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Chapter 18,139 words
Chapter 2: Part 1, Pre-Nightmare Night4,216 words
Chapter 3: Part 2, Pre-Nightmare Night7,091 words
Chapter 4: Morning of Nightmare Night2,757 words
Chapter 5: Afternoon of Nightmare Night, Part 11,679 words

Chapter 5: Afternoon of Nightmare Night, Part 1

"Geez... I thought Las Pegasus would be much more lively," commented Button as the group of ponies stepped out of the train station.

The train station was an abandoned wreck of a larger-than-normal shack since no pony in Las Pegasus used the old station anymore. Of course, Button rued his coming to this foreign land with little chance of returning back to civilisation. It didn't help that there were so many ponies in their vicinity who initially stared curiously in his direction, because this was probably the first time in years that a train pulled into the old, worn down building.

Once they had stepped out, they were greeted by questions that demanded answers pertaining to how they got here. It didn't help with the controversy when all of these ponies were in Nightmare Night raiment.

At least the tone of their questioners was fairly amicable. And it helped that the commotion died down after a mere 10 minutes; this city's inhabitants had their own lives to live, it seemed. It felt rather daunting to be whisked to the old station, a dwarf in the midst of giants since it was like a flattened pancake compared to its skyscraper neighbours.

"Now... how to get back..." said Pinkie as she picked up a map from a rusty magazine stand nearby.

"Pinkie, that map's from 1573," said Applebloom, her voice muffled by her mummy costume as she peered over. Pinkie smirked.

"Pfft, how much can this place change in like, I dunno, 400 years? My sister Maud said that rocks never age," said Pinkie, who was reading the map sideways. Applebloom was about to say something but Scootaloo shot her a look, which implied to leave the conversation at that. Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, was sitting beside Button Mash, her head hung as the realisation that they were miles away from home in a bustling, dauntingly dense city with little idea on how to go back.

"Button..." said Sweetie Belle as the group found a wooden bench to hog up near the station as they planned their next move. "Sorry for all of... all of this. I saying stupid stuff before, about adventures and stuff, so I apolog-- HEY!"

Button Mash was nowhere around the bench. Sweetie Belle looked around the area, then told her friends that Button was missing. The frantic search didn't last long though, since he was nearby: in the cockpit of the train, slamming the train's controls in frustration.

"Where's the reverse button?" cried Button Mash as he mashed some of the train's buttons with his hooves. "This is so different from Train Simulator 2013™."

"Well, duh!" cried Sweetie, suddenly flustered at Button's incompetence. She bit Button by the ear and dragged him out of the cockpit, eliciting sharp, high shrieks of pain.

"What was that for?!" cried Button, rubbing his sore ear after she let go. The others watched the two in silence, and the anticipation in their expressions told of their growing interest in the two ponies' quarrel, and waning interest in thinking through the complicated process of finding a way to go home.

"Get a grip and get your head into real life, you... you nerd!"

"Real life™? Is that a game?" asked Button, clearly unreflective about his actions, past or present. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and took the lead, motioning to the others to follow her. Everypony else followed suit and trailed after the disgruntled little filly.

The sights and smells of the city assaulted everyone's senses, foreign as it was in every aspect to the native PonyVillians It was crazy: the smoke from vehicles and cigarettes floated thinly in the air, the sounds of newspaper colts selling the freshest piece of news hot off the press at the corner of streets, and the sight of the great number of buildings, daunting and awe-inspiring as they stood. However, there was one thing that stood out to a certain pink pony in the group; the mood of depression, dissatisfaction, and dismay hanging thick over the heads of the Las Pegasians.

Pinkie Pie looked around, her mane still poofy despite the intense atmosphere the place possessed. However, her face had a frown, which she knew wouldn't perk up unless she did something about it. As the group was walking, the fillies and one colt noticed that Pinkie Pie was trotting slower than usual, and her head hung as if deep in thought.

"Wait a minute. Guys! Get away from Pinkie, I saw something twinkle in her eye!" hissed Scootaloo to the others, and Button looked on in confusion as the other fillies quickened their pace, as if Pinkie was infected with a malicious disease.

"What for?" asked Button, who was promptly yanked away by Sweetie's hoof.

And then, it came.

