//------------------------------// // Scarlet Rain (Part One) // Story: Stories for a Sleepover // by Star Plasma //------------------------------// Chapter Six: Scarlet Rain (Part One) After the ponies in the library had settled down after Applejack's story, Rainbow Dash had a strong urge to tell her story next. Her story was sure to make the others wish this sleepover had never even happened. "Anypony want to make any sudden interruptions before I tell my story?" asked Rainbow Dash while glaring at Pinkie Pie. The pink party pony ignored the rainbow pegasus, the bowl of popcorn that she had been plowing through still seeming untouched. "Wait a second, Rainbow." Twilight said. Twilight looked over to Spike. "Spike, go make some macaroni like the good assistant you are." Spike grumbled un-contentedly, but got up and started for the kitchen anyway. The purple dragon climbed on top of the counter to open the cabinet. "Twilight and her magic..." Spike mumbled unhappily, reaching up to open the cabinet. The dragon opened the cabinet clumsily, but that was nothing out of the usual. What was unusual was the glowing pair of eyes staring at him. "AAGH!" Spike screamed, falling off of the counter and face-planting on the hard floor. Luckily he was covered in thick scales, so it didn't hurt him too badly. Pinkie Pie rushed in at the sound of Spike's landing on the floor. She stared at him for a second, then looked to the open cabinet. "That's where I left them!" Pinkie gasped, bouncing up onto the counter. She pulled out a pair of glowing googly eyes. "Huh, guess I must've left them here when I got the popcorn out..." The rest of Pinkie's words faded as Spike's mind was invaded by thoughts that should not have been there. He imagined that the poofy pink mane had caught on fire, and the pink pony was rolling around on the floor, desperately trying to put out the fire. Spike began to laugh hysterically, but then shook his head as he realized how bad those thoughts were. Pinkie was staring at the dragon, confused. Before Spike could say anything, the pony dashed out of the kitchen. Spike climbed back on top of the counter and pulled out the macaroni. Spike set the box on the counter and jumped down. He pulled a large pan out of the cabinet and set it by the sink. Spike filled the pan up and then struggled to carry it all the way over to the stove. He set it on the burner when Twilight's voice called to him. "SPIIIIKE! Rainbow Dash is starting her story now!" Spike rushed out of the kitchen, making the silly mistake of forgetting to turn the burner on, as well as forgetting to pour the macaroni in the pot. * * * Princess Celestia and Princess Luna awaited the beginning of the next story eagerly. Some odd noise was bothering the dark princess' ears. "...Tia, do you hear that horrible noise?" Luna asked her sister. Princess Celestia stepped away from the window and listened for the noise Luna was talking about. After a few long seconds, Celestia stepped forward and smacked the back of Luna's head with a hoof gently. "You want to know what that noise is, Luna?" Celestia asked. The white unicorn gestured for silence as the noise started up again. WOOSH! WOOSH! Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "...nope." Celestia facehoofed, and resisted the urge to smack her sister once again. "That's called the WIND, Luna!" Celestia yelled, exasperated. Luna tilted her head confusedly. "I don't think so, Tia. The wind is usually constant. This is more of a spastic beating sound..." Luna persisted. "Just forget about it! We're going to miss the story!" Celestia yelled angrily, moving back toward the window. Luna looked after her sister and listened for the sound again. Sure as sugar, Luna continued to hear the sound from earlier. Luna swung her head toward her sister angrily. The royal white alicorn stood in front of the window with a silly smile on her face. Luna looked down frustratedly and shed a few tears. Why doesn't she ever listen to me? * * * Back inside of the library, everypony (and dragon) had settled down to listen to Rainbow's story. "Are you SURE you're not going to interrupt anymore?!" Rainbow asked Pinkie. Pinkie sighed. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie responded, going through the motions of a Pinkie Pie swear. