Halloween Special
Shackles and Friendship
Halloween Special
Edited by:
Alejandro-A.K.A-Alex-A.K.A-Hollyhock
Andy Grey
Pre-read by:
Hollyhock, Andy Grey
AN: Holly, if you're going to turn the chapter info block into your own personal message at least tell me.
=========[7 days till Nightmare Night]=========
“Nightmare….Night?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s next week,” Redheart answered. “You’re not familiar with it?” I shook my head.
“It’s a night festival,” Bronze clarified. He watched as Redheart continued to wrap bandages soaked in medicine around my midsection. “Everypony wears costumes, there are game stalls at the town center, and the kids gallop around demanding sweets.” Bronze shook his head irritably. “As if they didn’t have enough energy already.”
‘So...halloween?’
‘Considering all the other similarities this world has to ours, this is probably something we should’ve expected.’
“And here I thought you’d enjoy a reason to celebrate and intoxicate yourself,” Redheart continued. “Hands please.” I complied and raised both arms to a ninety degree angle to make her work easier.
“On the contrary I do enjoy it. The problem is that I can’t join in the festivities,” Bronze answered irritably. “I only open the bar after hours, and since everything starts at night there’s hardly any customers to make it worthwhile.”
“How does that stop you? Sounds like a perfect reason to close the shop and join the fun,” she asked confused. “Down.” I slowly brought my arms down, being careful not to move my fractured rib.
“Because of the kids!” Bronze dropped his head into his hooves in dismay. “You know how they are, always curious about everything, poking their muzzles in places they don’t belong. Especially if everypony tells them not to.”
“Ah don’t fohow,” Redheart spoke while biting the end of the bandage. She pulled on them causing me to grunt slightly when the bindings pressed against my ribs. “I don’t follow,” she repeated.
“Sometimes I get kids trying to sneak into my bar,” Bronze sighed. “Most times as a game or a dare. With all the sugar and the festivities, I have more kids trying to break in than any other time of the year. Which is why I can’t ever leave my bar alone.” The pegasus grumbled something under his breath before continuing. “Especially from these two colts, Snips and Snails I think they’re called. They got in their heads that drinking my stuff will help ’em grow older.”
“Why would they want-” Redheart was about to asked before Bronze interrupted.
“Something about getting beards or some such. I don’t know!” Bronze waved his forehooves exasperatedly in the air. “I just wish they’d all stop!”
“Locking up the bar’s not enough?” I asked, joining in on the conversation.
“What, and risk one of them actually getting in!? No way. Half the ponies in town are into the whole prohibition thing. If a kid gets drunk because I left the bar unguarded, you can kiss the Bronze Sky goodbye.”
“What are you gonna do this year then?” I asked. “You’re stuck here.”
“Ah don’t worry. Luckily I got lazy and haven’t ordered or made any new supplies. All the tankards are drier than the desert.”
“Wait, you named the bar after yourself?” Redheart asked, surprised. Which probably meant she’d never visited.
“Yeah he did,” I answered with a laugh.
“It’s a good name!”
We continued conversing about the festival, mostly explaining to me what goes on and what’s traditional. From what I’d learned, it was almost a perfect duplication of Halloween. Of course I never shared this with them, it would raise more question about where I came from. The only one I’d be able to tell would be Twilight.
I was however, quite interested to learn that the element of fright and scare from Halloween was also present in Nightmare Night.
Which got me thinking.
=========[6 days till Nightmare Night]=========
“Rodney!”
“Ah!” I flinched as three high pitched voices assaulted my ears. I looked to the door just in time to see Sweetie Belle and Applebloom galloping towards me with Scootaloo trailing behind on her scooter. All three came to a halt right next to the bed and stared up at me with their usual cheery faces.
“Whatcha doing?” they asked in perfect sync.
“Research,” I answered, lifting the thick textbook for them to see. “What are you three doing here?” I looked towards the door expecting Rarity or another caretaker to follow them inside. “You three alone?”
“Yeah, everypony’s busy fixing everything,” Applebloom answered.
“We’re not even allowed to go crusading for our construction cutie marks,” Scootaloo complained. “We know how to use power tools.”
‘That’s not worrying at all.’
“Where’s uhm...” Sweetie Belle asked, noticing the empty bed across the room.
“Bronze? Gone to stretch his legs I think. So what are you guys doing here?”
“Oh right, what’s yer costume for Nightmare Night?” Applebloom asked expectantly.
I raised an eyebrow. “Costume?”
“Yeah you know, what you’ll dress up as,” Scootaloo explained in a, ‘didn’t you know,’ kind of tone.
“I don’t think I’ll be going out for Nightmare Night,” I answered. I immediately regretted my answer as all three pairs of ears flopped down in dismay.
“But there’s candy.”
“And games.”
“Even Princess Luna will come.”
“Wait, Luna’s coming to Ponyville?” I asked.
“Yeah, just like last year,” Scootaloo informed. The idea of Luna being in town made a certain idea ever more enticing.
“So you’re going right?” Sweetie Belle looked at me expectantly with a big smile.
I let out a sigh. “Sorry Sweets but it’s not up to me. I can barely move as it is right now.” Again their ear’s fell flat against their heads. “Buuuuut, that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy Nightmare Night from here.”
“Huh?” I laughed when all three of their heads tilted to the side in confusion.
I leaned in over the side and whispered, “Well-”
“What are you fillies doing here?” All four of us turned to the door to see a nurse looking into the room. “Come now, you shouldn’t be disturbing the patients.” With a disapproving gaze the nurse pointed down the hallway with a hoof, gesturing to the three to exit the room.
