//------------------------------//
// 2 - Jack o' Lanterns and Gingerbread Ponies 
// Story: How the Foundation Ruined Nightmare Night 
// by Drefsab 
//------------------------------//

	"Right, that's another task completed. Only one task left, then: the mascot."

Bramble quickly prepped the potion delivery machine for another go, carefully filling the various glass spheres with a rainbow of brightly-colored potions. "Why would Princess Luna need a mascot for Nightmare Night, anyway? Isn't she the mascot? I mean, it is her night after all."

Willow Wisp shrugged at his side. "Bugger if I know. So long as the royalty continues to cut the Foundation a dirty great big check every quarter, we'll keep doing as they ask, I imagine."

"True enough." With a final adjustment the long arm of the machine clicked into place, a small light blinking to show it was ready. "Alright, let's get this thing done with. Luna's due to stop by in a couple of hours." The jacketed pair stepped through the security door and into the main observation room. Bramble pulled out a small box from beneath the counter, filled with various objects. "Alrighty, lemme just find the thing here..." He pushed aside a collection of seemingly random items; an orange ball with pink stars, kitchen utensils, letter blocks, even a scarf. "Uhhh...hmm."

"Any time you'd like to produce the item to be animated, Dr. Bramble."

He gulped, frantically searching through the box. "Uh, right, the item. To be animated. By us. Heh heh..." In a fit of inward panic he realized he had left the object -- a haunted tree with a scary face -- on his counter at home. Which, of course, shouldn't have been there in the first place, but he thought he could set it up next to his little Nightmare Night panorama at home and get some pictures with it before coming back to work. To the best of his knowledge it was still sitting there, scaring the little plastic figurines in his haunted village.

"...Bramble...you did bring it with you, right?"

"Umm..."

"Oh bloody hell. You forgot it, didn't you?"

"I might have."

Willow put a hoof to his face, letting out a deep exhale. "Wonderful! Just...wonderful. You do realize we're without a proper mascot now, yes? Those potions are meant to be applied to that specific item." He sat on the floor in defeat, removing his glasses with a magical field and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "There goes our bonus for the year."

"Maybe I can still go home and get it," Bramble offered. "Pretty sure I know where it is."

"Much as I wish such a thing were possible, we're under strict orders not to leave the facility until we've been given the all-clear by our department heads. Far too important of a night and all." 

Bramble swore under his breath, sliding the box of useless items to the corner. "I'm sorry, Willow. I swear I meant to bring it back..."

"Yes, well, that does us little good now, my friend."

They sat in silence for a long moment before Bramble spoke up. "Hey, I think I have an idea."

The other perked up at the mention of a potential solution. "Really? By all means, do tell."

"I think it'd be better if I show you. Just stay here for a minute, I'll be right back."

Willow stood up, adjusting his glasses. "Very well. I do hope your idea is a cracking good one." Bramble was already halfway out the door, practically running down the hallway. He pushed past a small group of researchers with a quick "sorry" before making a sharp right turn, his hooves skidding on the polished tile. Four doors down and off to his left, he quickly slid his keycard through the security reader, rushing into the room before the door had fully opened.

Half a dozen of his colleagues turned to look at him. Not many ponies had ever barged into the employee break room.

"Oh, uh, hey there." Bramble could feel his face turning bright red; he tried to play it off, whistling nonchalantly as he trotted to the fridge and pulled out a small, blue lunch pail. "Wanted to, you know, make sure my food was still here. And it is. So...happy Nightmare Night! We'll be sure to...to do that thing. Yeah. Bye!"

Dr. Wisp heard his partner's frantic hoofsteps coming back down the hall. He sighed to himself, wondering what in the world could replace the very object they were meant to give temporary pseudo-life to. A familiar, muffled bellow sounded along with the hoofsteps as Bramble passed by a garbage can. 

"WhooOOooOOoOoo! I'm a GHOOOO--"

"Yeah, yeah, scary ghost, whatever. I'm busy."

