A Nightmare Night celebration takes a drastic turn.
Samhain, now commonly known as Nightmare Night, is a time to celebrate normies and supernaturals coming together, the lines between the spirit world and the mortal world blurring.....and also for dressing up and getting free candy. Things go well at first....until a Nightmare Night prank goes horribly wrong and Canterlot High is accidentally turned into a real house of horrors!
It was a dark and stormy night, and somewhere an organ was playing that usual creepy tune. We enter a study where the lights are off except for the two burning candles and the occasional flash of lighting from the window.
The being in the chair is turned away from the door. "Greetings." Is all they say before turning abound and revealing himself to be a small purple and green dog in a mini-tuxedo.
"And welcome to tonight's tale of terror. Where we find everyone's favorite school become the scariest place on earth!" Lightning flashed and Spike gave an evil laugh....before transforming into a coughing fit.
"Sorry." He coughed. "Still working on that." He readied himself before continuing, "Tonight's story of 'Elements of Equestria' may not be suitable for young children, pregnant women, people with heart problems and...parents. So please, if there is anyone like that reading this now......just go read something else or watch TV or something. Wouldn't want that scary chainsaw guy right behind you to get them!" Spike paused before breaking out in laughter. "Got ya didn't I?"
"Spike?" A distant voice called out. "Are you playing 'scary storyteller' again?"
"No Twilight!" He called out in worry before quieting his voice. "Look, I'm trying to keep this on the down-low so just try to keep your screaming as quiet as possible okay? Good. Now, prepare yourself for a tale, told by a dog, full of spooks and creeps, signifying your doom!" He gave another evil laugh.
"Spike?"
"Nothing Twilight!"
It was that time of the year again.
A time marking the end of the warm seasons, a time of celebrating those who have passed before us.....and a time of eating as much candy as you can before you get sick.
Boutiques and designers were busy as costume sales spiked around this time of year. Stores were offering special deals on candy. Houses were decorated in fake cobwebs, skeletons and carved pumpkins, trying achieve the proper 'haunted house' look that was expected.
Indeed, Nightmare Night had come to pass once again.
"Okay class, I know your excited about Nightmare Night, but we still have work to do." The history teacher said with a slight growl in his voice. He was a large man with wild green hair with an impressive beard to match. Mr.Lobo eyed his students like a predator hunting his prey until that had all quieted down. In celebration for tomorrow, they had been allowed to dress up in costumes varying from historical figures, classic monsters to modern celebrities. The werewolf spoke again.
"Now, to prepare for tomorrow and the coming days, let's take a look back on the celebration. Who can tell me the name of the holiday before it was known as 'Nightmare Night?'"
After a moment, as few hands raised and the teacher called on one of them.
"It was called Samhain or sometimes All Hallows' Eve." Bon Bon said, dressed up as a secret agents.
"Correct. Now who can tell us the story behind why it was changed?" He looked around. "Miss Dash?"
Rainbow Dash, dressed up as a Zapp from the Power Ponies, jolted awake from her mid-class nap. "The answer is 42!"
This got laughs from the other students and a growl from Mr. Lobo. "No Rainbow Dash, '42' is not how Samhain became Nightmare Night!"
Rainbow blushed with embarrassment and slumped down in her seat. Mr. Lobo called on someone else.
"Yes Twilight?"
Twilight Sparkle, dressed as an Amazon warrior, spoke clearly and knowingly, "It was coined 'Nightmare Night' about twenty years ago after the sorceress who tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night: Nightmare Moon!" This caused some students to shudder, having grown up with stories about one of the most powerful and evil threats Equestria has seen, even though she was gone by the time they were born. "After Nightmare Moon was defeated, she became something of a scary story for kids. Parents told their children if they misbehaved, then Nightmare Moon would comeback on Samhain and eat them! Soon, she pretty much became the symbol for Samhain and people began referring it as 'Nightmare Night' so much they officially renamed the holiday."
Mr. Lobo nodded at his top student. "Indeed, very well said. In fact, this Nightmare Night is extra special is because it marks the Twentieth anniversary of Nightmare Moon's defeat! Not only that, it marks the beginning of the three days the spirit world is closest to the mortal world and celebrates the supernaturals and normos coming together. So it is a very special holiday to us especially." His lecture was interrupted when the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "All right then class, enjoy your break and I'll see you afterwards." With that, the the students rushed out of class, eager for their three days off.
"Finally!" Rainbow said, walking up besides Twilight and Applejack, who was dressed as a scarecrow. "I thought he'd never finish! Seriously, who teaches this stuff?"
"Maybe a history teacher?" AJ asked, one eyebrow raised. "You know, if ya paid attention once in a while, you actually might find some of this stuff is actually interesting."
"Whatever. All I need to know for tomorrow is how many people I can scare! This haunted house is gonna be awesome!"
Indeed, Canterlot High was celebrating Nightmare Night by turning the school into a 'haunted house' complete with spooky gimmicks.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. "Nightmare Night is one of the most important holiday in all of Equestria precisely because of what Mr. Lobo said: to celebrate supernaturals and humans coming together in harmony."
"Not to mention the CANDY!"
The trio jumped and turned around to find Pinkie Pie dressed as a chicken.
"I've got the perfect route planned out this year, guaranteed to provide us not only with the highest amount of candy possible, but also the most delectable!" Pinkie stated proudly and professionally.
The other girls exchanged a look before Rainbow spoke up. "Pinkie...aren't you getting a little too old to go trick or treating?"
Pinkie's eyes widened at this. "Your NEVER too old for free candy!"
"Besides, she's also helping me babysit that night."
The girls saw Sunset dressed up in a tight black top, pants with red heals, along with Rarity as a detective from her favorite book series and Fluttershy as an angel.
"Pip's moms are paying me to take him and his friends trick or treating and Limestone said Pinkie offered to help me." Sunset watched as Pinkie acted like a real chicken, clucking and pecking at stuff. "....or maybe Limestone just wanted me to watch Pinkie too."
"Just try to get her done quickly, we need her help to make CHS the scariest school in the city!" Rarity said. "We need all the help we can to turn this school into the most a true menagerie of horrors!"
"Well I hope you all have fun tomorrow." Fluttershy said sincerely. "I will be perfectly happy hiding in my room all night reading with my animals." Indeed, it was something she did every year since she was small. It's not that she didn't appreciate what Nightmare Night was all about, but the poor dear frightened easily and she found it was easier to just stay away from all of it.
AJ checked her phone. "Well, I'd better get going. I have to help finish the caramel apples for tomorrow. See ya."
"We'd better get going too. We have to make this the scariest night ever!" Rainbow cheered.
And so everyone was off to start their own preparations for Nightmare Night, but the night would turn out much more horrifying than anyone ever expected.
Cool enough for autumn but still warm enough that you didn't have to cover your costume with a huge coat.
Naturally, for most of the day people just relaxed, prepared for the celebrations that night or doing the traditional ceremonies in honor of the Gods. Priests and priestesses got their shrines ready for their annual Samhain ritual to honor the gods and the wild animals were preparing to pack it in for the winter.
At CHS, things were well underway for the celebration for the annual Nightmare Night party. Snacks were starting to be delivered, the gym was fully decorated and the rest of the school was quickly being transformed into a house of horrors with the usual dark hallways, jump scares and fake 'monsters' and whatnot.
But this year Rainbow wanted it to be extra terrifying....
