TALES FOR NIGHTMARE NIGHT! A collection to read AFTER the lights are out!

by De Writer

NIGHTMARE NIGHT AT THE SWEET SPOT

Molly and her foals, Sis and Morty, all in silly fake deer costumes, approached the welcoming door of the Sweet Spot. The happy jangle of the door’s spring bells announced their entry into the shop.

They heard a cheerful, “Be right with you! Just tending to a tiny bit of business!”

A cream colored unicorn came out of the back of the shop. He was wearing a silly looking deer costume too! He had a pair of the nuttiest looking horns on his head that any of them had ever seen! The big spring holding them onto his head had a hole in it for his unicorn horn to stick up through. The rest of his costume was a tan cloak with white spots and a phony short tan tail with a white underside.

He called, “Welcome to the Sweet Spot! Best candies in all of Ponyville!”

Molly, Sis and Morty all chanted, “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”

Smiling, Roe hoofed over his justly famous foal bowl, full of treats. They all helped themselves.

Roe escorted his family into the back, where his living quarters were, before he married Molly and took in her family. They now lived over at Molly’s cottage with its prosperous wood lot business.

As I escorted them into the back, I told them in a serious voice, “You all know what I truly am. A deer like me, disguise or no, is a creature on the borderlands between dream and Nightmare.

“Through your good hearts and kind wishes, you have seen the good side of me. I had help in setting up this room for our party. Those who helped me would like to come but must be invited by you all, as well as me.”

Molly took one look around the room, now hung thickly with real spiderwebs. There was a drink fountain that flowed from the jaws of a pony skull. It had phosphorescent glows in its eye sockets. Treats and game prizes were laid out on top of an ornate coffin. Ring toss targets looked like the skulls of unicorns.

Molly got a chuckle out of the dart board. It was rear end pictures of the Ponyville Council from last year. Every pony remembered them trying to shut down even small Nightmare Night parties to boost attendance at a Gala that was supposed to be for charity. Grumpy Goat, up on his mountain, and some Rom had put an end to that plot! And this year, their plots were dart targets!

There was fog of some sort flowing over the sides of the apple bobbing tub. There was dark crepe all over and real bats swooping about!

It was Sis (actually Sisterca, but she didn’t care for the name) who asked simply, “If they are friends of yours, Roe, they are welcome!”

Morty agreed, “If they helped to set this up, they should enjoy the party!”

Molly looked about in admiration and said, “It would be a shame if those who helped to set up the party were not here. By all means, Roe, they are invited.”

As she finished speaking, a black maned and tailed filly who was white as mist simply trotted through the door! It opened behind her to admit a pair of liches, followed by a number of small zombie like foals. Behind them came a normal looking pony with a lamia gliding along beside him on her sinuous serpent’s lower body and tail. Behind them were two normal looking ponies that Molly recognized!

She exclaimed, “Prilla! Charley! I thought that I heard that Charley was killed in an accident! Didn’t you move to Trottingham?”

Prilla nodded, a smile on her face. “Both true, Molly. Roe brought Charley back as well as he could. Vampony. I had to choose whether to let him go back to death or join him in undeath. It was no choice, really. I loved him then and I love him now. We moved to Trottingham to have a safer place to stay.”

Charley spoke up, “We owe Roe a lot. Thanks to his help, we have not killed anypony and get along really well in Trottingham.”

I nodded, happy that things had gone so well for them.

The two litches nudged the ghostly white and black filly toward me. She ducked her head in acknowledgment and came over to Molly and I. Fishing in a saddlebag, she pulled out a wrapped rectangular bundle.

She offered it to Molly and I. As we took it, she spoke. “This is by way of saying thanks, Mister Roe. It is from all three of us. I copied the words. Junea did the pictures and Zom bound the book. It is a copy of Elane, Vampony of Canterlot.”

Molly was carefully examining the lovely book. She asked, “What did Roe do for the three of you? You look more, um, don’t get me wrong but, well, more alive than Junea and Zom.”

The filly smiled, “Sorry, not used to being around the living that much. I am Bonnie Bones and I am as alive as you are.

“Mister Roe found an abandoned unicorn filly with a stunted horn near the Everfree. I wished that somepony cared about me. Roe sent me to Ponyville Cemetery. Zom and Junea took me into their crypt and raised me.”

Junea put her skeletal head into the conversation. “Zom and I always wanted a filly. We had a book binding business and I did art that we sold too. We both died in a fire at the shop. Zom could have got out but was trapped while trying to save me.”

She inclined her mostly skeletal head toward me. “Roe hears more wishes than just those of the living. Bonnie has made us and many others in the Borderlands of Life very happy.

“It was the ghosts that taught her how to walk through walls and the like. Being alive, she brought games and liveliness to the Forgotten Foals.

“Bonnie has done for us what Canbe has done for the ancient ones. Canbe is the mortal over by the lamia, Flowering Ash.”

Molly was looking about the very active party with new eyes. She leaned against me and said, “You take care of both the living and the dead, dear. I am even prouder of you than I was.”

Over in small clear area, Sis and some of the Forgotten Foals had a busy game of jacks going, ball bouncing and hooves sweeping up the sets. They were up to foursies. Mort had a bunch playing ring toss and some of the Forgotten Foals were over in a clear area playing hop-scotch.

Flowering Ash slithered up and asked, “It is a lovely party, Roe. Will there be refreshments for us?”

I replied, “Honestly, Flowering Ash, I am not certain. I know that one who is a candidate is coming to the Sweet Spot. If he does no wrong, he will go away safely. I do not think that he will though.”

Just then, we all heard the shop door’s spring bells!

It was Horace, a local ne'er do well, barely in costume. He saw me and hollered, “Nightmare Night! I gives you a fright! Gimme all the candy in sight!”

I pulled the foal bowl away from his greedy hooves and said sourly, “Horace, you do know how to say it right. Say it right and get your treats or go away.”

Horace cocked a rust brown ear toward the back. “They is a party back there! I goin’ and no puny-corn like you gonna stop me!”

I actually stood aside as I retorted, “I wouldn’t dream of it!” Locking up and following him into the back room, I called out, “Refreshments are served!”

Lovely Prilla, now known as Vamprilla, stepped up to him and gave him fine bedroom eyes as she suggested, “No need to be so loud and brash. Just lie down and let us take care of you.”

Like they had a mind of their own, his legs folded under him and he laid right down. Prilla stroked a gentle hoof along the back of his neck and leaned forward, her bite as gentle as a kiss. Charley joined her.

Flowering Ash slid across to them and softly suggested, “Neither of you has killed any pony yet. That is a good thing. Drink your fill but leave him alive. Let me kill him for you.”

I considerately led Molly, Sis and Mort out to the front. Shortly we were joined by Canbe. A little later, Bonnie Bones popped out and asked, “Are you guys OK?”

Sis replied, “I thought that you were alive, like us.”

Bonnie chuckled, “I am, Sis. I’m snagging goodies off the refreshments coffin. But, you know, I do eat with them, just not the same things. After all, they are my family! Wouldn’t be polite not to eat with them.”