I

HAVE

FUCKING

RETURNED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

First of all, it's late, but MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEARS, yadda yadda, whatever holidays you guys celebrate, hope you had a fun and safe time!

Back to the main question, which I know you're all gonna ask: "Where were you King? What took you so long?"

Well, let's just say that I honest to God gave up on fanfictions. I lost the motivation. I lost the passion I used to have. But the only reason I didn't delete my account and the stories were because I wanted people to at least enjoy some content, even if it's unfinished. And eventually, I've been getting reviews that really pumped me back up to start things again. Even though I have been busy lately. Which won't keep me from updating from time to time.

Which might end up with short chapters if I have time and need to split a segment.

Either way, that's done with, I'm back, and I hope you guys are ready for a special chapter that was meant for October!

That's right, ya boi is bringing out the Nightmare Night Special! Which, by the way, was planned out a long time ago when I was actually capable of spitting out these chapters left and right. I could've timed up the holiday chapters perfectly but life said 'fuck you'. Either way, I'm sure you guys will enjoy it. Hopefully it won't be too bad.

Now that that's out of the way, I can finally begin.

But first, let's catch up!

1.) Nicholas walked in on Blake in the Shower!

2.) Nick and Pinkie threw Blake a welcoming party!

3.) Nicholas accepts Blake as his new family!

4.) Gilda sent a birthday invite!

What happens now? Questions, that's what!

Gramzon Dragon: Question(s) for Nick and Blake, Nick: How were you able to make clones of yourself? Isn't that a bit dangerous? And are the kinda like solid holograms? Blake: Do you know anything from your brother's world?

- Nicholas: I'm literally a mini-version of Discord. Normal clones are easy, unlike that cloning spell that literally splits your personality.

- Blake: Not much, no. But I'm sure he'll tell me all about it soon. But all the human games are fascinating!

DragonLord RyuKizoku: Interesting turn of events here in the last few chapters. Though I can't help but find it pretty odd that you chose the name Blake for a female character. Last I checked, that's a guy's name. I can certainly understand not wanting to use Nikki, so as to avoid confusion, but a female clone of Nick being named Blake is a bit strange. Not really a criticism, more just wondering how you came to that decision on the name. Beyond that small detail, seems good so far. Keep it up.

- Eh, I just asked a friend to suggest me a name. They just came up with Blake. Shouldn't be surprised since they're a RWBY fan.

DarthLeo: What a fantastic story so far! I'm excited for an update, but take your time. Life comes first. I'm sure many readers would rather wait for a better chapter than seeing a rushed chapter. You presented a captivating story so far and would love to see many more!DarthLeo1000YT, a fellow writer.

- Thanks! You brought me my spark back. I won't be as active as I was in school, since I graduated and now have a job, but I'll be here and there.

With that out of the way, it's time for you to READ!

Enjoy!

(Anybody mind creating some fanart of Unexpected Turn of Events? I'd greatly appreciate it if you do XD I'll post the link up on my page if there's any artwork!)

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP:FiM!

Chapter 48: Nightmare Night Special!

"Yes, yes, yes, fucking YES!" Nicholas said to himself, acting like a child ready to visit the candy store. His eyes glanced out at the window and he saw the lights and decorations all over Ponyville, glowing in the night itself. It's been only a couple days since the welcoming party for Blake, but the last 5 days flew by in a breeze! "What should I be? What should I be?" It was his first Nightmare Night since coming to Equestria and he's been thinking about it since he woke up.

He couldn't even focus much during school until the final bell rang.

He's been thinking of several different characters to go as.

A ghost? Simple, but with magic, he could just turn himself transparent and float around.

A zombie? As common as that would be, it would be pretty gruesome if he made it realistic enough.

More and more ideas came to mind. Some sillier than others, the rest more fitting for the holiday. He had half a mind to actually walk around dressed as Sonic the Hedgehog, but he wanted to make his first Nightmare Night special. His eyes narrowed and he started to snap his fingers.

*Flash!*

A mummy.

*Flash!*

Freddy Krueger.

*Flash!*

Slenderman.

*Flash!*

A grizzly bear.

Nicholas groaned as he put his paws over his face. "This is getting nowhere." He heard a knock on the door.

Blake poked her head in with a smile on her face. However she faltered just slightly at the sight of a large bear standing in the middle of the room. "Nick?"

"Fuck yeah, it's me."

"Did you finally pick out a costume yet?"

"No, not exactly." There was a flash and Nicholas was back to his normal self. The man let out a loud sigh and fell back on the large king sized bed. "I have so many ideas on who I want to be, but I can't pick a goddamn one." Nicholas lit up in another flash of light and Blake blinked in surprise when she saw a large gingerbread man laying down. Another flash, he was back to normal. Nicholas sucked his teeth before he turned his head to look at his sister. With a cocked brow, he asked "What about you?"

Blake's smile brightened up as if she waited for him to ask that question.

After all, she wanted it to be a surprise.

She practically, and almost, kicked the door open to reveal herself to be wearing a costume.

A spider. She was literally a black widow. With tiny miniature arms underneath her own and a perfectly replicated red pattern on her rear. Which was made pretty well, considering it was only a costume. Then, out of nowhere, she pulled out a tiny golden crown to place atop of her head and grinned. "I'm the new Spider Queen. Hiss!" She held up her hands as if she were ready to 'attack'.

He wasn't sure if spiders even made a sound, but he clutched his chest before this cinnamon roll before him gave him a heart attack out of pure innocence and adorableness.

"Well at least you have a costume to wear." The man chuckled as Blake bounced in place, laughing as her little mini arms bounced along with her.

"Maybe you should pick something cute to be. Just like me!" The human girl suggested. "Maybe if you wore a bear costume instead of actually being the bear, it would be even better!"

"Blake." Nicholas deadpanned with a small smirk. "It's Nightmare Night. Or Halloween, for me. It's meant to be scary."

"Not all the time."

Nicholas hummed as he cupped his chin. "Would it be better if I go as one of the classics...?" He mumbled to himself, tuning Blake out. "Nah, a vampire is too common. And the wolfman is too hairy... Frankenstein...?"

"Oh come on!" Blake huffed.

"... Sonic the Hedgehog...?" Nicholas continued to think to himself. "Maybe... Human Torch...?"

"I have an idea." Nicholas stopped mumbling to himself and Blake stepped out of the doorway once she noticed Fluttershy was joining the room as well. Her costume was a bit more simple. Just a few whisker marks around her nose and a pair of cat ears on top of her head. Even though she refused to go trick-or-treating out with the others, Fluttershy still wanted to participate in the holiday as little as she could.

"Why not just go as a bunny rabbit?" She continued. The two humans simply stared at her in silence. "What?"

"A... bunny rabbit?" Nicholas asked slowly.

Fluttershy's cheeks started to heat up in embarrassment.

"I-I think it's a good idea!"

"... 'Kay." Nicholas snapped his fingers.

Blake stifled a laugh as she watched her brother stand before them wearing an actual white bunny outfit with a pink belly and bowtie to match. His wings were gone and his tail was stuffed into the big puff ball on the back of the costume. On top of his head hung two floppy ears. "I wanna take a picture so bad!" Blake squealed. Nicholas held up a paw and lit it on fire. Which surprisingly didn't burn.

