There was no shock or surprise when the Candy Mare finally came for the last survivors of doomed Equestria. Her approach was heralded long before her arrival.

It started when the candy ghouls, who had been swarmed around the walls, suddenly retreated into the Everfree Forest. It reminded those present of a nautical frame of mind of the seas retreat before the inevitable return of the dreadful tsunami. After hours of their cacophonous laughter, shrieks, and screams the sudden silence as their childish songs faded into the distance was welcome, but not comforting. Now lifeless, the candied Everfree Forest lay around them perfectly still. There were no bird song, insect cries, or even the sigh of wind in the trees to offer the illusion of normalcy. The quiet was foreboding, the calm before the storm, pregnant with malignancy.

That was when the storm began to loom thick on the horizon, a swirl of unnaturally verdant glowing clouds towered in stark contrast to the rest of the dark night sky. Orange and green lightning branched out like spider webs across the heavens, and in the distance they could just barely make out the drumming counterpoint of rumbling thunder. A new rain began to fall, not candy this time, but one that was warm sand salty. Blood, sizzling hot, splashed against the exterior of the refuge the last living creatures in Equestria. It stained the white edifice like the evening gown of a particularly unfortunate prom queen after a rather cruel prank involving pigs blood.

It was not long before the living realized the strange green clouds were moving towards them. As they did, a thick unnatural fog began to spill from the Everfree Forest at the same time. It flowed like a river into the ravine that surrounded the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters on one side and welled up to envelop the first floor of the fortress’s structure. With the fog, there returned the sound of the candy ghouls. they were no longer laughing and screaming, but instead singing silently in almost hushed reverence. They sang in the voices of family and friends, who now lay dead or walked about on corrupted candy limbs. They sang "Nightmare Night, what a fright" not as a childish refrain, but with all the deliberation and metre of a sacred chant. They surrounded the fortress in even greater number than before, candy creatures of all shapes and sizes and every species present for this, the final sacrifice to their horrific master.

There was a distant crash, that some mistook for thunder at first, as massive candy creatures began to stomp through the dead trees of the Everfree Forest. Dragons, Hydra, Tatzulwurm, and even massive Ursa Majors had been candified, and now flattened the trees like massive undead siege engines that left nothing but devastation in their wake. It seemed that the Candy Mare had found the time to raid Tartarus as well as all manner of candified creatures, including a towering red Tirek made of cinnamon candy, marched towards the last bastion of life in Equestria. Green and blue flames licked out between the candied teeth of former Dragon Lord Torch and his daughter Dragon Lord Ember, setting the sugar coated forest alight with an intense blue flame. Though the fires spread quickly, they generated no heat and didn’t seem to harm any of the candy creatures, animal or plant.

As the gargantuan candy ghouls blazed a trail through the forest, at last, the living could see that they were making way for something even more colossal. What they had only blurily perceived from a distance came into focus as it began to follow the trail of destruction. It was, of course, the Candy Mare’s massive throne of candified flesh and bone that towered in the distance, wreathed in a clouds of souls. It had only grown larger as more and more victims had been added to it, and the miserable dead who made up the base of the the throne moaned their pain as with thousands of arms and legs they drug their inconceivable bulk agonizingly across the earth.

What had been mistaken for verdant clouds from a distance, the survivors could see clearly were actually a vast bank of wailing souls that seethed and boiled about the apex of the throne. It was like a vast maelstrom suspended in the sky, an ever churning whirlpool that was sucked into the top of the pillar of sugar dusted flesh and bone, spilling into the wide open maw of the thrones solitary occupant. The mobile throne moved deceptively quickly, and it was not long before they could see the Candy Mare sitting atop her living throne, mouth wide as she gorged herself on the spirits of the slain. All those souls crying out there last as they were lost to the bottomless depths of her hunger made the survivors experience new depths of terror yet unplumbed as they realized that their deaths would not be the end of their suffering, but only the beginning.

All around the Candy Mare, jack-o-lanterns popped into existence, floating and bobbing in the wake left of the passage of the devoured spirits. The gourds leered with madness and delighted cruelty as the souls that spawned them were dissolved into the horrific oneness that was the Candy Mare. They spread out over the sky, floating almost serenely into the clouds, where no doubt they were responsible for the production of both the rain of cursed candy and boiling blood alike. Who knew what dark and obscene magic was at work within those grinning pumpkin shells? No one, perhaps, but the Candy Mare herself.

