"Aaaand check," Twilight spoke as she checked off the next item on her check list.
"I'm so glad we decided to have a sleepover again, darling. This night has been so much fun so far," cooed Rarity as she walked over to the window. Although it was closed, the library's window pressed in slightly from the sheer force of the wind. It had seemed like the storm was going to last the whole night.
"Mighty strong storm we're havin', ain't it? Ah heard Cloudsdale had to make this storm three times what they had planned on due to the lack of rain lately," Applejack spoke to Rarity as they both peered out the window. The thick trees seemed to bend like straws from the sheer pressure of the wind; the occasional lightning strike would illuminate the dark background of Ponyville.
"How does it look out there, girls?" Twilight asked as she approached them.
Applejack and Rarity both displayed worried looks on their faces.
"Well, ya can see that it's gettin' pretty bad. Ah hope Granny, Big Mac, and Apple Bloom are alright," the farmpony spoke softly, almost having her voice drowned out by the large drops of rain striking the roof and walls of the library. Applejack's frown slowly crept up into a smile.
"'Course Ah I know that we've been through worse. Ah'm sure the farm'll be alright."
Applejack gulped.
'Ah hope.' she thought to herself.
"Of course they will be, Applejack, and...Well, I'm certain that Sweetie and my parents are fine as well, but I cannot say that I do not fret for them. Luckily, I know that my parents are smart and they wouldn't let a silly storm get the best of them," Rarity assured herself and her friends with a sheepish smile.
A bright flash came from outside the window.
BOOM
The sudden shaking of the treehouse frightened everypony in the room and caused them to jump.
"Girls?! Are you still in here?!" yelled Twilight as it became so dark that she couldn't see her hoof in front of her face. She then lit the tip of her horn with an illumination spell, casting a pale light over her friends.
"Twilight, what on earth as that?!" asked a shaking and terrified Rarity.
Twilight slowly walked over to where the edge of library table stood and levitated a lantern from underneath the cluttered books that lay underneath the table. The unicorn quickly flicked the switch on the lantern and brought it to life, illuminating four enchanted fireflies from within the lantern.
"I think a bolt of lightning hit the library and knocked the power out," Twilight spoke as she levitated the lantern to the middle of the room and sat it down on the floor. Rarity and Applejack slowly made their way over to the center of the library. Twilight sat down, flustered. "Great, this is just what we needed. Now the sleepover's ruined!" yelled Twilight in frustration.
"C'mon Twi', don't be silly," Applejack told her comfortingly. "We can still have fun; we can just gather 'round and tell stories 'till the pegasi fix the power."
"Yes, there's no reason to be upset, darling. It's just like I said earlier, there is no reason a silly storm should get the better of any of us," Rarity spoke.
Twilight seemed to be down, until her eyes widened as she had an epiphany.
"I know, we could tell scary stories like we did last time, since Spike is visiting Canterlot for a few days! He's not here to get too scared, so we can make them as scary as we want." Twilight happily exclaimed.
Rarity and Applejack happily smiled.
"What a wonderful idea!" Rarity exclaimed. She then looked over to Applejack.
"I assume your ghost story won't be about me, terrorizing everypony with my unnecessary neatness, will it?" Rarity asked the cowpony with a raised eyebrow. Applejack brought her hoof up to her mouth and snickered.
"No Rarity, it won't be about you this time. Ah promise," Applejack told her friend through her chuckles. Rarity closed her eyes and flipped her mane with her hoof, giving a tiny Hmph before settling down on the floor by Twilight and her emergency lantern. Applejack quickly followed.
"Alright girls, does anypony have any stories off the top of their mind?" Twilight asked. Rarity's eyes narrowed and she gave a sly smile.
"I do believe I have one, girls. Would you like to hear it?" she asked. Twilight and Applejack folded their front hooves and got comfortable.
"I wouldn't mind!" Twilight exclaimed.
Applejack quirked her eyebrow.
"Go ahead Rarity. Give it yer best shot."
Rarity brought her hoof up to her mouth to clear her throat. The library was pitch black, except for the pale light given off by the lantern. The girls could barely make out the soft light on the bookshelves and the occasional roar of thunder could be heard throughout the empty and nearly pitch black room. Rarity took a deep sigh before speaking,
"They say that about forty years ago, in Manehattan, there was a famous fashion designer named Faux Pas," she began. Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Are y'all kiddin'? I have a better one than some old fashion designer in Manehattan. A much better one," Applejack spoke.
