With morning came a brisk autumn breeze that chilled the air and turned water droplets from last night's storm into frost on the window pains in Ponyville.

Applejack took in a deep breath of that fresh fall air and held it in her lungs until she felt like she might burst. She exhaled all at once in one big, happy sigh. This time of year was always Applejack's favorite. The harvest was in and it was that short lull between apple-bucking season and cider season when all the promise of festivals and holidays to come loomed large on the horizon. Speaking of which, the cart of carmel apples she was towing behind her were for exactly that. The biggest night of the year short of Hearth's Warming eve, Nightmare Night! Mrs. Cake had put in a larger than usual order for the candied apple treats for this years and Applejack was on her way to Sugarcube Corner to deliver them personally into the care of her good friend Pinkie Pie.

As she rolled into town Applejack couldn't help but smile at all the festive Nightmare Night decorations. The bales of hay and large orange pumpkins were everywhere, but that was a common sight in town in the autumn. No, it was the spider and bat shaped streamers, flickering strings of purple and green lights, and the huge orange and black balloons strung up everywhere that really brought a smile to her face. There was even a skeletal pegasus hanging on display in a store window over there, right alongside a stand covered in colorful jack-o-lantern shaped pales for carrying treats later that night. Thinking about all those excited fillies and colts trundling through the streets in their silly costumes singing 'Give us something sweet to bite' warmed her heart something fierce.

"Good morning Applejack," greeted Roseluck with a wide smile as the farm pony passed her flower stand.

"And a good mornin' ta you too missy!" Applejack replied cheerfully as she encountered the first of the townsfolk she had seen so far. Despite the muddy road she had trudged down with her laden wagon, AJ was in very fine spirits thanks to the cool autumn weather and the seasonal decor.

"Good morning Applejack," Burnt Oak, a friend of the family shouted, giving her a wave and a huge grin.

"Mornin' sir, glad ta see yer in good health!" was her polite response. That had been a little odd but not unwelcome. Normally the old stallion would give a grunt or a nod, or at best a gruff howdy when he saw Applejack in the early hours of the day, but he seemed positively jolly just now. It was true that he had a special connection to the Apples since he'd been best friends with AJ's father, but he was usually much more reserved than that. Then again, maybe the festive atmosphere had just gotten to him like it had with Applejack? That'd make sense.

"Good morning Applejack! - Good Morning Applejack!" called Lyra and Bon Bon in unison, twin broad smiles plastered across their faces.

"Er...Mornin' you two!" called back the blond maned pony, a little weirded out now. This was starting to get a little creepy. Not because of how cheerful the two good friends had been but because they had waved and spoken in perfect sync. Applejack just shook her head. That must have been the reaction they were going for and it was just some kind of early Nightmare Night prank. That sort of thing wasn't uncommon, though most ponies usually at least waited for the sun to go down.

Somewhat troubled, but still in good spirits, Applejack arrived at Sugarcube Corner at last. As if on cue, out popped Pinkie Pie with a huge smile on her face that put every grin the farm pony had seen so far that day to shame. Applejack couldn't help but reflect that smile as her friend practically screamed "GOOD MORNING APPLEJACK!~" Before AJ could return her greeting, Pinkie's eyes grew as wide as a pair of saucers as she looked at the cargo the earth pony was hauling. "Oh boy! Are those the candied apples we ordered AJ?"

"The very same Pinkie and, let me tell ya, they have turned out just deee-lightful. That recipe you gave us to try this year was a might peculiar, but Ah can't rightly argue with the results. They've gotta be some of the most scrumptious carmel apples Sweet Apple Acres has ever produced," Unhitching herself, Applejack went round to the back of the wagon and pulled out one of the sweet treats, before asking with a knowing grin, "Care to try one? Ah made one extra with you in mind."

"Would I!" There was no need to ask Pinkie twice. With a flip of her curly mane the toffee covered treat left Applejack's hoof and went sailing through the air before landing squarely in Pinkie's mouth. The sugar coated treat was decimated with a series of crunches and gulps, stick and all, that left the pink ponies gob a sticky mess as she tried to speak. "Mm-rpplem-ack, m-ris m-is m-erfect!" the pink pony practically swooned. Though her teeth were somewhat glued together with the sticky candy, Applejack was pleased to hear that such an aficionado for treats as Pinkie Pie thought her wares were perfect. Pinkie swallowed down the gob of fruit and candy then spat out the popsicle stick the apple had previously been skewered on into a nearby bin. "Those are exactly what we needed for Nightmare Night! Thank you so much Applejack!"