"SKI-BI-DI-BI-DEE-DOP-DEE-DEE-DA-DA-BEE-BOP-DA-DOO!" cried Pinkie Pie as she whipped out a top hat and a tuxedo, invoking the appearance of a gentlecolt. Her scat singing was raucous and loud, loud enough to startle Button to squeal in fright and huddle close to the girls (who shook their heads, one in dismay, two in amusement). All of a sudden, Pinkie's magic (or whatever Pinkie does when she summons a ton of props) caused a stage, lights, cameras, party poppers and a pyro display to appear. To finish it off, Pinkie had a golden cane in her hoof as she continued scat singing, a look of utmost glee on her face as Las Pegasians had looks of utter fear on their faces, distancing themselves away from the psychotic pink pony.

The rest of the group advanced on while the Element of Laughter... was being the Element of Laughter.

"Oh crud... A mall!" cried Button in trepidation, nearly planting his hooves on the spot as the girls dragged him in there. The mall looked dreary, much like the activities that Button portended the girls would take him there to do. But he noted that they weren't girl girls like Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon. They weren't afraid of sticking their hooves in mud, and were daredevils in every sense of the word. However, Button still didn't like girls, the natural nerd in him disallowing him any ease when near females.

"Relax, Button. It's nothing to be afraid of. Nopony's around anyways," Scootaloo commented as they made their way into the grey, dreary building. It was square in all dimensions and the dust that caked its exterior looked ready to be blown off with a small breath. Scootaloo and Applebloom gingerly pushed the door open while Sweetie Belle looked around the area. Nothing much, just industrial-looking buildings and skyscrapers that seemed to all be the same. Button watched the rest of the fillies walk into the mall, but he was seemingly afraid to enter the dreary building, having a weird gut feeling about the place; it was in the afternoon and bright as day, yet Button still couldn't place his hoof on it. It was... creepy? Couldn't be! Button had played many a creepy game in the past, so he should be immune to something as trivial as a mall!

"Hey, Spooky-pants, you coming in? We haven't got all day, you know," said Sweetie Belle, standing by her friends, visible to Button through the glass door. He gulped and trotted inside quickly, being extra sure to put on an annoyed face.

"It's just that... malls are so... BORING!" moaned Button, whining as he usually did. Inside, the mall was dark (the only source of light was from the outside, where the sunlight was coming in through the glass door entrance) and didn't have any ponies, and every hoof-step could be heard echoing off the walls. The shops were all closed, and there were advertisements still pasted everywhere, some aiming to sell small products like toothpaste and horseshoe polish, and others trying to promote products that were of the "latest technology", which included typewriters and printers. This mall was from a whole other era.

"Sweetie Belle, please, control your man over there, we need to find a map or something!" Scootaloo said, triggering a snigger from Applebloom while the white filly was visibly shaken from the comment, rolling her eyes. Button's eyes were fixed to a space beside the glass door, where dust particles could be seen floating around in the entering sunlight.

"We've got to find the power switch or something, I can't see squat!" cried Scootaloo, her monocled eye squinting through the darkness.

"Well, there's alway's Button's Joyboy," suggested Applebloom, "Meanin', we could always use that as a flashlight or somethin'."

At that moment, a shadow was cast over the filtered light that came in through the glass door.

"Hey kids..." exclaimed a voice from the other side of the glass door, and every pony turned to face the source. The resulting sight gave all of the little foals a fright, try as they might to make light of the situation.

"My... precious..." said Filthy Rich, the normally well-groomed and smartly dressed stallion now outside the mall, his eyes bloodshot and his fur sticking out at split ends, looking like a werewolf-pony hybrid.

"H-Howdy, Mr. Rich. Ah see ya got yer Nightmare Night costume on! Bein' a lil' greedy fer sweets, aren't we?" said Applebloom sheepishly while her friends were still too shocked to move. Filthy Rich laughed, and his hooves set out to push the doors open. However, Applebloom reacted immediately, turning 180 degrees and bucking the door, slamming it in Filthy Rich's face.

"Run!" she cried, and every pony gladly complied, slipping away into the deep dark of the unknown mall before Filthy Rich could react.

Author's Note:

Well. It's been an unbelievably long time. And I've really got no good excuse for delaying. Maybe I'm just not as into ponies as I was a while ago, or that I'm just plain lazy. Oh well. Anyway, don't expect another update anytime soon, because of reasons like academic studies and distractions like gaming in the way. Have a good Nightmare Night.

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LtMajorDude

LtMajorDude #1 · Oct 31st, 2014 · · ·

YES!!!
UPDATE!

ButtonMash

ButtonMash #2 · Oct 31st, 2014 · · ·

The dead has risen! An update, too? Yet uh! Hmm... 5 chapters in and their relationship is crud? You've got a long plot ahead of ya.

PhoenixBlaz3

PhoenixBlaz3 #3 · Jun 5th, 2015 · · ·

MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MOREMORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE

MasterPhoenix93