Everypony Hail to the Pumpkin King

by Harmony Charmer

Chapter 6: Pumpkins Scream In The Dead Of Night

The search went on until the moon reached its peak. Jack and the Mayor led the pack of werewolves in and out of every single pumpkin patch that spotted Halloweentown, but not even an inkling of a scent could be traced back to anyone. The grave keepers were guiltless and held solid alibis, as did the rest of the towns' monsters. All that could be found in the patches were creepy crawlies and screeching bats.

"Do you really think it wise to question our fellow monsters?" Jack asked the Mayor.

The Mayor shook his head. "This is hardly our first bout with pranks and sabotage, but this--" He shivered. "--is unlike anything we've ever seen before."

Jack clenched his teeth in troubled thought. Not even Lock, Shock and Barrel could be connected to the smashed pumpkins, he knew, considering they were already caught for putting spiders in Madam Elphie's brew for the upcoming celebration. They had spent the previous night in their rooms with their bottoms sore while the pumpkins were being busted into.

"I can't believe one of our own could do such a thing," Jack murmured, shaking his head, "it just isn't right."

"None of this is, Jack." The Mayor put his hands over his face as it turned around to his stark white frown. "I hate to think that one of our very own monsters could do something so... evil."

When the moon had risen past the treeline and the entire town was barking with complaints, Jack and the Mayor called the investigation to a pause. Before long, the entire town was shut into their houses and quiet. Jack sent a farewell to the Mayor before making his way back over to his own home, exhausted and drained of any motivation.

Jack was greeted by Zero yipping at his heels, panting and barking excitedly. He reached down and patted him lightly on the head, although it did little to soothe Zero's erratic behavior.

"Sally?" Jack called out, slipping out of his shoes. When no reply came, he turned to Zero, who stared back at him cluelessly. "Sally, are you there?"

Again, no reply.

Jack trotted up the stairs. "Sally? Where are you?"

Zero barked and Jack turned back towards him. Zero levitated in front of the door, a high pitched whine escaping him.

"She's still out?"

Zero appeared to nod. Either that, or he was bobbing his head with excitement. Jack sighed exasperatedly. "Well, I suppose I have time to stop by Equestria..."

He crammed his feet back into his shoes and made his way out the door. Zero floated behind him, whining. Jack glanced down at him and saw a strangely pensive look on his face. He reached down and offered a reassuring pat on the head, though it appeared to do little to sooth Zero's anxieties.

With the town sealed away in their homes, Jack wasn't disturbed on his stroll to the forest. He worried over how they were handling the pumpkin massacre and felt his worry shift into indignation at the reminder. The residents of Halloweentown were known to scare others for the sake of a good laugh, but whenever things went too far (and they rarely did), apologies were always granted and cordially accepted. However, smashing every single pumpkin in town hardly warranted any forgiveness. Not to mention the fact that the deed was done when Halloween was just around the corner.

Jack shook his head. He was beginning to think like the Mayor. But, then again...

Zero snapped him out of his thoughts with a loud bark. He whipped around to look into the trees and saw no one roaming, but remained apprehensive nonetheless. He stared down at Zero, who was flickering with angry defensiveness.

"Is anyone there?" Jack called out, narrowing his eyes in scrutiny.

Zero barked once again. Jack turned around once again and caught sight of a heaping silhouette that stood several yards away, previously unseen. He glimpsed at Zero and confirmed that the mysterious figure was the object of Zero's fury. He held a hand in front of Zero to quiet him down and stepped cautiously through the trees to get closer.

He came to a sudden halt when he caught sight of a thin silhouette within the illumination of the moon. It was separate from the pile and stood still, almost as if lying in wait. Jack turned back to Zero, who remained where Jack had ordered him to stay. However, the ghostly dog lost his sudden hesitation and came barreling past Jack like a gust of wind.

"Zero!"

But, Zero didn't attack the figure like Jack initially thought. Instead, he seemed excited to see them and eccentrically yipped at their heels. As the light from the thin moon made its way through the trees, Jack got a good look at the figure and felt a smile appear on his face. "Sally?"

Sure enough, Sally stood before him, circled by Zero. She returned his smile when she caught sight of him. "Jack?"

"Sally!" He bounded over towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace. He was sure that if she had any breath, he would have squeezed it out of her. "You scared the death out of me!"

When Jack pulled away from her slightly, she looked up at him. "I was only gone for a couple hours... Is everything alright?"

Jack sighed tiredly. "As well as they can be, at the moment... No sign of who could have destroyed the pumpkins."

"Oh, Jack, that's awful," Sally told him, her brows furrowing in worry, "what about Lock, Shock and Barrel? Where were they?"

"Locked up in their houses all night. Madam Elphie made sure they can't sit for a long while with the prank they pulled on her." He sighed once more. "I suppose it should be comforting that it wasn't one of our own that did this, but I'm not quite sure which I find more upsetting. If it wasn't one of us, then it must have been an outsider of sorts."

Sally's eyes widened. "But who? It's not like the Easter Bunny is out wreaking havoc on the pumpkin patches." She raised a brow suddenly. "He isn't, right?"

