> Tiara of Terror > by felicitea > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Twilight S̶p̶a̶r̶k̶l̶e̶ Zone > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riiinnnggg! The school bell rang and the fillies and colts rushed out the door. Some were discussing the costumes they would wear, some were discussing the pranks they would play on unsuspecting adults, three fillies in particular were discussing how much candy they could possibly get while trick or treating. “I drew up a whole map of Ponyville and marked which houses always give the most candy.” Scootaloo said. “Did you draw all of that during math class?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Of course, what else would I be doing? Sleeping?” Sweetie Belle shrugged, “Fair enough.” Apple Bloom looked at the map, “This is great! We’ll be practically drownin’ in candy by the end of the night!” The girls giggled as they walked on to their club house, but stopped in their tracks when they heard Diamond Tiara’s voice. “Well well well, just who we were looking for!” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon stood in front of the Crusaders with the usual smug looks on their faces. Scootaloo sighed, “Oh great, what are you gonna make fun of our costumes or something? You haven’t even seen them yet!” “No no! Nothing like that, I was going to ask if you girls were free tomorrow night.” Apple Bloom looked down at the map and then back up at Diamond Tiara. “Well we were planning on-” “Why do you ask?” Sweetie Belle interrupted her. “I’m having a Nightmare Night costume party tomorrow night, and I wanted to invite you three.” Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “You? Want to invite us? To your party?” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, we’re not falling for that.” “No I’m serious! Everypony in class will be there!” Diamond Tiara said. “You wouldn’t wanna, like, miss out, would you?” Silver Spoon added. “Come on, what would you rather do?” Diamond tiara asked. “Come to my awesome party? Or go trick or treating like a loser…” The three Crusaders looked at eachother thinking of what to say. Scootaloo started to speak but was quickly cut off by Sweetie Belle. “Of course we’ll come to the party! Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” she said while laughing awkwardly. “Great! See you tomorrow at 8” Diamond Tiara said walking off. Scootaloo waited until she was out of ear shot. “Sweetie Belle, why would you say that?!” “I panicked!” “I mean, it’s not a terrible idea…” Apple Bloom thought. “What if Diamond Tiara finally wants to be nice for once?” “Yeah! Maybe she’s changed!” Sweetie Belle added. “Maybe this is our chance to finally just be friends.” Scootaloo sighed, “I don’t buy it.” “You heard what she said, everypony would be there. It would be weird if we didn’t go…” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo. She was looking at her map, lost in thought. Finally she sighed and looked up at her friends. “Fine.” “That’s the spirit!” The next night at around 8:15, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived at Diamond Tiara’s mansion. They were a little bit late since they had to make sure their costumes looked perfect. Apple Bloom was dressed as a classic witch, with an orange hat and cape. She, of course, had tied one of her signature bows around the hat. Scootaloo wore a sparkly silver space suit with purple star shaped antennas on her head. And Sweetie Belle wore a green dress styled to look like leaves, along with a flower crown on her head and big fairy wings strapped to her back. They walked up the steps to the huge elegant doors at the front of the house. Apple Bloom paused before knocking. “Remember, if anything goes wrong we can just leave and go back to our orginal trick or treating plan, alright?” She tucked Scootaloo’s map into a pocket hidden inside her cape then knocked on the door. As Diamond Tiara opened the door, the faint sound of music became much louder. Apple Bloom squinted at the bright colorful lights that were now shining in her face. “Wow, you actually made it!” said Diamond Tiara, shocked. “Come on in.” She wore a long, frilly, black and red dress with a matching ruby choker and tiara. Sweetie Belle could tell they were real rubies and not those fake ones Rarity would use whenever she ran out. As Diamond Tiara guided the Crusaders through her house, they could see that this really was a party. Not like any parties they’d ever been to before. They recognized most of their classmates in various costumes, several of them dancing on a brightly lit dance floor that seemed to change color every few seconds. A few