The Mane 6 must help three kids, a griffin and an immortal cat defeat three witch sisters on Halloween.
It is finally the day before Nightmare Night, and the ponies are going to make this the best Nightmare Night possible, despite the circumstances. But, their moments of peace are interrupted when they are summoned by the Unity Crystals on another mission.
In Salem, Massachusetts, on the spooky holiday of Halloween, the ponies meet Max Dennison, his sister Dani, Max's crush Allison and young griffin Hesperia, who accidentally light the Black Flame Candle and resurrect the evil Sanderson Sisters after 300 years of being... well, dead.
Now, with the help of an immortal cat, our heroes must prevent the witches from brewing a potion to steal the life force of the kids of Salem.
Will they succeed? Or will the Sanderson Sisters reign supreme?
After you read this tale, you all will be believing in a little bit of... hocus pocus.
“Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh...” Pipp hummed an eerie tune as she flew around the Brighthouse, watching as her friends hung up various decorations to celebrate her favorite night of the entire year... Nightmare Night. A night celebrated in all regions in Equestria with costumes, treats and partying all night long. “Looking good, everypony! This Nightmare Night is gonna be even better than the one we had last year!”
“Phew... I sure hope so,” Misty strained as she pushed a giant pumpkin into position right beside the front door. “At this time last year, Opaline was forcing me to spy on you guys at the party at Mane Melody. I never got to enjoy myself until she saw your magic in action and declared my mission over.”
“Ohhhhhhhhh... so that's why you were hiding behind the curtain when I pulled you out to dance!” Izzy said in recollection. “Eh, I just thought you were scared of the crowd.”
“Well... I guess I was scared of that too,” Misty said. “I just feel so terrible about trying to do all of those terrible things.”
“It's all in the past, Misty. What matters now is that we figure out how to stop Opaline,” Sunny said, causing the blue unicorn to look a little worried. “Do you really think we can stop her? I mean... she is pretty powerful now that she has her magic back.”
“Everypony has their weaknesses. We just need to find Opaline's,” Zipp said. “That gave me an idea for a theory. Did Opaline ever act... strangely around water? Water does put out fire, and I thought if fire was her weakness, we could use that against her.”
“Um... I don't think so,” Misty shook her head. “I don't think Sparky’s kind of dragon fire can be put out by water. Sorry, Zipp.”
“It's okay. That's why we keep coming up with some new theories,” Zipp said, although a bit disappointed. “To find a theory that will work.”
“But that's enough of the sad, Opaline related talk!” Izzy said, getting between them. “It's still Nightmare Night, right?”
“Ooooh! Yes, yes, yes!” Pipp said. “And I know just the song to help get us in the Nightmare Night spirit! Hit it, Sparky!”
Sparky babbled and hit the button on Pipp's phone, causing music to begin to play as they kept decorating the Brighthouse.
Pipp: The wizards and the witches Got nothin' to prove
Zipp: They just keep on rocking
Misty: To the monster groove!
Ponies: It may look scary But don't be afraid Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster party
It may look spooky But don't have a fright Cause at this monster party We will rock all night
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster party
Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah Cause at this monster party We will rock all night
Yeah, at this monster party We will rock all night!
When the song was over, the Brighthouse was decorated with pumpkins, spooky bats and spider web streamers-- all ready for the biggest event of the year. “Perfect!” Pipp giggled. “All that's left to do is try on our costumes and make sure they fit!”
“Ooh! I can't wait to see what my costume is gonna be!” Izzy said. “It seems like only last year I was dressed as all my best friends!”
“Um, Izzy?” Hitch blinked. “That was last year.”
“Was it? Oh.”
But suddenly, the ponies' cutie marks began to glow brightly, but Pipp was anything BUT escatic about this. “No no no no!! We can't go on a Unity Quest now!”
“I'm so sorry, sis, but the Unity Crystals are never wrong-- somepony needs help,” Zipp pointed out. “We'll try on our costumes sometime when we get there, but we need to go.”
“I'll put Sparky down for a nap,” Hitch said, taking the baby dragon away. “All right, everypony!” Sunny declared. “Up to the crystals we go!”
XXXXXXXXX
~ 300 years prior... ~
The year was 1693… a dark time for most places, but especially dark for the citizens of Salem Massachusetts, in a time where there was witchcraft rumors and trials around every turn. Well… one story is more real than you might think, so let me begin the tale.
It was early one morning when Thackery Binx woke up to a bad feeling on his neck… it was late October, and the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon. When he turned to his left, he was stunned to discover that his younger sister Emily was no longer in her bed. “Emily?” he called out, but no one answered him… only a siren-sounding call resonating through the forest. “Emily?!” he called out again, before running to his best friend Elijah nearby. “Elijah! Elijah, has thou seen my sister, Emily?”
“Nay, but look,” Elijah pointed to violet smoke trailing over the forest. “They conjure.”
It was then that Thackery’s eyes laid upon the small female figure entering the forest and finally realized what the song meant. “Oh God, the woods!” he cried. “EMILY!!”
“She’s done for,” Elijah shuddered. “Not yet!” Thackery grabbed him by the shirt collar. “You wake my father! Summon the others! Go!!”
Elijah quickly sped off, and Thackery raced into the woods after his sister. It didn’t take him long to see where Emily had gone-- the cottage of the Sanderson Sisters, and Sarah Sanderson was leading Emily inside. So, he decided to creep as close as he could and save Emily from their dire hands.
Mary and Sarah Sanderson looked around, swearing they heard something, but Thackery had hidden, making it impossible to see him.
Winifred Sanderson, the elder of the three, opened a window and gazed outside. “Oh look, another glorious morning… makes me sick. Sisters!”
“Yes, Winnie?” Sarah answered. “Coming, Winnie!” Mary called. “Must have been an imp…” Winifred muttered before going to her book on the shelf. “My darling, my little book. We must continue with our spell now that our guest of honor has arrived. Wake up. Wake up, darling.”
The book then proceeded to open its one eye, and this delighted Winifred as Thackery snuck around. “Yes, well come along. There you are. Mary!”
“Right here, Winnie. Right here. Sorry,” Mary came over. “I notice sister Sarah isn’t helping.”
“I lured the child here!” Sarah argued. “Leave her be, she has done her chore,” Winifred spat, grabbing Mary by the ear. “You’re right, I’m wrong,” Mary rubbed her ear. “All right… tis time.”
The book quickly openned and flipped itself to a certain page, and Winifred began to read from it. “Bring to a full rolling bubble. Add two drops oil of boil. Six, but the hour with the herb that’s red. Turn three times, pluck a hair from my head. Add a dash of fox and a dead man’s toe. Oh, a dead man’s toe and make it a fresh one.”
Thackery had no idea what the witches were planning, but he knew he needed to act fast to save Emily. As he snuck inside while the witches were making the potion, Mary’s strong nose caught wind of him. “I smell a child.”
“What doest thou call that?” Winifred pointed at Emily. “A child?” Mary guessed, but frowned… she could have sworn she smelled another one. “Hah! Sisters, gather round. One thing more and all is done, add a bit of thine own tongue.”
The three of them took a bite of their tounges and spit them into the potion, resulting in it being ready and Winifred took out a spoonful. “One drop of this and her life will me mine… I mean, ours,” Winifred corrected. “All right, girl. Open up your mouth.”
“NO!!” Thackery jumped up, causing the witches to turn to him in surprise. “A boy!” Sarah said in delight. “Get him, you fools!” Winifred snarled. But thanks to playing with Emily so often, Thackery was able to escape them and ran to the cauldron, pushing it over and causing the potion to bubble out, causing Winifred to scream. “Ahhh! My potion!!!”
“Emily!” Thackery tried to run to his sister, but Winifred hits him with blasts of electricity and he drops to the ground. “Winnie?” Mary called. “Winnie, look.”
Mary was now pointing to Emily who has somehow ingested some of the potion. Emily’s life force is glowing around her. “Sisters, prepare thyselves. ‘Tis her life force. The potion works. Take my hands, we will share her!”
“Oh Winnie, how generous of thee,” Mary said. The sisters went over to Emily with hands intertwined and began to suck away her life force. When they are through Emily has grown very old and died. The sisters, however, are much younger now, causing them to cackle victoriously. “Winifred, thou art a mere spring of a girl,” Mary said as they danced around in celebration. “Liar,” Winifred sneered. “But I shall be a spring forever once I suck the lives out of all the children of Salem.”
Then, her eyes fell on Thackery. “Let’s brew another batch.”
“You hag!” Thackery snarled. “There are not enough children the world to make thee young and beautiful.”
Needless to say, Winifred and her sisters were not pleased. “Sisters, did you hear what he called you?” Winifed spat. “Whatever shall we do with him?”
“Let’s barbecue and fillet him,” Mary suggested. “Hang him on a hook, and let me play with him,” said Sarah. “No!” Winifred barked. The book soon floated over to her, and after skimming for a minute, she found the perfect punishment. “His punishment shall not be to die, but to live forever with his guilt.”
“As what, Winnie? As what?” Sarah and Mary asked. “Jump back!” Winifed said, and the three of them began to do a spell, Mary and Sarah muttering mambo-jumbo in the background. “Twist the bones and bend the back… trim him of his baby fat… give him fur, black as black, just… like… this.”
They each hold their hands over Thackary and he began to groan with pain, shrinking down so we see that he has been turned into a black cat. Sarah went to pet him and he swatted at her, causing the others to laugh. Suddenly there was a pounding at the front door-- the other villagers have arrived. “Open! Witches! Daughters of Darkness!! Open this door.”
“Quick, hide the child!” Winifed ordered, and Mary covered Emily with a tarp. But, evidently it did no good, cause an hour later, the sisters were ready to be hanged. “Winifred Sanderson?” Mr. Binx called. “I will ask thee one final time-- what has thou done with my son, Thackary? Answer me!!”
“Well, I don’t know,” Winifred answered with a smirk. “Cat’s got my tongue!”
The sisters then shared a good laugh before they began to sing, causing the villagers to cover their ears. A man holding the ‘book’ threw it down to cover his ears and the book landed right at Winifred’s feet, opening up and Winifred saw the spell that it revealed to her. “Fools! All of you! My ungodly book speaks to you. On All Hallow’s Eve when the moon is around, a virgin shall summon us from under the ground. Oh, we shall be back. And the lives of all the children shall be mine!”
As the sisters cackled, Mr. Binx gave the signal for the three to be hung, and once they were gone, the villagers departed… unaware that Thackery Binx would spend the next long while stopping anyone from resurrecting those dreaded witches.
And that our pony heroes would be helping him achieve this very task.
“Poor Thackary Binx... neither his father, his mother, nor anyone else every knew what became of him, those 300 years ago.”
We now jump forward to present day Salem, Massachusetts, where a high school teacher by the name of Miss Olin was telling her students the legend of the Sanderson Sisters, and all of the students were waiting for school to lay out so they could spend the rest of the night trick-or-treating, since that day was Halloween.
And to those who may not know it, Halloween is the mortal world equivalent to Nightmare Night. “And so the Sanderson sisters were hanged by the Salem townsfolk,” Miss Olin continued to the some bored and some enthusiastic students. “Now there are those who say, that on Halloween night, a black cat still guards the old Sanderson House. Warning off any who might make the witches come back to life.”
“Give me a break...”
Everyone turned toward their heads to see who had spoke, but they all had a good feeling they knew who it eas-- Max Dennison, the newest student in the class from Los Angeles, and everyone seemed irritated that he had said such a thing. “Uh huh. We seem to have a skeptic in our midst,” Miss Olin said, unamused. “Mr. Dennison, would you care to give your California, laid back, tie-dyed point of view?”
This caused the entire class to laugh. “Okay,” Max responded, thinking he could get by. “Granted that you guys here in Salem are all into these black cats and witches and stuff…”
“Stuff?” the teacher repeated, but Max just went on talking. “But everyone here knows that Halloween was invented by the candy companies. It’s a conspiracy.”
Suddenly, a pretty girl named Allison Watts spoke up from a few desks away. “It just so happens,” she stated, “that Halloween is based on the ancient feast called All Hallow’s Eve. It’s the one night of the year where the spirits of the dead can return to Earth.”
“Well said, Allison!” Miss Olin applauded, and the rest of the class followed suit with wild cheers. Then, Max got up from his seat and went over to Allison with a piece of paper in his hand. “Well in case Jimmy Hendrix shows up tonight, here’s my number.”
