Nightmare Night was always a hectic time for Rich's Barnyard Bargains, but it was also one of the most profitable nights of the year. Ponies would be rushing through the aisles searching for that one costume piece, bag of candy or spooky prop to make the holiday perfect. Though there would no doubt be a demand for merchandise up to and even beyond the start of the festivities, it was RBB policy to close up shop an hour before sundown to let his employees prepare for their own celebrations. Though this rule allowed his business associates time off for the evening to spend however they wished, it had the unfortunate side effect of working the mob of customers into a mad charge for the checkouts as those final minutes counted down.
Tidy Till ran one such register on this most wonderful and stressful of nights. Tidy was a unicorn stallion with a faded purple coat, a white mane and tail, each streaked with black down the center, and greyish blue eyes. His standard RBB uniform, which consisted of beige khaki pants, a white, leg-length button-up shirt and a navy blue vest, did well to hide his blank flank.
“Alrighty, then! Here's your receipt! Thanks for shopping at Rich's and have a happy Nightmare Night!”
It was an arduous evening, but Tidy had survived through sheer patience and force of will. Sore, tired and eager to rest, he bid the last customer in his line goodbye.
Whew. That's that. They're all gone. Now all I have to do is turn my register light off, and I'm ho-
“Ho there! Such a sight's divine! Bibidi spies and empty line!”
A dark violet coated mare whose eyes were hidden by a tall, wide-brimmed, deep blue witch's hat seemed to materialize from the ether with several full carts of Nightmare Night goodies. Her pitch black mane flowed from beneath her hat, with purple streaks like jagged lightning bolts. While she was still several hooves away, her horn lit up an eerily bright orange as item after item flew onto his unprepared conveyor belt.
Wha-? N-No!
“You! Cashier! I've cleared your shelves! Now! These pumpkins won't scan themselves!”
Poor Tidy recoiled at the daunting volume of Bibidi's purchase and froze in place, visibly sweating.
Celestia's sun had already met the horizon, and most of his fellow cashiers had already left to be with their families or to otherwise party the night away. While he had yet to make any actual friends amongst his coworkers well enough to be invited to such a shindig, that didn't mean he wanted to stay any longer than he had to.
The fact that he was caught off-guard only served to make matters worse.
“What is this look upon your face?! Am I...not welcome in this place!?”
Time stood still in Tidy's mind. He'd been caught napping past his allotted breaks far too often as of late, and his supervisors had made it clear to him that the sole reason for his continued employment was his stellar performance in Customer Satisfaction.
He was barely keeping his head above water with his landlord, who'd graciously offered him an extension for his rent, and with no family to speak of in the area, he'd been exhausting all of his accounts just to stay afloat. Without a special talent to call his own, the only job he could get was entry level cashiering that any unicorn with a basic grasp on telekinesis could do. It was a fact that his upper managers made sure to drill into him every time they pulled him aside for taking a bit too long to unwind on his breaks. If this boisterous mare voiced even a single word of complaint, and if that word somehow made its way up to those managers, Tidy knew he could kiss his gainful employment goodbye.
His only source of income...shot.
EMERGENCY!! EMERGENCY!! Prepare the Diffusion Subset Greeting Script! Set Vocal Tone to Maximum Pleasantness!
“Th-That couldn't be f-further from the truth, Ma'am! Sorry for hesitating, I'd be -happy- to check you out tonight!”
Deploy the Tactical Smile!
Unbeknownst to Tidy, his sudden burst of Dread and Panic suffused into the air as a gold and orange miasma. One that only the dark mare before him could see. She greedily drank it all in.
Prime the Product Code Auto-Record and Levitation Spells!
Tidy's own horn came to life with a steady grayish glow.
“So! I trust you found everything you needed this evening?”
An audible moan of pleasure reached the cashier's ears. He only had a second to dwell on his Shock as his customer spoke up to answer his question.
“M-MM! Delicious~! Oh, yes indeed! I believe I have found...all I need! WHAAAHAHA-HAHAHAHAA!!”
Tidy balked for just a moment.
I'm sure she's just...imagining all the tasty Nightmare Night treats she's going to make with all-
He spared a glance at the river of orange that was his register's conveyor belt.
...all...those...pumpkins...
Then, after a cleansing shake of the head and a mental reminder of the stakes at play, Tidy Till launched himself into his work.
Now! GET SCANNING!!
More than an hour later, a weary, raven striped white tail dragged through the front doors of Rich's Barnyard Bargains, its owner trudging home. By this point in the night, the festivities had already begun in Ponyville proper. All manner of Nightmare Night frivolities were in full swing, but Tidy couldn't bring himself to join in on the fun.
For one, he didn't have a costume.
For two-
"Uuughhh..."
-he was hearse-bound on his hooves.
"Finally clocked out. Finally...done."
He wound his way around town to his home apartment complex. He tiredly noticed a marked lack of landlord.
"Weird. Eh...who cares? He's probably at some party right now."
Tidy clambered up the stairs to the second level of apartments where he continued his labored pace, not stopping for anything until he saw that most welcoming of sights.
Door number 297. His home. He levitated his keys out of his right khakis pocket.
"Just a few more minutes, and it'll all be over. I'll be asleep, and I won't have to worry about any more customers..."
His key clicked in the lock.
"...or bits..."
The knob clacked loose from its latch.
"...or managers breathing down my neck..."
The door creaked open on its hinges.
"...or..."
Tidy ventured into his apartment. However, something was wrong. The shadows in the unlit room were all different, as though the room were full to bursting with bulbous mounds.
Suddenly, the lights snapped on, and once Tidy could see what they were, only one word could reach his lips.
"...p-p-pumpkins?!"
The door slammed shut!
The lights dimmed low.
The wind howled through the open window.
And Tidy's eyes were drawn to a particularly orange glow.
"BOO!!"