more were standing at a long table with every kind of Nightmare Night treat you could ever imagine. Twist was laying down at the foot of the table with her face covered in cupcake frosting, probably in some sort of sugar coma. Snips and Snails were surrounded by about 30 cups of [non alcoholic] apple cider. This party had only been going on for 15 minutes and yet the Rich family living room was already a complete mess. As Diamond Tiara was done leading the Crusaders to the dance floor area, Scootaloo finally spoke up. “Well… this sure is a party alright…” “Of course, what were you expecting? One of those lame Pinkie parties? I don’t think so…” Diamond Tiara replied. “Um… Are your parents home?” Apple Bloom asked “Nope, they’re away at some boring masquarade ball in Canterlot. I have the whole entire house to myself! Well… Randolph is here, but he’s a heavy sleeper.” Sweetie Belle wasn’t paying attention to the conversation at all since she was too busy watching Pipsqueak fall into the punch bowl. Silver Spoon walked over holding a clipboard. She was dressed as a ghostly bride with five pearl necklaces and a glowing heart. “Everypony is here.” She said after checking the last three names off the guest list. “Perfect, this means we can start the costume contest!” Diamond Tiara gave Silver Spoon a knowing look as if they were plotting something. Scootaloo assumed they were. “Alright I think we’ve been here long enough. Can we just go back to trick or treating now?” Scootaloo whispered to Apple Bloom. “Scoots, we just got here. Besides, this could be fun.” Diamond Tiara stood in the middle of the dance floor and began explaining the costume contest. “Everypony will stand in a line on this dance floor as the judges,” she pointed at Silver Spoon, Alula, and Featherweight, “will come around and write down what they like and dislike about your costumes. Then at the end I will decide the winners of each category.” “What are the categories?” asked Twist [who was finally awake from her sugar coma.] “That’s a surprise. If you knew the categories you’d try to play up certain aspects of your costume so you’d get more points in whatever category you liked the best. That’s not fair.” “I guess…” The three judges started at the left side of the line with Button Mash, who was telling them some elaborate backstory about the character he was dressed as. Silver Spoon was rolling her eyes and writing her thoughts on her clipboard. It would be a long time until the judges would get to the Crusaders since they were all the way on the right side of the dance floor. Scootaloo took this time to tell the other two her thoughts. “I don’t think Diamond Tiara’s changed guys…” she whispered. Apple Bloom started fidgeting with the rolled up map in her pocket. “You may be right.” she said. “Did she really just host this party so she could put everypony against eachother based on her personal tastes in costumes?” “It does seem kind of mean… Maybe we really shouldn’t have come here” Sweetie Belle added. Scootaloo looked over to see where the judges were at. Two ponies away from her. “Maybe we could sneak out while theyre not looking?” She looked at the other two and they nodded. They started walking out as quietly as they could. Diamond Tiara was distracted by the fashion magazine she started reading after sending Silver Spoon to do her work for her, and the judges were too busy talking to Pipsqueak to notice anything else. “What are you supposed to be?” Silver Spoon asked. “A pirate!” Pip replied. “Isn’t this like the 3rd year in a row you’ve dressed as a pirate?” “Why are you soaked?” Alula chimed in. “Are you supposed to be like, the ghost of a pirate who drowned in a horrific shipwreck or something?” “No that’s terrible! I’m just a normal pirate… who fell in the punch bowl.” “Well that’s lame…” Alula said while writing something on her clipboard. “Yeah” Silver Spoon agreed. “That gross shipwreck thing would’ve at least made this boring old repeat costume interesting…” Featherweight said nothing and just took a picture. The three Crusaders had actually managed to make it to the door without getting caught. They quietly slipped out of the house and onto the front porch. Apparently while they were inside it had started pouring rain outside. Scootaloo gasped. “Are you kidding?! I didn’t hear anything about rain tonight!” Apple Bloom took the map out of her pocket. It was all wet and crumpled up, and once she unfolded it she could see the marker Scootaloo used to draw it was running. “Great, what are we supposed to do now?” she asked. Just as she said that, a bolt of lightning struck the roof of the Rich house. The