There it was again. Sunset Shimmer knew this sound well.
The creaking, the cracking.
She heard it all the time when she was at home. The sound of her floorboards creaking under her footsteps. Yes, she knew that sound well.
Normally, hearing her springy floorboards creak wouldn’t really mean anything, but for the last few nights, there was a problem with the sound.
She wasn’t walking around. She was lying in bed. And she lived alone.
For a while, Sunset didn’t move. She simply lay there, listening and once again trying to determine whether she was imagining the sounds or not.
She didn’t think it was a thief. After the sun rose each day and her alarm clock woke her, Sunset checked her home, but everything would be as it is. A thief wouldn’t break in to steal nothing night after night.
So who was walking around her house and what did they want? Tonight, Sunset was going to find out.
“I-I-I guh-gotta pee…” Fluttershy sprang to her feet and dusted her skirt before skittering away from the campfire, disappearing past the tents.
“And I think I better go with her.” Rarity smiled and got up to follow. “You know, to look out for her.”
She too disappeared behind the tents.
Rainbow Dash watched them go with a unamused look written all over her face. “Come on, the story’s barely started. Anyone else need to go?”
“No, we’re fine, capt.” Home Run looked over at the campfire, which was burning brightly in the dark.
“Uh, Rainbow, before we continue…” Sunset Shimmer had a question. “Why me?”
“Because, you live alone, Sunset. The story works better if you don’t have a family.” Rainbow shrugged. “Uh, no offense.”
Sunset sighed and chuckled lightly. “None taken, Dash…”
“Right.” Rainbow picked up a stick and prodded the campfire. “So I can continue yeah? Ahem…”
Slipping out from under her sheets, Sunset grabbed her phone, in case she needed to illuminate something and also put on her fluffy home slippers, hoping it would mask the sound of her footsteps.
She crept down a small flight of steps that led up to her bed and moved for her closed room door. Only… It wasn’t closed. It was slightly ajar.
“Oh? Did I forget to shut it before I slept?” Sunset whispered and crept to the door.
Stopping behind it, Sunset placed her ear close to the space separating the door from the frame. There it was. She could still hear the creaking and it sounded like it was coming from downstairs.
“Who are you and what have you been doing in my house?” Sunset said to herself.
The only reason a burglar would break in is to steal stuff, but Sunset had found everything as it was every morning when she went to search her home. She also found no traces of forced entry, which really puzzled her. Whoever came into her home every night was a skillful one.
Opening her door slowly, Sunset crept over to the top of her staircase, peeping over the side to see if she could see anyone downstairs.
To her horror, she spotted the shadow of someone, cast against the wall, moving towards her staircase. Sunset quickly ducked back down against the wall, moving into a crouch, her heart beating in her chest.
There really was someone there. She hadn’t imagined it.
“Right?” Sunset asked herself. It hadn’t been a trick on her eyes, at least, she thought so.
Right now, she could even hear whoever it was downstairs, place their first foot on the staircase, the sound different from the usual creak. This one was more like a thump.
Had they heard her? She had made sure to open her door quietly, but perhaps it hadn’t been as quiet as she had hoped.
But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was that someone was in her house and they were making their way up the stairs right this moment. Whoever this was, they had a lot to answer for, the most important being why they kept coming to her house every night, taking nothing.
“This is no thief,” Sunset muttered to herself inaudibly.
Then there was the second thump, then the third. Each one seemed to correspond with Sunset’s own heartbeat, loud in the girl’s ears as she waited for the perpetrator to appear around the staircase wall.
“You’re trained, Sunset. You can take them, whoever they are. Just remember what the star of Canterlot High School, Rainbow Dash, had taught you in your years under her wings-”
“Aw, not this again.” Applejack slapped a palm on her forehead. “Rainbow, enough with the self-praise, yeah? We’re here for a campfire story, not to hear about your skills.”
“And I didn’t learn combat from you,” Sunset chuckled.