After that, the school bell rang, and Allison was the first to leave. A few minutes later, Max raced outside to try and talk to her. “Allison!”
“Hi,” Allison greeted. “Hi. Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you in class,” Max tried to apologize, but Allison quickly brushed it off. “You didn't.”
“My name's Max Dennison,” Max extended his hand for Allison to shake, to which she did. “Yeah, I know. You just moved here, huh?”
“Yeah, last week.”
“Must be a big change for you.”
Max shrugged in response. “Yeah, that’s for sure.”
“You don’t like it here?” Allison asked. “Oh, the leaves are great, but… I don’t know, it’s just all this Halloween stuff.”
“You don't believe in it?”
“What do you mean, like the Sanderson sisters? No way.”
“Not even on Halloween?”
“Especially not on Halloween.”
Allison then got a piece of paper out from her pocket. “Trick or treat.”
Max took the paper and watched as she walked off before unfolding the paper she gave him... only to find out it was the same paper he gave her back in the classroom. “Well, Max,” he muttered to himself, “you blew it.”
XXXXXXXXX
Sunny and her friends emerged from a portal not long after Max got on his bike to head home, appearing on the side of the road and wondering where they were as they glanced around the area. “Hmm...” Sunny looked at a sign nearby. “Welcome to Salem, Massachusetts. I guess this is the place the Unity Crystals wanted us to go to.”
“But this town is pretty big, though,” Hitch frowned. “How are we gonna find the person who needs help in this place?”
“I don't know, and I don't like the sound of this town,” Zipp shuddered. “The sooner we find our mission and complete it, the better off I think we'll all be.”
“And you'll be better off when you leave, trespassers.”
Everyone jumped at the sound of a gruff and irritated female voice from above them, and what landed before them was a creature Sunny recognized immediately. “You're... you're a griffin! A real griffin!”
The griffin in question was a tan and dark gray-brown griffin with darker claws, light teal eyes, teal tips on the end of her tail, bangs and different shades of teal on her wings, but she didn't look too pleased to see them. “Psh. Yeah, I'm a griffin. So what?”
“Sorry, I... I've never seen a real griffin before. You don't see many of them around Equestria these days,” Sunny said sheepishly. “I'm Sunny, and these are my friends-- Pipp, Zipp, Misty, Izzy and Hitch. What's your name?”
“...Hesperia,” the griffin grumbled. “There, I told you my name. What do you want? You should know that we griffins don't exactly do with trespassers what ponies would.”
“We kinda got sent here by some magic,” Hitch explained, “and we're trying to figure out our mission so we can get back home in time for Nightmare Night.”
“Nightmare Night?” Hesperia said, looking rather surprised. “The ponies still have that? Even after they pushed us out?”
“Well... there's actually a reason that you guys were pushed out to begin with,” Zipp said. “We did some research, and according to some friends, Twilight Sparkle and her friends pushed some species out of Equestria to protect them from being in trouble.”
“Trouble? What could my ancestors possibly have been in trouble from?” Hesperia looked incredibly doubtful. “From an evil alicorn named Opaline Arcana, who sought out dragon fire so she could take all the magic in Equestria,” Misty said, and this caused Hesperia to become surprised. “So... the Guardians had to put all magic into three crystals and send the other creatures away, so their magic wouldn't be put a risk too.”
Hesperia hummed in thought, her tough and angry expression falling. “Wow... heh, I... I never thought about it that way. I guess you ponies did have some good qualities after all. Unlike what my grandfather told me when I was only a hatchling. Sorry I sorta jumped to conclusions.”
“Oh, it's no biggie!” Izzy shrugged it off. “But we do need someplace to stay,” Pipp said. “Until our mission is over. Aaaaaand potentially a place where we can try on some potential Nightmare Night costume ideas.”
“I know a place, and the girl that I have in mind to help you is really great,” Hesperia said. “Follow me. And, so people won't stare at you m, you better start calling Nightmare Night by something else. In this world, we call it Halloween.”
“Halloween, huh?” Zipp tapped her chin for a moment before smiling. “Huh. I like it. Lead the way!”
XXXXXXXXX
“The Dennisons moved just to Salem last week from Los Angeles, California,” Hesperia said as they snuck around the city. “I already met the youngest member, Dani, when she helped me get a rope trap off my leg. She sometimes leaves food out for me, and I watch over the house, making sure no one tries to bring the family harm.”
“Awwww...” Izzy cooed. “She sounds so sweet!”
“What else can you tell us about the Dennison family?” Misty asked curiously. “Well, let me see...” Hesperia hummed in thought. “Their oldest son, Max is 15, he goes to the nearby high school, and is... really a downer. I had to beg him to not tell his parents about me when he used his pocket knife to cut me free from that trap.”
“Sheesh... he DOES sound like a grump,” Zipp frowned. “But the parents, Dave and Jenny seem like absolute angels. They moved to Salem cause of Dave's new job, but Max seems pretty mad that they've moved here.”
“Hmmm...” Zipp hummed and looked at Sunny for a moment. “Could be a good victim if Opaline were to pull some of those manipulation tricks again.”
“Maybe, Zipp,” Sunny murmured, “but let's not cause a panic with our assumptions.”
Finally, they arrived at a large white house at the end of the street. “We're here,” Hesperia said quietly. “Dani's bedroom window is on the backside of the house. We need to sneak around the side and avoid detection so we can get up to her.”
Sunny nodded at the statement. “We'll follow you since you know the area best.”
Hesperia led them around the house before she led them into the backyard, where they waited for her as she flew up to a window and pecked on it. Who opened it was none other than Dani herself-- a curly haired girl with optimistic eyes, dressed in a witch's costume of orange and black. “Hespy! You're back!” Dani hugged the griffin. “Do you like my costume?”
“You look great, Dani,” Hesperia smiled. “Listen... I have some friends I want to introduce to you and your brother once he gets home from school, and it's... gonna be hard to explain. Are your parents busy?”
“They're just downstairs,” Dani shrugged. “Why? Are your friends special or something?”
Hesperia chuckled, glancing down at the ponies down below. “That's them down there.”
Dani looked down at the waving and smiling ponies with wide and wondrous eyes. “Whoa... get them a ladder! They can hide in my room until Max gets home.”
“You got it,” Hesperia winked. “Oh! And they have Halloween costumes they wanna change into. Maybe it'll help them blend in better.”
XXXXXXXXX
At the same time that Dani and the ponies were getting acquainted, Max was riding his bike through a graveyard on his way home, when two other kids from Max's high school appeared in his path. “Halt!” said one kid, causing Max to stop his bike. “Who are you?”
“Max. I just moved here.”
“From where?” the second kid asked. “Los Angeles,” Max responded, causing confusion among the other two. “L.A.”
Sure enough, the confusion seemed to clear, and the first kid introduced them. “I’m Jay, this is Ernie.”
The second boy, now known as Ernie, grabbed Jay roughly. “How many times I gotta tell you… my name ain’t Ernie no more, it’s Ice? Ice.”
“This is Ice,” Jay corrected, and 'Ice' showed off the back of his head, with the word 'ice' shaved from his hair. “So, let’s have a butt.”
“No, thanks,” Max dismissed. “I don't smoke.”
“They’re very health conscious in Los Angeles,” Ice said teasingly, and he and Jay laughed before Jay turned back to Max. “You got any cash... Hollywood?”
“No.”
“Gee, we don’t get any smokes from you, we don’t get any cash,” Jay spoke. “What am I supposed to do with my afternoon?”
“Maybe you could learn to breathe through your nose.”
Jay thought this was hilarious, but one look from Ice stopped his laughter. That's when Jay looked down and saw the nice pair of shoes that Max was wearing. “Whoa. Check out the new cross trainers.”
“Cool,” Ice smirked. “Let me try them on.”
Max tried to leave, but Ice and Jay were quick to stop him. And then, Max continued on his way home... but with no shoes on his feet.
XXXXXXXXX
Back at his house, Max barged through the door as his parents were in the kitchen. “Hey, Max,” Jenny said, “how was school?”
“It sucked.”
“Hey, hey watch your language,” Dave scolded as Max stormed up the stairs. “I can’t believe you made me move here!!”
As their son disappeared upstairs, Jenny noticed that there was something different going on. “He wasn’t wearing any shoes.”
Dave shrugged at that. “Well, must be some form of protest.”
XXXXXXXXX
As he got to his room, Max threw his stuff down and went over to his fish, beginning to feed them as it looked like two someones were watching him from the nearby closet. “Hey, guys.”
As soon as he was done feeding his fish, Max laid down on the bed and started cuddling with one of the pillows on his bed. “Oh... oh, Allison,” he muttered in a swooning tone. “You’re so soft, I just wanna hug…”
“BOO!!” Dani and Hesperia cried as they leapt from the closet, and Max felt his heart skip a beat before he turned to them in anger and frustration. “Hesp! Dani!”
“I scared you. I scared you! Ha ha!” Dani taunted before getting on the bed and imitating her brother. “I’m Allison. Allison. Kiss me, I’m Allison.”
“Mom and Dad told you to stay out of my room!” Max barked. “Pfft. Don't be such a crab,” Hesperia said as she stretched, and Dani began to jump up and down on the bed. “Guess what?! You’re gonna take us and our new friends trick-or-treating.”
“Not this year, Dani.”
“Mom said you have to.”
“Well she or those new friends of yours can take you.”
“Your mom and dad are going to a party at city hall,” Hesperia responded. “Besides... these friends are some ponies who really don't know their way around. Not like I do, and I can keep an eye on you guys.”
“Well you’re eight, go by yourself,” Max quickly dismissed to his sister before going to his drumset and began playing. “No way! This is my first time! The ponies and I'll get lost without you and Hespy!” Dani argued. “Besides, it’s a full moon outside. The weirdos are out!”
She then went over and gave her brother a side hug, annoying him. “Come on, Max. Couldn’t you forget about being a cool teenager for one night? Please! Come on, we used to have so much fun together trick-or-treating. Remember? It’ll be like old times.”
“Dani, the old days are dead.”
“It doesn’t matter what you say,” Dani said. “You're taking us.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Uh oh...” Hesperia dove into the closet and plugged her ears, knowing exactly what was going to happen next as Dani unleashed her secret weapon... screaming for her mother at the top of her lungs.
Max reluctantly agreed to take them if Dani stopped screaming... and after being talked to by their parents.
But needless to say... he knew this would be the worst day of his entire life... if the past week hasn't been bad enough already.
Now he not only had a little sister to deal with, but who knows what else as well.
Sunny and her friends heard Dani screaming for her mother all the way from her room as they were getting changed, scariest them half to death. They wanted to go and check on everything, but Dani and Max's parents beat them to it, and after a talking to, Max was dragged into taking them trick-or-treating.
Pipp even had an extra costume for Hesperia, so she could join them in the fun. (Just remember, griffins didn't usually celebrate Halloween or Nightmare Night, but Hesperia was different)
10 minutes after this talking to, the ponies were finally ready to hit the streets.
Hitch was dressed in the same mask he wore when Sparky first went missing, along with a similarly colored cape.
Hesperia was a wore a black mask and a bow and arrow on her back-- similar to the costume Zipp wore a year before.
Zipp was dressed as a vampire, with a spooky black cape and fake fangs.
Izzy played the part of a mummy, wrapped in toilet paper from head to hoof.
Pipp was a witch just like Dani, since she was developing a strong bond to the little girl, wearing a deep purple, almost black witch's outfit that complimented her mane, pink coat and golden hooves.
Misty wore a light pink dress and a glittery crown in her mane, as elegant as a princess.
Finally, Sunny wore a cheerleader styled outfit to go with her roller skates, becoming a skater pony in the process.
Hesperia led them back down the ladder and to the back of the house, and they waited until Dave and Jenny had bid their kids goodbye before joining Max and Dani on the sidewalk. “All right...” Max groaned, adjusting his cap. “Let's go and get this over with.”
“Come on, Max-- this is gonna be fun!” Sunny pointed out. “We have a similar holiday in Equestria, and it's a total success whenever we do it. Even the most irritable ponies join in.”
“Um... Max? What's your costume exactly?” Misty asked curiously. “A rapper,” Max rolled his eyes. “Oh,” Misty said, a little insecure. “Well... you look great.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
“Hey, Max, lighten up, would you?” Zipp nudged him. “Dani wanted to do this to spend time with you. The least you can do is make an attempt to be happy.”