"No, I made sure that things were alright between us a long time ag--" He stopped suddenly. "Sally?"

"What is it, Jack?"

Jack, almost in a daze, pointed over her shoulder. "What's that behind you?"

Almost as if it were the first time, both Jack and Sally took a long look at the pile that was accompanying Sally. Jack couldn't recall whether or not it had been there the first time they went down to Equestria together, but then again, he hadn't really been focused on anything but the tree.

Sally, despite the peculiarity of the situation, was surprisingly nonchalant. "Pumpkins."

Jack's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"Yes, I told Pinkie about our shortage," she continued, only extending his shock, "she ran out in a hurry to go grab some from town after I told her about it."

"How many did she get?" Jack exhaled, his hands trailing over the pile in awe. He retracted his hand, somewhat fearful they would disappear.

Sally shrugged nonchalantly. "Not sure, but she carried them all back herself. And when I asked how she was going to get them all over here, she just told me--"

She didn't get to finish what she was about to say. Jack wrapped his arms around her at the waist and lifted her high into the air, eliciting a high-pitched shriek from her. He gave one long twirl before putting her down.

"What was that about?" Sally demanded, trying to steady herself.

"Sweet merciful death itself, I can't believe I didn't think of it myself!" he exclaimed, laughing. Jack stepped over and tentatively put a hand over one of the pumpkins. "And how'd you get them all stacked so nicely?"

"That was Pinkie Pie," Sally told him, smiling a bit more, "I waited out here while she tossed them through the tree and they all landed out here like this on their own."

Jack stared at the pile in wonder. "Impressive."

"An understatement, to say the least. I mean, I wasn't even sure what to do when they all got over here, but then you showed up and... well, here we are now."

"Here we are indeed!" Jack cheered. He took her hands in his. "Sally, darling, the shiver down my spine and the haunting voice in my head, of all the scary things to happen, this has got to be the most terrifying and unexpected thing to happen this Halloween season."

Sally blinked in surprise and for a long moment, was stunned into silence. When she got over her shock, a startled smile came onto her face. "Do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely!" Jack laughed once again. "Everyone's going to be scared alive when they see all these pumpkins!"

"Jack," Sally said suddenly, "I... I need to talk to you about something."

Jack's smiled faded. "What is it? Is everything alright?"

"It's just..." Sally shook her head and smiled. "Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore."

Jack chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that problem has been solved. Let's head back to town to tell the Mayor about your discovery!"

She held up a hand. "Actually... I had something better planned..."

Sally leaned over and whispered something urgently into his ear. Jack let out a laugh and clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh, you devilish thing, you! I never took you for the mischievous type!"

"Hey, you don't think Dr.Finkelstein just let me sneak out, do you?"

Jack took her hand in his once again and led her down the path with Zero behind them, immersed in light conversation. However, as they made their way back to town, they remained blissfully unaware of the audience that watched them from afar. Hidden by the cluster of trees off in the distance, Lock, Shock and Barrel were crammed together in their porcelain tub to avoid being seen.

"Ugh," Shock muttered, sticking her tongue out in disgust, "they are so gross."

"You're telling me," Lock concurred, shaking his head, "I can't believe Jack of all monsters would be so mushy."

"Who's Pinkie Pie?" Barrel asked suddenly. When Lock and Shock turned towards him hostilely, he took on a defensive stance. "What?"

"You moron, that's who Sally was with!" Shock snapped, bonking him on the head. She shoved him into the faucet. "C'mon, we have to hurry if we're going to get back home in time! Madam Elphie will have us by our hides if we don't get back soon."

Barrel's eyes rolled in his head lazily before he got them to focus. "I was gonna if you'd stop hitting me, you little... broom lover!"

"You don't even know what that means," Lock patronized, rolling his eyes.

"And you do?" Shock shot back, raising a brow.

"Do you?" Barrel asked, suddenly curious.

"SHUT UP!" Lock and Shock shouted, causing Barrel to cower.

A loud growl broke through their squabble and the trio came to a sudden still. Barrel peered over the bushel to see Zero hovering over them, translucent teeth bared in a tight-lipped snarl.

"Uh... nice doggie," Barrel murmured, chuckling nervously.

Zero let out a murderous howl and snapped his teeth at the trio, prompting the three of them to scream in terrified unison. Shock reached over Barrel and tugged on the faucet, jerking the bathtub away from Zero. Once the tub was turned away and righted, she twisted a knob and sent the tub flying down into the trees at a breakneck pace.

Satisfied by the disappearance, Zero floated back over to Jack and Sally on the way back to town.

Author's Note:

...Jack and Sally were my original OTP, ok, let me have some cutesie moments with them, alright? And yes, I know this wasn't finished by Halloween, but don't judge me, I've been busy, OK?

Comments

[badassgrunt]

More if you can.

[PhycoKrusk]

I think Jack and Sally were everyone's original OTP.

[Harmony Charmer]

7748251
RIGHT?

[Dirty Bit]

Good boy, Zero!