“She’s right, you know?” Home Run pulled at a long blade of grass and then tossed it into the fire.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tone down on my abilities. Can we continue?” Rainbow waited for a second. “Right…”
Four more steps till her perpetrator would arrive at the top. Sunset had counted each one, her heartbeat so loud now she almost couldn’t hear the footsteps; she hoped whoever was in her house couldn’t hear it.
The plan was simple. She would identify who it was first, then deliver a swift kick to their face before subduing them with an arm lock.
In her head, it all looked easy, but Sunet knew things don’t always go as planned.
Swallowing hard, Sunset heard two more steps being taken. Two steps. Two steps were all that remained between her and her intruder.
Pushing to her feet, Sunset turned and waited, keeping her eyes on the corridor. One more thump echoed in her quiet house. And then, there was silence.
Sunset waited what seemed like an eternity, waiting for that last and final step to be taken, but the sound never came.
She waited behind the corner for what felt like hours, but still, no one showed up. She waited… and waited… and waited… and waited…
“Rainbow, come on. Just get on with it.” Even Home Run was losing patience.
“Yes! Get on with it!” Pinkie yelled into her cupped hands, the echo making her sound like a crowd. “He he… Sorry, Dashie. Keep going.”
“Okay, okay, sheesh.” Rainbow pulled at a lock of purple hair on her head. “You guys are supposed to be scared. This is a spooky campfire story.”
“Well, maybe we’ll actually be scared if ya properly tell the story?” Applejack suggested.
Wiping a frown off her face, Rainbow cleared her throat before continuing.
Sunset had given up on waiting. Whoever this person was, climbing her stairs, she decided she was just going to kick him down if he was indeed just standing there before the last step.
Rounding the corner, Sunset lifted a leg, but she was surprised to see no one standing there.
“Huh…?” she couldn’t help but mutter.
She had heard it. She had seen the shadow. Someone had indeed been coming up her stairs, but where did they go? They couldn’t just disappear.
Right?
Just then, a shadow descended on her, covering the light from the window.
Sunset froze. It was a tall and lanky shape, much taller than her and two arms slowly rose up, the palms opening to reveal long slender fingers, looking like they were about to grab her from behind.
The fiery haired girl turned around and screamed, but once again, there was no one there. Looking back, the shadow was gone again, leaving no trace that there had ever been anyone standing there.
Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, Sunset looked around frantically, afraid that whoever was in her house, was still here.
“Girrrrlll…” she heard a whisper in her ear.
That was all it took to send her running back to her room, slamming her door shut behind her, her heart beating against her ribs too quickly.
Whoever was in her house, it wasn’t some thief or even some human. It was something more and it definitely wasn’t friendly.
Locking her door, Sunset ran up to her bed and went through her phone, looking through her list of contacts for one of her close friends.
Applejack’s name was the first on the list, so she dialed her up and put the phone to her ear, her eyes constantly looking at her bedroom door.
“Hi, you have reached Applejack’s phone and it’s currently unavailable. Ah’d be happy if ya left a message.” the automated voice said. “Please leave your message after the yeehaw. Yeeeehaw!”
“AJ, there’s something… something in my house! I don’t know… what to do!” Sunset tried to speak quickly through her ragged breathing. “Help! Please help! Send help!”
Sunset looked through her list of contacts again, next finding Home Run’s name, but as she was calling him, her doorknob began to rattle and she dropped her phone, her eyes going wide with fear.
This thing that was in her house, it had been creaking on the floorboards downstairs for so many nights now. Why was it only pursuing her now? Was it because she now knew of its existence? Or perhaps even because she had tried to fight it at the staircase?
Sunset didn’t know, but right now, she knew she had to get out of here. The door was definitely a no go, meaning she would have to get out through her large window.
Running for it, Sunset only had time to throw one window pane open before she realized there was silence. The doorknob was no longer rattling.