"I'll destroy it."

"Only if you can find it."

Nobody could take him seriously with the costume and two pink 'blush' circles on his cheeks.

Fluttershy flew forward and placed a peck on the man's cheek. "You look adorable." She giggled.

Nicholas huffed and grinned with crossed arms. "You're both lucky I'm okay with a lot of things."

"Oh hush." Fluttershy lightly slapped his chest. "I'm sure Princess Luna will enjoy it just as much as we do, Nick."

Oh, right. Nicholas had nearly forgotten about his mentor was traveling to Ponyville to celebrate Nightmare Night with the residents. All because he was busy trying to pick what kind of costume to use for the night. "I sure she would." He muttered under his breath. He could already see it now. The princess of the night trying her best not to laugh at the ridiculous get-up. Or not. Maybe she'll just straight-up laugh in his face.

"By the way, Shy," Nicholas called out. "You sure you don't want to come with us?"

The kitty pegasus shook her head. "I've never really enjoyed being out during a night like this. I always get too... jumpy."

He should've assumed that was the reason.

As open she'd get around him, he'd always forget just how shy and sensitive she really is around others.

"And Nightmare Night is Rainbow Dash's favorite holiday too, just so you know." Fluttershy deadpanned.

Nicholas immediately understood what she was getting at. He scoffed. "She'll know better than to prank little ol' me unless she wants to wake up without any colors."

Fluttershy giggled behind her hoof when the image of a completely white Rainbow Dash freaking out.

"Well we'll be careful anyway, won't we?" Blake grinned as she nudged Nicholas in the arm.

"That's an understatement." Nicholas sighed. "I have to make sure tonight goes well for Luna. And practically everyone else." There was no doubt that ponies still held some sort of blatant fear for the old Nightmare Moon persona his mentor used to be. And he'd be damned if he let anyone ruin the night for her. But he wasn't going to ignore any discomfort Luna's presence will likely bring to others.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Ooh, would the adorable bunny-man like to open the door?" Blake insisted with a teasing smirk.

"Fuck off?" Nicholas shot back, earning a snort. Teasing is a two-way game.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and made her way down the stairs. "I'll get it."

The twin siblings followed the yellow pegasus to the front door, where she opened it up to reveal 3 familiar fillies Nicholas knew all too. "Scoots!" The man knelt down as the orange pegasus filly galloped into his arms with a happy squeal. She was wearing a wolf costume. Behind her were Applebloom, dressed up as 'frankenstein's daughter', and Sweetie Belle as a vampire. "How you three little gremlins enjoying the night so far?"

"It's been fun! We've already got a lot of candy from only 4 houses!" Scootaloo pulled away from the hug and paused when she noticed Nicholas' costume. "What-"

"Don't." The human said with a flat smile. "Please. Don't."

"Forget about Mr. Grump, let's talk about your costumes!" Blake said as she looked over each of them with a widening smile.

"We asked my big sister Rarity to make them for us." Sweetie Belle said with pride in her voice. "We probably have the best costumes in our class!"

Fluttershy, without Nicholas noticing, had walked off and floated back with a bowl of candy in her hooves. With a knowing smile, Fluttershy waited for the girls to ready their treat bags. "Jesus Christ, you were right. Your bags are already halfway filled!" Nicholas saw as Fluttershy gave them a small bundle of candy each to the filly trio. "No wonder you got so much. You're getting like 5 pieces of candy per house!"

"Well how much do you normally get on Halloween?" Blake questioned.

Nicholas scrunched his face. "Like two or three, but that's because too much sugar will give brats diabetes-wait." Nicholas asked Scootaloo directly with an intense stare. "Did the trick-or-treating just start?"

"Yeah...?" The orange filly answered slowly. "Why-"

Fluttershy scoffed in minor annoyance when a quick flash of light took over Nicholas, but immediately facehoofed when she saw three large and very empty bags hanging off of Nicholas' arms. Each. "... Nicholas. Please."

"Nah, I'm getting some friggin' candy, Shy!" Nicholas made a move to dash out the door.

Blake scrambled to find her holiday bag before she hastily followed her brother. "Hey, wait!"

Fluttershy and the rest of the fillies watched two humans race out the house, only for Blake to trip on a rock and tumble into Nicholas. The twins fell into a heap, one falling as the other tried to rise and lose balance. The girls started to giggle at the sight, only to clam up with a gasp when they saw a very familiar mare trot up to the house.

"Goddammit Blake!" Nicholas mumbled into the dirt.

Blake struggled a little to get up, but she was laughing the entire time. "Sorry not sorry."

"Jeez, you really are taking after me." He rolled his eyes and pushed himself up. Only to see a pair of dark blue hooves in front of him.

Then there was a moment of silence before Nicholas heard the mare trying to hide her snickering behind a hoof. "I see you've picked an... interesting attire to spend the night."

He recognized that voice. Nicholas hopped back to his feet. He dusted off the dirt with a smirk. "Good to see you've made it, princess."

Luna nodded her head as she turned to greet Blake, who looked at her in confusion. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yes!" Blake stepped around Luna with a concerned face. "Where's your costume, Lulu?"

There was a moment of silence.

"... 'Lulu'?" Nicholas and the princess said at the same time.

"What's wrong with Lulu? We're friends right?" Blake said with a little uncertainty in her voice. Nicholas saw that Luna was smiling in amusement. Seems she wasn't bothered by it at all. And while he was almost positive she wouldn't be too offended by the cute nickname, you never know how royalty works. "But seriously, where's your costume!?"

"I didn't exactly have a costume in mind. But I believe I'll be perfectly fine."

"You sure?" Nicholas asked. "I can give you one with a snap of my fingers."

"Yes, I am sure." Luna nodded. Then the blue princess turned her head to look back at the doorway, where Fluttershy and the girls were standing, watching the entire scene play out before them. Their stunned faces earned a snort from Nicholas. "Hello Fluttershy. It has been a long time since we've last met." Hearing her name being said, the pegasus herself 'eeped' and quickly bowed her head. As did Scootaloo and her friends. "Now now, there's no need for formality."

"Yeah, Lulu's cool!" Blake added in.

"... I love that nickname." The princess mumbled quietly, mostly to herself.

"Nick, I didn't know you were friends with P-Princess Luna...!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, looking a little nervous in the princess' presence. The same went for Fluttershy, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. They all inhaled sharply when Luna made her way closer to the door.

"Come now, there's no need to be afraid." Luna reassured gently. "The days of Nightmare Moon are long behind me."

"N-No! It's not that!" Fluttershy said quickly. Seeing how the blue princess jumped just a bit, startled, she blushed at how loud she had gotten. Coughing lightly, Fluttershy explained herself. "It's just... w-we haven't seen you since you r-returned to Equestria. We just don't know how to p-properly greet you. Everypony is used to Princess Celestia arriving from time to time. We a-apologize if we caused any m-misunderstandings."

"Is that so?" The princess inquired, sparing Nicholas a glance. "I take it you've had a hoof in this?"

"Definitely." Nicholas responded quickly. He thought back to all the conversations he's had with Fluttershy and the others about Luna's arrival for Nightmare Night. It was obvious from what he heard from the girls and Spike about Nightmare Moon's terror. They were still scared of her. Twilight was the first to welcome Luna back to Ponyville with open arms, but it took a little convincing for the rest of them to get over their fears. "Nobody should give you any crap tonight."

