Disclaimer: I own nothing. NOTHING I SAY!
"Hungrily she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year," Zecora said as she stood in front of the stone statue of Nightmare Moon, telling the same story she told all the Fillies of Ponyville every year on this night.
Like every year the fillies sat in the grass, all of them in various sorts of costumes, and listened closely as the zebra in front of them carried on. This year however, a new trio sat among them, one of them quickly scribbling everything down in a small notebook.
"Oh man," Dib breathed out excitedly as he finished writing the last sentence, "This is incredible!"
Despite having only been in Ponyville for such a short time, Dib was more than convinced that there had to be something worth looking into to show the Swollen Eyeball. So, he had decided to write anything he heard that might be helpful. While part of him figured the legend of Nightmare Moon was just some old wives tale, he reasoned it didn't hurt to remember this.
"Now listen up my little friends, for Nightmare Moon you must not offend," Zecora continued, reaching the end of the story as she gestured to a small pile of various candies in front of the statue, "Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!"
At that point the foals let out screams, though they sounded more excited than frightened. One by one, they all deposited some of their candy to the pile before running to return to their trick-or-treating. Soon the only ones left were Dib and the other two of the trio; a yellow sponge and his pink sea star friend, the both of whom were pretty shaken up by the story. Deciding now was a better time than ever to do some paranormal investigating, Dib looked over his equipment one last time as SpongeBob and Patrick ran over to the statue and dumped every piece of candy they had into the pile.
"Think we're safe now?" Patrick asked as he looked around fearfully for the evil mare.
"I hope so," SpongeBob replied. His eyes widened when he saw Dib heading off deeper into the forest alone. Looking at each other for a few seconds, the pair made an unspoken agreement to run and follow after him. If anything to keep Dib from getting eaten by Nightmare Moon.
"So, you've never been trick-or-treating before?"
"Nope."
"Like never ever ever."
"Not once."
"Never ever ever ever as in never once in your whole life?!"
"Never ever."
Pinkie Pie stared at the Star Nomad next to her in shock with her jaw dropped. How could anyone not have ever experienced the joys of Nightmare Night, or trick-or-treating at least?
"Yep. I've been to a lotta planets, but I've never been to one that does anythin' like this," Wander continued as he looked at a small group of foals run by. Having traveled the galaxy for such a long time, he had the opportunity to see many traditions from many cultures. He found each one more fascinating and fun than the last, but a holiday where you can get free candy? That took the cake!
Shrugging before smiling, he said, "But hey, first time for everythin' ah guess."
Pinkie put her hoof to her chin in thought before grinning, "Well, if you wanna learn about Nightmare Night, then you've come to the right place! I'm Ponyville's number one candy expert!"
The pink Pony began to nudge Wander down the street.
"C'mon! You're gonna love it!"
"D-Do you think she'll find us?"
"But we gave her our candy! Isn't that supposed to keep her away?"
"What if that wasn't enough Patrick?"
Dib gave an irritated sigh and looked away from his video camera to the pair trailing behind him. They had been out in the Everfree Forest for about ten minutes and SpongeBob and Patrick's constant whimpering was beginning to get on the young paranormal investigator's nerves, "If you guys are so scared, then why are you even out here?"
"We have to make sure Nightmare Moon doesn't eat you," SpongeBob said.
Patrick nodded in agreement, "Yeah. You didn't give her any candy."
Candy...
Dib's expression lit up as he got a sudden idea, "Hey, do you two still have some of your candy?" Patrick shook his head,
"No. We left it back at the statue."
"Darn. That would have been good bait, but I guess that shouldn't matter. After all, all I need is just a clear picture of her to show the Swollen Eyeball. Hey, maybe I can even convince her to eat Zim and put a stop to him once and for all! That'd be neat."
As Dib continued on, not even paying attention to the two sea creatures anymore, Patrick turned to SpongeBob with an expression of confusion, "Why is he talking to himself?"