“Sweetie Belle, ask Rarity if she has any spare gems that I can have,” I quickly spoke. “It doesn’t have to be anything special or big. As many as you can get.”
“What for?”
“You three out now,” the nurse repeated in a harsher tone. The three turned and quickly trotted out of the room, briefly pausing in front of the nurse to apologize before disappearing around the corner.
“Remember!” I yelled. “Nothing special!” With that, the nurse closed the door and left me alone in silence.
I closed the book I was reading and placed it on the side for later. Next to it was the pile of other books Twilight had brought from the library. I ran a finger over the spines of each book, trying to find one in particular that had once caught my eye.
Popular Theatrical Spells For The Novice Showpony - By Glare Light
“There you are.”
=========[5 days till Nightmare Night]=========
“So everyone’s got one right?”
“Well maybe not everypony,” Bronze answered offhandedly. Or offhoofedly, I suppose.
“But most do have gems attached for light, correct?”
“I don’t know, maybe? It’s not like I go around town entering homes and looking at their bathroom mirrors.” He gazed up from his lunch tray to look at me in suspicion. “What’s this about anyways?”
I shrugged innocently. “Nothing, I’m curious is all.”
“Well that’s a rather odd sort of curiosity you got there. Got a bit of a fetish for ponies in bathrooms?” he teased.
“What?! Eww no!” I immediately responded.
“Don’t worry your secret’s safe with me,” he teased again. I responded by casting a weak levitation spell on his sandwich, enough to make it spontaneously ignite. It startled him so much that he actually threw the sandwich up into the air, at which point gravity took over making it and it’s contents fall all over him. “That’s not funny!” he shouted angrily, a slice of tomato hanging by his ear.
It took a few moments for my laughter to die down before I could reply properly. “I-I beg to differ.” I kept on laughing even after he got up from bed and made his way towards the bathroom to clean himself up.
I never actually planned on making him go there because of it. Having the sandwich fall on him was just pure luck. I’d already done what I could with the spell, which was simple enough to keep a secret. All I had to do was lock myself in the bathroom periodically and work while pretending to have a stomach ache. Now all I needed was a test subject, and it looked like I was about to get it.
‘Here we go.’ I watched as Bronze went in and closed the door.
‘Let’s hope all that effort pays off.’
‘I need to test it out eventually, it’s meant for ponies so...’ If everything works as it’s meant to, the spell should activate when Bronze tries turning the light gem on. Silence fell and I strained my ears to listen, when finally….
“AAAH!!” A few second later the bathroom door burst open, slamming into the wall with a loud bang. Bronze stumbled frantically shuffling out like a bat out of hell, even slipping and face planting the floor at one point with that same tomato slice still dangling around his ear. Luckily the cast was sturdy enough to prevent him from further injuring his broken wing.
“'Celestia's beard! What was that?!” he yelled, eyes wide open.
“Oh god! I-ow! I-it ow! It hurts!” I held my hand over my fractured rib, trying my best to control my laughter but to no avail. With my rib and all the aching muscles, every breath was accompanied by a flare of pain.
“Was that you!?” he shouted with a hoof pointed at me as I laughed out loud. “Did you do that!?”
“What is going on in there!” someone shouted from the doorway. Both of us turned to see Redheart glaring at us like a mother catching her kids with their hands in cookie jar. “You two should be resting! Not...,” Redheart paused when she saw Bronze, “...whatever this is!”
“It’s his fault!” Bronze balmed, pointing his hoof at me again. All I could do was laugh and wince in pain with every breath. Even Redheart’s barrage of scolding wasn't enough to quell my laughter.
The spell was ready, now I just needed to work on the delivery.
=========[3 days till Nightmare Night]=========
Rainbow hovered outside the window, and looked at me with a bewildered face. “You want me to what now?”
“Go around town and see if you can find any open windows or some opening,” I repeated.
“Why?” she asked in a tone soaked with suspicion. I couldn’t really blame her. If anyone was within earshot of our conversation they’d think we were planning a robbery or something, or that at least I was.
“Easy, I’m not planning anything. Well no I am, but it’s nothing bad I promise. I just recently heard that you’re quite the prankster.”
One of Rainbow’s eyebrow rose. “What about it?” she asked, now interested.
It was important that I get her to help me, which meant appealing to her personality. “I plan on creating a legend. Something Ponyville won’t be forgetting anytime soon. You interested?”
“What kind of a legend?” She flew through the open window and allowed herself to fall on one of the large pillows they use to sit.
“I won’t spoil it, and I don’t want to risk you blabbing about it before it’s time.”
“I’m not gonna-”
“But,” I interrupted, “I promise you it will be memorable.”
Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her chin in thought. “Let’s say I’ll help; exactly what do you want me to do?”
‘Hook, line, and sinker. Nicely done.’
From the other side of the bed, hidden from Rainbow’s view, I levitated a bag filled with various gems that Sweetie Belle brought two days before. It was filled with a good amount of small to medium sized gems, with flaws ranging from failed cuts to cracks and impurities that made them unfit for commercial use.
In other words, garbage.
Though there were some really nice cuts in there that stood out from among the rest which I removed and kept. Knowing Rarity and her tendency to give stuff away, she probably added them in spite of what I had asked for.
“Here.” I levitated the bag to the cyan pegasus who immediately peered inside to inspect the contents. “I need you to throw one of those though every open window, or anything that offers access to a mirror.”