Although convincing the rest of Ponyville was a bit more trickier.

But that didn't stop him.

There was no way he'd let people ruin the night of his favorite princess.

"Well now that you're here," Nicholas grinned as he picked off a bag from his right arm and offered it to Luna. The alicorn's horn lit up and the bag started to levitate with her magic. "We can definitely enjoy the night." Nicholas turned to Scootaloo. "You coming with, Scoots?"

"Well..." The small filly rubbed the back of her neck.

Applebloom quickly stepped up. "We promised to go trick-or-treating by ourselves."

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle joined in. "Tonight is the first Nightmare Night we can enjoy without having Applejack or Rarity watching over us!"

Nicholas nodded, completely understanding what they were hinting at. He remembered how amazing it was to spend Halloween with friends instead of family or adult supervision. The freedom was the best thing of the night.

Blake on the other hand, "Awe, but I wanted to come with you girls." She pouted with crossed arms. "It's my first Nightmare Night too."

"I had assumed you were going to accompany us tonight." Luna said in confusion.

"Well I was, until I realized this was a night for you two." The human girl started to look a little sheepish. "I don't want to be a third-wheel..."

"I'm dating Fluttershy, not Luna. There will be no third-wheeling with me around." Nicholas gave her a flat stare. Which, again, did not fit his bunny-man character. Then he heard happy gasps from the filly trio and saw Scootaloo exchanging shocked glances between him and Fluttershy; who was blushing up a storm at being put on the spotlight.

In front of a princess no less.

"N-Nick!" The pegasus exclaimed. She wasn't sure how she felt having her love life revealed in front of three fillies and royalty.

Hearing this, Luna had a cheshire grin on her face. "To think you'd fall in love with the Element of Kindness. I approve."

Fluttershy started leaning against the doorframe. She was starting to feel lightheaded now.

"Okay, okay, no need to tease my girlfriend into a coma." Nicholas rolled his eyes and gestured with his hand to follow them. "Just come with us, Blake. Let the girls have their 'grown-up' night and we can all go together next year." Then, just before Blake made up her mind and joined them, the man leaned down towards his mentor with a grin. "Although if it weren't Fluttershy, I doubt there'd be anyone else." Nicholas said quietly for only the princess of the night to hear.

Luna giggled.

"You never know." Luna teased.

As the trio started their walk to the town, Nicholas turned around to call back to the fillies. "Also, I'd like our relationship to not spread around Ponyville, girls. Keep it tight lipped please!" The Cutie Mark Crusaders all saluted to the bunny-man before they gestured to 'zipping up' their lips. "Especially around Rarity!" Laughing at the 'gossip queen' jab at her sister, Sweetie Belle grabbed her bag off the ground. And along with her friends, they darted off to Ponyville for another round of treats. "And I should be back in 3 hours, Fluttershy. I'll make sure to split the candy with you!"

With a small sigh after wearing off the blush on her cheeks, the yellow pegasus simply waved the group off.

Nicholas spun back on his heels and immediately asked Luna, "So how's everything been going since the Gala?"

"There hasn't been anything unusual, if that's what you mean." Luna responded coolly. "My schedule has technically been the same each night. I usually handle any leftover politician work as soon as I awake and let Celestia retire for the day. Then, after a few hours, I return to my chambers to begin my routine of scouting out the nightmares in ponies' dreams. It may not sound like much, but it can be a time taxing ordeal."

"Damn, that sucks." As soon as the fillies were out of earshot, Nicholas was free to talk as he wanted. "You literally wake up just to handle politics. I can admire the part about protecting people from Nightmares though."

"Such is the life as a princess. It is not something ponies would envy, but it is a job I take pride in knowing that I share my sister's duties to keep the peace in Equestria." Luna breathed out a pleased sigh as she looked up at the starry sky. "And it's not something I'd trade for anything."

"Can't really say I'd be able to do that. Too much pressure, but I understand how you feel. Being such an unwavering icon to everyone's life, having a responsibility to keep isn't exactly easy." Nicholas nodded his head as he lifted a hand in the air. He laughed. "Meanwhile, I on the other hand. I'm literally a grown man stuck in a school for kids and a simple job on an apple farm. Nothing to worth noting, but I get by."

"Speaking of school," Blake piped up. "Will I be joining soon? We haven't really talked about it too much when you think about it."

Nicholas shrugged. "To be honest, that's entirely up to Fluttershy." The man snorted. "Although, I wouldn't really rush trying to get enrolled. It's not as great as you think."

"Is it too difficult?" Blake asked.

Nicholas shook his head. "Basically everything is easy for me. I know enough. Except for Equestrian languages and cultures. It's classmates that ruin a good chunk of the experience."

Luna gave Nicholas a peering eye. "Are you being bullied?"

The man huffed. "As if. Everyone in town knows I'll get even." In a way, that sounded more ominous than it should. At least, in Luna's opinion. "Nah, I'm just thinking about two very specific, spoiled little shits who think they own the school and try to pick on Scoots and her friends. Which is why I'm always near, to make sure nothing bad happens."

"Awww, the bunny-man is their guardian angel~" Blake sang, laughing even after getting flicked in the forehead by her brother.

"Which is very honorable and kind." Luna agreed with a wholehearted nod of approval. "But, might I ask, who these two 'little shits' are if they are such a bad influence? Maybe a few words from their princess would set them on the right path."

"God it's so weird when you curse." Nicholas mumbled. Maybe he was a bad influence on his over 1,000 year old mentor. And wouldn't that be a funny thing to behold. "And I'd rather not say. The night is for fun and it's wouldn't do anyone good if we cracked down on kids now. Especially if they get a panic attack from their princess scolding them about bullying."

Blake pursed her lips. "But that's what they deserve right?"

"Oh yeah, they do." Nicholas agreed. There was nothing more than he wanted to get back on them in the funniest, almost risky way possible without getting in trouble. But they're kids. It's in their blood to be some kind of trouble-makers. "But they haven't done enough to involve me yet. Especially not a princess."

The human female hummed to herself. "Didn't you say something about a little prank toni-"

"Shhhh!" Nicholas practically smothered Blake's face with his pawed hand, effectively cutting her off and confusing her in the process. He gave Luna a side glance and saw that the princess was eyeing him as well. With a suspicious gaze of course. Before she could even speak, Nicholas laughed it off and rolled his hand. "Yes, yes, I'm planning something tonight. But it's just a minor prank. Nothing to get all worried about."

The alicorn continued to stare.

"Hehe..." Nicholas' tried to avoid eye contact and within doing so, he realized they finally reached Ponyville and a nearby house was coming up. "Fucking finally." He mumbled as he jogged up to the door and lifted a hand to knock. "Wait, why does this place feel familiar...?"

*Knock, Knock!*

Blake took the initiative and rapped her knuckle on the door for him.

Oh wait, this is-

"Aren't you a little old to be doing this?"

"Aren't you a little old to have a stick up your-"

Another voice cut in. "Oh my, Nicholas you look so adorable!" Button's Mom came around the corner holding a bowl of candy. From the disapproving look in her eye, she definitely heard which direction this conversation was going. Stepping passed Coal Miner, she looked over to Blake and squealed at the spider costume. "And is this your sister I've been hearing about lately? She certainly a cute one, just like you." The mare had a beaming smile as Blake pulled Nick closer with an arm around his neck.

