Rules

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Deep in the Everfree Forest stands the ruined castle of the two royal pony sisters, long forgotten by the inhabitants of Equestria. The once pristine palace that served as a home for the rulers of the country had lost its former glory, as do many things through the wear and tear of time. Its stones were cracked and dusty, with shattered windows and overgrown vegetation littering the structure. The ancient castle barely seemed able to stay upright on its old foundation.

However, though its former glory had gone, seven friends were located inside, busying themselves with the task of restoring the magnificent castle to the way it had looked 1000 years ago, with a bit of variation of course.

"Hoo we! Nothin' like a good day of work ta finish a project like this!" Applejack breathed, satisfied as she took a seat on a pillow, "Ah swear, I'm sweatin' more than a greased pig in a wrestlin' competition."

Rarity, who happened to be sitting nearby, shuffled away slightly from the cowgirl in mild disgust, "Thank you for that analogy, Applejack."

The two of them looked back at the rest of their friends as they took their seats on the other pillows in the room. They were currently in the hidden room of the royal library, the one that Twilight had stumbled upon after the whole Tree of Harmony incident. And luckily, since it had been sealed off for centuries, the hidden structure was one of the cleaner rooms of the castle. So, it had become their lounge for whenever they needed a break from restoring the castle.

Twilight smiled with a satisfied grin, though a thin shimmer of sweat was visible on her furry forehead, "Well, girls, I think today was a very successful day for the castle restoration."

Pinkie Pie nodded hyperactively, as if the hours of work beforehand hadn't drained her a bit. But that wasn't much of a surprise. Even though she had worked as hard as the others, she still brimmed to overflowing with energy. The pink earth pony beamed at Twilight, "I know, right? Sooner or later, this whole place is gonna be up and running! And then, after that, I can throw a huge 'Re-opening-the-castle-party-because-we-fixed-it-up' party! There'll be cake, balloons, and-" She suddenly gasped, "We can invite the princesses! It'll be just like coming back home for them!"

Fluttershy smiled, "Oh, I hope Princess Celestia and Princess Luna like it. They haven't been here since... Um... You know..."

Rainbow Dash smacked a hoof reassuringly on the shy pony's back, though it might have been too hard judging by the squeak Fluttershy emitted. But of course, Rainbow didn't notice, "Oh, lighten up. I'm sure they'll love it! After all, we did all of this work for it. They won't even recognize the place once we finish."

"Well, more or less." Twilight replied, glancing to the side, "What do you think, Spike?"

But her dragon companion had already curled up on his own pillow, proceeding to fall asleep. So his response only came as a few snores.

Twilight giggled at the sight before glancing out of the room, and into the library outside. From where she sat, she could see a window, and through it, the moon rose higher into the sky in the dark of the night. It was getting pretty late, far later than they would have usually left for Ponyville after working here. And they of all ponies knew first handedly how dangerous it was to travel through the Everfree Forest at night.

But luckily for them, they weren't planning on returning to town tonight. In the room they currently sat in, six saddle bags sat along the wall, filled with everything they needed for the night. These were items like pillows, blankets, mane brushes, silk pajamas in Rarity's case, and in Twilight's, books.

Yeah, you probably guessed it right:

Twilight smiled at her friends, "I think Spike has the right idea. Who's ready for a slumber party?"

The five mares in front of her cheered in excitement.

Rainbowdash did a hoof pump, "Aw yeah, this is gonna be awesome! Spending the night in the creepy castle!"

Applejack gave a knowing look towards Rarity, "It's definitely gonna be a mite different than stayin' at Twi's house."

"I'm just glad we convinced her to leave her guide from last time at home." Rarity whispered back.

"Oh, but Rarity, are you sure you'll be alright sleeping here?" Fluttershy asked, "I mean, you usually like staying at home where it's comfortable, but... Um... Here it's um..."

"Oh, don't you worry, darling. I'll be perfectly fine here. After all, this is a castle we are staying in." Rarity replied, "Granted it's very ancient, but it is still a castle nonetheless."

Twilight picked up her saddlebag from the wall of the room and began rummaging through its contents, "We should start getting everything set up for the night. And while we do that," She pulled out a book from her bag, "I'll read something from this."

In her hooves, she held a black, paperback book, with its title on the front in white letters: Creepy Spooks.

Fluttershy, though she was pulling bedding out of her bag, was the first to read the title, her eyes widening as she saw it, "C-c-cree-eepy Spoo-ooks? Does that mean it'll be a s-scary story?"

Twilight nodded as she flipped the book open, "Yes, but it's scary stories, plural. This book is actually a compilation of all kinds of spooky tales."

Fluttershy whimpered and buried her face into a pillow, making the magenta alicorn giggle in amusement, "Don't worry, Fluttershy. I've already read through most of these stories, so I'll only read the few that aren't quite as scary. There's no need to worry."

The shy pegasus glanced up slightly, her speech muffled a bit by the cushion covering her mouth. "O-oh, that'd be nice." But she squeaked as the thought of hearing a scary story came to her mind yet again.

The others, however, were more enthusiastic about the idea, and continued getting ready for bed as Twilight searched for a suitable story that wouldn't scare Fluttershy quite as badly.

But as she unpacked her things, Rarity caught glimpse of something on the book Twilight held. A small sticker, indicating that the book was property of the Golden Oaks Library.

"Twilight, darling, is that book from the library? You told me you'd never bring a single shred of paper into a place like the Everfree Forest if it belonged to the library."

"Oh, no. Sorry, Rarity, but this book actually belongs to me." Twilight explained, "You see, this book is fairly new, and I had ordered a copy of it for the library. But when it came in the mail, I had been sent two copies by mistake. The publishers wouldn't accept returns, so I ended up keeping both, one for the library, and one for my own personal use. However, both are marked as library property because Spike didn't realize we had two of the same book.

She raised a hoof to her chin as a thought came, "Come to think of it, the other copy got checked out from the library just yesterday."

"By whom?" Rarity inquired.

"Scootaloo, actually."

A smirk came to Rainbow's face at the sound of the filly's name, "Ah, yeah. That's definitely Scoots for ya. That awesome little daredevil is *always* thrill-seeking, even when she's just reading a book."

Applejack perked up a bit as she laid down a blanket for a makeshift bed, "Wait, last time she borrowed a book from Twilight, didn't Scootaloo and the other crusaders make a love potion ta make mah brother and Ms. Cheerilee fall fer each other?"

