"But I'm alright... as long as my dear sister Sweetie Belle is..." Rarity finished her story.
"Where is she now?" Noir asked.
"At home, sleeping. Pennywise hasn't visited again all this time, so she said she would be safe."
"Alright. Who wants to go next?" He asked anypony.
"Ah do." The mare in the Stetson said.
-----Point of View: Applejack-----
One day, Ah was outside th' farm, applebuckin' the trees. After finishin' one, Ah started t'go to another one, then Ah tripped on somethin'. Ah figured it was a rock, so after gettin' up, Ah took a look't it. Looked more like a rotten apple. Ah didn't wan' it so close to our farm, so Ah picked it up, an' threw it real far. Noddin' with pride, Ah continued t'walk to the next tree.
Ah tripped again.
Ah took a look't it, it was another rotten apple. Ah looked to the ground, mainly to the direction the tree was at. Ah didn't see any after this one, so Ah threw the apple away, jest like the other one. Ah turned to face the tree, and walked to it... an' Ah tripped a third time.
Ah was just mad an' confused now. Ah saw there wasn't any rotten apples after that one, so why was there another one? Ah looked aroun' t'see if anypony was playin' tricks on me. And then Ah saw that Pennywise clown y'all talked about. He was sittin' on a tree stump that weren't there before, examinin' a rotten apple, jus' like the other three, then throwin' it away, as if he wasn't aware of mah presence...
Ah could tell he was, 'cause he turned his head t'look at me. His smile turned to a grin, an' he waved his hoof at me.
"Hi. Nice accent," He said, "By the way... lovely apples, I must say."
Ah scowled at him. Ah heard some sorta crack from mah bag carryin' th' apples, as if somethin' was openin' inside it. Ah looked in, an' some of them were revealed t'have things inside 'em. There was a bloody eye, cockroaches, tongues, some sorta weird pink paw with nails, an' a beak, openin' and closin' as if it were tryin' to breathe.
Ah ran back into th' farmhouse. Ah felt ah was still a bit tired, an' ah was havin' some sorta daymare or somethin'. Ah heard to voices come from upstairs.
"Howdy, sir. What can we do ya for?" Came Applebloom's voice. "We don' have extra make-up if that's what yer needin'."
Make-up? Ah was dreadin' the fact it was probable he went and visited mah sister in th' time I was occupied with mah ruined apples.
"Heh, heh, you're a funny kid," Speak'a the devil... Literally... "I came here for some food."
Ah wasn' gonna let him eat mah sister, ah started gallopin' upstairs. As Ah opened th' door, Ah was just'n time t'see Applebloom backin' away from that clown. Ah rushed at him, and went t' applebuck him in th' flank. He stepped forward, and looked back at me, with that monstrous look on 'is face.
Its' eyes started glowin' as his grin got wider. Ah couldn't look away. Mah chest started gettin' more n' more painful, as if mah heart was gonna explode. Ah was then knocked over by somepony. Ah clutched mah chest, and looked back t'where Pennywise was, but he was gone.
"Sis..." Ah heard Applebloom's voice whisper, "You okay?"
"B-been better..." Ah replied.
"Ditto..." She responded.
Ah looked back at her... and the devilish monster'd taken a bite at mah sister's foreleg...
-----
"The doctors say that she'll survive... the bite didn't take a chunk of it at least..." Applejack said, finishing her story.
"As long as she's okay, I guess..." Noir Shade said, rubbing his head in his hooves, feeling very stressed after all the stories so far.
"I guess that leaves us with Fluttershy..."
"O-oh... U-u-um... ...Okay..." She began her story, now trying her best not to stutter.
-----Point of View: Fluttershy-----
It was me and Rarity's Spa Day, the time we use to speak to each other while making use of the treatments at the Ponyville Spa. We were in the hot springs, and she was just finished telling me the story she'd told to you, as my encounter had happened after hers.
"O-oh my... that's so horrible..." I murmured in shock.
"It is..." She replied. "I'm so worried about Sweetie Belle, despite her insistence that she will be fine... maybe I'm starting to realize more of how precious life can be..."
