Final Night! Discord's Everfree Adventure

[SunsetSombra]

Discord's Everfree Adventure

Be sure to keep to the path dimly lit by the luminary bags. If you stay in the light, none of the forest creatures will harm you. On the night when you should most fear the Everfree Forest, a spell will keep you safe—so long as you keep to the path ahead!

The forest is starting to look ever increasingly intimidating in the pale luminescence of Luna's perfectly controlled moon...a dusky glow falling upon everything around you, giving an almost ethereal feel to the massively overbearing surroundings, the rustling of the leaves and bushes starting to become more regular, and the howls of unseen creatures are beginning to be more frequent than perhaps they would have been only a short time ago.

Still, you go ever onwards...the promised candy must be ahead somewhere, and even the dull echoes of laughter in the wind will not deter the group treading through the woods off of the beaten track. However, the uncertainty of the gloomy shadows ahead are still very much alive and well within everypony, and whispers of soft fear are becoming more common. The potential for danger or reward lies closer to you now than the return journey home does...

Determined to reach the promised prize, you all press onward with hope ever present, in your heart!

[BaconofChaos]

"Just one more stop" the little pink pony in the stylish black witch costume said to herself. She'd done well tonight. Though she'd nearly keeled over with fright on several occasions she'd ended up with plenty of candy. The next step was obvious. She should go back to the Nightmare Moon statue and offer up some candy in thanks. It wasn't the sort of thing the selfish foal would normally do, but on this night above all others she'd decided it was better to be safe than gobbled up by monsters.

But wait... where was the statue? Wasn't it supposed to be here? And where were the other ponies? Was she lost? "Oh no. Not this place again..." she said, suddenly conscious of the path ahead... and the sounds of laughter coming from the forest. She swallowed and drew her head up high. She'd come this far. There could be no stopping her!

"I am Diamond Tiara, the smartest, best looking, most popular pony in Ponyville! I am not afraid!" she spoke, loudly and clearly. She would march from one end of this dusty path to the other and she would come out on top.

Already imagining the praise she would get when everypony recognised her trick or treating skills, she pressed forward...

[Pennwick]

Aloe stormed down the Everfree forest path. Having been planked by Discord not once but twice she was eager to get even. Her costume, a stylish jester's outfit, complete with cape. Blue to match her sisters red one. Even without the hat it was still quite the ensemble. She might have even looked intimidating if she wasn't currently the age and size of a Foal. She hoped Snips and Snails were managing to keep up. Their running was probably more impeded than her own. Plus, it was probably, just her but the path seemed longer now that her legs were shorter.

Seemed like there was somepony else on the path. As she neared the pink filly she immediately recognized her distinctive Tiara. She skidded to a halt in order to give the two colts a bit of time to catch up. "Hello Miss Tiara. I..." she stopped to take a few deep breaths. She wasn't much of a runner at full size, tiny legs were only making it worse. "I didn't expect to see you out here tonight."

[Boss_Hoss1]

Snails trotted along hopefully keeping up. It was all he could do to keep between the lights bordering the trail. At least he could not see anything scary in the forest this way.

He hoped he wasnt getting away from Snips "Um Snips, feel free to prop up on me and guide me along... You are there, right?"

Snails finally caught sight again of Aloe again and some pony he could dimly see.

"Miz Aloe, Miz. Aloe, I'm glad I caught up ta ya there, eh."

He dd a double take at who was with the temporary foal. "Oh no! ..Um... h-hello Diamond Tiara..."

[BaconofChaos]

As Diamond Tiara walked through the forest, she heard the sound of another pony catching up to her. I wonder who that is she thought.

"Hello Miss Tiara. I... I didn't expect to see you out here tonight."

Diamond arched an eyebrow at this filly. Not only did she know Diamond's name, but she called her "Miss Tiara" which only adults did. "Hm? Do I, like, know you? Sorry, I don't recognise the costume." She couldn't help but feel that the voice was somewhat familiar.

