"Got any three's?" Pinkie asked, gazing over her hoof of cards.
Gummy blinked irregularly, gumming on the cards that were in his mouth.
Pinkie frowned. "Shoot! I thought I would have had you that time!"
The graveyard in the Everfree was as gloomy as the last time Pinkie was there and she still had yet to see any signs of Jack. Her wait in the cemetery the night before didn't go on for long, but it was enough for her to decide to bring Gummy along with her the next time she was there. The Cakes' couldn't figure out why she was antsy to get off work or why she was so tired, but neither of them asked her about it. While it bothered her a bit, she was also thankful to be able to come back to the crypt without having to explain herself.
Pinkie sighed as she set her cards down. "I can never beat you, Gummy."
Gummy just blinked irregularly once more.
Pinkie smiled at him and pulled him into a tight hug. "I still love you, though!" She pulled away a bit. "No, I love you more!" She frowned a bit and pulled him closer. "No, really, I love you more!" She let out an angry huff and shoved his face into hers. "I LOVE YOU MORE!"
Gummy once again blinked irregularly.
Pinkie put him down in front of her. "Hmm... Well, I'd say 'Let's play another round of Go Fish!', but you already beat me 13 times." She gasped excitedly. "Wanna play patty cake?"
But, as she was awaiting Gummy's riveting response, she heard a loud crash come from inside the crypt. Dust crumbled off of the foundation and Pinkie let out a terrified squeal. She grabbed Gummy and leaped behind a tombstone, hoping she wouldn't accidentally knock it over. Finally, the doors to the crypt opened and long shadows crept out underneath the moonlight.
"H-Hello?" she called out. "Is somepony out there?"
Suddenly, a ghostly light zoomed out of the crypt and flew around the graveyard at an erratic pace. Pinkie ducked down and held Gummy close while the apparition let out terrifying howls. Meanwhile, a long, thin silhouette descended from the crypt and into the graveyard sluggishly, which only heightened Pinkie's fear.
"Zero!" shouted the figure, sending Pinkie's fears away, "You're gonna wake up every ghoul within a mile with all that howling!"
Pinkie peeked her head from behind the tombstone. "Jack?"
The figure turned towards her. "Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie's eyes widened and she couldn't help but smile. "Jack!"
"Pinkie!" Jack exclaimed back, dashing towards her. He stopped suddenly when he saw the tombstones, but it didn't deter his excitement. "I can't believe we found you!"
Pinkie grinned wildly and leaped onto Jack, squeezing his thin frame tightly. "You're here! You're really here and not a figment of my imagination!"
Jack pulled away for a moment, his brow arched upwards. "You thought I was a figment of your imagination?"
Pinkie's smile faltered a bit. "No, but my friend Twilight did, and she though I was lying to her about you!" She smiled a bit as she got back on the ground. "Boy, was she wrong!"
"Jack, who are you talking to?" a light voice questioned. A light tread of footsteps followed after, timid and hesitant.
"Who's with you?" Pinkie asked, blinking at Jack. She gasped as she saw another tall figure come into the graveyard. "Whoa!"
The figure was very tall in comparison to Pinkie Pie, but they were shorter than Jack. They had long, red hair that looked like yarn and a dress on that was made from different patches of fabric. It was nicely made, and would probably impress Rarity if she ever saw it. Another thing that Pinkie noticed was that, like Jack, the figure stood on two legs, but, unlike Jack, they appeared to only have one arm.
"Jack, I can't find my other arm!" the figure cried suddenly, looking left and right frantically.
Pinkie blinked. "Wait, you lost your arm? How?"
The figure glanced at Pinkie, then did a double take. "What the— Jack, is this...?"
Jack nodded, grinning a bit. "Allow me to introduce the two of you." He gestured to Pinkie. "Sally, this is Pinkie Pie. This is the mare I told you about."
"Oh," Sally said simply. "It's nice to meet you, Pinkie. I... I was wondering if Jack was actually being serious about you, and I suppose now I know."
Jack frowned at her, but Pinkie put a hoof on his leg, mostly because she couldn't reach his shoulder from her spot on the ground. "It's OK, I wouldn't believe hearing about a talking pink pony if I never met one either!"
Jack smiled a bit. "And Pinkie, this is my better half, Sally Finkelstein."
Pinkie smiled at him slyly. "Oooooo, Jack, you never told me Sally was your girlfriend!"
Sally's blue skin turned red around her cheeks. "Jack..."
Jack chuckled a bit. "It's fine, I'm sure Pinkie is mature enough to handle being around a couple, no?"
Pinkie nodded. "Uh-huh! I live with a married couple, actually! Mr. and Mrs.Cake, to be exact. They just had twins!" She paused. "Do you two have any kids?"