SpongeBob shrugged, "I dunno, but it's kind of weird."
At that moment, a rustling was heard from a nearby bush. Looking over, the trio saw the silhouette of a flowing maned Alicorn that seemed to beckon to them deeper into the forest.
"I have you now," Dib murmured with a determined look before charging after the mare, SpongeBob and Patrick in tow.
"Wow! Look at all this," Wander exclaimed as he looked at all the candy Pinkie and him had received throughout the night. Both of their bags were filled to the brim with an assortment of treats and the orange alien was acting like a young child on Christmas Day as he looked over all the sweets, "Ah don't think I've ever seen so much candy before!"
Pinkie giggled at his enthusiasm.
"The fun part is trying them and seeing what they taste like." Pinkie reached into her bag and offered a large chocolate bar, "Here!"
"...Well, it does look good," Wander began hesitantly. It really did look tasty and by now he was a little hungry, the problem was when he had anything sugary...
"But ah'm not sure-"
"Aw, c'mon," Pinkie persisted, "No point in trick-or-treating if you're not gonna eat any of it."
She did have a good point, and Wander was never a fan of letting good things go to waste. Maybe he'd have just one and that'd be it. What's the worst that could happen?
Ten Minutes Later
Sylvia exited the bathroom of Sugarcube Corner. She had reached her five months and had to do her business. Usually since it took a while to go she would have to worry about Wander getting captured, but this planet was a lot more peaceful compared to other planets she and her companion had been to.
Barely even taking a step toward the exit, the Zbornak quickly realized something was wrong. Well, unless one considered Wander running around like a maniac eating every single piece of candy he could get his hands on, while scaring the townponies, and babbling complete nonsense to be perfectly normal.
"Whoa, Wander!" Sylvia called out as she tried to get ahold of the sudden situation.
The hyperactive nomad looked over at her before grinning widely and speaking in an extremely fast voice, "HeySyltheirstuffisAMAAAAZIN'!Youshouldtryit!Looka tmegoooo!Whee!I'mnaked,lookout!WOOO! Ha ha!"
Wander then bounded off toward the forest. A few seconds later a frantic looking pink Pony, Sylvia recognized her as the one Wander had spent most of the night with, ran by.
"Wait up!" Sylvia shouted as she caught up with Pinkie, "What's happening?" "I don't know!" Pinkie exclaimed as the two kept running, "All I did was give him a piece of candy and BOOM! He's goin' nuts!"
Sylvia froze.
"You gave Wander sugar?!"
"Uh, yeah," Pinkie replied.
Okay, so maybe going to a planet on a holiday where the inhabitants get free candy wasn't the best idea ever.
"Oh Grop," Slyvia groaned, running a hand down her face, "Well, the best thing to do is wait him out and make sure he dosen't hurt himself."
Crashing through the bushes, Dib kept the camera locked on the mysterious figure. SpongeBob and Patrick still followed, carrying thin and not-so-sharp sticks for protection. Suddenly the figure stopped in a clearing. The moon was full, large, and cast a perfect silhouette of the mare.
Dib grinned.
"Any last words, Nightmare Moon?" he asked, trying to sound dramatic.
At the sight of her, SpongeBob and Patrick's faces turned ten shades paler before they dropped their sticks and ran in the opposite direction screaming bloody murder. Dib ignored this and continued shooting. Nightmare Moon raised her wings over her head, seeming ready to strike when-
"LOOOOOOOK OUT!"
Crash!
"Sorry!" Wander yelled, as he ran off after crashing into Dib which sent him flying into Nightmare Moon, still in the middle of a sugar rush that was clearly not ending anytime soon. Dib groaned as he got up and, looking down, realized his camera had broken.
"Oh great," he muttered, "There's fifty dollars I'm never getting back."
Nightmare Moon got up, however now that Dib was so close he noticed something odd about her skin.
It looked like it was made of... fabric? Wait a second...
