tight hug. Applejack came through the veil moments after.
"See, what did Ah tell ya? A piece ah art if ya ask me." AJ added. Without hesitation, and after mild protest from the orange earth pony, Pinkie pulled her into the hug to make it a group embrace.
"Come on girls, the dance floor is calling our names!" Pinkie pulled them all out under the orange flickering spotlight.
As crowded as it was, Rarity thought it was going to be nearly impossible to find space enough for everypony to dance. To her surprise, everypony were very courteous to those around them, and they ended up having ample room. Minutes flew by as the three danced around each other, laughing and cajoling the others around them to join in their merriment. Although they were dancing together, each one of them had a different dancing style.
Applejack was rowdy and boisterous, dancing like she was a bull trying to unmount the rider. Rarity was far more reserved, dancing with grace and precision. Every movement became flawless and had purpose as she flowed across the floor. Celestia forbid if she worked up a sweat! She took special care to not work herself too hard; there wasn't any reason to uncomfortable in her costume. And Pinkie Pie? She was Pinkie Pie. Her crazy style couldn't be described in any other word then random. She let the music course through her, and however she felt like moving she did. Sometimes she simply bounced around the group, and other times she was doing a polka dance while spinning about. At one point, she grabbed Applejack's hooves and they spun around in a circle until they were both dizzy. AJ looked like she was going to be sick, but the pink party mare seemed unaffected and continued to shout and cheer over the music.
Rarity and Applejack finally convinced Pinkie to have a short break, and the group walked over to a table that had assorted drinks, but most notably a punch fountain that in this light, looked like a cascade of blood. It was Pinkie's own recipe, so obviously Rarity had to test the concoction with a tentative sip first to make sure no hot sauce was included. After she was satisfied that her delicate pallet would not be harmed, she downed the first cup quickly. They were all a bit thirstier than they realized.
In the downtime, AJ and Pinkie took turns talking about certain details of the party and the whole farm in general; explaining how difficult it was to set up certain booths or attractions, and what minor things went wrong in the development phase.
"Yah it took some coaxin' on mah part to get Big Macintosh to get on board with the whole 'haunted hay ride' setup. He's a good worker, but he ain't much for fancy actin' and storytellin'," Applejack explained.
"Oh, I'm sure it was a struggle. How did you ever get him to agree to it?" Rarity asked.
"Nothin' too elaborate – Ah helped him out with some of his chores 'round the farm. I also told 'em he wouldn't need'ta talk much, which he seemed to like."
"I'm glad he did it! He's doing a super duper great job!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, downing her twelfth cup of punch. "I'll have to remember to give him a big h-"
Suddenly, the music shut off. Every pony glanced around curiously, uncertain of why the song stopped in the middle. The lights still flashed overhead, creating an organic, soundless beat.
"Uh, who turned off the music?" a pony named Roseluck asked; the first one to break the silence.
Rarity turned to Pinkie Pie. "Is this part of the party?"
Pinkie was glancing around, appearing just as confused as everypony else. "Nope! It might be a problem with the music player. Easy peasy, I'll just go check-"
Fuumm… The lights went out. The barn was suspending in perfect darkness, expect in certain areas of the ceiling where moonlight filtered through the cracks in the planks. Nervous chatter spread throughout the crowd, and most of the little fillies shrieked and bolted out of the barn. It didn't install any panic; the little ones were obviously just scared of the dark.
"Alright everypony," AJ shouted, trying to calm the crowd down, "We're experiencing some technomological difficulties. If everypony would just stay calm until we get the lights back up, then we can continue the party."
That pacified the crowd… for about ten seconds.
Although it was pitch dark, everypony could feel something strange enter the room. Rarity felt it on her skin; a light moisture that held the consistency of steam though not as damp. She realized that the room was filling up with slow-moving fog.
"A-Applejack, I have a bad feeling about this…" Rarity whispered, scooting closer to her friends.
A sudden scream echoed in the room; it obviously wasn't a little filly. This scream was one of pure terror.
"There! Up in the rafters!" a colt yelled.
Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all caught their breath as a pair of huge, menacing red eyes was staring down at them.