> A Shattered Nightmare Night
>  by FourShadow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Old Regrets and New Beginnings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Halloween night. The night of spooks, scares, tricks, and treats. For some; a fun night filled with getting Halloween candy and hanging out with your friends. Others, petty pranks and vandalism which would be mostly done on the 30th; Devil's Night or Mischief Night. And for the adults, it'd usually meant they'd be having office parties, handing out candy to trick or treaters, maybe doing some scares in a haunted house, or having their own little private fun.

At the Sparkle household, the parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet were planning on staying behind and handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters, with some sweet cookies to hold them over so they didn't eat some of the candy, and they were planning on watching some scary movies too. 

Their daughter Twilight rolled her suitcase down to the door, where she could see her mom and dad were baking away in the kitchen.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?"

"Kiddo, it's alright. Besides, you're a teenager on Halloween, you should be having fun," Night Light smiled.

"Aren't I too old for trick or treating?"

Twilight Velvet chuckled. "No, Twilight, we mean you should be having fun with your friends. I understand if you're not interested in trick or treating, that's fine. Just have fun, okay?"

"I... I guess so," Twilight said, rubbing her arm.

"Twilight, it's going to be fun," Shining Armor said, coming down the stairs all dressed and ready. 

"And where are you going?" Twilight asked.

"Twily, I told you, Cadence's co-workers are throwing an office Halloween party, and she invited me to go. How can I say no?"

"Simply say no?" Twilight asked with some sass. Admittedly, she couldn't help but giggle.

"Look, I'm sure it'll be fun. Just go, okay? Have some candy, let loose, okay?" Shining said.

"Well... okay," Twilight smiled before hugging her brother. "I'm heading off!"

"Oh, Twily? Aren't you forgetting something?"

"No, I made sure... oh wait!" Twilight remembered. She whistled. "Spike, come here boy!"

Sure enough Twilight heard the sound of little paws running from upstairs tumbling down towards her she could see her new pet finally in her vision. His tail wagged as he sat in front of her, looking up with that always happy face. And almost immediately he jumped up for Twilight to catch him and hold him, tail still wagging.

"You still wanna come with me?"

He simply licked her face, making her giggle. "I'll take that as a yes."

"just have fun, okay?"

"I will!"

And Twilight closed the door behind her, and made her way past some trick-or-treaters coming to their house. She could hear them cheer 'Trick or Treat' as she left the lawn. 

All around her as far as the eye could see, was Halloween. Flaming jack-o-lanterns with scary faces carved, posters and decorations on people's homes, tons of trick-or-treaters, there was a ton. 

As she kept walking, she bumped past some more people. Some acquaintances from Crystal Prep on their way to visit some Halloween parties, or accompanying younger siblings for trick-or-treating. And on her left, right there was another house of someone she knew. Right now, she was feeling a bit awkward about going near, but she decided to keep on walking.

"Hey, Sparky!" 

Twilight nearly yelped at the call to her, and slowly turned around. A costumed girl stood there under flashing lights, with a red and purple helmet that looked hand-made. A red cape swayed behind the individual to add to the effect. Aside from those two things, she looked like she was wearing an average superhero costume; mostly purple with some red highlights and tights. But to make the costume more menacing, a pair of red glowing eyes blinked as they looked at her.

"Oh, Indigo, hi!" Twilight waved, nervously. "You, uh... look great! N-Nice costume. W-Who are you?"

Indigo Zap raised a brow under the helmet. "Really? You don't know?" She pulled the helmet off, letting her hair poof back up to it's natural shape. And her eyes were still glowing a nasty evil red/orange.

"Ah! Please, don't kill me!"

"Whoa, whoa, Twilight, calm down," Indigo held her hands up in protest. "I'm wearing contacts. Look." Carefully she pulled out a contact lense in her eye, revealing that real gold/bronze color she always had. "See? Nothing to be scared of, I found these contacts on a pretty cool website, I'll have to send you the link. Thought it'd be a little fun to give some spooks." 

