The sun was beginning to sink underneath the horizon as Flurry Heart was finally finished with her homework. The magic around her quill vanished and it fell down on the desk, producing a tiny sound as the tip hit the wooden surface. Relieved to have brought the copious amount of homework of today behind her, Flurry Heart stretched her arms and flexed her back, an alleviated sigh leaving her mouth. She smiled and, with not a care in the world anymore, closed her inkbottle and her notebook and hovered everything into her saddlebags, which she then tossed under her desk where she would not have to see them any longer.
After sliding off her chair, her eyes met the window and the orange ball of fire the sun had become, visible in the midst of it. It was touching the peaks of the Crystal Mountains. Slowly sinking deeper, it reminded Flurry Heart how late it was and what would await her soon. She had not forgotten the sleepover her friends had planned and neither the surprise her parents had promised her and tempted her with. And the outlook to both of these things filled the young alicorn with excitement and made her shiver from anticipation.
Her heart doing a jump, Flurry trotted to the window and placed her forehooves on the sill. A cautious expression flashed over her face as she dared doing a look at the ground, but disappeared quickly as she did not see a single pony outside anymore. Her eyes fixated on the sun again, Flurry Heart took a deep breath of the air. It felt cool while wandering down her throat and entering her lungs. Flurry Heart did not move one inch while she followed the steady descent of the beloved celestial body with her eyes. Only as a call for her sounded into her ears, she stirred and, hesitantly, let go of the beautiful sight in front of her.
Flurry Heart turned around and, after stretching her body a last time, headed for the door of her room and left it to the corridor in front of it. Her mom had been calling her and knowing that this could only mean it was time for the surprise she got promised, her pace increased. Her hooves clopped loudly on the crystal floor, the sound carrying her eagerness into all directions, as she approached the kitchen where her mom's call had come from.
Both of her parents smiled at her as she entered the kitchen, their eyes radiating knowing and secretive expressions. They let her heart jump again as she noticed them. Eagerly, Flurry Heart took seat at the table, not taking her eyes off of her mom and dad. Her flank had barely touched the surface of the stool as she began to look around and scan the room for the surprise her parents had promised her. Her ears flattened just a tiny bit as she could not find anything that was out of the ordinary.
“Where is my surprise?” She shot a look at her mom.
Coming to the point so quickly earned her a hearty laugh by her dad instead before she received any answer from her mom. “Hey, let us make it a little exciting!” He reached out and booped his daughter, which resulted in Flurry scrunching her face.
“Can I see it now?!” Her voice trembled from impatience and she started to kick with her hindlegs.
“Haha, I guess we can't make it any more exciting for you!” Shining Armor looked at his wife. “Let us introduce our guest to her!”
Playfully, Cadance rolled her eyes. “Shining, you know he doesn't really need introduction. Flurry Heart knows him.”
The words felt like something was gripping the inside of Flurry's chest and squeezing it together. Her heart started to pound faster. “Finally tell me!” Flurry Heart put her hooves down on the stool in front of her and began to hop up and down on it, now completely unable to keep in her excitement.
The two parents exchanged a naughty glance, then both of them turned to the door and raised their voices. “You can come in now!” From somewhere in the corridor, the sound of a door getting opened and closed could be heard, then steps approached the kitchen. Flurry Heart turned towards the door, her heart still pounding. Her eyes glistened as she waited for the mysterious guest to reveal himself.
With each second, the steps on the crystal floor grew louder, increasing the anticipation of the young alicorn. It was only a distant part of Flurry's mind that recognized that the sounds were not produced by hooves. “Definitely not a pony.” Flurry Heart could hear her own thoughts for a moment, but did not pay attention. All of the active part of her mind was focused on the door and the one approaching it now.
Three more agonizing seconds passed, then a small, purple figure appeared in the door. Instantly, Flurry Heart's eyes grew as big as plates and her mouth got turned into a massive smile. “Uncle Spike!” In one fluid rush, Flurry Heart slid down from her stool and cantered towards the drake, followed by crushing him with a hug, her hooves wrapping around his body tightly. He only lasted for a split-second against the sudden impact, then both the dragon and the alicorn filly fell down to the floor. A thud could be heard as Spike's head hit the floor.
“Hey, take it easy! I still need my head!”
The words did not even reach Flurry Heart. Her mind feeling like she was suddenly in another dimension, she was holding the dragon in a tight grip, her face rubbing over the scaly surface of his chest while she was eagerly snuggling up to him. The shock of the overbearing welcome subsiding, Spike now put his tiny arms around the filly that was pinning him down and squeezed her. A chuckle left his throat. “Hey, I knew you would be happy to see me, but I had no idea you missed me so much!”
Now Flurry Heart stopped her snuggling and slowly rose from the mutual embrace, but kept standing above Spike, his body between her hooves. A smile on her face, she shook her head.
“No, that's not why! I'm so happy to see you because you are here to help me, right?”
“Uh, yeah..... Yeah, I am. How did you–”
The filly interrupted him. “Because you are the hero of the Crystal Empire! You will talk to all of them and make them understand I'm not dangerous, right?” The words came like a barrage from her mouth and as she had ended, a huge grin was adorning her face. Spike just nodded, speechless.
“YAY! Thanks for coming, Uncle Spike, you're the best!” Overjoyed, Flurry Heart leapt forward for another tight hug, as a sound coming from below interrupted her.
She looked up to where the sound came from. Simultaneously, her parents did the same. As the sound returned again, a loud knocking on the castle's front gate, Flurry Heart's eyes began to glow even brighter.
“And now it seems the rest of our guests are here. I'll go and let them in!” Shining Armor commented on the situation, then left the kitchen and headed towards the throne room.