The door whooshed open, and Bramble nearly tumbled to the ground. "Back so soon, my esteemed colleague?"

"I got it!" he exclaimed victoriously, lifting the pail up. "Wasn't sure if it'd be there, but I got it!"

"...your lunch?"

"No, not my lunch!" He popped the lid back, reaching in to grab something. "Played it totally smooth in the break room, too. Shoulda seen me."

"I'm sure."

"Alright, Willow -- Dr. Wisp, or whatever you'd like to be called right now -- I present to you...Nightmare Night's new mascot!" He thrust out his hooves, the object of his "brilliant" idea clasped between them with a big grin on his face.

"...a gingerbread pony."

"Yes! I mean...no, not just a gingerbread pony, a Nightare Night gingerbread pony."

"Please tell me you're not serious." He buried his face in his hooves. "Please."

"Why not? It could work."

"Where did you even get a gingerbread pony? Aren't those usually associated with, you know...Hearth's Warming? When i think 'gingerbread pony' I don't think 'Nightmare Night'."

"My aunt baked 'em. They're great! Here, try it."

Willow pushed the cookie away. "Need I remind you that even if we end up using such a ridiculous idea, a gingerbread pony with a bite taken out of it is--" He glanced up at Bramble, a chunk of the would-be snack's foreleg already missing.

"...whoops."

" Outstanding. Well, there's that idea in the bin."

"No no, it can still work! Watch!" A bag of mixed candy was dumped on the counter, and Bramble quickly set to work fashioning a makeshift foreleg from bits of taffy and cherry licorice. "Just gotta shape it like so...little bit of sugar powder to hold it in place...aaand done!" For a final touch he cut the white tips from some leftover candy corn pieces, affixing them to the cookie's mouth. "There, see? Now he's a vampire...gingerbread...cookie. What? Oh come on, don't give me that look. It can still work."

Willow sighed in defeat. Clearly, his associate wasn't going to give up on this. "Fine. Fine. But if this goes south, it's entirely your idea. Understood?"

"It'll be fine. You'll see."

"Let us hope you're right. Very well, then. Please place the object on the pedestal, and we'll give it the old college try." Willow muttered to himself as Bramble stepped into the test chamber, the makeshift mascot clenched between his teeth. He set it on the pedestal, then locked the door behind him.

"Room's all set. You wanna start the checklist, or should I?"

"It's your bizarre idea, so I say you should start it."
For what felt like the hundredth time that day, they went through the motions of preparing and administering the proper amounts of magical fluids and raw magical energy, the complicated, expensive machinery mixing everything with exacting precision. If they had calculated correctly, the mixture should bring temporary, quasi-sentient life to the impromptu object. Of course, it wasn't the same size as the haunted tree figure. Or material. Or shape.
The researchers went down their checklist, one item at a time. Everything was going well -- the fluids swirled together perfectly, the magical energy arced and crackled.
"Magic particle saturation looks good. This may just work."

Bramble nudged Willow with his shoulder. "See? I told you we had nothing to worry about."

"We shall see. I'd suggest holding back on the celebratory champagne until your gingerbread pony gets up and walks about on its own."

Bramble blinked. "...we have champagne?"

"Well, no, but if you'd really like some I'm sure we can purchase a bottle from Dr. Brighteyes." Bramble started to answer, but was interrupted by Willow putting a hoof over his mouth. "Just a moment. I believe we may have some movement..."


***


Hours away in Canterlot, Princess Luna was preparing for the night. Her night. The one night of the year she could truly feel like all of Equestria was glad she was back. She would do as she'd done for the last five years, making her rounds from city to city, village to village, stopping at each place to interact with the foals in all of their little costumes, small donations from their sweet earnings piled together to appease Nightmare Moon, lest she gobble them up. Or so the stories went.
Luna was more than happy to oblige, and indeed, she'd come to enjoy Nightmare Night. Now that Nightmare Moon was all but gone from the depths of her being, she was free to have fun again. So she'd land at each location on her nightly tour with a fantastical showing of thunder and lightning, pulled by her magically altered bat-pony guards, and she'd call forth the tiny remnant of her former self, just enough to transform into a visually and verbally exact copy of the tyrannical Nightmare Moon, and make a great showing of candy-related threats and dark promises of retribution if she was not appeased. Then, once her part was done, she would join the fillies and colts and laugh and play for a short time before returning to the sky, ready to repeat the process with the next town.