three girls hugged eachother in fear. Behind the door they could hear the screams of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, which they thought was odd considering the fact that the loud music from earlier sounded so much quieter when they were outside. “They must be screaming really loud if we can hear it from out here” Scootaloo giggled. “Do you think they’re ok? You don’t think the lightning could’ve struck them or something right?” Sweetie Belle asked. “It struck the roof. Come on, her family is rich, they probably have some sort of fancy lightning proof shield protectin’ their house right? They’re probably just bein’ overdramatic like always…” Apple Bloom said. “I guess you’re right. But shouldn’t we check on them just in case? It would be the nice thing to do…” “I would rather do literally anything else than go back in there and sit through that “costume contest.” Scootaloo replied. Another lightning bolt struck the ground right next to where she was standing causing her to panic and instinctively run back inside the house with the other two following her. “Ok maybe they don’t have a lightning proof shield” Apple Bloom sighed. “Wow, you actually made it!” The Crusaders looked up to see Diamond Tiara standing there perfectly fine as if nothing happened. Though she had for some reason switched out her black and red dress for a white and pink one. “I thought you three would never show up! I got worried when I noticed the storm outside, but I’m so happy you could make it!” she said as she started hugging them like they were her best friends. “Um, are you ok?” Scootaloo asked. “Why wouldn’t I be? My best friends are here for my favorite holiday!” She dragged them into the same room they were in earlier, though the music was much quieter and the dance floor’s lights must’ve been turned off. All the same ponies from before were there, but they were all very calm as if nothing had happened. None of them were dancing or shoving cupcakes and non alcholic ciders in their mouth either, they were all just standing there doing nothing. Everything just seemed slightly off. Silver Spoon walked over with the clipboard, checking the names off the guest list just as she did before. Her ghost bride costume was significantly less ghost and more bride. “Everypony is here.” “Perfect, this means we can start the costume contest!” “Wait-” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “I have a better idea.” “Of course Sweetie Belle, your ideas are always great!” Diamond Tiara said, smiling at her “best friend”. “Um… What if we all stand in a circle… and… say nice things about eachother…?” “Yes! What a great idea Sweetie Belle! Let’s do that instead!” All the fillies and colts gathered into a circle and held hooves. Diamond Tiara was the first to speak. “Now, everypony say something nice about the pony to your left. I’ll start. Silvie, your glasses are adorable.” “Thanks! Pip, I love your dedication to dressing like a pirate three years in a row.” “Thank you, I’m so glad somepony noticed! Scootaloo-” “Ok, ok, that’s enough!” She interrupted before she could get her compliment. “You can stop pretending to be nice now. It was a little funny at first, but now it’s just getting weird.” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon looked at her, frowning. “What do you mean pretending to be nice? Why would we do that?” “Yeah, that’s no way to treat our friends!” “That too! The way you keep calling us friends? It’s really freaking me out.” Scootaloo added. Apple Bloom joined in, “Look, I know ‘trick’ is part of ‘trick or treat’ and all but don’t ya think you’re takin’ this act a bit too far?” “I dunno, I kinda like this Diamond Tiara…” Sweetie Belle whispered before Scootaloo shushed her. “Act? Am I acting different?” “Yes!” all three crusaders yelled in unison. “How do you not realize you’re acting completely different? Did you really get struck by lightning?” Scootaloo asked. “No, my house has a lightning proof shield around it.” Apple Bloom blinked. “SERIOUSLY?” Sweetie Belle was busy looking around the room. It was then when something finally hit her. Button Mash, who was dressed like some video game character earlier, was now in a fancy suit and glasses. Twist had no glasses, her mane and tail were straightened and dyed black on the ends. Alula was… an alicorn? It wasn’t just Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who changed, everypony was different somehow. “Guys… I think we’ve entered some sort of alternate dimension.” Sweetie Belle said. “What? That’s ridiculous!” Scootaloo laughed. “I dunno…” Apple Bloom said as she realized what Sweetie Belle