(continued from https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38781775/ )

Fullerton levitated a brush with his magic, carefully grooming his gray fur as he prepared for his day. Whoever had left the big bag of bits on his couch had really saved his bacon. As he slipped on a white shirt and smart navy blue suit jacket, he thought of how he had used some of the money to buy back most of his belongings and still had a nice nest-egg to invest in the bank. All over a broken door that he can't even remember how it happened.

“Must have been drinking again,” he thought to himself.

He trotted outside, closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath he smiled. Nightmare Night, the smell of pies and melting caramels and chocolate treats lying over the scent of decaying leaves all carried on a delightful windy chill. He didn't really have any plans for that night, but he supposed he should at least pick up some treats to give out to the fillies and colts that come knocking.

Tugging his coat more tightly closed, he hurried down the road towards downtown. The sky was overcast and gray, heavy with rain which had begun falling in a light mist. He was just about to duck into the front door of Bonbon's candy shop when something caught his eye.

It was her. For several days he had caught sight of this strange mare keeping an eye on him. Keeping watch, it almost felt like. Before he had only seen her in the evenings or on his way home at night, this is the first time he's caught sight of her during the day. As usual, however, as soon as she caught him looking back at her she ducked around a corner out of sight.

Today was going to be different, though. He had already felt oddly drawn to her for some reason, some fragment of a memory pushed him to follow. Trotting around the corner he found her about to turn a corner.

“Wait!”

She froze and slowly turned back to face him. Her dark eyes and pale face burned into his memory somehow,

“I know you from somewhere. Please, tell me where.”

She looked around reluctantly, as if she hoped somepony would burst through one of the nearby doors and she would have an excuse to slink away. When so such savior arrived, she hung her head and sighed. “After sneaking around and spying on you for weeks, why would you trust anything I had to say?”

“I trust you.” Fullerton was sincere in his words, “I mean, I don't know why, but I feel like I know you somehow, like, I don't know. We have some kind of connection.”

Sitting down on the cold, damp cobbles, she recounted the entire, sad tale that the stallion had heard once before, memories slowly rushing back into his mind about this creature, no, this pony sitting before him.

He remembered his initial fear, running from what he thought was a vampire. He remembered her bursting into his home, he remembered her recounting this very same sad story before stealing the memories of everything from his mind.

Her head was hung low, tears trailing down her cheeks to drip from the end of her nose. Leaning down a little he gently placed a hoof beneath her chin, lifting her gaze to meet his.

“You never told me your name.”

“A..Ashes...” she whispered, as though breaking the silence with her name would bring some horrible curse upon them.

He smiled softly, “A beautiful name. Well, Ashes. Would you care to join me for Nightmare Night? I mean, I didn't really have anything planned, just handing out candy and perhaps watching a few bad horror movies.”

Ashes lifted her head to gaze at him with her dark eyes, “Do you really mean it? Even knowing what I am?”

Fullerton smiled softly, helping her back to her hooves, “Of course I do. That night I was desperate, and my mind was wandering down some very dark paths. You likely saved my life.”

She sniffled, pulling a handkerchief from her red jacket and wiping at her eyes before throwing her forelegs around his neck in a tight hug.

The stallion smiled brightly, returning the hug. “Well, we need to get moving. There's treats to buy and decorations to put up. This will be a Nightmare Night to remember.”