"Come on! There has to be something new and scary we can do!" Rainbow said as she, Pinkie and Rarity tried to come up with new attractions. "Last year was a hit! We've got to top it this year! If at least one kid doesn't faint or wet their pants tonight, it'll be a snoozefest!"
"Honestly Rainbow, we've come up with everything we could think of and you turned them all down!" Rarity said in annoyance.
"Rarity, nobody's going to be terrified of a room filled with last seasons outfits!" She turned to Pinkie. "Or a clownfish piñata!"
Pinkie shuddered. "But clownfish are so....un-clowny! Why do they even call them clownfish when their not even funny like clowns!?" she cried out.
Rainbow just rolled her eyes. "There has to be something we could do!" She thought for a moment before grinning. "I've got it. How about we make this night a little more....magical?"
Rarity and Pinkie were confused by this. "Huh?"
Rainbow headed to the door. "Just follow me."
"Rainbow what are you doing?" Rarity asked as they entered the Lair.
"Just picking something up." Rainbow looked through the bookshelves until she picked out one in particular. "This is it!"
Pinkie and Rarity saw that Rainbow had picked a large, old spellbook with a slightly tattered cover covered in swirls and braids. It was titled : Leabhar draíochta.
"There has to be something in here that can help us!" With that, Rainbow began skimming through the pages.
"Rainbow, you know Celestia and Luna don't like us trying new spells on our own. Especially ones from the older books like that!" Rarity scolded.
"Yeah! They said these spells could be even more unpredictable than me!" Pinkie said.
But Rainbow wasn't listening as she skimmed though the book. "Come on....there's gotta be something in here that make this place at least twenty percent scarier....",before landing on a particular page. "Now this looks like something!" She pointed to the spell and read: "'Taigh-uaisle: this spell will give your place a real horrifying feel!' This is perfect! Don't you see!?" She looked at her friends. "If we use this, it'll give the school a real spooky kick to it tonight!"
Rarity and Pinkie were skeptical about this. "Rainbow, do you know what exactly this spell does?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow just shrugged. "I don't know, the rest is in Gaelic and I only learned to read a little bit so far. But the first line says all I need to know! What do you say?"
The two girls thought this over for a minute.
"Well....it certainly sounds like a super-fun party spell!" Pinkie decided.
"Are you really sure about this? I know Gaelic better than you do, maybe I should..."
"Oh come on! Cut me some slack! It's not like I've ever steered you guys wrong before!"
Pinkie and Rarity just stared at her.
"Uh...Not within the last year?"
The duo just continued to stare.
".....Within the last month?"
More staring.
"...Alright I get it!"
"Look darling," Rarity began. "I know you want this year to be a blast, but maybe let's put the spell off for a while. Maybe you can use it if it starts to get boring, alright? Just in case we do need the extra 'oomph'?"
Rainbow sighed. "Alright. And if anything goes wrong we'll tell Celestia and Luna and I'l take the blame." She quickly geared herself up again. " Now, who wants to make this the scariest night ever!?"
After a moment, both Rarity and Pinkie agreed.
"Yeah!"
With that, they prepared the school for later that night, unaware of what would happen once they used that spell.
Back in the study, Spike grins.
"So it appears our girls decide to take a trip into the unknown, but the question is: will they come out alive!? Now let us move on to later that evening..."
"Spike!"
"I'm busy Twilight!"
"Dinner's ready!"
Spike's eyes widened at the thought of food. "Coming! Ok, I'm gonna take a little break now. Just sit tight and I'll back to tell you more of how that party became one of the scariest nights ever seen!"
"Spike!"
"Coming!" With that, he jumped down from his chair and he rushed out of the room and to his dinner.
A short while late, Spike returns, belly full and ready to continue.
"Thanks for waiting." He jumps back onto his chair. "Now where was I? Oh yes...Later that evening, Pinkie left to go Trick or Treating while Rainbow and Rarity prepared finishing touches. We arrive at Twilight's house..."
Twilight was putting the finishing touches on her costume. She had done meticulous research to perfectly mimic the armor of the all-female warriors from the Mareiterranean.
"Are you done yet?" An impatient voice asked.
She turned and saw her loyal dog dressed in a dragon costume of Rarity's own design. She giggled at how cute he looked. "All set! Let's head down and wait for AJ."
With that, they headed down the stair just as the doorbell rang.
"I've got it!" Twilight Velvet said excitedly, dressed as a.....
"MOM!" Twilight exclaimed, blushing.
With her hand on the knob, Velvet turned toward her daughter. "What is it?"
"You can't wear that!"
Velvet frowned and placed a hand on her hip. "Why not?"
Twilight briefly looked over her mother's tight, light blue tank top that was not long enough to cover her midriff. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore black combat boots with matching short-shorts, which ended up exposing a lot of leg. Overall, the costume left very little to the imagination.
"Well...just..look at it!"
Velvet looked down at her costume for a split second before addressing her daughter, "I don't see the problem. It's Nightmare Night!" Finally she opened the door to a group of young trick or treaters who recited the annual words.
"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"
Velvet giggled at the sight. "Why don't you all look wonderful!" With that, she began distributing the candy to the eager children and...
"Nice costume Mrs. V!" Pinkie, in her chicken costume, said.
"Thank you very much Pinkie! Same to you!"
Twilight looked out and Sunset standing at the back of the group, wide-eyed.
"Twilight?" Was all she said when she noticed her friend.
"Yes Sunset?"
Sunset's eyes never left Velvet as she told Twilight: "Did I ever tell you how hot your mom is?"
Twilight's face turned into a tomato as Velvet just giggled and stuck out her tongue playfully at her daughter.
"NOT HELPING SUNSET!"
Not noticing the issue at hand, a familiar child made himself known.
"Hi Miss Twilight!"
Twilight looked down and saw her friend's familiar charge.
"Pipsqueak the pirate, at your service. It's my very first Nightmare Night." Pip said, standing proudly in his pirate costume.
Twilight smiled at the cute child. "Since you moved here from Trottingham?"
Pip shook his head. "No, my very first Nightmare Night ever!"
"Well I hope you have a great time! You've certainly picked out a great costume."
"Thanks!" He swung his fake sword out. "I wanted a real Red Rider sword for my birthday, but mum said I'd put my eye out."
Twilight could only giggle.
"Enough chitchat! Time is candy!" Pinkie squawked.
Sunset blinked back into reality and addressed Twilight. "I'd better get going. See you at the school party later?" Upon Twilight's confirmation, Sunset began to lead the kids (and Pinkie) away to the next house.
"Well that was nice." Was all Velvet said as she shut the door. "I don't see what you're worried about, your friends certainly liked my costume."
Twilight just groaned.
"What's going on here?"
Twilight turned to her father, who was dressed in tweed and holding a (bubble) smoke pipe.
"Please help me out here." Twilight pleaded, gesturing to her mother.
Night Light looked over at Velvet and grinned. "Can't really complain here sweetheart."
Velvet just smiled as her daughter groaned again.
Several more trick or treaters came to the house sometimes in groups and sometimes with just their parents. Twilight volunteered to hand out candy out of the joy for the holiday.....and so less people would gape at her mother's costume.
Finally the next knock came from Applejack.
"Howdy Twi! You ready to go!"
"Yup! Just let me grab my bag."
Twilight gathered up Spike and was all set to go when-
"Oh Hi Applejack!" Velvet said as she entered the room.