Rainbow looked at me with a perplexed expression. “You want me to throw junk inside ponies’ homes?”
“Oh but they're not junk, not currently at least.” Rainbow gave the bag an unconvinced look. “Look, if you see any mirror, big or small, that has one of those light gems attached to it. Just throw one of these as close to it as you can.”
“This doesn’t sound like any prank I know.”
“That’s because it’s an original,” I replied confidently. “So you in?”
Rainbow stared at the bag for a few moments before turning her attention to the other pegasus in the room. “What do you think?”
Bronze, who had been keeping silent throughout the conversation, gave her a shrug. “Up to you kid. From what I know it’s not really hurting anypony.”
Rainbow rubbed her chin again in thought. “Ok,” she finally concluded. “I’ll do it. Just throw one in, right?”
“That’s right,” I answered with a big smile. “Oh hold on.” I grabbed a small folded piece of paper from the table next to the bed and handed it to Rainbow. “You need to read that to the gem before you throw it in.”
“Command li-”
“Ah!” I yelled, surprising her before she could finish reading the key words. “Don’t say it until you’re ready. And make sure that you whisper it. Don’t let the other gems hear you or they’ll activate.”
“Activate?” she asked, somewhat nervous now.
“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt anyone. But, uhm, maybe steer clear of Fluttershy’s place. Now go! Nightmare Night is only a few days away.” I shooed her with both hands towards the window. She gave the bag another hesitant glance before unfolding her wings and flying out the window, leaving behind a short gust of wind that ruffled the room.
“I was right, right?” Bronze asked after he and I watched Rainbow disappear into the distance. “This won’t hurt anypony? You haven’t actually explained anything about what I saw in there.”
“And I said I’ll explain it all at Nightmare Night.” I replied dismissively. “I want to keep it a surprise and with this we can enjoy the festive spirit from here.”
“Hmm,” he mumbled irritably before laying back and taking another nap.
‘Two down, one to go.’
‘Now we just need the legend.’
=========[Day before Nightmare Night]=========
“Are you sure you can’t come with us?” Sweetie Belle looked at me with puppy dog eyes, puckered lips, and folded ears. She was maxing out on all levels of her d’aww powers and they were all aimed right at me. As if that wasn’t enough, the other two fillies were doing the same thing next to her.
“We promise to behave,” Applebloom beged.
“You can have half-no a third...well maybe a quarter of our candies,” Scootaloo added, hoping to bribe me somehow.
My heart was about to explode, melt, and explode again. Humans just aren’t meant to handle this much cuteness. Bronze was no help either. In fact he was enjoying my torment with a large grin plastered across his face as he watched from the comfort of his bed, most likely getting some payback for the prank I pulled.
Fortunately self preservation seems to outdo the powers of d’aww. I could barely walk to the bathroom as it is, I probably wouldn’t survive a night watching over three fillies galloping all over town. Especially these three.
“I’m sorry girls but-” Out of nowhere each of them summoned a single tear, immediately making me feel like I was the bad guy. “But I just can’t.” I could feel something in me wrinkle and die as I watched their faces turn to disappointment.
Strangely, they looked at each other confused.
“It didn’t work,” Sweetie Belle whispered. Or tried to anyways.
“But it always works,” argued Apple Bloom.
“Maybe if we cry a bit more,” Scootaloo suggested which of course made me realize the whole thing had been a ploy to play on my feelings.
“Were you three trying to manipulate me?” I asked, more surprised than anything else. To think they’d turn their their adorableness into a weapon, and from the sound of it they’d already used it before to get their way.
‘Let’s not underestimate these three again.’
Bronze bellowed out a hearty laugh. “Well, you can’t blame them for trying!”
“Why are you trying so hard?” I asked them.
“I think I know,” Bronze spoke before either of them could. “I heard from one of the nurses that all the colts and fillies are to spend Nightmare Night strictly in the town center. With all the construction work going on they didn’t want any accidents happening. I’m thinking these three were planning to-”
“Show me off,” I finished following his thought. I turned and looked at the fillies with an accusing glare. “Is that true?”
“What!? Of course not?” Sweetie Belle replied in a fashion that closely resembled Rarity’s over exuberant behaviour.
“We would never do that!” shouted Applebloom.
“Good ponies don’t show off,” Scootaloo spoke in an obvious sort of tone.
I looked at them suspiciously with a raised brow for several moments as the room fell into silence. When suddenly….
“Oh please, please, please!” Sweetie Belle begged aloud.
“You’ve gotta come!” Applebloom shouted louder than before.
“PUHLEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!” Scootaloo wailed.
“Hey hey HEY!” I reached out and levitated each filly a few inches into the air, catching them off guard and silencing them. “Don’t start screaming or you’ll get kicked out again,” I warned, as I put them back to the floor. I had some trouble suppressing an urge to smile.
“So will you come?” Sweetie Belle asked.
I let out a sigh. “The answers is still no.” All three dipped their heads down in disappointment. “Like I said, it’s not about my choice, I just-wait a minute.” Their ears shot up straight expectantly. “All the kids will be at this gathering?”
“Yup,” answered Apple Bloom.
“I’m guessing there’ll be activities right?” Already I could feel Bronze’s gaze fall on me suspiciously.
“Of course,” Scootaloo responded. “We’ll take turns playing the stalls, gather candy from everypony, and tell stories with-”
“Scary stories?”
“Of course, it’s called Nightmare Night for a reason,” Scootaloo answered.
‘Oh this is just too perfect!’
‘Its almost like it’s meant to be.’