Meanwhile, Flurry Heart left her position in front of Spike and started hurrying through the corridor of the royal apartment herself. All the joy over meeting Spike let her almost forgot that she was close to having a relaxing sleepover with her friends. Flurry's pace increased in eagerness while she moved towards the exit. Eagerly, she proceeded to open the door that led outside to the throne room, but before she could put her hoof down on the handle, the three arrivals took care of that for her.
The door swung upen and Flurry Heart was met with the faces of three of her friends. Invitingly, Sunny Spirit, Magnolia Sunshine and Starry Skies smiled at her, although the latter had a slightly nervous flicker in her eyes. Tightly, she clasped a sleeping bag between her hooves. Before saying anything, Flurry Heart did a step forward and fell around Sunny's neck, her hooves pressing the crystal filly against her shoulder. The two friends shared an embrace and a nuzzle, then, finally, a conversation started.
Grinning, Sunny Spirit lifted a huge bag, that looked like it was filled to the brim with exciting things. “We have everything we need for two days of fun! Lead us to your chamber, Princess Flurry Heart!” She did a deep bow, her giggling not doing anything to hide the playful, mock intent behind it. And neither the fact, that, of course, Sunny Spirit already knew where Flurry Heart's room was.
But Flurry Heart played along and led them to her bed room in an overexaggerated, ceremonial way. It caused laughter from both her parents and Spike to see the parade of four young fillies trot through the corridor.
Arrived in Flurry's room, her three friends did not waste any time. They unrolled their sleeping bags and placed them on the floor, to the left of Flurry Heart's bed. Sunny Spirit put down the gigantic bag she was carrying as well, a relieved sigh leaving her throat. Having placed it under the window, she took seat on her sleeping bag and joined Magnolia and Starry who were already sitting on theirs. Flurry Heart sat down right beside her best friend. It was getting dark in the room, as the sun had almost finished her journey under the horizon and was now nothing more than a weak glimmer in the distance behind the Crystal Mountains.
The first, initial excitement beginning to wear down, it was only now that the four filllies realized the darkness of the room. Awkward expressions appeared on their faces, expressions they could barely see in the little light that was left. The moment didn't last long, though, as Sunny Spirit reached in her bag and pulled out two lanterns. Swiftly, she placed one of them behind the sleeping bags, then got up and trotted to Flurry Heart's desk, which she had chosen as the place for the second lantern. She turned it on and Flurry Heart did the same with the lantern to her left. Soon, the light of the crystals inside of the lanterns bathed the room into a bright, blue light.
“And now we're settled!” Sunny Spirit exclaimed satisfactory as she slumped down at Flurry's side again.
Flurry Heart's eyes wandered to the big bag her friend had brought along with her and it took all but a second for her to address it. “What stuff is in there, Sunny?”
Not even awaiting an answer, the young princess aimed for the bag and began to open it, but Sunny playfully slapped her on the hoof. “Not now! These are all surprises for later.” She glanced at her friend secretively. “Don't worry, Flurry, you'll find out soon enough tonight!” she added as she noticed a disappointed frown appearing on her face.
The expression indicated that Flurry wasn't giving up so easily, but before she could start to interrogate the crystal filly, her mom entered the room, carrying a tray with sandwiches and juice in front of her. Carefully, she placed it between the fillies on Sunny's sleeping bag. “I'm sure all of you brought plenty of snacks and Flurry Heart always has some in her room, but before you stuff yourselves with sweets, you should eat some real dinner first.” A slight smirk accompanied her words.
Now noticing that their stomachs were indeed grumbling, the four friends reached for the sandwiches. While they were chewing, Cadance continued to explain a few more things.
“We are almost past Flurry's bedtime for weekends, but since you're holding a sleepover, all of you can stay awake as long as you want tonight.” She smiled, but then her face became more serious. “Unless your parents wouldn't allow it..... They do, right?” She eyed Sunny, Magnolia and Starry.
In unison, the three fillies gulped down the pieces of their sandwiches and nodded hectically. None of them knew if Flurry's mom didn't notice their lie or did not care, but they weren't eager to ask if she believed them either, so they just sat still as she changed the topic.
“Do all of you have brought their toothbrushes with you?”
Simultaneously again, Starry and Magnolia lifted up two bags, while Sunny just pointed at her big one demonstratively.
“Ok. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask.” She turned her attention to her daughter. “Daddy and me will stay awake for quite a while and discuss some things with Spike. And we commanded Sharp Pitch to stay in front of your room for the night. If you need something and we are already asleep, he will help you out.”
Flurry's brow furrowed as her mom had ended, making it an easy guess for everypony why she was upset. She opened her mouth, but before the first words of protest could leave it, Sunny nudged her. As Flurry's eyes feel on the charming smile of her best friend, the disappointment over having the guard constantly in front of the door faltered and she suddenly felt easier again. Everything suddenly told her that it would be fine. Smiling, she gave her friend a nod.
Cadance had noticed her daughter's reaction as well. “Don't worry, Flurry, Sharp Pitch will not come in, unless you ask him to or he absolutely needs to. We just want to make sure all four of you stay safe this night. You will be undisturbed in here.”
Looking at her mom again, Flurry Heart gave her a nod and a smile as well.
Cadance pointed at the mug full of juice on the tray. “There's another mug of juice and some more sandwiches in the fridge in the kitchen. Just help yourselves if you need them or ask Sharp Pitch to carry them for you.” Cadance did a last glance over the group of friends to see if her words were understood by all of them and as she found this confirmed, concluded her instructions. “I guess that's it then, now you know everything you need. Just promise to go to sleep once you start to feel tired, okay?”
The four fillies promised and nodded in agreement.
“Ok, then I don't want to keep you back any longer. Have fun tonight!” She gave them a last smile, which Flurry Heart answered with a grin, then she turned around and left the room. The door clicked shut behind her, then the fillies were alone in Flurry's bedroom.