Applejack's eyes widened when she saw her friends mother."Uhh....." was all she managed to get out.
"Like my costume?" Velvet asked, striking a pose.
"Uhh..."
Wanting to save herself from further embarrassment, Twilight grabbed her friends' wrist and dragged her out to the truck. "Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I'll see you later!"
"Have fun sweetie!" He mother waved.
Once they were securely in the truck, Twilight gave a sigh of relief.
"Twilight?" AJ began.
"Please don't say anything."
"Ok.." With that Aj started up the truck. She got ready to hit the gas when...
".......Your Ma's got nice legs."
Twilight just groaned and slumped into her seat as AJ drove them to the school.
At the school, the part was in full swing. Tables topped with all sorts of sugared goods lined the walls as teens in costumes danced with their friends.
At the front of the school, a small crowd had formed for the annual 'Haunted House' event.
"This is gonna be so cool!"
"Last year was so awesome! I wonder how they're gonna top it this year?"
"I heard Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow worked on it this year so you know it's going to be scary!"
From behind the front door, Rainbow peered out at the crowd. "The crowd's starting to get restless. Is everything ready?"
Rarity gave a quick nod. "All set darling! We should be good for a while until Pinkie Pie gets here."
"Glad to see you girls have everything under control."
The girls jumped and turned to see their Vice-Principle in the same dress from the carnival a while back.
"How the heck does she do that!?" Rainbow whispered to Rarity.
Luna quickly glanced around to the intricately decorated school halls, allowing Dash to quickly stuff the spellbook deeper into her backpack and out of sight.
"It looks like you girls have done a fine job this year. I look forward to hearing how it goes. If you need anything I'll be in the Gym." With that, she left as quickly as she came.
Rarity and Rainbow just looked at each other before shrugging and decided to get started.
Rainbow threw open the doors and addressed the crowd.
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! To the time of your lives! Do you think you can survive this school of horrors?" Rainbow asked dramatically.
Someone scoffed, "Trixie thinks the real question should be: will you stay AWAKE in this school or snores?" This got a few chuckles from the crowd as Rainbow glared at her.
"Oh I promise you! Once you leave, you will have nightmares for weeks afterward!"
Trixie strutted past her into the school, dressed in her magician attire. "Trixie doubts you will even get a jump out of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"
As the rest of the group walked past, Rainbow picked up her bag and patted the book within.
"We'll see about that." Rainbow muttered as she went to catch up with the group.
Twilight and Applejack arrived to find the party in full swing.
"Boy, Pinkie and the girls sure went all out this year!" AJ noted, looking around the decorated gym. Paper bats hung from the ceiling, fake cobwebs were draped everywhere, orange and black balloons floated around with tablecloths covered tables full of sweets. DJ-Pon3 was all dressed up as a mime and was spinning tunes and students danced to her sick beats.
"No kidding! If this is just the gym, I can't wait to see the Haunted House!"
The duo went to get some snacks when they ran into a few familiar faces...
"Hey Twilight! Hey Applejack!" Flash greeted, dressed as a knight.
"Hey Flash." AJ greeted back.
"Nice costume!" Twilight offered.
"Thanks! I made it myself!" He then playfully and flexed. Upon seeing the knowing looks the girls were giving him, he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. ".....and I may have had a little help from my Aunt Lofty." AJ and Twilight giggled at this.
"So have ya checked out the Haunted House yet?" Flash asked.
Twilight shook her head. "We just got here, we were planning on checking it out when Sunset and Pinkie got here."
"I hear Pinkie and the others really went all out this year."
"No kidding! If the gym is anything to go by, the school is sure ta be amazin!" Aj turned to Twilight. "C'mon Twi, ya gotta try this years batch of caramel apples! Granny made this batch especially good!"
Excusing themselves in a friendly manner, the two teenage girls went off to enjoy the party before the rest of their friends got there.
Had they turned around, they would have noticed Flash's longing gaze at Twilight before he sighed and went to join his friends.
Back in the school.....
Rainbow and Rarity led the group down the hall when suddenly a ghost lept from the wall at them! The group screamed.....before bursting out laughing, enjoying themselves as the mechanical ghost returned to it's original position.
"They certainly are enjoying themselves this year." Rarity whispered to Rainbow as they led the group through the school.
"Almost..." Rainbow muttered as she watched Trixie yawn extravagantly as a monstrous arm reached out from a locker.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie came here for a fright.....not to be bored to sleep!"
"You think you can do better? I saw you jump when those pictures eyes were moving!" Rainbow countered.
Trixie blushed slightly. "T-that was because Trixie just tripped. Yes! She could definite tell it was just illusions created with photoshop! " She walked over to the locker. "And how can you expect Trixie to be scared of this?" She opened the locker and pulled out the monster arm....which was revealed to be part of a mechanism attached to the inside that the students in the science club created. "It's all so obviously fake!" She shut the locker and glared at her classmates.
Rainbow and Rarity glared at her, upset that she was ruining their hard work the the experience for the others. Throughout the walk, all she had ever done was complain and point out how fake the effects were.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie could have done much better than these cheap tactics. Really, the student body should have picked me to be on the Party Committee instead of you two. I couldn't provided a performance so real that everyone here would forget this was just a high school!"
"Hey! Your talking to the Queen of pranks and jump scares......right next to Pinkie Pie."
"Oh please! You and Pinkie might be good for a laugh, but you couldn't scare a cat with a vacuum cleaner!"
Rainbow marched up to Trixie and looked her right in the eye.
"Just wait Trixie, before the night ends, you'll be so scared, you'll be terrified to enter this school ever again!"
"Trixie would like to that happen!" She retorted before walking away.
A minute later, Rainbow managed to sneak away from the group and into an empty classroom. Setting her bag down, she took out the book and opened it to the page she had marked before.
"This will show that loud mouth...." She grinned before holding her hand to the sky and read the spell out loud.
"Glacaim ar chumhachtaí an dorchadais saol a thabhairt ar an áit nach raibh ann roimhe seo."
Rainbow's hand began glowing as she stumbled through the spell, her red magic lighting up the room in an ominous glow.
"Déan teach uafáis a chur san áit seo, áit a mbíonn sceimhlitheoireacht timpeall gach cúinne, agus i gcás ina bhfuil mo shaol i mbaol."
Suddenly Rainbow's magic blasted from her hand and into the ceiling where a quick red stream of magic quickly spread all around the school and over all the decorations and quickly vanished without anyone noticing.
"Now let's see her try to fall asleep after this! After tonight, she'll have nightmares until next Nightmare Night!"
With that Rainbow put the book away and left the room.
Back in the gym, Twilight and AJ were talking and drinking punch when Twilight suddenly stumbled back and reached for her head.
"Twi? Are ya alright sugarcube?" AJ asked with worry.
Twilight rapidly shook off the sensation. "Yeah....just got lightheaded there for a second. I'm sure it's nothing."
But it wasn't nothing. Along with the lightheadedness had a come a chill that had refused to leave her alone, and Twilight just hoped it meant something was wrong with the air conditioning system.
I'm sure it'll be fine in a few minutes. I mean, it's not like something that could potentially cause a huge disaster tonight happened, right?
......Why did I just think that?
Spike continued with the story.
"So now the spell has been cast. What will happen when the full effects take place? Let's-"
Suddenly his eyes widened and he looked very uncomfortable before his foot started twitching.