"Trick-or-Treat!" The twin girl said, holding out her bag.

"It's been a while, kid." Coal gruffed, smirking as he said it.

"It has. Nothing much changed, I see." Nicholas returned as he got a couple chocolate bars in his bag. "Still a grump?"

"Still a weirdo?" Coal looked over Nicholas' bunny outfit. "Looks like I got my answer."

"Oh stop it you two." Button's Mom lightly scolded with a short giggle. "One day Coal here says you two finally made up, but yet here you are, acting like bickering foals."

Nicholas and Coal looked at each other before they looked at her. They shrugged. "Eh, it's a guy thing." They replied at the same time.

Button's Mom rolled her eyes with a quiet "Colts." under her breath. But at least she knew they were fooling around. "Anyways, how are you two enjoying Nightmare Night so far?" The mother questioned.

"So far?" Nicholas hummed. "This is the first house we came to cause it took me a while to pick a costume."

"30 minutes." Blake chimed in. "It took him 30 minutes of desperation to find a costume."

"That long? And this is what you came up with?" Coal started laughing.

"Hey-"

"Enough of that." Button's Mom's stare was enough to shut down the imminent argument before it even started. As harmless as it could've been, she didn't want swear words flying around with nearby children getting their treats from the neighbors. Seeing the two males back down, the mare smiled and looked between the twins for a moment. "Surely it's not just you two. I would've expected Fluttershy at least."

"Fluttershy can't handle being jumpscared." Blake answered with a snort. She remembered how she surprised her with her spider outfit and couldn't get her down from the ceiling for 5 minutes.

"Ah, that's right." Button's Mom nodded. "Bless her fragile heart."

"Plus, it's not just us two. We got," Nicholas paused as he looked around. Luna wasn't with them at the door. "Huh. Where the hell..."

"Is that... P-Princess Luna...?" Coal stuttered, having found the princess before her student had. The large stallion pointed over to the right, leading Nicholas' eyes over the crowd of confused ponies to find his mentor standing at a vendor station. One of which had Applejack standing there, wearing a scarecrow outfit, with a nervous smile on her face as Luna stood across from her. The alicorn was looking at a candy apple on a stick, the glaze glistening in the moonlight.

"Yeah, I'm kinda her escort for the night." Nicholas answered. "Trying to show her the Spooky Holiday Spirit."

"Well, don't let us keep you any longer then." Button's Mom smiled, looking a little put off at the sight of one of the princesses. Just before she closed the door, she looked at Nicholas. "Also, if you see Button Mash, tell him mommy says don't eat everything at once."

"Will do, ma'am." The bunny man saluted before he jogged his way to Luna's side.

Applejack spotted him as soon as he was 5 steps away from the stand. The cowgirl beamed as she took her eye off the princess. "Ah, howdy Nick, Blake. How's your night going for ya?"

"Good, good. Any reason why Luna is staring at the apple like it's the most important thing in the world?" Nicholas said in amusement. Truth be told, the alicorn princess was so focused on the sweets that she didn't seem to notice the anxious faces of the costumed ponies surrounding the group, Applejack included. Which was a good thing in Nicholas' book.

"This is... a candy apple?" Luna mumbled, but still loud enough to be heard. "I don't think I've been given the chance to try one before..."

"Well tonight's the night for new shit." Nicholas flipped 2 Bits on the table. "2 of them, AJ. One for Luna and the other for Blake."

Remembering that she was doing a job, the cowgirl nodded as she propped up two candied apples out for the man to take. "I'm surprised you ain't trying for one, sweetheart. Or should I say, sweet tooth?" The jab at him was obvious. While it wasn't a common thing to be seen, Nicholas would always be after some kind of sweets be it cupcakes, candy, cake, etc.

"Oh ha ha." Nicholas grinned. "For your information, I've been near your apples for so long, I think I can hold off for other delicacies before coming back here."

"That's a shocker." Applejack watched as Luna grasped the apple with her magic. "You're usually the first one in line for candy. I'm almost surprised you're not bouncin' around right now as if it were your birthday."

"Not yet it's not."

"Oh?" Blake took a bite out of her apple and squealed at the flavor. "You never told me about your birthday?"

"Same goes for me." Luna sampled the sweet and smiled. "This is quite good, Applejack. You really know how to make 'em."

"Aw, now you're makin' me blush." The orange mare flustered. "Plus, it is your first candied apple. There's plenty folk around with ones just as good, if not better than mine."

"Just take the damn compliment." Nicholas said with a smirk. He already knew how good her apples were. "And for the birthday thing, nobody ever asked. Except Fluttershy that is." He saw three sets of expectant eyes looking at him, waiting. "Tch, fine, if you really want to know, it's on January 1st. Not too far away." Almost as soon as he heard that, he could've sworn he heard giggling amongst the crowd before it disappeared. He started looking around. "Was... was that Pinkie just now?"

"Yep."

"Then she just heard me."

"Yep."

"... I need to catch her before she plans something big."

"Too late, surgarcube." Applejack snickered as she leaned on the table and jutted out a hoof. "Believe it or not, she's been hounding all of us about when your birthday in secret just so she can surprise ya. I bet she already has your birthday bash planned out in her bedroom by now."

"Wait, she asked everyone? Including Shy? And she didn't break under pressure?" Nicholas said, actually surprised.

"She can be stubborn when the time calls for it." Applejack laughed at her little joke before she saw Luna drop a stick in the garbage. "Ya finished already, princess?"

"Yes and I would like another." The princess paused. "Please."

"So Lulu," Blake piped up with a bubbly smile. Applejack choked on air at the daring nickname for the princess. A quick shake of his head, Nicholas silently told Applejack it was okay. "We haven't got much done so far, but how are you liking Nightmare Night?"

The alicorn hummed as she stared at the new apple she had yet to bite. "It is a pleasant holiday, something I would definitely be glad to participate in another time. However," Luna's eyes traveled over to the side where she saw a pair of ponies looking at their group. Once she had made eye contact with the duo, the colt and mare had obviously tensed up and sped walked away from the area, trying and failing, to play off their nervousness. "It seems other ponies are unable to enjoy such festivities with me around."

"Now, that's not-" Applejack started, but Nicholas cut her off.

"Don't lie to her. You know it's true, AJ." The man said bluntly with crossed arms. The cowgirl set a steely glare at him. "It's obviously going to take time before people start getting used to having her around again. Which is why I invited her to Ponyville to celebrate the night with us." Nicholas gestured his hands all around them. "We don't live in a city. We're literally a small town almost in the middle of nowhere. If Luna wants to start somewhere, she's gotta start small where she'll have a good start."

"He does have a point." Blake chimed in. "And being friends with the Elements of Harmony will fix her reputation too!"

"Yeah-wait," Nicholas looked at his clone. "When did you learn about the Elements?"

"Twilight told me while you were making us a new home."

"I'm not surprised." Nicholas rolled his eyes at the thought of Twilight pointing to a whiteboard with details about the Elements. "Regardless, Luna's here to have fun. And I'm gonna give her fun. And nobody is gonna change that." The girls in front of him weren't too sure if he was raising his voice at the end to convey a message to nearby ponies or just to show his enthusiasm. Either way, his conviction was clear. "Now let's get some more damn candy."