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in approval. "Great! Anypony else?" asked the pegasus, looking at each of her friends directly before continuing. When no objections were voiced, Dash took that as her cue to continue. "Okay! Now, there was once this awesome pegasus pony named Crimson Wake. Crimson Wake went out to play with his friends one day when something went terribly wrong..." * * * "CRIMSON!!!" called a female pony's voice. Crimson Wake was startled out of his sleep when his name was called. The dark red pegasus pony sprung to his hooves and looked around for the speaker. "CRIMSON!!!" the voice called again. Crimson scanned the area around him. Yep, just like the outdoor-loving colt he was, he had fallen asleep in the park... again. "OH MY CELESTIA, CRIMSON!!!" Crimson shook his head. Where was this voice coming from? Suddenly Crimson heard a loud screeching sound from above his head. Oh. There she was. Crimson's friend Dive Bomb swooped out of the sky, nearly crashing into the former. Crimson rolled and dodged his playful friend. Dive Bomb ascended back into the sky after missing Crimson. "Nice try. Divey!" Crimson called after his friend, leaping into the sky for revenge. Crimson quickly reached his desired altitude, then looked around for Dive Bomb. It was a pretty sunny day, but a few clouds were dotted here and there. Crimson scanned the skies for his friend. He saw a glimpse of tail dart behind a small cloud. "Gotcha!" he called, flying full speed for Dive Bomb. Crimson approached the cloud rapidly, leaving the blood-red trail he was named for behind him. Crimson experienced the feeling of having his face filled with mist as he broke through the cloud. "Ha! I'm over here!" called Dive Bomb from somewhere behind Crimson. Crimson wished he could stop for a moment. If Dive Bomb was behind him, who was in front of him? Crimson had no time to brake as he crashed through the cloud full-speed into the pony on the other side. "Oof!" gasped the pony that had just taken Crimson's weight in the gut. Crimson shook his head to clear the stars, then backed away a bit and looked at the pony. Crimson was about to apologize, but forgot all about manners when he saw this pony. It was a stallion, with a massive build and large wings. His fur was a night-black color, and his mane was a dark purple. This was all very well; the thing that made Crimson freeze was the eyes. If there was a word to describe the horror Crimson felt when he looked at these eyes, it would be against the law to say it. "What're you lookin' at, kid?!" the stallion asked. Crimson still could not speak. The irises were a bright red, and the whites of his eyes could not be seen. The pupils... the pupils were the darkest color imaginable, and Crimson din't doubt that if you were to stare at them for long enough, you would end up in a completely different dimension. "Uh..." "Spit it out!" the stallion said irritably. I'm sorry... "Uh... nice eyes." Crimson blurted, covering his mouth with his hoof as soon as it closed. Much to his surprise, the stallion gave a good-natured laugh. "Boy, lemme tell ya something. Not a day goes by without somepony not starin' at these eyes, ya know that? I'm honestly not surprised you had the audacity to ask that. Most ponies take one look at these mean suckers and either bolt for the closest door or just get as far away from me as possible. I'm kinda glad ya decided to ask, kiddo." Crimson was surprised at the friendliness that this stallion was showing. Crimson waited for more words to come, but apparently it was his turn to talk. He wasn't exactly good with long, awkward silences. "Um... were you born like that?" The large stallion laughed again. "Of course not! Would you like to hear the story of how I got these here eyes?" the stallion asked. Crimson nodded his head eagerly. "Well okay then. One day, when I was but a mere col... wait." Crimson froze with fear as the big stallion tilted his head sideways, making his already unnatural eyes take on an appearance that was even more menacing. His voice had also taken on an eerie prospect. "You...haven't...even...asked...my...name..." he rasped hypnotically. Before he could react, the stallion grabbed Crimson's neck in his hooves and brought Crimson's face up to his. "So...you really like these eyes...I can...see it." continued the stallion. "Look...into my...eyes..." he finished. As much as Crimson tried to resist, he felt himself obeying the stallion's desires. No matter how badly he wanted to look away from the eyes, he could not bring himself to do it. "I must...warn you...these eyes...come with a price...you...you shall carry my burden..." * * * Meanwhile, Dive Bomb had begun to wonder what was taking so long. Crimson had disappeared behind that cloud a long time ago. Dive Bomb would have checked on him earlier, but she was afraid that he was planning a surprise attack on her. Dive Bomb's thoughts were interrupted by an ear-piercing scream. No longer caring if Crimson was planning an attack or not, Dive Bomb propelled herself straight toward the cloud where Crimson had disappeared behind. Crimson writhed in pain as he was dragged into the hypnotic stare of the eyes. He could feel Crimson going away. He could feel his eyes burning. He could tell. The strange mystery stallion no longer had the hypnotic eyes. Crimson knew. He knew that those eyes were now his, and that nothing good could come out of them.