Nightmare Night
The first two months of school had gone by painfully slowly for Pearl, Cinnamint, and Screwball. However the days leading up to the end of October were seemingly endless. But finally after months of waiting Nightmare Night was upon them.
Pearl and her fathers were currently getting into their own costumes at their house. Spike was currently painting himself a shade of dark blue and his spines and wings had already been painted black by Pearl. He was going to participate in Luna's show later in the night. She was going to be flown in on his back for her grand entrance.
Macintosh was struggling with his own costume, a Medieval knight outfit complete with a prop lance. Despite his costume being merely for show the numerous straps and buckles made it just as annoying to get on as real armor. Pearl had thankfully fastened half of them for him before going off to put on her own attire for the night.
Rarity and Pearl were in the other room as Pearl's fathers got dressed. Pearl was currently doing her best to stand completely still as Rarity applied a gratuitous amount of body paint to the young dragoness. They had been at this for well over an hour but the results were worth it.
"Just... a little more... yellow... annnnd! Finished deary!" Rarity sung happily as she stepped back to admire her work.
Pearl seemed to be on fire, painted in vibrant hues of yellow, red, and orange. She wore a few articles of clothing with a perfectly matching pattern on the fabric, though the most striking thing about them was the feathers. Spike had given Rarity Pee Wee's fallen feathers from the last year to complete this Masterpiece.
Pearl's feather headdress and skirt of feathers covered her natural crest and tail while making a perfect representation of a phoenix's. Her wings were even made to look more like that of a birds thanks to even more feathers. Pee Wee himself looked over the ensemble approvingly and cawed his pride in being the source of inspiration. Pearl truly looked like a fellow fire-bird.
"I look amazing! Thank you Aunty Rarity!" Pearl exclaimed as she looked herself over.
Rarity beamed with pride, she had crafted a truly wonderful costume. She normally didn't participate in Nightmare Night, but Pearl had pleaded with her. She actually enjoyed making such an exotic look.
"Yes well, I do try you know. We'll have to come up with something twice as dazzling next year." Rarity said as she packed away her make-up and paints.
"Okay, but Pa's probably gonna want to take pictures of us before you leave." Pearl said with absolute certainty.
Right on cue a heavy knock was heard on the door. Rarity took up a pose right next to Pearl and flung the door open with her magic. Macintosh was now in full costume on the other side, and he held a camera in front of him. He quickly snapped several photos of his little girl and the artistic mind behind her costume.
Spike entered the room a moment later, his current appearance causing Rarity to jump back in surprise. He looked like an totally different dragon, his colors changed and the M.A.C. on his chest covered by an enormous breastplate emblazoned with a crescent moon. His eyes were even different, his normal vibrant green eyes had been changed to the same golden yellow as Luna's thestral guards via contact lenses.
"Wow Pearl, you look great!" Spike said happily as he entered.
"Thanks Daddy, but I think you scared Aunty Rarity too badly. She's sorta twitchy." Pearl said and pointed to the unicorn who had tumbled to the floor.
"Rarity, Fancy Pants is outside. He and Fluer are taking you to the opera." Spike said convincingly.
Within half a second the mare was out the door of their home. Spike was certain Rainbow Dash would have been impressed at those movements. A few seconds later she trotted back into the house and had an unamused look on her face.
"Sometimes I question the benefits of having friends that know me so well." She mused aloud.
After everypony double checked their costumes and Pearl had a suitably large bag for her candy the group headed out into town. Rarity bid them farewell so she could pass out candy at her boutique as soon as they reached the center of town. Macintosh stayed with Pearl while Spike headed off to prepare with Luna for the festivities.
After a couple minutes of waiting Fluttershy arrived with Screwball in tow. Fluttershy had only recently become brave enough to be out on Nightmare Night, but Screwball loved the holiday and her mother would do anything for her little girl. Fluttershy wore a simple white cloak and plastic halo headband, making her look like an angel.
Screwball's costume on the other hand was wearing a truly inventive and unusual costume. She wore a fuzzy brown costume accompanied by false buck-teeth. Though the most noticeable piece of the costume was the enormous pink plastic ball Screwball walked in as she went along.
Pearl looked the chaotic filly over several times before giving up.
"Screwball? What are you supposed to be?" She asked uncertainly.
Screwball rolled her swirly eyes in annoyance. She thought it was obvious.