For a few moments, they just listened to the hoofsteps that receded down the corridor, ears tilted towards the door and their mouths opened while they held their breaths.
As the sound of the hoofsteps was gone, all four of them looked at each other, now broad grins on their faces. Abandoning their plain sitting positions, Sunny, Flurry and Magnolia flopped down on their bellies and, once feeling comfortable, grabbed another sandwich each. Their hearts were beating faster now and all of them felt an excitement flooding through them they could rarely experience. Only the sounds of happy chewing interfered with the atmosphere of freedom, until Starry Skies broke the silence with her timid voice. She was the only one who still sat as before and until now, she had not retracted her eyes from the door.
“So, no adults anymore?” Starry Skies asked. Her voice trembled slightly. “We are really and completely alone now?”
Flurry Heart nodded, compassion in her eyes. “Mhm! We have the night completely to ourselves now! But don't worry, Sharp Pitch is outside, you don't need to be afraid, Starry!” She reached out with a hoof, intended to gently poke Starry Skies and lift her spirits, but before she could do so, movement was coming into the shy filly suddenly.
As her three friends had done before, Starry Skies flopped own on her belly. “Finally!” she commented the unexpected movement. All of a sudden, a naughty expression was in her eyes, one that none of them had ever seen on her before. And like she wanted to underline this expression, she spread her hindlegs apart as far as she could, resulting in her tail falling into the gap between them. Casually, she rested her head on one of her hooves, then grabbed a sandwich with the other one and began to munch on it audibly.
Her friends did not say a word over this display, but their open mouths signaled what all of them were thinking. They were all acting more casual, now they were alone, but Starry Skies, their timid, shy classmate, was trumping them all, right in front of them! Magnolia's mouth gaped the widest and she was also the first one who found her speech. “H-How..... What..... How can you act like this? I would never be allowed to sit like that!” Her eyes wandered from Starry's hindlegs to her mouth, which still produced very loud sounds of chewing. A bright blush was on her face now. To her left, Flurry Heart and Sunny Spirit silently agreed, their heads slowly bobbing up and down.
“And? We're alone now, there aren't any adults to tell us what to do!” Demonstratively, she lifted her tail and swung it around a few times, then let it rest on its former position again. Starry Skies grinned at Magnolia, whose blush only deepened. It was not hard to see that the rich filly was used to way too much etiquette to feel comfortable with this. Coughing, she averted her gaze and concentrated on her sandwich.
In the meantime, Flurry Heart and Sunny Spirit had mostly overcome the shock about their friend acting like she was a completely different filly now. A big sip on their juice glasses later and they addressed Starry Skies too.
“My parents wouldn't allow this either,” Flurry Heart began, a lot more calm than Magnolia.
“Are your parents fine with this?” Sunny asked then, astonishment written all over her face.
Starry's ears faltered for only a moment, almost unnoticeable, then they stood upright again and she answered.
“No, they probably wouldn't allow it..... But they aren't here, so I'm not afraid to do that!” She giggled a little.
“But didn't you say you are afraid to embarrass yourself at our sleepover?“ Sunny Spirit probed further.
“Yeah, but now I'm not afraid anymore!”
“I didn't know you could be so confident, Starry,” Flurry Heart continued. You are always so shy at school..... How can you be so different now?”
Starry Skies shrugged. “I have no clue. It only works when no adults are around. And I enjoy it, so I don't care why.” Giggling more, she began to kick her hindlegs into the air.
Not satisfied with the answer, both Sunny and Flurry began to ponder it. Minutes passed. As they couldn't come up with an explanation, the two fillies shrugged as well. They were happy to see their usually so anxious friend be so carefree now, so both of them silently decided to not question it any further. Instead, they returned their attention to the sandwiches in their hooves as well and soon, the room was filled with silence again while the fillies ate their dinner.
It was when they were finished and had washed down their meal with a glass of juice, that this silence was interrupted again, this time by Sunny Spirit. Before anypony was bringing up the question what they should do now, she got up and began to rummage in the big bag she had brought with her. Turning around to see what her friend was doing, a big smile flashed up on Flurry Heart's face, excitement and curiosity overtaking her once again.
The first things Sunny pulled out of the bag were a toothbrush, a small cup and a tube of toothpaste, which she tossed carelessly to the side. Reaching deeper into her bag, she grabbed what she was looking for and as her head appeared again, she was holding a bunch of green ballons in her hooves. She returned to her spot at Flurry's side and placed the balloons on her sleeping bag.
Flurry Heart looked at them, a puzzled expression on her face. “What are all those ballons for, Sunny? Did you just bring them to decorate the room?”
Grinning, Sunny Spirit shook her head. “They are for playing 'Truth or Dare'!”
Starry Skies' ears pricked up as she heard the name of the game Sunny had just announced. Still lying on her sleeping bag in the comfortable position she had taken up earlier, she clapped her forehooves together in satisfaction. “Great! I always wanted to play 'Truth or Dare'!”
As excited as Starry Skies was, as confused was Flurry Heart still. She lifted up one of the balloons and scrutinized it, not sure what to make of it. There was a small bulge in the balloon, created by something edgy. “What are these for?” she repeated again the same question, with a slight emphasis now. “That's not how you play 'Truth or Dare', you don't need balloons for it.....”
“For the kind of game we're going to play, you do! It's a special variant of 'Truth or Dare' and it's called 'Balloon Pop Truth or Dare'. Let me explain.....”
Flurry Heart put the balloon down again and looked in eager curiosity at her friend, her expression only being beaten by Starry's excitement.
“You saw the bulge in the balloons, right? These are cards and there are things written on them, either truths or dares. We blow the balloons up and spread them on the floor, then we let them pop by sitting down on them. You get either a truth or a dare. If it's a truth, you need to answer the question written on the card honestly. If you don't answer or if we think you're lying, the other three of us will decide on a punishment for you.”
