The Awakening
Deep down in the darkness of Tartarus, the soft pad of paws and the harsh clopping of hooves echoed around the silence of the hellish landscape that surrounded the lone prison cell. In the pitch blackness of the cell, only sounds were heard from the being trapped. Growling, claws scraping against the stone floor, and impatient sighing. "Soon," a deep voice boomed. "I will return to the surface to claim what has been taken from me." His muscles shifted under short, spiky fur, anxiously turning his gaze to the top of his cell. "I just need enough fear to give me the strength to break free of this hell." And with a smile, he realized that tonight was Nightmare Night.
Blood red rays spilled over the landscape of Ponyville as the sun dropped below the horizon, enticing excited squeals from the phillies and colts, quickly dressing for the long-awaited Nightmare Night. A certain purple and green dragon was busy standing on a rather precarious looking stool, vainly attempting to hang plastic bone decorations over the entrance to the castle on the outskirts of the small town, home to the Princess of Friendship and her student.
"Spike!" A voice called from within the castle, startling the young dragon. With a yell, Spike fell from the stool, heading face first towards the stairs. A blue aurora suddenly illuminated around him and he gently landed on his feet, sighing in relief. "Come on," A pink unicorn with a purple and blue mane smiled. "Are you going to dress up this year?"
"Oh, yeah," Spike rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "'Course. I'll be a minute, just gotta finish hanging these decorations." But when the dragon turned around, the string of plastic bones was neatly bung by the same blue aurora. Spike sighed and shrugged. "Guess it's done. Thanks, Starlight." Starlight Glimmer giggle and headed back inside, Spike closely following.
Inside the castle in her personal quarters, the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle, was reading a book titled Spell Tome: Transformations and Transfigurations. Smiling, she shut the book after the last page was flipped. A purple light surrounded the book and her horn as the lavender alicorn levitated the book back into it's spot on the shelf of her personal book collection. Just as she stood up to test out the new spell she learned, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" She called.
"Hey, Twilight!" Spike, her dragon companion, walked into the room, closely followed by her student, Starlight Glimmer. "What are you up to?"
"Oh, guys, just in time!" Twilight smiled and rushed to the other side of the room, grabbing a mirror and pulling it over to the center of her bedroom. "I was just about to try a new spell I learned for my costume." She turned to see Starlight dressed as a witch, and Spike as a shark. "This spell only works if you cast it on someone or something else, but I figured if I shot it at a mirror, it would bounce back and hit me." Most of what Twilight just said was to herself.
"Okay?" Starlight said slowly. "And what spell are you doing?" In response, Twilight simply levitated the book she was reading to Starlight, then back to the shelf. "Twilight, isn't that a bit... Oh, I don't know, dangerous?"
"Nope!" Twilight chirped happily. "I've practiced this many times on an apple while you all were away. Simply think of what you're firing at, and what you want it to be." She gestured over to an avocado sitting on a lone table, which her companions guessed that it was formerly an apple. Spike and Starlight simultaneously rolled their eyes, and waited for Twilight to cast her spell.
Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Bear," she said firmly, aiming her horn towards her reflection in the mirror. A small bolt of energy shot out of her horn, bounced off the mirror, and hit Twilight square in the chest. The alicorn was enveloped in a bright purple glow, her outline shifting and growing. When the light faded, a large bear with lavender fur was standing where a pony formerly was.
Starlight and Spike snickered at the colorful bear. "Well, it kind of worked." Spike said in between bouts of laughter.
Twilight took one look at the mirror and sighed, shaking her head. "It'll have to do." The purple bear turned around and pushed her large rump out of the slender door of her room, galloping down the hall. "Let's go find the others!" And with that, Spike hopped on Starlight's back and the unicorn galloped after Twilight.
Five ponies were gathered near the center of town, outside of Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie lives and works. The pink pony was dressed as a vampony, bouncing on her hooves impatiently. "Where's Twilight?" The hyperactive Earth pony said, a little too loudly for her friend standing next to her.
"She's probably still getting ready," Said Rainbow Dash, dressed as a dragon. "We just have to wait." But, the blue pegasus with a rainbow mane didn't look too patient herself.
Applejack, dressed as a Timberwolf, nodded her agreement with RD. "She could be helping Spike pick out a costume still."
"Or picking out a costume for Starlight!" Rarity, in a black gown, said with a groan. "I can't WAIT to see their beautiful costumes." She said rather sarcastically.
"Maybe she's still picking out one for herself?" Fluttershy chimed in quietly, adorably dressed as a bunny. "Maybe she couldn't find the right costume? Maybe-" The yellow pegasus was cut off by a roar of an angry bear, and the group whirled around, terror on their faces as a huge purple bear towered over them.
It stood there for a moment longer, before suddenly breaking out into hysterical laughter, rolling onto it's back. "You should've seen your faces!" Twilight howled with laughter. The rest of the Mane 6 just sat there, glaring at the trickster princess. Twilight recovered and looked at them with innocent confusion. "What?"
"That was just mean," RD crossed her arms in mock anger.
"How did you get your costume to look THAT REAL?" the overdramatic Rarity was pulling on Twilight's fur.
"OW! It's because it actually is real! I used a spell that can transform ponies and objects." Twilight yanked her furry arm away from Rarity. Spike and Starlight walked out from behind the bear and joined the group, still giggling at the Bear-Twilight.
"Okay, enough about fuzzy Twi!" Applejack announced. "Who wants to go into mah family's Haunted Apple Orchards?" She said with an evil grin. The ponies and bear and dragon all gathered behind Applejack with excited murmurs as the orange pony led the group towards her farm and apple orchards.
Screams of fear filtered into the dark cell in the deepest, forgotten part of Tartarus, where in the pitch blackness, a terrible being fed on the terror that Nightmare Night brought. With a sudden, bright flash, the cell was shattered into pieces. A dark red alicorn unfolded his black, fiery wings, wolfish yellow eyes looking around at the rubble that surrounded him.
"Finally," he growled. "Grohiik, Spirit of the Moon and Fear, Father of Wolves, is free. I shall walk Equestria once again and take it back with an army of my own sons and daughters, and rid it from the plague of the Royal Sisters!" His black-fire mane and wings crackled as he took off, flying towards the exit of Tartarus.