"I'm a hamster, see? Buck teeth, big ball thingy to walk around in?" Screwball said as she pointed out her costume's finer points.
Pearl stepped forward and tapped on the plastic sphere with her claw, producing a hollow thud.
"How are you supposed to get candy if you're in a big ball?" Pearl asked in concern.
Screwball motioned for Pearl to move back, to which she complied. Screwball moved forward several steps and pushed forward on a large circle in the bubble that was now in front of her. A hatch opened up, making access possible to receive candy. Pearl nodded her approval and the girls chatted as they awaited Cinnamint's arrival.
After about ten minutes Lyra came trotting up with Cinnamint. She was dressed as a sea pony, several large fins decorating her light blue scaly costume. Cinnamint was wearing a black and silver spandex outfit with a symbol of a stylized-alicorn on the flank. His face was obscured by a black plastic mask made to look like a helmet, shaded plastic serving as a visor over the eyes.
"Cinnamint! That's an awesome pony ranger costume!" Screwball shouted in her bubble, making her sound somewhat odd.
Cinnamint used his magic to lift the visor of his mask, as it made it harder to see. He looked over Pearl and Screwball's costumes, his face unreadable by the girls thanks to his mask. They anxiously awaited his opinion.
"Your costumes are awesome too! I've never seen a phoenix costume or a hamster costume before." Cinnamint praised, the girls both smiling smugly at the compliment.
As the children talked amongst themselves the adults did the same. Lyra noted the absence of both Spike and Discord, two people she thought would absolutely love a holiday devoted to being scary.
"Where are the big guys at? Didn't think they'd miss this." Lyra asked as she kept her eyes on the kids.
"Spike's gettin ready fer Luna's big entrance." Mac replied.
"And Discord is running the haunted house at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy added.
Lyra was about to respond, but an earth-shaking boom was heard all through Ponyville as soon as Fluttershy had finished talking. Before anypony could figure out exactly what had happened it began raining, only instead of water multicolored sprinkles fell from the sky. Every child in town looked up at the sky with open mouths. Screwball even exited her ball and used it to collect as many as possible.
A moment later Pearl spat and sputtered as something other than a sprinkle fell into her mouth. She used her claw to retrieve the offending object. She and everypony else were surprised to see a feather, a familiar sky-blue feather to be precise.
"Would everypony be alright if I went and checked on everyone at Sugarcube Corner?" Fluttershy asked as she tried to hide the worry in her voice.
Nopony disputed the necessity of her trip and she flew off just as fast as her wings would take her. The group left to hit all the houses giving out candy, making good time as they did. Ponyville wasn't a very large town so it only took them about three hours to finish. The last stop on their trip around town was Bon Bon's candy shop.
Bon Bon was Ponyville's best place to get candy, and as such she got a huge bonus from the town each year to churn out as many sweets as possible. This year she had truly outdone herself and Cinnamint and the girls reaped the benefits. She had managed to make quite a bit more than usual, thanks mostly to having her son who shared her talent and passion for the craft.
Thankfully the kids had their parents to watch over them to ensure they didn't eat too much candy. Bon Bon had also joined the group after they stopped at her store because every business in town was shutting down as per tradition. Luna's Nightmare Night Carnival was about to begin, and nopony in their right mind would miss it.
Ever since the first Nightmare Night after her return from the moon she had come back each year. Despite living in Canterlot Ponyville would always hold a special place in her heart. She considered Ponyville the first place to truly accept her as herself after being rid of the Nightmare. The citizens of Ponyville looked forward to it all year round, and now it was about to start.
By the time the group made it to the square this year's stage had been set up, midnight blue curtains obscuring everypony's view. Stands and stalls selling food, Luna and Nightmare Moon dolls, and other merchandise. Of course the game stalls were still around too, such as the spider toss, pumpkin launcher, bobbing for apples, and many others.
When Mac, Lyra, Bon Bon, Screwball, Cinnamint, and Pearl showed up they saw Fluttershy and Discord, with the latter dressed as a mummy. Mac waved to them and they walked over, Discord with an obvious limp. As they got closer it became apparent that Discord's bandages weren't a costume.
"Daddy? What happened to you?" Screwball asked worriedly as she rolled up to her father.
"Rainbow Dash bet me that Pinkie Pie could out-chaos me. The next thing I know I'm trapped inside a giant doughnut, Pinkie's mane and fur wouldn't stop changing colors, and Rainbow Dash was entirely bald. After that things are kind of a blur, but we've all seen better days." Discord explained.