The announcement of a punishment caused mixed reactions by the three fillies around her; Flurry Heart just stayed calm, Starry Skies was grinning even broader and Magnolia appeared to be slightly nervous at the prospect of this rule.
Sunny Spirit continued. “The dare cards have one of our names written on them. If you get the name of somepony else, you must ask them to do the dare that is written on the card. If they refuse or can't finish the dare, you have a free wish and can demand anything from them, but it has to be something they can do in this night. And if they refuse to fulfill your wish, we decide on a punishment again. If you get a card with your own name, you just have to do the dare and if you don't do it or fail with it, you get a punishment immediately. There are also two dare cards without a name.”
“Without a name?” Flurry Heart asked surprised. “Why didn't you write names on all of them?”
“I was about to explain that. Most of the dares are tailored to one of us. The dare cards contain some special challenges for each of us. But there are also two cards with general challenges that all of us can do. Any more questions?” She looked at her friends surveying. It was a simple game and the clearing confusion, that had still been a part of Flurry Heart's face until now, signaled her that the rules were understood by her friends. She still waited for a moment, but as no other question regarding the game and its rules came, she concluded her explanations about the game.
“Once we begin, I will decide who can start. After that, the one who just popped a balloon can choose who gets to pop a balloon next. And that's all!
Done with explaining the game to her friends, she snatched up the first balloon and began to blow it up. Magnolia, Flurry and Starry did the same, then all four of them were busy with preparing the game. As they were finished, the floor of Flurry Heart's bedroom was covered in twenty green balloons, barely any space to walk between them left. The four fillies gasped for breath a little, but were soon ready to start playing.
Starry Skies looked over the balloon-covered floor, already thinking about which one to choose. “So, we don't know if we get a truth or a dare?” she asked Sunny without taking her eyes off the balloons.
“Uh-uh.” Sunny shook her head with a grin. “It's all a surprise! And the rules require you to do what the card says, if you don't, we can choose a punishment for you!”
Starry's mouth grew to a big grin and she clapped her hooves together again. “Awesome, can I start then?” Seeing Starry's excitement, Sunny nodded and gave her the approval.
Without waiting any longer, Starry leaped on a balloon right next to Magnolia and let her flank come down on it. The bursting sound filled the whole room and caused Magnolia to twitch. Starry Skies grabbed the card from the remnants fo the balloon and wanted to begin reading it, as a knock on the door interrupted her. She groaned.
“Is everything alright in there, princess?” Sharp Pitch's voice sounded into their ears. The four fillies looked at each other and giggled for a moment, then answered in unison.
“Everything's fine, we're just playing a game!” They giggled some more.
At the other side of the door, Sharp Pitch rolled his eyes as he returned to his position right of the door. “Something tells me this is going to be a very long night.....” he lamented as he leaned against the wall.
Finally, Starry Skies could read her card. She was looking down at the word “Dare” written in big letters on one side of the card. The smaller text below said “Sunny Spirit”. Flipping the card around, Starry Skies checked out the specific dare on the other side. “Go into the bathroom, close the door, turn off the light and sit there for ten minutes.” Starry looked at Sunny. “Okay, you must do this now, go ahead!”
Sunny Spirit stomped a hoof on the floor and a groan left her. “Why do I already have to be the first one? And why do I have to do this off all things?” She bared her teeth and narrowed her eyes.
Starry Skies noticed. “What's the matter? You wrote those yourself, I bet that's something really easy for you to do.”
But Sunny shook her head in resignation. “No..... I wanted it to be fair, so I asked my parents to write the cards that are for me. And I hate being in the dark.....” She pawed on the ground, but only for a moment, then she looked back at her friends.
Now Starry Skies grinned again, something Flurry and Magnolia joined in. “Anyway, now you have to do it, these are your own rules! Or do you rather want to have a punishment?” Starry Skies asked her smug.
“No, but..... Okay, fine. I'll be doing it. But only because I don't want to take the fun out of it in the first round already.....”
Hesitantly, she approached the door of Flurry's room and opened it slowly, then slipped outside, with her three friends following her. All four of them earned themselves weird glances by Sharp Pitch as he saw them going towards the bathroom together. As they had arrived there, Sunny Spirit let out another groan, but entered the room without any more complaining, despite the smug grin that was still in Starry's face.
The unicorn took the small lantern that was standing on the board right of the door and carried it outside the moment Sunny had sat down on the toilet lid. Only a small amount of light from the corridor found its way into the bathroom now, barely enough to reach Sunny on her seat. Slowly, Starry closed the door. “We wait here to see if you really stay inside for ten whole minutes.” Flurry Heart waved at her friend, then it made click and the door was shut. Diligently, the three fillies took position in front of the door, their eyes fixated on it. In their heads, they began to count down the time.
The inside of the bathroom was quiet, at first. It took five minutes until the first signals of discomfort from Sunny entered their ears. First it was just a whimper, then Sunny addressed them with a question.
“How much longer?” she asked. Her voice was shivering.
“Five minutes!” Starry Skies replied. She held a hoof at her mouth and snickered.
Another whimper followed, then it was quiet again for a while. As only two minutes were left, they heard Sunny's voice again.
“I-I'm coming out now! You win this round, you can ask of me whatever you want, Starry!”
They heard how Sunny was slipping off of the toilet lid, then slowly made her way in the dark, trying to reach the door. On Starry's face, disappointment appeared. “Aww, come on, Sunny, it's only two more minutes! You survived eight, you can't give up now!” Something in the face of the filly suggested she was enjoying Sunny's dare immensely. That she maybe enjoyed it a bit too much only became apparent to Flurry and Magnolia as Starry stemmed herself against the door when she noticed the handle getting moved down.