"Well Ah can't take all the credit," demurred the simple farm mare. "Granny Smith and the rest of the Apple family pitched in to help get the order done on time. An' like Ah said before, that recipe you gave us was somethin' else. Where did ya get it from?"

Pinkie grinned mischievously, "That's a S-E-C-R-E-T!"

"Aw, come on now, surely ya can tell yer old friend Applejack?" pressed AJ playfully.

"NO!" The pink pony shriek, all joy and humor suddenly replaced with barely repressed rage. Then she was all smiles again, as if the flicker of rage had never occured. "That would ruin the surprise, silly!"

"O-oh... Well shucks, Ah'd sure hate to do that," the farm pony replied weakly. What had that been all about? Had she just imagined her friends anger?

Applejack began to wonder if the problem wasn't with everpony else, but with herself. It wasn't that long of a haul between Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres, but she had been up late into the night slaving over a hot cauldron full of caramel to get this large order of treats done on time. Maybe she was just tired, and seeing things?

Of course there was always the chance that this was just Pinkie being Pinkie. It was hard to tell sometimes what might upset the gal, as she could be oddly sensitive about the most random things while letting slights and insults that would rankle anypony else roll off of her like water off a duck's back. "Why don't Ah start unloading these?" offered Applejack, trying to clear the air a bit. "If ya'd be so kind as ta direct me ta where y'all are planning to store them, Ah'd be happy to help ya put these away."

"Oh, there won't be any need for that," replied Pinkie, a toothy grin on her face that was just a bit too wide for Applejack's liking.

"Beg pardon?"

"I've already got somepony to help me take care of these treats," the pink pony looked up over Applejack's head "Right Rainbow Dash?'

With a rush of wind, the blue pegasus was suddenly there, a broad smile plastered on her face, startling the farm pony "You got it Pinkie! Good morning Applejack!"

"Morning Dash, didn't see ya there!" If the speedy pegasus noticed the slight rebuke in AJ's voice, she didn't acknowledge it. Instead the rainbow maned mare went straight to moving arm loads of caramel apples at breakneck speed, darting between the wagon and the inside of Sugarcube Corner. Before you could so much as say 'apple core' the heavily laden wagon was completely emptied.

"Hah! Hows that? Ten seconds flat!" boasted the speedster as if she'd just won a bet. For what it was worth, Pinkie Pie cheered as if she had.

"Great job Dashie! Now we're all ready for tonight! Go and tell Starlight we're ready whenever she is," chirped the pink party pony.

"Oh, is Starlight helpin' out with the party preparations this year Pinkie?" Applejack asked, actually more than a little surprised. Pinkie normally got downright proprietary when it came to party planning, as if she were the only one in Ponyville who was allowed to throw together a shindig. It as often more trouble than it was worth to persuade her to just let other folks handle planning their own birthdays, weddings, and cuteceneras. There had even been that whole mess with Cheese Sandwich once upon a time, when Pinkie had gotten particularly defensive about being Ponyville's number one party pony. In short, it was a surprise she'd let anyone else handle Nightmare Night's party prep, even their friend Starlight.

"You could say that AJ," replied Pinkie coyly before bursting into a fit of giggles. "Though you might want to keep that under your hat. Wouldn't want to spoil things for everypony now, would you?"

That last bit sounded suspiciously like a threat but... this was Pinkie. She was almost as harmless as fluttershy. I'm sure she's just being secretive for a good reason. Whatever Pinkie and Starlight have planned, it must be one heck of a humdinger, thought Applejack. "Don't you worry none Pinkie, mah lips are sealed."

"Oh I hope not darling," came a croquetish voice from just around the corner of the bakery, "However will we share the latest gossip if that charming mouth of yours is shut tight?" Rarity appeared, as ravishing in the morning light as she would look at the party later that evening.