"I'm disappointed in all of you. Dash should know better than to egg you two on, and you shouldn't have accepted. No story before bedtime for a week mister." Fluttershy huffed.
Discord literally deflated, the normal large serpentine form flattening and shrinking to the ground. His antics were cut short however, as an ear-splitting roar alerted everyone to the start of the carnival.
The curtains on the stage flew open, revealing it to be entirely empty. Everypony was confused until another roar met their ears, looking to the sky they saw a great shadowy dragon flying downward to the stage. Every few seconds the dark beast would let loose powerful streams of green flames. Thanks to the generous amount of make-up nopony realized it was Spike right away, but knew it was merely part of the show.
When the torrents of fire lit up the night, a dark cloaked figure could be seen riding on the dragon's back. In the next flash of fire the cloaked pony ran up the dragon's long neck and jumped into the fire. The pony emerged from the flames, the cloak burning away revealing Nightmare Moon.
Nightmare Moon and the dragon landed on the stage, right in the center. The dragon spewed fire right over the crowd, eliciting wild cheers and gasps from the audience. Nightmare Moon stamped her hoof on the stage and a microphone sprang up from a secret panel on the stage floor. She took it into her magical aura and walked forward.
"Good evening ponies of Ponyville! Welcome to the Fifteenth Annual Nightmare Night Carnival since my return!" She bellowed to the crowd.
The response was an overwhelming round of cheers and happy hoof stomping. Luna grinned madly with her fanged smile as she basked in the love of the masses. Her sister had truly given her a great gift when she invented this holiday. Luna never felt more loved and important than she did when her fans screamed in a mixture of fear, delight, and excitement. She continued on, not wanting to disappoint.
"Since tonight is the fifteenth anniversary of our first Nightmare Night together, I spared no expense! So fillies and gentlecolts, please give a round of applause for Equestria's newest rock sensation: New Lunar Republic!"
The dragon reared onto it's hind legs and spread it's wings as it let out the loudest roar yet. As he fell back onto his front legs he lit a circle of flames around himself and Luna. After what seemed like only an instant the flames roared up and nearly blinded those close to the stage.
When the flames died away several angry looking stallion's in ragged clothing were on the stage in place of Luna and Spike. They began playing music loud and fast, soliciting yet another round of excited cheers from the costumed crowds. Everypony was so busy rocking out to the music that they failed to notice Spike and Luna slipping out from behind the stage, making their way around the crowd to get to their loved ones. Both of them had returned to their normal appearances.
Spike was thankful his size let him go through the crowd with relatively no ponies trying to deter his movements. It made getting back to the group much easier than it would have been for most. Within minutes they found them, Discord's height serving their needs well.
Pearl jumped them as soon as they were within range, pulling them both into a hug.
"You guys were awesome! How'd you disappear like that?" She asked, looking up at her father.
"Trap doors and some fancy mechanisms. Time Turner set it all up, the guy's kinda odd but he's great with machines." Spike replied as he set Pearl back down on the ground.
He couldn't help but notice her painted-on costume was somewhat smudged in several places and a few feathers were missing. He was glad Rarity wasn't one for rock music, if she were here to see Pearl in such a state she would have flipped her lid.
"Sweetie, I think it's time you're costume came off. It's gotten smudgy and you're done trick-or-treating anyway." Spike informed the much smaller dragon.
Pearl nodded and held out her arms at her sides. Lyra, Bon Bon, and Cinnamint watched as Spike took in a deep breath and blasted Pearl with green fire. Bon Bon nearly fainted, Lyra was speechless, and Cinnamint let a tear fall from his eye from behind his mask.
However they were all relieved to see she was perfectly fine as soon as the fire dissipated. She smoked slightly, but was otherwise fine. In fact she looked sparkling clean, her scales once more a vibrant white and teal.
"Thanks Daddy, I was starting to itch anyway." She said happily before turning to Macintosh, "Pa, do you have one of my extra hoodies on you?"
Macintosh reached into the breastplate of his costume armor and retrieved the hoodie in question along with Pearl's bag she took everywhere. Pearl accepted them eagerly and began pulling it on. For a reason Cinnamint didn't completely understand Bon Bon covered his eyes until she had it on completely.
"Thanks Pa." Pearl told her other father gratefully as she hugged him around the neck.
"Right then, we should begin the traditional ticket competition." Luna told the group as she stepped forward.