"Oh. Well, what's your costume then?"

"Oh that! You ever heard of Magneto?"

"..."

"Really? You never read any comics? Nothin'?"

"I... No."

"I am soooo showing you some of those comics," Indigo chuckled. "Trust me, they're pretty fun. But yeah, I'm a superhero. Couldn't decide between him or going with the Maneiac; but wigs aren't really comfortable for me. Actually, you wanna come inside? We're gonna be watchin' out for trick or treaters and playing some games."

Twilight blinked. "Oh, I'd love to, but I... well, uh... Mmm..."

Indigo smirked.

"I-I don't want to be mean, it's just, uh..."

"Ya made plans with the Rainbooms, huh?" Indigo asked, eliciting a quick nod with anxiousness. "It's fine, Twilight. Seriously, it's okay. Have a good night, okay?" 

"Okay, I will."

Indigo walked back to the inside of the house. "Baby!"

"What?"

"Where's my supersuit?"

And even through the door, she could still be heard.

"WHERE IS MY SUPER SUIT!?"





Twilight walked through the neighborhood, passing by some more trick-or-treaters. More kids in costumes (the young ones were adorable, she couldn't deny) and a few teenagers walking by, mainly either to accompany younger siblings or to go to parties. Though there were a few jerks that did intentionally try to scare her, but she still focused on walking to the house she was invited to. And just around the corner, she saw it. 

Approaching the front door, she knocked a few times, still holding her bag and Spike still close behind her. 

"Twilight, darling!" A posh voice called as she opened the door.

"AH!"

"Oh, sorry!" Rarity apologized, yanking off the plastic mask on her face. "It's only a costume, darling." She pulled the witch's hat off her head, and her mohawk poofed back up to its normal look. 

"It's okay. N-Nice costume by the way," Twilight complimented.

"Why thank you, darling. I assembled this ensemble myself. In fact, I think I can--"

"LETS ROCK!!!!"

The sounds of machine guns firing inside the house echoed to the front door.

"They're coming out of the walls! They're coming out of the freaking walls!"

"Where's Four-Star!? Where's Four-Star!?"

"Four-Star's gone! Lets get out of here!"

"Let's go, marines!"

Twilight blinked. "Um... is everything alright in there?"

"Oh don't you worry. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie are playing a video-game, and getting more involved than they should," Rarity rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Please, come on in."

"Thanks," Twilight rolled her suitcase inside, and Spike came inside.

"Oh and how is wittle Spikey-wikey?" Rarity said as she kneeled over to pet Spike who looked so happy to be given the affection. 

"He's been doing good. I'm still learning to try and train him, but he's really well-behaved. I hope you don't mind if he's here?"

"Oh I don't mind at all, Twilight, it's quite alright," Rarity said. "Please, come, come."

Twilight followed Rarity inside, and there they were. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were playing some video game that made their fingers go clickety-clack against the buttons on the controllers. Pinkie Pie wore a vampire costume, while Rainbow Dash? Hers was a bit hard to explain; a spandex outfit with dark blue and purple colors, a few lightning bolt patterns, a utility looking belt around her waist, and a set of goggles on her face. The two of them were freaking out over the onslaught of scary alien monsters that kept trying to attack them on screen, and were desperately trying not to die. 

"Stay on top of them!"

"What do you think I'm doing, woman!?" Pinkie screamed. 

Twilight put her bags down, and the sweet aroma of chocolate hit her nose. "What's that smell?"

"Applejack is baking in the kitchen. Since some people cannot keep their hands to themselves and let the children have the candy, she's making cookies to keep us from raiding the candy," Rarity explained. 