"Yeah!" Feeling pumped up, Blake shot her fist in the air, making her tiny spider arms wave around with it.

"You don't have to go so far, you know." Luna smiled. Nicholas snorted.

"If I didn't, you wouldn't be gorging on a candy apple right now." The man pointed out with a smirk.

The alicorn blushed, but didn't respond. But the gratitude was clear as day.

"Ya know, Nick? You've been having a good comeback lately, trying to set things right." Applejack wondered as she thought back to the days spent worrying about her friend. What used to be a sad, distant human became a joyous and outgoing man trying to catch up on times lost in his angst. The cowgirl rummaged through her stand before pulling out another candy apple. "Ya deserve this. Take it, it's on the house."

Nicholas stared at the apple almost as if he didn't deserve it. But eventually, he caved in and smiled, taking the sweet with a nod.

He went to bite it.

He stopped.

His brows furrowed in confusion, almost disgust.

"What's wrong?" Applejack arched her eyebrow.

"Does anyone else smell that or is it just me?" The man almost gagged at the strong scent in the air.

Luna sniffed the air and her nose crinkled in disgust. "You are right, I smell it too."

"Ugh," Blake scoffed. "What is that?"

"Tomatoes." A voice answered. "Lots and lots of tomatoes, sis."

The group turned towards the source of the voice and Applejack was the first to gasp. "What in tarnation happened!?"

It was Applebloom and behind her was the rest of the CMC, with Button Mash tagging along with them. None of them were smiling or even looked remotely happy in the slightest. The reason? All of their costumes, including Button Mash's Pony-Craft Miner outfit, was covered in red splotches and the scent of tomatoes in everyone like a speeding truck.

Scootaloo scowled as she dropped her bag of candy, using a hoof to rub away angry tears that threatened to fall out of the corner of her eyes. "We got 'tagged and bagged', apparently."

"Yeah..." Button Mash mumbled as he kicked the ground. "All because those two-"

"Shhh!" Sweetie hushed quickly. Button looked confused. "Look, let's just go home and get cleaned up."

But it seemed like Scootaloo had a better idea. "Nick, can you-"

*Snap!*

"Thanks."

Just like that, the smell and stains the tomatoes made vanished in thin air with the snap of Nicholas' fingers. As the kids were momentarily relieved at the loss of tomato juice, Applejack stomped around the vending stand and flared her nostrils. "Who in the world would do this?" Her voice left no room for argument and Applebloom knew that tone very well.

"It was them, wasn't it?" Nicholas said as he munched on his apple. "Diamond and Silver?"

"Were those the two bullies you mentioned earlier?" Luna stepped up, clearly displeased with the state the fillies and colt were in. "This is not right."

"Diamond Tiara? Silver Spoon?" Blake said quietly, just as upset as the rest of them. "Please tell me they didn't..."

Scootaloo wasn't afraid to speak up for the rest of them. "Yeah, it was them. We were trying to make another run around town for candy and they managed to pelt us with tomatoes near the school." Nicholas nodded slowly as he continued to eat his apple. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at the nonchalant attitude. "And it doesn't even look like you care!"

"Don't get it twisted." Nicholas said smoothly. "I'm pretty damn livid right now."

"Doesn't look like it." Button grumbled.

"Trust me. I am." Nicholas snapped his fingers again as his own clone popped into existence. "Find 'em. You know what to do." The clone saluted before he shapeshifted into a vampire bat and took into the night sky. The group watched in confusion at the parting bat before Nicholas clapped his hands. "Alright, with that settled, let's all travel together now. That way, nobody gets jumped with more tomatoes."

"What did you do?" Applejack questioned with a frown. "Cuz if you're bringing those two girls here, I'd like to have a few words with them."

"I wouldn't say I'm bringing them back, but you'll know where they are." Nicholas said. Almost ominously. "Eventually." He took another bite of his apple.

Scootaloo stared at him for a moment before her eyes lit up. "I wanna see their faces!" She seemed a little too giddy and the rest of the CMC followed when they realized what was gonna happen.

Luna turned to her student. "Nicholas..." Her voice was stern, almost a warning.

"Don't worry, princess. I promise things won't go too far." The man swore, then thought, 'But you're gonna have some extra work in the dream world tonight'.

Flashback (2 Days Ago...)

"I'm gonna be a werewolf!" Scootaloo revealed.

"I'm gonna be a vampire!" Sweetie Belle added.

"And I'm gonna be Frankenstein's Daughter!" Applebloom finished.

It was only 10 minutes after the last bell had rung to let the students know that school had ended for the day, releasing the torrent of kids out through the doors onto the streets. However, a group had remained in the school playground. The three fillies were giggling about how silly or cool they were going to look when Nightmare Night came around. And while they were chatting amongst themselves, Nicholas had decided to, literally, hang out in the tree as a bat.

The dark brown bat hummed as Nicholas jutted out a wing towards the girls. "Glad to see you girls are already planning ahead. I've been trying to get a costume idea going for days and still haven't came up with a decent one." In his upside-down view of the world, Applebloom stepped forward with a wide smile.

"Ooh! I have an idea!" The young farm girl chirped. "Why not be a firefighter?"

"Yeah," Nicholas snorted at the suggestion. "Cause when a house is on fire, what am I gonna do. Throw more fire?"

"Not literally ya goofball." The filly giggled.

"How about a dragon?" Scootaloo said, her eyes glinting at the idea.

"I'm already like part dragon." Nicholas rolled his eyes. "Like 28 percent... I think. It's been a while. Anyway, next?"

Sweetie Belle had opened her mouth to speak.

"Why not just go as yourself? You're already the weirdest thing around. Scariest too."

But it wasn't her voice.

The voice had immediately changed the mood of the CMC and Nicholas groaned. He came trouble in the form of two fillies, Diamond Tiara and her best gal pal, Silver Spoon. The rich duo strutted up to the group with a smug look on their faces.

"What do you two want?" Scootaloo, already on the defensive, took a step forward and dipped her face down with a scowl. Applebloom was right next to her, shooting the duo a glare while Sweetie Belle simply stayed behind with a frown. Above them, Nicholas narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the fillies.

"Yeah, as you can see, we're having a perfectly normal chat that doesn't seem to involve anyone else." Nicholas tried, already knowing anything would fuel the upcoming schoolground conflict.

"Oh, well you wanted suggestions didn't you?" Silver Spoon looked up at Nicholas with an 'innocent' smile.

"And there you have it. A perfect costume, free of charge." Diamond Tiara giggled. "No need to thank me."

"That's not cool at all." Scootaloo growled.

Applejack stepped up right next to her best friend. "Just leave us alone!"

As the group of fillies below him started to bicker back and forth, Nicholas remained quiet as he thought to himself.

Then a thought hit him.

He smiled.

... This was gonna be friggin' good.

"You know, it's really not a good idea to be mean to people so close to Nightmare Night." Nicholas hummed absentmindedly, rubbing his chin with a wing. "Or else, the spirit itself will make an appearance."

That got their attention.

"Spirit?" Silver Spoon repeated. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"And what would it matter if Nightmare Night is coming up?" Diamond scoffed.