On the other side of the door, an icecold shiver of fear went through Sunny's body and she opened her mouth for a gasp. “W-What's wrong? Are you holding the door closed at the other side?!”
“Not me,” Flurry answered and Magnolia confirmed the same for herself. “It's only Starry who holds it closed.”
“Starry?” Sunny's voice became more frightened. “O-Open up, please! It don't want to be in the dark anymore!”
Instead of listening to the plea, Starry just grinned mischievously while she kept counting the seconds. “Just one minute and fifteen seconds more! You did say you don't want to take the fun out if it in the first round already, Sunny, so you need to stay inside a little longer!” Her voice had taken on a teasing tone now.
More shivers of fear went down Sunny's spine. Helplessly, she looked around to find something to open the door by force, but couldn't make out anything in the pitch-black room. Turning to the door again, she let her hooves come down on it.
“I don't care what I said, I want to give up!” As Starry did not respond and just kept pressing all her weight against the door, Sunny's fear turned into panic.
“Okay, that's not funny anymore, Starry! I think there's something in here with me, open up!!!” Sunny banged against the door louder and louder, even startling Sharp Pitch now, who came around the corner to see what all the commotion was about.
“Haha, don't be so silly, Sunny, you are alone in there! It's just your imagination!”
“I don't care what it is, I just don't want to be in here with it anymore, open the door, Starry, please!” The plea started to sound like a cry now, some sobbing clearly audible in Sunny's voice.
“Thirty seconds!” Starry answered plainly, ignoring Sunny's cry for the most part.
The voice of the crystal filly became shrill now. “Not in thirty seconds, now! LET ME OUT!” Now the three other fillies could clearly hear her crying behind the door.
Concern for her friend in her face, Flurry Heart did a step forward and placed a hoof on Starry's shoulder. “Just let her out now, Starry, it's enough. I'm getting worried about her.”
Starry looked at her with a frown. “It's just a game, Flurry, it doesn't hurt her. And she has only twelve seconds left now, she can wait this out!”
The expression in Flurry's face showed that she did not agree, but before she could reply, Starry Skies began to count down the last seconds loudly. Sighing, Flurry Heart listened to her.
“3, 2, 1! Okay, time's over, you can come out!” Removing her forehooves from the door, Starry Skies brought some distance between her and the door, something Flurry and Magnolia followed up on swiftly.
With a loud bang, the door got thrown open and a visibly distraught Sunny Spirit appeared in the doorframe for a second, then leaped outside. Tears in her eyes and some dried streaks in her face, she galloped past them, then stopped and started to huff. Her body was still shivering and she was sweating.
Chuckling, Starry Skies returned the lantern into the bathroom, then she trotted past Sunny, followed by Flurry and Magnolia, the former of which frowning at the naughty unicorn. Even Magnolia raised an eyebrow. Starry poked Sunny as the latter seemed to having gotten her breath back. “See, you did it!” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “Come on, this wasn't so bad now, was it?”
Instead of the answer she hoped for, Starry found herself getting met with a furious glare by Sunny, then the other filly lashed out and pushed her away. Starry tumbled back three or four steps.
“IT WAS TERRIBLE!” Sunny yelled at her, still tears in her eyes. “I swear we won't be friends anymore if you do something like this again, Starry!” She lifted up a hoof and brushed away some tears, then sniffed.
Flurry Heart approached her friend and put a hoof on her shoulder, then wrapped her into a hug from behind. She gave Starry a glare too. It was less furious, but pierced the unicorn filly with disappointment and disapproval.
Seeing Sunny crying like this, Starry bared her teeth now, a nervous look in her eyes. She rubbed over her right leg and laid back her ears. For a moment, she seemed like the “old” Starry Skies again. “Uhm..... Have I overdone it?” She did not dare to make eye contact with Sunny.
“Mhm!” Both Magnolia and Flurry nodded, their eyes closed in stern sincerity.
“Oh.....” she only said at first, then sighed. Hesitantly, she trotted up to Sunny, then carefully rubbed her face against her left cheek. “I'm sorry. I just wanted to have fun and.....” Starry trailed off, now a few tears appearing in her eyes as well.
Sunny Spirit huffed and everything in her face gave reason to expect another sharp answer, but Flurry Heart squeezed her stronger. “Just let it go now, Sunny. She apologized, I'm sure Starry knows what she did wrong.” There was an audible plea in Flurry's voice, making it sound slightly desperated.
Hearing this tone in her voice, Sunny felt the anger slowly ebb away. “Fine.....” she agreed with her friend, although she was still shivering from fear. “I accept your apology, but only because I don't want to ruin Flurry's sleepover.” She moved a little and both Flurry and Starry took this as a sign to let her go. Flurry released her hug and they stepped away from Sunny.
Starry still didn't dare to look at Sunny and kept facing the ground. She rubbed her leg again. Sighing and with a roll of her eyes, Sunny placed a hoof on Starry's shoulder. “It's fine now, I forgive you. Just don't do this again.....”
Shyly, Starry Skies finally looked up to Sunny, her mouth slightly open. “But you better still do your dare if I get one of your dare cards. I won't have mercy if you don't,” she added, trying to make her voice sound cheeky and playful.” Then she trotted past Starry and back to Flurry's bedroom.
“Come now!” Flurry Heart lifted Sunny's chin. “I'm sure we can forget this during the next round.” Then she turned her friend around and gently guided her back to her room, Magnolia following them closely.
As all the fillies were sitting on their sleepings bags again, Sunny now chewing on a chocolate bar and Starry sitting upright now, back leaning against the wall, the moment had come for Starry to choose the next one of them who would get to pop a balloon. Still feeling guilty, she decided against Sunny or Flurry Heart and simply stretched out her hoof in front of her, aiming straight for Magnolia. “I choose you,” she said, quietly.