Rarity furrowed her brow.
"Do you mind?! I am trying to tell a story and it is very rude to interrupt somepony when they are speaking," Rarity hissed at Applejack. The Element of Honesty looked shocked that her friend snapped at her.
"Fine. Gosh Rarity, I didn't mean to make you that angry," she said, a bit hurt that Rarity would decide to be so hateful towards Applejack. Twilight scowled at Rarity.
"You didn't have be so mean, Rarity. Applejack's your friend," Twilight told the alabaster unicorn. Rarity's hard expression slowly turned into one of sadness.
"Y...you're right...Twilight," Rarity spoke softly. Thunder quaked around the library, shocking everypony once more. Rarity regained her composure after the booming sound. "That's why I'm being so rash. I guess I'm just worried about my sister and my parents in this horrid weather," she nearly whispered.
Applejack gave a sympathetic look to her friend before speaking,
"Ah understand Rarity, believe me. I promise I won't interrupt you this time." Rarity smiled back warmly at her friends, whose faces were barely lit by the soft glow being emitted from the fireflies in the lantern.
"Alright, where was I?" she began.
"Well, there was a fashion designer named Faux Pas in Manehattan, roughly forty years ago. He was a grey unicorn with an elegant black mane. They say he was very well known, and all the most regal ponies in Equestria would come to him to have cloths of the finest quality made in all of Equestria. Ponies would gather all around his shop in the early hours of the morning to have him weave dresses, hats, and even some designer socks as they were starting to become the new fashion statement of the fall. Although, one day, a little purple-coated filly walks into his shop," Rarity explained to her friends, who were now listening to her intently. Rarity shook her hair slightly to get one of her luxurious curls out of her eyes.
"The child was a member of the Silver family, one of the six Royal families and let's just say...Faux Pas had a very...unhealthy appreciation, for little fillies," Rarity spoke. Twilight and Applejack gasped as they caught onto what Rarity was implying. Applejack gulped.
"Do ya mean he?"
"Yes darling, Faux Pas sent every one of his customers away, and he sexually assaulted this innocent filly when nopony else was around," the fashionista told them with a lump in her throat. Everypony was silent for a moment; the rain had gone from a hard pour to a mere drizzle.
"So, what happened after that?" Twilight asked, reluctant to hear the rest of the story.
"Well, naturally, Faux Pas told the filly that she would regret telling her parents if anything happened. The filly ignored him completely and ran home sobbing to her parents. Needless to say, the Silver family was very powerful, so they decided to do what they do best: They used their power to their advantage and hired two stallions to pay Faux Pas a visit. They forced him inside a barrel, covered the seam of the lid with concrete, and threw it into the Eastern Equestrian Sea."
Twilight and Applejack looked at Rarity in shock.
"Ah thought you said that this was a ghost story," Applejack spoke.
Rarity smiled.
"I'm not done. Several weeks later, no one had heard from the Silver's for quite a while. They finally investigated the mansion, and found all of the Silver family dead and that same little filly was gone without a trace. The cause of death for all of her family?" the white unicorn explained, before she closed her eyes.
"Drowning..." she finished.
All three girls sat in the library room, quiet. The howling of the wind could be heard through the thick walls of the tree turned library that they were gathered inside.
"Drowning? I thought you said they found them dead in their home," Twilight questioned with a curious look plastered on her face.
"Exactly," Rarity answered her.
Applejack got a shiver down her spine, causing her to shake.
"Dagnabbit Rarity!" Applejack exclaimed. All three girls laughed happily together.
"Wow Rarity, that was a really creepy story. Where? Did you just make that up?" Twilight asked her friend, thoroughly impressed with her eerie tale.
"Yes I did!" Rarity announced happily. "Pretty clever, don't you agree? I even made the Silver family name off of the top of my head."
Applejack's eyes narrowed and she curled her lips up into a smile.
"Ah reckon got one that'll top yours," the Element of Honesty spoke with a hint of smugness. Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Let's hear it Applejack," Twilight exclaimed happily, as she was enjoying this slumber party even more than earlier when the power was on. Applejack cleared her throat ad adjusted her Stetson over her eyes with her hoof.
"Have y'all ever been in love?" she asked her friends. Not expecting that question, both unicorns looked to each other curiously, wondering where Applejack was going with this. "Well, let's just say that some ponies would go very far to return the affection of another...they'd even kill to be with 'em," Applejack spoke bluntly.