Sally's face turned even redder, and Jack just chuckled again. "No... Not yet, anyway."
"Jack!" Sally gasped. Her face was nearly the same shade of her hair.
Pinkie giggled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you two! I was just curious, is all!"
Jack chuckled again. "It's quite alright, Pinkie. I'm just glad that you two could meet."
A small bark came from the crypt, causing the three of them to turn their attention away from each other. Pinkie's jaw nearly fell to the floor as she watched a ghostly dog with a glowing red nose come floating in with a limb in its jaws.
"Zero!" Jack cheered. He patted his thighs. "Come here, boy!"
"My arm!" Sally squealed, rushing forward. "Oh, I'm so glad that I got you back..." She ran her hand through her hair, then paused. "Oh, skulls! I left my needle back at home!"
"Need help with that?" Pinkie asked, stepped forward. She pulled a needle and spool of thread out of her mane. "I only have pink thread, though."
Sally blinked at her. "You keep needles in your hair, too?"
Pinkie nodded excitedly. "Yep! It's easier than carrying a bag!" She stopped for a moment. "Wait, let me check something real quick!" She dug a hoof into her mane, loud banging and noises clamoring out of it. She whipped her hoof out, showing a rainbow spool of thread. "Oh, I found another one! Awesome!"
Sally giggled she began sewing her arm back on. "You were right, Jack. She is pretty funny."
Pinkie cocked her head to the side. "I am? I wasn't even trying to be funny."
Zero suddenly barked, then came flying to the tombstone where Pinkie hid Gummy. Gummy jumped up suddenly and tried to snap his jaws onto the dog, but fell onto the ground with his mouth open as he slipped through the ghost.
"What is that thing?!" Jack squawked. "It just tried to attack Zero!"
Pinkie picked Gummy up. "No, silly, this is my pet alligator Gummy! He ain't got no teeth!" At that moment, Gummy latched his jaws onto her curly forelock. "See? Harmless!"
Jack and Sally eased up. "Interesting... A gator with skin and no teeth?" Jack mused aloud.
"This place is all kinds of strange," Sally commented.
Pinkie shrugged. "You get used to it. We have a chaos god as a regular resident in our town now, so no one is really shocked when anything weird happens."
When Sally looked to Jack with a concerned expression, Jack held his hands up. "She did not mention that when I was here last time."
"Yeah I did! When I brought him up, you talked about this guy called Oogie Boogie and how got caught up in an accident with a giant whisk!"
Jack frowned at her. "Not helping."
Sally shuddered. "Oogie Boogie... I hope to never see that monster again!"
"I thought you loved monsters?" Pinkie pried gently, her curiosity rising.
Sally shook her head lightly. "We do... Just the ones that don't try to kill us or bring harm to the entire town."
"Oh." Pinkie looked off a bit. "I guess that's understandable... I mean, we did have Discord sealed up in stone for about a year before we let him out for reformation."
"That wasn't an option for Oogie," Jack said firmly. He waved a bony hand. "But that's not important. Pinkie, I came here because I wanted you to meet Zero and Sally, but I believe that the residents of Halloweentown are probably looking for us."
"Aw, you're leaving again?" Pinkie whined. "But you only just got here!"
"We could come back after Halloween?" Sally suggested.
"But then Nightmare Night will be over, too!" Pinkie pouted. "And Twilight will think I'm tardy and a liar."
Sally mouthed out, "Twilight?" cluelessly before glancing at Jack, who merely shrugged. She turned to Pinkie and crouched down to come to her level. "Would it be alright if we showed up after we finished the festivities in Halloweentown?"
Jack grinned. "What a lovely idea! We could come back and visit the town, just like Pinkie suggested!"
Pinkie gasped with delight. "You mean it? You'll show up?"
Jack nodded. "Of course! I promise it on my mother's grave!" He paused. "That is, if she's dead..."
Pinkie clapped her hooves giddily. "Hurray! Now I can introduce you to Twilight and all my other friends!" She squealed. "I bet Rarity would love to see how good you are at sewing!" She gasped. "Oh, no! I don't even have a costume yet!"
"Perhaps you could be a witch?" Jack suggested.
Pinkie gasped again. "That's a great idea!" She leaped into the air. "I could defy gravity itself if I had a magic broom to go with it!"
Sally giggled. "I believe I can make that possible... With proper measurements, of course. I've done clothes for werewolves and vampires, but never for ponies."
Pinkie smiled. "And I've never met a talking skeleton or his girlfriend, either, so that makes three firsts!"
Zero yipped.
"Whoops, I mean four!"
Jack frowned a bit. "It's a shame that we can't stay longer. I'd love to see more of this world."