“And I assume you know what it's like to be an older sibling, forced to take your little sibling everywhere you go?”
“Actually... yeah,” Zipp looked back at Pipp, who was laughing along with Dani as they walked. “Pipp and I used to be so close when we were fillies, but over the years, we started liking different things. Our relationship is something I think Dani wants with you and her. Can you at least try and have a good time? For her sake?”
Max considered Zipp's words, and ultimately sighed. “Fine. I'll try.”
“That's all I ask.”
XXXXXXXXX
They continued to go from house to house collecting treats, but Max didn't seem to be enjoying himself, to which Dani noticed. “Lighten up, Max.”
“Can we go home now?”
“No.”
That's when Max saw Ice, Jay and a couple more of their friends hanging on the other side of the sidewalk, and Max instantly wanted to avoid them. “Let’s just go this way.”
“Why? Is everything okay?” Hitch asked. “Just some guys from Max's school,” Hesperia frowned in disgust. “Some real jerks if you ask me. I agree with Max-- let's head another way.”
But, in a rebellious state, Dani walked the exact way Max didn't want to go. “Dani!” Max and the ponies cried. “I'll go with her,” Zipp said, fluttering behind Dani. That's when Ice held up his leg so Dani and Zipp couldn't get past, and Jay spoke up to them. “Stop and pay the toll, kid. You and that little horse.”
“Ten chocolate bars, no licorice.”
“Dump out your sack!”
“Drop dead, moron,” Dani scoffed and tried to walk past with Zipp, but Ice immediately stopped them. “Yo, twerp. How’d you like to be hung off that telephone pole?”
“Leave Dani alone, creep,” Zipp unfolded her wings defensively. “I've got two wings and four strong hooves, and I'm not afraid to use them against you.”
“Shut it, pony girl,” Jay shoved Zipp down. “Or your wings get clipped.”
“I’d just like to see you try it,” Dani said, helping Zipp back up. “Cause it just so happens I’ve got my big brother and friends with me. Max!”
“That's our cue,” Sunny told her friends, and they all went down to where the others were. “Hollywood... oh no!” Ice feigned terror as Jay spoke up. “So you’re doing a little trick-or-treating?”
“I’m taking my little sister around... and her friends too.”
Sunny inwardly sighed... she wished that Max would call them his friends too, not just Dani. “That’s nice. Whoa, I love the costume,” Jay told Max. “But what are you supposed to be? A New Kid on the Block?”
“For your information, he’s a little leaguer!” Dani said, and as Ice and Jay mimicked a baseball play, she tried to walk past, but she was once again blocked by Ice. “Wait a minute. Everyone pays the toll.”
“Stuff it, zit face.”
As Ice prepared to go in on her, Max tossed a sack of candy at him and his friend before practically dragging his sister and the Equestrians away, with Hesperia glaring at the two boys before she followed.
Dani turned to her brother. “You should have punched them.”
“They would have killed me.”
“At least you would have died like a man.”
That seemed to have been Max's breaking point, turning to his little sister in anger. “Hey! You just humiliated me in front of half the guys at school! So collect your candy and get out of my life!”
“Max!” Misty said, shocked that he would say such a thing. “I wanna go home!” Dani cried before she stormed off. “Now!”
“Dani, wait!” Hesperia called as the ponies went after her, turning toward Max with a scowl on her face. “Thanks SO MUCH for breaking the kid's heart, Jerk Face.”
With that, she flapped her wings and took off after the Equestrians, and not long after, Max followed them to see where they were going.
XXXXXXXXX
Dani ran for a quite a good ways before collapsing on some hay bales, sobbing at the hurtful thing her brother said. She just wanted to spend some time with her brother... why did he not want to be with her?
As she sobbed, she felt a comforting hoof on her back, and looked up slightly to see Pipp comforting her, the other ponies standing around her. “Max didn't mean what he said, Dani. He loves you too much to shun you like that.”
“Then why did he say it then...?”
“Prople say a lot of things they don't mean when they're angry,” Hesperia said. “Trust me... I had the same interactions with my father, and he and I both said some things we regretted later on.”
“But even though the words that come can be hurtful sometimes, what matters is that Max is your brother,” Izzy added. “And he really does love you... even though he did act like a jerk.”
Dani sniffed and looked up with a chuckle. “He can be kind of a jerk face, can he?”
“He sure can,” Hesperia chuckled. “And I told him that to his face.”
It was then that Max approached, and Dani turned away from him as the ponies gave them space to talk. Max sat down next to his sister with a remorseful face. “Dani, I’m sorry. It’s just that I hate this place. I miss all my friends. I wanna go home.”
“Well this is your home now, so get used to it,” Dani huffed. “Yeah...” Max nodded slowly. “Give me one more chance?”
“Why should I?”
“Cause I’m your big brother.”
Dani glanced up at him, with a smirk, and they hugged tenderly giggling. This sight made the ponies smile, just before Max looked up at the sky. “Whoa, check that out.”
“What?” Dani looked up to see what it was. “Something just flew across the moon,” Max explained. And while everyone was distracted, Max playfully leapt at his little sister, sending them both into a giggling fit, before they decided to head home...
...that is, until they noticed the huge mansion-like house in front of them. “Whoa...” everyone seemed to gasp with wide eyes. “Check out the size of this house!” Misty gawked. “It's almost as tall as Opaline's castle, if not bigger!”
“Ah, rich people,” Dani nodded in understanding. “They’ll probably make us drink cider and bob for apples.”
The group looked at one another, nodded and entered together. After all, a party was a party, and they couldn't wait to grab some of the treats inside.
As the group entered the house, they were in awe to see it looking as fancy on the inside as on the outside. Pipp and Zipp were heavily reminded of home upon seeing it, but didn't want anyone in Salem to learn of their princess title until it was relevant.
On the table next to the group was a small, plastic cauldron, probably to go with a witch’s costume, with boatloads of candy inside, making Dani’s eyes grow wide. “Jackpot!”
“Ooh, this is fantastic unicycling!” Izzy said as they got some candy out of the bowl. “Whoever lives here must have excellent taste.”
“Max Dennison.”
Everyone looked up at the sudden voice, and a young girl in a Victorian era dress came down the stairs, smiling at them. Max's eyes widened... he knew this girl-- the same one he tried to speak to earlier that day. “Allison...”
“Ohhh... that's Allison, huh?” Hesperia said jokingly as Allison came down the stairs and spoke up again. “I thought you weren’t into Halloween.”
“I’m not, I’m just taking my little sister, Dani, around with her friends.”
“Hello!” Izzy waved cheerfully, and Allison looked surprised among seeing them, but still smiled and waved back before turning to Max again. “Well, that's nice.”
“I always do it.”
“My parents made him,” Dani said. “But they don't know Hesperia and the ponies exist.”
“We would, uh, appreciate it if you didn’t tell anypony else about us, Allison,” Sunny said politely. “We’re not gonna be here for a long time, and we don’t wanna attract too much attention.”
“Oh, sure thing,” Allison said with a nod, surprisingly calm “Would any of you like some cider?”
“Yes, please!”/”No.”
Allison turned to prepare five cups of cider— one for herself, one for Max, one for Sunny, one for Izzy and one for Pipp. “Ooh, thanks!” Pipp sipped her cider. “So, how’s the party life?”
“Boring. It’s just a bunch of my parent’s friends. They do this every year. I’ve got candy duty,” Allison explained before turning to Max’s little sister. “By the way, Dani, I love your costume.”
“Thank you,” Dani said politely. “I really like yours too. Of course, I couldn’t wear anything like that because I don’t have any… what do you call them Max? Yabbos?”
Max nearly choked on his drink while Allison laughed in amusement. “Max likes your yaboos. In fact, he loves ‘em.”
“Dani, uh… that’s a little bit of a sensitive topic for a kid your age,” Zipp chuckled nervously. “We need to talk about that later.”
“I’m really into witches,” Allison said to get off the topic. “Really? Me too!” Dani said enthusiastically. “We just learned about those sisters in school.”
“You mean the Sanderson Sisters?” Allison asked, causing Dani to nod. “I know all about them, my mom used to run the museum.”
“There’s a museum about them?” Sunny asked, her history loving side showing through her wide eyes. “Yeah,” Hesperia nodded. “But they had to shut it down due to some spooky things happening there. Too much of a spooky place if you ask me.”
“Well, why don’t we go to this old Sanderson house?” Max suggested, but Dani shook her head violently in response, Hesperia doing the same thing. But Max being Max, he decided to ignore his little sister's warning, too focused on Allison and her beauty. “Well come on, make a believer out of me.”
After a moment, Allison seemed to agree. “Okay, let me change. They’ll never miss me.”
After Allison went back up the stairs, Dani pulled her brother close. “Max, I’m not going up there. My friends at school told me all about that place. It’s weird.”
“Maybe Dani’s right, Max,” Zipp frowned. “If both Dani and Hesperia are worried about that place, maybe it's not such a good idea to go.”
“But guys,” Max argued, “this is the girl of my dreams.”
“So?” Dani asked. “Take her to the movies like a normal person.”
“Dani!” Max said roughly to get his sister's attention. “Look, just do this one thing for me and I’ll do anything you say. Please? Please?!”
Dani seemed to think on it a moment before coming up with the perfect idea. “Next year we go trick-or-treating as Wendy and Peter Pan, with tights, or it’s no deal.”
Max, in a million years, would never agree to such a thing if there wasn’t an extenuating circumstance lingering with it. As Dani was about to turn away, Max quickly grabbed her arm. “Okay, okay, deal! Deal.”
Dani smiled and patted her brother's arm, and Sunny and her friends glanced at each other with the same look on their faces. And it was a look that told them that this wasn't gonna turn out well.
XXXXXXXX
After Allison had gotten changed, they left the party and walked to the outskirts of town, where Allison was explaining the history of the cottage as they approached. “Legend has it that the bones of a hundred children are buried within these walls.”
“Oh, great…” Hitch shuddered. “It’s like the witch’s ghost mystery all over again!”
As soon as the group approached the gate of the house, Misty immediately got a bad feeling that centered in her gut. This looked too much like Opaline territory, and it wasn’t something she felt comfortable in.
But, she didn't want to let her friends down either... so nevertheless, she ventured inside with the others. Sunny and Hitch pushed open the gate, and when they got to the cottage door, Allison pushed it open, leading them into the pitch black house. “I can hardly see a thing!” Zipp said, struggling to see. “Well there’s a light switch around here somewhere,” Allison said as they stumbled around in the darkness. That's when Max found a display of lighters and plucked one out, lighting it. “Found a lighter.”
“Misty and I will help too!” Izzy said, and the two unicorns lit their horns to help Max get to Allison. Thanks to their light, Allison found and flicked the light switch, illuminating the entire cottage. “Whoa...” Sunny said with wide eyes. “Check this out, ponies!”
“Yeesh… looks like it needs a dusting,” Hitch brushed some dust off his hooves after wiping the shelves. “Here’s the original cauldron, and upstairs is where they slept,” Allison showed the group around. Izzy took another step, but turns out it was a bad board, causing her to nearly fall below the floor, but luckily, Pipp quickly pulled her back. “Careful where you step, guys,” the diva pegasus advised. “These floors look really old.”
The group took extra precautions as they neared a display case close to them, unaware that lurking green feline eyes were watching them. “This is the spellbook of Winifred Sanderson,” Hesperia pointed out, a little interested in the book's history. “It was given to her by the devil himself. The book is bound with human skin, and contains recipes for her most powerful and evil spells.”
“I get the picture,” Dani told the griffin. That’s when Max's eyes fell upon a candle in the corner. “What’s that?”
“Oh...” Allison whispered to make it seem more obvious. “It's the Black Flame Candle.”
Max walked over to the plaque below the candle and read the information out loud. “Black Flame Candle. Made from the fat of a hangman. Legend says that on a full moon it will raise the spirits of the dead when lit by a virgin on Halloween night.”
“Ugh... too creepy if you ask me,” Hitch shuddered in fright... just as Max brought out his lighter with a mischievous smirk. “So let’s light the sucker and meet the old broads.”
The ponies, Hesperia and Dani instantly shook their heads, but Max seemed to dismiss this as he glanced at Allison. “Wanna do the honors?”
“No thanks.”
Max shrugged, but before he could light the match, the same black cat that was watching them from the outside ran up from behind him and tackled him, frightening the group for a moment before Max threw the cat off him with a yell. “Stupid cat!”
