During the break as we sat around the snack table helping ourselves to the food and drinks, Rarity and Applejack got around to taking off their tacky costumes from the truth or dare game, Applejack was polite in putting the princess clothes back in the wardrobe where it belonged since it was Twilight's own, Rarity however wasn't as delicate with her prince costume, she threw it into a pile next to the bin, showing no subtly at all regarding it. As for me, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had enjoyed ourselves to the bottles of cider that the Apple pony had brought with her to the sleepover as a treat.
However, I had underestimated the strength of the Apple families special batch, not long after I had finished the bottle I began to feel a little light-headed, Applejack didn’t seem to be all that phased by it, she must drink this stuff fairly regularly and is used to it, Rainbow Dash however was clearly feeling it more than I was, she was blushing a little around her cheeks and was acting a little more feisty than normal, not that she was ever not feisty. When the three of us started talking about what feats we had accomplished beforehand, it started to get pretty heated between Applejack and Rainbow, which isn't surprising considering how competitive the two are together. I luckily was able to stop them before it came to blows, but not before Rainbow got up into my face, closer than usual and told me flat out that she'll be challenging me to a race in the week to see if I can run fast on just two legs as I had mentioned during the chat. I agreed to it straight away, if only to avoid getting a hoof smack in the face from her, or worse be victim to one of her pranks since I caught a hint of mischief in her eyes. Once that little incident was over with and the break was finished, we all sat back down in their usual spots in the room, ready to begin a new activity for the sleepover.
“Okay everypony, so what activity shall we do next for the sleepover tonight everypony?” Twilight asked the rest of the ponies.
“Well I’m not in the mood for games right at this moment, perhaps we can do something a little different instead?” Rarity said thoughtfully.
“Hmm.. we could tell some stories instead.” I said out loud.
“Oh! How about scary stories? That’ll be different!” Pinkie Pie said with excitement.
“Ah’m not sure Pinkie, we’d need the atmosphere to be perfect for such thangs, and at the moment it’s quite peaceful round here, no rain or thunder-”
*CRACKLE*
That train of thought was interrupted by a loud clap of thunder outside the window, me and everyone else took a look, we saw it was now pouring with rain outside, the wind was howling and lightning streaking across the sky.
“Ohhh yeah, I forgot that the weather team had scheduled a thunderstorm for tonight." Rainbow said with a sheepish smile.
"Well ain't that just very convenient." Applejack said with a raised eyebrow at Rainbows direction.
"Well either way, I say we do it, this thunderstorm makes the atmosphere perfect for scary stories." Twilight said.
"Me too! I've got some spooky wooky tall tales to tell!" Pinkie said in eagerness.
"What about you Anon, you in on the scary stories, big guy?" Rainbow Dash asked me.
"Heh, sure. I like a good scary story" I replied with a smile.
"Then it's settled!" Pinkie shouted out.
"Well, I suppose I can take part too, even if I don't have anything good to tell." Rarity said a sigh.
"So... who should go first?" I asked everyone in the room.
"Ohh ohh! Let me, let me, let me!" Pinkie said eagerly, putting her hoof up.
"Okay okay, go ahead Pinkie Pie." Twilight said.
"Alrighty! My story is about a nightmare I had the other night, about a cake monster that eats ponies.
"Oh this ought to be good." Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.
"Now this ah gotta hear." Applejack said.
Pinkie Pie cleared her throat, and then she began telling her story, speaking in a low subdued tone.
"One spooky night, in a lonely house on a hill, there lived a mare who baked delicious cakes and treats for all to enjoy in the nearby town, in fact the cakes she baked were so deliciously tasty and scrumptiously yummy that everypony who lived in the town loved eating them. However, the ponies who lived in that town were very mean, greedy and selfish, they treated the poor mare like a slave, shouting, yelling, ordering her to bake bake bake, all throughout the day, all seven days in fact. The poor mare was left so exhausted, so broken by it all, that she would try to cry herself to sleep in order to escape from-"
"Pinkie, this is sounding less like a horror story and more like sappy sad story." Rainbow interrupted rudely.
"Shhh! Let her finish for pete's sake." Applejack in annoyance.
Rainbow Dash just blew a raspberry at Applejack before letting Pinkie Pie continue, who was looking rather deadpan.
"As I was saying. She would often cry herself to sleep in order to escape from the torment. But, one fateful night, after another day of non-stop baking for the town, the mare finally broke down, she finally let out her anger and rage, cursing the town for being so mean and greedy. Then she looked up to the moon, and made a wish to herself. Since the ponies in the town like eating cakes so much, she wished that a cake would come to life and eat them instead, and with that she drifted off to sleep. Little did she know that her wish had come true, a wishing star that streaked across the sky heard her wish, and so it wished for one of her cakes to come to life for that purpose. The cake chosen was a big chocolate fudge cake, with cream stuffing and flaky chips on top. The cake stormed out of the house in a rage, craving the little ponies who had stuffed themselves silly with cake. With a roar of a bear, and a lick of its chops, the monstrous cake began it's feast of the town, breaking down doors, smashing windows, or even crashing through the walls to snack on the greedy and selfish ponies. When the mare woke up upon hearing the carnage, she was shocked to see what had happened, her wish had come true, now the town was in flames and a wreck, the greedy ponies running away in fear of the monster cake. When the mare ran towards the monster cake, she scolded it for doing such a horrible thing, but the monster that is a cake roared loudly at her, then bared it's razor sharp teeth, and with a wide open gape, it lunged forward towards her and then..."
*CRUNCH*
"The end." Pinkie said, having taken a bite out of a cupcake just to make the sound effect more believable.
"Well umm... that story was sure something." Twilight said, unsure what to make of it.
"It was certainly dramatic at the end." Rarity added, also unsure.
"Meh, I've heard scarier stories." Rainbow said, waving her hoof dismissively.
"Hmm, it's just what I came up with after having a nightmare about a cake that came to life and tried to eat me." Pinkie said with a sigh.
"Maybe it's a sign that you should probably cut down on eating cakes all the time, less they come back to bite you." I said to her.
