Sponsored Applejack's Hayride and Barn Party

[Hippo]

Applejack saw that all the area ponies interesting in the cart ride were hopped in and ready to go. So she closed the tailgate, and climbed the spokes of one of the wagon wheels to get a good view of everypony. Looked like about seven or eight ponies. Not really as much as she was thinking, but it would be OK for now. "OK, if ya'll see any of your little pony friends along the way you think would love to see the surprised waiting for them at Sweet Apple Acres, you just tell me to stop and I'll let them on."

Applejack grabbed a small sack store in a compartment near the rear of the wagon. It was filled with candy. She took a few hoofuls and started chucking them at the ponies. "Here's some candy for the trip! And if you're still riding when get to the barn doors, there will be plenty more where this came from!"

Applejack hopped off the wagon and trotted to the front of it. She crept underneath the girth to try and strap it on, but she was a little confused as to how to do it. She tightened the belt, first, but then couldn't fit herself within it. Then she loosened it up and tried again. But this time, she fastened the girth below her hind legs, lifting her awkwardly into the air. "Hang on, I got it!" Finally, after a few embarrassing moments of trying to figure out how the girth was to be strapped to her haunches, she tugged on the rope with all four hooves on the ground, tied to the wagon, facing the direction of travel. "Let's ride!!!" Applejack reared violently as if she was to take off really fast. But when her hooves touched the ground she pranced a gentle pull on the wagon, and the ponies inside of it.

Applejack drove the wagon all the way around Ponyville's Town Center, advertising her wagon for any more ponies that wanted to join them. The view also brought plenty of points of interest for Ponyville's Nightmare Night festivities the riders could see from their seats of hay, the cool breeze rushing through their mane as they relaxed and ate their candy.

​

[Bellosh]

"Laissez-moi aller, ou je peux vous le dire everypony environ somepony's garden goût ..."

There goes Valen again with his crazy Prench, speaking in a babbling tongue that Babs Seed could never hope to understand clearly, even with all those language classes at school. Still, he could stand to lighten up a bit; this was Nightmare Night, and what use was there in dressing up like a damsel in distress if he couldn't play out the routine? “Aw, lighten up cuz,” Babs gave a light playful smack to Valen’s backside; “Just 'dink of it like 'dat 'dis is a seven legged race back at 'da family reunion I went to! If I managed 'dat just fine... 'den so can you, pal!”

As the ride got underway, Babs sat there mostly in silence, grinning with mischievous purpose. Unlike Valen, she didn’t feel inclined to speak with anypony else unless spoken to, but that potentially wouldn't last long.....

[Monochrome]

Marbles eagerly accepted the candy being doled out with the promise of more, with a call of "Thanksh!" to the mare running the hayride- Applejack, from what Marbles had caught in conversations. She giggled a bit as the "damsel in distress" struggled to get comfortable, but Marbles' attention quickly flitted to other things as Applejack figured out the harness and the ride began. Marbles had to shift position a few times, uncomfortable with the gems in her costume's fabric poking at her backside as she unintentionally sat on them. She looked around at everypony else on the ride, eager to talk to somepony and perhaps make a new friend. She looked over at the first pony who caught her attention- the damsel in distress. "Hi! Nishe coshtume... I'm Marblesh, what'sh your name?" she greeted the tied-up pony with her usual lisp and playful tone.

[Mojo]

Wishing Well eagerly reached up for the candy that AppleJack had tossed their way, managing to grab some for herself.

"This is very nice, I hope everypony else got some candy too," the angel dressed Pegasus filly said as the wagon started to move. Looking back, the young filly saw many costumed ponies. The oddest pair by far was the knight who appeared to be standing guard over a tied up, well, whatever it was.

"Hi there, brave knight, I'm Wishing Well. Why is this pony all tied up like this? That hold doesn't look very comfortable at all."

[RarityDash]

"I dunno, maybe they're just being sensible. I mean, I'd certainly prefer getting wool from a small little cute thing than a big ol' ram who could toss me over a cliff if he jolly well wanted to."

Tourmaline nodded slightly to the older colt."A reasonable point. It is practicality that initially lead to the popularity of our sheep in the empire. The warmth of their dense wool is invaluable to any who choose to venture out from the magic warmth of the Crystal Heart into the harsh arctic lands beyond," she said. "However, the level of compulsive pride ponies of the empire take in them now is disproportionate and disquieting." She gave a small sigh. "It's alarming that adult ponies see nothing amiss with queuing up one after the other every Crystal Fair for a chance to spend a few moments among them at one of the myriad petting zoos."

As the cart soon started ahead through the town square, driven by the orange mare, the colt in the unusual uniform went on to cheer on some others, Tourmaline looked in the direction of them. They were slightly younger than she was. One was a filly dressed as a knight; a fine costume indeed, looking much like an extra in the Schism Saga--perhaps one of the knights in the Highland King's garrison. The other was a filly who dressed like a fair maiden. The classic dress she wore, making her look as if she might fit into the story somewhere as well. The two of them were engaged in some manner of play involving a rope, which is what had won the colt's attention. Tourmaline might not have paid them mind, but the maiden looked her way and upon seeing her costume, spoke.