“What are you-” Bronze started to ask before I raised a hand and gave him a wink. With a slight snort he shut his mouth and relaxed back into his bed.
“Alright girls, I may not be able to go with you, but I can still make this Nightmare Night one you’ll remember.” They trotted closer with anticipation right next to my bed. “How’s about I tell you girls a story that nobody has ever heard of, hmm? A scary one.”
“This better one really scary story,” Scootaloo spoke unconvinced.
“Oh ho ho ho, this isn’t just any scary story.” I smiled devilishly. “It’s a scary true story.” Yeah I knew I had lied, one of the girls would probably give me a scolding when they found out. But at the moment I couldn’t care less, not with the knowledge that my plan was coming together oh-so perfectly.
I rubbed my hands together like an evil genius. “This is the tale of the Bloody Mare...”
=========[Nightmare Night]=========
“Alright children,” called Cheerilee. “That’s enough of that.” Her call was ignored however as the fillies and colts continued to circle and play with the dark alicorn. “Children!” she called again louder.
“‘Tis quite alright,” replied the alicorn in between giggles. “Such merriment is the very purpose of a festival.”
“Me next! Me next!” shouted a colt, gleefully hopping about in place. With a smile Luna complied and lifted the colt with a spell, making him float in circles above the heads of other eagerly awaiting fillies and colts.
The entire courtyard was buzzing with activity, voices, and cries of fright in celebration of Nightmare Night. Young and old were enjoying themselves with the many games, hot food, and each other’s company. Despite all that had happened, the ponies of Ponyville still managed to set the event up and enjoy themselves. Even those sent to help repair the town were joining in on the merriment, some even wore costumes made by residents as a small thank you.
It was a wonderful sight to see, one that had a cerise colored mare constantly smiling all night.
“Miss Cheerilee?” The mare turned around to see three of her students standing behind her.
“Yes Sweetie...” Her voice trailed off as she tried to comprehend their costumes. As much as she tried, the schoolteacher couldn’t figure out what they were dressed up as. Each wore something similar to the other yet it looked unfinished.
“When is story time?” asked Sweetie Belle.
Cheerilee glanced up at the clocktower. “In about a minute,” she answered. “Uhm, girls. What are you three dressed up as?”
Applebloom’s ears perked up. “Oh, hold on.”
Cheerilee watched slightly worried as the three fillies started clambering on top of each other; Applebloom at the bottom, Scootaloo over her, and Sweetie Belle on top. Cheerilee knew that the earth filly often tended the apple farm with her family and possessed more muscle than most fillies or colts her age, but it was still surprising to see her carry the weight of both her friends.
“Tadah!” they yelled in unison, wobbling slightly as they tried to keep their balance.
“It’s..uh...” Cheerilee tilted her head, hoping a different angle might help. She could tell that all three costumes came together like a puzzle, but still she couldn’t tell what they were supposed to be. Applebloom wore something that was mostly dark, Scootaloo had a blueish drape over her, while Sweetie Belle wore a mask of sorts with a dark patch of what looked like somepony’s dark mane atop her head.
“And what are you three supposed to be?” came an elegant voice. Cheerilee did a small jump in surprise and turned around to see the dark alicorn standing behind her.
“Princess Luna,” greeted Cheerilee respectfully before moving to the side. “These are my stu-”
“We’re Rodney!” they all squealed in unison. Luna’s eye twitched ever so slightly, enough to go unnoticed as she gazed over the trio.
“Are you now?” Luna replied trying her best to keep her smile genuine.
“She doesn’t see it,” spoke Scootaloo disappointed.
“I told you we needed stilts for his legs,” replied Sweetie Belle.
“And sticks for...his arms,” Applebloom added in a strained voice.
“No, of course I see it,” Luna quickly corrected. “It’s certainly original, I don’t think anypony’s ever tried dressing up as a human.” She guessed they had tried to mimic the human’s attire, though unfortunately the colors were the only resemblance, that and the dark patch of hair. Luna of course never mentioned this, unable to find it in herself to disappoint them.
“Alright children!” Cheerilee yelled out. “Gather around! It’s story time!”
In a shuffle of movement the three got off from each other, or rather tumbled from each other, as they quickly joined the other children near a large bonfire at the center of the courtyard. There were a few caretakers in the group, mostly just to keep an eye on the children and make sure they didn’t wander off.
“Alright then,” Cheerilee started once everypony made a large circle. To her surprise Princess Luna was also seated at the side, surrounded by children. A pair of toddlers were even dancing through her mane and giggling while in their diapers. That is until the Cakes hurriedly took them away and apologized repeatedly.
“Now then,” she continued, “tonight’s story will be-”
“We have a story!!” screamed a loud and high pitched voice, causing everypony’s ears to fold away. Before anypony could say anything, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo had already moved to the center while keeping a distance from the bonfire.
“Well,” Cheerilee pondered for a moment.
“Oh let them, I’m sure it’ll be frightful,” Luna spoke with a smile. She, like everypony else, expected them to tell one of the more popular Nightmare Night stories or perhaps even reenact one.
Each filly gave each other a quick glance and a nod before taking in a breath, and began their tale.
There once was a mare,
She was blessed with beauty.
Golden mane that made all stare,
Eyes that burned like rubies.
There once was a mare,
She was admired by many.
With jealous ones to spare,
Enough to turn deadly.
Beautiful Mare they called,
Come with us and play.
Oblivious she followed,
In the forest led astray.
Beautiful Mare they called,
Let’s play hide and seek.