Twilight nodded, and she followed the smell into the kitchen. Indeed, there was Applejack mixing up some batter in another bowl while a set of cookies were cooling on a rack. She too was dressed up, like a scarecrow, though something about the look made Twilight's memory tick at the thought of some comic-book character. And she was given a hand by Fluttershy who was dressed up in heavy goth attire; ripped tights, black dress, hair spiked up but with no cuts, punk gloves and bracelets, she went all the way, minus any lipstick or any other makeup on her face.

"Hey girls," Twilight waved.

"Whoo-wee! Good to see ya again, Twilight. Glad you could make it," Applejack smiled. But she noticed something was off. "But, where's your costume?"

"Costume? Oh, I, um... I didn't think to bring one," she tittered.

"Oh. Well that's okay. I still got some extra pieces if you want," Applejack proposed. 

"Like what?"

"I got some steampunk pieces if you want those."

"Steampunk? Wait, what's--"

"--It's an aesthetic from a fictional world where technology from the Victorian era is still being used," Fluttershy explained, putting some cookie dough onto a new sheet. And she could see the blinking eyes from Applejack. "What? I have other interests other than goth, you know."

"Hi!"

Twilight dropped to the floor in shock, not expecting the energetic party animal that was Pinkie Pie. She too, was in a costume. Vampire costume to be exact; with a cape and plastic fangs. 

"Great to see you again!" And the doorbell ringed just at that moment. "Oooh, I got it!" And Pinkie Pie dashed away to the door. 

The girls just shrugged and kept playing the game, while Rainbow snacked on some mini candies she snuck into her coat. But she cocked her head as she heard a set of kids' screams from the front door.

"Geez, Pinkie, don't give 'em heart attacks or anything..." 

Applejack came bustling out from the kitchen - originally working on making some Halloween cookies for them to have, so nobody sneaked any candy. Of course it didn't stop them from sneaking a piece or two. 

"What was all that abou-- what the? Pinkie, what's wrong?"

Rainbow Dash looked over in surprise, seeing a very morose Pinkie numbly setting down the candy bowl she'd been carrying earlier.

Quite dully and miserably, her hair deflated; no longer poofy, now it was flat, lifeless, and limp. "Rarity, can - can you keep an eye on the door? I don't think I want to hand out candy anymore..."

"What the heck happened out there?" 

Pinkie sniffled. "I - I scared them." 

"Um, yeah, so? It's Halloween. You're dressed like a vampire. It's supposed to be scary!" 

"No! Not like that! I didn't scare them with these!" Pinkie pulled out her fake fangs. "I scared them just because it was ME they saw at the door. Pinkie Pie. One of the Rainbooms…"

The party girl's hair deflated into sad and limp, and she crashed into a chair, with quivering lips and waterfilled eyes. 

"Hey, um... Pinkie?" 

Pinkie sniffled and she looked up. Before her was the most adorable thing she laid her eyes on; a fluffy puppy.

"Awww..." Pinkie cooed.

"Here, hold him. I think he might help," Twilight suggested.

Pinkie Pie accepted, and held Spike in her lap. Spike let out a soft bark and he looked at Pinkie with an excited face, tail wagging accompanied. Not holding back, she held him close and hugged the dog, trying not to cry. Spike adorably nuzzled her back, giving her some comfort. 

But it didn't last long. Pinkie set Spike down and stumbled away to the stairs.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"... I just need to be alone right now," Pinkie said, walking upstairs.

Rarity was about to speak, but she had no words. She went upstairs, and she was gone. It was a moot point anyway, besides, she heard the door knock. Probably another trick-or-treater. Now that's what Rarity expected, but instead it was an adult woman she knew personally. Lime green skin with dark purple hair, next to a little girl in a pirate outfit. 

"Miss Victoria, hello! Good to see you--"

"--I'm sorry, Rarity, I hate intruding on a night like this, but I was wondering if you could watch Lily Pad for an hour or two, I really need to stop by the emergency room," Victoria asked with urgency.

"Oh my gosh, Miss Victoria, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but turns out not everyone can stay safe during this night, and I'm required at the hospital at once. Can I just ask you to watch her--"

"Of course, of course, it's no trouble at all!"