"Cut down on eating cakes? Never!" Pinkie gasped loudly.
"Well then if she's finished, may I have a turn now? Ah got me a little tale that'll make yer back fur stand up high like a scaredy-cat." Applejack confidently.
"I'll believe it when I hear it darling." Rarity said, focusing on her
"Alright y'all, here we go. This is a story mah Granny told me once on a Nightmare Night when I was just a lil filly, it's a story called 'The Mare of the Woods'." Applejack said in a gloomy tone.
Rainbow Dash piped up, "Hey, that rings a bell, I think I've heard of this tale before when I was a filly."
"Well then that makes two of us, anyway, they say that deep within the thicket of the Everfree Forest, there lived a mysterious being known to ponies as the Mare of the Woods. Folks say she's a monster that masquerades as a pony, and that it lives in the deep lakes in that there forest, silently watching anypony foolishly passing by, waiting for the chance to lure them into her grasp."
"And how, pray tell, does this 'Mare of the Woods' do this?" Rarity asked curiously.
"Well... My Granny told me that the monster in question takes on the shape of a beautiful mare when she comes out of the water. She may look normal on the outside, but her mane and tail remain damp and her coat slimy to touch, a dead give away that she isn't who she looks, as one unlucky young pony who got lost in the forest found out on that night."
"Oooh, what happened to him?" Pinkie Pie asked, eating another random bag of popcorn.
"The Mare of the Woods appeared to him in disguise, promising to lead the lost younging to safety, all he needed to do was to hitch a ride onto it's back. The colt did as he was told, then all of a sudden the mare ran, it ran as fast as the wind, straight towards the lake. The colt tried to tell it to stop, but it was too late, the mare dived right into the water, and in a blink of an eye she was gone, along with the poor colt, never to be seen again." Applejack said with a scary tone.
"I thought it was familiar, my mother told me this story too when I was a filly, I always thought it was a bunch of hokey smoke." Rainbow Dash said.
"This is very familiar to me too, but I can't think of what I'm thinking of." Twilight said, scratching her chin with her hoof while deep in thought.
"You know, the Mare of the Woods reminds me of a similar kind of monster in my world, only they were called 'Kelpies' and that they could shape-shift into humans." I said while thinking as well.
"That's what I was thinking of, Kelpies!" Twilight said loudly, "I read about them once in a book about monsters, nopony has ever seen one physically, but I think this 'Mare of the Woods' Applejack talked about might be that very creature." Twilight said excitedly.
"Could be, I know one thing, i'd be ready to stop such a monster from doing that to any poor little pony." Applejack said sternly.
"Say Anon, this 'Kelpie' you mentioned, are they just like this Mare of the Woods?" Rarity asked.
"Yes indeed, even down to luring in children towards a body of deep water, where it dives in with them and drowns them alive, some tales even say they actually eat them too, like a shark finding it's next meal." I said to them.
All the other ponies in the room looked at me wide eyed like I just grown a second head, Pinkie Pie made a noticeable gulp in her throat, and then put the popcorn over to the side out of the way.
"Yeeaaaaah, I think I've lost my appetite from hearing that." She said sombrely.
"Well, in any case Applejack definitely has the lead when it comes to scary stories." Rainbow Dash said as Applejack stood up all proud.
"I'll be the judge of that, since I also have a story to share tonight." Twilight said with a smirk.
Everyone in the room listened to Twilight beginning to tell her scary story.
"It was a dark and stormy night, just like this one, and a group of ponies were having a slumber party, a little like this one-"
"It's not the Headless Horse story again, is it darling?" Rarity interrupted with a frown.
Twilight's face went blank, then a sheepish smile creeped up upon it. The other ponies around the room looked rather unamused.
"Eh he he he heh, umm, maybe?" She said, her eyes darting around the room.
"Twilight, we've all heard that story about three times now, and it stopped being scary to us the second time round." Rainbow Dash said to her flatly.
"Yeah, ah feel that yarn has been spun one time too many." Applejack added.
"I've heard of the Headless Horseman, but never a Headless Horse." I also added.
"Okay okay fine! I'll tell you another story that I heard about from my old friends at Canterlot, it's called; 'The Knight of Darkness"
"This had better be good." Rainbow Dash said with a grump.
Twilight cleared her throat, then she used her magic to dim the lights of the room, all the while speaking in a low deep tone.
"There is an old tale, that tells of a figure that lived in an old castle far to the north in the lands of snow and ice, the figure was a knight, but he wasn't a pony, oh no, this knight walked on two legs, dressed head to hoof in black armour, with a cape as red as blood. In his left hoof he carried his weapon, a worn down broken sword, stained and dirty from years of wear. Every night when the moon is up, he would stalk the castle hallways, always searching, always looking, for his master and liege, the ruler of the castle. But no matter how long he tried, he couldn't find anyone, not even a soul."
"Twilight, I hate to butt in, but this is starting to sound like a sad story." Rarity said.
"Well, it IS actually." Twilight said, raising her voice up in a huff.
"But we're supposed to be hearing scary stories silly, not saddy sad stories." Pinkie replied.
"Yeah Twilight, this is something you'd read about in a gothic novel by Egghead A Poe." Rainbow Dash added.
All the other ponies looked at her with surprise, they didn't think Rainbow would know about such books considering what she was into.
"What? I like reading other books beside Daring Do you know." She said with a shrug.
"As I was saying." Twilight said in annoyance, "Then, one night a lonely pony came wondering into the castle, he was lost and searching for shelter from the snow. He knew nothing about the place, but explored it anyway out of curiosity. He was soon lost in the castle, and the moon had risen up, and that meant the knight was active. The pony heard him approaching from down the hall, forcing him to pick up the pace and find a place to hide. But no matter how hard the pony tried, the knight was always there searching, for you see, this knight could melt away into the shadows, disappearing in a blink of an eye, only to reappear out of nowhere like a ghost. Eventually the pony was trapped, stuck in the corner of the room with nowhere to go, and as the knight reappeared once again, he shouted out in fright and horror, for the knight as the pony had found, was also in fact, headless. With the poor victim cornered, the knight raised it's sword up and...-"
*CRASH*
Most of us jumped upon hearing the crashing noise, we all looked around and saw that Pinkie Pie had unintentionally broken one of juice bottles she had knocked over.