"Actually, can you wait a few? I've gotta fire hydrant calling my name right now, I'll be right back!" With that, he rushed right out of the room, calling for his owner to take him outside before another crisis struck them.
Spike returned some time later, a look of relief on his face.
"Sorry about that. Kibble goes right through me you know?" He hopped right back onto his chair. " Alright now, where were we? Oh yes, Rainbow had just cast the spell just before Pinkie and Sunset Shimmer arrived...."
After hitting every house on Pinkie's map, she, Sunset and the kids finally arrived at the school.
"Alrighty then!" Pinkie was looking over a checklist. "Tonight I've obtained a total of sixteen choco-yummy bars, twelve marshmallow -popcorn balls, three full-sized sugar skulls and-"
"I think we get the picture." Sunset said, looking at Pinkie's completely stuffed sack.
Pinkie just shrugged and put the checklist back in her hair. "Now there's just one last thing." She spread out her arms, "A tour through the haunted house!" She gestured to the decorated school in all it's glory. "Me, Rainbow and Rarity worked super-duper hard on it this year, so you guys are going to have a blast!"
She then ran up the stairs to the front doors. "C'mon! The night is young and your going to have the fright of your lives!"
Sunset herded the group towards Pinkie before turning to go. "I'm going to get Twilight and Applejack, I'll be right back!"
"Hey! That rhymed!"
Sunset just rolled her eyes playfully while she went to get her friends.
Rarity and Rainbow continued to lead the group through the school, with Rainbow looking around anxiously, expecting the spell to activate.
"C'mon, any second now..." She mumbled.
"What's the matter?" Trixie asked condescendingly. "Getting scared by your own attraction? How pathetic."
Rainbow scowled at her but didn't say anything.
It should be working now, right? I'm pretty sure I pronounced everything right. Something should have happened by now!
The group turned into another hall, not seeing the zombie puppet move it's arm...
Meanwhile, back in the gym, the chill that had taken hold of Twilight refused to leave.
Although she tried to force herself to have a good time with AJ, she couldn't help but look around anxiously.
"Are you sure you're all right Twi?" AJ asked, noticing her rubbing her arms for warmth.
Twilight could only give her a nervous look. "...Does it feel cold in here to you? Or at least a little chilly?"
Applejack blinked in confusion. "No. It's actually a little warm with everyone in here. Why?"
Before Twilight could answer, they saw Sunset heading towards them.
"Hey guys! We just got here. Sorry it took so long, but apparently Pinkie can be just a through as you when it comes to planning something she likes."
"Aw don't worry about it sugarcube." AJ reassured her with a warm smile. "We're ready to have a good time with ya."
"Let's go. The others are waiting outside-"
"A moment please?"
The trio jumped and turned to see Luna standing there. Like always her face was impossible to read.
"What is it?" AJ asked.
Instead of answering her, Luna walked right up to Twilight.
"I'm assuming you felt it too?"
Twilight looked shocked for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah....It just suddenly got cold here all of a sudden. Why?"
With that Luna frowned.
"Psychic intuition. You mind can sense that something has happened and is trying to inform you of it. I myself felt it just a few minutes ago."
"But what happened? And why can't just know what happened."
Luna shook her head. "The mind works in mysterious ways. It can tell you that something has happened, but it might not know what. It's giving you these symptoms so you can be aware of it and track it down to fix it. As for that what," Luna's frown deepened. "I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure myself. But I'm afraid it might have come from inside the school."
"But the girls are in there! Along with a bunch of visitors!" AJ explained with worry.
"And I left Pinkie right in front of the school with the kids!" Sunset panicked.
"Then we have no time to lose. We must rush over right away to see what happened. Sunset, I'm afraid that for their own safety, you have to send the kids home. We can't take any risks."
Sunset nodded and the group rushed out, hoping they got there before anything happened.
Pinkie was starting to get impatient, tapping her foot and checking her watch that seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"Where are they? It doesn't take this long to get to the gym when you use the door to the outside."
"There they are!" Pip shouted, pointing to the familiar group.
"Pinkie!" Sunset shouted as she approached. "Get the kids away from the school!"
"Why?"
Just then, a vacuum from inside seemed to grab at Pinkie and the kids, trying to pull them into the school!
"AAAHHHH!" Pip screamed as he was sucked in.
"PIP!" Sunset cried out in horror.
Pinkie had grabbed the edge of the door but was quickly loosing her grip as the vacuum grew in force by the second.. "What's going on!?" She cried out in terror as the force increased on her, forcing her to let go and pulling her inside.
Luna, AJ, Sunset and Twilight tried to rush up to help when suddenly the door shut on their own, stopping the vacuum and causing all of them to fall backwards.
For a moment, they all just looked at the entrance with shock and horror.
"Miss Pinkie?" Pip said, clining to her in fear. "I'm scared."
"Don't worry Pip. I'm sure the others are working on a way to help us."
"Pinkie!" Rarity and Rainbow cried when they saw their friend.
When Pinkie saw more of her friends, he felt slightly relieved. Rarity and Rainbow immediately rushed up to her.
"What's going on darling? I know we wanted the school to be scary but it's shouldn't be causing this!" Rarity gestured to the terrified kids.
"Yeah! Where's Sunset? Why are you all freaking out!?" Rainbow asked.
Pinkie explained. "We were just waiting for Sunset to get the others when they came running up shouting about getting away from the school. Suddenly we were all sucked in!"
"What!? Are you sure!?" Rainbow asked in disbelief.
Before Pinkie could answer, someone else did it for her.
"Hey! The doors are locked!" A man dressed up as a pirate shouted, banging on the door.
Rarity and Rainbow quickly realized he was right; no matter how hard they pushed pulled, or banged, the front doors would not budge.
"What in the world is going on!?" Rarity exclaimed.
"Please tell me this is just another part of the tour!" A woman dressed as a mummy pleaded.
The group, both of them, began panicking once again as the three teens struggled to get thing under control.
"I just don't understand how this could be happening!" Rarity wondered.
"Yeah....I wonder...." Rainbow uttered.
Pinkie and Rarity, having heard her, slowly turned their heads and stared at her.
"Rainbow Dash." Rarity asked slowly and sternly. "Did you use that spell we all agreed NOT to use unless absolutely necessary?"
Rainbow's eyes darted everywhere except for her friend's eyes. ".....Maybe?"
"RAINBOW!!" Both girls scolded.
"Ok! Ok! I did use it!"
"Why?" Pinkie asked.
Just like before, the answer came from someone else.
"Oh come on!" Trixie exclaimed. "Don't you all see this is just part of the act? 'Oh no the doors are locked and we're all trapped inside!'" She said in a mocking voice before going back to her usual arrogant one. "This is just some lame attempt to trick us into thinking this attraction is actually scary."
But before anyone could argue with her, the lights went out, causing a dew screams among both children, teens and adults present.
"Please." Trixie scoffed. "Total cliche."
From the darkness, several dozen red eyes began glowing menacingly.
"Uh..." Trixie stuttered, starting to be thrown off track. "I-Ilussion spell?"
The eyes were quickly matched as shadowy figured emerges, making their way towards the cowering group.
"it's.....uh...." Trixie couldn't find any words as she felt the room temperature drop.
"RUN!" Rainbow commanded as she and everyone else made a break for it, screaming at the top of their lungs.