Turning around, Sunset’s mouth opened in silent horror as she noticed the door was wide open. Standing there, half shrouded in the darkness was a man, only, it wasn’t quite a man. It was dark, almost as dark as the shadows and its featureless face looked back at her, slightly tilted to one side and two huge red eyes bore holes into her heart, sending it into a frenzy.
Sunset was unable to move, so paralyzed by fear that she even began to wet herself.
“Oh, come on, Dash, really?” Sunset blushed and covered up her face in embarrassment as Home Run and Pinkie began to laugh hysterically.
“What?” Rainbow looked at her innocently. “People piss their pants when they’re afraid, right?”
“I mean… yeah, but…” Sunset ducked her head lower. “You didn’t… need to make me do it…”
“Aw, come on. I’m the one telling the story after all. And it’s not like you really pissed yourself. It’s just a story.”
“A mighty underwhelming story, that is.” Applejack dusted her hat.
“Well, that’s because you guys keep interrupting me!” Rainbow shot her a look. “So… Can I just continue? No more interruptions? I promise, it’ll get scarier. It’s meant to.”
“Sure, Dash, sure…”
Rainbow shook her head and cleared her throat.
As the strange creature began to approach her, its long fingers unfurling and reaching out towards her, Sunset broke out of her trance and skipped over her window ledge, climbing outside and swinging herself down to the next ledge, then another and another.
She had to get out of there. Nothing else mattered at the moment but escaping that horrible monster.
Sunset didn’t stop even when her feet touched the floor at the bottom of her climb down, instantly sprinting away from her house as fast as she could. The girl spent the rest of the night cowering behind a dumpster in a nearby alley way, her knees curled up to her chest and her entire body trembling.
Sunset stayed there until morning, not leaving until the sun began to cast rays down on her position.
She found the other Rainbooms crowded around her home when she returned, with the exception of Rainbow Dash the Magnificent Athlete. When she questioned her friends, she found out that the star athlete had entered the house on her own, in search of Sunset.
“No, she can’t go in!” Sunset grabbed Applejack’s shoulders, and squealed. “Not alone! We need to go in after her!”
“Woah, woah, slow your horses, Sunset.” Applejack readjusted her hat and gave the fiery haired girl a pat on her shoulder. “Mind tellin’ us what the problem is?”
“No time! Dash could be in trouble! There’s something in my house!” Sunset pointed at the open front door and looked into the darkness of her entrance. Her home had never looked so foreboding and terrifying. “W-We need to get her. She’s in there… with that thing!”
“What’s in there, darling?” Rarity’s face was full of concern, mostly for Sunset.
Sunset went about explaining everything that had happened the night before. It had been a terrifying experience. Whatever that thing was, it had seemed to have taken up residence in her home.
Just then, Rainbow emerged from the doorway, a look of excitement on her face-
“Wait, wait, why are ya excited, Dash?” Applejack waved through the imagery of the story. “Ain’t ya supposed to be afraid?”
“Come on, why would I be?” The athlete put a hand on her chest. “I’m Rainbow Dash, captain of every sports team here. I’m pretty awesome.”
“But there’s a scary monster in there.” Pinkie Pie pulled down on her face and stuck her tongue out.
“Yeah…” Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “There isn’t much to be excited about here.”
“Could you guys just wait? I’m getting there!” the rainbow haired girl complained. Again.
Following their awesome friend back inside, Sunset and the other girls walked down through the same hallway they would always walk through when they visited Sunset.
The fiery haired girl had never felt her home so unwelcoming, always ready to invite a friend over. It seemed as though the shadows were watching them now, looking for the right moment to strike.
“Perhaps I should’ve gotten myself a smaller house…”
Rainbow Dash led them to the kitchen, then to the left, where Sunset’s fridge stood against the wall. She pointed at it and grinned madly.
“Look! Did you know that was there?” she asked her friends.
“The… wall?” Sunset looked at where Dash was pointing.
