//------------------------------//
// Treehouse of Horror 
// Story: Tales of Interest! 
// by Pascoite 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy stepped into her home, the feeble flame of her small lantern barely piercing the gloom. One hoof at a time came over the threshold, gingerly testing to see if the unseen floor was still there. A few timid paces in, she felt a cobweb brush across her face. Shrieking, she backed toward the door, but it slammed behind her and sealed her in.

“Oh—oh, my,” she said in a tremulous voice, fiddling with the doorknob and pounding on the windowpanes. “I-is anypony there? Hello? Please let me out!”

Something scrabbled across the floor in the darkness as a faint, breathy chuckle sounded. “Who—who’s there?” Sweeping her light around, Fluttershy tried desperately to discern something, anything in the oppressive darkness, but curling tendrils of fog just reflected the glow back at her.

Peering forward, she stumbled over an object on the floor and swung her lantern down to investigate. Sweetie Belle’s lifeless eyes stared back, a large kitchen knife protruding from her back.

Fluttershy backed away, holding a hoof to her mouth to stifle a scream. She hit the wall and stood there trembling, then noticed a warm liquid dripping on her shoulder. Lifting up her light, she saw Apple Bloom’s bleeding body, trussed up among the ceiling beams with rope.

She gave up all pretense of stealth and ran into the kitchen, heart pounding. She stopped short by the stove, where a pot of carrots and potatoes was boiling. Beside it on the counter lay a maple cutting board, Angel’s limp form draped across it.

“Would you like some rabbit stew? It’s fresh,” said a voice from the darkness. Gradually, the shadows coalesced into a hunched-over figure, the blade in its hoof glinting.

“N-no! Angel!” Fluttershy sank to the floor and held up a foreleg for whatever protection it might suffice.

“You know, when a pegasus can’t fly, it can make her crazy. Very crazy,” Scootaloo said as she emerged into the lantern’s glow. “And she just might do crazy things.” She stood for a moment with a wicked, toothy grin before lunging.

Fluttershy caught her in a hug as the other two fillies ran into the room. “Happy Nightmare Night!” they all cried.

“Hehe! Good rehearsal, girls! But, um... I could see you breathing, Angel.” He sat up and glared. “Oh! Get back in your places!” Fluttershy said, glancing toward the window. “Here comes Rainbow Dash...”