Deep in the forest she concealed,
Where they left her in sneak.
Lost Mare, they shouted,
Where are you hiding.
High and low they scouted,
With the night air chilling.
Lost Mare they cried,
Found a gruesome sight.
Golden mane defiled,
Ruby eyes torn apart.
Bloody Mare they now call her,
A horrid mare disfigured.
Bloody Mare they now fear,
With crimson tears she cried.
Bloody Mare they called no more,
Her home to silence fell.
Bloody Mare no more,
A hanging corpse on her mirror wall.
[AN:Further edited by Hrafn. Thanks man.]
Silence fell over the entire courtyard, even those that were playing the stalls had stopped and listen in. They looked at the three fillies with mixed expressions, some horror, worry, apprehension. Even Luna was rather taken aback, she has of course heard countless horrific stories and this was nothing special. But the fact that it came from ones so young was hard to accept.
“Where, pray tell,” Luna started breaking the silence, “did you three hear such a tale?”
“Rodney told us,” Sweetie Belle answered innocently.
“Of course he did,” Luna spoke under her breath.
“He said it was based on a true story,” Apple Bloom added.
“No way that story is true!” yelled another filly from the side. Diamond Tiara took a step towards them from the ring of ponies followed by Silver Spoon. “It’s as bad as your costumes.”
“Is too, and our costume is awesome!” Scootaloo yelled back.
“Where’s your proof?” Silver Spoon asked, egging her on.
“Simple,” Sweetie Belle answered. “Go to your bathroom, call Bloody Mare three times and she’ll appear.”
Off away at a distance, atop a dense black cloud, a pair of cyan ears perked up at attention. Remembering her task from Rodney, Rainbow Dash made an ‘Oh’ expression realizing the human’s ploy.
“Why would anypony do something stupid like that?” Diamond retorted.
“What are you? Chikun?” Apple Bloom teased.
“Girls that’s enough!” Cheerilee scolded. “Remember the Princess is here, we should be on our best behaviour.”
“You believe us don’tcha Princess?” Apple Bloom asked. Just like that everypony’s attention fell to the dark alicorn while she was pondering what punishment she should give the human next.
“Well,” Luna started as she carefully planned her answer. “If what you say is true, then one simply does the deed to know the truth. Correct?” If Rodney did indeed claim the story was true and raised the fillies’ expectation, then it falls unto him to mend their disappointment.
Several murmurs spread throughout the crowd along with an excited giggle as a dark cloud flew away.
=========[A few hours later]=========
“Good night Daisy,” Rose spoke as she and Lily waved goodbye.
“Goodnight girls,” Daisy replied before entering her home. As soon as she stepped in the house the magenta mare let out an exhausted sigh and removed her costume.
‘I’ll deal with it tomorrow,’ she thought, leaving the costume in a pile near the door. As she moved towards the stairs her eyes caught the newspaper sitting on a small table against the wall. Her cheeks reddened remembering the human’s message for her, she knew it was likely another tease but she couldn’t help but feel slightly happy at the thought of somepony finding her attractive.
Shaking her head to get rid of that thought, Daisy climbed the stairs with her bed in mind. She enjoyed this year’s Nightmare Night more than she had expected to, but it left her exhausted. However, instead of heading straight to her bedroom, Daisy stood still for a moment to sniff herself. The combination of external activities and a stifling costume left her with a less than pleasant odor. Not wanting to sleep in such a state and befoul her bed, she decided a quick bath was in order.
Daisy’s bathroom was quite simple, the white walls and the appliances were the same as when she first moved in. So long as everything worked she had little reason to replace anything. The only item that she had added was an oval mirror nailed to the wall, just tall enough to do herself proper.
“Light,” she spoke in a very flat and clear tone. A second later a small gem atop the oval mirror burst into light causing her to flinch against the sudden glare. Unlike most modern homes with gems built into the ceilings and walls for light, the residents of Ponyville had to purchase various appliances to light their homes for the night.
Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Daisy moved next to her tub and adjusted the temperature of the water before turning it on. Watching the steaming water flow out, Daisy quickly changed her mind about the shower and decided to go for a long and relaxing bath. While waiting for the tub to fill she went for the cupboard under the sink for one of her favorite scented bath salts.
Crack!
Daisy quickly lifted her hoof off the floor to see a small pebble laying on the floor. Kicking it away she caught sight of herself in the mirror which made her remember the three infamous fillies and their dreadful story.
‘What were they thinking?’ she thought. ‘Sure it’s Nightmare Night but that was just dark. The poem wasn’t even that good, clearly the work of an amatuer. Not even.’ Remembering that moment also brought to mind how it was supposedly based on a true story.
“Can’t be,” she mumbled, staring at her counterpart in the mirror. For several seconds Daisy just stood there staring into the mirror with the constant sound of running water. “It can’t be real,” she mumbled again.
Daisy suddenly shook her head. “This is stupid,” she spoke to herself, turning around and trotting towards her bath with the salts. But as much as she tried to forget, the thought of attempting the call kept poking at the back of her mind.
‘Am I actually scared of a child’s story?’ That was the thought that finally pushed her. Placing the salts down on the floor, Daisy turned and faced the mirror once again. ‘Three times was it?’ She took a deep breath.
“Bloody Mare,” she spoke clearly and confidently. Daisy waited and looked around to find everything was the same.
“Bloody Mare.” As she spoke the gem immediately started to flicker causing her to jump back and lean against the wall. A few seconds later the light returned to normal, bathing the room in constant light as if nothing had happened.