​

"Vonderful costume. Good taste in literature, oui?"

Tourmaline shot her a curious glance, wondering if, like the timberwolf mare, she was just faking familiarity with the character. From her intonation and her studying gaze it seemed however that her familiarity was genuine. How curious. Equestria's children were evidently more well read than she would have imagined.

"Oh, so you're familiar with Moon's epic saga?" she started with surprise. "Regardless, the praise is much appreciated. I'd say that your costume is charming enough as well. The look is not dissimilar to how I might imagine one of the princesses of the Forest Kingdom appearing."

She looked toward the pony's friend then. "And I'd say your friend here looks rather like a Highland kni--!" she cut herself off when she caught sight of this pony's face in the raised visor.

"Wait a second! You're that orange one from the Gala! The one who assailed me with that wayward stick!" she started, recognizing this filly. "How truly curious that so many of us from then would wind up together again here," she added, looking back toward Wind Walker for a moment.

​

[SteelEagle]

The ride about town started in earnest, Valen bracing as well as he could with little other than his flank muscles and outgunned back legs to hold him steady. But the ride was not a crazy gallop across town as maybe he had feared or expected, but a somewhat lazy walk through the town. The various trick or treating groups marched around the center of town in their fervor, little fillies and colt leading expertly practiced adults until finally the sugar rushes that powered them stopped. It was fun- relaxing, even. Applejack knew what she was doing and while it lacked the sense of danger and excitement that other events seemed to have- an obstacle course in the distance and cheers and jeers from one direction and a stunning yet brief flash of light from the local library- it seemed to fit in with the rustic happiness that was the holiday. It was going to be just fine.

Or, well, it should have been. Even at this speed, he was still tipping from direction to direction. It made conversing with ponies difficult. It made conversing with ponies in a costume more difficult. It made conversing with ponies in costume while trying to hide who you were while also not appearing to be the weird silent colt that nopony ever liked or chose for hoofball very, very difficult. Luckily, Valen's life had provided for him many enriching negative experiences which allowed him to field such disparity in fairness evenly. Huzzah!

He tilted back to his cousin, cheek on her shoulder for a second. She patted him on the flank, but he hardly felt it as padded with ruffles and excessiveness as it was. It felt more like a minor depression than anything else. Seven legged races at least normally were a voluntary exercise in excessive banality and fun. The only thing voluntary about this whole excursion had been his desire to hide behind a facade, and even that was a debatable choice. To put it bluntly, Babs was a bad seed and he'd cook up some way for her to be taken down a peg or three once home. He was sure she had something she wanted hidden, and he had a whole house he had to mop and sweep after school. The script wrote itself.

"Well, I do believe zat you are more, how to say, qualified for such zilly behavior, madame Seed. Besides," Valen whispered, dropping the accent as he stuck it right down her ear, "I'm pretty sure I'd be the cause of a ten pony pileup," he finished as the tipping took him away. Self-defacing humor was always the best.

He tipped away from Babs, this time arching closer to the pony who was dressed as a dragon. Unicorn filly judging by the costume's make and model as well as speech. He had to agree- while the costume was not his first or even tenth choice it was well made and constructed, and smelled less like the warehouse it had been stored in until recently and instead had the air of roses about it. Of course part of that was to Valen's credit, his grooming and work towards style in such a condition without peer, but the costume as a piece was very nice. Almost worth all the bits that Babs forced him to spend on it.

"Very much thank you, darling. I love your costume as well, so...energetic? Very well done. Hoofmade, oui?" Valen asked, playing at being unfamiliar with the language. It was a good costume if hoof-sewn and made, to be sure. Before the answer, fate cut the string.

He tipped once more, this time towards the crystal filly as she started to notice Babs. Luckily for Valen that the rolling was getting to him and he was keeping himself focused on not throwing up at that moment or else his face would have betrayed some worry. She seemed to have a sharp mind and memory- surely she could have connected the dots and realized how silly it would have been for a Manehattan filly to have such a close relationship with a cousin like Valen. Distance was cruel. Thankfully, his brief flirtation with sickness passed as quickly as it came and he did it without a betrayal of difference in emotion. At least he had something to discuss, smiling at the Animus wearing filly.

"Oui, very much thank you! I simply bought it but you are quite correct, belle fleur. Zhou had not counted on acting out ze tragedy of Princess Starshine so suddenly. Non, non, pas du tout. So, General Animus- of all ze generals of ze Demon King, vhy Animus? Of my own mind, I always preferred General Metacus. Vut I have always been a, suppose to say, sucker for ze more successful and smart. But zen again, Animus does last a little longer so I suppose success can be partitioned," He smiled and chuckled lightly, preparing to speak once more after the carriage hit a bump.

"It is small world indeed! Ve are cousins from var away. Shocked to have run into her in Manehattan on her way here. Shocker, no? She is very kind-hearted filly but excuse her outbursts. She is not," He laughed, the tip this time working in his favor and bringing him closer to the Crystal filly as he whispered, "she is not exactly ze sharpest tool in ze shed, no?" The tip brought him back away from the filly and towards Babs, whom he shot a giant smirk.