"Oppsie, sorry girls and guy, hehe, I was just getting another drink, but I think the cider is making me a little tipsy topsy." Pinkie said as she held another bottle in her teeth while making her way back to her seat.
"It's okay Pinkie, the story is pretty much finished anyway." Twilight said.
"Ugh, I can't believe it was another story about a headless monster, I mean really Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said with a hard frown.
"What!? It was just a coincidence, that's all!" Twilight said in protest.
"No offence sugarcube, but uh, you really need to read actual scary stories instead of those old pony tales." Applejack said.
"UGH, whatever!" Twilight said as she crossed her hooves in a grump.
"I don't mean to brag dearies, but so far, I haven't felt scared once, not even a tiny bit. You really should all step up your game if you want to get under my skin." Rarity said with a rather ladylike smug.
"Well then, I guess I'm gonna have to amp up the ante myself aren't I??" Rainbow Dash said as she stretched herself.
"You mean you know a scary story Rainbow?" Applejack asked with suspicion.
"Hay yeah! This one though is real scary, and I mean REAL SCARY!" Rainbow said boastfully.
"Is it a real doozy of a scary story?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"It's a super duper doozy of a scary story Pinkie Pie, and this one doesn't have any lameflank headless ponies either!"
"Hey! I resent that!" Twilight said, still sitting there all grumpy.
"Well I'll be the judge of that Rainbow, because so far I haven't even been scared either." I said with confidence.
"That makes two of us then darling." Rarity added.
"Oh yeah? Well you two better get comfortable, because I ain't holding back for this one!" Rainbow said as she flashed a wicked grin on her face.
"Fire away Rainbow." I said to her.
"Alrighty everypony, tell me, have you ever heard of a place called 'Sapphire Lake'?" Rainbow Dash asked the room.
"Ah've never heard of it." Applejack replied.
"Me neither, but the name makes it sound like it's quite the relaxing getaway." Rarity said.
"Heh heh heh, well it was, but there is also an urban legend about that place, one that's pretty hairy and spooky."
"Whoa nelly, you ain't saying it's going to be one of 'those' sorts of stories sugercube?" Applejack said with a raised eyebrow.
"You guessed right cowgirl. Now then, this story begins on one dark moonless night at the lakeside..."
I tuned out to what Rainbow Dash was saying as I was deep in thought. Something about her story was very familiar to me, I knew something like this before, but where? Urban legend, a lake, and it's a scary story, where does it all connect? Then I vaguely heard her say something about a masked pony who lurked in the area with a chainsaw, that's when it all came to me at once, and I soon went wide eyed, and a bit of a frown, hoo boy this story was really going to go there wasn't it?
"The pony group all went to their beds, hoping to catch a good night's sleep. But, little did they know that the masked pony was lurking in the woods, waiting for the right moment to strike them. As the last light went off in the huts, the pony made it's move, silently yet strongly making it's way towards them." Rainbow said in a low voice.
"This is sounding like some cheesy horror tale instead of a scary one to me Rainbow." Twilight said with an eyebrow raised.
Rainbow shot her a glare, then carried on.
"Then lifting up it's chainsaw, it revved it right up and cut right through the door of one of the huts. All the ponies were woken up by the sudden noise being made, just as the figure burst right inside, smashing down the door. The poor ponies jumped out of their beds as the psycho lunged at them, carving up their beds into pieces, smash, chop, buzz, leaving a mess all over the place!"
"Goodness, what happened next?" Rarity asked, holding her hooves up to her muzzle.
"The ponies ran out of the hut in fright, alerting the others who were also in bed at that time, but the psycho was hot on their trail as it carved it's way out of the hut wall. Some of the ponies tried to fight back by using dropped obstacles and debris to slow it down, but it either cut right through them like it was nothing or just smashed them aside. Eventually the ponies found themselves corned by the cliff edge, with no where to run or hide now, the psycho closed in on them!"
"T-they managed to escape somehow, right?" Applejack said nervously.
"Heh, well... they tried, but THEN, the psycho lunged straight at them, chainsaw held up high, it swung down towards them, and then...!"
*BZZZZZZZZZ*
At that moment a loud buzzing sound ripped through the room making us all jump in surprise, it sounded just like a chainsaw... wait.
"HEYYOUGIRLSWANNASEEMYPARTYCHAINSAWANDHAPPYMASK!?" Pinkie yelled out as she wielded said chainsaw, which had a suspicious "red" stained bar and chain above her, whilst wearing a scary looking smiling clown mask.
"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEIEEEEEE!!!" Rarity, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle cried out in fright, the three of them hugging each other tightly in the middle of the room.
Rainbow Dash seemed to be just as surprised as the other girls, but it was hard to gauge if she was scared or not. As for me, I just sat there frozen, too stiff to move or scream. Pinkie turned her chainsaw off and lifted up her mask.
"Hehehe, sorry about that, but I always keep this party chainsaw around just for emergencies."
The three ponies in the middle were too stiff to move or talk, their eyes wider than dinner plates, Rainbow Dash however seemed angry as she got up and went up towards Pinkie.
"Pinkie Pie, as awesome as it was that you had that chainsaw around just for the right moment in my story, please tell us WHY in the love of Celestia would you even need such a thing for an emergency!?" Rainbow Dash said in a raised voice.
"Easy-peasy, if a cake is too big to cut through with a knife and needs a little extra heft, I turn to my chainsaw for that situation, cuts through them like hot butter." Pinkie said while lifting said weapon up for show.
"You mean that red stain on the bar is just cherry sauce after all?" I said with a raised eyebrow.
I watched the ponies expressions sink further from what I just said, Rarity seemed to look like she was gonna faint, Twilight had a hoof on her mouth while looking queasy, while Rainbow Dash looked at me thoroughly unamused.