“Okay, Max, you’ve had your fun. It’s time to go,” Dani said, clearly startled. “Come on, guys.”
“Max, I think she might be right,” Sunny said. “Let's go.”
“Oh, come on,” Max rolled his eyes. “It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus.”
The ponies, Allison and Dani quickly spun around at that. “Max, I’m not kidding this time! It’s time to go!” Dani tried to warn, but Max simply ignored her and lit the lighter. “Max, no!!”
Max directed the flame from the lighter toward the candle, lighting it. But, as soon as he did, the flame went from its orange-yellow glow to a coal-colored flame, causing Dani to cover her eyes and the ponies to gulp. “Uh oh…”
Suddenly, the electronic flame-looking lights in the chandeliers began to burst, making the group easily frightened as a strong wind began to blow and the entire cottage went dark. As the group began to move around again, the entire cottage began rumbling and green light moved throughout the floors, causing the friends to scream and hold on as tightly to the nearest object they could find. When it all seemed to clear, everyone panted to catch their breath. “Uh… what just happened?” Hitch asked as he and Zipp got up, and Dani put on her hat again. “A virgin,” she directed a glare toward Max, “lit the candle.”
Misty blinked in confusion. “A what?”
“But wait...” Sunny trailed off, thinking about what the info about the candle said earlier. “If the candle was lit by a virgin, doesn't that mean...?”
The remnants of the electronic lights suddenly sparked into real flames, and even the fire under the cauldron sparked to life. A cackle rang through the air, causing everyone's hairs on their necks to stand on end. That meant they had to do only one thing.
Hide!
Everyone dove in different hiding places as the door flew open to reveal three witches gone for the past 300 years… the Sanderson Sisters themselves. “We are home!” Winifred declared with a smirk as her sisters jumped around in celebration. “Oh, sweet revenge! Do you see, sisters? My curse worked perfectly!”
“That's because thou art perfect, Winnie,” Mary told her sister as the group peeked out from hiding. They couldn't believe their eyes-- the Sanderson sisters were back! As Mary rambled on about how she knew she left the cauldron boiling, Sarah reached up into the loft thanks to a stool and pulled down a long skinny object. “My lucky rat tail!” she exclaimed. “Just where I left it!”
“Blech... they're like Opaline, but worse!” Misty shuddered. “And... a little stupider.”
“But who lit the Black Flame Candle?” Winifred looked over at the candle for a moment before turning to her book in the glass case, tapping the glass until it opened its eye. “Wake up! Wake up, sleepy head,” she said. “Oh, I’ve missed you. Did you miss me too? Come on now, we’ve got work to do.”
“Winnie?” Mary called. “Yes?” Winifred turned to the sister in question, who replied back, “I… smell… children.”
This made the entire group in question sink further back into their hiding places, praying they would not be seen. “Sick ‘em!” Winifred spat, and Mary began to follow her nose toward Dani and Pipp's hiding place. “It's a little girl,” Mary said as she sniffed. “Seven... maybe eight... and a half.”
Pipp found it strange that the middle sister didn't smell her in any way, but was too scared for Dani to be worried. “Ooh, let us play with her!” Sarah said joyously, beginning to sing the same tune that she used on Emily Binx:
Come, little children I'll take thee away In--
Fortunately, Winifred covered her younger sister’s mouth before anymore could be sung. “Come out my dears. We will not harm thee,” she called out, putting on her most sickening-sweet voice. “We love children!”
Mary slapped her hand upon the counter, causing Pipp and Dani to yelp and pop out of hiding. The sisters looked at them in surprise, before Pipp and Dani each put on a distinguished face, but Pipp was the first to speak. “We thought thou would never come, sisters.”
“Greetings, little ones,” Winifred greeted sinisterly. “Twas we who brought you back,” Dani fibbed, making Winifred gulp down her words. “Imagine… such a pretty little… child. And what a darling young... pony too.”
“And they’re so well fed, aren’t they?” Mary laughed as she poked at the two girls, causing them to shriek. Zipp and Max found their anger rising from their hiding places. How could those sisters be so... so... disgusting and ruthless?! “Tell me, dumplings,” Winifred took Dani by the hand while Sarah nudged Pipp forward. “What is the year?”
“1993,” Dani answered, and the witches gasped in surprise. “Sisters…” Winifred pushed Dani into a chair, and Sarah pushed Pipp onto her bottom. “We have been gone… 300 years.”
“Well, Winnie, how time flies,” Mary chuckled. “When you’re dead!” Sarah exclaimed, and Dani laughed alongside the sisters, with the most faked laughter in the world... until she noticed the sisters glaring down at them. “Well, it's been fun,” Pipp said nervously, “but, uh... I better take Dani home before it gets too late.”
“Oh, stay for supper,” Winifred nudged them back down. “I'm... I'm... I'm not hungry,” Dani shook her head. “Oh… but we are!” Mary said just before the witches grabbed them and started to take them over to the cauldron.
As their sisters screamed, Zipp and Max finally reached their breaking point, leaping out of hiding. “HEY!!” Max shouted angrily. “Let go of my little sister.”
“And my sister!” Zipp snarled as the other ponies came out of hiding. “You have NO idea who you're dealing with!”
“Roast ‘em, Winnie!” Mary encouraged. “No, let me,” Sarah volunteered. “Let me play with them!”
Raising her hands to the sky, Winifred summoned some electricity before shooting it at the group, and while the ponies and Hesperia were able to get out of the way, the blast knocked Max to the floor. “You-- there!” Winifred used her lightning to slam Hitch and Izzy into the wall. “MAX!!” Dani screamed and tried to go to her brother, but Mary kept a firm grip on her while Sarah kept a steady grip on Pipp, and Winifred used her lightning to levitate Max into the air, with the intention of frying him to a crisp. “Quick!” Sunny cried to the others as they managed to slip by the witches. “We have to do something!”
Izzy pulled a loose board from out of nowhere before rushing over to the witches. “Hey, witch-face!” she cried, causing Mary to turn around. And as soon as she did, Izzy hit her so hard with the bat she went unconscious, and this caused Pipp to kick herself away from Sarah.
Once she was away from the witches, Dani grabbed her candy bag and rushed to her brother's aid. “You leave my brother alone!!”
She quickly hit Winifred with her candy bag and Winifred went down. Max was released from the wall, falling to the floor, where Misty and Hitch rushed to his aid, just as the cat attacked Winifred.
Once the others had safely left the building, Zipp helped Max up to the top of the loft to finally confront the witches. “HEY!!” Max shouted, causing the witches to look up. “You have messed with the great and powerful Max, and now must suffer the consequences. I summon the burning rain of death.”
The witches turned to one another in confusion, just as Max lit the lighter when they weren’t looking, making the witches think he made fire. Then, Max lifted the flame to the sprinklers, which caused them to turn on and drench the witches, who fled under shelter in terror. “Ha! That’s what you call ‘drowned with terror’!” Zipp joked. But as they climbed down from the loft, they slipped on a puddle of water and fell right on top of each other. The cat that attacked Max earlier then approached them with a stern look on its feline face. “Nice going, Max.”
“Y-You can talk?!” Max froze with wide eyes. “Yeah, no kidding,” the cat rolled its eyes. “Now, get the spellbook!” However, the two were too stunned to move, so the cat meowed loudly and swatted at them to get them moving again. “Come on! Move it!”
“Max!” Zipp called. “Use this to break the case!”
She tossed Max a large pole, which he used to shatter the glass, much to Winifred’s horror, and grab the spellbook from it, just before the group made their escape, joining the cat before they ran after him to a safer place. “Confound it!” Winifred snarled. But then, she noticed something odd about this ‘burning rain of death’-- it was just water!
Mary stuck out her tongue and drank some water that rained down from above. “Most refreshing.”
“Yoy idiots! The boy and ponies have tricked us!” Winifred shouted to her sisters. “And they’ve stolen the book! After them!”
The sisters followed them outside, when they stopped after exiting the cottage gates, seeing the road in front of them, not recognizing it right away. “Tis a b-black river,” Mary trembled. “Perhaps it is not too deep,” Sarah said. To make sure, Mary and Winifred pushed Sarah onto the road, making her realize it was as firm as stone. “Why, it’s a road!” Winifred said as the youngest sister jumped around. “Sisters, my book!”
They began to march down the road when flashing lights and sirens made them scream and bolt back to the cottage. Boy, were they gonna have to adjust to this modern age before they took anyone’s lives…
The ponies hadn't been in such a terrifying situation since the battle in Warnerstock...
...and facing Opaline with their friends from Bikini Bottom...
...and facing the Destroyer...
...and fighting the witch's ghost.
To be quite fair, they've had a lot of terrifying experiences the last couple of months.
But nothing could prepare them for facing three sister witches from 17th century Salem.
Right now, their new friends had followed the black cat from earlier into town, not stopping for a while. “Hesperia!” Sunny panted. “Have you... ever... seen this cat before?!”
“Maybe once or twice!” Hesperia said as they ran. “But every time I would see him, he would disappear!”
“Wherever he's taking us,” Pipp said as she ran alongside Dani, “he sure seems persistent! Like he wants to make sure he wants us to follow!”
Finally, the group stopped right in front of some gates, but Max immediately hated the feeling that this place was giving off. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa!” he exclaimed. “Come on, this is a graveyard!”
“Graveyard?! Ewwww...” Pipp groaned. “I get this is Halloween, but we’re sort of being chased on the brink of our deaths here.”
“It’s hallowed ground,” the cat explained. “Witches can’t set foot here.”
Everypony else looked over toward Max and Zipp in shock, while Zipp merely shrugged. “He talks. Kinda like Scooby does,” she said, and this seemed to ease them slightly, just as the cat jumped through the iron bars of the gate. “Follow me! I want to show you something-- to show just what we’re dealing with.”
The ponies seemed confused at this, but followed their friends through the maze of graves and tombstones, seeming to go on forever until they stopped at a grave on the far end of the cemetery. “William Butcherson… lost soul?” Misty tilted her head as she read the name on the tombstone. “Billy Butcherson was Winifred’s lover,” the cat explained, “but she found him sporting with her sister Sarah, so she poisoned him and sewed his mouth shut with a dull needle. So he couldn’t tell her secrets, even in death.”
Pipp put a comforting foreleg around Dani to try and ease her... even though the group all seemed a little disturbed. “Winifred always was the jealous type,” the cat added, and suddenly, a thought hit Allison as to who this cat was and why he was talking to them and telling them all this. “You’re Thackery Binx!”
“Yes,” the cat nodded with some sadness. “Whoa…” Hesperia couldn’t believe this-- it was all happening rather fast. “Then, that means the legends are true! Man... all sorts of revelations are coming to light today.”
“Come along,” Thackery hurried them elsewhere. “I want to show you something else.”
The ponies and their griffin friend were the first to follow alongside, and Binx turned to look at Sunny. “You ponies are from Equestria, yes?”
Sunny's eyes widened at that. “Uh, well.. yes. You know about Equestria?”
“I know many things about it... but not in the best light,” Binx explained. “I can tell you more about it if you would like... but we have bigger things to handle first.”
XXXXXXXXX
Back at the cottage, the fire department was just wrapping up going into the cottge to put out the fire, but there was no fire in sight, and they left soon after arriving while the witches waited in the bushes. “Who are they?” Mary asked. “Boys?” Sarah guessed. “Witch hunters,” Winifred said. “Observe, they wear black robes, and carry axes to chop the wood to burn us.”
“Hold me!” Mary wailed as Sarah ate a nearby spider. “Sisters! Let me make one thing perfectly clear!” Winifred snapped. “The magic that brought us back only works tonight on All Hallow’s Eve. When the sun comes up, we’re dust. Toast.”
But seeing her sisters’ confusion, she decided to come up with a more… abstract term. “Pudding!”
This caused Mary and Sarah to scream before Winifred continued. “Fortunately, the potion I brewed the night we were hangs will keep us alive and young forever,” she said, causing the sisters to sigh. “Unfortunately, the recipe for that potion is in my spell book, and the little wretches have stolen it. Therefore it stands to reason, does it not, sisters dear, that we must find the book, brew the potion, and suck the lives out of the children of Salem before sunrise? Otherwise it’s curtains. We cease to exist! Does thou comprehend?”
Mary nodded immediately. “Oh, you explained it beautifully, Winnie. The way you started out with the adventure part, and then you slowed…”
“Explained what?” Sarah asked stupidly, and Winifred only shook her head… she wasn’t sure what to do with them now. “Come! We fly!”