Rainbow scratched a hoof behind her neck, chuckling sheepishly, "Oh, right. I remember that." The cyan pegasus shrugged nonchalantly as all sheepishness receded, "But hey, Scoots borrowed a book full of scary stories. I doubt she's gonna get herself into any trouble by reading it. It's not like she'll use it to raise the dead and cause a zombie apocalypse, so don't worry about it."

Pinkie hopped up and down on her 'bed' made of blankets and pillows, dressed in a pair of crazy blue pajamas designed with balloons and steamers, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, Twilight! You should read a scary story now. I'm so excited! I hope it's so scary that I'll just curl up into a ballandscreamoutofpurehorrorandthenI'llrollaroundlikeI'mhavingapanicattackwhenI'mactuallynotbut-"

As the party pony's rambling quickly descended into incomprehensible jabber, Twilight simply smiled as she stopped flipping through the book, "Okay, Pinkie. I've got a good one right here. It's called, 'The Midnight Game'."

Pinkie Pie settled down, and she and the others settled down on their covers to listen to the story. With everypony ready, Twilight took a deep breath and began,

"The Midnight Game is an old pagan ritual used mainly as punishment for those who have broken the laws of a pagan religion.

"While it is mainly used as a scare tactic to not disobey the gods, there is still a very real chance of death to those who play the Midnight Game. There's an even higher chance of permanent mental scarring. It is highly recommended that you DO NOT play the Midnight Game.

"However, for those few thrill seekers searching for a rush or those delving into obscure occult rituals, these are the simple instructions on how to play. Do so at your own risk."

Twilight frowned in confusion, "Instructions? I thought this book only had scary stories, not rules to a dangerous game." She glanced up at her friends to see that they too were feeling the same way, with unsure looks plastered to their faces.

"You an' me both." AJ replied, "I swear, mah fur is already standing up on end from what you've read."

"Death? Permanent mental scarring?" Rarity's eyes were wide in worry, "This 'game' sounds more like, ... Well, a death game, to put it simply."

"Um, y-yeah." Rainbow added nervously, "I mean, um, keep reading. How is this game even dangerous anyways?" Though everyone present knew the last question was last ditch effort for Rainbow to keep her cool, they all had the same thought on their minds. What could possibly make somepony die or, if not that, lose their mind?

Twilight continued reading, "Okay, here's the instructions."

(Of course, off to the side, no one noticed as Fluttershy whimpered, "I-I th-thought you said you had read these stories...")

Twilight read along, "Prerequisites: It must be exactly 12:00AM when you begin performing the ritual, otherwise it will not work. The materials required include a candle, a wooden door, at least one drop of your own blood, a piece of paper, matches or a lighter, and salt. If you are playing with multiple people, they will all need their own of the aforementioned materials and will have to perform the steps below separately.

"First, write your full name on a piece of paper and put at least one drop of blood on the same paper. Allow it to soak in."

Suppressing a shudder at the mention of using her own blood, Twilight continued, "Next, turn off all the lights in the house. Go to your door and place the paper with your name in front of it. Take the candle and light it. Afterward, place the candle on top of the paper with your name.

"Knock on your own door 22 times (the hour MUST be 12:00AM upon the final knock), then open the door, blow out the candle, and close the door. You have just allowed the "Midnight Stallion" into your home."

Fluttershy squeaked in fright, burying her face into her mane, "Th-th-The M-Midnight Stallion? Is h-he like th-the sh-shadow pony?"

"Ah sure hope not, Sugarcube." AJ responded, her face showing a bit more uneasiness than before.

Twilight kept reading, "Upon letting the Midnight Stallion into your home, immediately relight your candle.

"This is where the game begins. You must now lurk around your completely dark house with the lit candle. Your goal is to avoid the Midnight Stallion at all costs until exactly 3:33AM."

"But why 3:33 AM?" Pinkie asked. Much to the dismay of her friends, the pink pony was now shaking even harder than Fluttershy was.

The logical portion of Twilight's brain instantly kicked in at the question, "Hm... Well, those three hours are exactly at the middle of the night. Usually dusk and dawn are separated by 9 to 10 hours, with 12:00 to 3:33 always in the middle. So, if the Midnight Stallion appears during the exact middle of the night, I'd assume it doesn't want to take chances and stay out in the open by the time dawn comes. With that theory, the Midnight Stallion probably doesn't like sunlight very much, or maybe it even has a weakness to sunlight. That could explain why it's called the Midnight Stallion..."

Twilight's train of thought petered out as she realized her friends were staring at her with blank looks. Embarrassed by her rambling, the alicorn blushed slightly and turned her focus back to the book,

"Should your candle ever go out, it is because the Midnight Stallion is near you. You must relight your candle within the next ten seconds. If you are unsuccessful in relighting the candle, you must immediately surround yourself with a circle of salt.

"If you are unsuccessful in both of these, the Midnight Stallion will induce a hallucination of your greatest fear until 3:33AM. If you are successful in relighting the candle, you may proceed. If you are successful in creating the circle of salt, you must remain within the circle until 3:33AM."

Twilight paused after reaching the end of the paragraph, this time unable to suppress a shudder, quietly whispering to herself, "A hallucination of your greatest fear? It almost sounds like that trap door King Sombra made to hide the Crystal Heart. Even though that hallucination only lasted for a minute, it was still awful. Yet the Midnight Stallion can do that same thing until 3:33?" She shook her head, not wanting to ponder on it.

"What was that, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Oh, nothing." Twilight quickly replied, a bit jumpy from the sudden question. Without another word, she turned back to reading the rules.

"You must continue until 3:33AM without being attacked by the Midnight Stallion or being trapped within the circle of salt to win the Midnight Game. The Midnight Stallion will leave at 3:33AM and you will be safe to proceed with your morning.

"While in the game, staying in one spot the entire game will only result in the Midnight Stallion finding you. It is highly advised you continue moving throughout the game."

Rainbowdash grimaced slightly, "Man, this game is complicated. Even if I wanted to play it, I'd still think it was hard."

Under normal circumstances, Applejack would've called RD a chicken for being scared. But after a small moment of reconsideration, AJ decided it'd be best if she didn't do anything that would have egged the egotistical pegasus on, lest Rainbow saw it as a challenge and participated in the Midnight Game. Instead, the work pony nodded in agreement, "Who in their right mind would want ta play a game like this? It sounds like a bad 'nough idea anyway."