"You just had to lower the tone, didn't you Anon?" Rainbow said.
"Hey, someone was gonna say something about it regardless, I figured I'd be the one to do it." I said with a shrug.
"Well in any case, ah think we all know how that story ends..." Applejack said with a sigh.
"A sticky bloody mess with meaty chunks?" I said bluntly.
"Oh my, ooaaahhh..." Rarity said as she fainted onto the ground.
"Anon! Don't you know how to be subtle when it's necessary!?" Twilight shouted at me.
"That was subtle! I could've said worse and still got the point across." I said, sticking my tongue out.
"That maybe so, but y'all know how faint Rarity gets when it comes to the more... 'harsh' parts of horror." Applejack said, fanning Rarity to try to wake her up.
"Yeah, she would faint if anypony were to mistake some ketchup on the floor for something else." Rainbow added.
"That's not helping, Rainbow." Twilight said to her with a frown.
"Whatever."
"Hey umm, can I put this chainsaw away now? It's starting to get a little heavy" Pinkie asked as she struggled to hold it up.
"Yes please Pinkie, I think this scary storytelling has gone off track enough." Twilight said as she trotted back to her seat.
"Wait, you saying we should stop?" Rainbow asked intently.
"Ohhh, I think so dears, I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Rarity said queasily, having regained conciseness.
"Awww filly! But we haven't even got to hear Anon's story yet. You did have one in mind didn't ya?" Rainbow asked me with a raised eyebrow.
"It's okay Rainbow, I didn't have a story in mind to tell anyway."
"Laaaaaammme!" Rainbow cried out in frustration.
"Do you girls think we should take another break for a bit?" Twilight asked the room.
"Oh heaven's yes! I need a little refresher after that story!" Rarity said as she headed on downstairs to the bathroom, no doubt to settle her stomach down.
"Ohhh yes, I could use another cupcake." Pinkie said as she bounced on over to the table.
"Ah thought y'all lost yer appetite earlier on?" Applejack asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"I did lose it earlier, but now it's come back to me after a little vacation." Pinkie said as she munched a cupcake down whole.
Applejack looked dumbfounded, but Rainbow just shrugged it off as she joined her friends over by the snack table, "That's Pinkie for you."
"Well I suppose I can help myself to something." I said as I went on over to join the others for the break.
After the break had finished, we decided that we would engage in various activities of our own choosing before winding down for bedtime. Rarity and Twilight were both at the makeshift salon doing makeovers, Pinkie Pie was busy engaging in a cake eating contest with Rainbow Dash, leaving me and Applejack on our own. We sat down next to each other near the middle table eating our share of food, not sure how to pass the time. I decided to start up a conversation by asking about something that I've been curious about for a while now, the Zap Apple harvest season.
"Is it true that the Zap Apple Harvest is coming up?"
"Sure is partner, the first sign will start any day now, the howl of the Timber wolves from the Everfree Forest."
"But most apples are already ripe and bucked by now aren't they? What makes these ones different?"
"Ah not all apples sugarcube, some varieties are only ripe in Fall, the Zap Apples are one of them, and these aren't like any other apples out there, they only last for a single day, if we don't pick them, they all disappear for another year."
"And the howls of the Timber wolves are the first sign of them coming?"
"That's right Anon.
"I remember when I first met those wooden freaks, they were anything but friendly."
"Eheheh... it's a good thang we found yer before you became their lunch."
"Only because I screamed so loud that you could hear it for over a mile away."
"Like a filly as well, might ah add?"
I frowned at her while Applejack started laughing.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up Apples, those things ruined my trousers, I felt so silly walking to your home after that."
"It could've been worse partner, you could've lost yer arms and legs, or even yer head."
"Yeah, and my butt hanging out the rear end of my torn trousers wasn't?"
"What's wrong with that? Y'all see our butts out all the time yet you never complain about it."
"Well, for you ponies it's about as normal as not wearing clothes, but for my kind, it's seen as humiliating and silly."
"Yeah, what with that polished rear end and all." Rainbow Dash called out, snickering loudly.
"Oh stuff yourself Rainbow." I said while crossing my arms.
"Oh I'll do plenty of that, and laugh at your expense!" She retorted with a smug expression, then going back to stuffing herself in the competition.
"Hmph!" I said grumpily.
"Don't take what she said to heart sugarcube, tell ya what, as soon as the Zap apples are ready, you may have the first batch on me." Applejack said.
I looked over at her with a surprise, "Wow really? Do you mean it? I mean I don't mind paying for it at all."
Applejack shook her head, "Neigh partner, you've been a big help to everypony ever since yer got here, ah feel you deserved it as a reward for the hard work you been putting into the orchid."
"She's right you know darling, why thanks to you I was able to get my advance orders of dresses up to Canterlot, ready just in time for the upcoming Gala, I was expecting to make multiple trips there, but you were able to carry all of them in just one trip." Rarity said under the heavy amount of mud mask.
"I'll add in as well that you've been a big help here at the library, I'd say your organizational skills are just as sharp as mine." Twilight said with a smile.
I was left stunned, I didn't know what to say at all, I mean I knew the ponies were often fairly generous when it came to giving away goods, but I didn't think they would go as far as to give away something as valuable as Zap Apples, such things only come about once a year.
"Well umm, gosh AJ, I'm grateful that you are willing to do that just for me."
"It's nothing partner, ah figured for yer first time seeing Zap Apples, you should be treated to an exclusive batch all to yourself." She said, smiling warmly.
"I don't know about you ponies, but I feel like having one more game before we go beddy-byes for the night." Pinkie said, clutching a small trophy in her hooves from beating Rainbow Dash in the eating contest, who was looking like she had just lost a fight.
"Another game? Well I don't feel up to doing anything physical, like pillow fights." Twilight said with a frown.
"Oh no no no no, I am not letting you ruin my pillows this time!" Rarity shouted, instinctively jumping over and covering the pillows on her bed.
"Yeahhhhh I'm not feeling up to such a thing tonight either Pinkie." Rainbow Dash said with a groan.