Back outside, the others weren't faring much better than before.
They had quickly discovered the doors were locked shut. When Applejack had tried to use her super-strength, she only received a shock from the door.
"What in tarnation!?"
"It appears to be some sore of magical barricade." Luna tried using a spell, only for it to bounce of the doors and hit the ground.
Suddenly they all heard the screaming from within.
"They're in trouble!" Sunset shouted.
"I don't understand; how could this have happened!?" Twilight asked.
"Ah hate to say it; but the only way to find out is to get inside." AJ reasoned.
"But how!?" Sunset questioned. "The doors in the gym are locked too because of the haunted house."
"I think I have a way." Luna said, taking command. "Sunset, I want you to stay out here and call Celestia to tell her what's happened, then go back to the gym and keep everything under control."
"Got it." Sunset said, pulling out her phone.
"Now you two, come here. If we can't enter through force, we're going to have to go around the barricade and straight into the school." AJ and Twilight were confused until Luna summoned a piece of chalk and began drawing on the concrete. She drew runes and circles with quick precision and before long there was a teleportation circle on the ground.
Putting the chalk away, Luna held her hand over the circle while reciting a spell:
"De réir an cumhacht ag an oíche, Iarraim ar an ngealach a thabhairt dom neart a fháil dom nuair is gá dom dul."
The circle began glowing and soon a portal opened up, showing the Lair.
"Step in and try not to breathe until you are on the other side. Quickly now, this will not last long." With that, she stepped inside the waving hole in space.
AJ went in right after, followed by Twilight.
The experience was different than the solo teleportation Twilight sometimes did. It was like walking through water; only without the wetness and floating. After a few seconds they stepped into the Lair gasping for air. Just after Twilight entered, the portal vanished.
"Excellent, now let's see if there's anything here about what's going on." With that, Luna walked over to one of the bookshelves and began looking through it. Suddenly, she stopped at an empty space.
"What's this? There's a book missing?" Luna turned sharply to the teens. "Did either of you take a spell-book without permission?" Upon seeing the girls shake their heads, Luna turned and frowned at the space. "It appears the situation is more dire than before. The book that's missing contains some very powerful and dangerous spells, and I have a feeling what we're experiencing is one of them." She looked around, and determined that the Lair hadn't been broken into....yet. "Unfortunately, I have no way to combat it unless I who exactly which spell is causing this."
"Where could it be? And who could've taken it?" Twilight wondered.
A chorus of screams filled the air.
"We can worry about an old book later! Right now we need to help those people and find Pinkie, Rainbow and Rarity!"
"Indeed." Luna headed for the door. "Stay behind me girls. I have a feeling whatever's out there is not friendly."
With that, the three women headed out into their familiar school, now filled with who-knows-what.
The school had changed; what were once decorations had now turned into the real thing. Rarity screamed as she ran into a spider web with a bunch of tiny spiders on it. Lockers were slamming and shutting all on their own and former puppets were now reaching out and grabbing at them.
"Rainbow Dash! What did you do!?" Rarity screamed.
"I-I don't know!" Rainbow said as she ran.
Finally, the group came to a calm hallway and stopped for breath.
"I didn't mean for this to happen! It was that stupid spell's fault! I only wanted this place to feel more scary; not actually become scary!" Rainbow tried to explain.
"Did you actually read the full inscription of the spell before you used it!?" Rarity accused.
"...No. Whatever! All we have to do is call Celestia or Luna and they can-"
A terrified scream filled the air and they turned and saw Pip being dragged towards a locker by a monstrous arm emerging from it!
Pinkie immediately stomped on the arm with her foot, causing it to let go of Pip and retract in pain. Pinkie used the opportunity to forcefully shut the locker then comfort Pip.
"It's ok little guy, we'll get out of here soon..."
A moan down the hall caused all of them to jump. Coming slowly towards them were a group of zombies! Their rotting green flesh brought with it the unmistakable smell of death.
"Come on!" Rainbow commanded, leading everyone away.
Eventually, they came upon one of the few undecorated classrooms and decided to hide out there for the time being.
"What are gonna do now!?" Pinkie asked.
Rainbow looked at all the terrified faced huddled near the back of the room.
"...I don't know."
On the other side of the school....
Luna, followed by Twilight and Applejack, cautiously made their way down a hallway.
"Alright girls, be quiet and be on the lookout. We don't know what exactly that spell did to the school.
The two girls nodded and followed orders....until Twilight tripped and fell against the lockers, creating a very loud bang that echoed throughout the halls.
AJ and Luna stared at her.
"Sorry..." Twilight whispered.
Suddenly, Luna pulled AJ and Twilight to the ground as a swarm of bats flew above their heads!
Once they were gone, they got back on their feet and dusted themselves up.
"...Well, there goes our element of surprise." Luna said. "Let's keep looking."
A groaning sound made itself known.
"What was that!?" AJ whispered.
The moaning happened again, louder this time. Luna and AJ looked around, ready to fight while Twilight's eyes widened in realization.
"It sounds like...." She looked at her bag still on the floor and leaned down to open it.
Luna and AJ got their magic ready to fire when...
"Ugh, what happened?" Spike said, rubbing his eyes.
"Spike!" Twilight quickly scooped up and hugged him. "I am so sorry! I forgot I still had you in there!"
"Don't worry about it." Spike said casually. "I must've fallen asleep on the ride over. It's more comfy in there than you'd think." He looked around the school, noting the creepy atmosphere and changed outlook. "Woah, what happened here?"
Twilight gave the best quick recap she could before addressing the issue at hand. "I can't believe I brought you in! I have to get you out of here!"
Luna shook her head. "I'm afraid that's just not possible at the moment. The barrier is preventing teleportation and I don't have time to draw another circle."
"Don't worry Twi!" Spike jumped down from his owner's arms and onto the floor. "I'll be fine! I can use my expert tracking skills to help find the others."
Twilight playfully rolled her eyes at the word 'expert' but conceded. "Alright, lead the way Spike." With that, Spike put his nose to the floor and took a few quick sniffs before declaring "This way!" and lead the group through the school.
The group kept going. After a few hallways, AJ felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Twilight, stop that. If you want to say somethin', just say it."
"Uhh...Applejack....."
AJ looked up and a very much in front her Twilight who, like Spike and Luna, bore of look of fear and dread as she looked beyond Applejack.
AJ's eyes widened as she slowly turned her head.
There, standing right behind her, was a mummy. It's rotting bandages were partially falling off, revealing the rotted flesh beneath.
A few seconds of silence passed before the mummy made a sound.
"Uggghhh-"
The mummy was only mid way through it's moaning before AJ wordlessly suckered punched it in the gut; creating a large hole which resulted in the mummy spontaneously turning into dust.
For a moment, all anyone could do was blink.
"Well...I guess we have an idea of what we're facing now." Twilight said.
The sound of hoof steps brought their attention to further down the hall, where a horse and it's rider approached. The fact that a horse somehow got into the school without anyone noticing was override when they saw the rider.
It was a tall and muscular man in warrior gear. The only odd thing was that he was missing something...
"THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN!" Twilight screamed.
Oh yeah, that.
With a rear of his horse, he quickly galloped towards them.
In the face of this terrifying monstrosity, they did the only logical thing they could think of.
"RUN!" AJ cried.
And that's exactly what they did.
Back in the classroom.
Pinkie, Rainbow and Rarity were trying to come up with a plan.