"Oh, thank you so much, bless your heart," Victoria sighed in relief. She squatted down to look at her daughter. "Lily, I should be back soon enough, I promise."

The little girl smiled and nodded. And Victoria gave her a hug and kiss before she left. "I should be back soon, I promise. Then we'll have some more Halloween fun when we get home, okay?"

"Okay."

And so Victoria rushed off to her car to get to the hospital.

The little girl walked into the living room and just curled up on a chair, sitting quietly. Now luckily the video game they were playing was on pause, and it wasn't too violent for her so she wasn't going to have any nightmares tonight. But it was eerily quiet now. Her head turned to Fluttershy and looked at her costume.

"I like your costume," Lily quietly said.

"Oh. Um, thank you," Fluttershy said, trying to be polite. "I like yours as well."

Lily softly smiled. "Are you really a vampire?"

"No, I'm not! Though sometimes I think I'd like to be..." Fluttershy chuckled.

"So you can suck people's blood?" 

Fluttershy's pupils shrunk. "What? No, no! Never. ... Though I think turning into a bat and being able to fly would have its advantages."

Rainbow Dash came back with a frown. "Yeah, I don't think Pinkie's gonna wanna join us the rest of the night. She seems pretty upset."

The little girl perked up. "Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?"

"Wait, who are you, and how do you know her?"

"Oh, this is Lily Pad. I babysit her for Miss Victoria, she had to make a run to the emergency room," Rarity explained. 

"... Okay, that's one, but how do you know Pinkie?"

"I see her at the bakery. S-She always makes me little chocolate covered donuts with me whenever I go there," Lily answered.

"Oh, does she? Perhaps maybe you could try and cheer her up?"

"I-I don't know how to make donuts."

Rarity giggled softly. "No, I mean, maybe you could try talking to Pinkie Pie. I mean, if you two know each other, maybe you could get her out of her state of dread."

"Well... I could try," Lily said, hesitantly. "Where is she?"

"I'll take you to her," Rarity said, leading her up the stairs. They moved around a corner, leading to Pinkie Pie's bedroom. And there she was, curled up on the bed, facing away from the door, with a tissue box close by.

"Pinkie Pie?"

"Go away! I'm a horrid monster!"

"Pinkie, I brought someone to talk to you."

"I don't wanna talk to Sonata, Adagio, Aria, Amethyst, Vinyl, Octavia, Lyra, Bon Bon, or Trixie!" 

"... Um, Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie sprung up like a, well, a spring when she heard that voice. She knew who that was. Lily Pad, her favorite customer was here!

"Lily?" 

Lily Pad smiled. 

"H-Hey, what are you doing here? And great costume!" Pinkie sniffled, wiping her eyes.

Lily Pad walked to her and sat on the bed next to her. "W-Why are you crying?"

Pinkie frowned and sniffled. "I scared some kids... and not in the fun way, not because it's Halloween. They knew who I was... and they still know I'm the biggest meanie."

"Biggest meanie?"

Pinkie sighed. "Lily, I've done some really mean things. Things I never said because I didn't want you to think of me as a monster. I've been a big, nasty, mean bully the past few months. And now I'm paying the consequences for it. I've been trying to be a better person these past few weeks, but there's still some kids who see me as nothing but the biggest jerk!" 

Rarity leaned against the doorframe, listening to them talk. Her heart snapped at every word that Pinkie said to the little girl next to her.

"And even though things are getting a little better, not everyone hating us anymore... there's still some who still hate usssss," Pinkie cried. "And now I scared kids in the worst waaay!!!"

Lily Pad waited for her to calm down a little, at least, as much as she could, given how big a waterfall her tears were making. How they were this big, she didn't understand. She swore she could fill buckets with that amount of tears.

"U-Um, Pinkie? I'm not scared of you," Lily said. 

Pinkie sniffled. "Y-You're not?"