"No no no silly, I never said we'd do a pillow fight. I'm saying we should do a different game, one that'll leave us satisfied for tonight, especially after the last activity we just had didn't end on a good note." Pinkie said.
"If that's the case then I'm fine with that, but what sort of game would fit that description?" Twilight said, pondering.
"Hang on one second, Anon, you said you knew a few games from yer world right?" Applejack said looking up at me.
"Well yeah, I do know a few of them, but I don't know if any of them exist here in this world." I said.
"Would y'all mind sharing one of them with us? Ah figured since this is your first sleepover you should get to pick the last activity for tonight."
"Hey that's not a bad idea at all." Twilight said in agreement.
"Well I'm game if you both are, so tell us Anon, what game shall we play from your world?" Rainbow Dash said sitting up.
That was a tough question to answer, I did know a few games that I wanted to introduce them to to see if they heard of it, or at least understood how it worked. I racked through my head on what game to try, which one to try out. Then it hit me, I grew a smile on my face as I thought up the perfect game to try out, it was the only one they would get easily.
"I think I know just the game for us to try out." I said at last.
"Oh oh oh oh! What game is it? What game is it?" Pinkie said bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Tell me girls, have you ever heard of something called 'Scenes from a hat' before?" I asked them.
They all looked at me rather confused, except Pinkie who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Never heard of it, is it any good?" Rainbow Dash asked bluntly.
"Oh it's pretty good, and it can get funny too with some of the topics that we choose and have to describe."
"Topics? Is this game like charades?" Rarity asked curiously, still busy with her makeover.
"It is kinda like it yes, but I'll explain it more if we're all on board with this." I said to them.
"Well ah'm on board, it sounds different from our usual fare." Applejack said.
"Me too, I like trying out new games, especially if they're fun!" Pinkie said excitedly.
"So then, how does this game work?" Twilight asked.
"Well as the name implies, it involves a hat, and inside the hat are pieces of paper that all describe scenes, and we have to do our best to act them out anyway we can, we can either try to be accurate, or try to be as funny and out of context as possible. We're free to take as many turns as we want for each topic, ideally three turns to keep it fair, then the host of the scene decides which of the acts was the best one to them, and we get awarded a point for it, then whoever got the point in that round picks the next scene from the hat and the rest of us have to act it out and it goes on like that." I explained to them.
"Well colour me interested darling, this is an excuse for me to practice my refined acting skills" Rarity said as she finished cleaning off her makeup.
"Hah, I can certainly do some comedy with my bad acting." Rainbow said, proudly admitting as such.
"And if anypony needs anything out of context, I'm the perfect pony for the job." Pinkie said, again admitting to it.
"Whoa whoa everypony, hang on a minute, wouldn't you need to prepare all of this in advance beforehand, Anon?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Funny you should say that Twiggie, I actually did prepare ahead of time, I got a bunch of scenes that I wrote up on paper in my drawer, I did it all a while ago for fun." I said as I went on over to a drawer with my name on it,
"Anon! What have I told you about using that nickname publicly!?" Twilight said angrily, while Rainbow, Pinkie and Applejack snickered behind her.
"What do you mean by publicly, Twilight dear?" Rarity asked with ladylike intrigue, looking over at her.
"N-n-nothing, nothing at all!" Twilight said with a nervous smile, shifting her eyes back and forth, but the others just looked on with smirks.
"Sorry Twilight, slip of the tongue." I said, sticking said tongue out, opening up the drawer and taking out a whole stack of papers with writing on it, "But yes, I actually already prepared for this beforehand since I have been wanting to do this for a good while, now we just need a hat to use and we're ready to go."
"Hey, we can use Rarity's prince hat, that'll do the job." Pinkie said as she took the hat in question and laid on the small table in the middle.
"Well, at least that tacky old thing can be put to good use at last." Rarity said with disgust.
"We'll also need a little stage area for everyone to act out the topics." I said.
"We'll set up an improve one over here, while you go and get the hat ready." Rainbow Dash gestured.
I nodded at her, then proceeded to put the papers with all the topics on them into the hat, shuffling them about, after that was done I stood up and ready. Meanwhile Rainbow and Applejack cleared away a part of the room, adjusting the lights on the ceiling to shine on it, and have a few props out ready for use if necessary. It wasn't long before we were all ready to start the game.
"You know what, ah say we let Anon pick the first topic since this is his game." Applejack said.
"That's a good idea, you okay with that Anon?" Twilight said.
"Sure I'm fine with it, are you girls all ready?"
"Ready!" They all said in unison.
"Okay then, our first topic from the hat is... Weird things to see on a sign post." I said, picking the first card from the hat.
"Ohhh, that could be a lot of things." Pinkie said aloud.
"Well, I've got one in mind." Rainbow said with a grin.
"If any of you think of a response to this topic, you can just get up to the stage and act it out, no need to wait for a signal." I said with a smile.
"Oh, right!" Rainbow said as she trotted up to the stage, cleared her throat and then made a gesture as if she was reading a sign, "Caution, this sign has sharp edges."
There was a snicker from Pinkie pie, but everyone else seemed to be neutral.
"That'd be weird, but not weird enough for me." I said bluntly.
Rainbow Dash just blew a raspberry at me and walked off, while Pinkie Pie got up on the stage next.
"Help me, I'm trapped in a cake making factory!" Pinkie said as she acted like a prisoner making cakes.
This got a few decent giggles from the others, but Rarity still remained stoic as Applejack got up next.
"Stop, hammer time!" She said while gesturing.
"Bwahahaha, yes!" I said bursting out laughing, clapping to her performance.
"Whoa, that got him that time." Rainbow said watching on.
"Heh heh, ah actually saw that written once on a sign post a while back, ah wondered if it would come in handy someday." Applejack said as she walked off the stage while Rainbow made her way back up.
"You are entering Cloudsdale, no solid surface for 200 miles!" She said while hovering up, then acting as if she saw somepony else falling.
That got a few more laughs from the girls, though Twilight looked confused.