There was nowhere to run. The ruined castle was surrounded by a great sea of candied cannibal corpses. Their chant now grew more insistnet, more fervent as their master approached, rising to a fevered crescendo as they practically foamed at the mouth as they eyed the last living morsels of flesh in this dying world.

Though the idea of time had died when the sun and moon they were familiar with had disappeared from the sky, there might have been some added layer of significance to this moment if the living knew that the hour was fast approaching midnight. Soon it would be the witching hour, when all masks come off, and Nightmare Night traditionally came to an end. Of course, that had little meaning so long as the Candy Mare was around. As long as she existed, Nightmare Night would last forever.

For all the menacing ghouls massed around the fortress walls, not one of them had made an attempt to breach the structure. The few that drew near gave a loud hiss as their skin melted and caramelized, driving them back. Though fading, it seemed the protection of the Tree of Harmony was still potent enough to keep the horrific horde at bay. As the Candy Mare's throne loomed tall over the fortress, it seemed as though she intended to crush the building beneath the massive bulk of the twisted bodies she had gather. The force of such a blow would surely be more than enough to crack their defenses, bursting open the fortress like some kind of perverse pinata, allowing the candified monsters to spill in and devour their 'party guests'.

Instead, the Candy Mare’s throne came to a groaning stop. A wide channel spread in the undead armies midst, opening a wide thoroughfare between the base of the throne and the steps leading up to the front door of the fortress. Even the fog seemed to clear itself from the path, as orange flashes of sheet lightning and the glow of the gathered souls of the departed illuminated the scene below. Without warning, the jack-o-lanterns descended to line a glowing pathway between the throne and the front door of the fortress, the pumpkin light lending a nightmarish illumination to the ghoulish proceedings to follow.

Suddenly, the Candy Mare lept from her throne and plummeted to the earth below. Just as she was about to slam into the ground at full speed, all momentum seemed to leave her. She gracefully floated to the earth with an eerie grace, her red liquorice mane floating about her head in a nimbus that made it dance like flame. As all four hooves settled onto the ground, the wings and crown that adorned her body seemed to fade away as she shrunk down to assume the appearance of just a filly once more. The skinless Starlight, leader of the Candy Cult, parted the wall of candy ghouls and presented her diminutive master with what appeared to be a bucket in the shape of a pumpkin, an innocent grin painted on its surface. This all seemed to be some elaborate pageantry that the Candy Cult had prepared ahead of time.

The Candy Mare gracefully accepted the festive candy bucket, clenching it's handle tight in her own smiling teeth before she skipped merrily up to the front door of the fortress. With bated breath, the survivors watched as the cosmic horror in filly shape tottered down the pathway in obscene mockery of an innocent trick or treater. She paused just a moment as she reached the front door, looking upwards at the watching refugees above to give them a hungry grin that threatened to spread the full length of her body, before she reached forward and gave the door three short knocks.

For such a tiny creature, her knocks boomed on the door, sounding more like blows from a massive battering ram than the polite knocks of a filly that they appeared to be. Though before when one of the candy creatures had touched the fortress there had been a hiss and sputtering of caramelized candy flesh followed by a howl of agony and a quick retreat. There was none now, which made the assembled army of sugary death give a raucous cheer... That is, until it was silenced by a glare from over the Candy Mare's shoulder. As the ghouls fell silent, the abomination in filly form set down her bucket and cheerfully cried, “Nightmare Night, what a fright! Give me something sweet to bite”

That seemed to be the cue for the gathered ghouls to howl with laughter and cheer in triumph, their earlier outburst receiving a glare only because it had been premature. The Tree of Harmony demonstrably held no power over the Candy Mare herself, whatever protection it offered against her followers. She had eaten too many of its avatars, ingested too much of their magic, for it to have the same effect on her as on her newly risen army. Though one might hope she would pose less of a threat to the protective walls as a tiny filly, the echoing booms of her knock gave the lie to her form, revealing the farce at play. The only reason the Candy Mare had refrained from unleashing her true power was that she enjoyed watching her victims squirm! This childish pantomime was engineered solely for her amusement and to crush any last hope her soon to be victims might have. "Trick or Treat!" she called again.