Lily shook her head. "You never scared me when I came to get a donut at the bakery. And you were always nice to me, even though people said you were a bully. I-I never believed you were mean or scary."

Pinkie frowned. "But I am a meanie... I've done some horrid things."

Lily patted her hand with a soft smile. "But y-you're not being mean now. It'll just take some time. But I know you're still a good person." 

Pinkie couldn't help it, she smiled. She finally smiled after all of that crying. Her eyes were a bit bloodshot, but she was finally smiling at that sweet little girl. She wiped her face clean and she picked up the little girl, holding her in a hug. 

"You really are my favorite customer."

Lily Pad smiled, and she hugged Pinkie Pie back. All the while, Rarity did her best to hold back a 'dawwww' at the sight. Just then, the doorbell ringed. 

"Well now who could that be?" Rarity pondered, walking to the door. Lily and Pinkie followed after, wondering if there was any other trick-or-treaters were coming to the door... until they saw it was the same adult woman who had dropped her little girl off. She did not look very happy, as shown by her upset expression and amount of glitter on her face and clothes. 

Rarity opened the door. "Miss Victoria, you're back so soon. Was there no problem, or..."

Victoria wiped the glitter that had exploded in her face. "Apparently some jokers at the hospital thought it was a good idea to prank call me and make me think there was a real life emergency happening. I swear I'm filing a complaint later... She wasn't any issue, was she?"

"Not at all. Although I cannot take the credit, I had some help. But she was an absolute sweetheart," Rarity smiled.

"Thank goodness. Lily, come on, it's time to go home," she called out.

The little girl walked to the front door, with Pinkie Pie coming close, still showing her happiness bursting back out again.

"Thank you so much for watching her," Victoria complimented.

"No trouble at all," Pinkie giggled. 

Victoria stepped off the porch and began to walk to the car, but Lily didn't leave quite yet. She looked back at Pinkie and hugged her leg (considering she wasn't as tall as Pinkie). But Pinkie smiled and picked her up and gave her one last big hug for the night. 

"Happy Halloween, Lily."

"Thank you."

Lily was set back down to leave, but before she did, she reached into her bucket and pulled out a candy bar. A Koko Kringle bar, and offered it. "These always make me happy. I want you to stay happy."

Pinkie squeaked. "Awww, aren't you a sweetie?"

Victoria watched, admittedly smiling inside at how sweet her daughter was. She was definitely going to make a lot of friends once she gets older. They waved goodbye, and went back inside while Victoria and her daughter went home. 

An hour and a half went by, and a few more trick or treaters came to the door, here and there. But as time went on, the numbers began to decrease, but the candies were still being given out. It almost neared 9 o'clock by the time the last trick-or-treater came to the door.

"Anyone else coming to the door?" Applejack asked, calling from the kitchen.

"Nope. I think Halloween's over now, at least for most people. How about we get a movie started, end Halloween night with a bang?" Rainbow requested. 

"Yes!"

"Yep!"

"I'll go get the popcorn!"

"So, what are we watching?" Twilight asked, sitting on the couch.

"Perfect People, from 1975," Rainbow said, pulling out the DVD. "It's a sci-fi horror film, looks pretty dang cheesy and ridiculous. Something about replacing people with robots, or something, I don't know, it's stupid."

"Come on now, it's not that stupid. That alone is kind of scary," Applejack said. "Kind of like that sci-fi movie that Amethyst likes about a robot killer from the future."

"Applejack, that movie was awesome, and the robot in that movie didn't even care about trying to blend perfectly," Rainbow pointed out.

"You know what I mean," Applejack glared.

"Girls, calm down now. I'm sure this movie could be dreadfully fun. Put it in!"

Once she inserted the DVD into the player, the rest of the girls got comfy to enjoy the movie. With plenty of cookies and popcorn to go around. Twilight enjoyed the deliciousness of a sweet tasty cookie mixed with chocolate chips and sprinkles. 