"But that's true, right?" She said, looking at everyone in confusion.
"Yeah, but think of the funny side of it, it's a bit of humour amongst us Pegasus ponies." Rainbow said as she walked off.
It took a few seconds for it all to sink in, then Twilight went wide eyed, while everyone else continued laughing.
"Ugh, typical pegasi humour." Twilight said crossing her arms.
"Lighten up booksmarts, it's just a joke." I said as Pinkie went up on the stage next.
"When the red light is flashing, get on down with the groove." Pinkie said next on stage, doing a little dance as Applejack and Rainbow Dash snickered.
"You know, I'm sure you can get arrested for that in Manehatton." Rarity said out loud, she then decided to trot up on the stage to have a go.
"Fire away madame, let's hear it." I called out to her.
"There is a sandwich up ahead, too bad you can't have it." She said while pretending to be eating it.
"HEY, that's really mean! I wanted that sandwich!" Pinkie Pie said, pouting hard.
"Too bad darling, the sign says no." Rarity said with a smirk as she walked off.
"Awww, first the cupcake and now this, I can never catch a break." Pinkie sighed as Twilight went on stage finally.
"If you are reading this, then you are lost in the Everfree Forest." Twilight said while acting scared.
"Yeeeaaah I would not want to be lost in there ever, how Zecora doesn't get lost I'll never know." Rainbow said in thought.
"If y'all can read this, then you've already crashed into this here sign." Applejack said as she clumsily imitated said gesture.
"Hah, I can think of one pony who would fall for that." I said clapping more.
"Yeah... that's no mystery at all." Rainbow said as she thought of a certain bubble headed pony.
"I think that's all for this round, now then which one was the best." I said while deep in thought.
I wasn't gonna lie that this round was rather tame, there was one or two funny ones in there, but yeah this was pretty much just a warm up for what was coming up next, and I was hoping they would start digging into each other as well since that was always one of the highlights from that show, at least in my view.
"You know, as funny as Applejack's hammer time was, I think Rarity's is the winner, because that would be the weirdest thing I'd ever see on a sign, not to mention mean as well."
"Yay! Anon is sticking up for me!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"I don't know if you are saying that in an ironic way or not, but either way thank you Anon, first point to Rarity!" She said as she hopped up an down a little.
"Ahh ponyfeathers, ah thought ah had it in the bag." Applejack said, looking disappointed.
"Well since Rarity won, she gets to pick the next topic from the hat." I said gesturing to the hat in question.
Rarity went on over to the hat, sneering at it a little before using her magic to pick out a topic, "Ahem, this next topic is... Unlikely things to read in a greetings card."
"Ohhh this is gonna be fun." I said with a wide grin on my face.
"And ah think this is gonna be trouble" Applejack said in return as she watched Twilight go up on stage.
"Congratulations on passing your grade, or you would've if you actually finished your homework." She said, to a few chuckles.
"Hah, good one, but how about this?" Rainbow said as she flew onto the stage, "Congratulations, you won nothing."
Rarity snickered loudly, "Simple and blunt, I find that rather amusing!"
"My turn! You are invited to a party, a farewell party, yes, it's your funeral!" Pinkie said next as she pretended to do a sad violin pose.
That got plenty of laughs going round, poor Rainbow was keeled over in laughter, Applejack was hiding her face in her hoofs while visibly belly laughing, while Twilight and Rarity were in fits in their seats, even Pinkie couldn't hold back her giggles and was laughing too.
"Pffft hahahaha, that's a late greetings card if I ever saw one!" I said while leaning back in absolute laughter.
Saying that made all the ponies laugh even harder, to the point where they were visibly tearing up in their eyes. After we let things calmed down after a minute of laughter, Applejack went up on stage next, I was curious what sort of hitters she could pull out for this one.
"Ahem, Congratulations on getting hitched, hitched to a post that is, y'all are under arrest." She said while making a typical policemare's gesture.
"Hahahaha, if I was a cop I'd so do something like that!" Rainbow said while laughing hard.
"It ain't too late to change careers now sugarcube." Applejack said with a smirk.
"Maybe in my next life I'll do that, anyhoo." Rainbow said as he went up on stage next, "Sorry for your loss, but at least we'll be getting something out of it."
"Ahahaha, ohhh no!" I yelled out as I burst out laughing again.
"Wow, that's pretty dark RD." Pinkie said with a surprised look.
"Is that a bad thing?" Rainbow asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"Not at all!" Pinkie said with a smile.
"Well in any case I do appreciate some darker humour, it helps get things off our chests." Rarity said.
"I think I'll take a turn now." I said as I made my way up on the stage.
"Ohhh I wonder what he'll say." Pinkie said with enthusiasm.
I acted like I was ill and reading a card, "Get well soon, yes we know it's terminal, but they didn't have one for that."
"Ooooooohhh" All the ponies went, while Applejack looked a little uncomfortable.
"Umm Anon? That's a little too close to home for me." She said, looking at me with a sad expression, silently pawing her front hoof on the ground.
"Ohhh umm, sorry AJ, I know that subject is a little too touchy for you." I said, trying to defuse the awkwardness.
"Hey hey, it's all in good fun, I mean he didn't meant that at all, right?" Pinkie asked with a hopeful expression.
"Not at all, I said it in good fun, not in a mean spirited way at all." I replied.
"See? He is a good egg after all Applejack." Pinkie said as she patted her Apple friend.
"Well, ah suppose ah can see the funny side of that joke, even with the implications." Applejack said, smiling a little again as Twilight took her turn next.
"Roses are red, Violets are blue, I'm locked up in Tartarus, and thinking of you." She said as she pretended to write a letter with a wicked grin on her face.
"Ohhh I'd HATE to get a card like that." Rarity said, shifting her eyes around.
"I think we all can agree with that." Twilight said as she left the stage and I took her place.
"Sorry that you are leaving, just kidding we're celebrating!" I said while pretending to pop a bottle of champagne.
"Bwaahahaha!" Rainbow said as she feel to the ground in stitches, "Ohhh filly, that is so bad!"