"Can't you just reverse it!?" Rarity asked.
Rainbow was rapidly flipping through the book. "I'm trying! Why are spell books always so big? And why do they have so many words instead of pictures!?"
Pinkie tried using her cell phone to call for help. "There's no signal."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Of course their isn't. Cell phones never work in horror movies."
Before Rarity and Pinkie could berate her further the sound of screaming came from the halls.
Pinkie gasped. "Oh no! Did we leave anyone behind!?"
"That sounded like Applejack and Twilight!" Rainbow said.
Rarity just stared at her. "How are so good at identifying people by their scream?"
Rainbow just shrugged. "It's a gift. And I watch a lot of horror movies. Now let's go! They need out help!" She turned to the others. "Stay here and barricade the door until we get back!"
Spell book in hand, they went out to rescue their friends from the terrors that lurked.
The Headless Horseman raced after AJ, Luna, Spike and Twilight down the halls.
"What in tarnation!? That looks like the model I helped Rarity and Pinkie build for tonight!"
"The spell must have brought it to life!" Twilight rationalized.
Luna tried blasting it with magic, but it managed to dodge.
"Just keep running!" Spike cried.
Unfortunately, as he was on horseback and the others were on foot, he was quickly gaining on them; especially the slowest of the group; Twilight. She tried running as fast as she could, only for him to ride up next to her, grab her by the arm and hold her up.
Twilight screamed as the others realized her predicament.
"TWILIGHT!" AJ and Spike cried.
The Headless Horseman lifted his sword and-
"Heads up!"
*BAM!*
"Oof!"
The Headless Horseman was hit by a blast of red magic, catching him off guard and causing his to drop Twilight.
Everybody looked and saw....
"Rainbow!"
"Pinkie!"
"Rarity!"
Indeed the trio had come to the rescue were standing there dramatically....until Pinkie clucked like a chicken.
Rainbow quickly rushed over to Twilight and grabbed her.
"Come on!" With that, everyone raced away from the now recovered Headless Horseman.
Quickly they ran until Rainbow quickly stuffed everyone inside a cleaning supply closet.
"It dark in here!"
"Oh goddess the smell!"
"Ow! Someone's on my foot!"
"I think I just stepped in a bucket."
Luna quickly hushed everyone just as they heard hoofsteps approach from the outside.
Everyone remained silent as the hoofsteps approached.....and soon passed by and faded into nothing, causing them to give a collective sigh of relief. They quickly stumbled back into the now empty hallway.
"I'm so glad you guys are alright!" Pinkie said, trying to shake the bucket off her foot.
"What in the world in going on!?" Twilight asked. "We sensed a magical disturbance coming from the school and came to investigate."
"Well I believe Rainbow Dash can explain." Rarity said with a pointed glare.
Rainbow herself just gave a nervous grin. "Hehe...well...you see....."
"...and that's when we came to find you guys."
Rainbow finished her explanation with another nervous grin....which contrasted with the rather stern glare from Luna.
"So to summarize; you borrowed an old spell book when I told you not to, used a spell you have never used before unauthorized and put several people in danger just because you wanted show up Trixie?" Luna asked, still glaring.
"...yes?" Rainbow said, her nervous smile growing.
AJ just rubbed her eyes in annoyance. "Rainbow Dash what were ya thinkin'!?"
"I just wanted to make this night scary and fun for everyone!"
"Well congratulations." Twilight replied sarcastically. "You've certainly succeeded in making this night 'scary', but I think the 'fun' part is debatable."
"We'll finish this discussion later." Luna said. "Now show me the spell you used so I can reverse this."
Defeated, Rainbow dug into her bag and pulled out the book before flipping to the correct spell. She handed it to Luna who gave it a quick look over.
"Rainbow....are you aware of what this spell does?" She asked too calmly.
"Uhh....make everything feel like a real horror house?"
Luna looked at her. "No. It actually turns everything into a horror house."
"What!? Where does it say that!?"
"Right after the spell."
"Why would you put something like that after the spell? If it's so important, why not put the warning before the actual thing!?"
"Thankfully the reversal spell is right-"
In the blink of an eye, a little bed sheet ghost popped up in front of Luna, grabbed the book, and flew off giggling down the hall.
Everyone just stood there, stunned for a few seconds before--
"After it!" Pinkie commanded before everyone gave chase.
Once they turned the corner however, several screams could be heard.
"Oh no! That must be the others!" Rarity realized.
"We have to help them!" Rainbow was about to run off before being grabbed by Twilight.
"But we have to get the book back!"
"Especially before midnight." Luna stated.
Rainbow looked confused. "What does midnight have to do with anything?"
At this, everyone just groaned and either rolled their eyes or face palmed.
"Did you even pay attention to yesterday's lesson?" Luna asked sharply.
"Uhh...for the most part?"
"Was it the part where I told you that Nightmare Night is an especially important night because any spell casted on that day and not reversed before midnight becomes permanent?."
"WHAT!?"
"Ya see? This is why you should pay more attention in class!" AJ scolded.
Rarity checked her phone and gasped. "But that gives us less than an hour!"
"But what about the kids?" Pinkie asked. "Sunset and their parents will KILL me if anything happens to them!"
"Alright everyone." Twilight said. "Pinkie, AJ and Rarity: you go and protect the group while Luna, Spike, and Rainbow and myself will try to get the book back. Agreed?"
Several nods and "yes"s replied back.
"Good. Now let's go! If we don't reverse the spell before midnight, we'll be stuck with a school of horrors!"
With that, the two teams split up to save the day!
Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity raced through the halls to where the screaming was.
"Okay, I think we we left them riiiiggghhhttt..." She turned the corner. "HERE!" Her smile faded as she looked ahead.
The group had indeed barricaded themselves in as instructed. Only now it was reversed, as everyone was in the hallway, stacking things against the door as something from inside tried to break out.
"Trixie is sorry for saying those things before! Trixie just wants to go home!" Trixie cried.
"What happened!?" AJ asked.
"It came through the air ducts!" Someone shouted.
"What did?"
Just then the barricade was knocked away as the thing inside burst it's way to freedom.
When Rarity saw what it was; the resulting scream broke several pairs of glasses and cracked a few windows.
"SPIIIIIIDER!!!!" Pinkie exclaimed
Indeed, there, just emerged from it's classroom prison, was a gigantic, eight-legged, black spider. It's eyes glowed red as it let out a threatening hiss.
Before anyone could move, it jumped, picked up Pip with it's front two legs, and began to scurry off.
"HEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!"
"Hold on young fella'. We're a' comin'!" AJ called out as she began to chase them.
"Excuse me..." Rarity hesitated. "Is it alright if I stay here, with no other.....ahem, arachnids, to keep the others safe?" Rarity shuddered at the word 'arachnids'.
"Oh for land sakes! Fine! Come on Pinkie Pie!"
With that, the chicken and the scarecrow chases after the pirate-capturing spider while the detective stayed behind to keep the others safe.
Meanwhile, Twilight, Luna, Spike and Rainbow weren't having much luck getting the book back.
"I GOT IT!" Twilight shouted as she jumped at the ghost.
*WHAM*
......Only for it to phase through the wall, leaving poor Twilight to crash into it.
"...ow...."
"This is ridiculous!" Rainbow groaned. "Even my super speed can't help considering I can't phase through walls too!"