"My Princess, I have completed the route for tonight's festivities." A pegasus guard, sans armor, trotted toward Luna with a clipboard in hoof. "As per last year, we will begin with Bridle Falls, then Canterlot, then head south toward Ponyville, Stalliongrad, Manehattan and Fillydelphia, before turning due east to stop by Seasaddle, Westbuck and a few smaller villages after that. If all goes according to schedule, we will return around midnight."

Luna looked over the schedule, flipping the pages with brief flashes of magic. "This will do nicely," she stated with authority. "You are sure this flight path is optimized? I do not want any negativity associated with my visits."

"Absolutely, Princess," the guard answered confidently. "I have double and triple checked it myself."

"Very good." She raised a hoof to her chin in thought. "And what of our special order to the Foundation? Have we heard from them recently?"

"That we have, Princess. We will be making a brief stop by Bridle Falls to pick up your ordered items before continuing the tour. I believe your list caused some...confusion...amongst the staff."

"No confusion was necessary," Luna replied indignantly. "T'was but a few simple requests."

"Yes, Your Highness, as you say."

The guard placed his silvery helmet upon his head. Within a matter of seconds his entire appearance had been altered by the magic-infused armor -- his feathery wings became thin and bat-like, his eyes turned to black slits on unnatural fields of yellow, and his teeth elongated into pointed fangs.
"I believe we are prepared, Princess. We may leave at any time." The other guards nodded to him, their transformations taking effect just as fast as his own.

"As you say, commander. Do be sure to remove your helmet before arriving home to your wife in the morning this time," Luna said with a hint of a smile.

His colleagues snickered and chuckled behind him. "Uh, yes, Your Highness. Of course."

"Very well, then. Let us be off!"

The pegasus-turned-bat guards hitched themselves to the royal sky carriage and gently lifted off the ground. "Don't you worry, Princess, I have full confidence in the Foundation. I'm sure any concerns are unwarranted."


***


"We are dead, Willow! We are so dead!" Alarms blared through the sprawling complex as frantic work staff rushed down the hallways. An automated message system repeated the same message over and over. Warning: Test subject anomaly detected. Please report to your containment stations. This is not a test.
Bramble yelled at the damnable, calm voice that blared from the speakers. "Shut up already!" It had only been a few short minutes since their would-be Nightmare Night mascot -- and Bramble's one-time lunch snack -- had grown to an enormous size and burst from its containment room. In the process, it had freed half a dozen other subjects that were now free to roam the facility or escape through the front entrance...which had also been breached by the giant gingerbread pony.  "How was I supposed to know a friggin' cookie would become the harbinger of our impending doom?! It's a cookie!"

Dr. Wisp hastily trotted alongside him, ducking to avoid a string of festive bat-shaped lights that flew past his head. "I told you those potions were calibrated for a specific object! If we survive this little diversion -- and manage to keep our jobs -- I am implementing a ban on any and all food in the test facility! Especially gingerbread ponies!"
They skidded to a stop in front of the nearest elevator and jabbed the button. "Oh, blast it all! The bloody elevators are offline! That figures."

Bramble nudged his shoulder. "Stairs are down here, come on." It was a long climb, nearly six flights of stairs. Half-way up they met a middle-aged mare who was nearly speechless with panic.

"GIANT. COOKIE," she managed to gasp. She grabbed Willow by the collar of his lab coat. "IT SMELLED LIKE NUTMEG! NUTMEG!" With a shout she ran out into the nearest hallway, knocking herself out on a low-hanging sign with a resounding 'clang'.

"Jeez! Should we...help her?"