"Let's say about twenty years ago, there was this fellar that lived up in Appleloosa. This was even before Braeburn's time there. This pony went by the name of Mulberry Mane, on account of him runnin' a Morus plant business with his wife. Them are the trees that mulberries grow on. He also had a berry red coat on him that almost perfectly matched the mulberries he was sellin'. Anyways, one day he was takin' a stroll down Appleloosa's local cemetery on his way to the market, and he comes across this mare," Applejack set the story for her friends. Rarity crossed her hooves and listened in the near-dark while Twilight did the same, occasionally adjusting the knob on the side of the lantern for more light.
"He saw this mare and by golly, poor ol' Mulberry's heart musta stopped. She was absolutely gorgeous. She had a soft, white coat that was almost as smooth as silk, and her mane coulda' matched the color of spring cherries fresh outta the most beautiful orchard ya ever did lay eyes on. So, naturally stunned by just how attractive this mare was, ol' Mulberry dropped his entire basket of berries he planned on sellin' at the market that afternoon on the ground and they went everywhere. He musta' cursed somethin' fierce whenever he dropped 'em, which was just what got the attention of the pretty mare he had his eyes on. She walked over from the tombstone she was staring down at to help Mulberry pick up his fresh garden fruit. Right away, he apologized he was so loud and she told him to think nothin' of it. They hit it off right there, talkin', laughin', and jokin' up a storm. It got a few minutes later than what he had expected it to, and he asked her name as he got up and planned to leave," the cowpony continued to regal her friends with the haunting tale.
"She said her name was Ruby Willow, right before she planted her lips on him," the cowpony spoke with a chuckle. Her friends smiled nervously as if they didn't expect it was coming in the story. "They went at it right then and there. He kissed her back with all the passion one would expect from a true Appleloosan, and they continued to get all hot and bothered until they eventually ended up havin' sex right there in the cemetery for the whole mornin'."
Rarity winced.
"Eeeagghh. They made love in a cemetery?! How horrid," Rarity spoke.
Applejack returned with a deadpanned look.
"Ah didn't interrupt you, did Ah?"
Rarity looked back at Applejack sheepishly.
"No, darling, you're absolutely right. Continue," she spoke to assure her.
"Right, now as Ah was sayin', they did it the whole mornin' and they finally were too exhausted to continue. Mulberry, at this point, was absolutely falling in love with Ruby, and she coo'ed him into submission the entire time, playin' the 'Ah'm much more attractive than yer wife' card. Mulberry fell for it o'course. Then, as she was layin' beside him on that mornin' dew covered grass, she leaned into his ear and whispered somethin' that chilled him to his core."
Twilight and Rarity waited for her to continue.
She wasn't.
"Well, what was it?" Twilight asked Applejack, a tad bit annoyed.
Applejack gave a half-smile.
"She told him that they couldn't be together anymore as long as he was with his wife. He had to get rid of her... permanently."
The room was once again quiet, minus the howling wind and the now soft pitter-patter of rain against the library.
"So...sure enough, wanting to oblige his new-found love in any way he could, Mulberry returned home that night, and went to sleep with his loving wife, who cared the world for him. She was even had the same color coat as ol' Mulberry, as if she was born to be with him. After about an hour of her sleepin', Mulberry got up, locked the door to their small cottage and doused it with kerosene. He then dropped a match on the locked door, burning the entire house and his wife, into ashes."
Applejack slowly moved her Stetson downward so it covered her eyes.
"Mulberry walked back to the cemetery that same night to give the good news to his new lover, walkin' by the tombstone she was by earlier that same day. He looked down at the tombstone and what he saw made his blood run cold."
Twilight reluctantly spoke,
"W-What did he see?"
Applejack tilted her head up to look Twilight dead in the eyes, no emotion on her face whatsoever.
"He saw what was written on the tombstone. It said, 'Here Lies Ruby Willow, widow and mother of three. You will never be forgotten.'...she'd been dead all along."
This time, it was Rarity who had the shiver running up her spine. Twilight quickly followed in her hoofsteps.
"Wow. That was good," Rarity spoke, her hooves still trembling.
"Yeah, Applejack. Now, that was a creepy story," Twilight told her with a bit of shakiness in her voice. "Still, I think I do have one better...because this really happened."
Applejack and Rarity were now at full attention and looking at Twilight as she began to speak.
