Ponytale

by Scarlett Haze

Chapter 5 - The Skeleton Sisters

The cold wind outside makes you shiver as the doors shut behind you. Maybe you should've checked the drawers in your room for some sort of clothing, a scarf, or maybe a hat. You turn to the door and find it sealed behind you, no way of getting back now. You hope that this long stretch of dark forest will lead to a town or a place to keep out of the cold. You take cautious steps down the path, occasionally checking around you for anyone or anything following you. You do find it ridiculous that the feeling of being followed in such a quiet place is absurd and you try to go into a more pleasant trot.

You pass over a large stick in the path, thinking nothing of it as you press on.

*SNAP!*

The sound came from behind you and you turn around to see the large stick now snapped in two. You gulp and think that you hear something out there. You keep moving, feeling the presence get closer. You even stop and shout at what you thought was it but find that you were only trying to surprise shadows. The pressure keeps welling up in your gut as you see a wide gate hang over a suspended rope bridge. You go to step over the bridge, but an overwhelming sense of dread and fear forces your hoof down and unable to move further.

The sound of snow crunching behind you makes you terrified. Something had been following you. Could it have been-?

"PoooOooonyyyYyy..." The voice at your ear wails. "Don't you know how to greet a new bud?" Your teeth start chattering as the voice continues, "Turn around and bump hooves with meeeee."

You feel compelled to turn, unable to resist. You can only see shadow and darkness as you see something resembling a hoof stretch out. Your own hoof shakes and slowly presses against it.

The sound of a whoopie cushion fills the still forest and you can see a skeleton standing before you, in its eyes are far away pink lights and it appears to be trying to hold back laughter behind its smiling... face. The skeleton is wearing a rather comfortable pink jacket as the sound slowly fades away. Finally, you hear the laughter that had been held back. "Oh, oh hold on a moment. Ha ha ha ha! I finally got someone with the whoopie cushion in the hoof trick!"

The skeleton keeps laughing as she removes the strapped on whoopie cushion and puts it away into a pocket. "Wow. That's going to be ALWAYS funny every time I think about it now. Hee hee hee!" The skeleton finally stops laughing and waves at you, "Hiya! I'm Sans. Well, it's Sans with the first letter not capitalized, but you can't really tell the difference unless I mention it. Anyways, look at you! A pony, right?"

She puts a hoof around your neck and hangs on you like an old friend would, "It's good to meet ya! Always nice to meet a new friend right? Should let you know that I'm meant to keep watch for ponies just walking by, but I'm not feeling up for it right now. Too much effort for something so boooooring!" She leads you over the ropebridge, getting caught up in her energy and personality.

"But to make you aware, my sister is another tale," sans continues to explain, briefly shaking her rump at 'tale'. "That'd have been funnier if I had a tail to match the pun, darn it! Anyways, Papyrus, right? She's my sister and she's a pony-hunting fanatic, she would absolutely go head over heels just seeing you, and then reattach her head afterwards."

You can't find anything to say as you reach the other side of the bridge, "She's gonna be coming soon, so I have a plan. You gotta trust me on this." Sans sets you beside a guard station and then nails something like a cartoon speech bubble on the station beside you. "Now, don't move. This is gonna be good." Sans moves away and then leans against her station as another skeleton bounds in.

This skeleton is wearing a heroic outfit with a sweeping cape that goes to its shoulders and tops it off with a stetson. "Sans, what're ya doin'?! I asked ya to recalibrate yer puzzles and I find ya here loitering instead of doin' what I asked of ya!"

Sans seems to shrug it off, "I've been plenty busy. Have you seen the new warning sign I have posted?"

Papyrus seems rather energetic as she stomps a hoof and the snow lifts off the ground for the smallest moment. "Consarn it, I don't have time for readin'! What if while you were putting up that ridiculous, and might I add awful lookin' sign, that a pony just galloped through?! I've got to be ready for this, because I want to be the one to capture a pony!" Papyrus tries hard to maintain her composure as she poses and lets the wind blow her cape. "Then, everything can be right in the world! Me, Papyrus, Royal Guard member, friend to all, and deserver of all the great things, up to and including pasta master!"