"W-well... it seems to be over now, at least..." I said, trying to keep things calm, before moving to the bad news... which... I probably should have said first... oh, dear... I'll just... continue... "I-it's not just you, though... I was told by Twilight that had happened to her. S-she also told me that Lyra, Bon-Bon, Pipsqueak, Featherweight, Roseluck and Snowflake have encountered him..." I didn't mention that Pinkie had told me what happened to her, because I Pinkie Promised not to tell anypony, since Pinkie wanted to tell them when she was ready.
"Oh, dear... will it ever end?"
"I hope so..."
"...I can't take it anymore, I need to check on Sweetie Belle!" Rarity said desperately. "You don't mind my leaving, do you?"
"Oh, n-not at all... do what you need to do..." I replied, nodding.
"Thank you... I promise I shall stay all the way the next time! Goodbye, Fluttershy." She said, before rushing out of the water, and getting most of the place a bit wet...
I relaxed in the springs for a moment, before getting out. I went to go and have a shower. After turning it on, I stood under it, washing my coat and my mane. I could hear the shower running, but it had stopped pouring the water on me. I looked up, and noticed it extended... I walked under it again, not taking advantage of it still running, I was still wondering why it wasn't where it was before...
"It's okay, Flutters..." I heard a distorted voice, coming from the drain. I gasped, immediately heading to the wall.
"Hi. I just wanted to say... Hellloo." I thought I heard him mutter something about others not usually running this fast, then chuckling to himself. "Hot enough up there for ya, is it? Maybe I should try the springs!" As he was saying this, he was lifting the drain, a white gloved hoof opening it, and throwing it to the side, so there was a little circular hole in the middle of the room.
"This is a little inconvenient... just hold on, while I make a few... adjustments," the voice continued, with two hooves gripping the hole, and pushing it, making it longer, and wider. The source of the hooves pulled himself up, and... I think it's fairly obvious who appeared...
"Here I am, Flutters!" Pennywise exclaimed. I squeaked in fear. He grinned, and rested his head on his hoof.
"There's no good in trying to run, Scaredy-mare. I'll be there, even in your nightmares!" He said, with a terrifying amount of sinister cheerfulness.
"So I'll see you in your dreams! Oh, and come back any time. If I may make a suggestion... bring some friends with you. Seven's a party!" He said, grinning, before his eyes had changed to orange, and his teeth became sharp spikes, as he growled and laughed at me. I rubbed my eyes, to see if I was just imagining things... for a second, I thought I was... he was gone.
I sighed, relieved. But I was very curious in this state. So I gingerly tip-toed to the hole-turned-chasm, and looked down it... it was pitch black down th-
"AGH!" I screamed, stepping back, as fire suddenly blasted out of the chasm. I heard a very familiar roar emerge from it.
It was... a...
"A d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-DRAGON!" I screamed, galloping out of the spa quickly, not bothering to see anypony's reactions to my wet coat and mane.
I managed to get home, where I stopped at the door and closed it behind me, looking back at Angel Bunny, my favourite pet, who looked relieved to see me, and saddened of something that had happened.
"Angel Bunny? What's wrong?"
Angel made a motion that meant I was to follow him. He went out of the door, and I followed. We found some of the other woodland animals cradling injured children, and some burying them...
I fainted.
-----
Fluttershy looked down at the ground after the story was finished, and did her best to stop herself from crying.
*Knock Knock*
"...Er... who's at the door?" Noir asked.
A head poked through the door, belonging to a blue stallion with pure blue eyes and a short brown mane.
"Err. Hi. I came to report someth-" He said, before noticing the Elements of Harmony, momentarily pausing, probably from not expecting them to be there, before looking back at Noir. "Err... sorry. I'll come back later."
"Wait just a moment," Noir said. "Are you here because you believe you saw Pennywise?"
"Y-yeah. My name is Live Light..."
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AUTHOR'S NOTES
To those who have seen my other fic, The Recluse, this is a different fic from that one, and the events from this version will be entirely different than that of The Recluse. Though, it may be referenced.
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End of chapter...