XXXXXXXXX
At the same time, Thackery Binx had led everyone to the grave of his younger sister Emily, telling them everything that happened 300 years before. “Because of me, my little sister’s life was stolen. For years I waited for my life to end, so I could be reunited with my family,” he explained, and everyone listened sadly, the ponies comforting one another with solemn expressions. “But,” Binx continued, “Winifred’s curse of immortality kept me alive. Then one day I figured out what to do with my eternal life. Now, I’d failed Emily, but I wouldn’t fail again. When Winifred and her sister’s returned, I’d be there to stop them. So, for 3 centuries I guarded the house on All Hallow’s Night when I knew some airhead virgin might light that candle.”
That's when everyone went to look at Max with a scolding expression. “Nice going, airhead,” Hesperia scolded. “Hey look, I’m sorry, okay?” Max said as he stood up. “But we’re talking about three ancient hags versus the 20th century. How bad could it be?”
“Bad,” Binx answered vaguely. Allison held the spellbook tightly in her hands, but she couldn’t help but wonder what was in it, so she decided to open it and take one tiny peek. But, Binx saw her from Emily’s grave. “Stay out of there!” he hissed, and Allison immediately shut the book. “Why?” she asked. “Because, remember back at the cottage? This book holds Winifred’s most dangerous spells!” Sunny argued. “She and her sisters can’t get it. Or... anypony else for that matter.”
“So let's torch this sucker,” Max said, dropping the book on the ground before lighting the lighter. But, some sort of supernatural force kept the flame from burning the pages. “It’s protected by magic,” Binx said, resulting in Hitch blowing the flame out before it got him burned. But before another word could be spoken, laughter rained above them, and they looked up in terror to see the witches flying in on their broomsticks, Winifred staying over the middle, Sarah to the left and Mary to the right. “AH!!” Pipp and Dani screamed and clung to their siblings when they saw Sarah getting closer. “Brave little virgin who lit the candle,” Sarah said sickeningly, “I’ll be thy friend.”
“Hey, take a hike!” Allison waved a branch in Sarah's face, causing her to retreat with pain. But during the scuffle, they accidentally left the book unattended. “Booook…” Winifred singsonged, causing the book to start rising. “Come to Mummy!”
“Afraid not!” Binx leapt on the book to prevent it from rising. “Thackery Binx, thou mangy feline! Still alive?” Winifred taunted. “And waiting for you!” Binx snapped. “Ah! Thou hast waited in vain,” the old witch said. “And thou will fail to save thy friends, just as thou failed to save thy sister!”
Binx let out a fearsome hiss, and Winifred dove closer to the ground in an aerial attack. “Grab the book and run!” Misty screamed, and the group broke into another run across the graveyard, eventually stopping back near Billy's grave. “They can’t touch us here, right?” Max said, and Binx was hesitant to answer. “Well... they can't.”
“I don’t like the way you just said that,” Dani shook her head fearfully. “Believe me, Dani,” Hesperia shuddered. “None of us do.”
But before anyone else could say a word, Winifred started chanting an incantation. “Unfaithful lover, long since dead. Deep asleep in thy wormy bed. Wiggle thy toes, open thine eyes. Twist thy fingers towards the sky. Life is sleepy, not to shy, on thy feet so sayeth I!”
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble for a few moments, causing something to stir from beneath the ground. All of a sudden, a zombie crawled from the ground and looked dead at the group. “AHHHHHHHHH!!!!” they all screamed and ran away as fast as their legs and hooves could take them. Confused as to why they ran off, Billy turned to look at his grave and mumbled to himself-- he was a zombie with a sewn-shut mouth? “Hi. Hello, Billy,” Sarah greeted cheerfully, but Winifred had no patience for this. “Catch those children! Get up! Get out of that ditch. Faster!” she barked, and Billy slowly climbed out of the grave and staggered after the Salem kids, ponies and Binx. Speaking of Binx, the black cat had led them to a hole nearby. “In here!”
Dani slid down, followed by Allison, Hesperia and Pipp and Zipp. Unfortunately for the others, Billy was getting closer and closer by the second, and Sunny knew they had to act fast. Seeing a tree branch nearby, she smirked and galloped over to it. “Max, ponies! Give me a hand!”
The group heaved as hard as they could just as Billy had gotten close, and once he reached a specific point, they let it go, letting it smack Billy’s head off and letting them slide down into the dark hole. “You guys okay?” Zipp asked. “I think we are,” Hitch said as Max lit his lighter. “What is this place, Binx?”
“It’s the old Salem crypt,” Binx explained as Allison handed the book to Max. “It connects to the sewer and up to the street.”
“Charming...” Allison said sarcastically as Pipp felt herself begin to puke at the sight of the rats and other things down below. “Dani, avert your eyes.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“Relax,” Binx tried to reassure. “I’ve hunted mice down here for years.”
That seemed to make the group shudder that much worse, and continued to follow the cat through the crypt... unaware of what was happening up above the surface.
“Oh, cheese and crusts, he’s lost his head!” Winifred spat as she watched Billy crawling around in search of his lost head after Max and the ponies smacked him with the tree branch, completely flinging his head off. “That Thackary Binx! Billy, which way did they go?”
But since Billy couldn’t speak (thanks to the stitches on his mouth), Winifred only gave a shriek of annoyance. “Billy, listen to me, follow those children you maggot museum and get my book, then come find us. We’ll be ready for them. Quit staring at me! Get moving down that hole!”
Billy grumbled and proceeded into the crypt, following the sound of the group’s voices while the sisters flew outside the cemetery gates. “They’re here. I know they’re here. But, where are they. Sniff them out, Mary,” Winifred said, but after a moment of sniffing, Mary frowned. “They’re…they’re… oh, I can’t. They’ve gone too far. I’ve lost them.”
“I’ll have your gutts for garters, girl!” Winifred snapped, pulling Mary over by the ear. “Confound you! Very well… we must outwit them. When Billy the Butcher gets here with my book we shall be ready. SARAH!! We must start collecting children.”
“Why?” Sarah asked stupidly. “Because, you great buffoon. We want to live forever, not just until tomorrow. The more children’s lives we snatch, the longer we shall live.”
“Right! Let us fly!” Sarah declared, but Mary stopped them before they could fly off. “Sisters, I have an idea. Since this promises to be a most dire and stressful evening I suggest we form a calming circle.”
“I AM CALM!!” Winifred shrieked, but Mary wiggled her finger scoldingly. “Oh, sister, thou art not being honest with thy self. Are we? Huh? Huh? Come on.”
So, the sisters began to take deep breaths and walked around in a circle before the gate, holding hands and thinking about things that made them happy, but suddenly, they heard a loud noise before they shrieked-- a giant metal monster was stopping right in front of them! “Whoa…” the bus driver said smoothly, opening the door. “Bubble, bubble, I’m in trouble!”
“Tell me friend, what is this contraption?” Winifred asked. “I call it a bus,” the driver said. “And its purpose?” Winifred asked. “To convey gorgeous creatures such as yourselves to your most forbidden desires.”
The driver’s smoothness made the witches giggle amusingly before Winifred spoke again. “Well, see, we desire children.”
“Well that may take me a couple of tries, but I don’t think that’ll be a problem. Hop on up,” the driver offered, and the sisters got on the bus with Sarah sitting in the driver’s lap and taking control of the wheel.
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, the Dennison siblings, the Equestrians, Hesperia and Allison continued to follow Binx through the crypt, trying to ignore all of the creepy things around them. Sunny was ahead of the group with Zipp, Misty and Binx, and after a moment, Sunny turned to look at the cat-turned human. “Binx? You said you knew about Equestria before. Is that true? Or was I just hearing things?”
“Indeed,” Binx nodded. “But it’s things only me and my sister saw late one night… a month before All Hallows Eve.”
“Would you mind telling us about it?” Zipp asked, and Binx reluctantly sighed. “I can tell you what I know, but I don’t know if it will be helpful. Well… me and my sister were doing our evening chores when we noticed hoofsteps coming from the nearby forest. We assumed one of the village horses had gotten loose, so we went to look for it. But what we found was a creature with a horn and wings… a deep violet color too.”
Misty gasped at that, eyes growing wide. “Opaline…”
“She must’ve been around for longer than we thought,” Hitch said, hearing the conversation. “At least 500 moons or more.”
“What did she do when she saw you?” Zipp asked. “Well… she never saw us,” Binx shook his head. “She was slowly gathering herbs and berries before she flew out of sight.”
“Do you know what kinds of things she collected?” Hesperia asked. “No,” Binx shook his head again. “But I take it whatever it was, it isn’t something good. The aura around her seemed... evil and rotten to the core.”
“Trust us…” Misty shuddered. “Wherever Opaline is, there’s trouble.”
“Uh… am I the only one totally lost?” Max asked. “Who the heck is Opaline?”
“It’s a long story, Max,” Pipp sighed. “But it’s better if we deal with these witches first before we deal with the forces of Opaline... for all our sakes.”
After a few minutes, Binx had led everyone to a rickety old ladder, and he rested on Max's shoulder as he climbed up to open the lid to the sewer and they looked around… until he noticed they were right in the path of the very bus the sisters were on. “Binx, look out!!” Max shouted and ducked just before the bus hit the manhole... but there was a loud thud afterwards. “Speed bump!” he could hear the driver shout. “Binx…?!” Dani felt her blood run cold when she heard the thud up on solid ground. “Up the ladder!” Sunny cried urgently. “Come on!”
“Hurry!” Misty shouted, clearly worried. One by one the group proceeded up the ladder and onto the street. The bus was now gone, but when they saw Binx, their hearts fell… Binx had been completely flattened. Max panted at the sight, not believing what he saw as the ponies' eyes grew wide-- Izzy putting hooves to her mouth as Max finally spoke. “Oh my god…”
Dani sobbed into Pipp’s wing, allowing the pink pegasus to comfort her and Allison, and the others bowed their heads in respect for their fallen friend. Max, however, was the lowest of the group. “This is all my fault…”
“Max, it’s not your fault,” Allison was quick to reassure. “It was a complete accident… all of this was,” Sunny said. “But… at least he’s going to be with his family now.”
“Yeah, but…” Hesperia sighed. “...I wish he didn’t have to go… like this.”
As the group tried to console themselves, Misty was first to notice Binx’s flattened body suddenly lifting back to shape, Binx taking in a huge breath. “Look!”
Quickly, everyone turned (some a little later than others) to see Binx waking up. “I hate it when that happens.”
That's when Binx noticed the others' fearful and slightly disturbed expressions. “I told you, I can’t die,” the cat reminded, just before looking toward the younger girl. “Dani, you alright?”
Dani nodded in a state of relief. “Yeah…”
“Okay then, let’s go!”
XXXXXXXXX
At the same time, the bus with the witches on it continued to drive down the road, up until Mary screamed, “STOOOOOOP!!!” Once the bus had screeched to a stop, Mary turned to Winfred. “I smell children…” she sing-songed. “Marvelous,” Winifred smirked, and the sisters departed the bus and stepped out onto the street, which were full of kids in disguises, going around from house to house. “I’m very confused,” Winifred said as she smelled around. “I smell children, but I don’t see children. I’ve… I’ve lost my powers!”
“Enough, enough, enough!” Winifred slapped her across the face. “Sorry,” Mary apologized. “We are witches, we are evil!” Winifred told her sisters crossly. “What would Mother say if she could see us like this?”
“Mother…” Mary and Sarah chorused, but their faces of sadness turned to delight when they saw an older truck dressed as a devil appear from a house nearby. “MASTER!!” they cried out, running up to him and bowing. “What kind of costumes are these? It’s the Sanderson sisters, right?” he asked. “At your service!” Winifred bowed. “Haven’t seen you for centuries, but what the heck, why don’t you come in? Come in to the non-smoking section.”
XXXXXXXXX
After recovering from Binx being brought back to life, the kids, ponies and Hesperia ran around town until they found an officer on the side of the street. “Officer!” Dani cried. “Officer!”
“Officer, we need your help,” Sunny said. “It's a total Halloween crisis!”
“What's the matter?” the officer asked them, and Dani urged Max to come forward. “Well, um, well you see… I just moved here. Well you see… it’s like this… I… I um… I broke into the old Sanderson house and I brought the witches back from the dead,” Max hesitantly explained and held up the book. “See? I even have the book.”