Twilight, rubbing her nose in pain, just glared at her. "Well if you hadn't used that spell, we wouldn't be having this problem!"
"I told you I didn't mean for this to happen!"
"I know that! It just you can be so careless sometimes and it often ends up getting others hurt."
Rainbow, desperate for a comeback, looked around and saw a poster of the dreaded Nightmare Moon. "Hey! At least I'm not as bad as Nightmare Moon! Now that chick was evil! If it wasn't for her, there wouldn't be so much pressure to make today so scary!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Luna scolded coldly.
Rainbow straitened, frightened by Luna's tone before looking away shamefully and sighing. "I'm sorry. I know this is my fault. I just......I love Nightmare Night! It's the one day of the year where we can scare each other and have fun doing it. I loved all the scary pranks and attractions when I was a kid, and I just wanted give more kids the same experience I had, so they can love the holiday as much as I do." She sighed again. "But thanks to me, they'll probably be too scared to come out at all today, just like Fluttershy! I really messed up..."
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Twilight smiling gently at her.
"It's alright Rainbow. I know you just wanted this night to be special for everyone. You just...went a little overboard doing it. But now you have the chance to make this right."
Rainbow returned the smile. "Thanks Twilight."
"I'm glad to see you girls sorting that out." Luna smiled before frowning again. "We'll still need to talk about your punishment later Rainbow, but we have more urgent business right now. On a side note..." She actually looked a little uncomfortable. "...Could you girls please not talk about Nightmare Moon around me? I'm sorry, it's just....an uncomfortable subject for me."
"Why?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"Rainbow, Celestia was part of the team that helped defeat Nightmare Moon!" Twilight explained.
"Woah....." Rainbow's and Spike's eyes widened with awe.
"Yes...she was..." Luna looked away, an unfamiliar expression on her face.
"What happened? Did she kidnap you? Did she fling Celestia into a living nightm-- ow!" The 'ow' was the result of Twilight elbowing Rainbow in the rib cage.
Luna was quiet for a moment before replying; "Let's just say, Nightmare Night is now both a fun and bitter holiday for me because of her."
Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow all looked at one another, confused over the vague answer.
"Like I said; we have more urgent business to attend to." Luna frowned at her watch. "We only have half an hour to reverse the spell and we can't do that without the book. Chasing it around blindly isn't working, so we need another plan."
"How!? Ghosts normally don't exist; so I have no idea what to do about this one!" Twilight exclaimed.
"But I do." The three turned to see Luna smirking.
"You do?" Spike asked skeptically.
Luna just shrugged. "I minored in parapsychology in college. Assuming this ghost plays by a certain set of rules, I may have an idea about how to catch it.
Now here's what you need to do....."
Eventually, AJ and Pinkie came upon the library.
They walked cautiously through the darkened shelves, looking for the young boy.
"Pip?" AJ called out. "It's Applejack and Pinkie Pie."
"Pip? Pippy? Pipparoo?" Pinkie called out as she began taking books off the shelves and looking closely, as though Pip were hidden there.
"Help!" A familiar voice cried out.
"Pip!" AJ and Pinkie followed the pleas until they found...
"Woah..."
...there, hanging between two shelves, was a humungous spider web blocking the whole of the passage. And there, rich in the middle and wrapped in web, was the young Trottingham boy himself wiggling and struggling to break free.
"Hang on Pip, we're right here." AJ said as she moved towards him.
"Uh...Applejack..."Pinkie said slowly as she pointed in the direction they had come from.
AJ turned and saw the spider crawling towards them menacingly.
"Pinkie; you help Pip! I'll take care of this fella."
"Got it!" Pinkie agreed, grateful to be the one avoiding the arachnid.
AJ got into a fighting stance as she prepared to face her foe.
"Alright you eight legged varmint! Let's dance!"
"Nows not the time for dancing Applejack, nows the time for fighting!"
"That's what I meant Pinkie!"
Back in the gym, everything looked good so far with no one noticing anything out of the ordinary.
"C'mon....c'mon....." Sunset muttered as she waited anxiously near the entrance.
"Sunset! I got your call! What happened!?"
Sunset looked to her Principal and guardian running up to her dressed in a regal, gold and white dress and a tiara perched perfectly on top her head.
Sunset quickly explained the situation as Celestia's eyes widened with horror.
"But that means we only have a few minutes until the spell becomes permanent!" Celestia exclaimed.
"I know, but Twilight and the others are handling that. Thankfully the spell didn't affect the gym."
The sound of screaming caused both Sunset and Celestia to turn and see students running around and trying to avoid the now-alive bats.
"....or not."
The ghost continued to float through the halls, clutching the book.
"Hey!" The ghost turned and saw Rainbow and Twilight looking determined while Spike growled.
"Give us that book you undead bed sheet!"
The ghost immediately floated in the opposite direction as the two girls and dog gave chase.
The ghost flew quickly down the halls, giggling as it outmaneuvered the young mages and mutt until...
*WHAM*
It hit hit a wall.
Confused, it looked down and found itself inside a salt circle.
"Well done girls." Luna said stepping into the hallway while carrying a carton of salt from the cafeteria. "We've got it right where we want it."
The ghost, still holding the book, rammed into it's invisible prison trying to escape with no success.
"I'll take that." Twilight said, reaching into the circle and grabbing the book out of the ghost's grip.
"Good now give it here." Luna took the book and quickly began flipping towards the spell.
"Hurry!" Twilight warned. "It's almost midnight!"
"Here it is!" Luna pointed at the reversal spell before handing it to Rainbow.
"What?"
"Rainbow, this is one of those spells where only the one who cast it can reverse it. Just follow and read through it just like you did the first time."
For one of the few times in her life, Rainbow looked nervous. "But-but look at what happened the first time! What if I mispronounce something? What if-"
"Rainbow!"
This time it was Luna with a hand on her shoulder, staring into her eyes intently.
"You can do this."
Rainbow's eyes widened a bit before she nodded and read the spell:
"Larraim ar chumhachtaí an oíche a athrú an méid atá déanta agam. A chur ar an saol as an méid a thug mé é. Chun an áit seo filleadh ar an méid a bhí sé riamh."
The book glowed red for a few seconds before a circle of magic flew from it just as the bell chimed midnight.
"Did it work?" Rainbow asked anxiously.
"Look!" Twilight pointed down the hall to the headless horseman getting ready to charge at them!
The group gasped just before-
*POP*
The headless horseman was rearing.....and didn't move.
"Huh?"
After a minute the group cautiously approached it.
Spike sniffed a little before knocking on it a littler. "It's a statue!"
"Then...that means.."Twilight started.
"IT WORKED!" Rainbow finished, pumping her fists.
"Well done Rainbow Dash. You've successfully cast a reversal spell." Luna praised.
"Whoo-oo!"
"Of course you DID cast the original spell without thought, so there is still the matter of your punishment."
"...Whoops." Rainbow gave a nervous giggle.
AJ held the spider's front forelegs and pushed and the spider flashed it's fangs and hissed.
"Pinkie! How's Pip doing!?" AJ cried out over her shoulder.
"Uh..." Pinkie tried to lift an arm, but the sticky residue on the web was too strong.
"PINKIE!"
"Sorry! I tripped!" Pinkie explained as she lay sprawled out on the big web, unable to move.
Sensing an opening, the spider lashed out with another one of it's legs, knocking Applejack back a few feet.