[Monochrome]

Marbles grinned as the pony complimented her costume, although she was a bit surprised that, judging by something in the voice, this maiden was a colt. He asked if it was hoof-made, which it was, as Marbles' mother had a knack for such things as making costumes. Marbles opened her mouth to answer, but the slight jostling of the cart caused the "damsel in distress" to roll over just then, and he answered another pony who had been talking to him. Marbles looked around at the other ponies, not wishing to interrupt anypony, but finding that it seemed that most were already talking to somepony else. So, Marbles sat back down and stuffed a few pieces of the candy she had caught into her mouth, and watched for anypony who wasn't already talking to somepony, but the little grey unicorn's attention soon began to drift from the cart's occupants to the streets around them. Throngs of costumed colts and fillies her age and older dashed about with their sacks of candy that were just beginning to bulge with their haul, adults trailing behind some of them. Many different sounds drifted on the autumn breeze, including music, laughter, and shouting. Marbles' gaze settled back on the ponies in the cart. The older one in the cricket uniform didn't seem to be talking to anypony in particular at the moment, but Marbles was sort of hoping for somepony closer to her age... However, Marbles didn't see that as a reason not to talk to him. She made her way over to the stallion. "Hello!" she said cheerfully to him, brushing a few of her fluffy blue and white curls of mane out of her green eyes.

[Blueblood]

Well, this was certainly a thoughtful little filly, to be sure! Then again, if Might had recognized her costume, he might have guessed that a foal who read so extensively was likely to be a bit more intellectual than her normal age cohort. She certainly gave him pause for thought.

"Hm... well, I guess they just like being home. I mean, I haven't been back to Trottingham for almost a year, now, and I miss things that I never really thought of when I was there. I suppose that after you've been away for a Thousand years, anything from before looks jolly good to you." Might Batsman wouldn't have thought himself particularly deep, though his friend Psmith would always introduce him as a philosopher, much to that Earth Pony's chagrin.

This whole ride was turning out to be quite nice, really. No screaming, no running, no sudden terror, and you still got candy! This was exactly the sort of thing Might wanted out of the holiday, and he happily opened the pack of Jelly Foals Applejack tossed to him. Settling back to watch the "entertainment" provided by the Knight and the Damsel, he suddenly noticed that there was something familiar about the knight's voice. "I say... have we met before? I go to school in Manehatten, so maybe... was it at one of my cricket matches?"

The dragon addressed him then, and he turned to look. "Oh, um, hi." He looked at her, then at the one dressed as a damsel, and then a light seemed to come on. "You're not putting on a sort of play with them, later, are you? The old 'dragon statches maiden, knight rescues her' sort of job?"

[Monochrome]

"Ooh, I don't know them, really, and didn't have any plansh like that... But that shoundsh like fun! We should do that later, huh?" Marbles replied, thoughtfully looking over at the knight and maiden as well. She adjusted one of her "dragon ears", which had begun to slip from her real ear, and placed a small lollipop in her mouth. The dusty grey unicorn looked about, and noticed that a gem had somehow dislodged itself from her costume and was lying on the wagon floor, that or somepony else had dropped it. She used her magic, a golden yellow aura, to pick it up, and absentmindedly admired each shiny facet of the blue jewel.

[Bellosh]

"Well, I do believe zat you are more, how to say, qualified for such zilly behavior, madame Seed. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd be the cause of a ten pony pileup."

“Dat’s ‘da spirit!” Babs Seed cheered, thrilled to see cousin Valen seemingly getting into the swing of things for a change; “‘Dis will be yah best evah Nightmare Night, Val; just you see.” At the very least, this would be the funniest Nightmare Night for Babs Seed; all courtesy of Applejack’s inspired improvisation with a rope.

"Wait a second! You're that orange one from the Gala! The one who assailed me with that wayward stick! How truly curious that so many of us from then would wind up together again here."

The goldenrod filly first scratched her head in confusion, only seeing a kid dressed up as a cliche evil overlord character. But that voice seemed familiar… and the mention of that stick.....

..............

OF COURSE! It was that Tourmaline girl from the Grand Galloping Gala! The filly that Babs accidently struck with a stick! But that wasn’t all; seeing Liney glance at another little pony, Babs recognized the pony in the sheep outfit as none other than Wind Walker, another kid she met at the Gala. Truly an odd turn of events indeed.

Liney’s recollection of events could use some improvement, but at least she wasn’t all that stuck up about it. “Since you forgot,” the earth pony reminded her crystalline acquaintance, blowing at her overhanging strawberry bang; “‘Da name’s Babs.” Thinking of something else to say, the goldenrod filly in a bit of inspiration challenged Liney; “Pretty nice costume… but I bet ‘dat dark lord guy can’t win in a fight against MY knight!” Smirking, Babs remembered that the hero always defeated the villain, so of course her character would win a throw-down versus Tourmaline’s character!

"I say... have we met before? I go to school in Manehatten, so maybe... was it at one of my cricket matches?"

Oh great, another colt who recognized Babs; this one dressed in a cricket outfit. The down-to-earth earth pony never watched a cricket match in her life, although… there was that one Smith kid she met one time… and he had been watching cricket players practice. Maybe this big boy was one of those players? Only one way to find out; “I don’t go to your school… but you don’t know about a kid named Smith, do ya’?” Babs felt somewhere in the back of her mind that she screwed up the guy’s name somehow, but right now couldn’t put her hoof on it.