“He didn't think the curse was real, but it was,” Misty said. “And now those witches are gonna eat all the kids in Salem and we need help stopping them!”
The officer looked at the ponies, and then over at Max. “You lit the black flame candle?”
“Yeah,” the teenage boy nodded, and the officer climbed off his bike. “Okay, let’s get on the sidewalk.”
“And he's a virgin,” Dani added, and once they were on the sidewalk, the officer pulled Max closer. “Are you a virgin?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Look, I’ll get it tattooed on my forehead, okay?”
“Officer, this is not a prank-- really!” Allison added, and Zipp nodded. “People could be in serious danger around those three freaks!”
“Hey! I put my life on the line to protect this community and you punks pull this?” the officer sneered. “Get outta here. Take that cat with you.”
This was enough to get the group to run off, just as a blonde woman came out of the nearby store, and the officer chuckled a bit, earning the woman's attention. “What’s so funny Eddie?”
“Ah, just a bunch of kids and people in horse costumes yanking my chain,” Eddie rolled his eyes as they got on the bike and rolled off. “They thought I was a real cop.”
But if the Sanderson Sisters succeeded in their plan, they would need something far more than a police officer to deal with their problems.
Meanwhile, while the sisters had been invited into the elderly man's house, believing them to be Satan himself, some girls disguised as witches took their brooms. When the master came back out with the witches (after his dog terrified them and his wife insulted them to their faces), he handed them candy and they were furious at how their brooms were taken-- now, they had to walk. “Sisters, look,” Mary pointed to her chocolate. “It’s the chocolate covered finger of a man named Clark.”
But when she took a bite, she spit it right back out, having an entirely different flavor. “Eww… it’s candy. Why would the Master give us candy?”
“Because he is not our master!” Winifred said with a snarl. “He wasn’t?” Mary asked stupidly, just before Winifred pulled off a boy's mask. “And these are not hobgoblins. See?!”
“Cool it, dude!” the boy said before quickly scampering off, hitting Mary with his candy before doing such. “Weirdos!”
“Weirdos...?”
“Sisters,” Winifred figured, “All Hallow’s Eve has become a night of frolic. Where children wear costumes and run amok.”
“Amok! Amok, amok, amok, amok--” Sarah delighedly squealed before Winifred elbowed her in the gut and dragged her sisters away. They had three kids, a cat, a griffin and six ponies to find, along with the spellbook.
I mean... how hard can that be?
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, the group was approaching Town Hall, which was spookily decorated and filled with loud music. “Great…” Max rolled his eyes in frustration. “How are we ever gonna find Mom and Dad in this place?”
“If they are in here, we’ll have to split up to look for them,” Zipp figured. “And some of us will have to keep a close eye out in case those sisters show up.”
“I can do that while you help the kids find their parents,” Hesperia volunteered. “Griffins do have a way of sneaking around you know.”
With Max leading the way, they managed to slip past the doorman and entered the party, which was louder than ever, full of flashing lights and food, which made Izzy's eyes widen in delight. “Uhh… Max, I think there might be some sign of your parents at the concession stand!”
And just like that, she drug Sunny away, the earth pony mare yelping in surprise. “I wanna go look for Mom,” Dani held Binx in her arms. “Good idea. Misty, Pipp, you go with her,” Zipp advised, and the three of them walked off. Suddenly, a hand reached out for Max, causing the group to jump, revealing Dave in a vampire costume. Max sighed in relief. “Dad!”
“It's not Dad-- it's Dadcula,” Dave joked before turning to Zipp. “My my, that is a very impressive costume my dears-- very horse like.”
“Uh, thanks...?” Zipp and Hitch blinked, but rolled with it as Dave turned to Allison. “Oh my goodness, who must this charming young blood donor be?”
“DAD!!” Max finally shouted, causing Izzy and Sunny to run back over with sweets. “Something terrible’s happened!”
That's when Dave turned incredibly serious. “Dani? What's wrong?”
Meanwhile, Dani, Pipp and Misty were hopelessly wandering around looking for Jenny, not sure of what costume she was in. “Mom?” Dani asked someone in an alligator costume, but it shook its head before trudging on. Suddenly, Pipp caught sight of Jenny dancing, and her eyes went wide as she tugged the others over to her. “Mom?” Dani asked, grabbing her mother’s attention. “What are you supposed to be?”
“Madonna. Well…you know…well, obviously. Don’t you think?”
Dani got her mother to lean down before she told what happened. “This cat here, Binx, right? He can talk, and these ponies here are from a magical world,” she began explaining, holding Binx in her arms. “Max is a a virgin, he lit the Black Flame Candle, the witches are back from the dead and they’re after us! We need help!”
“I know this is hard to believe, Jenny, but it's true,” Misty said. “The Sanderson Sisters are really back from the grave!”
But Jenny didn't seem to quite believe it. “How much candy have you had, sweetie?”
“Mom, I haven’t O.D, I swear! I haven’t even had a piece!” Dani protested. “They’re really witches, they’re can fly, and they’re gonna eat all the kids in Salem. They’re real! And so are Misty and Pipp and an evil alicorn who wants to steal magic!”
This seemed to get Jenny a little worried as she scanned around the room. “All right, let’s just find your father.”
XXXXXXXXX
At the same time, the Sanderson Sisters finally entered the party, and Winifred barked out orders to her sisters. “Slither about! Find them!”
Sarah wandered off, while Mary stood there bobbing to the music until Winifred elbowed her in the side. Then she too went off to look for the kids.
By this time, Max and Dani had gotten their parents together and they were trying to convince them that the witches were real, but no one was having much luck. Hesperia even tried to convince them as well, and still nothing. That's when Dani spotted the witches not too far away. “Max! Guys!” she screeched. “They're here! They're here!”
Max, Allison, Dani and the ponies looked over and saw the sisters looking through the crowd for them, and Max knew he had to do something fast. “Nobody’s here, sweetie,” Jenny tried to reassure, and Max gave the book to Allison. “Here, take this. Come on, Sunny!”
“Where are you going?” Misty asked. “Max!” Dave called. Max and Sunny quickly got onto the stage and got the music to shut down, where Max took a microphone to try and warn the crowd. “Will everybody listen up please?” Max asked the annoyed crowd, and Dave only sighed in exasperation. “No, he’s just getting everybody worked up.”
“Listen to him, he’s fine!” Dani tried to convince. “There's no way to sugar coat this, everypony,” Sunny said, “but... your kids are in real danger.”
This caused the crowd to groan and mumble in confusion. “300 years ago the Sanderson sisters bewitched people, and now they’ve returned from their grave,” Max said, causing people to laugh. “Hey man, I’m serious! It’s not a joke!”
“All right, this has gone far enough,” Dave said, but Hesperia stopped him from going forward. “Mr. Dennison, please! Listen to them!”
“I know it sounds dumb,” Max admitted, “but they’re here tonight. They’re right over there!”
A spotlight shone on the sisters, and this caused many to back away in surprise. Winifred, however, measly smirked. “Thank you, Max and Sunny Starscout,” she sneered, “for that marvelous introduction.”
Sunny gulped nervously while the crowd laughed. Then, to make matters worse, Winifred began to sing for the crowd.
Winifred: I put a spell on you And now you're mine You can't stop the things I do I ain't lying
“NO!! NO!!” Dani covered her ears as she, Hesperia and the ponies tried to keep Max and Dani's parents from listening. “Don't listen to them!!”
Winifred: It's been three hundred years Right down to the day Now the witch is back And there's hell to pay
I put a spell on you...
“Good joke,” said the singer from the onstage band. “Happy Halloween.”
“No!” Sunny cried. “We're serious!”
Winifred: And now... you're... MINE!!!
Unfortunately, the crowd was too entranced to listen, resulting in Max and Sunny to regroup with the others as the sisters got on stage. “Hello, Salem!” Winifred yelled. “My name's Winifred! What's yours?”
Winifred: I put a spell on you And now you're gone
Sarah and Mary: Gone, gone, gone so long
Winifred: My whammy fell on you And it was strong
Sarah and Mary: So strong, so strong, so strong!
Winifred: Your wretched little lives Have all been cursed Cause of all the witches working I'm the worst
I put a spell on you And now you're mine
“Binx, where are you?!” Hesperia cried to the cat in the dancing crowd. But as Binx found his way to them, Billy appeared behind them, sending the group on the run.
Sarah and Mary: Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out! She ain't lying
Winifred: If you don't believe You'd better get superstitious Ask my sisters
Sarah and Mary: Ooh, she's vicious!
“Mom, Dad!” Max cried as they found their parents again. “Thank god!”
“Hey, Max,” Dave greeted, “great show.”
“Cover your ears!!” the group shouted, but were once again chased away by Billy while the parents looked on. “Oh,” Jenny said, “I wish we had the camera.”
Winifred: I put a spell on you A wicked spell I put a spell on you Sisters!
Sanderson Sisters: Hey, high Say, bye-bye! Bye, bye, bye
The kids, Binx and the ponies and Hesperia managed to get out one of the doors with Billy in hot pursuit while the crowd cheered, not knowing that last chorus was a spell. “Dance!” Winifred shouted. “Dance until you die!!”
And that's just what the crowd intended to do as the witches gave the kids and Equestrian creatures chase.
XXXXXXXXX
Hesperia, the Equestrians and the kids ran down the alley, trying to avoid Billy and the witches. But once they knew they were in the clear, Max kicked some trash cans in frustration. “This is really bad!”
“Max, calm down!” Allison said, and Max turned to her firmly. “Look, I want you to take Dani back to your house and don’t let her out of your sight!”
“Max, I'm not leaving you!” Dani said. “She's right,” Zipp said. “I know you wanna keep your friends and sister safe, Max, but in this circumstance, we have to stay together-- it's the only way to make sure the sisters don't succeed!”
They ducked for cover as a cook came to get a lobster to cook, but just as they stood up, Binx caught sight of the witches. “Uh oh...”
“Get down!” Misty cried, and they got down just as Mary began sniffing around for them. “I smell… Winnie, I smell...” she trailed on. “I smell…scrud.”
Her sisters gave Mary a look of confusion. “Scrud. You know, it’s a bottom dweller. You cook it sometimes with a little bit of bread crumbs, little bit of margarine, or oil...”
Winnie, in an annoyed manner, dragged Mary away, while Sarah looked around a moment before Winifred called her away. As soon as they were gone the kids and their friends came out of hiding. Allison used an oven to get her balance and the oven door swung open, creating a loud bang.
But one look at it, caused a plan to formulate in her head. “I think I have an idea. Izzy? I'll need you and the ponies to help with it though.”
Izzy only smiled. “You had us at help. Lead the way!”
So Long, Sandersons?/A Dennison and Pony Kidnapping
Allison quickly led the group to the high school to put their plan into motion, and like Allison expected, Mary led her sisters there by using her sense of smell, and they approached it wide eyed with wonder. “What is this place?” Sarah asked as Mary took another sniff. “It reeks of children.”
“It is a prison for children,” Winifred told her sisters, and they entered and slithered through the halls through the open door. Meanwhile, in the principal's office, Max howled into the microphone while Misty and Izzy used a spell to make Max's voice sound deeper to avoid their plan being ruined. “Welcome to High School Hell. I’m your host Boris Karloff Jr,” Max said into the intercom before laughing. “It’s time to meet our 3 contestants. Sarah, Mary, and Winifred Sanderson. Read any good spell books lately?”
The sisters immediately halted when they saw Binx hissing at them in the middle of the hallway, and Sunny waved mischievously at them. “Sisters!” Winifred snarled as the sisters linked arms. “Get 'em!”
“Hop on, Binx!” Sunny said, and the black cat hopped on her back before Sunny skated down the hall with the sisters in pursuit. “Hello,” said a female voice, stopping the sisters in their tracks. “Welcome to the library. Bonjour. Bienvenue à la bibliothèque.”
The sisters quickly forgot about Binx and Sunny and headed in the direction of the voice. They paused just outside of one of the big ovens that the art students used to harden their molds... unaware that the girls, pegasus sisters, Hitch and Hesperia were hiding in there, waiting to spring their trap.
Winifred gave the signal and the sisters all rushed into the oven. They stopped and look around and it is revealed to us that the woman’s voice is coming from a boom box. The sisters all walked over to it, not realizing that the voice isn’t connected to a real person.
“Hello?”
“Yes?”