"Pffftt, I have to a-admit that as bad as that one is, I can't h-help but find it rather amusing-hahaha." Rarity said, trying very hard not to burst out laughing herself.
"Shucks Anon you sure have some pretty heavy hitters up your sleeve don'tcha?" Applejack said, sounding impressed.
"Just you wait, I got plenty left to dish out." I said with a smirk.
"Well I think that's enough from this round, now then let's see..." Rarity said as she went deep in thought
This round had some pretty good ones out the gate now that everyone had gotten warmed up over it, I was confident that I was going to win this round, or so I thought.
"Hmmm... I'm going to go for Pinkie's funeral party, it's just such an unlikely card to receive, that and it got top marks for comedy." Rarity said.
"Weeee! I won a round!" Pinkie said as she leaped up into the air.
"Shoot, I really thought I had it that time." I said, surprised that I didn't get a point.
"Well it's still open season everypony, pick the next topic Pinkie." Rainbow said.
"Gladly!" She shouted as he bounced over to the hat and picked out the next topic, "Okie dokie, the next topic is, The worst thing to read about in the newspaper."
"Hoo boy, this is gonna be harsh, ah just know it." Applejack said thoughtfully as the others snickered around her.
"Oh I'll go first this time." Rainbow said as she trotted onto the stage, "Fashion disaster at the Grand Galloping Gala, Suri's dresses fall apart at the flanks."
That got plenty of laughs, but surprisingly, Rarity laughed much harder than normal, almost as if she liked it too much.
"Well I wouldn't call that the worst thing I'd ever read, considering how I feel about that particular fashionista." She said with a hint of disgust as she went up on stage next.
"You and me both, sister." The others ponies said in unison as Applejack went up next.
"Freak weather accident in Baltimare, yellow coloured snow falls around streets as locals express disgust." She said as she looked around in disgust at the imagined sight.
"Hah!" I said as I chuckled at the amusing image, it seemed my humour was starting to rub off on her.
"Yuck! Ugh I wouldn't be surprised if that did happen once considering how filthy that city can get!" Rainbow said with a harsh frown, she seemed to know exactly what the joke was about.
"Umm, about the snow, it's not frozen apple cider is it?" Twilight asked naively to everyone, but this made us all look at her with an expression that can be read as "seriously?", Rainbow in particular was glaring hard at her.
"Seriously Twilight? Seriously!? You don't get it at all?!"
"What!? No I don't get it at all, what is it?" Twilight asked, looking very confused.
"Ugghh... let's just say, the less said about it the better." Rainbow said, crossing her hooves while looking away disgusted.
Unfortunately for her, I couldn't pass up this chance to "rain" on her parade as they say, and so with a cheeky grin on my face, I got up next to take my turn.
"And in other news today a rain depraved village was blessed with a miracle, a 'golden shower' if you will." I said as I gestured reading a paper.
"AAUUUGGGH! Seriously Anon, what the buck is wrong with you!?" Rainbow said, staring intense daggers right at me.
"Ohhh no no no no, that's just so gross!" Pinkie said as she tried to look grossed out, but was also visibly giggling too.
"Whoa nelly, and ah thought my joke was bad, that's just so much worse!" Applejack said, trying to control her belly laugh.
"Sorry Rainbow, but I couldn't resist 'raining' on your day as they say" I said to her, still sporting that cheeky grin.
"Oh ha ha ha ha, laugh it up human, you won't be laughing later on." Rainbow said with huff.
"I still don't get what's going on about all this 'yellow' stuff, I mean what's so bad about it?" Twilight said, so naive about what I was implying.
"I'll tell you later, now let's get on with the show." I said as I took my seat.
"Gladly darling, we should get off from this vile topic right away." Rarity said in disgust as she walked up next to take her turn, "Big news, Apple stocks fell rapidly as ponies prefer Strawberries instead!" She said while gesturing.
"Ohhh, that is harsh!" Rainbow said while laughing.
"HEY! That's a load of bull spit and you know it!" Applejack shouted, looking really riled up.
"I know darling, that's why the topic is the worst thing to read about in the papers, I'd be shocked to see that in there." Rarity said with an innocent smile, but it did nothing to soothe Applejack.
"Me too, I don't know what I'd do without your tasty apples." Pinkie said as she munched on said apple.
"Well it is true that not everypony is going to like them, heck one of my old friends is not a fan of them at all, she prefers oranges instead." Twilight said as Applejack glared at her.
"Yeah, it's just a fact that not everything is apples." Rainbow said nonchalantly.
"Grrrr, ah swear y'all are just trying to soil my mood hard right now." Applejack said angrily while bearing her teeth.
"Relax Applejack, it's all in good fun, but... if you really want to, you should try to one up on her." I said to her with a smile.
"Uh, what now?" Applejack said, looking at me confused.
"What he's saying is, you need to up your game Applejack if you want to get even with Rarity." Rainbow said bluntly.
"Ohh! Well then, ah'll take my turn next if y'all don't mind." Applejack said in a huff, walking to the stage, "Ahem, latest trend! Ponies prefer brown and green for their dresses instead of pink!" Applejack said as she acted out like she was wearing said dress.
"AUGH! Such an awful, terrible, worst possible combination ever! I dread to even imagine it!" Rarity said in disgust, while Rainbow just snickered.
"Heheheh, how do you like them apples Rar?" Applejack with with a smug smile.
"Touche, Applejack" Rarity said in return as she watched Rainbow take her turn next.
"Terror in the skies! Pegasi attempts to put out a fire accidentally spread Parasprites all over the place!" She said as she looked around in panic.
All of the ponies groaned hard in disgust, Pinkie in particular.
"Hehehe, that's what you get for the yellow weather jokes, you're welcome." She said as she went back to her seat.
"Ummm, what is a Parasprite may I ask?" I said with an open mind.
"You don't wanna know, trust me, it caused all of us a real headache back when it happened." Pinkie Pie said with a frown.
"Ah right, that bad I see." I said, watching Twilight take her turn next.