"You mean to tell me you don't know about the Legend of the Coşmar?" The bat dropped off from the branch and in a burst of harmless fire magic, the human form returned as Nicholas landed on his feet. He stretched his arms and back with a raised brow. "It's such a common thing for humans on Earth, so I assumed there was something like that for Equestria. Ya know, with all this magic here and there, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Again, there's no such thing." This time, Silver Spoon took a small step back.

"Yeah! So stop trying to scare us!" Diamond was starting to look a little irritated.

"Of course it wouldn't be a thing here, cause there wasn't any humans before me. It is a human culture after all, but now that I'm here..." Nicholas couldn't stop the toothy grin even if he wanted to. "Maybe it followed me here. Who knows?"

A strong enough breeze rolled over the playground, sending shivers down the spines of the girls while Nicholas stood tall.

"And if it did, maybe it's best that I warn you 5 in case something happens, ya know?" Nicholas sat down cross legged and lost his smile, even though on the inside, he was laughing his ass off at the worried faces of the two in front of him. He'll tell the truth to the CMC after this. "Unless," Nicholas shrugged. "You want to walk away and let a ghost run rampant on accident?"

"Humph!" Diamond Tiara sat down on her rear and glared at Nicholas in the eye. "If this is all a lie, I'm telling my daddy on you."

"S-Same..." Silver Spoon lost her enthusiasm, but she wasn't about to call it quits.

Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other for a moment. 'Nicholas wouldn't lie about something like this would he?' All three of them thought at the same, but they joined the group circle and sat down as well.

"Now here is how it all began," Nicholas held out his hands and a ball of fire erupted large enough for an image to appear. "Thousands of years ago, there was a horrible accident; a fire that consumed a small village and took the lives of innocents. However, there was one sole survivor, a man." A featureless figure of a male human came to view. "But he didn't come out unscathed. He was scarred with burns all over his body, having him seen as an eyesore to those around him. This caused him to become an outcast. He had no friends, no family for they were all taken in that fatal accident. Except one day, he became friends with a dog." The male became animated as a dog shape danced around in the fire, tackling the man in a playful manner. "This way, he was able to remain happy as he lived in solitude. He didn't need anyone else, for everyone would treat him like a monster because of his burns."

"That's... awful," Sweetie Belle muttered.

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah..."

"However, there was a single night each year where the man would leave his home. A night called Halloween." The fire in Nicholas' hands lost the image of man and dog, replaced by the smiling face of a pumpkin. "It's just like your holiday, Nightmare Night, where people would dress up as their favorite characters to enjoy the night with candy. And this, was the only night the man wouldn't be treated any differently than anyone else. They would see his scars as brutally life-like, but fake body effects. Because of that, the man was actually happy to be around other human beings." The pumpkin turned into a bunch of humans wearing different costumes.

"What happened next?" Applebloom was afraid to ask.

"That... is when things started going downhill." Nicholas frowned as the fire animated a house that the man lived in. "Every Halloween night, the man would leave his pet dog behind in the house. Not because he was cruel, but because the dog was aggressive towards anyone that wasn't his owner. But because the man was enjoy his night with the others, a group of people had snuck into his house, believing there to be treasures that would make them rich."

A group of 4 people popped up at the front door of the house and one had unlocked one of the windows, allowing the other three to climb through.

"The man's dog had become alert to the strange sounds and sought out to attack whoever had barged in on their home. But there were too many intruders..."

"Oh no..." Sweetie Belle whimpered.

"Once midnight had struck, the man had made his way back to his home with a bag of treats that he had planned to share with his best friend." The fire showed an image of a dog lying on the ground. Thankfully, Nicholas wasn't so cruel as to show details. "He was too late. The attackers had killed the dog and scavenged the house, trying to find the rumored 'treasures', but they had found nothing. In their anger, they trashed the building before making their escape. But the man didn't care."

The man had picked up the dog and held him close.

"All he cared about was his dog, his one and only friend. He was nothing without him. He couldn't live without him." Tears rolled down the mans face. "And so he waited. And waited. And waited." The man in the fire got smaller before he finally disappeared. "Until his own time ran out. He had died out of grief and starvation, but with his grief came a strong hatred for the humans. Especially the humans who attacked his friend."

The fire had changed from it's normal red flames to a vibrant violent and in those embers, two glowing crimson eyes opened.

The girls jumped as a face slowly emerged.

"His rage lived on after he passed, manifesting into a vengeful spirit called a Coşmar." Nicholas closed his eyes as the face turned into a gaseous form and hovered over the buildings of a small town. "The spirit would watch over the town that housed the criminals who killed his friend and on Halloween, it would strike them down with their biggest fears. But it's anger wouldn't stop growing. In its madness, the spirit would continue to track down those who do bad deeds near it's special night. It was born from humans, drawn to humans, and given a reason to hate by humans."

"Once chosen, a target has three fates given to them by the Coşmar." Nicholas lifted a single finger. "You will be forced to experience nightmares of your worst act in life for years." He lifted a second finger. "You will be dragged into a portal to a dimension of unimaginable horrors." Then he lifted a third finger. "Last is... well you can probably fill in the blanks."

The fire left his hands and the man looked at the stunned and scared fillies in front of him.

"And that, is the story of the Coşmar." Nicholas concluded. "Now, how do you feel about bullying so close to Nightmare Night?"

Realising he was talking to them, Diamond Tiara blinked before she coughed into a hoof. Putting up a brave front, the pinky filly lifted her nose into the air. "As if we would believe such a ridiculous story! And if it was true, we don't have anything to worry about. You said this spirit only attacks bad humans. News flash, we're ponies." The spoiled filly pointed a hoof at Nicholas, who remained impassive. "If that's all there is to your little scary story, then we shall take our leave. Come on, Silver Spoon, let us go make plans for Nightmare Night."

The filly wearing glasses jumped at her name being spoken before giving a shaky nod.

Nicholas could tell the story really got to her, at least.

He almost started laughing when he could hear the filly muttering, "There's no such thing as ghosts... there's no such thing as ghosts..." under her breath.

When the two fillies were gone, Scootaloo looked at Nicholas. "W-Was all of it true...?" She sounded nervous.

"Nah, I was bluffing the entire time." Nicholas said with a laugh as he fell back on his hands.

"What!?" The three girls exclaimed at the same time.

"Why would you make all of that up!?" Applebloom sputtered. "That's not funny at all!"

"I was pretty scared, Nick." Sweetie glared.

"I know, I know. Sorry, had to keep up the act so the devious duo wouldn't try to ruin your night." Nicholas grinned, putting his hands behind his head and crossed his legs. "You don't have to worry about a single specter out of place on Nightmare Night. Although I almost felt a little bad for Silver Spoon. She looked really, really scared for a second."

"You're evil." Applebloom sighed, but she was smiling.

"But what if those two ignore the 'warnings'." Scootaloo arched a brow.

Nicholas pursed his lips for a moment before he sat up and a evil looking smile took place.

"We'll make a scary story become a reality."

Present Time...

"Hey, uh, Diamond?"

"Yes?"

"Don't you think we went a little... too far?"

"Of course not! They tried to scare us with a horrible prank, so we evened the score."

"But..."

"But?"

"They didn't really, ya know, throw a bunch of tomatoes at us. And Button Mash didn't really deserve it anyway."