“It’s nothing, probably just needs a recharge.”
She had half a mind to just dive into the tub and soak in the relaxing water, but her pride wouldn’t let her. She had gone this far and she was not about to let fillies mess with her head. She stepped forward, stare into herself and with a firm voice she called thrice.
“Bloody Mare.”
=========[Ponyville Hospital]=========
“And here we go,” I spoke under my breath as a scream echoed from Ponyville.
I sat on the window sill with the cold night wind blowing against me. My body was shivering, but I wasn’t really bothered with the cold. Not with the anticipation of seeing the all of my planning and effort come to fruition. Though I suppose ‘hearing’ was a more accurate term, seeing as I was still stuck in the hospital.
“That’s it?” Bronze spoke unimpressed. “How could you even know if that was-” another screamed echoed from the town.
“Can’t say I know for certain,” I answered truthfully. I turned my gaze away from the pegasus and gazed at the glowing town once again. “But you don’t scream like that just from being startled. That’s a ‘shit myself’ level of scream.”
Both of us waited in silence as more screams was heard off in the distance. Each making me smile ear to ear with an odd sense of pride.
“So are you going to start explaining everything or should I beat it out of you?” Bronze asked, clearly still upset with the prank I had pulled on him earlier.
Even though I wished to remain seated by the window and hear the rewarding screams, I did promise to explain. Reluctantly I got up and walked slowly towards the stack of books next to my bed and grabbed one from the top of the pile.
“Here.” I threw the book at him which was engulfed in blue fire midflight, slowing down to a halt before it stopped right in front of Bronze.
“Popular Theatrical Spells For The Novice Showpony,” he read aloud as he took the book with a hoof. “That thing was a spell?”
“More like an enchantment.” I pointed to the book with a nod. “Most of the stuff is about creating special effects. Bending light, creating sound and stuff for performances.”
“So what I saw in the mirror...”
“Was nothing more than an illusion. Actually, I wouldn’t even go as far to call it that. All I did was mess around with your reflection. Just enough distortion to make it look like somebody else was in there with you,” I explained briefly.
“That was my reflection?” He asked not quite ready to believe. “What’s with all the red then? Kinda made it look like-”
“Bleeding?” I cut in. “That’s the point. Remember that story I told the fillies? Bloody Mare?”
“And how did you-” he started before I answered the obvious question.
“The book teaches you how to play around with light, I just tuned it more towards the red spectrum. To make the blood more pronounced I concentrated the distortion in certain areas while making the red stronger.” I grabbed the small mirror Rarity left for me and traced it along the edges with a burning finger, enchanting it with the same spell as the one I used to scare him. “Here,” I threw the burning mirror at the edge of his bed so as to not hit him. “Take a quick look at that before the magic fades away.”
Hesitantly Bronze pulled the mirror using his good wing and flipped it over. Knowing what to expect, Bronze hardly even twitched as he gazed into the mirror. He even moved it about at different angles much like Rarity did when applying her makeup.
“It kinda does look like me,” he commented. I watched as the fire slowly burned away indicating the rate at which the magic was dissipated from the mirror.
“But the mirror in the bathroom wasn’t burning like this. How’d you cast the spell without me knowing?”
“Ah, that’s because the one in the bathroom has a gem attached to it. I replaced the light spell with the enchantment. That way the enchantment stays inactive until someone, in this case you, tried turning the light on.”
“Ah,” was all he said, probably remembering when I had questioned him about mirrors that came with light gems attached.
Another scream could be heard in the distance and we both listened to it until it disappeared.
“The ones in town are different, though,” I continued, thrilled to explain how I pulled it off. “Remember the bag of gems I gave to Rainbow Dash?”
“Yeah I figured that’s how you spread it,” he replied before tossing the book back. Rather than catching it, I caught the book in a levitation spell, and dropped it back atop the pile.
“That, was without a doubt the hardest part,” I spoke with a sigh. “I had figure out a way to somehow package the spell into another spell, have it detect any nearby enchantments, and find one that’s an exact duplicate of the light gem in the bathroom.” I pointed towards the same bathroom Bronze jumped out of in fright.
“That’s not even the hardest part,” I continued. “The spell then has to...uhm,” I paused for a moment trying to find the right word, “smuggle the illusion spell. That way the illusion spell lays dormant while the light spell on the gem still works as normal.” I started laughing as I thought of the complications and different variables I had to juggle. “To be honest, I was half expecting it all to fall apart somewhere along the road. Most of the variables along the way were just guesswork. And since I’m basing the light gem from the one in the bathroom, my spell won’t work on any other variations of it.”
Both of us looked towards the open window as the echo of another scream was heard.
“And how exactly was it different?” Bronze asked. I looked at him confused. “You said the spell you had that pegasus spread was different from the one I saw.”
“Oh, right.” Talking about the difficulties of the package spell made me lose track of the topic. “Then one you saw was triggered when you tried turning the light on. But the one in town activates when the key word is repeated three times.”
“Bloody Mare,” he surmised. “From the legend you told those fillies.”
“Exactly!” The excitement of explaining it was coming back. “For the first call nothing will happen, but the spell will uhm, wake up and prepare itself. The second time it will make the light gem flicker just a bit to set the mood. On the third the spell activates, taking the image of whoever happens to be in front of the mirror and distorting it for the desired effect.”
“Hold on, doesn’t that mean every image will be different? Since it works off of the one standing in front of the mirror.”
“Yeah that would be the case.” I smiled confidently. “Unless of course no one actually gets a good look at it.”