You nearly break composure as the skeleton continues to declare her hopes and dreams. Papyrus seems to be one to overblow expectations, but you can oddly respect that she wants to prove to be the greatest in some way or fashion.

"So, try ta help me out, alright sans?" Papyrus asks, seemingly calming down.

Sans points to the sign again, "C'mon, maybe the sign will help you with what you need."

Papyrus slams her hoof down again, "You ain't helpin'! Lazybones, is this all you do? Just sit and lollygag? You've been gettin' lazier and lazier each day!"

Sans sighs and pushes off the station to approach Papyrus. "Aww, c'mon. I've been doing a ton of work..."

Papyrus' expression turns a little angry, "Sans, don't you dare finish-"

"A SKELE-ton!" sans finishes and starts giggling again.

Papyrus' expression gets angrier. "SANS, why?!"

Sans hugs Papyrus and pokes at Papyrus' cheekbone, "Aw, come on. I see you smiling..."

"And I hate it," Papyrus groans. "I'm doin' all I can and I still haven't gotten a lick of recognition. Can't you just help me in doing this for me?"

Sans shakes Papyrus lovingly and pulls back. "Yeah, sure. But, it seems like you've been working really hard. Almost like you've worked yourself-"

"SANS, PLEASE!" Papyrus screeches out.

"-down to the bone!" Sans finishes, now rolling in the snow in laughter.

Papyrus lowers her hat over her 'eyes' and shakes her head. "I'm going to attend to my puzzles. And while I do that, I expect you to put more backbone in YOUR work." Papyrus rushes off, a mix of a whinny and laughter as she laughs at her own bad pun.

Sans nods and looks where you are, "Alrighty, you can move around if you want."

You look back at the posted sign and find nothing written on it. Well, you wouldn't have expected a lot of effort to have been done, but how'd that fool Papyrus? Was Papyrus just too focused on Sans, sorry, sans, to notice you? As you question this, the sign falls off the station. Sans looks toward the fallen sign. "Err... maybe I should've put more than one stick of tape? Nah, I wasn't going to use it for much longer."

Sans then points you down the path, "So, get yourself going in that direction. If not, Papyrus could come back and you'll be forced to listen to more of my jokes."

You thank sans and turn to leave before she calls for you again, "Hang on. I've... got a favor to ask." Sans moves to you and looks at you with her far-away pink eyes. Wait, has she even moved her teeth when talking with you? "The thing is... my sister's been down. I wasn't lying when I said she'd go head over heels when she'd see you. Her day might get better if she sees you, and don't even worry about her being dangerous or nothing. She tries, but I promise she's not a threat."

Sans then winks you, "I'll be keeping an eyesocket out for you." She then walks in the other direction that you were pointed to.

You give a small smile. The skeletons aren't so bad after all, but you can't shake the feeling that sans is more than she's letting on. You press on regardless and find a box in the crossroads ahead. You look around for an owner and then open the chest, finding a pair of gloves inside. You excitedly put them on and feel just a little warmer.

Along with being a little warmer, you feel determination fill you as you are looking forward to future meetings between you and the two skeleton sisters.

Comments

[KDS-Writingindustries]

So, you made the skeleton brothers, skeleton sisters?
As well as making Sans and Papyrus, Pinkie and Applejack?
.............
..............
.................
Undyne and alphys are gonna be rainbow dash and fluttershy I'm callying it.

[ChaosFerret]

6673498 Fluttershy was Toriel
Going to Spoiler this just in case, but my money's on Alphys being Twilight, Mettaton is Trixie, Undyne is obvious for Rainbow Dash, Muffet is Rarity... Oh, If Undyne is Rainbow Dash, Monster Kid just has to be Scootaloo

Pinkie Sans is scary appropriate.