“Look closer, Sunset.” Rainbow shoved her forward.
Sunset still couldn’t see anything odd about it, but when she raised a hand to touch her wall, she realized it felt different from the rest of her walls. Then running her hand down its length, she found a small latch, just against the edge of the wall, almost invisible to the eye, its colours blending with the wallpaper and the shadows.
“It’s… a door!” Sunset exclaimed, pulling at the latch. “How have I never seen this?”
“Uh, because you don’t have eyes like mine?” Rainbow pointed to her left eye and smirked. “Come on, let’s see what’s inside.”
The door swung silently open, gaping like a monster’s maw with nothing but blackness beyond.
“Sooooo…” Pinkie Pie said, peering down the hole. “Who wants to go down the dark scary tunnel in the wall first?”
Being the brave and strong athlete she was, Rainbow volunteered to go first, taking a flashlight with her, with Sunset next to go, wanting to know just what was living in her house, even if she had to face it again.
Pinkie bounced after them, pulling a lantern from her hair and lighting it. The rest of the group followed, some of them pulling out their phones to light the way.
“So you never knew this was here, Sunset?” Pinkie asked, squinting into the darkness beyond. “This’d make a great hiding place for a game of hide and seek!”
“I don’t want to hide down here,” Sunset said, trying to calm her nerves. There was a staircase leading further down into the gloom, where even the flashlight couldn’t fully penetrate.
“Me n-neither…” Fluttershy mumbled.
“This goes way down,” Rainbow called from the front, shining her light down the passage. It went down, far below the surface of the ground. It smells of damp, earth, and other unwholesome things.
“It’s like that one place in Dim Spirits…with the poison water.” Fluttershy whispered.
“Yeah, it is- wait. You’ve played Dim Spirits, Fluttershy?!”
“Hol’ up, hol’ up,” Applejack interrupted again, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. “Fluttershy doesn’t play that. Much too violent for her. Ain’t that right? And what’s this even gotta do with the story?”
“Hey, it’s not as violent as Wooden Cog. There’s barely any blood in Dim Spirits!”
Home Run coughed. “I know a certain windbag who would like to refute that, but he’s not here, so, carry on.”
“Well, I know Fluttershy likes to watch those gory Eastern cartoons, so why not Dim Spirits?” Rainbow Dash challenged. “Can I just get on with the story?”
“Yeah, yeah, just hurry it up a little, it’s gettin’ real late.”
“That’s cause you keep interrupting!” Rainbow cleared her throat. “Now, where was I…”
“Dim Spirits,” Home Run supplied.
“Right.”
The dim lighting on their way down the steps didn’t help much to lift their spirits. Sunset Shimmer didn’t know how far down it led, but it didn’t look very inviting. Once again, she was thinking why she was even here. Perhaps after finding the door, the right thing to do would have been to seal it up with cement. Or at least report it to the authorities. She licked her dry lips. Sunset thought about just how nice a tall, refreshing glass of Bepis would be. Sparkling with condensation, she could even imagine just how good it would taste going down, the bubbles tickling her throat as the wonderful drink-”
“Is this a ghost story, or an ad for Bepis?” Applejack deadpanned.
“What? I’m thirsty,” Rainbow countered. Sunset shook her head and passed the athlete a bottle of water. She drank down half of it in one gulp and sighed. “Ahh. Not as good as Bepis, but it’ll do. Thanks, Sunset.”
“I just don’t want to be out here until dawn because you wanted a drink,” Sunset said.
“Right, so just stop interrupting me.”
The girls eventually arrived at the bottom, where they could now see a light layer of glistening water just after the final step, their light sources dancing on it. Ahead of them was more darkness, but there were wooden beams above, holding the ceiling up, though they looked really worn with age.
Sunset wondered to herself just how old this place was.
“Now if only we had some plane fuel…” Rainbow Dash mused, looking up at the beams. “We could solve Sunset’s monster problem right here and now if we had some.”