"What's the ticket competition?" Lyra asked.
"The ticket competition is a thing we do every year since the carnival got so huge. Each game here earns you tickets when you win. Whichever team gets the most tickets by midnight wins the other teams tickets to get whatever prizes they want. We normally do teams of two. Each person has a twenty bit game limit." Spike explained.
"Can we be in the contest this year?" Screwball asked Fluttershy while motioning to Pearl and Cinnamint.
Fluttershy looked around the square to all the stands and the crowd at the stage. It seemed nearly three-fourths of the ponies were at the stage, leaving the stands clear for the most part. She could easily spot them from just about anywhere if she really tried.
"Alright, but only if their parents agree too. And you can't use magic either, it wouldn't be fair." She replied sounding somewhat reluctant.
The children all looked to their respective parents who nodded their consent. They divided into groups of two for the competition. Lyra and Bon Bon formed their own team, Spike and Mac formed one as did Discord and Fluttershy. The parents gave their children twenty bits each, as the games cost at least a bit to play.
Screwball called dibs on Luna, as she thought Luna was the best at the games having seen her in action the year before. That of course left Pearl and Cinnamint as a team, neither one of them objected though. Soon the groups split off and began searching for easy ways to win tickets.
Cinnamint had to stop Pearl from running off as soon as the rest headed out. She looked back to the colt in confusion, wondering why he stopped her.
"What gives? We need to hurry or they're gonna beat us!" She implored.
"We shouldn't just run around to different stalls. We should figure out what game we'll be best at and stay there to get lots of tickets. Do you have any idea what we can do really well?" He reasoned.
Pearl nodded her head in agreement and the two began scanning the rows of stands. Ski-ball looked fun, but neither of them had played it before. The spider toss was currently occupied by Luna and Screwball, and Pearl's fathers had the pumpkin launcher. They were just about to lose hope when Cinnamint spotted the perfect booth for them and quickly pulled Pearl along as he went.
Pearl had no idea what the stall offered until they arrived. Behind the counter of the stall was one of Luna's thestrals serving as the proprietor of the game for the night. Many of her personal guard were working the carnival to make sure nothing went amiss.
Behind him was a large wall of cork-board with many different colored balloons of all shapes and sizes taped to it. The thestral smiled as the kids made their way to him. He bowed lightly as soon as he recognized Pearl.
"Good evening princess. Would you like to try and pop some balloons with darts to earn some tickets?" The bat-pony stallion asked surprisingly cheery sounding.
Pearl understood Cinnamint's plan perfectly now. Her fingers gave her an edge here, and Cinnamint's magic allowed him to at least try. Here they could both play to try and get tickets at once. Pearl nodded to the thestral at the counter. After a moment of rummaging under the counter the stallion placed a cup of five darts in front of either of them.
"Now blue balloons are one ticket, red ones are two, the smaller green ones are five, the pink heart shaped balloons are seven, and the yellow squiggle shaped ones are ten. You get five throws for a bit, so I'm going to need a bit from each of you." The stallion explained.
Pearl reached into her bag and pulled out her pouch of bits and placed two on the counter. Cinnamint had given her his bits to hold onto as well, considering his costume had no pockets. The stallion placed the bits in the nearby register and moved aside.
Pearl picked up her first dart, finding it to be a heavier metal dart rather than a plastic one. The tips weren't any threat as Luna had enchanted all the games to be safe for children of all ages herself. The weight would take some getting used to, but she tried for the first yellow balloon she saw.
The dart fell almost to the ground, popping a blue balloon at the bottom of the board. Frowning, she took another dart from the cup and let it fly. This time she managed to hit the yellow balloon, her previous annoyance completely forgotten. With her next three throws she was able to hit a pink, a red, and another blue.
The stallion running the stand punched in her total and the machine spat out a strand of twenty-one tickets. Pearl accepted them happily and watched Cinnamint try his luck. He missed the board with his first throw, but when he tried again he managed to get two reds, a blue, and a pink. The stallion once again repeated the process on his machine and passed Cinnamint twelve tickets.
After about an hour the pair had spent their combined bits and the stallion had put up more balloons three times. All in all they managed to gather over seven-hundred tickets. The stallion at the counter had been nice enough to keep track for them. The pair departed the stand and waved goodbye to the thestral stallion.