"Good morning Rarity - Good morning Rarity," Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash said in unison, waving to the unicorn at exactly the same time in exactly the same way. Rarity hesitated, clearly taken aback for a moment.

Okay, now AJ was starting to worry again. What had just happened was very similar to what had occured with Lyra and Bonbon. Maybe that's just a popular prank this year. AJ thought to herself. If there were two ponies who would know all about the latest pranks, it'd be Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Their pranking wars were the stuff of legend around Ponyville. Yeah, that must have been it. "Howdy there Rarity. What brings ya around this neck of the woods so early in the mornin'?"

The classy unicorn seemed to recover from her confusion and slid smoothly back into her usual poised, if somewhat theatrical patter, "Why, for my morning danish of course dear," but her calm demeanor only returned for a moment before her eyes lit up and she practically shouted, "And to show off our costumes for this evening!"

As if appearing from nowhere, the unicorn pulled a wheeled dress rack into view that displayed five elaborate Nightmare Night costumes. One for each of their friends, minus Fluttershy who tended to have other plans most Nightmare Nights. It was obvious that they were all hoof made by Rarity herself, and while they were a little flashy for Applejack's taste there was no denying their obvious quality.

"Whoo-whee! Ya sure outdid yerself this year Rarity! Ah imagine there won't be a group of ponies that'll look half as sharp as we will tonight!" Applejack wasn't sure what the theme was, but each of the costumes were clearly modeled off a similar aesthetic.

"Pinkie Pie and I already have costumes for tonight," Rainbow Dash said bluntly.

"Yeah, we kind of already have plans," added Pinkie, a bit more diplomatically.

"Oh, that's so disappointing! And here I was so looking forward to seeing Rainbow Dash in her Miss Mare-vel outfit and you in your little Jokey costume. It took me ever so long to work out how to get the headpiece right. There aren't many things you can make horns that long out of that won't be an awful pain in a mares neck, you know," Rarity pouted, lifting the headpiece in question, a golden tiara with long curling gold horns that seemed to be part of an otherwise green leather outfit.

"Now, now Rarity, ah'm sure the girls'll wear your outfits next summer when we go to the Power Pony convention," comforted Applejack, finally recognizing the super hero theme. "We can all dress up as Equestria's Mightiest Heroes then."

"Of course darling, but I did work ever so hard," The fashionista sighed and pushed the rack of clothing back out of view. "Whatever shall the two of you be wearing for Nightmare Night instead?"

"It's a surprise! -It's a surprise!" the pair replied in unison, the iris's of their eyes contracting until their pupils were sharp little pin pricks.

Okay this had gone on long enough.

"Alright, cut that out! Y'all have been acting weird all mornin'. It ain't too much to ask for ya to let Rarity know what y'all are going ta be dressin' up as since ya turned down the outfits she so painstakingly crafted for the pair of ya!" Applejack chided, giving an angry snort more akin to a bull than a pony. "It's bad enough bein' ungrateful but now y'all are just bein' plain rude!"

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash glanced at one another, their smiling expressions unchanging. Applejack started to blush, feeling like a right fool for snapping at them like that. But the blood that had rushed to her face drained into the pit of her stomach as she paled. The wide smiles that her friends had been sporting suddenly seemed to turn sharper, predatory. Their eyes seemed to grow colder as well and their gaze gre so piercing it felt as if their eyes were boring right through her.

"If we told you..." Rainbow Dash began with a hiss...

"...We'd have to kill you," finished Pinkie, sweet as arsenic pie.

The pair then burst into laughter, high and strange, as if they had just told the best joke in the world!

Applejack didn’t see what was so funny.

"Hahaha!" said Rarity, urgently. (She didn't laugh, she actually said 'ha-ha-ha') "Would you just look at the time!? Come along Applejack, we simply mustn't be late, or we'll run out of time for your...uh... fitting! Yes, have to make those last minute adjustments to make sure your costume fits just right. At my Boutique. And not here. NOW!"

Rarity hurriedly shove Applejack away from Sugarcube Corner. "But mah wagon!"

"You can come back for it later," the unicorn replied emphatically, "Fashion waits for no pony!"

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash just watched them go.

Their laughter never faded.

Their smiles never wavered.

Their eyes never blinked.

Next Chapter: Cottage in the Woods Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 40 Minutes