The pink filly stopped in her steps, making Silver Spoon bump into her on accident. "Okay, what's with you lately?" Diamond Tiara accused as she spun around. She was wearing a princess dress for the night, showing off all the sparkles and shiny, possibly real, crystals that lined her neck. "Any other time, you'd be all for a little fun against those losers and now you're second guessing everything we do!"

Silver Spoon looked down at the ground when she realized how suspicious her behavior has been for the last two days.

Like Diamond, she was wearing her own eccentric princess gown for a costume, minus the crystals.

Silver rubbed a hoof along her foreleg. "Well..."

Her friend stared at her for a moment before her eyes widened and she groaned to the night sky. "You really believed that garbage story of his? I already told him, it's not real. And if it was, we're not humans! Get over it, Silver Spoon. What's done is done and if they try to tell on us, my daddy will protect us just like he always has."

The grey filly slowly started to nod before the tiniest of smiles came back to her face. "Y-Yeah, you're right. I'm just being dumb."

"Of course I'm right." Diamond huffed with a smile as she hefted her candy bag and resumed her walk out of Ponyville back to her family estate. "Now let's get back home so we can eat all these tasty sweets for the sleepover tonight."

Just as the two started their way back to Diamond's mansion, Silver Spoon paused when she started to hear a rustling noise in some bushes nearby.

"Uh... Diamond?"

"Ugh, what is it this time?"

The pink filly turned around to see her friend staring at a bush. "Yeah, what of it? It's just a plant."

That's when the rustling started up again.

This time, Diamond and Silver took a couple cautious steps back.

A head poked out of the bushes.

The head of a golden retriever looked at them with a tilted head before it lulled its tongue out of its mouth.

"Aw, it's a puppy!" Diamond Tiara cooed as she quickly trotted over to the dog. The golden retriever stepped out of the bush with its tail wagging excitedly, panting as the pink filly scratched its chin with a hoof. "Who's a good boy? Ooh, who's a good boy~" She sang and giggled as the dog sniffed her face.

"This doesn't feel right." Silver muttered.

And she was completely right.

As soon as the dog sniffed Diamond Tiara, it reeled back a couple of steps.

"What's wrong?" The filly questioned with a frown.

The dog stared at the two for several seconds.

"You both smell of tomatoes." A raspy, voice spoke as the dog's mouth bared teeth.

Diamond released a shocked gasp and Silver Spoon looked horrified as the dog's eyes turned a menacing red. The dog's fur started to shake before it's color changed from blonde to an evil black. The canine opened its maw, releasing a purple haze all over the clearing and surrounding the two fillies who tried to back away. "Silver Spoon!?" Diamond panicked as the two saw blinking pairs of red eyes throughout the mist. "What's going on!?"

"Two rotten, spoiled children." The voice spoke again as the dog disappeared into the fog. "You, who have been warned of your misdeeds and still continue to act out against the innocent."

"Guilty."

"Guilty."

"Guilty."

Voices, always changing, echoed around the two as the eyes disappeared one pair at a time. Eventually there was only one pair left. "Your fate has been chosen."

Then the eyes were gone, along with the purple fog.

It was silent for an unbearable amount of time.

"Is... is it gone?" Silver Spoon whimpered.

"Let's just get home!" Diamond exclaimed.

A spark erupted between the two fillies, causing them to jump away as a large red portal opened the earth in front of them. "What now!?" Diamond Tiara cried out as Silver Spoon's eyes widened. She knew what was happening. They weren't going to go home anymore. They weren't going to go home anymore! Mustering up all the strength in her shaking legs, the grey filly turned heel and tried to sprint away to call for help.

A red wispy hand lashed out of the purple, grabbing the filly by her torso and pulling her closer towards the portal. "No! NO!"

The same happened with Diamond. Another hand flew out of the portal, grabbing hold of the pink filly who was too scared to move. As soon as the glowing hands lifted the two fillies into the air and above the portal, the two were giving a glimpse of dozens upon dozens of spectral beings whispering spiteful words and taunts below them, awaiting their arrival with open arms.

Promises of horror.

They were seconds away from being taken away.

Silver Spoon started to hyperventilate before she closed her eyes and waited.

"I'm sorry, okay!?"

Her eyes snapped back open when she heard Diamond Tiara cry out, tears streaming down her face as the filly stopped struggling in the hand's grip. The arms paused and a voice returned. "... A simple apology will not be enough. You, who have caused trouble and you, who have supported such atrocities..."

"We'll make things better!" Silver Spoon spoke out in a rush. "We won't be bad anymore! I promise!"

"I promise too!" Diamond agreed with a rapid set of nods. "Please!"

"..."

Even the whispers of the spirits below were silent before a conclusion was met.

"We promise!" The fillies yelled together.

The hands lowered the two back to the ground, slowly, and slinked back into the portal.

"... I will always be watching. Remember that." The raspy voice warned.

And with that, the portal to the next world collapsed on itself, taking away the eerie red glow and letting the dim moonlight return to the area.

Diamond Tiara stared at the spot on the ground where the portal once was. Next to her, Silver Spoon had collapsed on her rear, having lost feeling in her legs. Both fillies felt like their hearts were going to explode out of their chests from the traumatic experience. Diamond panted as her brain finally caught up with the present. Realizing that they were now safe, the pink filly nudged her best friend. "H-Hey Silver Spoon...?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Let's..." Diamond gulped with a dry throat. "Let's just head back. I think we have another treats."

"Okay..."

The two picked up their bags, but they lost the desire to eat sweets for the rest of the night. Possibly the rest of the week.

Too dazed to even run away from their current location, the two continued in awkward silence.

Until Silver Spoon spoke up.

"Diamond?"

"Yes, Silver?"

"I think we owe Nicholas and the girls an apology."

"... Tomorrow. We'll apologize tomorrow."

As the duo left the clearing, a vampire bat dropped down from the trees and transformed back into a human.

Nicholas' clone watched the two with a sigh. He scratched the back of his neck with guilty frown. "Maybe that was a little too much..."

He thought to himself. "Yeah, definitely too much. But..." He lifted a hand. "On the other hand, it did get results. No more bullies."

...

...

The clone remained standing in silence before a grin spread on his face. "FUCK YEAH!" He pumped his fist into the air before transforming back into a bat and following the two.

"Ready... set... Go!" Big Mac counted down as the two contestants dive head first into the large barrel.

As the crowd of ponies circled around the two twins, cheering one or the other, the bat clone swooped down on Luna's back as the princess watched the game happen with amusement. Once she felt the bat perch atop her back, she craned her neck in curiosity. "Yo." The bat greeted with an extended wing, immediately letting Luna know who it was.

"Ah, the clone has made his return." The princess mused. "And pray tell, what kind of activities have you been up too? It's been an hour since you left."

"Chillin'. Prankin'." The bat easily smoothly. "Let's just say the two fillies understand how Nightmare Night is supposed to go."

"... When you say it like that, I do believe I have the right to be extremely worried."

"It's fine. Everything's fine. The girls weren't harmed and I made sure to follow them back home in case they got into more trouble."

"I see. Well, just for tonight, I'll take you word for it." Luna relented. "I do hope it wasn't anything too extreme."

"Heh... yeah..." The clone coughed into a wing before he looked over her head. "So what's going on?"