They still had well over an hour until the contest ended, but were out of money. They thought they had completely run out of options until they passed by a large scale with an earth pony stallion next to it. He wore a black headband that had a large eye printed at it's center. The sign next to the scale read:
The Amazing Stallion, Lucky Guess!
If he can't guess your weight correctly you win a THOUSAND free tickets!
Both of them instantly looked at one another and nodded. Cinnamint stepped forward first and got the Lucky's attention. He looked them over and smiled.
"Welcome kiddies! I'm Lucky Guess! Would you two like to try and win the big prize?" The stallion asked excitedly.
Both children nodded enthusiastically and were practically jumping at the prospect of a thousand tickets. Lucky looked the two over carefully, appraising them with a look of determination in his eyes. He took several steps back and put his front hooves out, seemingly trying frame them like he was about to take a picture.
After about thirty seconds of his odd rituals he stopped and trotted back up to Pearl and Cinnamint. He looked over to Cinnamint first with a smug smile.
"First off, I'm just going to let you kids know nopony has ever won one of my prizes. My guesses are always within half a pound, if I'm more than half a pound off you get the tickets. Does that sound okay? Any questions?" Lucky asked the children.
Both of them were silent but nodded their agreement. Their hopes weren't as high now, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Lucky looked Cinnamint over once more and nodded to himself.
"Young colt, I'd say you weigh about thirty-one point nine three pounds." Lucky told Cinnamint.
Cinnamint gulped and stepped onto the scale. The digital screen was large enough for both Pearl and Lucky to see. Three dots kept loading and disappearing over and over as the scale calculated. Both the toddlers thought their hearts had stopped beating as the world around them seemed to stop. In reality the scale only took ten seconds or so, but the minds of children exaggerate everything.
"Oh! Right on the dot my boy, thirty-one point nine three pounds. Bit of a skinny fellow aren't you? You should eat more protein rich foods if you wanna grow up big and strong." Lucky said excitedly in a cheery tone, he couldn't have sounded more pleased with himself if he tried.
Cinnamint hung his head and walked off the scale, taking his place back beside Pearl. Pearl patted him on the back, attempting to console her friend. She left her bag with Cinnamint and stepped forward. Lucky's expression wavered for a moment when he saw her, but he still seemed pretty confident.
"I've never actually met a dragon before, but I think I'll still be right on the money. I'm gonna say that you weigh about twenty four pounds, since you seem rather lithe." Lucky said as he scratched his chin in thought with his hoof.
Pearl stepped onto the scale and closed her eyes, fearing the worst. After a moment of silence she opened just one eye a little. To her surprise Lucky was standing there, his jaw nearly hitting the ground. Pearl looked to the display, it read thirty pounds even.
"Yes! We get the tickets!" Pearl cried out in utter and complete joy.
Cinnamint giggled as Pearl's wings fluttered so fast she was several inches off the ground. Lucky regained his composure a few seconds later and pulled a roll of tickets out of a box sitting beside the scale. Pearls took them like they were about to run away and shoved them in her bag that sat beside Cinnamint.
"Well, I shoulda guessed that you're more muscular than a pony of the same age. Muscle weighs more. You win fair and square little lady, and as a bonus reward you can have this." Lucky relented as he untied the unusual headband from his forehead.
Pearl took it as well, putting it in her hoodie pocket. The pair headed back to the meeting place they had agreed to meet the others at at midnight. They still had awhile to wait so Pearl and Cinnamint sat down on a nearby bench and listened to the music that could be heard all over town.
After a few minutes of silence between the two Pearl took the headband out of her pocket. She thought it was pretty cool, but didn't really think she wanted to wear it. She looked over at Cinnamint who had his eyes closed, humming along with the music. Pearl reached over and tied the headband around his neck like an ascot, much to Cinnamint's surprise.
"Why are you giving me this? You're the one that got us all those tickets." He asked.
"Yeah, but if we hadn't stayed at the darts stall we would have wasted all night running around. That was your idea, so I wanna give it to you." Pearl replied. Cinnamint couldn't tell that she was blushing thanks to the dark, but Pearl's excellent night vision let her see his blush.
Cinnamint opened his mouth to reply, but didn't get the chance. The other teams all arrived right as he was going to say something. Each of the teams had a significant amount of tickets with them, though Cinnamint was sure they still had more. Luna stepped forward and summoned up a box which she dropped her and Screwball's tickets in.
"Screwball and I have managed to gather nine-hundred and fifty-nine tickets." Luna said proudly. Screwball poked her head out of the box and nodded with a smug grin on her face.
