“So, everyone dresses up and goes around asking for candy?” I asked Pinkie as I gave her the veggie and bacon kebab she ordered.

“Yepperoonie” she confirmed before cleaning the skewer in one go. “Nightmare Night is all kinds of fun for everyone. Costumes, candy, activities, scary stories, Luna making an appearance, the usual.” Sounded like Halloween to me. “Rarity even has a costume for you, all ready to go.”

“I’ll be sure to look at it. Oh, and Pinkie?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you please go back to wherever you came from however you got here?” I was pretty sure she came out of my hair since her head was upside down and her face was inches from mine. “I need to focus on the grill.”

“Right!” Pinkie disappeared and I got back to the grill. Fortunately, all the other orders were still in order. As long as I was focused on that, I wouldn’t be quite as disturbed by Pinkie’s method of arrival.

Her message did have me wondering what Rarity had made for me.

“I have mixed feelings about this, Rarity” I said as I looked in the mirror at the boutique. “It looks good and fits perfectly, but I don’t think I can bring myself to wear it out in public.”

“Is it the skirt?”

“Partly.”

“You do realize you always wear one when you’re working, right? And your winter clothes are essentially dresses as well.”

“Yeah, but I have pants on under those, so it’s not really an issue. This doesn’t. I feel. . . Exposed, like this. How did you even come up with this anyways?”

“Twilight gave me another book she made that was full of pictures, and that outfit was in one of them.” Rarity floated a thick book over and started going through its pages. “By the way, do you know how to pronounce the title of this album?”

I saw the title and read it. “Animesque.” The outfit suddenly made a bit more sense in its looks and design.

“Thanks, dear. Ah, here it is.” Rarity showed me the picture. “I may not have made an original, but this is still a new set of pictures.”

The only things missing from my version of the outfit was the weaponry, which Rarity probably hadn’t made yet. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was already working on props of them.

“So, is there anything else you don’t care for?” Rarity asked.

“Aside from the skirt, I don’t really like how my thighs are exposed, which I guess is an extension of the skirt thing. I also don’t really like how the straps emphasize my body. It does look good, but it just doesn’t work for me. Sorry.”

Rarity sighed. “I guess that means you won’t be celebrating Nightmare Night in costume, then?”

“I guess not. In fact, I think I’ll just pass on celebrating altogether.” Why the idea of not celebrating hadn’t struck me earlier was beyond me, but it was a good idea. I could spend the night just resting. Everyone working for and with me keep saying that, anyways.

“Well, at least keep the costume. It actually is fire resistant, so you could use it for fire rescues with style. Who knows, you may even like wearing it someday.”

“Everyone, I have an announcement” I said to everyone who worked for me. “I’ve just learned of some fall and winter holidays recently, so here’s what’s going to happen: we will be closed for Nightmare Night, the Fall Feast Feastival, Hearth’s Warming, and New Year’s.”

“Just those days?” Ají asked.

“No. Nightmare Night is the only single closed day. For the Fall Feast Festival, we will also be closed the days before and after it. I’ll even open my house to you and your families for it. I’ll even do all the cooking myself. As for December’s holidays, we’ll be closed from Hearth’s Warming through New Year’s day. It will be a chance for us all to rest and catch up with friends and family.”

“What if we want to visit you?” one of the griffon waitresses asked.

“The restaurant will be closed, but I won’t turn down anyone visiting me. That’s how it will be any time we’re closed, except for Nightmare Night. I have a plan for that night.” It was a very devious and cunning plan indeed.

It was Nightmare Night, and I left home with some warm clothes on. Rarity had met the trifecta of details perfectly: warm, comfy, and stylish, though I didn’t care as much for the last as I did the first two. Better yet, Sir Safehouse had paid for them, along with the heavier duty winter clothes Rarity was finishing up for me.

By going around the center of town, I was able to avoid most of the festivities. I did encounter a herd of costumed foals, among which was a unicorn filly dressed like me in my combat outfit. She even gave me a couple of her chocolate bars, which I accepted, though handled lightly so they wouldn’t melt.

After that, I found my destination and knocked on the door. “Please go away! There’s no candy here!”

“I’m not here for candy, Fluttershy.” Seconds later, the door opened a bit and the pegasus peeked out. “Mind if I come in?”

“Oh, of course Yang, please do.” After I entered, Fluttershy closed the door. “You’re not celebrating Nightmare Night?”

“Nah. I didn’t really care for the costume Rarity made for me, even though it looked really good. That, and I just wanted a quiet night, but it was boring being home alone.”

“Oh. Well, what do you want to do?”

“Got any games?”

“How does checkers sound?”

“Sounds good to me.” And so we played checkers. More often than not, Fluttershy won. After we were done going against each other, we tried moving the pieces so that both sides were swapped without a single jump, something I’d heard of being possible. Once we got it, Fluttershy and I had tea and chocolate together on her couch.

Eventually, the refreshments ran out and we were left with each other. “Secret plan time” I thought. “Fluttershy?”

“Yes, Yang?”

“Can I get a hug?”

“Sure.” Fluttershy hugged me and my secret plan was a resounding success. “You’re warm.”

“And you’re soft.” I returned the hug and all was well in the cottage.

The day after Nightmare Night started off on an interesting note. I’d stayed overnight at Fluttershy’s by accident when my Fluttershy hug plan went too well and a mostly ponyless pony pile was made on the living room floor. I was under Fluttershy, and then a whole bunch of other animals decided they’d join us. There was even a bear cub that became my pillow.

How Fluttershy tamed down all these animals to the point they were so friendly with everyone was beyond me.

After a nice breakfast, I wished Fluttershy a good day and went back home. It was a crisp, cold morning with a thin layer of frost on the ground and my breath visible in the air. The clothes I had on kept most of the chill at bay and my hair was thick enough to protect my ears a bit, but it still wasn’t pleasant. “Note to self: get earmuffs.” As I thought about the upcoming winter, the idea of hibernating crossed my mind, along with trips to the sauna at the spa.

Author's Notes:

Yes, that is all of October's big events.

I found the picture in a Nightcore video on Youtube.