"Miz Aloe, Miz. Aloe, I'm glad I caught up ta ya there, eh."

This voice on the other hoof, was definitely familiar. Tiara rolled her eyes. She knew she'd bump into him sooner or later. Wait... what did he say!?

"...Um... h-hello Diamond Tiara..."

"Yeah, hi Snails. Whatever. Look, did you just, like, say Aloe? As in, spa pony Aloe!?" she whirled back to the other filly. "What happened to you!?"

[Corsair]

Snips and Snails entered the forest like a two-headed pony. Snails was holding up Snips' right side, while Snips had to act as eyes for them both. At least with Snails' longer legs, was wasn't tripping on his long mane as much as Snips had. Both of their costumes were in tatters though from the repeated effects of poison joke.

"Slow down Miss Aloe! You don't know what's in there this time!" he shouted ahead to the tiny mare. Aloe had run ahead, saying she was going to try to catch Discord this time. The last time they'd been in the forest, there has been some strange red eyes off the path, and maybe an ursa. Snips and Snails were worried at what might happen to the masseuse pony.

When the colts finally caught up to the tiny jester, she had stopped to talk to somepony. A filly in what looked like an expensive witch costume, with a tiara over her hat... Oh, no. Why did it have to be her.

Snips pointed a hoof at Diamond Tiara. "What are you doing out here Tiara..." he said, angrily, then immediately fell over on his side again as he lost balance on his mismatched hooves. Ugh.. He and Snails were NEVER going to live this down. To add insult to injury, Tiara's candy pail was full to over-flowing. Maybe if he was lucky, that ursa would come back and squash him...

[Pennwick]

"The same thing that happened to these two. I'd rather not go into too much detail." It was odd to say the least for Aloe to look up to Diamond Tiara. She was used to always being a fair deal taller than her and her friend whenever they came to the spa. And they were certainly good customers. She didn't really understand why Lotus didn't appreciate their visits.

"I was going to meet with my sister but well... plans have changed. Did something come up that Silver Spoon couldn't make it?" she said off hoofedly to Miss Tiara. She shook her mane loosing a bobby pin. She didn't really need to keep her mane up since she had lost the hat. "Snails, come here." she half ordered. attempted to pin his joked mane out of his eyes. It seemed to resist her touch and the fact that Snails obviously wasn't used to anypony working with his mane didn't help either. She tried to give it an appraising look, at least he should be able to maybe see out of one of his eyes.

"And Snips, I do know whats out here. I am an adult. Despite current appearances." she said to the unicorn colt who was having trouble standing. She knew that feeling. Though he seemed to be adjusting more quickly than she had. Perhaps the lower center of gravity helped. "The path is safe so far. No reason to think why it would fail."

"Anyways we need to come up with a plan if we're going to prank Discord." She briefly turned to the witch filly. "You're welcome to help too if you wish Miss Tiara. If we pull this off the reward will be sweeter than any candy." She wasn't sure if the filly would agree or not. The possibilities of fame for pranking the ultimate representation of Chaos were too much for Aloe to ignore but the risks were great as well.

She turned back to the other two and lowered her voice to a squeaky whisper. She didn't quite know why but she got the feeling that somehow Discord could be listening in. "Here's what I have. We'll use this." she flipped up her cape with a bit of flourish showing a number of pockets hidden underneath. In particular one filled with a familiar blue flower she had collected earlier. "We'll turn the tables... One of us will have to provide a distraction and another is ready to jump behind him and rub it onto his body. And then anyone left will wait in case anything goes wrong. If he notices the first prankster the other can get him. That way the trap itself is a trap. We're sure to get him!" She seemed quite pleased with her plan; almost giddy. "Now, I'm willing to be bait if none of you want to but can you reach him or use your magic to get to him? Otherwise one of you could serve as the distraction."

((OoC: Sorry I didn't give you a chance to offer your own suggestions but we don't have much time if we want to get this done tonight.))