When AJ looked up, she saw the spider right above her, ready to strike when-
*POP*
Suddenly, the spider was nothing more than a giant plush Pinkie had made.
*POP*
*OOF*
Pinkie and Pip dropped to the floor as the web disappeared.
Looking a little dazed, Pip only had one thing to say:
"What happened?"
Celestia and Sunset were in the middle of evacuating the students out of the gym when-
*POP*
The bats that had been flying around swiftly just a minute ago dropped to the floor as lifeless paper cutouts.
Everyone stopped and looked around in confusion. Celestia and Sunset were also trying to process what happened when somebody shouted:
"BEST! EFFECTS! EVER!"
It spread like wildfire and soon everybody was giving props for the impressive 'show' that was clearly planned and not at all an accident.
"They did it!" Sunset cheered.
"They did....and now to clean up the rest of the mess."
A few quick bluffs (with a little help from Luna's persuasion spell) later and everyone was complimenting the girls on the 'special affects' and declared it was the scariest night they ever had! In a good way!
The girls were relieved, as they had saved everyone, saved their school, and avoided any potential lawsuits!
All in all, a successful Nightmare Night.
Soon the visitors and students left and Sunset went to take her young charges home while the elements and Principals finished things up.
"Hmph!" Trixie hmphed. "In spite of some impressive effects, it failed to get a fright out of the Great and Powerful-"
"Boo!" Pinkie popped up behind Trixie, which resulted in the latter shrieking and rolling up in a ball. Upon hearing the chicken's laughter, Trixie just blushed and walked away in embarrassment.
"This was the best Nightmare Night ever!" Pip exclaimed as they were leaving the school. This was followed by several agreements from the other kids.
Twilight just sighed as she collapsed the front stairs. "I'm just glad this night is over."
"You said it." AJ said as she joined her.
"I think I'm good on frights for another year or so." Rarity agreed.
"Well girls," Principal Celestia said,"in spite of some.....unforeseen circumstances..." Everyone looked at Rainbow, who decided that the stars were a very interesting sight. "...you all managed to salvage tonight. You thought quickly, made sure everyone was safe and went up against some VERY terrifying obstacles. Overall, I am VERY proud of you all." The girls beamed at their mentor's praise.
"Now onto the other matter." Luna chimed in. "Rainbow--"
"Yeah, I know. I messed up." She admitted sincerely.
"That you did." Luna nodded. "But you also made sure the visitors were kept safe and were willing to admit to your mistakes and take full responsibility."
"So...I'm not in trouble?" She grinned hopefully.
"Oh you're still in a heap of trouble."
"Oh..." She slumped her shoulders.
"First of all, you will come in tomorrow and clean up tonight's mess....WITHOUT magic."
"Aw man..."
"Second you are forbidden from being alone in the lair or from taking anything out of it until the time comes when I can trust that you can be responsible. Do you understand?"
"Good. Now it's been a long night and I'm sure you all are exhausted after tonight's shenanigans. Go home and get a good nights sleep, you all have certainly earned it."
"My truck's in the parking lot. Anybody need a ride home?" AJ offered.
"Thanks but my mom-"
"Twilight!"
Everyone looked over to where the voice had come from and found Velvet standing next to her, still in costume.
That last point caused several of them to blush, drop their jaws, or both.
Twilight just groaned and buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.
"Oh hello everyone; how was your Nightmare Night?" Velvet asked casually.
For a minute she only received wide-eyed stares.
"Oh! It certainly has been....interesting Velvet!" Celestia said, managing to get her act together.
Luna upon seeing Velvet looking at her, looked away quickly while blushing even harder.
"Great! I can't wait for Twily to tell me all about it tomorrow. But for now it's time to hit the hay! C'mon sweetie!"
Reluctantly, Twilight moved her hands from her face and followed her mother to the car.
"By everyone!" Velvet waved cheerfully as she drove away followed by a very familiar groan from her daughter.
After the car left sight, everyone just sat in silence for a moment or two, processing what they had just seen.
"....Told ya her mom had nice legs." AJ said in monotone.
Rainbow could only nod, blushing all the while.
At Celestia's and Luna's house
The two sisters collapsed on the couch, exhausted after such an ordeal. Sunset was already in her room, fast asleep.
"What a night." Celestia said.
"No kidding." Luna agreed. "Even as a horror fan, I'm good on that stuff for a while."
"I'm just glad tomorrows more cheerful than scary."
Luna nodded and the two sat in silence for a minute before Celestia spoke up again.
"So,did they talk about...her?" Celestia asked hesitantly.
The question caused Luna's back to straiten as she came to full attention. "'Her?'"
"Yes...her." Celestia answered reluctantly.
Luna went quiet for a few seconds. "Yes, yes they did. Who doesn't around this time of year?"
"Luna..."
"We've certainly become something of a legend haven't we?" Luna gave a tired chuckle. "Twenty years and people are still scared of us. I've become the iconic spooky story people like to tell this time of year. Parents are telling their kids to be good or I'll come and eat them. What a way to be remembered..."
"They aren't talking about you specifically!"
"They might as well be." Luna shrugged. "Especially after what I tried to do."
"You were in a bad place! Especially after-" Celestia caught herself just in time, but the message was clear.
Luna closed her eyes and her voice took on a sad tone. "Yes, but that's beside the point. I did what I did and I'm still paying the price. Whether people know I'm paying or not."
There was moment of silence yet again.
"Did....did you tell them?" Celestia asked.
Luna opened her eyes and looked at her. "Of course not. I'd always figured you'd be the one to tell people."
"Never! Luna, you're my sister and I love you. And if that means I carry it with me to the grave I will."
Despite her sisters' comforting words, Luna knew otherwise. "The world's gonna know eventually. Lies like these can only last so long. You said Aurella figured it out right after it happened?"
"Aurella was different, you know that."
"And her granddaughter takes after her."
"Which means she'll be willing to accept and forgive you."
"We'll see..." Luna sighed. "I just want to be there when the truth comes out. So I can face it."
Celestia reluctantly nodded. "If that what you want. But that's enough for tonight. We had a long day and we need to rest up for Dia de los Muertos tomorrow."
"No kidding." Luna gave a small smile. "I'm gonna have a heck of a time explaining to Twilight what's going to happen."
"She'll get used to it. You did."
"Only after several psychiatric sessions before realizing I wasn't crazy. Goodnight sister."
"Goodnight."
With that, the two sisters headed to bed and all was quiet until morning.
"...and thus our tale ends. The spell was revered and the day was saved thanks to-"
"Spike?" Twilight asked, opening the door and turning on the light."What are doing?"
Spike blushed nervously."N-nothing Twilight!"
But Twilight just frowned and put her hands in her hips. "I knew it! You ARE playing 'scary storyteller' again! You know how mom hates it when you use her office for it!"
"Hoo?"
Spike and Twilight turned to see Owlowiscious on a perch directly across from Spike.
"I can't help it! This room has the perfect atmosphere for it! Besides Owlowiscious loves my stories! Right buddy?" He looked to his fellow animal companion for support, only for the bird to fly out of the room.
"Traiter..."Spike mumbled.
Twilight just giggled. "Alright, let's get everything cleaned up in here and get some sleep. How does that sound?"
Spike smiled and together they got everything back to way it was before before heading to bed.
And so another adventure ends....for now. Everybody needed all they rest they could get before another holiday and adventure came along.