"Hi there, brave knight, I'm Wishing Well. Why is this pony all tied up like this? That hold doesn't look very comfortable at all."

Now that angel pony was bombarding Babs Seed with additional questions. "Oh don't worry about 'dis poor princess here," the goldenrod filly reassured with a great big smile of pure trickery; "Heh heh, she's just been tied up with an enchanted rope 'dat can't be taken off at night; 'dat's all....."

[Pretzelparty]

"Let's ride!!!"

​

A few moments after Applejack let out that declaration the passengers on the hay ride could hear what sounded like a faint, but rapidly approaching voice yelling something,"wait!... wait!...wait! wait! wait! WAITWAITWAIT!" Just above the hayride what looked like a small white,blurry cannonball shot past them, bringing in it's wake a strong gust of wind that coudl easily ruffle a few manes or loose fitting costumes. A few yards ahead of the cart was almost monochromatic young pegasus, almost because while her coat was a snowy white and her mane an almost pristine black her eyes were a rather vibrant shade of violet.

This mysterious pegasus was dressed as something perhaps only a pony who was well acquainted with Saddle Arabian lore. She was dressed as one of the mythical wish granting but wily and mischievous djinn. Upon her head was a fez with a sort of decorative veil, her black mane done up in a bun type of style. On her upper body she wore a fancy looking vest adorned with several (fake) gems, Her hooves bore a pair of bracelets and on her hind legs she wore flowing but simple looking dress that hid her cutie mark from view. Flying down to Apple jack the mare spoke up in a rather familiar sounding accent that the farmpony would have likely heard before from a certain filly already on her cart.

"S'cuse me. Dis is da Hayride right? sorry but I kinda got caught up in somethin' so I guess I'm kinda late ta the party, but do ya think it'd be ok I joined ya? ... I'm misty by da way."

[tacobob]

A black crystal filly approached, wearing an enormously evil-looking costume. Applejack raised an eyebrow at the impressive show of style, but wasn't sure what to say. Wind Walker obliged to share her name with Applejack, and she responded with a bit of ignorance. "What? Oh yeah! You and the griffon Zelda. Yeah I remember her name being Zelda. That kissing booth was a fun time, ah tell ya what." Applejack nodded her head to the filly and touched her costume a little to get a good feel of the soft fluffy fabric.

“Yep, it’s real Miss Applejack. Some poor sheep is currently running around in nothing but a pair of boxers cause my crazy Great Aunt had to make me a real looking costume.”, she sighed, “She probably could have made me a cool looking warrior costume, or a dragon, or even an Applejack! But instead, I’m a sheep. Baaah”, she blurted. The elder mare mentioned ‘Babs’ shorty before, which caused the little filly to ponder if there was in fact someone very familiar under that cardboard mask.

"I suppose I am more blessed than I had imagined then. My parents helped me fashion this costume, which I pieced together myself from a number of places back home. It probably wouldn't have come together without them helping me locating some of the needed components," Tourmaline said, nodding. A smile was on her face under the mask. She was surprisingly glad to hear her costume praised by this filly. She had worked hard to make it look right.

Once she found a seat next to the Crystal Pony, she slowly nodded her head, “Well, your parents are super-cool in my book! They actually listened to you and not only allowed you to wear what you wanted to wear, but actually helped you make your costume! That’s just outstanding!”, Wind Walker voice dropped as she added, “My family on the other hoof. They’re all in the Royal Equestrian Army so they’re busy like all the time! I asked them that I wanted to be Black Mask, but they didn’t have the time to help me with my costume, and ended up giving that reasonability to my Great Aunt. And you can see the results of that.”, she made another ‘baaah’ sound.

“As for ‘Blade Masters’, it’s not fine literature, but it sure is fun!”, Wind Walker added, “The series writer, Red Saberwavin has been doing these books since way before I was born and I don’t think he’ll ever stop. They’re all rather simple. You’ve got heroically heroes, dastardly villains and all kinds of fun stuff that made for a ripping tale. ‘Black Mask’ started off as a villain, but changed sides when the fourth book’s main character ‘Silver Spatha' saved her from the 'Seven-Headed-Night-Hags' and became known as 'Lady Parazonium' for the rest of the series that involved the original family."

The filly was able to snatch up a few pieces of candy that were tossed her way, "Candy corn!", being the friendly sort, she hoofed over a few to Tourmaline who appeared to have been to distracted to notice the airborne goodies. She smirked a little when the cardboard knight was revealed, "Oh yeah, Babs Seed." She had spent time with both the filly from Manehatten and her more agreeable Ponyville cousin, Apple Bloom in the past. "Funny, we keep running into each other and we're not even from the same town, but we never seem to run into Apple Bloom. Which is funny, since we're both in Ponyville and we're being pulled in a cart by her big sister. Wonder what Miss 'Big Bow' is doing tonight?"

[Hippo]

Applejack, after lapping Ponyville in a good distance, screeched her wagon to a halt, when, as excitedly as anypony, a pony wanted to hop aboard. "Of course you can come aboard. Strap yourself in!"