"That's probably best left to the professionals." A trio of ponies in orange and yellow security vests ran over to her and helped her on her hooves, then escorted her out of view. "Quite the fine mess we've created..."
Three flights later they were at the main level of the facility. Rubble lined the hallways and warning lights flashed their orange glow as teams of security and research personnel hurried to their assigned places.

"We're just off to the left here," Bramble said, turning to make for the room in a sprint. Willow stuck out a hoof to stop him.

"We're not going to the containment rooms."

"What? Why?"

"Because, you loony bastard, we caused this. It stands to reason that we have to fix it!"

"How in the hell are we supposed to do that? I'm not exactly a warrior or a royal guard here!"

"I hadn't noticed," Willow deadpanned. Fifty meters ahead of them, illuminated by blue emergency lights, was a hole. A very large hole. A very large, pony-shaped hole. "Would you look at the size of that! I can only speculate that it's continued to grow, and now it's free to tromple around Bridle Falls!"

"I don't think tromple is a wor--"

"Not the point! If there were some way to reverse the process, we could minimize the damage to the town. Any ideas?"

"...bring the giant machine thingy with us?"

"Brilliant. Now tell me how we go about doing such a thing."

"Uhhh..."

"That's what I thought. Any other ideas?"

"We could ask it nicely to follow us."

"Somehow I doubt it's the type of monstrosity to listen to reason, Dr. Bramble. If only we could figure out what caused that rapid growth in the first place..." Willow tapped his chin in thought, only to be interrupted by a loud crunching. "...What are you doing?"

"Wha? I'm eating. I didn't get to eat lunch because somepony let my gingerbread pony turn into the destroyer of worlds."

"It was your idea!"

"Eh, details." He loudly smacked his lips before reaching into a small saddlebag slung across his back. "Fortunately, I had another one ready to go. See?"

"Yes, fascinating, I'm sure. I don't think this is the time for snacking, Bramble."

"Mmmm...nutmeg-y."

"Come, we'll see if we can't get past--wait, nutmeg?"

"Yeah," Bramble said between loud chews, "my aunt loves the stuff."

"That mare in the stairwell mentioned nutmeg as well...I wonder; Bramble, stay here for a moment, would you? I need to retrieve something."

"Sure thing. And when you come back, bring something to drink with you. Dang thing made me thristy."


***


Princess Luna glanced over the side of the sky carriage at the dark forest below. Bridle Falls was always one of her favorite places to visit, thanks in large part to the big, beautiful waterfall at the edge of the forest that gave the town its name. Even as high up as she and her guards were, the cool mist washed over her -- she took a deep breath and smiled, thankful for the refreshing moment, however brief.

"Bridle Falls is just below us, Your Majesty. Shall we begin our descent?" Small points of light from windows and festive candles dotted the landscape, and the sounds of good-natured screams and frights drifted to their ears.

"You may proceed, commander." Luna nodded to the lead guard, then donned her jet-black cloak that would conceal most of her features until her grand entrance was complete. As the sky carriage drifted down through the light cloud cover she closed her eyes and focused her magic, turning the small, puffy clouds into a slowly swirling vortex that grew darker and more menacing. Small flashes of light dotted the sky -- a good start.

"Wasting no time this year, Princess?"

"Indeed," she laughed lightly. "I must admit, Sir Stormfront, that I have missed it greatly. Soon we shall be amongst the denizens of Bridle Falls, up to our knees in candy and adorable costumes. Though I must say, I would prefer to see some more frightening outfits this year. What was it that young filly in Ponyville wanted to be upon my first arrival? A zombie, was it? I do believe she's been the same thing for the past four years. Perhaps she's convinced her friends to join her!"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Mmm. But first, the children of Bridle Falls require my attention. If you would, Sir Stormfront, please take a few guards with you to pick up our order from the Foundation. I believe you know the place."

"Of course, Your Highness. It shall be done, don't you worry."