Magnolia nodded, then did a quick look over the balloons. Still feeling some tension in the air, she just chose the balloon right next to her and sat down on it, yelping a little as it bursted on her flank. She reached under it before sitting down on the floor again and held the card in front of her face. On the card's backside, Sunny, Flurry and Starry could read the word “Truth”. The question itself was facing Magnolia and on her expression, the three other fillies could tell that she wasn't happy about it.
Magnolia gulped. “Have you ever created trouble by doing something your parents forbad you?” She let the card sink, then fell into quiet contemplation.
“Now?” Sunny asked as no answer came from Magnolia after a few seconds had passed.
“I..... I'd rather not tell.” Magnolia's face twitched a little. “You all know what things I did anyway. My parents would like neither of those if they would know.....”
Nods went around between them, though, it was surprisingly Flurry Heart who raised an eyebrow. She turned towards the others. “What do you think? Do we let this answer count?”
“I'm okay with this,” Starry whispered.
“Hmm.....” Sunny eyed Magnolia. “She's right, we all know it. And she seems to regret it..... Okay, I accept the answer.”
Flurry Heart nodded. “Then I accept it too.”
To her right, a warm expression appeared on Magnolia's face and she looked at Flurry Heart touched, with a spark in her eyes. She smiled and nodded at the young alicorn in response, then proceeded to make her choice. “Sunny Spirit,” she said taut.
“Okay, my turn then,” Sunny commented the decision. She looked at Starry. “Let's see if I can get my revenge now.” She stretched out her tongue at Starry, which made the young unicorn finally show a faint smile again. In slow tempo, her ears, that had been laid back until now, returned to their normal, upright position.
Unlike Magnolia, Sunny chose her balloon with more care. A whole minute passed until she had decided for one. She got up on all fours and trotted across the room, past Flurry Heart's bed, and aimed for a balloon near the door. Having made short work of the balloon, she took the card from the remains, then returned to her position next to Flurry Heart and sat down. She smirked a little as her eyes fell on the text on the card, then turned to the right and looked at her friend.
“A dare for you, Flurry. Fly outside and wait on a cloud for one round.”
Flurry Heart grinned. “Is that really all, Sunny? You know I love flying and sitting on clouds.” She giggled in glee.
“Don't expect it to be so easy! It's cold outside these days!” Sunny Spirit smirked.
“We'll see about that!” Flurry Heart gave her a confident look, then got up, turned around and jumped on the windowsill. She unfolded her big wings, then took off into the night sky.
Sunny had not been wrong. The air was chill tonight. Snowfall wasn't possible in the Crystal Empire, but it could get cold in it. And since it was Fall, it got very cold in some nights. Flurry Heart could see her breath leaving her mouth like white smoke and she shivered a little, but it wasn't bad enough to make her give up. She squinted her eyes to spot a cloud in the darkness. Once she had found one, she moved it in front of the window of her room. Giving Sunny, who stood at the window and observed her movements, a sign, she sat down on the cloud. Sunny nodded, then returned to her other friends.
It would have been the ideal moment to choose Flurry Heart as the next one, though, with her absence now due to having to do her dare, she pointed at Starry Skies, who twitched a little as the hoof came to a stop in front of her. “Your turn,” Sunny Spirit said, glee in her voice.
Starry Skies gulped, then she carefully looked over the balloons. Her brow furrowed, she inspected each one for a long time. As she had checked out all the balloons, but still couldn't make a decision, she sighed defeatedly and just chose the balloon right in front of her. Turning around and sitting down on it, she let it burst, then returned to her former position and picked up the card from the floor. It was a “Truth” card.
“Did you ever hurt somepony with words?” she read out aloud, then let the card sink into her lap. “Hmm.....” She tapped her chin, looking quizzically into the air. “No, I don't think so. I don't remember doing that ever.”
Sunny Spirit narrowed her eyes at Starry. “And that's really true?”
“Mhm,” Starry gave her a confident nod. “It is. I..... I wouldn't dare to talk to adults like this, ever, I think. And I don't talk with many ponies anyway, so I never hurt another foal with mean words either.”
Sunny Spirit pondered on the answer for a moment, but then the sceptical expression in her face cleared up. “Okay, I believe you.”
Starry Skies beamed at her in happy satisfaction. Feeling more relieved now, she left her sitting position and flopped down on her belly again, laying on her sleeping bag the same as before they had left the room for Sunny's dare.
With Starry's round over, Sunny Spirit turned around to the window. She lifted a hoof before Flurry Heart, signaling her she could come in now. The alicorn filly nodded and got up from her soft, yet cold, seat, then flew the small distance to the window and climbed back inside. Her teeth clattered slightly as she sat down at Sunny's side again.
“And? How was it? Her friend asked her, slightly smug. “Do you still think it was easy?”
“It was fine,” Flurry responded. “Not as easy as I thought, but I endured it!” Proudly, she raised her head. Then she looked over to Starry. “Can I get a turn now? You had two already and I couldn't get one now.”
“Sure thing!” Starry answered. “Take your pick.”
Smiling now, Flurry Heart let her eyes wander over the balloons, but didn't waste too much time before she popped one. Eagerly, she snatched the card from the floor and looked at it. For a moment, her eyes grew wide, then she broke out in giggles. Several attempts to read the text on her card followed, but each time, Flurry Heart found herself giggling at a certain imagination and her attempt failed.
Finally, as nopony could take the suspense anymore, Sunny Spirit looked at the card and read it for her. “Nibble on Flurry's ears for a minute. You are not allowed to stop until the time is over.” Then she grinned and looked to her left. “That's one of your cards, Starry. Think you're up to the task?”