Applejack was about to agree when there came a splashing sound in the far distance, like a heavy stone had been hurled into the water.
“Did anyone else hear that?” Rarity took one step back behind Fluttershy, who had become stiff as a beanpole.
“It sounded really far away. Like, really far away.” Sunset shone her phone light in an arc around them. There seemed to be two different passages, one leading left and one leading right. “Just how big is this place?”
“Come on, we need to see where this goes.” The fearless Rainbow Dash took one step into the water. Her foot only sunk down to the white lining of her boot, so it wasn’t too deep.
“L-Looks like some kind of mine…” Fluttershy trembled, not wanting to continue on. “I-I think I’ll wait here. Or ac-actually, I’ll wait upstairs.”
With that said, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“And I’m not taking another step down here. It would ruin my boots!” Rarity fanned herself with a hand. “I shall be above with Fluttershy.”
“Anyone else feel like chickening out?” Rainbow asked, receiving only shaking heads. “Good. Then we go on and see where this monster of Sunset’s is from.”
Sunset followed behind their fearless leader, keeping her phone’s beam ahead of her feet, not wanting to accidentally trip over anything. Face first into this murky water likely wasn’t a good idea.
Above them, the beams creaked with age, occasionally seemingly shifting in their place and raining dust down on their heads. If it were to collapse behind them now… Sunset didn’t want to think about that.
The girls decided to go down the left path, trekking slowly in the darkness, their ears peeled for any signs of life.
And then ahead, there was another loud splash, making Sunset jump. If she didn’t have any second thoughts exploring the tunnels, she did now.
“Come on, it’s just a sound. No biggie. There’s five of us.” Rainbow Dash spun the flashlight in her hand. “If this monster does show up, we can take him.”
“Ya know, I’m pretty sure this ain’t how these stories go on.” Applejack scratched her forehead. “Are ya sure ya know how to tell it?”
“Yes, I do. Now will you. Please. Stop. Interrupting. Me?” Rainbow said through gritted teeth.
The girls pressed on, with Sunset following closely behind Rainbow, the star of this story. She illuminated parts of the walls, while Rainbow kept her light in front to see where they were going.
Webs covered much of what she could see and the walls were mostly of dirt and some kind of stone. By the looks of it, this place could very well be from the ancient times of cowboys. Perhaps it was an old mine and maybe after digging for so many years, the miners had uncovered something so horrible that the place was abandoned, never to see the light again.
Until now.
Rainbow’s flashlight illuminated a black shape just ahead of them. It was bent down, its long arms curled around itself, almost like it was an egg.
Sunset knew it was the same creature from the night before. There was no doubt about it. Seeing it again sent shivers down her spine and her legs began to shake, threatening to give way.
Turning to face them, the monster stood up, its red eyes glowing even in the flashlight’s piercing beam.
“Ruuuuun for iiiiiittt!” Pinkie Pie turned and disappeared back down the tunnel.
“No, don’t run!” Rainbow called after her, but it was too late.
With a growl, the monster charged past them, pushing them away with its long arms and running down the tunnel after the fleeing Pinkie.
“It senses your fear,” Rainbow explained to them. “You must not show it.”
“But I had been afraid.” Sunset looked on into the darkness. “I peed myself the night before remember? So why didn’t it attack me?”
“Because… Uh…”
“Because I said so, okay?” Rainbow reasoned. “I’m the storyteller, so whatever I say, happens, got it?”
“Yeah yeah, we got it. Just get it done, Dash.” Applejack tipped her hat lower, her interest in the story clearly lost.
“Yeah, and you didn’t need to mention me peeing myself again, did you?” Sunset blushed.
“Just let me finish. I’m almost done, okay?”
Not wanting to leave her friend alone in danger, Rainbow Dash the Magnificent Athlete ran, following the creature’s path as it chased after Pinkie Pie. Years of training on the field had given her the ability to run like a horse, helping her catch up to the pursuing creature.