"You'll see it soon enough!" Pinkie told him. "Just come by on Nightmare Night and you'll get to see Ponyville at its scariest!"
"I'll be sure to," Jack replied. "Let's just hope that the town is satisfied by this year's preparations!"
"Make sure to include confetti!" Pinkie added. "Confetti is always a nice touch!"
"I'll take that in stride." Jack took Sally's hand. "Come on, now, we must hurry back. I'm sure that the mayor is worried about us being missing."
"I'll have to take your measurements when I come back" Sally told her, halting Jack's movements. "I'll make adjustments before Hallo— I mean, Nightmare Night."
Pinkie smiled at her brightly. "Thanks! I really appreciate your help! And I bet I can get my friend Rarity to give me my measurements for you, so you don't have to go through the process."
"That's very kind of you," Sally replied, smiling back at her.
Jack grinned at the two of them, then pulled Sally a bit closer. "We have to go now. I'll be sure to make it here as soon I can, Pinkie."
"You better!" Pinkie exclaimed.
Zero barked, then floated to Pinkie and licked her cheek. He flew off to Jack and Sally's side, panting happily. If he had a tail, it'd probably be wagging back and forth.
"Bye, guys!" Pinkie called out as they made their way into one of the crypts. "I'll see you soon!"
"Right back at you!" Jack called back, waving at her.
The trio disappeared, leaving Pinkie and Gummy alone in the graveyard.
"Trick or trick, eat a tick, give that moron a big ol' flick!"
The mean, heartless chant came from a trio of troublemakers roaming through the woods. Lock, the devilish leader of the trio, pranced ahead of the group, swinging his small pitchfork to and fro. Trailing behind him was Shock, the smarter of the three children, sporting a witch hat that was almost taller than she was, and Barrel, a ghoulish skeleton child, gumming down on a lollipop sloppily.
"If you don't!" Lock shouted, stabbing the air with his pitchfork.
"We don't care!" Shock added, tossing up her hat.
"We'll put spiders in your underwear!" Barrel concluded, popping out his sucker to pipe in.
The trio cackled together, Shock's witch laugh overtaking the other two's laughter.
"Man, I can't wait to see what Jack and Sally are up to!" Lock cheered, "I betcha we're gonna get a sneak peek of what they're planning for Halloween this year!"
Shock cackled again. "It's bound to be awful!"
Barrel slipped his lollipop out again. "But why did they come into the woods?"
Lock and Shock whipped around to face him incredulously. They exchanged a peevish look with one another and Shock rolled her eyes. "'Because they probably wanted to avoid anyone trying to sneak a look at Jack's plans!"
"But--" Barrel tried to say.
"But nothing!" Lock interjected. He threw his hands up in annoyance. "Why don't you leave the thinking to the older kids?"
Shock tapped her chin in thought. "Then again... If Jack really was planning stuff for Halloween, then why was Sally with him?"
Lock stopped suddenly. "Hey, you're right! Sally never helps Jack with planning!"
"Duh," Shock replied, eliciting a frown from Lock, "plus, they looked like they were in a real hurry to get here."
"Wasn't Zero with them?" Barrel asked out of nowhere, prompting both of them to stare at him. "What? He was, wasn't he?"
Shock wordlessly smacked Barrel on the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You couldn't have said something before we came all this way?" Shock snapped, grabbing him by his collar. "Jack could be in real trouble!"
"What about Sally?" Barrel questioned.
"Forget her, she's mean to us!" Shock exclaimed. "But with Jack gone, Halloween could get cancelled!"
Barrel's eyes widened. "But, that means no pranks!"
"Exactly!"
Lock stepped between them. "Hold it right there! What makes you think that Jack could get into any trouble that bad? He's not stupid!"
"Helloooo!" Shock bellowed. "Remember what happened with that Christmas incident a couple years back? We all thought Jack was dead!"
"But he wasn't!"
"But he could've been!"
"But he wasn't!"
"But he could have been!"
As the two opposing forces battled at each other, Barrel took a couple steps back to avoid being caught up in the storm. However, as he stepped back, a sharp pain went up his foot.
"OW!" he cried out, jumping onto one leg.
Lock turned towards him. "What now?"
As Barrel tended to his injured foot, Shock glanced down at where he stood. "Hey, look! It's Sally's needle and thread!"
Sure enough, like the little witch said, laying on the ground was Sally Finkelstein's needle and spool of thread. While dubious of the fact, the deal was sealed when they saw Sally's initials etched into the wooden spool. The trio all looked at one another in a rare moment of worry.
"Uh-oh," Barrel uttered, his eyes wide, "do you think she's OK?"
Shock searched the nearby trees. "Where could they be? "
"How am I supposed to know?" Lock retorted, "I'm not psychic! If anyone should know, it's you! You're a witch!"