"News report about a hairless animal in the area, turned out to be just Anon in the woods." Twilight said with a giggle.
A few ponies laughed at that, but I was just smirking, so she wanted to play that game huh, well she's asked for it.
"So you wanna play that game huh, Twiggie? Well you asked for it now." I said as I stood up to take my turn.
"Hoo boy, you've done it now Twi." Applejack said.
"Come on, what's the worst thing he could possibly say short of offending me?" Twilight said with a confident pose.
"Ahem, awful tragedy strikes as firemen carry out nationwide burning of all books!" I said as I imitated setting a pile on fire with a match.
"Ooooohhhh." Everypony said as they all had wide eyes, Twilight however looked like she had just witnessed a murder happen right in front of her.
"You were saying, princess?" Rainbow said to her.
"T-t-that's t-terrible! W-why would anypony even do such a... blasphemous thing!?" She said in a half shouting half shocked tone.
"Yes I know it is terrible, but you know what's funny though? That's from a real story in my world, a story about people burning stories." I said, smiling at the irony of that statement.
It took less than a minute for that to sink in, then as soon they made the connection in their heads, they all started chuckling.
"Hey you're right, that is pretty funny." Twilight said as she laughed, seeing the irony of that statement.
"Hehehe I mean why make a story about burning stories, that's so silly." Pinkie said as she tried to control her belly laugh, "I think just for that Anon, you win this round."
"Wow really? Woohoo!" I said, fist pumping in the air.
"Aww come on! No fair!" Rainbow said angrily.
"Relax Rainbow, we still have plenty of time to get a point." Twilight said, still itching to score one for herself.
"Well then, I'll just go and pick a new topic for us to do." I said as I made my way to the hat to pick the next topic.
I lost track of time from how much fun we were having with the topics, the jokes, and the gags that we were acting out as part of the game. Of course we did end up doing plenty of ribs at each others expense, but we kept things under control and never let it get out of hand. That being said, it wasn't long before we started to feel sleepy and tired, the moon was now shining into the bedroom from outside, the storm having cleared up while we were playing. As we finished what we decided to be the last round of the night, I glanced up at the clock on the wall, my heavy eyes widening in surprise.
"Holy shoot everyone, it's nearly 11 o'clock!" I said.
"Whoa really? Dang, we really lost track of time this time..." Applejack said sleepily.
"I know, this has been the most fun game that I... have ever played." Pinkie said as she yawned.
"Yeah... I need to hit the hay to recharge my awesome tanks for tomorrow." Rainbow said as she made her way over to her sleeping bag.
"Ah still can't believe that you won in the end Rarity, ah mean, ah didn't take you to have such muddy mind." Applejack said to Rarity.
"Ahahaha, well Applejack my dear, I maybe a lady in appearance, but even I have my impulses and dark mindsets, especially after hanging out with certain circles in Manehatton, oh and Anon of course." Rarity said as she skipped over to her inflatable mattress bed.
"Well I think it's been a very exciting and enjoyable game, thank you for introducing it to us Anon, we should do it again one day." Twilight said as she trotted over to her sleeping bag.
"I agree, I should spread the news about this when I next host a party, I bet it'll catch on fast." Pinkie said as she put on her nightcap.
"Well I know one thing, next time I'm gonna win." Rainbow said as she let out a long yawn.
"I'm sure we'll be playing again at some point, but until then, we should all get some well deserved sleep for the night." I said as I made my way up to Twilight Sparkles bed next to the window.
"Ah agree, ah'm pooped and ready to dream right now." Applejack said as she yawned a proper drawl, prepping her sleeping bag.
We all took our time to set up the beds for the night, then we all took turns going to the bathroom to take care of any last minute things such as brushing teeth, tying up hair, or having a last minute glass of water. Rarity ended up taking the longest out of anyone since she insisted on doing up her hair properly and more so, while Rainbow didn't bother to do any of that at all, instead she went straight to sleep before the rest of us. As for me, I took the second longest out of us since I had to get changed into my pyjamas, one of the few things that survived my accidental trip to Equestria, I kept the door locked so as to prevent the girls from peeking on me while I change, but I could swear that I heard a voice or two behind the door, not to mention the uncanny feeling of being spied on through the keyhole, I have a pretty good idea on who it was too. Anyway before long we had all finished preparing for the night, then we all made our ways to our beds, climbing into the sheets, ready for a good night's sleep.
"Well everypony, it;s been a fun and enjoyable night, sleep well and have good night's sleep, good night!" Twilight said as she tucked herself in.
"Good night!" Everypony said to her as they all tucked in for the night, I followed suit and tucked myself in too.
I silently listened to all of the ponies going to sleep one by one, as for me, I laid there on the pillow in Twilight's bed, thinking about the events that happened at the sleepover tonight. At the beginning when they first invited me to attend, I didn't know how this sleepover was going to turn out considering my previous stance towards it, but now, after taking part in it and experiencing it first hand, I can honestly say that... I had really been missing out, it turns out they do way more at these sleepovers than I originally believed, I mean heck they even allowed me to host a game from my own world too, not something I had thought about ever. Looking back on it all right now, tonight was a heck of lot of fun, I had fun messing with the ponies during Truth or Dare or the recent Scene's from a Hat, we gorged on all the food and drink we had, I even kinda enjoyed the scary stories, even if it didn't all go as they had planned. I suppose the highlight of the evening for me personally was my epic showdown with Rainbow Dash, even if I did end up losing in the end I won her respect, and that's something I can be proud of no matter what.
There is more that I could think off, but I could feel my eyes getting heavier and my yawns getting more common, so with a turn of my head towards the window, I took a last gaze up at the moon, shining brightly among the stars as usual, the Princess of the night does a stellar job raising it up every night, I wish that I could witness it just once myself. The last thing I remember is a smile on my face as I started drifting off to sleep, well it would've been right away if Rainbow Dash wasn't such a loud snorer, seriously does that pony not know how to pipe it down? Anyway, after a bit I was able to finally drift off into a deep sleep, who would've thought sleepovers would be so much fun.