Twilight responded, "Wait, there are still more rules in here."

Rainbow groaned, "More?"

Twilight read off the final rules in quick succession, "DO NOT turn on any lights during the Midnight Game.

"DO NOT use a flashlight during the Midnight Game.

"DO NOT go to sleep during the Midnight Game.

"DO NOT use another pony's blood on your name.

"DO NOT use a lighter or magic to substitute for a candle. It will not work.

"DEFINITELY DO NOT attempt to provoke the Midnight Stallion in ANY WAY.

"That is all. Have fun."

Silence passed over the six friends, save for Spike's muffled snoring, as they all paused after hearing that last line. How could anyone write up instructions to something this terrifying, and end the rules with "have fun"? A sadistic pony, no less.

Fluttershy whimpered softly, breaking the silence, "Um... L-let's never play that game."

The other five mares glanced at each other in silence before nodding all at once, "Agreed."

Twilight shook her head, chuckling a bit nervously, "Come on, look at us. We're all getting worked up because of some game that probably isn't even real."

"He he he, yeah..." Rainbow joined in, "I knew the Midnight Game wasn't real. I was just uh, helping make it seem scarier."

"Wow! You sure had me fooled." Pinkie chimed, suddenly returning to her normal behavior (If her usual behavior could even be considered normal, that is). The pink pony giggled, "Rainbow really made it seem like she was scared too, and that made me scared even more than before! That's really terrifying stuff!"

Rarity, though she wanted to call out on Rainbow's antics teasingly, decided to let Pinkie have her fun, "That's... Nice, darling." Glancing back to Twilight, "But I think I might know why those instructions are in that book, Twilight."

"Oh, really?"

"It seems to me that the instructions to the Midnight Game is a scary story itself. After all, it did manage to give us all a fright."

Twilight paused and pondered the thought before giggling in realization, "I guess you're right." She turned her attention back to the Creepy Spooks book, "With that story finished, who wants to read another one?"

All five voices chorused in agreement, of course one of them spoke quieter than the rest, that one being Fluttershy.

"So, what's this next story called, Twi?" AJ asked.

Twilight grinned mischievously, "Oh, this one is sure to scare the horseshoes off your hooves. It's called, 'Abandoned by Hasbro'."

As the group of friends continued their slumber party in peace, a certain trio of friends in Ponyville had their own plans for the night, which included the Golden Oaks Library's copy of Creepy Spooks...

The Summoning

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In Ponyville's Carousel Boutique, the Cutie Mark Crusaders busied themselves with the task of gathering the materials they needed for the night. So far, a whole array of items littered the floor of the boutique's first floor, the profits from the three fillies' plunder of the shop.

On the floor, there laid three pieces of paper, three quills, three candlesticks, a needle, and some matches. Standing above the materials, Applebloom and Scootaloo took inventory of the items.

"Okay," Applebloom announced, "Looks like we've got everything 'cept for one thing. All we need now is salt."

Scootaloo nodded, "Good, Sweetie Belle's getting the salt out of the kitchen right now."

As if on cue, a crashing sound came from the kitchen, and Sweetie Belle's squeaky voice cried out, "Oops! It's alright, I'm okay!"

The unicorn filly soon entered the main room carrying a small cylinder in her mouth. Sweetie Belle carried the container to the pile of materials and set it down, revealing its label: SALT.

"Here's the salt!" She announced, "But this was all Rarity had in her cupboard." The white filly turned to Scootaloo, "Will this be enough?"

Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah, it looks like it'll be enough to make one circle for all three of us." She grinned as if she were taking on a challenge that was too irresistible to turn down, "Besides, I don't plan on losing this game to the Midnight Stallion. I won't need a little circle of salt to protect me."

"That is, if this thing could even be called a game." Applebloom muttered.

Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement with Applebloom, looking unsure, "Yeah, Scootaloo. Are you sure we should be playing this game? I mean, the book said it was really dangerous. I don't think my parents would want me to do this."

"Yeah, why are we doin' this anyway?" Applebloom asked, "Didn't that book you got from the library specifically say we could die?!"

"Are you two chickening out?" Scootaloo accused her friends.

"Hey, I ain't no chicken." Applebloom retorted, "I'm just saying we shouldn't do this."

Scootaloo groaned as she glanced at the other crusaders, "Come on, girls. Think about it. If we win the Midnight Game, then we'll have literally beaten a demon at his own game. This could get us our cutie marks in exploring the supernatural!"

Sweetie Belle's eyebrow shot up, "Supernatural? You mean like that book of herbal cures Twilight has?"

"No, that's just a pun of a title, Sweetie Belle."Applebloom answered, "Scootaloo's talkin 'bout the supernatural stuff like ghosts and devils."

To the surprise of the other two, a literal wave rippled through Sweetie Belle's fur as she shivered, "Ghosts and devils? W-who'd want a cutie mark in exploring those things?"

Scootaloo groaned again, glancing towards a clock on the boutique's wall: It read 11:50. The orange pegasus frowned at her friends, "Well, if neither of you two are going to help me, then you might as well leave. I'm playing the Midnight Game, and I don't care if I do it alone."

As Scootaloo reached for a candlestick from their pile of items, Applebloom stopped her, "Hold it, Scoot. Just because I said we shouldn't do it, doesn't mean I wanna leave a friend behind to do something like this by her lonesome. I'm gonna do this with you, just to make sure ya don't do somethin' stupid."

A small smile crept to Scootaloo's face, "Thanks, Applebloom." She turned, "Sweetie Belle? What about you? Are you in?"

After glancing between the other two, uncertainty dominating her features, Sweetie Belle sighed, "Okay, fine. If I left now, I wouldn't have anywhere else to go to stay the night, so I guess I'll do this with you girls."

Scootaloo nodded, her challenging grin returning to her face, "Great. We have less than ten minutes before we start. We just need to know who's carrying what." She pointed a hoof to the materials they gathered on the floor.

"Well, since we're all playin' this game, we'll all need a candlestick, a piece of paper, and a quill each. The needle we can use fer all three of us before we start, and we can divide up the matches equally for the three of us. That just leaves one thing: Who's gonna hold the salt?"

She and Scootaloo simultaneously glanced towards Sweetie Belle, who recoiled back slightly.

"Why are you two looking at me like that?"