[Corsair]

From his position on his belly, Snips could look Aloe in the eye. "Are you sure about this, Miss Aloe?" he said, uncertainly. "I mean, yeah, I'd like to get back at Discord, but..." He eyed the blue flowers in her pocket nervously. "I don't even wanna think what a third dose of that stuff would do."

Seeing Aloe's determination, Snips sat up and began focusing his magic. He squinted his eyes, staring at the poison joke flowers. Two of the blooms began to glow, and then floated toward him. "Ok, Miss Aloe," he said. He concentrated on keeping the flowers floating and keeping them away from anypony. "We can try this, but, um, I'm not so good with magic yet. This will have to be quick, I can't hold these for long."

[Boss_Hoss1]

Snails was relieved that Diamond Tiara was too stunned by Miss Aloe's predicament to razz the colts for now.

When the Spa Foal told him to come over to her he did so quickly. he stayed as still as he could for her but it felt like the mane was fighting what she was doing with a hair pin "What d'ye wanna bet this hair is cut proof too, eh?"

His horn sputtered light and his tongue stuck out the side ofhis mouth as he thought hard about the plan Aloe whispered. To his surprise, he whispered back "If this hair is magical enough ta fight controlling it or bein' cut, maybe I could trip or tangle his feet ta give everpony a chance?"

Now that he said it, he was starting to feel excited about the plan since an adult (sorta) was in charge.

[Pennwick]

"Don't worry about it Snips." she repied with a wave of her hoof. "We always keep a little of the remedy back at the spa for emergencies. You're welcome to some free of charge after this." she nodded as the two colts took their portions leaving just a single blossom for herself. "You shouldn't need to carry them long. Just long enough to tuck them into his coat."

She nodded to Snails. "That might just work, after Discord spots me you go for him first. Snips, you be backup." she pointed to a few branches that looked like they had been lazily dragged halfway of the path in order to clear the road. "Maybe one of you can hide near there. I'm going to try my best to look like an easy target. Could I borrow your bucket Snails?" She put all of her own candy into his bucket almost filling it to the top.

She looked like a foal who had managed to gather half her weight in candy. She tried to look as smug as possible and even began counting it piece by piece. Maybe it was her foal body talking but the candy looked more delicious than before. Hopefully Discord would take the bait. If not, who knows what would happen.

((OoC: I kind of assumed Snails would let her borrow it. If not she can just lay her own out on the ground and count it. She has a sizable amount herself.))

[Corsair]

Snips hobbled over to the branches Aloe had pointed to, still levitating the poison joke flowers. He still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but after the night he'd had he was a nervous wreck. The idea that maybe they could get back at Discord for all the misery he had caused was the only thing that got him to go along with it. He crouched down... or tried to. His balance was still way off. He looked and saw Aloe and Snails getting into position, and began to wait tensely. after only a moment, his horn started to spark and sputter... Uh oh...

[Manestream]

Finally- the trail had almost let you back out of the forest! You could see the lights from the harvest festival in the distance growing stronger! Just before reaching the last glowing light to guide you out- a dark figure like the night itself stepped out from the shadows!

"WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU- ah *cough, cough* ahem- I, would like to thank you all for celebrating Nightmare Night with me. It has been great fun! Before you go, let me thank you again by doubling the fun!"

Luna presented each pony with two pieces of candy, placing them gingerly-but regally in their bags. Luna escorts you all out of the forest before bidding you all farewell, and making her way back to the festival.

[Pennwick]

Aloe shoved a hooffull of candy into her mouth, picked from what she believed was hers. Nothing was happening and it had nearly been half an hour. Something about being a foal made her more impatient than normal. Plus now that her adrenaline from the idea of the prank was waning the late hour was really starting to wear on her.