"Marvelous! Now, then..." She drew upon the last vestiges of her old self, feeling the dark influence struggling to be free -- but she was far stronger than she used to be, and her willpower kept it at bay, letting through just enough to alter her appearance. She felt herself grow taller, stronger. A surge of magical energy swept over her mane and tail, transforming them into ethereal, flowing visions of the darkest of nights. To complete the look, a set of sharpened teeth went over her own -- menacing fangs that glinted in the flashes of lightning around her. "Let us pay a visit to Bridle Falls."


***


Bramble waited patiently for the better part of fifteen minutes, leaning against a wall as he watched groups of researchers, security guards and contractors rush about. He went over the list of chemicals and extracts they had worked into the potion, double-checking them for some sort of reaction, some reason for the chaos that was playing out around him.
Everbright, Shadeblossom Extract, Focus Serum, Particle Booster 811-B...

Willow's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Dr. Bramble! Dr. Bramble, I believe I've found something!"

Bramble perked his ears up. "Did you? I've been sitting here trying to figure out what we did wrong." He paused. "It was the nutmeg, wasn't it?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous," Willow said. "Where would you get such an idea?"

"Uhh...you kinda ran off after this 'eureka' moment involving it."

"Unconnected, I assure you."

"But--"

"Unconnected, my esteemed colleague." He adjusted his glasses before adding quietly, "it was anise."

"What?"

"Nothing. The important thing is that we made a mistake in the chemical mixture: we were supposed to use Mantiberry extract diluted in a mixture of--" There was a loud crash from further down the cavernous entryway; several guards in firefighting outfits rushed to the scene, levitating extinguishers. "Oh screw it. Long story short, my friend, we bungled something that was supposed to go un-bungled, and now we have a gigantic doom cookie wreaking havoc through Bridle Falls, along with who-knows-what else."

"I noticed. So what do we do about it?"

"If my theory is correct, the process can be reversed if we apply the same mixture, albeit diluted, to the subject with a safer medium. It will counter-act the old application and revert it to its normal size. That, or make it grow even larger...the science behind it is still somewhat...foggy."

"Foggy. Great."

"There's also the teensy problem of a larger portion of said medium. Most anything will work, as long as it's inert to the chemicals. Even water."

"...how much 'larger' are we talking?"

Willow Wisp smiled nervously. "Ah...about a thousand gallons?" He glanced at the giant hole in the entry shutter. "I do hope you brought a large bucket, my friend."


***


Princess Luna descended from the sky with flashes of lightning and cracks of thunder. Already she could hear the shouts of terror and the stamps of countless hooves around her. As her sky carriage touched the ground, she leapt out dramatically and tossed aside her cloak, which turned into a cloud of bats and scattered with the wind. Her eyes closed and her held held high, she recited the words she'd memorized years ago.
"Pathetic mortals, who dares summon Nightmare Moon on this most unholy of nights?! Who dares tempt the wrath of the Queen of the Night?! All those who wish to be spared, hear me and obey: bring forth your sweets, that I may feast upon them, or so shall I feast upon you!"
The terrified screams continued, and Luna smiled inwardly. I must be in particular form tonight. She waited to hear the sound of candy wrappers rustling at her hooves, maybe the giggles of children who had taken part in the festivities before. After a long moment she cautiously opened an eye.
"Make haste, or your queen shall...shall..."
There were indeed ponies panicking all around her, but none of them seemed to even notice her presence. She turned to her guards. "Exactly what is happening here? These citizens are not reveling. They should be reveling!"

"We seem to have landed in the midst of some sort of crisis, Your Highness," one of the bat-guards answered. "We were not informed of such a thing. We shall make all haste to determine--"
There was a great booming sound, one after another. The ground shook with each burst of noise. In the distance, emerging from a copse of evergreens, was an enormous creature. It roared as it approached, cloaked in the darkness of night.  "What in the world is that?!"

Luna's eyes went wide; the creature towered over every building in the town, even the tall belltower of City Hall. "By the heavens..." She shook herself alert, pointing a hoof at the lead bat-stallion. "Guards! Subdue that creature at once!"