"Well..." Applebloom replied, "You are the only unicorn here, and your magic has been gettin' better. It'd be quicker to have you make a salt circle if we need it, since you can use magic ta do it."

Scootaloo added, "And no offense, Sweetie Belle, but out of the three of us, I think you'll be the first to retreat into the circle."

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to protest, but then remembered what exactly it was they were going up against. She sighed, picking up the salt can with her green magic, "Okay, fine. I guess I'll carry around the salt."

With that settled, Scootaloo clapped her hooves together, moving on, "Okay. Now we only have a few minutes left, so let's get our stuff and start the game. Everybody take a candle, a quill, some matches, and a paper. But before we each take our own door to let the Midnight Stallion in," The orange filly picked up the needle, "We only have one needle, so we'll need to get our papers ready before we split up."

Nodding in agreement, all three of them grabbed their individual materials and got to work.

Levitating a quill, Sweetie Belle wrote her name on her own paper, as did the other two crusaders. Once the three of them did, Scootaloo took the first shot at using the needle. Sweetie and Applebloom both winced slightly as Scootaloo positioned the needle towards her own hoof. It wasn't until the pegasus stuck the sharp point into her fur that her expression took a similar look as the theirs. Cringing slightly, and muttering an "Ow" under her breath, Scootaloo withdrew the needle, and a small bead of blood grew out of the place it had stabbed.

Holding her hoof over her own paper, Scootaloo allowed the single drop of blood to drip down onto it, making it land with a tiny *blip* and seep into the parchment.

Next, Applebloom was up to bat.

After a quick prick with the needle point and wincing grunt later, a drop of Applebloom's blood dripped onto her own paper, the red liquid soaking into the material.

Just watching her friends draw blood from themselves made Sweetie Belle's fur crawl, but it wasn't until Applebloom passed the needle to her that the unicorn's panic attack started. Looking down at the sharp point held out to her, Sweetie Belle could feel sweat begin dripping down her forehead. She looked down at the small, sewing needle as if it were a javelin. Though to her, that analogy didn't seem too far off. Both of them... well, they hurt! As blunt as it sounded, it hurt a lot!

A small memory flashed through the back of Sweetie Belle's mind. It was one of her a couple years ago. She had been staying at Rarity's Boutique again, and at the time she had been searching for Opal, her sister's cat. When searching through Rarity's mess of a work space, Sweetie had the unpleasant fortune of finding a stray pincushion... The painful way...

"Sweetie Belle? You okay?" Applebloom asked, bringing the unicorn out of the trance she had been in.

Shaking herself back to the present, Sweetie looked up at the other crusaders, squeaking involuntarily from... Was that fear she felt? "Oh, I'm fine. J-just fine."

Scootaloo blinked in mild surprise, "Sweetie Belle, we haven't even started the midnight game yet and you're already shaking. I knew you'd be scared of the Midnight Stallion, but I didn't know you'd be this terrified."

Sweetie Belle pouted at that, "No! I'm not scared of the Midnight Stallion! It's just..." She looked down warily at the needle Applebloom still held in hoof, almost ashamed, "I... I kind of have... I kind of have a fear of needles."

"What was that?"

Sweetie shrunk back a bit more, curling inwardly in a 'Fluttershy' maneuver, "I... I have a fear of needles."

"What?" Applebloom asked.

Sweetie took a deep breath, clamping her eyes shut in hopes that the action would save her at least some embarrassment, "Ihaveafearofneedles."

The other two crusaders glanced at each other with raised eyebrows, unsure of what their friend had just verbally puked out. "Um, could you say that again? Just slow it down this time." Scootaloo asked.

"UGH! I have a fear of needles! OKAY?!" The unicorn squeaked, exasperated.

Applebloom and Scootaloo blinked in surprise, before glancing towards each other. Then, giving a curt nod to each other, Scootaloo gave Sweetie a small smile, "It's alright. If that's true, then I guess you don't have to use the needle."

Sweetie frowned, "Wait, really?"

"Nope."

Before Sweetie Belle could question the pegasus, she felt something painfully prick her hoof from the side. "OUCH!" Glancing towards the source of the pain, Sweetie discovered that Applebloom had come from the side and stabbed her with the needle. And before she could react, Applebloom grabbed Sweetie's now bleeding hoof and held it over the piece of paper with the unicorn's name on it.

Like the other two before, a drop of Sweetie's blood dripped down onto the paper and soaked into the thin surface.

Once that was done, with a few tears threatening to break past her eyelids from the small throbbing in her hoof, Sweetie glared at the other two crusaders, "Girls! I can't believe you would trick me like that!"

Applebloom gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry, Sweetie Belle. But we knew you'd have never given us a drop of blood unless we caught ya off guard."

"But hey," Scootaloo added, "It's already been done. So, no need to be angry about it, right?"

"Right." Sweetie deadpanned, raising her injured hoof up to her mouth to suck on the bleeding wound.

Scootaloo clapped her hooves together, "Alright, we've got our papers ready, and we know what to do next, so that means all we have left to do is let the Midnight Stallion into the Boutique. I call dibs on the balcony door upstairs!"

The orange filly grabbed her candlestick, her paper, and her share of matches and rushed to the stairs leading upstairs, calling over her shoulder, "Hurry up, you two! It's almost 12:00! We'll meet back here after we've started the game!"

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle watched as Scootaloo disappeared up the stairs, before the former of the two grabbed her items as well, "Okay, Sweetie Belle. I'll take the back door. You can let the Midnight Stallion in through the front door."

"Heh heh, right." Sweetie chuckled nervously as she watch Applebloom disappear into the kitchen.

Now, she was alone... And she didn't like it.

Biting down the urge to bolt after Applebloom, Sweetie glanced towards the front door of the boutique, which stood only a few feet away from her.

Sighing, "Alright... I-I can do this." Sweetie grabbed her own items, as well as the salt, and made her way to the door. Once sitting in front of the wooden structure, she sat down on her haunches and placed the piece of paper and her candlestick down at the door's base, the latter object resting on top of the former. Using her magic, she simultaneously lit her candle with a match and turned off all the lights around her, leaving the amber glow of the flame to illuminate the area.

As she glanced around the darkened room of the boutique, Sweetie found it more unsettling than she had first thought it'd be. Just the looking at the familiar place, without its sense of bright homeliness, it made her fur crawl like a snake skin. Shuddering to herself, Sweetie glanced up towards a clock, which read 11:59.

