//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Ghost Stories 
// by PrelateZ 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 1

Highlight of the Week

"Just a few more preparations, and everything will be perfect." Twilight Sparkle happily announced as she moved another desk across the library, placing it next to its matching chair on the eastern edge of the circular main room. A large space had now been cleared out, ready for the guests who would soon arrive.

Twilight had planned this sleepover for weeks, trying to work it into everypony's busy schedules: Rainbow Dash had been given more weather control duty these past few weeks; Rarity's dresses were getting more popular up in Canterlot, and the increasing demand was taxing on the seamstress; the Apple family was gathering this year's harvest, clearing the extensive apple orchard and selling the fruit in Ponyville and the neighboring towns; and a recent illness kept Fluttershy occupied, forcing her to divert most of her time to helping her animal friends heal. Pinkie Pie had been the easiest by far, since she apparently knew every day she would work in the next two months by heart. She had taken a calendar and marked each day she would be available in a matter of seconds.

This day was the only one that lined up with all six of their schedules. There wouldn't be another like it for many weeks. Everything had to be ready.

"Spike!" she called up the stairs.

The small dragon came down moments later, carrying a broom and dustpan. "I'm here! Just doing some last-minute sweeping up here. Allergy season and all."

"There's no need for that, Spike. We'll be staying down here for the night; you have the upper level all to yourself."

"Really? Even the bed?" Spike had always wanted to sleep in the soft, full-sized bed Twilight used, opposed to the small circular bed he normally had.

"Even the bed." Twilight laughed. "Help me clean the rest of this room before everypony's here, and you can use it tomorrow, too."

Without another word, Spike grabbed took up his broom and duster and resumed his work, sweeping diligently while Twilight looked over her checklist for the day. "Let's see now...spare mattresses, check...snack table, check...I think we have everything. Now we just need to wait for..."

"Hiya, Twilight! Waitin' for me?"

Pinkie Pie was standing behind the shocked unicorn, her mouth fixed in the largest grin she could muster.

"Pinkie Pie! How did you...I mean, hello, happy to see you've arrived. I didn't hear you come in, though."

"Well, I couldn't use the front door. You went and locked it, silly! The window was open, though, so I came to ask why it was locked, or if you were asleep, or..."

"Wait," Twilight interrupted, "the window by my bed, on the second floor?"

"Of course. That was the only one open, right?" The pink pony's smile never diminished as she made her way to the snack table and helped herself to a cheese-topped cracker.

"But, how...never mind," Twilight sighed.

"We thought maybe you forgot about the sleepover. You were making so much noise you didn't here us knock."

"Hold on a second, we?"

"Yup! The others are all waiting at the front door. It's been a whole four minutes since we started trying to get your attention. They said it must have been a really good book, but then I thought, 'Why would you be making all that noise if you're just reading?' so I came to see what was happening and everything's ready for us! You didn't forget the sleepover after all!"

Spike unhooked the latch on the front door and pulled it open. He was immediately knocked on his back by a speeding Rainbow Dash as she flew through the opening. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked, rubbing a sizable bruise on his forehead.

"The door wouldn't budge." Rainbow flatly stated as she dusted herself off. "I was trying to open it and you were in the way."

Fluttershy was next to approach, pulling Spike up from the ground and scowling at the cyan pegasus. "You should be ashamed of yourself, hurting an innocent baby dragon like that. Apologize right now!" Her command was halfway between a shout and a whisper, trying to sound assertive without being too loud.

"No, I'm fine, really!" Spike protested, freeing himself from Fluttershy's grasp.

"I'll get you some ice. Just stay still..."

"Please, Fluttershy, I know you want to help, but I'm not hurt. I don't want you wasting your afternoon looking after me when you should be spending it with your friends here. I'll just go inside and lie down for a while if it's that important to you."

Fluttershy nodded her agreement. Spike turned and headed up the stairs, pausing to straighten a bent spine before leaving the mares' sight.

Rainbow Dash patted Fluttershy on her shoulder. "See? He's fine, Fluttershy. No worries, right? What's gotten you so concerned, anyway?"

"I don't know...I guess with so many of my animal friends sick or injured, I just..." Fluttershy paused. She appeared to be on the verge of tears at this point. "I don't want to lose him."

Rainbow Dash stepped aside as Rarity approached her. "Don't you worry, dear. I'm certain Nurse Redheart will take excellent care of your friends in your absence. Just enjoy your time here and leave them in her capable hooves."

"Thank you, Rarity. You're right, I shouldn't worry. Let's just go inside, then." Fluttershy quietly stepped around everypony and through the doorway. "Thanks again for inviting us, Twilight. I really needed something like this with all the stress the last week has caused."

"Anytime, Fluttershy. I think we all needed this."