Applejack was talked to by Wind Walker as they traveled, and it seemed like she was mildly interested in the possibilities for costumes of the future. But then the filly mentioned an Applejack costume. That certainly was strange, the orange mare thought. "A costume? Of me!? Heh!" Applejack chuckled at the thought, but then realized the honor it might be to have that ever occur. After all, it wouldn't be like she was the first mare to be re-imagined by other ponies who adored her. "You know, actually. I bet an Applejack costume would be a get! And anyone who ever looked like 'an Applejack' sure has a good taste of image, and would probably be one of the best ones to be around. I would be the first one to congratulate that someone, wouldn't you?" Applejack raised her head high and chuckled as she allowed herself to be flattered.

Applejack started the wagon again, and made the turn towards Sweet Apple Acres. The festivities were starting to peel behind them, and the trees became denser and denser. The smell of apples grew stronger with every hoof step and tug of the hayride. "On to the farm we go!" As the town's artificial lighting reached less and less towards the riders, the darkness started to creep in on their surroundings, despite the road being familiar enough for any of the locals. And as the rural road declared, more stones and uneven surfaces in the less traveled path made the ride slightly more bumpier. Applejack was unphased. "Don't worry about these apples on the trees, youngin's. Inside the barn, we have so many apples there, you'll have enough food to last a lifetime!"

​

[RarityDash]

"Oui, very much thank you! I simply bought it but you are quite correct, belle fleur. Zhou had not counted on acting out ze tragedy of Princess Starshine so suddenly. Non, non, pas du tout. So, General Animus- of all ze generals of ze Demon King, vhy Animus? Of my own mind, I always preferred General Metacus. Vut I have always been a, suppose to say, sucker for ze more successful and smart. But zen again, Animus does last a little longer so I suppose success can be partitioned,"

At the maiden filly's comments, Tourmaline nodded along. "Ah, yes, I can definitely see the appeal of Metacus as a character. With his cunning and intellect he manages to find himself at the right hoof of the Demon King himself. He's certainly an interesting character to follow, but ultimately too mortal. As his plans start to become dashed with increasing frequency early in the seventh novel, he becomes increasingly weak to paranoia and Moon writes him more and more as a mewling sycophant. By the time of his demise at the end of that book, he's become pitiable," Tourmaline excitedly made her opinion known. "Animus on the other hand is portrayed from his first actual appearance in the sixth book, where he effortlessly slays poor Princes Bathos of the Changeling Realms, who had until the that point of course been one of the main heroes of the saga, is portrayed more as an ominous and unstoppable enigmatic threat. His power is raw and frightening, able to change the flow of battles entirely. Even when the griffon huntress Astrid finally strikes him down in the climax of the eighth entry in the series, it is a hard fought win and comes at great cost to her both physically and mentally."

Tourmaline gave a small laugh as she came to the pause. "Of course, from the perspective of characterization, I do understand the criticism often levied that his character is under explored. Little motivation or explanation is given for Animus and what he does, especially compared to a more developed player like Metacus, but I would argue that the character would be as powerful were the mysteries all filled in," she continued, wondering briefly if she was providing too much detail. "To me, Animus was the compelling choice for a costume. Metacus would have perhaps been a second choice, but of course General Rancour would have been impossible for me to do convincingly for my size and it'd hardly be appropriate for me to attempt to dress as General Sin for my age. General Ichor would have been a possibility, I suppose, but I've always found the character a little dull so I didn't even consider it."

​

"It is small world indeed! Ve are cousins from var away. Shocked to have run into her in Manehattan on her way here. Shocker, no? She is very kind-hearted filly but excuse her outbursts. She is not, she is not exactly ze sharpest tool in ze shed, no?"

“Since you forgot, Da name’s Babs. Pretty nice costume… but I bet ‘dat dark lord guy can’t win in a fight against MY knight!”

Tourmaline smirked a little at the comment whispered to her and then gave a laugh at the introduction and the amusing challenge that went along with it. It certainly seemed like the maiden filly spoke the truth. Unlike her cousin, this Babs did not seem the intellectual sort in the slightest. While the stick incident had been a moment of irritation, she could recall this filly being willing to play along afterward. She didn't seem to follow the Flakey Shards' model of needless and arrogant delinquency, but rather seemed the sort who could stay mostly well behaved. Tourmaline could respect that at the least.

"Well met, Babs. I am Tourmaline Glass," she said with a nod. "I would have to disagree with your assessment however. In chapter thirty six of The Guardians of the Blade, the fifth entry in the saga, using his blood magic, General Animus was able to rend an entire squadron of Highland Knights before a single one could scratch his cloaks."

​

"Hm... well, I guess they just like being home. I mean, I haven't been back to Trottingham for almost a year, now, and I miss things that I never really thought of when I was there. I suppose that after you've been away for a Thousand years, anything from before looks jolly good to you."

Turning her attention back toward the older colt, Tourmaline gave a small nod. "Ah, well, actually, we have no real cognizance of the time spent lost to the time stream. For us those years passed in a single instant," she explained. "That said, I suppose your point still might stand. While the thousand years we lost wouldn't be a factor, the time our Empire spent under the hoof of tyranny surely might be. The return of normalcy to the empire and all things that represent it might in that case have more weight."