“What are you-”
“Unlike the one you saw, the illusion everybody else sees will only appear for a split second. Enough for them to notice but not recognize. The rest is simply filled in by their imagination.” I gave him another confident smile. “I basically let their own imagination do the work for me. Rumors will spread and soon other ponies will give it a shot. Mirrors that weren’t activated will remain dormant so long as there’s magic remaining in the gem.”
Bronze looked at me as if he was seeing me in a whole new light, and then without warning, burst into a hearty laugh. “Celestia pour me a drink!” he shouted with mirth. “I think you might have created a legend!”
A wide proud smile spread across my face revealing the whites of my teeth. “There’s a saying where I come from; go big or go home.”
“HA! I love it!” Bronze bellowed with a smile that rivaled my own. “This calls for a celebration!” I watched as he bit his pillow and ripped it apart spilling cotton all over his bed. Then I saw the glint of a bottle filled with clear golden liquid hidden inside.
“How?” I asked incredulously.
“My emergency stash,” he answered smugly. Leaning to the side towards his shield, Bronze pulled out a pair of cups hidden behind it.
“You just gonna stand there gawking or are you drinking?” he asked, taking pleasure in my expression of disbelief.
I looked towards the door expecting Redheart to trot inside, before throwing caution to the wind and walking towards the pegasus. “Why the hell not!” I yelled with the same amount of mirth.
“That’s the spirit!” With his good wing holding the bottle, Bronze poured both of us a hefty amount of liquid fire. “To Nightmare Night!” he cheered.
“To Nightmare Night,” I repeated as we raised our glasses to the ceiling and gulped down their contents.
“Another!” Bronze yelled as he filled our cups.
I turned and raised my glass to the window, lining it up with the lights of Ponyville. “To Bloody Mare!”
“To Bloody Mare!” Bronze repeated with gusto.
A screamed was heard again as I felt the liquid fire burn my throat.
Let's get the obvious one out of the way, I can't write a poem or rhyme worth anything. But for the spirit of Halloween I still gave it a shot.
Now, even though the setting of this chapter takes place after chapter 38, it has no place in the overall plot of the story. Meaning the next chapter will go on as if this never happened. Good or bad that my decision on it. I did however took as much opportunity on this to further build on the lore wnd world of what I imagine Equestria to be, small stuff here and there.
Based on the comments I've received about SaF, explaining how the whole magic/spell system works in detail was what most people enjoyed. Which is why I added the various days leading up to Nightmare Night to show how Rodney actually managed to pull it all off. Hopefully it doesn't get all too confusing at the end, especially considering how rushed this chapter was in order to meet the Halloween deadline.
As for me, I'm not taking any chances with Pinkie. Especially not tonight of all nights. I've spent all day yesterday Pinkie proofing my house.
Duct tape
Hope you all enjoyed it, and good luck this Halloween.
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*aplause for such a great update*
Never would have thought of this.
HAPPY NIGHTMARE NIGHT
:trollestia
Oh Rodney... you're going to need something more powerful then your ball bag shield when Luna catches you!!
And that is not Pinkie proof. Nothing is!
Hot damn what an update.Keep up the good work.
Well done I must say that performance was AWESOME!
I only have one thing to do after such an update...
assets0.ordienetworks.com/images/GifGuide/clapping/citizen_cane.gif
I'm sad, i wanted to see the consecuences for Rodney...
holy crap...
THAT!
WAS!
AWESOME!!!
Positively brilliant, a shame we don't know if Luna tried the Bloody Mary test herself, but for the sake of a laugh lets say she did.
Jolly good! Loved that chapter, though I want some Shine Bright damn it.
global3.memecdn.com/the-shortest-horror-story_o_1051375.jpg
The horror, slightly disappointed that Luna didn't get the shit scare in this chapter.
Probation? do you mean Prohibition?
This was great...
If you want to know how to fill the void in our hearts you should talk to the guys in the christian brony club. They can help you a lot with filling that void. Trust me if you let them help you, you will never have the same void or any at all. you will be filled
Well, I like this chapter.
But you know what sucks?
I went trick or treating, and not a single kid wore a costume! None!
That was awesome! Happy Nightmare Night!
Great chapter! I always enjoy a good update from this fic.
3427225
I beg to differ...
If anything in the universe can withstand the Pinkie, it is the awesome power of duct tape.
Well I am glad you found time to write while you were sleeping under your workstation.
you are awesome
Happy Nightmare Night, EveryBrony!
I wish I could fav a chapter!
3427305
That will probably come later.
Cooooooool!
That prank, it just so so.....
: so beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes. Never before have I seen someone write a prank so clever.
Happy Halloweenies! I should say this chapter was g-r-r-reat! It was funny, and was perfect for Nightmare Night. You SHOULD make this part of the actual story. It would be very interesting to know Rodney didn't just sit in the hospital bed the whole time while he healed.
Oh that prank is so evil! I approve!
That was a beautiful piece of kit. Using a script reader and code injector to rewrite the basic functions, using a powered intermediate vector.
Have you heard of the USB based BIOS/UEFI injection thats reputably going around? I wonder if people will go back to using SLB time patched Hard ROMS.
I wonder how many freinds Screwball will be making after tonight.
I really enjoyed this chapter! Still, I would have liked to see some of the "day after". Some sort of mention, even if it fleeting, in the next chapter would be nice!
I am very freaking sore from all the laughing! I without hesitation give this chapter a standing ovation. Bravo sir! Bravo!