A guard in the back yelled back. "I'm sorry, Your Highness, we brought no arms! It was to be a night of festivities, not combat!"

The massive creature came into view; it was a dark brown, vaguely pony-shaped, with gleaming red eyes and large, bright-white fangs on each side of its mouth. One of its legs was oddly colored, brighter and with a different texture to the rest of the thing. Luna squinted at it, an inkling of its nature tugging at the back of her mind. "It almost appears to be..."

"A gingerbread pony?!" one of the guards finished for her in surprise. "No, no, that can't be right!" He unclasped himself from the sky carriage assembly, flapping into the air for a closer look. He flew a quick circle around it, avoiding a leg that swung up at him. "It is! Princess, this isn't the mascot you were speaking of, is it? Because I imagined something...smaller. And more holiday-appropriate." He sniffed the air. "Smells good, though. Like nutmeg."

"My mascot? When I put in the request I had expected a small creature, Sir Thundershield! Certainly not this!" As she took to the air for a better look she noticed a small horde of oblong, bouncing objects surrounding the...gingerbread pony. There were dozens of them, and they were all singing. "Curious. I will have to have a word with the Foundation about appropriate sizes, though I am not sure--" One of the pumpkins jumped up at her, singing some song or other. She dodged out of the way with a flap of her wings, only to have a hoof-full of others come at her. "I...am not...amused!" she said as she dodged their attempts to reach her. "I specified friendly, not smothering! I dare say such displays of affection are unbecoming of simple carved squashes!" There were now dozens of the little jack o' lanterns under her, bouncing up at her joyfully, all while singing their song in unison.  She looked over to her guards, who were bobbing their heads to the song. "I am glad you can find some entertainment in my surprise."
None of them looked back at her, or responded in the least. One of the guards removed himself from his harness, followed by his colleagues.  He muttered something to no-one in particular about the song sounding "familiar". Luna hovered in front of them, sticking out a hoof and ordering them to stop what they were doing. They didn't react, continuing their march toward the pumpkins. One after another, the jack o' lanterns tried to bounce up at her, but she simply flew above their reach.
"Guards! Your Princess orders you to cease your movement immediately and return to the carriage! Guards! Such behavior is--" she had to duck as a pumpkin flew over her head. She glanced back and saw the little creatures throwing themselves at her from the back of the giant gingerbread pony. Curiously, she caught a glimpse of a stylized falling star on the side of the pumpkin as it passed by. Another one joined the first, with a harp on its side. "These pumpkins have cutie marks?" she asked out loud. "Unusual, to say the least..."

Below her, her entranced guards were being mobbed. They didn't seem in any particular danger, or even concerned about the situation; they simply stood in place, letting several singing pumpkins idly gnaw on their flanks and sides with their squishy mouths.
"Yes, well...perhaps there's no reason for alarm after all. The giant confection, however, may be problematic." No sooner had she turned to keep track of the gingerbread monstrosity than she noticed her guards disappear, one after another, in a flash of blinding light. When the light cleared, four jack o' lanterns stood in their place, still wearing helmets, with cutie marks emblazoned on their sides. "This may be an appropriate time to consult with somepony else..." She bellowed down to her pumpkin-guards. "I SHALL RETURN SHORTLY, BRAVE SOLDIERS. I MUST...SEEK AID. YES." In truth, Luna had no idea what to do about any of this. To her left, a gigantic, evil cookie was stomping its way through town and making a mess of things, and on her right, a horde of polymorphing pumpkins were turning everyone in town into more pumpkins! There was only one place to start seeking answers: The Foundation. With steadfast determination, she declared to no-one in particular that she was going to save Nightmare Night, and from this night forward the town of Bridle Falls would be remembered for its bravery. True bravery!

Or she would have, if a pumpkin hadn't flown out of nowhere and latched onto her.

"Oh! Get off of me, foul vegetable creature! The royal flank is none of your concern, particularly when I am monologuing!" She pushed the stubborn thing off with a hoof, watching it fall to the ground and bounce harmlessly. "Now, to find the pony responsible for this mess!"