She gave a long sigh. "Of course, from what little I can recall, a lot of fools got worked up over the sheep even before the dark king's reign," she said, shaking her head.

​

"Well, your parents are super-cool in my book! They actually listened to you and not only allowed you to wear what you wanted to wear, but actually helped you make your costume! That’s just outstanding! My family on the other hoof. They’re all in the Royal Equestrian Army so they’re busy like all the time! I asked them that I wanted to be Black Mask, but they didn’t have the time to help me with my costume, and ended up giving that reasonability to my Great Aunt. And you can see the results of that.”

Tourmaline gave a nod and smile. She could definitely feel Wind's pain. Had her sister gotten her way, she probably would have been shoved in some ridiculous animal costume. Perhaps she'd be a sheep as well even. While her own parents were disconnected from her in many respects, they were very much adamant about trying to keep her happy. She really needed to be more grateful for that.

​

“As for ‘Blade Masters’, it’s not fine literature, but it sure is fun! The series writer, Red Saberwavin has been doing these books since way before I was born and I don’t think he’ll ever stop. They’re all rather simple. You’ve got heroically heroes, dastardly villains and all kinds of fun stuff that made for a ripping tale. ‘Black Mask’ started off as a villain, but changed sides when the fourth book’s main character ‘Silver Spatha' saved her from the 'Seven-Headed-Night-Hags' and became known as 'Lady Parazonium' for the rest of the series that involved the original family."

The crystal filly nodded as Wind explained the series. It sounded like the sort of lowbrow serial novel she wouldn't think to even pull from the shelf. The passion as wind explained it, which near matched the passion she had showed just moments before did a lot to sell it however. Really in the end well composed characters and story were what was important when it came to literature. Perhaps this could be worth a look?

"It sounds... somewhat intriguing. I'll make effort to keep it in mind next visit I make to the book shop," she said, nodding.

​

[Mojo]

"Oh, ok," Wishing Well said timidly as she turned her head towards the front. The tiny Pegasus filly started to notice how it was getting darker and darker the further away the wagon rode from the lights of town. Then, the ride started to get noticably bumpier. All of this was very frightening to a foal so far from familiar surroundings. Maybe this was all a part of the Nightmare Night experience? So, the little angel costumed filly decided to try and stay in her seat, munch on some of the candy she had caught, and just wait till the wagon stopped at the barn.

[Blueblood]

Alright, so there wasn't some kind of fairy tale show planned. It wouldn't have fit with the holiday, of course, unless all three had to band together to fight monsters or something. Not a bad idea, actually, he'd have to run it past Psmith.

Speaking of which... "Yeah, Psmith. Don't worry too much about the pronunciation; he'll insist on it, but I think its a little weird myself. Don't mind it much, really, he's a great pal in other respects." Speaking with the filly had jogged his memory enough to place her now. "Babs! That must have been you, back when Psmith crocked his wrist off the boundary I hit." He settled back, glad to have that memory placed. "Huh, you're part of the Apple family, right? Don't you have a cousin coming into St. Mareson's?"

The more elaborately costumed filly spoke again; apparently things had worked a bit differently in the Crystal Empire than he thought. "Huh. That's sure something." He stared into space as the surroundings grew darker and the road grew bumpier. "Dunno if you ought to be so jolly quick to talk about fools. I mean, almost nopony here has ever heard of cricket, and they all look at me like I'm an idiot when I try to explain the rules. Some ponies might think it a little foolish to work so hard on clothes you'll only wear for one night. Guess we all look like fools to somepony."

[Pretzelparty]

"Of course you can come aboard. Strap yourself in!"

"Thanks, Miss Applejack." With those simple words of thanks the pegasus flew over to the wagon and circled over head above the group of ponies already sitting in the cart. She saw a young filly in a sheep costume and chuckled, she may not have been frightening but her costume was nice and he looked rather cute in it. The second she took note of was an earth pony in an very nice looking knight costume. Next was a mare in a scarecrow costume as well as a...filly? in a damsel-esque outfit, and one mare dressed as... a character Mistral couldn't place.

Once Mistral finished her scoping of the passengers she carefully positioned herself over the wagon and landed softly upon a spot of hay that made rather comfy (if a bit prickly) cushion. "ahh.... It's ta finally give my wings a rest..." she let her wings stretch out one last time before folding them up at her side. Looking to the knight and damsel, around fillies and colts the pegasus decided it would be more fun to stay in character. "Greetings great knight and young damsel so fair. I hope on this hayride you enjoy this night air?"

Turning to the rest of the passengers she gave serene, yet sly smile, "As a genie so far from my lamp or my home, I do hope you'll allow me on this... on this ... this... okay, you know what? Enough o' dis..." the mare gave a sigh and chuckled,"I been doin' this Rhymin' thing all night and I need a break, so I hope ya guys don' mind a genie from Manehattan hanging wit' ya." Said the mare with a now much more playful looking but relaxed smirk as she laid down in the hay.