Rainbow Dash spit out the plastic fangs and gave an annoyed sigh.
"Oh great," she huffed, "I get the perfect Nightmare Night prank all together only to have it ruined by Pinkie's alien friend!"
"A... prank?," Dib questioned. He then facepalmed, "You mean I just wasted half the night and got my best camera destroyed for nothing?"
"Pretty much. Hey, what happened to the other two?"
"Hm? Oh them. I think you scared them off. Oh well, they weren't much help anyway... yeah... I'm going to bed..." the Earth boy mumbled before turning around and leaving, wanting to put tonight behind him.
He turned back though, "Think that might've been going a little too far?"
Dash shrugged, "They'll get over it."
"Wander!" Sylvia and Pinkie called out as they looked around for their lost companion. They'd been following him for a while trying to keep him away from as much candy as possible (Without much success) but eventually lost him once he ran off to the Everfree Forest.
"So... think he'll be fine?" Pinkie asked in concern. Before she could get an answer they reached the Nightmare Moon statue saw, lying in a pile of candy wrappers while curled up in his hat, was who else but Wander sleeping soundly after his sugar rush had finally worn off.
"I'd say so," Sylvia said quietly as to not wake Wander, relived to see that her best friend was alright. He still stirred anyway, blinking his eyes open and gave the duo a sleepy smile mixed with a grimace.
"Hey guys," he began as he sat up, clutching his stomach, "Word of advice, never eat as much candy as you can as fast as you can. It won't leave ya feelin' good later on."
"Alright buddy," Sylvia said, as the smaller alien on her back so they could head back to town "I think you've had more than enough excitment tonight."
It was only a minute into their walk back when Wander felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw it was Pinkie.
"I'm really sorry for making you eat that chocolate bar when you didn't want to," she said apologitically, "It wasn't right of me."
Wander just smiled and waved his hand dismissively, "Aw, that's alright." He put a reassuring arm around her, "Ah prob'ly should've told ya 'bout what would happen when ah had the chance."
Pinkie lit up as she leaned into Wander's touch, "You know, I have some sugar-free cupcake recipes I've been meaning to try. Wanna come over tomorrow and be my taste-tester?"
Wander looked up at the moon in the starry night sky, that smile of his never leaving even for a millisecond, "I'd love to."
The Next Morning
Twilight Sparkle sighed as she turned to give Rainbow Dash, and the paranormal investigator next to her, an annoyed glare.
"Mind explaining?" she asked, pointing a hoof in the direction of the two Toons in the back of the library.
SpongeBob and Patrick had been there all night, terrified that Nightmare Moon was coming to gobble them up. They had even went as far as to build a small fort out of Twilight's books to keep themselves safe, which they were currently cowering behind.
"T-Think we're safe yet?" SpongeBob asked.
"I dunno, but I'm not risking it!" Patrick replied.
Dash chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, "Uh, ha ha yeah... I'll take care of it."
As she entered, she heard Dib mumble to her with a hint of sarcasm, "Still think you didn't overdo it?"
A/N: Yeah... the prompt word was "Moon" and Nightmare Night was inspired by Nightmare MOON so... anyway, a few things going on here. First, the whole "Dib chasing Nightmare Moon" thing. Dib hasn't really been in Equestria long enough to know about Luna changing back and all that so he doesn't know NMM isn't really there anymore.
As for that whole thing with Wander... ehhhh that was just me and a headcanon that when he has anything with sugar in it he goes on a sugar rush unlike any other and... yeah... :/
Anyway, this wasn't my best work. I kinda had to rush since it was taking me a while to finish this but overall I'm satisfied with it, especially since this is my first time writing for Wander, Sylvia, Rainbow and Pinkie. O_O
'Til then! :)
(And yes, I hinted at Wander/Pinkie Pie toward the end. It totally wasn't because that's my crossover OTP I've been dying to write for and this was the perfect chance to or anything like that... *Darts eyes back and forth*)