"Uh oh, better do this now." She muttered. Turning to the door, Sweetie quickly began knocking on the wooden door, her hooves against the hard surface causing an odd echo through the silent room; This was the first step of the ritual. Counting to herself, she knocked on the wood up until the 21st knock. But as she did, Sweetie Belle noticed that with each knock, the echoes of her hooves seemed to grow quieter and quieter. And at the same time, she felt herself shiver, as if her knocking were doing the same thing to the room's temperature, growing colder with each wooden *thud*.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind, glancing towards the clock again to find it now read 12:00. Cringing to herself, Sweeie Belle gave the door one final knock.

*Tick*

Surprising the filly, she barely even heard the sound, as if it didn't even exist at all, even though she knew that she had knocked on the door just as hard as before. Shaking her head, Sweetie blew out her candle, causing the whole room to plunge into darkness, save for pale moonlight that shone through the windows.

Sweetie Belle grabbed the door with her magic and opened it, causing the door to swing in towards her. But as she did so, it felt as if a gust of a winter breeze flurried into the room. Shivering from the unexpected feeling, she slammed the door shut and quickly re-lit her candle.

Glancing back into the dark room, holding her candle high, Sweetie looked warily at the interior of the boutique. The unsettling dark room didn't have the same feel to it that it had had just a minute ago. The room seemed... darker, as if the candle she held, or the moonlight outside, couldn't illuminate it at all. It seemed as if the darkness was literally swallowing any light into it. And the room itself was cold, almost feeling colder than it was outside during the wintertime.

The room before had been unsettling. But now, it seemed just... terrifying.

Sweetie shivered again as she moved into the center of the room. She held her candle close in an effort to warm her cold self, but... she got a strange feeling from standing in the room. Alone.

It felt like someone was watching her.

W-what have I gotten myself into? Sweetie wondered to herself, shivering again as she waited for the other crusaders.

Hopefully they could regroup quickly enough... After all,

The Midnight Stallion was here.

Midnight Onwards

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Within a minute or two of waiting for Sweetie Belle, the other two crusaders joined her back in the boutique's main room. Two minutes in the darkness, which was more than Sweetie could bear to be alone in there. She'd never felt like this in the dark. It was as if... something, were clutching onto her little body... something cold and forsaken.

Sweetie Belle shivered again as she looked to the other Crusaders, "Well, w-what do we do now?"

"Well..." Applebloom replied, looking a bit uneasy herself, "Ah think we better do as the book says an' keep movin'."

Scootaloo nodded, not as visibly frightened as the other two, "If we want to keep the Midnight Stallion from blowing out our candles, then we can't stay in one place for too long. Follow me, girls." Scootaloo picked up her candlestick in the crook of her hoof and began trotting through the boutique. Applebloom followed, carrying her own candle in the same manner, while Sweetie Belle brought up the rear, her candle levitating close to herself, as if it were a shield.

As the crusaders moved through the boutique, Sweetie Belle could only glance at everything they passed by. Everything in the boutique seemed to have turned a shade darker of their former colors, blackened by the night. But never before had Sweetie seen everything quite this dark, even during the darkest of nights. She shivered with the uneasy feeling that it wasn't just because it was dark inside. Something else was at work here, and Sweetie did not care to find out what it was.

12:34 AM

Sweetie Belle continued to follow Applebloom and Scootaloo through the boutique, making extra sure to keep close to her friends. The last thing she wanted to do was to lose sight of them and end up alone in the darkness.

But after making their way upstairs for about the fourth time that night, the crusaders passed by the open door of Rarity's work room. But as Sweetie Belle looked inside its open doorway, she noticed that something felt... off. There was something different inside the room, but she couldn't quite put her hoof on it.

Curious, Sweetie made her way into the work room, finding herself surrounded by its familiar features. There were sewing machines, rolls of cloth, and spools of thread scattered around the room, as well as a few mannequins. But like the rest of the shop, the darkness made it seem like an entirely different place; one that a filly should never enter alone.

A pincushion, with its plastic thorns, looked almost like the claw of a monster in the dark. A pair of red eyes looked up at Sweetie Belle from the floor, only to be revealed by candlelight as a couple of loose buttons.

Sweetie shook her head to clear her thoughts. The dark was just playing tricks on her eyes, and she knew it.

...

Or at least... she hoped it was just that.

She glanced through the room for the original reason why she had entered, intent on finding out why the room seemed different. She could've just been searching for some random object out of its place, but... she knew it was more than that. It felt as if... she could feel something was in there, something she hadn't felt before. Her body might have been shivering from the cold, but she knew this new feeling wasn't just another cold wave. It felt more like icy needles in her skin, rather than a cool draft.

Sweetie Belle looked through the room, until her eyes rested on the mannequins, a few of them holding a few of Rarity's commissions, both finished and yet to be completed. Even in the dark, Sweetie could make out the beautiful designs of the dresses. A few of them were adorned with jewels, while others sported frills and fancy folds. The sight of them was a pleasing, aesthetic escape for Sweetie Belle's senses. It had only been 30 minutes since they began the Midnight Game, but she was already anxious for it to be over.

As Sweetie admired each one of the dresses on the mannequins, her sight drifting down the line of pony figures, her eyes fell on the last mannequin in the room. It was a pure white figure, just like the other mannequins, but instead of a dress, this one wore a pure black tuxedo.

Sweetie Belle frowned to herself when she saw it, I don't remember Rarity ever working on this one. She walked up to the suited mannequin to get a closer look, to where she was standing only a foot away from it, Yikes, it doesn't even have any of Rarity's personal flares anywhere on it. She wouldn't make something like this, right?

But... as she thought that, another thought instantly followed; the answer to her question. Her eyes widened slightly, "Th-that's because...... Rarity doesn't m-make suit commissions." Her breath grew cold in her lungs, as if a devil's hoof were wrapped around them in a choking squeeze. She looked up slowly at the mannequin's face, struggling as her muscles seemed to refuse to look it in the face out of terror.

"Th-then.. What. I-is. This?"

...

Sweetie Belle stared at the blank, white figure, her body shaking uncontrollably as she feared the worst.

"It.... It's..."

It moved.