[Hippo]

The wagon was being pulled briskly, as to maximize the time for the barn party, obviously. Applejack was smiling as she did it. She was so excited for the reveal to the ponies, and she was sure their reaction would be priceless. The only problem, however, is that Applejack had not yet received that sense of time, the feeling she gets when she knows she's on schedule. She would feel deep inside herself in her mind to detect exactly what time it was. Was it time?

Yes, it was time. Applejack reached the barn. She pulled the cart around so that it could enter in tailgate first, and with the barn doors open, she slowly backed the wagon inside. The barn was not lit, but it did smell like apples. But something was missing. It didn't have the festive flare that a place like Sweet Apple Acres always does a good job representing. As the wagon fell into the darkness, the wall of moonlit left the ponies who sat inside, and they were left to their sense of hearing and smell.

Applejack un-girthed herself from the wagon as soon as it was completely inside the barn. She walked outside and looked in at the all the ponies who were waiting for what would come next. Applejack pressed a small button on the side of the barn and metal fixings could be heard moving around. "Surprise!"

Immediately, iron bars started coming down on all four windows inside the barn. The barn door had iron bars of it's own, and then slammed down with force to the soft farm ground, Applejack still standing outside of it. She was successful! And right on time, too, as she felt her inner clock give the command to proceed with the capture. Now she could wait for the spoils to come, the feeding time, and the pure joy of completing the task for the queen. Perhaps it was time to shed the funny-looking outfit.

A green glow covered Applejack for a small second, shining a magical aura around her, and when it was gone, a changeling was revealed! With its hard chitin body and glowing blue eyes, the changeling jumped on iron bars and taunted its victory over the ponies it had now captured, locked in the barn. "Hah hah hah hah ha! Grrrr... Kzwaaauuuuh!"

​

[QuickLime]

To be fair Harvest had nodded off, but the sudden slamming of doors had the pegasus on her hooves quickly, her wings spread and her eyes widened "We're trapped! Everypony we need to get out of here!" There was NEVER one changeling they were all in a great deal of trouble! This explained why she didn't know what a scarecrow was! Harvest flew up quickly towards the roof, "We're going to have to make our own way out if one of you can't deal with the bars!" She was staying up in the air away from the changeling..if need be.. she'd break through the roof!

[Mojo]

Wishing Well sat quietly as the wagon neared the barn, but when the wagon was inside and all of the iron bars came down, the frightened Pegasus filly gave out a scream.

"This can't be part of Nightmare Night, can it?" she asked outloud before hearing Harvest Moon's shouting. No time to think, no time to lose! All Wishing Well could think about was getting out and flying off to find help! The bars of the doors were falling fast, it was now or never!

Taking flight, the tiny angel costumed Pegasus filly took off like a shot, trying to make it outside before the doors fell. It was going to be a close race ...... but TOO LATE!

SLAM!!!!!

The iron bars closed completely. the fast moving Pegasus filly tried to back off, but alas, she struck the bars and fell to the ground. Guess it was going to be 'never' after all....

Wishing Well's not dead, but she is hurt. She'll need caring for, and FAST!

[Monochrome]

Marbles had been lost in the sheen of her little gem fragment, until she couldn't see it for how dark it had become. She blinked a few times and gazed around, until her eyes were semi-used to the darkness. "Thish doeshn't look like a party-" she remarked disappointedly, but was cut off by a sudden slam of metal bars coming down over all of the exits, and a call of "Surprise!" For a moment, Marbles thought it was a good-intentioned prank. Yes, a big Nightmare Night joke to scare all of the little colts and fillies... But then the mare who had taken them here, standing outside the trap, transformed to reveal a changeling! Marbles yelped with fright at the realization that this wasn't a joke, and hid herself the best she could under one of the piles of hay in the wagon, her wide green eyes peering out fearfully.

[Blueblood]

Might gave a cheery wave to the newcomer as she got herself settled in after the leap. "Oh, if you don't mind a cricketer from Trottingham, I don't mind a genie from Manehatten!" He looked at her kind of sideways, as he was trying to remember everything he'd heard about genies. Psmith had been on a whole Arabian Nights kick after getting the idea for his costume, but the Earth Pony colt had gotten used to filtering out his friend's chatter. "I say, do genies rhyme all the time? I thought that was just zebras..."

Cultural misunderstandings aside, the ride was going rather well, he thought. Might settled back, gathering up anticipation for the surprise awaiting them in the barn. He could smell the apples as they drove in, but for some reason, the place seemed strangely empty. "What's all this, then?" He asked, never dreaming of what the answer would be.

He gave a short bark of surprise as the iron bars slammed down, and the changeling revealed itself. Off to his left, he could hear the cry of a hurt little filly, and he began to see red. It was not sporting to hurt a filly, I mean, hardly cricket, sir!

Might bolted over the side like he was going for a narrow single, and rushed over to Wishing Well. As team captain, he was used to dealing with injuries on his team. "Right-o, just hold still. Need to check if something's broken..."

(Edited)

[Pretzelparty]

Mistral

"Oh, if you don't mind a cricketer from Trottingham, I don't mind a genie from Manehatten!" "I say, do genies rhyme all the time? I thought that was just zebras..."