“NOW!!” Hesperia shouted, and she, Dani, Allison, Zipp and Pipp slammed the oven door shut, causing the sisters to scream. That's when Hitch kicked a button that turned the oven on, letting the inside roast the witches in the flames.
When the group escaped outside, they rejoiced to see the remains of the witches flying out of the chimney, and Max whooped louder than most. “So long, Winifred Sanderson!”
They screamed... they cheered... they hugged. Maybe the ponies' most cherishing victory yet.
Everyone ran down the sidewalk, and Max, Zipp and Hesperia stopped and talked to Binx, who rested up in a tree. “We did it. Binx,” Zipp sighed. “We stopped them, and the evil they did so long ago is gone with them.”
“I’ve wanted to do that for 300 years,” Binx said, although a bit sadly. “Since they took Emily.”
Hesperia and Zipp felt their hearts sink, and Max looked up at the cat with a frown. “You really miss her, don’t you? Man, you can’t keep blaming yourself for that. That happened so long ago.”
“Max... they cursed him to live forever with his guilt,” Zipp said. “But... I do agree. Your sister knows that you tried your best, Binx. She would be happy that the witches are gone, no matter how long ago it was.”
“Take good care of your sisters, Zipp and Max,” Binx told them, watching as their friends played near the fountain. “You'll never know how precious they are... until you lose them.”
“And... Zipp?” Hesperia added. “That Opaline character? Kick her butt an extra time for me... okay?”
As soon as Binx climbed down from the tree, he and Hesperia began to run off, until Max stopped them. “Hesp, Binx! Where do you think you're going?” he asked with a smirk. “You’re Dennisons now, you guys. Two of us.”
“Wait... you'll take us in?” Hesperia asked. “I have to agree,” Zipp smirked. “You belong with the Dennisons... no matter what happens.”
“Come on, guys! Let's go home!” Dani called, and Binx sighed. “Home...”
He liked the sound of that... and honestly, so did Max.
They ran off toward home... unaware that the sisters were far from dead, ready to exact their next plan.
XXXXXXXXX
A little while later, after the group got back to the Dennison house, the parents hadn't got home yet, so Max invited Allison up to his room as Dani gave Binx a bowl of milk. “You’re my kitty now. You’ll have milk and tuna fish every day, and you’ll only hunt mice for fun.”
“You’re gonna turn me into one of those fat, useless, contented house cats,” Binx deadpanned, and Misty giggled at that. “You betcha.”
As Max and Allison snuggled together, and the ponies laid together, Hesperia got on the bed with Binx and Dani, and Dani rubbed the cat lovingly. “You know Binx, I’ll always take care of you. And my children will take care of you too. And their children after that, and theirs’ after that. Forever and ever, and ever…”
But after a while, everyone managed to doze off, not having a care in the world...
...yet.
XXXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, the sisters returned to their cottage, where Winifred tried to brew the potion without her book, while her sisters began to chant. “Remember, remember, remember, Winnie, remember. Remember, Winnie, remember.”
“Now I remember! I was here, the book was there, you, Mary, you were here. Sarah, you were in the back, dancing idiotically,” Winifred moved her sisters in the right directions. “And the book said, I remember it like it was yesterday… oil of boil, and a dead man’s nose.”
“Dead man's toes!” Sarah's shouted, and Mary quickly hushed her. “Shhh!! She’s trying to concentrate!”
Winifred then contemplated a few more possibilities: tongues, gums, chungs... whatever those were. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember.
She needed her book, otherwise their lives would be lost. She sobbed and went over to the open window. “Booooooooooook! Come home… or make thyself known!!”
XXXXXXXXX
As the group continued to sleep, the book opened its eye at Winifred’s call, but closed it as Allison and Max began to wake.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
Sunny and Hitch soon woke up after them, the former yawning and rubbing her eyes. “Man... it felt good to not worry about the witches being on our tail.”
“It sure did. And now I know that whatever comes our way,” Hitch said, “we can face them...even Opaline.”
As soon as the male pony got done saying that, Allison saw the time on Max's alarm clock. “Oh my God. It’s 5:00! My parents are gonna kill me!” she said as she rushed to put on her shoes. “I should go.”
“I wish you could stay,” Max admitted. “Yeah,” Hitch nodded. “You really helped us out tonight, in more ways than one.”
That's when Sunny's eyes sadly fell on Binx, her ears flattening. “Poor Binx... if only my alicorn powers could reverse the curse they put on him.”
That's when Allison looked at the book and got an idea. “The book? The witches used it to put the spell on him, maybe there’s a way in here to take it off.”
“I don’t know, Binx told us not to open it,” Max said unsuredly. “Yeah,” Hitch nodded. “Who knows what it might do?”
“Well the witches are dead, what harm could it do?”
That seemed to be a very good point... so, holding hands and hooves, they opened the book... unaware of the beacon of light invisible to their eyes, stretching into the sky.
XXXXXXXXX
Winifred continued to weep pitifully on the bed, while Mary was unsure of how to comfort her elder sister. “Do you wanna hit me, would that help?”
“This is the end...” Winifred groaned, and Mary repeated what she said a one time. “I feel it. We are doomed. I feel the icy breath of death upon my neck. Mary?”
“Huh?”
“Take me to the window. I wish to say good-bye.”
Mary did as her sister asked, and as they made their way to the window, the eldest sister saying goodbye to life and all that, Winifred caught sight of the beacon of light from the book, and laughed joyously. “Observe… they opened it!! Just when our time was running out! Come, we fly!”
And so, donning a broom, a mop and a vacuum cleaner, the sisters flew in the direction of the beacon.
XXXXXXXXX
Max, Allison and Hitch and Sunny continued to look through the book, unaware that the sisters were coming, and Sunny spotted something that could be useful in a future fight with Opaline. “Look at this, you guys. Only a circle of salt can protect thy victims from thy power.”
“Hmmm...” Hitch pondered about that. “Could be useful against tall, purple and murderous, if you know what I mean.”
Suddenly, Binx leapt on top of the book, frightening them while he looked incredibly cross. “What do you think you are doing?! Do you want to bring death to us all?!”
“We just wanted to help you,” Sunny stammered. “Well don't!” Binx snarled. “Nothing good can come from this book. Got it?!”
The two ponies nodded in fear, and Binx sighed sadly. “I'm sorry... I already lost my sister and family to those witches. I'd hate to see you all get hurt as well.”
“We understand, Binx. We won't mess with it again,” Hitch said. “But we better go get that salt, just in case. Wake Izzy and Misty up and have them meet us downstairs. The more backup we have, the better off I think we may be.”
Binx did just that, leaving him and Hesperia to watch over the sleeping pegasus sisters and Dani. But as they headed downstairs, a sliding sound went over the window screen, waking Zipp and Hesperia. “Huh...?” Zipp looked around. “What in the...?”
The two turned around, and their eyes went wide. It couldn't be... but it was.
XXXXXXXXX
“Why did we have to get up for salt again?” Izzy yawned before she gasped. “Are we making a salt mural?!”
“Not exactly. We read that salt can protect people from witches,” Sunny spoke. “Maybe we can use it in case someone gets anymore witchly ideas.”
“Good thinking,” Misty shuddered. “I'd hate to have anymore unwanted guests in Salem, tonight of all nights.”
“Mom? Dad?” Max called out for his parents, but still no answer. “They’re still not home. That’s weird. They must be having a great time.”
“I don't know, something's not right,” Allison said worriedly. “I’d feel a lot safer walking home if we had some salt.”
Max reached up into the pantry and pulled down the salt, and Allison looked at the container. “Well?” Hitch said. “What does it say?”
“Oh, it says to form a circle of salt to protect from zombies, witches, and old boyfriends.”
Max gave her a seductive smirk. “What about new boyfriends?”
“Oh, eww!!” Misty gagged, but this went unheard. “Get a room, you two!”
But as they moved to kiss, a noise was heard from upstairs, and the group immediately feared the worst. “Dani!!”
They rushed upstairs, but found Dani asleep under the covers, the griffin and pegasus sisters gone and the book as well. “Guys, the book is gone!” Allison cried. “And Hesperia, Pipp and Zipp! I'm telling you, something's weird.”
“Maybe the girls went out for a late night flight,” Hitch said as he moved closer to the covers. “At least Dani is safe under-- AGH!!!”
When he pulled back the covers, Dani was not under there, but Sarah was, holding Pipp hostage! “Trick or treat!”
The group screamed at that, not expecting the youngest Sanderson to be alive. Suddenly, Mary and Winifred popped out of the closet, holding Zipp, Dani and Hesperia in their grasp. “Looking for this?” Winifred held the book, which opened its eye, causing Allison and Misty to scream. Winifred quickly the book and a ball of energy hit Max in the back and he went down, and Izzy and Hitch were also struck.
Hesperia kicked Mary, causing her to release the griffin, but she didn't release her hold on Zipp. As for Allison and the others, Allison used the salt as a protective shield, and Winifred looked impressed with the action. “What a clever little white witch. But it will not save thy friends. No. Come sisters, the candles magic is almost spent, a dawn approaches.”
“Let us go, you creeps! We're princesses,” screeched Pipp, “and our mom is gonna have you for this!”
But despite the warnings, the sisters burst from Max’s room, and Allison and the others were knocked back by the power. “GUYS!!” Sunny screamed. “NO!!!”
“What... what happened?” Hitch groaned, and Misty sighed, a feeling of fear in her stomach. “Winifred and the sisters... they have Dani and the others.”
XXXXXXXXX
“Use thy voice sister Sarah!” Winifred shouted as they flew with her captives. “Fill the sky! Bring the little brats to die!”
Sarah parted from her sisters, and with Pipp plugging her ears with her wings, Sarah began to sing in a haunting voice.
Come, little children, I'll take thee away Into a land of enchantment Come, little children, the time's come to play Here in my garden of magic
And just like that, the kids of Salem mindlessly began to walk toward the cottage. And nothing the group could do could stop them. As they yelled for the kids to stop, Allison finally registered something the witches said. “Winifred said 'The candle’s magic will soon be spent, a dawn approaches',” she said. “The black flame candle only brought them back for this one Halloween night. And unless they can steal the lives of children, when the sun comes up, they’re dust.”
“But... the sun won't be coming up for another couple of hours!” Hitch said. “Yeah, how can we make the sun come up? They’ve got Dani, Pipp and Zipp, not to mention Binx,” Max sighed. “We need a miracle.”
Sunny looked down at her cutie mark, then her hooves before a smile graced her face. “I have an idea that should... shed some light on this problem. Trust me.”
Dani, Pipp and Zipp hoped... they prayed... they practically and internally begged they their troubles with the Sanderson Sisters had finally come to an end.
But in the last chapter, sadly, we are shown that this is not meant to be.
Winifred, Mary and Sarah survived being burned in the oven, and followed the beacon of light to the Dennison house, where they were taken captive by the witches, as well as Binx, the spell book and Sarah using a siren song to lure all the children of Salem to that small little cottage.
Winifred ordered Mary to make sure all three girls were tied nice and tight, and Binx was stuck in a small sack over the fireplace. And as the girls struggled to get free, Sarah re-entered the cottage to join her sisters. “The children… are coming!”
“Well done, sister Sarah!” Winifred said happily as Binx struggled to get out of the nearby sack. “Let me out of here!”
XXXXXXXXX
Max got his parents' car and picked everyone into it, making their way from the house to the Sanderson cottage and trying to avoid the mindless children in the streets. “Come on! Get out of the way!” Max shouted, honking the horn repeatedly. “Move it!”
“Sunny. Are you ABSOLUTELY sure that this plan of yours is gonna work?” Hesperia asked, clutching her claws worriedly. “I mean, not only are your friends at risk... but that's Dani in there too. I've never been closer to anyone else other than my family... if I lose her--”
“You won't,” Misty allowed Hesperia to hold her hoof. “Right, Sunny?”
“Right,” Sunny nodded. “Just get me and Allison to the window of the cottage, and I'll take care of things from there.”
XXXXXXXXX
As her sisters happily danced around, waiting for their youth to be restored, Winifred took the chance to taunt their captives. “Soon the lives off all thy little friends will be mine,” she gloated. “And I shall be young and beautiful again forever.”
“It doesn’t matter how young or old you are!” Dani shouted in rage, causing Winifred to look at her in surprise for a moment. “You sold your soul! You’re the ugliest thing that’s every lived, and you know it!”
Winifred growled in their faces, pointing directly at Dani. “You... will die first.”