The movie opened with a shot of the city, with a sun slowly rising over the distance. Slowly setting in the atmosphere and environment.

"Anytown, USA!" Rainbow Dash joked. 

And so they were introduced into the main character, as well as established some more of the friends of the characters. Seemed like a normal barrage of friends. 

"Hey, now we know how Applejack looks like in 1975," Rainbow snickered.

"You noticed I'm not laughin', right?"

30 Minutes Later

The plot was finally kicking into action. The characters were noticing some unusual changes happening in their neighborhood. People acting completely robotic, or acting nothing like the people that they remembered them as. But what the characters were talking about made Twilight feel a chill run down her spin.

"I don't understand... why are they acting like this? This family was perfect the way they were, why did they change?"

Twilight heard a bell toll at that sentence. Her mind was flashing back to several weeks ago, the Friendship Games. Chaos, unruly change happening to their world, magic erupting and changing the fabric of human existence. But, hang on now. This was just a movie. Just a work of fiction, it was just some silly sci-fi movie. Maybe this was just the start, maybe it would get better later, or maybe it would be unintentionally hilarious, that would have to be fun, right?

20 Minutes Later

Nope, it got worse. The main antagonist of the film was sitting in a lab, converting the next person into the next form of his sick, twisted, idea of perfection. And his motives, his ideologies, it was all fitting together. The thought made her scared, and her hands became shaky and clammy. But the images only got worse, and it made her stomach start to churn.

"There is so much imperfection. This town is a symbol of everything wrong with this world... and if I can't make it perfect, then who will?" 

Twilight's heart sank into her stomach. Images were flashing through her head as the film continued, and it only got worse. People looking scared, finding out the truth about the madman responsible for making these 'perfections'. Not letting anyone stand in his way, and stopping anyone who would interfere with his plans. And he kept going and going, and now more and more people were getting taken, and there was only a handful of people who could--

"Twilight! Hey!"

She finally snapped out of her thoughts, zipping her head around her. Her friends were looking at her with great concern. 

"Hey, you okay?" Rainbow asked. 

Her mouth opened but no words came out. Instead she just got up from her chair and walked away into the kitchen. The girls looked at each other, unsure of what to do or say. But Applejack was the one who got up.

"Y'all keep watchin', I'll go talk to her," she said, leaving the rest of the Rainbooms without knowing what to do. "Twilight, you okay?"

Twilight held her arms, not looking back. "I'm fine."

Applejack didn't buy it. "Twilight, I can tell somethin' ain't right." She walked around the counter and moved in front of her. "You can talk to me, alright? Now what's goin' on?"

"I... okay. Just, the stuff going on in that movie. All of that talk about wanting to bring order and perfection, trying to keep things perfect when they're not, and even going so far as to being physically turned into a monster, it... it's just..."

Applejack finally understood. "Oh, Twilight... I'm so sorry, I didn't know. I mean, all that stuff at the Friendship Games, I remember, it's not hard to forget but... I forgot you're still trying to move on from that." 

She pulled Twilight into a hug, and Twilight reciprocated. The CPA girl quietly sniffled, trying to hold her close. 

"There, there now. It's okay. You'll get through this. I know you can," Applejack said with a smile. "I know you'll finally be free. It's not who you are."

Twilight still hugged her, trying not to cry. A few tears leaked, but she didn't burst. She just quietly sniffled, and breathed heavily, trying to stay calm and to not explode. 

"Things will get better Twilight. You just need to give it time," Applejack said. "We're all here for you. Okay?"

Twilight sniffled, but she smiled. "Thank you."

Applejack held her for a bit longer, making sure Twilight calmed down enough. And without her realizing, the rest of the girls were standing in the doorway, watching them hug. None of them could hold back a little smile and a 'daww' in there. It wasn't going to be easy, but they would gladly be there to help Twilight on the road to recovery, not only to escape her past... but being a great friend.