"I dunno really... I based dis costume off of a genie I read about in a book when I was a filly... I kinda thought the Rhymin made 'em more mystical er whatever" she gave another shrug and smiled as she noticed the barn nearing in the distance. Suddenly she felt a weird feeling like something was up, usually she was pretty good at telling when somepony was pulling a fast one on her but the holiday had mellowed her out quite a bit.

As the wagon made it to the barn and was backed up into it she noticed that feeling getting worse to the point she was shivering like she was caught in a cold draft. "Ugh fine..." she thought to herself as she pulled herself up and prepared to ask "Applejack" if something was going on she wasn't telling them.. only to be caught off the second she began to speak by the loud slam of the iron bars on the cart. She stared at the scene in disbelief as the changeling revealed herself before she cracked a smile.. and started to laugh uproariously.

"Hahahaha! oooh... By da princesses this is a good one... I gotta admit you changelings got us good!" The mare's laughter merely continued for a good few minutes,"I-I mean ya even picked a great night to pull this off! Well done!" The pegasus seemed truly impressed but there seemed to be a hint of condescension in her tone, but oddly enough she showed know hint of true fear or even the faintest hint of true affection towards these creatures. "Really give yaselves a round of applause!"

[Bellosh]

For the rest of the hayride, Babs Seed spent the rest of the time chatting with Tourmaline Glass and Might Batsman. Babs particularly found herself fascinated by Liney’s description of her character, General Animus, who sounded pretty cool actually. Maybe when she came back home, Babs would take a trip to the public library and borrow the books recommended by the crystal filly… and that said a lot, for Babs usually didn’t feel inclined to read literature not assigned to her by her teacher.

"Hah hah hah hah ha! Grrrr... Kzwaaauuuuh!"

It turned out Applejack’s great big surprise turned out to be imprisonment inside the Apple family barn by a phony. Babs should have sensed something was up when she saw the barn unlit, but didn’t think much of it, assuming AJ planned a final scare before the party began. But now, things did not look good at all; the real Applejack obviously got captured and replaced by the phony somehow, and who knew what happened to the others- oh, Babs would be giving a world of pain if they messed with her favorite cousin Apple Bloom!

(No offense, Valen.)

"Hahahaha! oooh... By da princesses this is a good one... I gotta admit you changelings got us good! I-I mean ya even picked a great night to pull this off! Well done! Really give yaselves a round of applause!"

As if a phony Applejack wasn’t enough of an issue, that angel pegasus who tried bolting got herself seriously injured in the process. For all this time, Babs stood there agape, trying her very best not to show too much fear. What finally snapped her out of it was laughter from one of the grownups; really obnoxious laughter. “SHUT UP ALREADY!” cried out the goldenrod filly; absolutely annoyed that the adult pegasus only found humor in their super-serious peril.

[SteelEagle]

(Guys, AppleLing is outside, we're inside, and it's supposed to be super dark. Remember!)

Valen could feel the color drain from his face as the reality that, yes, he was not exactly the sneakiest squirrel in the world popped off in his head like a thousand rocks. If Psmith found out, then it was only a matter of time until it GOT out that Valen was, well, Valen. And then everypony would know because most ponies had some suspicion anyway. It wouldn't be the end of his social life, but it would be the day he'd have to face who he was publicly and Valen was more than happy to not face that just yet. Or ever, preferably. So he kept his mouth shut as Psmith posed that question to Babs.

He also kept shut when Tourmaline spoke about the book. She certainly knew the characters well enough, if not perfectly, and she had an impeccable memory of the events. Valen disagreed. Metalacus was a character defined less by what he did and more by what he represented. He fought on the side of evil, but had a shred of dignity and honor about him. He was respectful, even to his enemies, and actually opposed his master's more vicious plans for those he ruled. As his power waned, his master no longer favored him, which drove him to a pathetic state as he saw the great future he envisioned fade. The power swing to Animus was a tragedy, as Animus was as dominant a fighter as he was ruthless persona. The end of their great idea came when Metalacus was exiled and Animus made the First Among Bloodlords. But such was taste!

To make it worse, his lack of response wasn't voluntary. The cart increased the pace and they were soon in a barn...which was pitch black. Well, maybe not pitch black, but there was an absence of light. The sound of iron bars- a filly's scream- a changeling at the window!

"SWEET CELESTIA'S TUBE SOCKS, IT'S A TRAP!" Valen screamed, dropping any hint of an accent. He jumped up in a panic and tried to run, instead tripping over the side of the cart and smashing into the dirt. He got up, instead of making ot easy he braced himself against a wheel and pushed himself up. The filly was still screaming. He had heard enough of that- airship crashes and giant worms in tunnels had provided enough scream material for a lifetime. Valen hopped on his hind legs towards the sound of the injury, doing it faster and faster not because he was good because he couldn't keep upright any other way. Finally, he smacked into the iron bars and fell back down barely conscious for a second next to the injured angel and the Batsman.

He was doing good, looking at the injury, but maybe in the darkness he had not seen the fact that she was still trapped under the iron bars. If they didn't get that up, it didn't matter. Valen braced his hind legs on the bars and pushed up, grunting with effort. No budging.

It was too heavy and strong to be pushed up more than a few inches, even if they all combined their very best efforts. But that would be enough to save a filly, so it'd be enough for Valen.

"I...need...some...UGGH...HELP PLEASE!"