Dani huffed and sat back as Winifred turned back to the cauldron. Aside from her struggling, Zipp had been abnormally silent during their capture, and after a moment, she turned toward her sister on Dani's other side. “Pipp...? Dani...? I want both of you to know something... if we don't make it out of here.”
“Zipp, don't talk like that!” Pipp pleaded, trying to free herself. “We're gonna get out of this! We'll get Dani out of here! We'll--”
“Pipp... this is something I have to say,” Zipp stopped her right there before she turned back to Dani. “Dani Dennison... out of all the people we've encountered on our Unity Quests... you're one of the boldest, sweetest... most stubborn people I've ever met... and you don't feel bad for letting people show who you really are. Your parents would be so proud... and we are too.”
Dani sniffed, trying to keep the tears in, Zipp gently wiped the tears from her face before looking at her sister. “Pipp... you're my best friend. And you always have been. I know we had a rocky relationship the past couple of years, but... I've always cared about you, even if I was too stubborn to really show it. I love you... more than all the flying tricks and mysteries in the world.”
“Zipp...” Pipp sobbed, and touched her sister's hoof with her own. “You’re my best friend too... even though I tried to change your hairstyle repeatedly, got in your detective things thinking they were makeup, I... I couldn't stand to lose you.”
Then she turned to look at the young Dennison girl. “Dani... I know we just met, but you are exactly what Zipp said you are. Sweet, sassy... someone I'm proud of.”
Dani sniffled again, placing her hand on Pipp's free hoof. Buf, Winifred suddenly spoke to her sisters in the midst of their moment together. “Tis ready. Pry open her mouth!”
“Dani! Don't drink it!” Binx desperately shouted from inside the sack. “Shut up you!” Winifred shouted, and Dani prevented the witches from using the potion on her by any means necessary... even biting.
But as Dani was beginning to run out of steam, Max, Hitch, Izzy and Misty barged through the door. “Hey!” Misty shouted, the unicorns' horns fired up. “Prepare to die! Uh-uh... again.”
“You! You have no powers here, you fool!” Winifred said as they continued to pry open Dani's mouth. “Maybe not!” Max shouted. “But there’s a power greater than your magic, and that’s knowledge. And we know about one thing that you three don't.”
Winifred scoffed at that. “And what is that, dude?”
“Daylight savings time.”
That was Sunny's cue! On command, she activated her alicorn form and made it glow against the light of the headlights of the car, and upon seeing the light, the sisters screamed and fell down, expecting to die at any moment. “Guys!” Zipp shouted. “Get us outta here!”
Hitch and the unicorns immediately undid the ropes that held the sisters, and Pipp grabbed Binx before flying out... and Max knocked over the cauldron, spilling all the potion onto the floor.
But when they were outside, Dani halted. “Max, I wanna see her turn to dust.”
“No time!” Sunny shouted. “Get to the car! Allison! Punch it and don't look back!”
XXXXXXXXX
Back at the cottage, the sisters realized immediately that they did not turn to dust like Winifred predicted, and the eldest sister snarled in realization. “That boy! He tricked us again!”
“You're right, you're always right,” Mary said as the sisters quickly got up off the floor, and Winifred gasped at the state of the candle, nearly to the end of its wick. “Look, the candle’s magic is almost out. And my potion, my beautiful potion!” she said before coming up with a conclusion. “Look, there’s just enough left for one child. Get the vial.”
XXXXXXXXX
“Step on it, Max!” Zipp said as she, Hesperia, Sunny and Pipp flew above the car as fast as they could go. “Who knows when they'll come after us again!”
“Do you see them following us?!” Max cried, and Hesperia looked back-- no one there. “No!”
“Good!”
Suddenly, Winifred appeared by the drivers window, causing the group to immediately scream. “Pull over! Let me see your driver’s permit!”
“Give me that!” Hitch turned the wheel to almost collide with Winifred, but she merely avoided the hit. “Resisting arrest? Naughty boy, sheriff.”
She quickly tried to pull Max from the window, but the girls tried to pull him back as hard as they could. Max was eventually able to disentangle himself from her and flung out his hand to fend of another attack and Winifred is knocked into some bushes.
But they knew that this was far from over.
They managed to make it to the graveyard and ran out, Sunny turning back to normal while they did so. But as the witches flew overhead, Max was slipped into a headlock by none other than Billy himself. “Billy! Kill him if you must, just bring me that child! That Dani!” Winifred shrieked. “And put some wiggle in it you putrid festering sore.”
During the struggle, Billy took Max's knife and cut the strings sealing his mouth shut, being able to say what had been on his mind these past 300 years. “Wench! Trollop! You buck tooth, mouth rind, firefly from Hell!!”
Winifred shrieked in rage and Billy turned to speak to Max. “I’ve waited centuries to say that.”
“Say what you want, just don’t breath on me.”
“Billy! I killed you once. I shall kill you again you maggotly mouth peasant!” Winifriend screeched. “Hang on to your head!”
Max and Billy fled for their lives/afterlives, but when they finally caught up to the others, they prepared to attack Billy, seeing that he was close to Max. “No, no wait! Wait! No!” Max stopped them from attacking. “No. He’s a good zombie.”
“Seriously?” Hitch blinked. “Wow... never thought I would hear those words in the same sentence.”
“Come on. We’ll have to hold them off until dawn,” Binx told them. “It's our only hope.”
“Hi, Billy,” Dani said kindly. They then went to Billy's grave, where Izzy and Allison worked to spread salt to protect Dani, and Pipp and Billy helped Dani inside. “You’ll be safe in here,” Billy said kindly. “Thank you.”
“You okay, Dani?” Sunny asked. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Here they come! Billy, Misty, Hitch, Pipp, guard Dani!” Binx barked orders as the witches got even closer. “The rest of you, spread out!”
“For the last time, prepare to meet thy doom!” Winifred declared. Zipp swung a branch at her, but Winifred dodged it and laughed mockingly. “You little pest, I’ve had enough of you!”
She quickly grabbed the stick and flung Zipp back, knocking into Sunny and Hesperia, and the others rushed to their aid. That's when Billy decided to face Winifred alone. “Go to Hell!”
“Oh, I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.”
Winifred then took a nose dive and aimed right for Billy, but at the last moment she curved her broom upward and knocked off Billy’s head. Dani gives a shriek and then crawled out of her safe haven to get his head. “Billy, I think you dropped this.”
But Winifred saw this as her chance and swept Dani right off the ground, leaving Dani to scream, and the ponies to gasp in horror. “DANI!!”
“Hold on, Dani!” Binx shouted, and ran up the tree and onto Winifred, knocking the potion vile from her hand, and Max caught it before it hit the ground. Winifred threw the cat off her, and Binx's head slammed into a headstone, knocking him unconscious.
Now, it was a showdown between Winifred and Max. “Give me the vial!” Winifred ordered, and Max gripped the vial tighter. “Put her down or I’ll smash it!”
“Smash it and she dies!”
“Max!” Allison screamed. “No!!” Hitch cried. Max took one look at the potion, and eyeing it after a moment, downed the entire thing, much to everyone's horror. After smashing the empty vial, Max glared up at the witch. “Now you have no choice. You have to take me.”
Winifred lowered herself and Dani to the ground, glaring Max into the ground. “You are a fool to give up thy life for thy sisters.”
She shoved Dani to the ground, and lifted Max up in her place, and Pipp and Zipp immediately flew to the little girl. “Dani!” Pipp cried. “I'm fine!” Dani shouted. “But what about Max?!”
As Max struggled in Winifred’s grip, Sarah and Mary rushed to their sister's aid, and seeing Mary's vacuum cord, Zipp got an idea. “Everyone, pull! Don't let go until the sun rises!”
Everyone did as she asked as the sun slowly began to rise past the mountains, and as Sarah came back to help Mary from the mess she was in, Zipp knew it was the perfect time. “Let go! Now!”
They let go and Sarah and Mary fly high up into the air, and Max knocked Winifred’s hands from him and they both fell to the ground, Winifred landing face first into some grass.
Slowly, Winifred got up and crawled baxk over to Max, picking him up off the ground and still trying to suck away his life force. He continued to struggle with her as the sun continued to rise. Winifred looked down and realized that she was on hallowed ground and she began to turn to stone. And with one final scream, that's exactly what she did.
Max immediately broke free from the statues hold, just as Sarah and Mary exploded from the sun's light, and then the statue did the very same.
And now that the witches were gone for good, Binx quietly meowed and laid his head down for a rest.
Everyone else couldn't believe what just happened, not knowing about Binx right then. Dani approached her panting brother with a worried look. “Max? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“You saved my life... all our lives.”
“Well, I had to, I’m your big brother.”
“...I love you, jerk face.”
“I love you too.”
Dani and Max shared a tender hug, and Hesperia flew over and helped both of them up, just as Billy was about to re-enter his grave. “Bye, Billy,” Misty waved. “Have a good sleep.”
“And... Billy?” Zipp called, earning the zombies attention. “Thanks again... for everything.”
Billy nodded, then gave a huge yawn and collapsed into his grave, causing the group to giggle. That's when Dani noticed that one of their members was missing. “Where's Binx?”
They looked around with Dani calling for the cat... when they finally saw him slumped over a grave, unconscious.
And not looking like he would wake up anytime soon. Dani tried her best not to cry, and Hitch checked Binx with a frown on his face. “He's gone... he's gone, Dani.”
“But he can't die, remember?!” Dani sobbed. “Wake up, Binx. Binx, wake up. It’s like last time...”
Dani sobbed over Binx's fallen body, and the ponies found themselves tearing up before they heard a calm and kind voice call out to the young girl. “Dani, come on, please don’t be sad for me.”
Everyone looked to see a ghostly boy nearby, and Dani felt as if she recognized him... and so did Sunny. “Binx? Is that you?” Sunny asked. “Yeah,” Binx walked over and spiritually took Dani by the hand. “The witches are dead, my soul’s finally free. You freed me Dani, thank you.”
He then looked to Max with a smile. “Hey Max, thanks for lighting the candle.”
“Juuuuuust don't ever do it again,” Hesperia nudged him playfully. Just then, a little ghost girl called out for Binx from not far away. “Thackery! Thackery Binx!”
Binx couldn't believe it... it was a little girl he craved to see for so long. “It's Emily!”
After he planted a farewell kiss on Dani's cheek, he joined his little sister at the gates of the graveyard, where Emily finally spoke up to her brother. “Thackary Binx, what took thee so long?”
“I’m sorry, Emily. I had to wait 300 years for a virgin to light the candle.”
And just like that, Thackery and his sister walked into heaven, leading the group to smile on just before a portal opened up nearby. “Well... I guess that's us,” Hitch said. “Man, I am never gonna forget this adventure.”
“None of us are,” Allison said. “Are you sure you can't stay?”
“I wish we could, but we have a witch back home to deal with,” Zipp said. “But... you all take care of yourselves, okay? You too, Hespy.”
“I sure will,” Hesperia smiled. “Especially since Max and Dani wanna adopt me into the family... as their sister. And it's all thanks to you.”
Hesperia hugged her friends goodbye, and thr ponies watched as the group walked out of the graveyard and toward home. Once they were out of sight, Misty turned to look at Pipp. “So... wanna head to the Nightmare Night Festival when we get back home, Pipp?”
“Absolutely not!” Pipp said. “I've had enough of that spooky hocus pocus for one night... and that includes Nightmare Night too,” Pipp said. “Why don't we all just have a night in?”
Sunny smiled at her friend as they climbed through the portal home. “Sounds good to me,” she stated. “If we can get through tonight, whatever comes our way will be a piece of cake.”
And just like that, the portal closed, and another adventure was done.
Opaline watched everything from the mirror pool with a small smirk.
She had studied the witches' actions, their powers, and their motives...
...and found them all stupid and useless.
But that was no matter to her. She could use what the witches didn't know and turn it into her advantage. “Soon, the source of the ponies' powers will be mine... and I shall be able to do things as I please!”
She trotted over to a nearby mirror, forming a fireball on her hoof and smirking at her reflection. “Mmm-hmm... power looks so good on you, Opaline,” she chuckled to herself. “Those ponies don't stand a chance. Whatever adventures they go next will be their last! AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!”
Opaline's cackle resonated far into Maretime Bay, and while the Unity Crystals were only objects, they seemed to sense that magic was in danger...
...and only Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Pipp Petals, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm and their newest member, Misty Brightdawn could stop it.