Applejack was about to interrupt again, but then decided against it. She just resorted to shaking her head and folded her arms, waiting for her friend to finish the story up.
Spinning the flashlight in her hands, Rainbow threw it at the creature like a javelin, hitting it square in the back and knocking it down, creating a big splash in the water.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have a light on her anymore and she could no longer see the monster.
Raising her fists, the girl stepped back until her back was against the wall, her eyes darting around for any signs of movement in the darkness. “Where are you? Come on out.”
She heard the creature rise from the water somewhere to her right and she swung a fist, connecting it with something fleshy and wet. There was a groan from the dark, before a clawed hand tore across her shoulder, shredding her jacket and drawing blood.
“Ow!” The star athlete hopped away and checked on her wound. It wasn’t anything serious, so she get herself ready again.
She threw another two punches at the monster, anticipating where its chest would be, feeling her fist connect with its leathery hairless skin. She felt movement from the right and ducked just in time as she felt a hand swing over where she was standing. Just then, she heard running behind her, and then there was a grunt as Sunset Shimmer jumped over her, kicking at the monster’s shoulder, knocking it back.
The monster moaned some more and splashed back down into the water. It then leapt out at Rainbow Dash, but because she was such an excellent athlete and had catlike reflexes, she dodged it easily. However, Sunset Shimmer was much less well trained-
“I object to that,” Sunset remarked.
“Really? You have to interrupt me too now?” Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to slide a hand down her face. “Can I just finish the story? You all want to get to sleep, right?”
“Yeah, yeah, just… You know, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but I did pick up some skills that, well, you girls don’t have. So… yeah, Dash.”
“Whatever, it’s my story. Can I just tell it as I need to?”
“Fine.”
Picking up a pickaxe from nearby-
Applejack raised her hand and made a noise like she was about to say something, but then lowered her arm and sighed.
… Rainbow Dash swung it at the creature, embedding the sharp tip of the tool into its damp gelatinous flesh. She pulled the pickaxe out and swung it again, this time aiming higher. There was a damp squelch as the pickaxe struck home.
“Haha!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What you got, you monster? You’re nothing next to the Rainbow Danger Dash!”
The creature responded with a roar, and lunged at Rainbow Dash. At the last second, Rainbow stepped back and delivered a powerful kick to the monster. The other girls were amazed at Rainbow’s courage and bravery. As one, they decided to buy her drinks at Sugarcube Corner.
“Wait, wait. Ah thought it was dark and you threw the flashlight-” Applejack stopped herself. “Ya know what, just keep goin’.”
As Rainbow Dash laid into the monster with her epic kung-fu moves, all the roaring and thrashing was starting to make the tunnel more and more unstable. Bits of stone and wood began to patten down, some of them making splashes in the water.
Rainbow Dash the prime athlete was too much for the monster, and it tried to escape.
“Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow yelled, trying to grab it, but its body was too slimy for anyone to get a proper grip.
The creature slid away into the water and further down the tunnel, and Rainbow made to chase, but a shower of masonry made her think twice. Then she took her pickaxe and swung it at the wooden supports of the tunnel.
With a crackle of wood, one of the supports broke in half and part of the ceiling dropped in, somewhere down the tunnel. Sunset, who still had her light, flicked it in the opposite direction and beckoned for her friends to run, but Rainbow the Awesome Dash had already went on ahead, her eyes adjusted to the complete darkness by now. There was an almost primal roar that sounded out down the tunnel behind them, but with the rest of the tunnels beginning to collapse, Rainbow guessed it wasn’t long before the creature would get what it deserved.
“Keep running!” she called back to her friends, still hearing their footsteps behind her. With the whole group running, but mostly Rainbow Dash running at speeds that would shame a professional sprinter, they soon saw steps leading up to the outline of the door in Sunset’s wall.