The Candy Mare smiled viciously as she resumed knocking, harder this time. Visible cracks spread across the surface of the door, and indeed the entire building, as the fortress shook with the raw power behind the dainty blows of her tiny hooves. For all she seemed to be doing this in jest, the Candy Mare actually seemed to be growing angrier and angrier that the door was not being opened with each passing moment. Her body shook as it suddenly began to swell, adding on mass that made her as tall as a mare, a stallion, an Alicorn, and then more and more until her army had to stampede away to make room for her as she came to tower over even the Ursa Majors and Dragons who gathered fearfully around her knees like children witnessing a mother's rage for the first time. The Candy Mare, now dwarfing even her massive throne, inhaled the cloud of souls that hung around it in one terrible breath. As she exhaled, her breath spilled out like the foul miasma that could only be produced by a million rotting corpses as her voice thundered with rage “I SAID, TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!”

Surprisingly, the door to the fortress cracked open ever so slightly. A pair of ponies, a white unicorn and an orange earth pony, stepped outside. The unicorn was levitating a bowl of candy and the earth pony seemed to be doing her best to balance a tray of candy apples on her back.

“We heard ya, we heard ya! Hold yer horses! It takes a minute ta get ta the front door from the kitchen!” Applejack called out.

With a suddenness that was so quick her loss of mass caused a small thunderclap as air rushed in to fill the suddenly vacant space, the Candy Mare once again appeared in her filly form, smiling up at Rarity and Applejack. “Oh boy, oh boy! Are you gonna give me something sweet to bite!?” she sang cheerfully, just like any normal child excited to receive a sugary treat might. It would have almost been cute if not for her bizarre candy body and blood stained appearance.

“And if we give you something sweet to bite you’ll be a good girl and not pull any nasty tricks on us?” asked Rarity as she magically manipulated a hoof full of candy so it floated over the Candy Mare’s pumpkin bucket, without actually letting any fall in yet.

“Oh of course!” agreed the Candy Mare. “Everyone knows the rules. As long as you give out a good treat, you won’t get tricked,” she replied, smiling innocently. This, of course, was part of the game too. The 'rules' the Candy Mare spoke were riddled with loopholes. At any time after the treats were given, she could just claim that the sweets were not ‘good enough treats’ to stave off one of her nightmarish 'tricks'. Of course, if they didn't play along at all then she would just kill them and have her minions swarm over their bodies. No matter what they did, the same result of them dying and the Candy Mare being entertained would be achieved, such were the nature of the 'rules' of this game the Candy Cult had devised.

But of course, the living knew this was a game too. Starswirl the Bearded knew well the Candy Mare's tendency towards overconfidence and sadistic games when she thought her prey cornered. Deadly and dangerous and designed to facilitate their demise as it was, it might just give them the chance they would need to spring their trap!

“Ah don’t know Rarity. This one here looks like she might be a bit too old for Trick or Treat,” said the farm pony speculatively. “Are you sure ya deserve one of mah delicious candy apples?”

The Candy Mare frowned. This was not how the game was usually played, but she rolled with it. “Oh, believe me, you’re never too old for Trick or Treat! And I’m so very, very hungry. If I don’t get something sweet to bite soon I just might die!” This drew huge peels of laughter from the gathered ghouls. Of course she wouldn’t die, she was already dead! Not to mention she had been gorging herself on flesh and souls all night. The Candy Mare practically hummed with power, but she seemed to draw some perverse joy from pretending to be a starving waif, begging for treats.

Strangely, the ponies seemed willing to continue with the game. “Oh the poor dear!” cried out Rarity, draping one hoof over her brow dramatically. “She looks as though she’s about to positively waste away! We simply must invite her inside for spider cider and spice cakes.”

Applejack nodded her agreement, “Ah reckon so. Ain’t no way a few pieces of candy and a candy apple will satisfy her,” the pair of ponies turned and walked back inside. “Come on in. We’ll make sure that ya get what’s comin’ to ya.”