realized. “Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are actin’ all nice, and everypony’s costumes are different. I mean, look at Button, he would never wear that!” “Since when was Twist a goth?” Scootaloo asked. “And since when was Alula an alicorn?!” Sweetie Belle added. “But how could we possibly have gotten into another dimension? All we did was walk outside then walk back inside.” Apple Bloom asked. “Yeah but what happened in between us walking in and out? Lightning struck the roof.” Sweetie Belle said. “The lightning opened a portal to another dimension?” Scootaloo asked. “No, you heard her before, she said her house is lightning proof.” Sweetie Belle answered. “But maybe when they were installing the lightning shield thingy they missed a spot, and the lightning struck there.” “Well… that could be a possibility. But I’m still wondering how exactly a house getting struck by lightning could open up another dimension.” “Do you think it’s just this house? What if all of Ponyville is different too?” Apple Bloom thought. “Maybe we should check? I’m sure this version of Diamond Tiara wouldn’t mind if we left for a bit.” Sweetie Belle said. The three fillies walked over to Diamond Tiara, who seemed lost in thought. How different could she possibly be acting? She was acting the same as she’s always acted around her friends. Why would they think she was playing a trick on them? She stopped thinking when Sweetie Belle tapped her on her shoulder. “Diamond Tiara, is it ok if we go outside for a bit? We just need some space and fresh air.” “Of course, take all the time you need.” she smiled. “Just make sure to be careful in the rain.” The crusaders walked out the door and onto the porch. Once they were outside, they just stared at the sky in confusion. The storm from earlier had stopped. In fact, the sky was completely clear, and the ground and bushes were completely dry. There was no trace of rain at all. “Well this is… odd” Sweetie Belle said. “Does this mean we can finally ditch this party and go trick or treating?” Scootaloo asked. “I dunno…” Apple Bloom said. She pulled the map out of her pocket, it was still damp and messed up. “Wait, how is everything else dry except this?” “Are we still in another dimension? Maybe we’re in a third dimension!?” “I don’t think so” Sweetie Belle said, looking around at the ponies enjoying the Nightmare Night games and festivities. “Everypony else looks the same as always.” “So this alternate dimension only exists inside of Diamond Tiara’s house?” Scootaloo asked. “That’s what it seems like. We should ask Twilight about this tomorrow.” “But what’re we gonna do about the ponies inside the house?” Apple Bloom asked. “Can’t we just leave them there? I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Scootaloo said. “But what if they’re stuck like that forever?” “Maybe it’s for the best.” Sweetie Belle said. The other crusaders nodded. “Come on guys, I still remember some of the houses I had circled on that map. We may not be drowning in candy tomorrow but we can at least have some right?” Scootaloo said. The three girls ran off into town. Apple Bloom didn’t notice the crumpled up map falling out of her pocket and onto Diamond Tiara’s porch. Diamond Tiara opened the door and stepped outside onto the porch. “What the heck??? They left! And I didn’t even get a chance to sabotage them in front of everypony!” She noticed the wet and crumpled piece of paper on the ground and picked it up. “Ewww! They left their gross wet paper here? Don’t their parents ever tell them not to litter! Oh… wait.” She tried her best to unfold the paper without ripping it, then tried her best to read the smudged marker writing on the top. “Trick or treat plans? I should’ve known. Only losers like them would rather be trick or treating than be at my party.” She scoffed and walked back inside. When she got back to the party room she noticed every single pony who was there earlier was gone. Well almost everypony, Silver Spoon was still standing there in the middle of the dance floor of course. “Where is everypony?!” Diamond Tiara shouted. “They jumped out the window.” Silver Spoon pointed to an open window at the corner of the room. “I tried to stop them but they were all too fast. It’s almost like they had specific plans or something, and they were like, waiting for the perfect moment where you would walk away. Not like I had any plans and didn’t have enough time to get out before you saw me or anything like that.” “Uh huh…” The two fillies stared at eachother blankly. Diamond Tiara sighed. “Do you wanna go trick or treating?” Silver Spoon gasped. “I thought you’d never ask.” The End[?]