Lyra dropped her and Bon Bon's into the box next, a cheery expression on her face.
"We only managed four hundred and ten tickets, but we also spent half the night trying to decide what to play." She chuckled.
Discord who was now bandage free walked up and dumped a meager handful of tickets into the box, much to everyone's surprise. Fluttershy was hiding behind her mane like she used to, and Discord seemed extremely calm and collected despite his obvious loss.
"We ended up teleporting home after Fluttershy got scared of the fake duck shooting gallery. After that we just sort of lost track of time, but we came back and earned sixty-three tickets." Discord said casually.
Macintosh coughed into his hoof, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Pearl, Screwball, and Cinnamint were all unsure what exactly was going on, but everyone other than Discord and Fluttershy looked just as uncomfortable as Mac.
"Hey Mommy? Where's your costume? Did you take it off when you were home?" Screwball asked Fluttershy.
Whatever force of the universe that controls coincidences has excellent timing. The band finished a song just as Screwball asked her question. Everything seemed eerily silent just then, as if everything in existence wanted to hear the answer.
"Um... yes, yes I did." Fluttershy replied awkwardly. Within three seconds the band began their next song and the rest of the world's background noise returned as well.
Spike reached out and dumped his enormous handful of tickets into the box as well, it seemed he and Mac had done well for themselves. Luna eyed their contribution with a light scowl which was matched by the one on Screwball's face.
"We got eleven-hundred and seventy-two tickets at the pumpkin launcher. Mac figured out the trajectories and I slammed the button." Spike said proudly. He briefly stuck his forked tongue out at Luna who gave him a truly evil look.
Pearl reached into her bag and pulled out her and Cinnamint's winnings as well as the roll of tickets from Lucky Guess's challenge. Everyone was speechless at the amount she dumped into the now overflowing box. Luna admitted defeat, but grinned when she saw her nephew's shocked expression.
"We have seventeen-hundred and thirty-six tickets! We win the whole box!" Pearl shouted as she lifted her arms in the air and clenched her fists in victory.
Cinnamint held out his hoof, which Pearl bumped with her fist. Screwball literally had steam coming out of her ears, clearly unhappy about losing. Discord picked her up and wagged a finger in her face, wordlessly telling her not to get upset. He let her sit inbetween his antlers atop his head until she calmed down.
"Well done children. You now have four-thousand, three-hundred, and forty tickets to spend at the prize stall. You well exceeded the previous record." Luna said, bowing to the children for besting her, "I must be off to see to the closing ceremony, but I thank you all for attending."
Luna smiled sadly before vanishing in a flash of pale blue light. Discord and Fluttershy both said their farewells too, Screwball had fallen asleep on her father's head. The rest of the reformed group headed off to the exchange counter where Pearl and Cinnamint marveled at all the wonderful things they could get.
There were all manner of toys and Nightmare Moon themed collectibles on shelves as well as glow-stick necklaces and light-up costume jewelry. The most expensive items were up above on top of the shelves directly behind the stallion at the front. Anyone who had lived in Ponyville anytime in the last six years or so would recognize the tan colored stallion with greased-back hair. He was Filthy Rich, current mayor of Ponyville. He seemed delighted at seeing the group walk up to the counter.
"I thought I'd see you here before the night was out Spike. Luna won last year, so I assumed it'd be your and Mac's victory this year. Am I right?" Filthy asked casually, clearly knowledgeable about their traditional contest.
"Actually, our little girl won on her first year. We're right proud of her an' her partner in crime here." Mac told Filthy as he pointed to Pearl and Cinnamint.
Filthy chuckled a bit at that. He stepped aside, giving the kids a clear view of the prizes. Pearl had her eyes on the remote controlled racing cart, but it was four-thousand tickets and would have been difficult to share. Cinnamint set his sights lower, looking at a Lego model that looked like Canterlot Castle. The box said it was three feet tall and it was only two-thousand, bits.
Pearl saw him looking at the set, feeling bad that she had been looking to use all their tickets up one item. Splitting them evenly was more fair, and her fathers were always telling her not to be greedy. She scanned the same row of prizes the Lego set was on, looking for something more fair. She saw something she never knew she wanted until that very instant.
"Can I get the villains of Equestria figurine set?" She asked Filthy.
Filthy nodded and pushed a stool forward to climb on. With the extra height he grabbed the box off of the shelf. Cinnamint thought now would be the best time to speak up, considering Filthy was already up there.