The doors were left wide open. Even so, the interior was so dark as to be black as pitch. The Candy Mare was noponies fool and the trap was obvious. A leer over her shoulder told her minions that the Candy Mare was well aware and felt she had nothing to dread. If this was how they wanted to play the game, fine. Once they sprung their feeble little trap the game would be over. Then her armies would crash down on these mortal fools from all sides, ending their pathetic lives. Just the thought put a spring in her step and, picking up her candy bucket, the Candy Mare skipped joyfully over the threshold...

And right into the middle of a magic hexagram.

The ring around the hexagrams six points flared with ancient magic, which had an immediate effect on the Candy Mare, forcing an agonized scream from her tiny lungs that spilled forth in a million overlapped voices. Though they hadn’t had much time, Starswirl had carved the necessary runes into the crystal surface of the floor, draining and focusing the power that remained in the Tree of Harmony into this final spell. It was no wonder that the walls had shook and cracked at the touch of the Candy Mare! All of the protective energy had been redirected to the trap she now found herself standing in. Standing at the apex of each point of the six sided star, the four remaining Pillars, Applejack, and Rarity stood, ready to invoke the seal that would banish all within to limbo!

“Well darling, you wanted your treat and here it is,” Rarity said as she held Mistmane’s flower, the symbol of the power of Beauty, high.

“But now, Ah reckon ya gotta take the trick that goes with it,” added Applejack with a smirk as she lifted Rockhoof’s shovel.

The Candy Mare's form exploded into teeth, claws, and tendrils as her form struggled to contain her rage, but the magic of the circle held her at bay as the other four ponies took their position. One after the other they raised their icons into the air and began to channel their power into the spell that would banish the frothing monster to the void once and for all! Still, her struggles were mighty, and though the ponies were protected for now, her wild thrashing began to damage the runes carved into the floor beneath her. White hot magic burst within the circle and the Candy Mare’s screams of pain turned to a cry of outrage as part of her candy body was partially syphoned off into the ether.

“Concentrate!” bellowed Starswirl. “We must finish the spell before she damages the wards further!”

“We're givin’ it all we got!” cried Applejack in reply. She then turned to the unicorn who she had fought and feuded with so many times. To her dearest friend, “See ya on the other side sugarcube.”

“Of course darling,” was Rarity's reply. She smiled fiercely even though she was crying. “At least we’ll always have each other.”

A swirling black and white void opened above the circle, drawing the ponies and their captive into the air. The Candy Mare did not go quietly, changing form and stretching herself like a piece of taffy as she scrabbled uselessly at the spell carved into the floor beneath her. “Not like this!” she screamed. “Not again! I WON’T! BE! A! PRISONER! AGAIN!” But even she could only resist for so long. Taking shape after shape, growing, shrinking, turning to jelly, to liquid, to fog. Finally she took the form most familiar to her, that of a tiny skeletal filly with limp red curls and a look of stubborn hatred in her eyes. “You’ll never hold me! Not so long as there is a Nightmare Night. It will be back some day. I WILL BE BACK SOME DAY!”

Howling with laughter, high and sharp and mad, the Candy Mare’s body fell apart. Each individual piece of candy was sucked up into the vortex, turning it into a crazy swirling rainbow of insane laughter before the the portal finally closed with a pop... And the laughter stopped.

---

Outside, the army of candy ghouls suddenly froze. From the tiniest pony to the tallest dragon, the candied monstrosities stood stock still. High above, the heavens began to clear. As cloud and fog dissipated the light of the moon shone down on the ghastly army that had now fallen silent and still as the grave. There was no sign of the horrible candy realm known as the Candyverse hovering like sure and certain doom over Equestria anymore. Indeed, were it not for the statue-like abominations outside the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters, it would have been easy to dismiss everything that had happened as some kind of terrible dream...

A collective nightmare that they had all, at last, woken up from.

The fortress that had withstood the Candy Mare’s assault evaporated along with the fog, fading like mist, it’s power sacrificed by Starswirl's spell. Shivering in the chill autumn breeze, in the clearing at the heart of what was now a dead forest, there were few cheers of victory. The living had lost too much. Too many had died, and though the survivors were relieved to still be alive, they couldn’t help but take little joy in being spared only to face life in a world completely changed. They huddled together for warmth and tried not to think about the struggle of simple survival that lay ahead.

Though the Candy Mare was gone, her laughter still rang loud and long in their minds.

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