"Hey! Madam Elphie won't teach me about psychic visions until I pass my broom flying test and we all know that both of you are to scared of flying to help me with that!"
"I'm not scared of flying, I'm scared of dying!"
Barrel grabbed them by the shoulders suddenly. "Hey, look at that tree!"
Both Lock and Shock turned to where Barrel was staring and went as silent as the dead. A couple yards from them was a lively tree with green leaves and tendrils of ivy wrapping around it. They all exchanged horrified glances with one another and walked slowly towards it, their hearts beating unbelievably fast.
As soon as they reached the tree's roots, Lock blanched. "Gross! It's so... alive!"
"How much you willing to bet that Sally fell through there?" Shock asked, a devious smirk coming onto her face.
"Or maybe even Jack!" Barrel commented.
Shock stopped grinning. "No way! Jack would never be so clumsy!"
"Maybe he jumped in after her," Lock suggested. "He loves her so much he'd do anything for her."
Shock scoffed. "Ugh, love. Stab me in the eye before I fall in love!"
"Will do," Lock assured her. He walked up to the tree and looked into the hole. He grinned maliciously, his sharp teeth glistening. "Looks like Jack and Sally had a nice trip!"
"I bet they found a HOLE new world!" Barrel commented, letting out a high pitched laugh.
Shock rolled her eyes and smacked both of their heads. "Quit with that laughing!"
Lock growled at her. "I was gonna, you stupid witch!" He gazed back into the black abyss. "Any idea how deep this thing goes?"
Shock snapped her fingers. "Barrel! Got any lollipops?"
Barrel glared at her. "No! Even if I had any, I wouldn't share them with you!"
Shock smacked the back of his head, then reached into his pocket as he was recuperating from the slap. She pulled out three lollipops, an icy gaze fixating on Barrel as she held them up for all to see.
"I said I wouldn't share them with you!"
She rolled her eyes and tossed them into the hole in the tree.
"Nooo!" Barrel cried out.
"What was that for?" Lock exclaimed.
"Shh!" Shock barked. She leaned closer to the hole, waiting silently.
Meanwhile, in the Everfree...
As Pinkie Pie bounced through the Everfree with Gummy on her back, she hummed another one of her favorite Nightmare Night chants quietly. She jumped a bit out of fright after hearing a small series of thuds come near her.
Pinkie's eyes flicked left and right, then stopped as her nostrils picked up a familiar scent.
Candy. There was candy in the woods.
Her eyes once again scoured the forest floor, then locked on their target as it came into view.
"LOLLIPOPS!" Pinkie screeched, springing forward. She latched onto the three different flavored pops and grinned happily she held them in her jaws. "More candy for me!"
She continued on her way.
Shock frowned after a moment passed. "I don't think this really has an end after all."
"LOLLIPOPS!" came a distant cry that startled a jump out of Shock.
"Did you hear something...?" Shock murmured, stepping away from the tree hole.
"Just the sound of betrayal!" Barrel snapped.
Lock rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you morons." He blinked, a metaphorical light bulb flipping on in his mind. "I got an idea!"
Shock rolled her eyes once more. "Is it something stupid?"
Lock frowned at her, but he held back a mean retort. "Do you guys remember when we kidnapped Sandy Claws?"
"Of course," Shock answered, rolling her eyes in annoyance, "I also remember the three of us getting trouble and not being allowed to pull pranks for three months after!"
"Like that stopped us," Barrel muttered, still sore over the loss of his candy.
Lock grinned once more. "Well, if we can come back from Christmastown, then that means that if we go down there, then we can come back from there, too!"
Barrel looked at him with confusion. "Are we gonna go after Sally and Jack?"
Lock hit Barrel's head. "Of course not! Not right now, anyway!"
"What if they don't come back?" Barrel asked fearfully.
"Then we'll worry." Lock turned back to the hole. "For now, we'll wait... And if they come back, that means that we can come back, too!"
"Your point being?" Shock countered.
Lock frowned, but continued on nonetheless. "Tomorrow, if Jack and Sally get back home safe, let's head down into this world."
"What?" Shock and Barrel blurted out, flabbergasted.
"Then, we'll head on down to this place and plant all sorts of pranks! I betcha there's something down there a lot more scary than Sandy Claws! When Halloween comes up, we're gonna give everyone the scare of a lifetime!"
Shock grinned, obviously pleased by the thought. "That's a grand idea! Let's pull out all the stops on this one!"
Barrel laughed. "Yeah! I bet they wouldn't know a good prank if it hit them right in the face!"
"And a lot of them will!" Shock snickered.
The three troublemakers laughed together.
"Alright, gang!" Lock exclaimed, "Let's get this pranking started!"