The room was plunged into darkness as a cold gust of wind blew out the little filly's candle. Sweetie wasted no time or thought as she turned tail and ran out of the room screaming at the top of her lungs... At least, she believed she was screaming. She couldn't hear anything past the loud thumping in her head of her terrified blood racing through her ears. She had come within a foot of the Midnight Stallion!

She ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her, through the darkened building. Everything was just dull shapes and shadows, though Sweetie could have sworn she saw the Midnight Stallion's figure in them.

Behind her, the other crusaders had heard her blood curdling scream, and had come racing after their friend, only to find her running in a panic with a dead candle.

Sweetie didn't hear anything around her through the sound of her heart pounding through her ears, but she did make out a distant call of her friends, "...Sweetie!... -your candle!"

Sweetie Belle instantly came to a screeching halt. She had been too concerned with running for her life that she forgot to relight her candle!

She dove into her saddle bags, trying to find a match. All the while, her mind panicked, Oh, no! Oh, NO! How long has it been? Five seconds? Ten seconds?! OH, NO! I think it's been more than that! I can't relight my candle, or else the Midnight Stallion-

In a hurried panic, Sweetie grabbed a hold of the nearest object in her bags: The cylinder of salt.

Grasping it in her mouth, Sweetie quickly opened the canister and spun in a circle, letting the salt pour out as her head moved with her body. In a split moment, she had a solid line of salt surrounding her, more than large enough to contain her tiny form. With her circle in place, Sweetie let her shaking legs give out under her and she slumped down onto the floor.

Swettie tried to catch her breath, but her heart was still racing too fast. She had cut it close, and she knew it! She had almost let herself become victim to a demon's cruel torment, by barely even a second at most.

But despite the pounding of her blood in her ears, Sweetie managed to focus enough to grab her candlestick which she had dropped outside of her circle. By using the same method of magic, she lit a match she found in her bags and relighted the candle, sending its light through the room she was currently in.

Looking around, Sweetie noticed that she now sat in the Kitchen. "Wow... D-did I really run that far?" She knew that Rarity's room and the kitchen were on completely different ends of the boutique, separated by a staircase no less. But despite being there already, Sweetie couldn't remember even travelling down the stairs. She had only been focused on running away...

... had she really been that terrified?

Sweetie Belle's body quaked and shivered, even more so than when she had first started the game. But if it were any consolation, she reminded herself, that she was now out of this Celestia-forsaken game... but her friends weren't.

As if on que, the other crusaders entered the kitchen as well, spotting Sweetie Belle sitting in the middle of a salt circle on the floor.

Scootaloo groaned inwardly as she set her candlestick on the tile floor so she could speak, "Well, looks like Sweetie Belle's out." But she paused when she noticed that the unicorn was shaking uncontrollably in place, "Are you okay?"

Sweetie vigorously shook her head, "N-no, I'm not! I- I- He almost got me! I've never been so scared in my life!"

Her outburst made both of her friends wince. Applebloom stepped forward and put a hoof over the salt circle and onto Sweetie Belle's shoulder in an effort to comfort her, "Look, Sweetie Belle, just calm down. Yer out of the game, so ya have nothin' ta be 'fraid of."

Sweetie instantly grabbed ahold of Applebloom's hoof with an iron grip. The unicorn looked up at the yellow filly with pleading eyes, "Yes, I do! Both of you girls are still in the game with that demon! Please, don't go! It isn't worth it! Just quit now!"

Scootaloo would've rolled her eyes at that, but given her friend's expression of pure terror, she rested on replying, "Sweetie Belle, you're over exaggerating. We'll be fine."

Tears were now coming out of the corners of Sweetie Belle's eyes, "No, Scootaloo! Don't do it! Please! Let's all just quit now!"

Applebloom gave Scootaloo a wary glance, "I dunno, Scoots. She does seem mighty terrified." Even by listening to Sweetie's cries, her own fur was beginning to stand on end.

Determined to protect her own ego, Scootaloo turned around with a humph, "Fine, you two can stay behind if you want. There's no way I'm coming this far and then chickening out."

That left Applebloom, standing between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, between danger and the only safe spot in the boutique.

Applebloom sighed as she turned towards Sweetie Belle, "Ah... Ah'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. But Ah can't let Scootaloo keep going with somethin' crazy like this all by herself." The earth pony then picked up her candlestick and ran to catch up with Scootaloo, despite Sweetie's tormented screams, pleading for them to come back.

________________________________________________________

1:43 AM

It had been a trying task to ignore Sweetie's pleas in the darkness, but after half an hour or so, it seemed that Sweetie had given up on trying to call them back. Either that, or she had fallen asleep, Scootaloo had joked.

Applebloom had to admit, this was probably one of the latest of nights she had spent awake. She knew she should've been extremely tired by now, but to her surprise, she wasn't. Perhaps this whole game was scaring her enough to subside any drowsiness.

Even if it did or didn't, the darkness and the feeling in the room only unsettled Applebloom. So, in an effort to distract herself from it, she tried conversing with Scootaloo.

"Ah hope Sweetie Belle's alright." She wondered to the pegasus.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about it. She's inside a salt circle. The book said the demon couldn't get her as long as she stays inside it, so she'll be fine."

"Well, Ah wasn't thinkin' about that." Applebloom replied, "Ah was just wonderin' if she's calmed down or not."

Scootaloo paused, "I'm not sure about that. She did seem really scared, but the demon didn't even get to her."

Both of them fell silent as they thought about it. How could a pony get so scared by something they only saw?

"Ah wonder what the Midnight Stallion looks like?" Applebloom thought aloud.

Scootaloo had the same thought on her mind as well, "Maybe... maybe it's a pony with giant fangs, that could rip a dragon apart!"

That image unsettled Applebloom, but not as much as the image she conjured, "An' what if has claws instead of hooves?! It'd rip us apart if it got ta us!"

"Or snake eyes that'd stop anypony in their tracks!"

The duo instantly became more wary of the darkness in the hallway, as if anticipating the abomination of a creature to jump out and tear them to shreads.

"A lizard tail!"

"A gryphon beak!

"Spikes on it's back!"

"A second head!"

Applebloom suddenly froze in place, her eyes wide and looking straight ahead at the path they had been traveling. Scootaloo stopped just before her friend, only to notice that the yellow filly's fur was visibly bristling, and even growing paler.

Applebloom managed a gulp, not taking her eyes away from what they saw, "O-or, maybe... it's a white stallion in a suit... with... no... f-face..."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, but before she could ask, Applebloom raised a trembling hoof to point out in front of them. Scootaloo followed the hoof, until she saw what was in the darkness.