Near the end though, I was half expecting a VERY angry Luna to show up or try the mirror herself and get scarred too. Meh whatevs. Still a beautiful chapter.
I swear Bronze is like Pinkie with his alcohol. Hiding it in the most random of places. Great chapter. So very glad you didn't use Slender. Don't get me wrong love the game, just feel its being over used lately.
Will it take very long before he figures out what the shackles does to him?
You have to make them remember this day! For it is way to good to ignore this.
3427677
Word son
> Implying it's any fun if I do that
> Implying bananas are not a tasty snack
> Implying the cat that lives in my house's toes aren't creepy for a cat (look like chicken's toes bro)
You are a genius at Writing, simple as that!!
Also, i do hope that the next chapter won't take as long to update as this one, i need my dose of this awsome fic dangit!
If you're looking for another pre-reader, I'm on this site almost every day, and I always check my everything everyday. Hit me up I guess.
also,
Three?
no idea what you're talking about, good sir. I found your poem to be quiet enjoyable. a moustache for you
And besides, not all poems have to rhyme all the time
static.fjcdn.com/comments/my+sides+_085d814fbb3011d61b83fcff36f518b3.jpg
3427324
And after blasting the entire bathroom, and finding the gem, she surely will put two and two together.
fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/139/8/8/angry_princess_luna_by_blastface-d50c7uw.jpg
Wouldn´t be funny if Rodney ends becoming Luna´s personal Dinkleberg?
Loved it! Aw, does it have to have no place in the story?
Love seeing updates for this and this chapter was certainly a nice Halloween special.
Funny chapter.
So we're not going to see everypony's reactions to the Bloody Mare?
But that would have been hilarious to see how everypony would react if they ever found out that Rodney started the whole thing.
Dude, I so Want to know what Ponyville's reactions where the next day! and Luna's reaction as well!
Aww, but there is just so many scenes you can come up with! If this actually happened.
Seeing as how he created a legend. Think of all the blackmails Rodney COULD COME UP WITH! Threatening them with more stories.
Also we need to see the reactions after they find out about it.
Ho,ho.ho Princess Luna. Wouldn't want to hear the story of Freddy kreuger now don't you?
Or slenderman
BRING OUT ALL THE CREEPY PASTA STORIES!!!
2947634 2946282 2945707 Newsflash for Celestia.... 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions'.
3427180 I'm actually surprised no one did. Especially during for Halloween. Bloody Mary to Bloody Mare?
3427194 And to tooth decay!!
3427237 I always do whenever I can.
3427293 That's the second time I had the honor of receiving that gif.
3427323 You! Are! Awesome!
3427324>>3427408 I was trying to think of a way for Luna, but so far none of the ideas I had seem to pan out. Rather than having something that fell flat, I choose to go with something else.
3427335 I really wanted to include the whole gang, but there just wasn't enough time to plan things through. Was mostly just writing whatever came to mind and get some kind of draft in order to meet the Halloween deadline.
3427432 Fixed and thank you. Though I'm sure I did wrote it correctly, maybe spell checked changed it.
3427618 That's unfortunate.
3427677 "Duct tape; it holds the universe in place." - Zai
Update: Wait, I just checked. Someone already said it, damn!
3427699 Funny thing about that, I'm not allowed to do that anymore. Some company lawyer/security/whatever advisor came through the office building. Saw my sleeping bag sticking out and when I explained she said it was a breach of security or some other kind of BS liability.
3427856 Actually I've seen so many other good ones before, personally I see this somewhere along mediocre level.
3427890 Some people have pointed that out. The problem I have is how rushed this chapter was. Never really thought about how it all fits together. But we'll see, the decision to exclude this chap from the main story wasn't written in stone or anything.
3428049 BIOS has been around for a long time, pretty much since the beginning of Windows (and all the updates that came after). Not surprise at all that they're planning on replacing it. Technology today have grown so much and added to many different kinds of inputs from users; touchscreen, voice command, camera profiling, etc. Eventually the traditional input/output system won't work anymore. Windows is just going ahead with this and being ready, and considering how fast tech is evolving nowadays, is a wise decision.
What? You didn't think I wouldn't know what you're talking about did you?
Geek for life!
3428078 I'll consider making it an "official" chapter.
3428345 Slender's cool, certainly one of the more creative urban legends/myths created in recent memory. But yeah it's been overused in my opinion.
3428353 Depends on how fast I can pump out these chapters. I know some people are waiting for Rodney to go ape shit but it can't be rushed. Epicness requires planning, forethought, and a bit of raw human emotion.
3428629 Ah man, everyone wants this. Did I make the chapter too good?
3428932 Fixed and thank you. Really that was a stupid mistake though, not sure how the THREE of us missed it.
3429391 I am having a hard time understanding the meaning behind your pic.
3429399 If it's not obvious yet, I plan on having Rodney's and Luna's relationship to be a bit more...direct? Real? Comedic? Can't really find the right word to describe it.
3430543 Hmm, if it doesn't have any/little effect on the overall plot, then I have no reason not to make it part of the main storyline. Though I'll have to reread and make sure.
3431804 FLUFFY!!!!
3431867 Yeah, that would be fun wouldn't it?
3432543 Looking forward to reading your comments/reaction as you catch up. That's always makes my day.
That was just... G'ah, so much awesome!
That was an amazing chapter
3428049>>3433008
I thought he was talking about the reputed super-rootkit going around that supposedly infects BIOS and UEFI alike, spreads via USB drives, is almost impossible to get rid of, and can even jump airgaps. See here for a story on the subject.