Leaping up three steps at a time, Rainbow was first to the door, throwing it open and waving for her friends to hurry up. Now with light coming from outside, the other girls could easily see where to go and they made it out as a cloud of dust began to waft up towards them, created from the crumbling underground tunnels. Rainbow was last to go, pushing Applejack forward just in time to shut the door, sealing the dust back in the tunnel behind them.
“We did it…” Sunset panted, leaning back against her refrigerator. “We actually made it out…”
“Of course we did.” Rainbow walked over and slapped her on the back. “It’s a good thing you got me to come help you sort out this mess, Sunset. Whatever that thing is, I’m sure it’s gone now.”
“Yeah, thanks, Dash. You’re the best.”
“Yay for Dashie saving the day!” Pinkie threw her up into the air.
And Rainbow Dash was trying very hard not to look proud.
“Ya mean like how you’re lookin’ proud right now, Dash?” Applejack snorted.
And indeed Rainbow Dash was wearing a rather self-satisfied look on her face as she drained the last of the water from her bottle. “Now, I just need to finish this, so… no interruptions, yeah?”
Sunset Shimmer soon found herself in her bed as night rolled in once more. She knew now that there was nothing left for her to worry about, with the tunnels beneath her house caved in, there wasn’t any way there was going to be an unexpected visitor in her home tonight. She had even shifted her refrigerator in front of the secret door just to be sure.
Pulling her bed sheets up to her chin, Sunset smiled as she snuggled deeply into her pillow, glad to have a good night’s rest again. Things had been pretty restless for her ever since that thing had begun walking around her home, but not anymore. Tonight, she was actually going to get a well-rested sleep and nothing was going to stop her.
Closing her eyes, Sunset was quick to drift off to sleep. But unknown to her, her house didn’t remain silent. Somewhere downstairs, there was a sound.
The creaking, the cracking.
It was the sound of her springy floorboards being stepped upon.
“The end, guys!” Rainbow Dash leapt to her feet and folded her arms smugly. “What did you think? Awesome, right?”
“Meh. It’ll do.” Applejack dusted off her skirt. “Next time, someone else’ll be tellin’ the story.”
“Good enough, captain.” Home Run tossed away another blade of grass and got up. “Gotta say, I did like the way it ended. I do wonder if Sunset’s going to get a good sleep in the end.”
“Yeah, me too!” Pinkie sprang up on her hands and walked around upside down. “Good story, Dashie, but time to sleep! Goodnight, everyone!”
And she was off towards the tents, moving surprisingly fast on her hands, though it was nothing to be surprised about.
“You know, I’m glad it wasn’t too scary. I don’t know how I’m going to sleep if it was.” Sunset picked up an old red bucket and walked to the fire. “Flashlights at the ready?”
Rainbow Dash fished out her flashlight from her jacket pocket. “Ready.”
As Sunset poured the bucket’s water over the campfire, their surroundings were plunged into complete blackness. Rainbow flicked on her light, but as she did so, a black face with pink hair, its mouth gaping wide open. A bad odour wafted around the strange figure, smelling almost of death.
With an ear piercing scream, the athlete took off to the tents, with everyone else scratching their heads as Home Run flicked his own light on. Everyone looked on as Fluttershy wiped off a handful of mud from her face, pulling it from her hair.
“Sorry, I fell on the way back.” Fluttershy stuck her tongue out. “And sorry I took so long. Stomachache.”
“It was disgusting, to say the least…” Rarity walked carefully over from behind her. “Absolutely dreadful, but it isn’t your fault, dear. You just slipped.”
“Well, she gave us a good laugh,” Applejack chuckled and looked over to the tents where Dash had run to. “So no problem, Fluttershy.”
“That’s some really stinky mud though.” Home Run pinched his nose and waved a hand in the air.
“Oh, um…” Fluttershy’s cheeks went red in the flashlight beam. “This isn’t mud…”