Beyond their candlelight, Scootaloo and Applebloom saw a white figure at the very end of the hallway. It just stood there, right in the middle of the hall, staring at the two fillies. It certainly looked like a pony, but it had no eyes, no nose, no mouth, nothing of any distinguishment on its face, if it could even be called one. Applebloom wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not, but it seemed as if the darkness was thicker around the figure.

Applebloom felt her legs freeze in place, unwilling to move, as if they were being held down by the very gaze of the ghostly white figure. However, her conscious screamed at her to get away. This... thing wasn't natural, and even the most innocent of foals would've known that.

The temperature in the room dropped with every second that the demon and the crusaders stared at each other. Despite the desire to be brave in this instance, Applebloom noticed that both her own legs and Scootaloo's were now shaking uncontrollably.

"S-scoots?"

"Y-y-yeah?" Scootaloo answered back through chattering teeth.

"W-we n-need ta get ou-out of he-"

The Midnight Stallion took a step towards them.

Their candles went out.

The whole hallway was plunged into darkness, yet both of the terrified fillies could still see the Midnight Stallion through the dark. Without the light of a candle, the stallion's white coat contrasted with the darkness that swirled around it, making it look more ominous, more demonic.

More deadly.

Scootaloo and Applebloom turned tail and ran the opposite direction, screaming at the top of their lungs.

Scootaloo, familiar with quick thinking in dangerous instances, thanks to many almost-accidents on her scooter, quickly placed her candle on her back, balancing it up with her wings while she searched her bags for a match. Within a few seconds, Scootaloo had retrieved a match and relit her candle. Having kept track of the seconds, the Pegasus counted that 5 seconds had passed.

But Applebloom, in her panicked run, tripped over herself while trying to find the match in her bags. She let out a yelp as she fell to her stomach, her dead candlestick clattering onto the floor.

To Scootaloo’s eyes, time seemed to slow as she counted the seconds. Applebloom’s candle clattered to the floor, echoing through the hallway as the time ticked away.

7…

8…

Applebloom struggled to reach for her candle as she quickly hopped back onto her hooves. But Scootaloo knew it was too late for her to relight the candle and ward off the Stallion. There was only one last resort,

“Applebloom, run for the salt circle!”

9…

Applebloom hesitated. She hadn’t kept track of how many seconds had passed.

10.

Too late.

The darkness thickened around Applebloom as she made her desperate attempt to run away. But she found her path suddenly blocked by a horrifying, deathly pale figure. The little filly glanced up, only to see the grim face of the Midnight Stallion staring down at her.

Applebloom tried to backpedal away from the demon, but her shaking legs gave out beneath her and she collapsed to the ground.

“Applebloom!” Scootaloo ran to protect her friend, but the Midnight Stallion’s cold gaze stopped her hooves in their tracks. The Pegasus found herself frozen, unable to move as terror and fear gripped her heart.

The pale stallion reached a hoof down towards its helpless victim on the ground, before touching a pale arm to her forehead.
Applebloom screamed bloody murder, as if the demon’s touch was molten steel burning her flesh. Scootaloo could only watch from the side as the earth pony writhed in agony, trying to get away from the stallion. The pegasus’ legs refused to move, despite the desperation to aid her friend. She was too scared, lest she suffer the same fate.

Applebloom clawed at the demon’s hoof on her head, so hard that it might have drawn blood if the monster had any. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she screamed, “STOP! STOP! I DON’T- AGH! “ She wailed as the pain grew more intense, but to Scootaloo’s surprise, the Midnight Stallion retracted its hoof from the filly.

But that only made Applebloom scream even louder. Her eyes flew open, but from Scootaloo’s candlelight, she could see only cloudly white eyes in her sockets. Applebloom cried and screamed, writhing on the floor, ”NO! PLEASE! APPLEJACK, BIG MAC, GRANNY! DON’T LEAVE ME!!”

Scootaloo’s heart stopped when she realized what the stallion had done. Like the book had said, the Midnight Stallion would torture the minds of those who lost its game. For Applebloom, it tortured her by using her family in the filly’s thoughts.

The little Pegasus couldn’t stand any more of this. Ignoring the fear clutching onto her like dead weight, she willed herself forwards, so she was standing beside Applebloom’s form on the floor. Immediately as she did, Scootaloo felt her body stiffen like ice, not willing to get any closer to the monster standing before her.

Loyal to her friend, Scootaloo moved her candle towards the stallion, shouting, “Get away from her!”

The blank gaze of the stallion drifted towards the filly, piercing her soul with the white mask it called a face. For a moment, it did not move, and neither did Scootaloo, even though every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run.

But, as Scootaloo watched, the Midnight Stallion let out a noise, one that chilled her to the bone. It was hoarse and scratchy, but it couldn’t be mistaken for anything but an amused laugh. Instantly, the stallion disappeared, leaving two fillies in the darkness.
Scootaloo’s body relaxed somewhat, with the demon gone now, but for a moment, her legs refused to move. She found herself wondering if the stallion was going to reappear… but after a minute or two, the demon did not return.

Beside her, Applebloom’s screaming and wailing descended into pitiful sobs and whimpers. The flow of tears out of her eyes remained steady, as did the whiteness of her eyes. And all the while, she whimpered out little, broken words, “Please… come back…”

Scootaloo caught her breath again, slowing the rapid beating of her heart. She was thankful that the stallion was gone, but she knew they couldn’t stay there for long. They needed to get back to Sweetie Belle and the salt circle.

Gingerly, Scootaloo poked Applebloom with a hoof, “H-hey, Applebloom?” The Pegasus was amazed by how dry her throat suddenly felt, “Are you alright?”

The filly didn’t respond, as if she hadn’t heard or felt Scootaloo at all. She only curled into a ball on the floor, breathing in ragged gasps as she cried to herself.

“Uh, oh… this isn’t good.” Even if her friend couldn’t stand up, Scootaloo wouldn’t let her stay here. She was coming with her, if it was the last thing she did. Picking up her candlestick in her mouth, Scootaloo grabbed Applebloom’s curled up form in her hooves and began dragging her through the house.

It was a slow process, and Applebloom’s constant whimpers and little cries to whatever horror she saw only worried Scootaloo more. As she pulled her friend, the Pegasus kept a wary eye out for the Midnight Stallion. She was still in the game, and that meant she was just as likely to get caught by the demon at any moment.