"It seems there's an apple bobbing contest that takes place on this holiday."

"Ooh, interesting." The bat grinned. "Is Boss winning?"

"Boss?"

"Nick. My original. The real OG."

"Ah, well so far, it seems Blake is winning."

The twin girl was already at 4 out of 10 apples while Nicholas was at 2. They kept butting heads, but that didn't stop the rivalry whatsoever.

"So while we wait, how was your night princess?" The bat questioned.

"Believe it or not, this is probably one of the best nights I've had in a very long time." Luna responded truthfully, filling the clone with a sense of pride. He was he, the original and his goals were the same. "While I may not have been part of party games such as this, I feel perfectly content with the positive atmosphere of being with friends. It is a very nice change from the stifling duties of a princess."

"Duties like constant meet and greets?" The bat chuckled.

"Yes. Those." The alicorn snorted before giggling as well.

"So any reason why you aren't joining them?" The clone pointed at the competing humans with a wing.

"Well," Luna began. "It wouldn't exactly look too well for a princess like me, would it?"

"You think apple bobbing would make you look like a weirdo?"

"Well..."

"So you're calling all of us weird."

"N-No! Of course not!"

"Then apple bob with us, cause I'm pretty sure not one person in this town cares about status as long as you're having fun with the rest of us." The bat concluded as the crowd erupted in cheers as Blake won the contest with a full 10 apples while Nicholas was just one short. Both of their faces were drenched, but they were smiling. "Don't be afraid to have fun." The clone on Luna's back flew off. "Unless it's the drunken kind of fun." With that little joke left in, the bat flew over to Nicholas and sat on his head, glowing before turning back into red magic and flowing back into the original.

Nicholas blinked as the memories hit him.

Then he smiled.

"Hey Blake?"

The female blinked at her name being called. "Hm?"

"I think you got a contender to challenge your apple bobbing crown."

"Oh?" She followed his gaze towards Princess Luna, who caught onto their gaze with widening eyes. "Come on up, Luna!"

The crowd seemed to split just to make a pathway between Luna and the two humans waving her on to join them. "Don't be shy!" Nicholas grinned as his mentor rolled her eyes and started walking forward with a nervous smile. The ponies around her started nodding and slowly, but surely, a small chant of "Princess! Princess! Princess!" started to rise until the princess herself made it between the two.

"A new challenger approaches!" Blake laughed as she put on a show. "Will I keep my crown or will this newcomer take it from me!?"

"Be prepared. I will not go easy." Luna accepted the challenge as she used her magic to hand Nicholas her own crown. "Hold this for me."

"Will do, ma'am." Nicholas saluted with a silly grin as the two girls dipped their heads into the barrel with the sound of the cheering crowds.

Later (3 Hours Later...)

Nicholas let out a grown as he found himself on his stomach, t-shirt and boxers only as he rested in bed. He felt movement under his left wing and he smiled when Fluttershy poked her head out to greet him with a kiss on the cheek. "Tonight was fucking great." The man laughed a tired laugh as he stretched down the bed, happy that he had made a large enough bed for the two of them to spread out if need to. He could see the few bags he collected with candy leaning against the wall. And out of the six bags, he offered one to Luna before she left. "Who knew Luna was such a goddamn party animal?"

"What surprised me the most is how long she was able to visit us." Fluttershy agreed. "Being a princess isn't exactly easy."

"Trust me, I don't envy her royal status." Nicholas huffed. "Too much expectations."

"You're forgetting one thing."

"And what would that be?"

"If you were a prince, you wouldn't have any time to spend with me." Fluttershy pouted. "After all, I need my cuddles."

"You're gonna give me a heart-attack if you keep being so cute."

The yellow pegasus giggled as she snuggled up against his wing. "Try and stop me."

There was a growling sound as the two looked over to the wall. In their master bedroom, Dax had his own type of bed atop of a post meant for cats. There was another post like that in Blake's room in case the tatzlwurm wanted to swap between rooms. But as he laid in his own bed, the worm rolled his eyes at the show of affection between the two lovebirds in front of him.

"Hey, don't get pissy with me." Nicholas teased. "You're the one who wanted us together."

Dax scoffed before rolling over, facing the wall.

"If you got a problem with it, go sleep in Blake's room, bud."

The worm wagged his tail in a 'flipping the bird' manner.

"Rude."

"You two are exactly the same, you know that?" Fluttershy giggled.

"Maybe. Except I have arms and legs." Nicholas raised his voice just to make a point, earning a deadpanned look from Dax across the room. That was his only response before the worm dropped back into bed and ended the conversation.

Fluttershy lightly scolded Nicholas by tapping his chest with a hoof. "That's not nice."

"I'm just joking, Shy. Plus, I know how much having limbs would be a problem for his digging anyway." Can't say too much about Dax's wings, however.

"It's still mean."

"Okay, okay." Nicholas rolled his eyes with a grin. "I'm sorry, Dax." He called out.

He didn't get a response.

"See? All's good."

"Nick."

"Alright fine. Dax, get your scaly ass over here. You're sleeping with us tonight."

The tatzlwurm's wings stretched out before they glided him across the room, landing perfectly between the two lovers. The large worm nestled himself in the covers as Fluttershy hugged him close, letting him feel welcome. Nicholas sighed with an amused glint in his eye. "There? Happy?"

"Hm. Just a little bit." Fluttershy answered.

"A little bit?" Nicholas pondered. "What else can I do to make you a lot happier?"

Fluttershy hummed. "... You know we haven't had an official date, right?"

Nicholas' eyes widened. "You're right, we haven't. Secret relationship and all."

"Yeah..."

"How about we make time next week? Next Friday?"

"I'd love that very much."

"Good, because I'm gonna surprise you and plan the whole thing."

"On one condition."

"What's that?"

"You don't use your magic to buy things with fake money."

"... It's not fake..."

Then there was the look she gave him.

"Okay fine. Legal, hard-earned Bits it is."

"Good." Fluttershy kissed him quick on the lips. "Goodnight Nicholas."

"G'night, Shy."

There you have it my loyal subjects! I really do hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's been months since I typed out anything and I feel a little rusty. But the Nightmare Night was a fun chapter to type out. I might've gone overboard, but the fillies had it coming. Bullying is a no-no people! Also, yes in the next 2 or 3 chapters there will be the date arc with Fluttershy and Nicholas. And in that arc will most likely be a lemon. Maybe. I'm not exactly used to humanXanimal lemon details, but I'll try and give a skip option for people that don't want to see it. And after the date arc will involve a get-together birthday bash with Gilda, in case y'all forgot!

Also, the Coşmar was a cool concept I've had before I graduated. It means 'Nightmare' in Romanian, probably a rough translate. An evil spirit that haunts the bad on Halloween? Seems simple enough. And if you wanted to guess what kind of voice to imagine the Coşmar would use, just think of Ghostfreak's voice from Ben 10.

Now, do we have any questions?

1.) Who won the apple bob contest!?

2.) Will Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have PTSD now!?

3.) Are Nicholas and Fluttershy too mushy!?

Keep reading and find out soon!

PLEASE REVIEW!

(Anybody mind creating some fanart of Unexpected Turn of Events? I'd greatly appreciate it if you do XD I'll post the link up on my page if there's any artwork!)