The sun had begun to set on Ponyville, slowly disappearing behind the Everfree Forest treetops. The streets were clearing as everypony headed home to retire for the night. Sounds of bats and other nocturnal creatures filled the air as they began their usual hunt. The moon had also started its ascent from the east, and the faint twinkle of stars shone in the fading sunlight.

Rainbow Dash looked angrily out the window. "What's this? I wasn't told about a storm scheduled for today. What's going on?"

A large mass of dark clouds was approaching from the northwest, and the rays of sunlight showing beneath the clouds revealed the rain they would bring once they reached Ponyville. Twilight quickly moved about the library, magically closing each window, then returned to the main room. "Relax, Rainbow. I'm sure they just neglected to tell you so you could enjoy your day here. Otherwise you might be too proud to let somepony else take care of it on what should be your day off."

"Hey, I'm not that… yeah, you're right. I probably would."

Pinkie Pie was busy preparing her s'mores, stacking chocolate squares on each of three marshmallows and topping them off with graham crackers. She paused for a moment to admire her work, then took all three in a single bite, chewing and smacking her lips noisily. "So…what are we…gonna do now?"

"Pinkie Pie, please," Rarity protested, "finish your food before speaking. My word, where are your manners?"

"Oh, I know! We should tell ghost stories! Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Are you really suggesting that we scare each other out of our wits as a storm gathers around the town?"

"Yeah, that's the perfect time to tell a story, except around a campfire, but that would be really hard to do in the middle of a library."

Twilight stepped between them. "Then that's exactly what we'll do, Pinkie Pie. And Rarity, don't you remember our last sleepover? Those stories made up one of the best parts of the night. Wouldn't you want to repeat that now that all six of us are here?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Twilight, but on that night yours was the only actual story. Applejack and I were too caught up in our argument to put in any real effort."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," Applejack added. "Sure the night would've been much better if we'd just learned to get along sooner than we did."

"It's no problem, Applejack," Twilight replied, then turned to face everyone in the room. "Now, before we start, we should turn off all these lights and get the room as dark as possible for the best effect. Rarity, if you wouldn't mind assisting me..."

"Of course, dear."

The two unicorns turned around the room, magically extinguishing each lamp and candle. When all was finished, a single candle lay in the middle of the room, surrounded by the six mares.

Rarity nodded to Twilight. "You should be the one to begin these stories, Twilight; you are our hostess, after all."

"Thank you, Rarity. Does anypony else want to start?" Silence greeted her as all five waited for her to begin. "Alright. This is something I found in a book roughly a year ago. I thought it was interesting enough to memorize, in case I would want to tell it to others later. I'm sure it didn't actually happen, but it was found in the nonfiction section of the library and..."

"Um, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash interrupted, "I know this is really interesting to you and all, but can you please just get on with the story?"

Twilight turned to the pegasus. "What? Oh, sorry, Rainbow. I guess I didn't realize what happened just then. Of course we can begin. Now, it started one bright summer afternoon..."




Nurse Redheart trotted swiftly along the path, picking up speed to get out of the rain that could begin any second. At the top of one hill, she finally saw the cottage she was looking for, the home of Fluttershy. The recent illness had apparently not been limited to the town's pony residents, and many of Fluttershy's friends within were not in the best of health. Normally fairly reclusive and shy, she had decided to ask for professional help this time, and took a day off from caring for her many animals to spend some much-needed time with friends.

Checking her saddlebag again to make sure everything was intact after the run, Redheart approached the front door and knocked twice. The door was opened by a sniffling rabbit who led the nurse inside. Redheart was startled by the sheer number of creatures within the house; it seemed as though half the Everfree Forest's inhabitants were crammed into this single house! Was Fluttershy really trying to heal so many animals at once? No wonder she was so exhausted, Redheart thought. The place appeared busier than the average hospital, and without the help of her assistants...

"Gonna be a long night," Redheart sighed. "Well, might as well start right away." Removing her saddlebag, she emptied it out and laid everything on a table. She walked to the kitchen and began boiling a kettle of water, then moved to the living room, choosing to feed the animals first and get to work afterward. An assortment of various feeds lay in one corner of the room, and posted nearby was a list of acceptable fruits and vegetables for each species. It took roughly thirty minutes to go around the house and fill every bowl with the appropriate food, and it was quite tiring carrying those bags up and down the stairs so many times. Nurse Redheart paused for a moment, sipping a cup of tea as she surveyed the house.

"Glad that's over, but something's missing..." Redheart's eyes fell on the bag of bird seed in the corner. "Of course, how could I forget them? I'll just..." She then noticed the bird houses, some of which were well out of her reach. "Right," she realized, "she's a pegasus. No problem for her, but how..." Redheart hung her head and sighed again. "Gonna be long night."