"I'm pretty sure this was before either of you were born, but your parents probably remember it very well. Do you remember the tale of the mare who used to run this library around twenty-five years ago?"
Applejack and Rarity looked to each other curiously.
"No darling. I don't believe we were ever told. We always just assumed the mare who ran this library was like any other," the fashionista told her friend.
"Yeah, Granny Smith never told me no about the other mare who used to run the library." Applejack spoke.
Twilight's eyes widened.
"You're joking, right?! How could you not know?!" Twilight yelled at her friends.
Rarity shook her head with a frown.
"What happened, Twilight?" she asked.
Twilight tried to relax herself, at least enough to calm her breath before speaking,
"Before I came to Ponyville, Princess Celestia let me read up on old Ponyville history. It turns out; the old mare that used to run this library did something very horrible. She got arrested and locked away for life in the Canterlot dungeon for it."
Rarity and Applejack looked appalled.
"This happened right here in Ponyville, and Ah didn't even know about it? What did she do?" asked the cowpony. The light seemed to get dimmer.
Twilight gulped.
"Well, it's pretty bad. The reports say her name was Star Shine. She was a very beautiful, mist-colored mare and admired by the whole town from what I hear. She ran this library for a long time with her husband, until her husband left her and her little colt for another mare. After that, she..." Twilight trailed off.
"She what, Twilight?" Rarity asked, concerned.
Twilight looked over to Rarity sadly.
"I don't know if I should say. You know, nopony should speak ill of the dead," the lavender mare told her friends.
The twos mare moved closer to Twilight, that way they were sitting pretty close to their friend who was slowly calming down while trying to stop herself from shaking.
"Maybe this ghost story thing was a bad idea," the poor lavender mare spoke quietly.
"It's not speakin' ill of the dead if you're just tellin' us what happened, sugarcube," Applejack spoke to Twilight as she pat her back with a hoof.
"Applejack's right, dear. I would like to know what happened as well," Rarity spoke comfortingly to her friend.
Twilight took a deep breath, which she seemed to sync perfectly with the crack of thunder outside of the library,
"Alright," the purple mare began. "After her husband left her, she became very distraught. So distraught that she decided to take it out on her son, Day Shine. He was only five years old, but Star didn't care. She began taking away his food, leaving him hungry. Star also began beating him day and night, telling him that he was the reason that his father left them, and they would never be happy again. Time went on, and after a year of straight beatings and isolation from the rest of the town, Day Shine became more pent up than ever. He tried to fight her back one day, which made her furious. Star grabbed one of her ink quills and...and..." she found herself at a loss for words as she stared at the ground, the tiny lantern barely illuminating part of the floorboards.
"She gouged out both of that poor colt's eyes, and let him bleed to death right here on the library floor..." Twilight spoke at nearly the volume of a whisper. The ferocity of the storm had died down and all that could be heard now was the faint rumble of thunder. There didn't even seem to be any wind, strangely enough. Twilight poked at the lantern's handle with her hoof before continuing,
"She tried to leave Ponyville and run away, but was caught by the royal guard at the Ponyville train station. They kept her locked in the Castle dungeon for a very long time, until one day, they came to give her the daily meal she was due. They found her body lying lifelessly on the floor. She had...bled to death after having her eyes forcibly removed. What's even stranger are the words that were on the wall. The killer had taken Star Shine's blood and wrote on her cell wall three simple words."
Twilight sat quietly for a minute. Her friends said nothing, although they seemed to be trembling. Twilight lifted her head from viewing the lantern to get a better look at them.
Twilight's jumped at her friend's expressions.
They sat there, looking at her, shaking violently with looks of horror on their faces. Looking at her...no, not at her. Their eyes were wide and their mouths agape in terror. They began to slowly move away from Twilight as she realized that they were looking behind her. Twilight herself began to shake violently, sweat forming on her forehead and dripping down the fur on her face.
She dared not turn around.
"Twi...Twi..." Applejack tried to say Twilight's name as she and Rarity slowly moved away from where Twilight had been sitting. Rarity couldn't speak. She was completely in shock.
"The th-th-three words that w-were written on her cell wall were...were..." the terrified mare spoke shakily, slowly looking towards the glass on the lantern. Her heart stopped when she saw her reflection.
Behind her, she could see the face of a young colt, fur completely pale and two large black holes where his eyes were supposed to be.
Twilight's blood ran cold as she felt a chilling breath touch her neck, uttering the three words she could not repeat.
"Don't be afraid."