A slight, red hue appeared in Starry's face, but she waved her hoof dismissively. “Why not? I'm okay with this!”
Despite Starry's sudden, new attitude she had revealed this evening, Flurry Heart reckoned with her turning down the dare in the last moment and going with whatever wish Flurry Heart wanted to get fulfilled instead. This expectation was crushed as Starry Skies trotted over to her, sat down behind her and started to nibble her left ear. It even was surprisingly gentle, though, since surprises were nothing new this evening anymore, Flurry Heart did not question it. She even found herself enjoying it, which caused her to blush herself a little now, and she felt almost disappointed as the minute was over and Starry had returned to her sleeping bag.
Before anypony could point out the color in her face, she quickly patted Sunny on the back. “And now you again! Come on, choose a balloon, Sunny!”
Flurry Heart smiled as Sunny followed the command and let herself come down on another one of the balloons, then picked up the card. She was among friends, the troubles from the last few days seeming to be far away now. There was nopony here who would hurt her and, with some luck, nopony from outside would anymore either by Monday, if the plan of her parents, Sunburst and Spike works out. Relieved, Flurry Heart took a deep breath. She didn't feel that good since Wednesday morning anymore.
Sunny's next card was a dare card. “For the next two minutes, do whatever the filly to your left says.” said the text on the card. Flurry Heart giggled. Now it was suddenly Sunny who was at the mercy of the naughty unicorn. And needless to say, Starry Skies made full use of this, although, she did so with care after the bathroom incident. After two minutes, that were spent with Sunny having to do ridiculous things like standing on her head, yelling something nonsensical out of the window or simply laying on the floor like Starry herself did, as well as with Flurry's constant giggles and laughs, they continued playing with Magnolia as the next one at turn.
Their game lasted for about one hour, then the rest of the balloons were popped as well and all the truths and dares had become delivered. Each of the rounds did its own to increase Flurry Heart's mood even more, with her highlight definitely being Magnolia's dare as she was at turn the second time and had to march to the castle gate and get the guards to laugh about her.
As the last round was over, all four of the young fillies sat there on their sleeping bags with red faces and giggling so loudly that it would have been no surprise if they room would have started to shake by the activity of their vocal chords. All of them felt slightly exhausted too, but still, they agreed to stay up longer. It was only ten thirty, after all, way too early to go to bed during a sleepover. But they had decided to take a break now, which they wanted to use to discuss what they should do next and to take care of the consequences of way too much juice.
As Magnolia returned from the bathroom, Sunny Spirit went for it next. With them still waiting until all four of them were grouped on the sleeping bags again, Magnolia trotted to the window, intended to take a sniff of the chill night air. She reared up, then stretched her forelegs across the windowsill and, in that comfortable position again, let her eyes glide over the buildings and streets under her. Most ponies of the Crystal Empire seemed to be asleep already, only a few houses still had lit windows. At night, the light that emanated from the windows of the houses gave the crystals they were built from a beautiful, soft glow. It was the first time Magnolia could see them like this, from a view so high above, and the sight filled her heart with peace. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then she continued to enjoy the enchanting scenery.
Just for a moment, a red glow appeared in the corner of her eyes. Lazily, Magnolia turned her head to the side, checking out which window had just been illuminated there, only to become dark again a second later. As her eyes had found the spot the red light had appeared at, Magnolia froze. She shivered strongly as she observed her discovery. A shriek left her throat, making Flurry Heart and Starry Skies look up at her.
All of a sudden, Magnolia grabbed her chest with one hoof and stumbled backwards, ragged breaths leaving her throat now. She fell down on the floor and remained there motionlessly, her body continuing to erupt from the heavy breathing. Alarmed, Starry and Flurry rushed at her side. Magnolia just stared into the distance, seemingly not noticing them, her face distorted in horror in a way they never saw it on anypony before. “Magnolia? What's up? Why are you acting like this?” Starry found the courage to ask.
Magnolia began to stammer. “There..... There..... Somepony..... It's–” She grimaced in pain and bit on her lip as her chest started to feel like something sharp was ripping right through her heart. Then it was over. As quickly as it had come over her, the pain stopped and in the same moment, the strong fear she had felt when making her discovery subsided and got reduced to a small glimmer compared to before. Only her heart kept beating fast.
She found the strength to get up on her hooves and pointed to the window. “I saw somepony out there. Right at the nearest street corner. It was looking up to us.” She shivered as the picture entered her mind again.
Flurry Heart rushed to the window and did a look outside, checking the spot Magnolia had named. It was empty. There was no pony and also no shadows that the pegasus filly could have confused with a pony. The corner was completely empty, save for a street lantern that had been built there. Flurry Heart looked back at Magnolia. “There is nothing. Are you sure you've seen somepony?”
Before Magnolia could answer, Sunny Spirit entered the room, confused over the sudden commotion. “What did happen?” she asked. “I heard a shriek. Why do you look so agitated?” The last question was more asked at all of them, not particularly at Magnolia, even though Sunny had recognized her condition.
Starry Skies answered. “Magnolia said she saw somepony when she looked outside. She said it was looking up to our window!”
Sunny became alarmed too now. “Could she make out who it was?”
Now Magnolia answered. “N-No..... It was too dark and the pony stood outside of the reach of the lantern's light. I couldn't even identify if it was maybe a unicorn or a pegasus..... But I'm sure I saw one!”
“Should we tell Sharp Pitch and Flurry's parents about it?”
Flurry Heart turned at her and trotted away from the window. She shrugged. “I don't know. I checked the spot, but there was nopony.” She looked over at Magnolia. “Maybe you just imagined it. It's late and we're all a bit tired already.”
Magnolia shook her head. “No, I swear there was a pony! I only saw it as a black figure in the dark but it was there and it looked at me!”
