The Korbats in the Pumpkin Patch

      Asmundar was a clever little Eyrie, but there was one thing that he just couldn’t figure out tonight, and it had been bugging him and bugging him. He couldn’t get the Korbat face on his pumpkin just right. He had spent hours and hours using his claw on every pumpkin in his owner’s pumpkin patch, but he was a perfectionist and something just wasn’t right. There was pieces of carved pumpkin stuck under his claws and he was beginning to get frustrated.

      He had been wanting to win his neighbourhood’s pumpkin carving contest for years and years, but he would never win with one of these lifeless-looking drawings he’d just done. There was a Xweetok who always won every year and always looked so smug afterward and he just had to beat him this year. He had to.

      As he was finishing up his newest non-masterpiece, deciding to give up because the wings weren’t right, just like the tail wasn’t right on the last one and the teeth on the one before that, a Korbat happened to fly by, his wings flashing fast in the sky.

      “Hey!” Asmundar yelled, hoping he could use him to figure out what wasn’t right with his drawing. “You!”

      The shock of the large Eyrie yelling at him from the pumpkin patch scared the anxious Korbat so much that he flew right into the fence of the pumpkin patch and into one of the discarded carved pumpkins.

      “Well, I guess that’s one way to get a realistic-looking Korbat pumpkin,” said Asmundar. He flew over to the pumpkin and poked it. “Hello?”

      The Korbat’s head stuck out with pumpkin seeds stuck all in his fur. Bits of the pumpkin pulp dangled from his ear.

      “Hi,” said the Korbat, a little wary and nervous. “I’m Stan.”

      Stan the Korbat was a goofy-looking fellow, but Asmundar instantly took a liking to him. Maybe it was the pumpkin seeds in his hair or the fact that he had spent so long trying to draw a Korbat that he now wanted to befriend one, but he helped little Stan out of the pumpkin and looked him over.

      “Can you help me draw this?” Asmundar asked.

      At that, the Korbat grew excited. “Sure! You know, I won an art contest through the Neopian Times once, I bet I could draw a Korbat that looked so real it could come to life.”

      Asmundar laughed but he didn’t know that exactly that was about to actually happen. They both started carving the pumpkin together, each adding their own bits and pieces to create something that they had made together.

      As Stan put the finishing touches on the scariest Korbat Asmundar had ever seen, with sharp red teeth and eyes like black stones set in its face, Edna the Witch flew by on her broom and cackled. It had just turned October and it was her favorite month to cause some trouble.

      She sprinkled some magic dust over the pumpkin patch, putting a little extra on the one they had just finished drawing. And all of a sudden a hundred Korbats sprang to life from the pumpkins, including the one Stan had just drawn. They swept up into the night and Stan let out a shriek because they weren’t normal Korbats. They all looked slightly off, some with wings that were half there, causing them to flutter around and drop halfway out of the sky before taking off again. Some were missing ears and some had wings that were larger than either of them had ever seen. But they all had one thing in common. They all looked like they were about to cause a lot of mischief.

      Asmundar swung his tail and caught one of the Korbats, which swept down and when it hit a pumpkin it became swallowed back up and became a drawing once again. Asmundar realized what they had to do.

      “Quick!” Asmundar said, as the fake Korbats flew around and pulled on anyone’s hair who happened to walk by. They started picking up and dropping apples and acorns on people and their Neopets, and flying into their faces and shrieking. Asmundar knew if they didn’t do something, and fast, the whole pumpkin festival would be ruined that evening.

      Asmundar and Stan each grabbed a pumpkin and chased after them, one by one. It took hours and a lot of bruises from thrown apples before they thought they had gotten every last one back into its pumpkin. The festival was about to start, and they didn’t have anything to show for it. Sad and defeated, they were going to head back inside.

      But then, the Korbat they had drawn together let out a shriek and dove at them. His teeth looked like they were dripping red, and his fur stuck out at odd angles. He had claws that looked dirty and stuck out far past its paws. Its tail ended with what looked like a pointy hook. He looked like the scariest creature to ever haunt your nightmares.

      They both quickly dove out of the way and the Korbat flew right into the ground. Dirt flew up around it and showered the Eyrie and his Korbat friend. They realized the drawn Korbat was knocked out, so they quickly grabbed the last pumpkin in the patch and shoved him into it.

      The drawing appeared back on the pumpkin, but this time it shone with glowing red eyes and it still looked alive. If you walked past it at the right angle, which Asmundar and Stan both did several times, it looked like it was staring right at you. A shiver ran up both of their bodies and the cold night air had nothing to do with it.

      “Quick! The festival is about to start!” Stan said, worried and frantic, covered in dirt.

      They quickly picked up the pumpkin and threw it into a wheelbarrow and covered it, and Asmundar and Stan took off to the pumpkin festival as fast as they could.

      The Xweetok that won ever year had a smirk on its face as they passed with their covered wheelbarrow. But that smirk slid right off of its face as soon as Asmundar uncovered their pumpkin and placed it on the table.

      Everyone around them gasped, because they could have sworn that Korbat blinked. Everyone crowded around Asmundar and Stan’s pumpkin, looking at its red eyes and the claws they swear came right out of the pumpkin. They stared and everyone that looked got the same chill and instantly had to run and find a cup of warm cider.

      It wasn’t long before the judges walked around and when they came to Asmundar’s table they stopped and stared. Their eyes got big and they took notes down and whispered to each other.

      Finally, it was time to announce awards. Asmundar and Stan had won! The Xweetok was second place and the look on his face was great, but what was worth more than that was having made a new friend. Asmundar gave the medal that the judges handed him over to Stan.

      Stan smiled and thanked him, knowing that it was a night little Stan the Korbat would never, ever forget.

      The End.