"I'd like the Canterlot Castle Lego set please." Cinnamint asked.
Filthy took it off the shelf as well, placing Pearl's item under his chin. As he got down from the stool and placed the items on the counter Spike and Lyra counted out the tickets for Filthy. Pearl and Cinnamint talked while the adults did their business.
"We should totally play like my bad guy figures are attacking the castle! It'd be so much fun! There's even ones that looks like Screwball's dad and Nightmare Moon!" Pearl suggested.
"That sounds great, but what are we gonna do with the other three-hundred and forty tickets?" Cinnamint asked, causing both of them to look back to the shelves.
"How about we get that super-hot joke gum for Screwball? She loves pranking ponies." Pearl suggested. It was three-hundred points for five packs, each with different inconspicuous wrappers resembling famous brands.
"Good idea, just don't ever take any gum from her again." Cinnamint agreed.
After giving the rest of their tickets and telling Filthy to keep the change the groups separated. Pearl fell asleep not long after she and her fathers began walking home. It was to be expected, she had been awake far longer than usual and gratuitous amounts of sugar only go so far. She was sleeping comfortably on Mac's back, leaving her parents relatively alone.
"Pearl and Cinnamint are getting awful close, don't you think?" Spike asked casually, not looking over to Macintosh.
Mac chuckled at Spike's over-protectiveness, but nodded in agreement. He hadn't seen the two fight once yet in the two months since Pearl and Cinnamint had met. That was pretty unusual for a pair of five year-old kids, doubly so for a boy and a girl.
"Granny used t' say kids grow up faster every generation. Sides, Cinnamint is a right gentlecolt if ya ask me. Kinda reminds me a' a certain somedragon Ah know and love." Macintosh teased, causing Spike's serious demeanor to soften instantly.
"I know I'm being silly, I just worry that if Pearl falls for Cinnamint things won't end well. We still don't know how she's going to handle living so long when she gets to be old enough to know. I didn't take it so well the first time I realized it you know." Spike reasoned.
Macintosh sped up just a bit and popped his husband in the back of the head, just hard enough for him to feel it. Spike stopped in his tracks, looking at Mac knowingly. Mac's face wasn't angry, just disappointed.
"Ah know it's not gonna be easy, but nothing worth havin' is easy, life included. She may not be big and strong like you just yet, but ah know our girl can handle anything so long as she's got family. Ah ain't gonna worry about the future, cuz ya cain't plan for the things that really matter in life. Down the road, if our girl falls in love we'll support her, just like our families did us." Mac said sternly.
Spike hugged Mac around the neck, taking care not to wake Pearl. He and Mac shared a loving kiss, enjoying their shared affections for each other. When it ended Spike kept his hold on to the red stallion.
"I dunno what I'm gonna do with myself when you pass. I can turn diamonds to dust with my bare hands, but I don't think I could ever be as strong as you are inside." He told Mac softly, tears boiling away so quickly it looked like he was crying steam.
"You'll be fine, ya just gotta go about it a day at a time. Jus' like we do now." Mac replied, tears falling down his own face.
"Good thing Pearl's asleep. We're a mess huh?" Spike joked as he let go of Mac to rub his eyes.
"Eeyup." Mac chuckled as he began walking again, Spike following closely behind.
Somehow as soon as they started moving forward again their moods lightened considerably. They still had their worries, as everyone does. But as long as they knew they were loved things would be alright, they just needed to remind one another every so often.
In the dead of the night neither of them could make out the jet black figure watching their emotional display from beside a skeletal bush, it's skinny form blending in well with the dead shrubbery. It didn't dare make a sound, but as soon as they turned their backs a white, fanged smile and a pair of luminous green eyes cut through the dark.
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4944806 It's out. Enjoy!
Hopefully...
What cliffhanger!...
Great chapter. I think this was fun reading about Nightmare Night and what happend to everypony. I can't wait to read about Twi's and Trixie's foal. Good luck writing future chapters. Good luck on your new story.
Changeling invasion
4955424 Well obviously, but it's not like I was trying to hide it.
But, we aren't quite there yet. So hopefully you guys can hang on a while longer.
4955529
x 
for the win
I love your story, I can't get enough of it. Great great talent
Well I'm glad to be reading this story again. Lovely chapter! I'm glad Pearl had a good Nightmare Night. Hope you're doing well yourself, Draco.