She thought it was her imagination, but once or twice, she could have sworn she saw the stallion’s face peering back at her at the end of every hallway, at the end of every room.

Scootaloo let out a sigh of relief when she reached the kitchen, where Sweetie Belle sat waiting with her candle. She was still in the salt circle, but her look of worry made it seem like she had been thinking of jumping out, no doubt from hearing Applebloom’s screams.

Sweetie’s hoof covered her mouth in astonishment when she saw the state Applebloom was in, “Oh my Celestia… w-what happened?”

With Sweetie’s help, Scootaloo managed to get Applebloom’s body over the chalk line without breaking it. Scootaloo winced, “She-… The Midnight Stallion got to her.”

Sweetie Belle gasped, tears at the corners of her eyes, “Oh no. I-I told her not to go!” She sobbed, “I didn’t stop her, so it’s my fault.”

Scootaloo sighed, more to reassure herself than anything, “Listen, Sweetie Belle, it looks like I’m the only one left in this game. There’s only a few hours left, but I think I can still win this. Just make sure Applebloom’s alright until we finish this.”

“Wait, no!” Sweetie Belle cried out, “Don’t you see what happened to Applebloom?!” She stroked the filly’s head comfortingly, as the stallion’s victim continued to tremble on the ground, “She’s in worse shape than I’ve ever seen her! I’m not going to let the same thing happen to you!”

Scootaloo paused. Sweetie Belle had tried to stop her before, but this time… it actually struck the Pegasus. She had seen the Midnight Stallion in all of its horror. She had seen what it could do. If she wasn’t careful…

Scootaloo shook her head, “No, I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, but I can’t forfeit this, not when we’ve come this far already.” She started to head out of the kitchen with her candle, “Just whatever you do, don’t step out of the circle. Take care of Applebloom.”

“Wait!” Sweetie Belle’s mind raced as she tried to think of a last resort to stop her friend, before she remembered, “Scootaloo!
Look!”

Scootaloo turned, “What?”

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, mustering her courage, “If I step out of this circle, then the Midnight Stallion can get me, right?”

The unicorn filly lifted up a leg, just at the edge of the circle, “If you don’t quit now, then I’ll step out of the circle. If you don’t come back now, I’ll let the Midnight Stallion torture me.” Even as she spoke the words, Sweetie could feel her entire body shaking. She didn’t want to see the demon again, but she knew she’d have to if it would get Scootaloo out of this horrible game.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened, “You wouldn’t…”

Sweetie lowered her hoof closer and closer towards the ground outside the circle, as if she were making a threat.

Scootaloo gasped as she realized the unicorn was serious, “Sweetie Belle don’t! I don’t want you to get hurt!”

“Then come into the circle and quit now. I won’t let you keep playing this game!”

Scootaloo stopped, staring at Sweetie Belle, slackjawed, She’d really do it? Just to keep me from getting caught by the Midnight Stallion?

For a moment, neither of them moved. They just stared at each other, as if they were playing a game of chicken, to see who would break and give in first. Scootaloo’s face was contorted in surprise, but Sweetie’s was a glare that made it clear she wasn’t going to give up on her decision. She really would sacrifice herself to bring her friend away from harm.

But after a minute, Scootaloo sighed, stepping towards the salt circle, “Fine, you win, Sweetie Belle.” She then stepped over the chalk line in defeat.

Sweetie Belle breathed a massive sigh of relief, slumping back down into the salt circle, which had grown more compact since she was now joined by the other two crusaders.

And there they sat, just waiting in the darkness with their candles, unable to leave the circle, unable to do almost anything.
After what seemed like an hour, Scootaloo sighed, “I guess this means we lost.”

Sweetie Belle was the only one to nod in response, since Applebloom was still in her state of shock, “Yeah…”

Scootaloo’s shoulders slumped, “We got ourselves into this thing for nothing, and Applebloom had to pay for it… seems harsh doesn’t it?”

The pegasus’ question was met with silence, making her raise an eyebrow, “Sweetie Belle?”

She craned her neck back, only to see the unicorn was shaking in place.

Sweetie’s teeth chattered in response, as she lifted a trembling hoof in front of her, “S-s-sc-oots?

Scootaloo followed her hoof, until her blood turned cold at what she saw. There, standing in the kitchen, was the pale figure of the Midnight Stallion, staring at them with its nonexistent eyes.

A cold breeze whipped through the kitchen, blowing Sweetie Belle's and Scootaloo's candles out. They would've been running by this point, overtaken with fear. But they both dared not move an inch out of the safety of the salt circle.

Even in the pure darkness, the stallion's white face was visible to the pair of terrified fillies, and both of the could feel every muscle in their bodies shake in terror, and every hair on their backs stood up on end as another cold wind whipped over them.

Sweetie Belle could only manage a squeak, but Scootaloo managed to shout, "W-we played your stupid game! G-get out of here!!"

The Midnight Stallion made no response, no movement, not even a shift in posture. The demon stood there as still as stone, as if waiting for the fillies to slip up and fall out of the circle. In fact, it looked as if it were daring them to do so.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle remained quiet the entire time, not able to take their eyes off the stallion as they held onto each other and Applebloom, unwilling to let go of each other.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, with only the blackness of the stallion's night swirling around them like a dark tempest.

But then, the silence was broken when a deep, grating voice chuckled, sending a sharp chill up the fillies spines.

The Midnight Stallion chuckled through its own skull, echoing through the room, I can't wait... to play again... I'll be watching... until you are... alone and ready... hek hek hek.

Suddenly, the Midnight Stallion vanished into thin air, as did the thick darkness around the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo glanced around to find the kitchen was again in its regular state during the night, not as dark as before.

"W-what happened?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo shook her head in confusion, "I don't know." Her eyes then fell on the clock that was hanging on the wall.

It read 3:33 AM.

Scootaloo let her legs collapse beneath her as she realized, "It's over... the game's finally over."

Sweetie Belle after catching on as well, did likewise, falling onto her back in relief that it was all over. But another thought struck her,

"W-what did the-... It mean when it said it'd be watching."

Scootaloo shivered on the ground as she thought about it, "I...

"I don't know..."

From 12:00 to 3:33

by Shadowflame

Rules

The Summoning

Midnight Onwards