She picked out the few candies she had received from the princesses out of the bucket and stashed them back in her pocket. Snails could keep the rest. "That's enough waiting. I'm going home." she let out a big yawn and started trotting down the path again. She turned to the spot Snips and Snails were hiding. "You're welcome to stop by if you want. We should have some of the remedy in stock still."

[Boss_Hoss1]

Snails had been about ready to rush out when the dark figure stepped out ito the path, only to freeze when he finally saw who it was through his super-sized mane!

He bowed quickly, almost falling over from the weight of his mane. "PRINCESS LUNA!"

Snails giggled when she started using the royal voice, then stepped it down to a normal speaking voice. His eyes went wide when she presented all of them with two pieces of candy each, in the shape of the moon. "Thank ya very much Princess Luna!"

Snails was still very bouncy and happy over seeing Luna a short while later when Aloe called a halt, yawning sleepily like the foal she currently was.

The hairy foal stepped out and reclaimed his bucket, smiling eagerly at the extra candy Aloe left him. "Thanks, Miz Aloe, I'll split the extra with Snips here, eh? I think we'd better follow along right with ya fer the cure. Mom would freak iff'n she saw me like this, and Snips' folks woudnt be happy either. Hows that sound fer a plan, Snips?

[Corsair]

Snips was starting to loose his concentration. His magic was still not very strong, and he couldn't levitate anything for more than a couple of mintues. He gritted his teeth as his horn began to sputter, a sure sign he was about to loose his grip on the poison joke flowers. Then, Princess Luna herself appeared in the forest, and her booming introduction made him loose his focus all together. The flowers fell by the wayside as he stared up at the Princess of the Night in awe.

Most all of the ponies in Ponyville had seen Princess Luna at the celebration when she had been rescued by the town's six famous mares, but she had appeared much differently then. Snips stumbled out of cover, and bowed before the regal Princess. After giving all the assembled ponies two peices of candy, she left to rejoin the festivities.

Snips realized that this time, the poison joke still seemed to be in effect, but he barely noticed as he bounced up to Snails and Aloe. "Wow! Both the princesses were here!" he chimed happily. Luckily, Aloe seemed to have given up on her plans to try and capture Discord, if he ever showed up that is. She still offered the colts a dose of the remedy to get rid of the effects of the poison joke. "Oh please please PLEASE, Miss Aloe! After tonight, I just want to be normal again. Then, I'll go home with this candy. Nightmare Night is supposed to be scary and fun, but I've had enough scary for one year."

[Pennwick]

"Suit yourself Snips. I plan on still doing a little more scaring myself." she flipped her hair back and yawned. "Should be interesting if I sneak up on my sister like this tomorrow morning."

It was a long walk across Ponyville to the Spa but Aloe was really too tired to talk much during the journey. She invited the two into the Spa while she went and gathered the mixture from storage. She never really got a chance to appreciate the spa late at night. The way the moonlight shone through the glass window on the ceiling and reflected of the pool in the hot tub was simply amazing. She came back a moment later with a small spray bottle. "This is the last of the remedy, but it should do. I'll need to ask Zecora to get more soon. There iss so much of it about these days, its almost as if someone is trying to grow it all over Equestria." She sprayed both colts making sure to catch the spotted areas most thoroughly.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Snails followed along behind Aloe, continuing the teamwork of keeping Snips upright as he was guided along.

"I'll be glad ta get rid a this hair, eh."

It felt strange being in a girly frou-frou spa, even at night, but anything was worth being cured.

Snails giggled as Aloe said she was going to scare her sister looking like that. He went wide eyed under the hair as he saw how small a bottle was the last of the cure for the moment. "I hope there's enough fer ya tomorrow..."

He sneezed at the spray and suddenly felt his hair tingle as it went back to normal. "Ohhh thank ya Miz Aloe. Sorry I gotta run, but Mom mus' be worried! See ya tomorrow Snips!"

As he left the spa, he giggled as he looked into his candy bucket "Candy, candy, candy... Bwa-ha-haaa!"