Flurry Heart went at the distraught filly's side and put a hoof around her, then she looked at Sunny with concern. “What should we do, Sunny? Do you think this pony is here to come after me?”
Sunny Spirit shared the concern only for a moment, then she shook her head. “No. Let's not get crazy, okay, Flurry? It's late, but that doesn't mean other ponies can't be on the streets anymore. Maybe it was just somepony going for a night stroll and then it looked up to our window when it noticed we still had the light on. It's not exactly common that the castle is still lit at this time, except for the guardhouses, right?”
Flurry Heart nodded. “Yeah..... I bet my parents are asleep already and I normally don't stay up for so long. Maybe it really was just a surprised pony?”
“I'm sure it was, Flurry. Don't worry about it anymore.”
Flurry Heart felt that her friend's explanation made sense. And her nerves hadn't been the best ones the last days and Magnolia's hadn't been either. Maybe both of them were reading into things. With that in mind, Flurry Heart nodded at her friend. “You're right, Sunny. Let's just continue the sleepover, ok?”
Smiling in relief, Sunny answered the nod with a nod on her own, then she closed the door and all of them took seat on their sleeping bags again.
“So,” Flurry Heart began to speak “what are we going to do now? The night is still really young, I guess.”
Starry Skies turned at her with a suggestion. “Ghost stories! You can't have a sleepover without ghost stories and Magnolia just set the perfect mood for that!” She kicked her hooves into the air excitedly and swished her tail around.
Starry had a point, that's something all of them agreed on. It would be the perfect moment to turn off the lanterns and tell each other spooky stories. Though, as Flurry Heart looked at Magnolia to her right, doubts came over her. The rich filly was still trembling and there was still fear in her eyes. Flurry Heart sighed, then turned at Starry Skies again.
“Better not, Starry. Just look at Magnolia. I think she had enough scares for tonight.” Nods went around them, with Magnolia bobbing her head the strongest.
“Aww..... But what kind of sleepover is it without ghost stories?” Her face was full of disappointment.
“It's not our last one,” Flurry Heart tried to ease her. “It's only Friday night and we still have the whole weekend ahead of us. We just do it tomorrow night, when Magnolia has calmed down.”
This seemed to work, although not completely. “Ok, then.....” Starry Skies answered quietly, but her face showed she wasn't exactly satisfied with this solution. It found broad approval among the rest of her friends, though, so she had no choice but to accept it.
The fillies began to discuss what to do instead. Sunny had some more ideas for games, but wanted to save them for the other two nights. And since ghost stories were out of the question for now and all of them were still a bit startled by the mysterious occurrence moments before, nothing came to their minds, so they decided to just talk. Sunny equipped them with some sweets from the bag she brought with her, then the fillies indulged in idle chatter.
For about two hours, the friends talked over all sorts of random things, including more ideas with which activities they could fill the weekend. It was past midnight, as they began to yawn. None of them wanted to sleep yet, but since they felt like they were close to dozing off, they agreed on calling it a night.
One after another, Flurry Heart's friends slipped into their sleeping bags, with Flurry herself climbing into her bed and nestling into the covers. As all of them were ready, Flurry Heart bent down to Magnolia at the side of her bed. “Do you feel alright again?”
Despite the scary event of this night, Magnolia looked relaxed now. With a confident smile, she nodded. “I do. It probably was really just my imagination. I suppose the streets look a little scary at night, so I'm sure it was just my mind.”
Happy and satisfied, Flurry Heart wished Magnolia a good night, then the rest of her friends. Igniting her horn, she turned off the lanterns, then laid down on her pillow. She pulled her blanket up under her chin. Her thoughts were circling around the events of the evening, but only for a short time, because soon, she had drifted off into a deep sleep. And one after another, quiet, steady breaths came from Starry Skies and Sunny Spirit as well. The only one who was still awake after an hour had passed, was Magnolia.
Unable to find sleep, she stared at the ceiling. She had recovered well from what she saw at the window, yet, there was something that kept her thinking. And she knew what it was. Every few minutes or so, she felt it coming to the surface of her mind, only to push it back into its depths. As she couldn't take it anymore and found her resistance getting weaker and weaker, she finally gave up. One heavy breath leaving her throat, she turned onto her right side and looked up to Flurry Heart in her bed. She could not see the filly's face from her position, but knowing she was there filled her with a strange warmth. Magnolia knew exactly what she desired. For a moment, she imagined getting it, but it filled her with fear to no end. She closed her eyes and pushed the thought away again. But the desire remained.
As she finally realized how hopeless it was and that she would never find sleep this way, she did the only thing of which she knew it would help. As quietly as possible, Magnolia unzipped her sleeping bag and slipped outside. She tiphoofed to the hoofboard of Flurry's bed, then climbed inside, stepping on the mattress carefully. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it down a little, revealing a part of Flurry Heart's chest, then crawled under it.
She pulled it over her body and back over her friend as well, then turned towards the alicorn and, as gentle and cautious as she could, took her right wing into her hoof and unfolded it, then spread it over her chest. She tightened her grip around it, just enough she would not hurt it and that she was sure it wouldn't wake Flurry Heart. More of the warm feeling flooded through her body, making her smile, but the happiness only lasted for a moment. Darker thoughts entering her mind, Magnolia's eyes suddenly started to well up, filling themselves with tears quickly.
Still holding Flurry's wing, Magnolia turned onto her left side, so she could face Flurry Heart. There were words on her lips she wanted to speak out, even though she knew the other filly wouldn't hear them, but another flash of fear went through her heart as she thought about doing this. Feeling overwhelmed completely now, Magnolia refused to hold herself back any longer. The tears started to flow over her face and, very quietly, she began to sob and cry. She inched a little closer to Flurry Heart, then slightly touched her cheek with her nose.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered.