Hey everyone, Flutterstare here with my first fanfic! I'd just like to say to everyone who sees the parallels between this story and the plot of "Sleepless in Ponyville", I actually finished writing it only days before that episode was aired! I promise everything here is completely original! Enjoy!
The huge oak door opened with an ominous creak, and the young filly cautiously walked inside. Everything was dark; she could only barely make out her surroundings. The old house seemed to be deserted, a few tables and an ancient couch layered with dust being its only inhabitants. As she moved on, the foal noticed that the deeper into the place she got, the lower the temperature dropped. By the time she reached the center of the room, she could see her breath and was shivering uncontrollably.
Suddenly, a deep and terrible voice called out from the air around her,
"Get Out..."
She stood frozen in place, far too scared to be able to move.
"Get Out..." the voice commanded again, and this time she regained the feeling in her hooves and dashed for the exit. But just before she got there, BOOM! The door slammed shut and locked her inside!
She yanked at the handle but it was no use, she was trapped!
A noise from behind the filly made her jump, and she whirled around just in time to see the horrifying apparition gliding towards her. With outstretched hooves, and fiery red eyes, the specter was almost upon her when all of a sudden-
"Hold on a minute," Twilight Sparkle interjected, breaking the suspense, "If the spirit wanted the filly to 'get out' of the house, why did it shut the door before she had a chance to leave?"
The cyan pegasus who had been telling the story sat with her mouth still open, having been stopped mid-sentence. She stared a Twilight for a few moments thinking about how to respond before finally speaking again.
"Well, I guess that it just--"
"And how come she jus' moseys on in without knockin' first? That seems awful rude." Applejack threw her thoughts into the mix, forcing the now slightly irritated storyteller to shift her concentration to the orange earth pony.
"That's not the po--"
"Oh! Oh! Is she going to make friends with the ghost? I'll bet he's lonely all by himself in that old house! If they become friends than she can throw a BFF party for him and they can have candy and cake and pie and punch and games and dancing! That would be so much fun! OOHH, I know! We should have our own BFF party!" Now it was Pinkie Pie's turn to comment, and Rainbow Dash had reached the end of her patience.
"Forget it! If you're not going to let me finish my story then I guess there was no point in coming out here in the first place!"
"Oh come on Rainbow, there's more to camping than just telling scary stories. You know the most important thing is to have fun!"
"Psshh. Where did you get that from, one of your egghead books?"
Twilight blushed and hastily tucked her copy of The Outdoorspony's Guide to a Successful Camping Trip deeper into her saddle bag.
"Take it from me; the best thing about camping is scaring the tails off all of your friends! Isn't that right Fluttershy? ...Umm, Fluttershy?"
The timid butter yellow mare had managed to completely bury her head inside a nearby bush, her hooves over her ears and her whole body shaking violently. Clearly she had taken Dash's story a little more seriously than the others had.
Rarity frowned and turned to Rainbow Dash with a disapproving gaze, "Goodness Rainbow, look what you've done to the poor dear. Fluttershy darling, you simply must come out of there before you ruin your mane!"
She gently tried to nudge the frightened pony out of her cowering place, but to no avail. Fluttershy remained anchored in the shrub, her soft and fitful voice coming from within, "w-w-was th-that s-s-story t-true?" she managed to squeak out from behind the leaves.
A devilish grin spread across Rainbow Dash's face as she decided to use the situation for her own personal amusement. "Oh, definitely. A friend of mine from the weather team knows that filly... Well, used to know that filly."
With a frantic squeal, Fluttershy leapt out from the bushes and dove into her tent, knocking over Rarity's rather large pile of bags containing mostly clothing and accessories that were "absolutely necessary" for camping.
"Hey, now. There ain't no reason fer dishonesty, 'specially between friends." Applejack was always the first to call someone out on not being truthful, "Ah think Fluttershy deserves an apology, you plum near scared her outta her wits!"
Dash shrugged and fluttered up off the stump she had been using as a chair and over to the campfire. She held her hooves out and warmed them over the dying embers. "She'll be fine, she always is. I mean, have you ever seen Fluttershy not cowering over some obscure fear?" she said.
The others frowned and looked at each other, silently judging the cyan pony and her casual dismissal of their friend's emotions. All with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who had become lost in a bowl of marshmallows that she seemed to have produced from thin air.
"Hey! You know what would be great? If we TOASTED these!" the pink pony's voice rang out through a mouthful of sugary fluff.
"Not with these weak flames, it wouldn't." Rainbow replied, gesturing towards the glowing embers that used to be their campfire, "Where's all the firewood?"
"I sent Spike out to get some before you started your story." replied Twilight, "I had to wake him up so he's probably a little cranky. It is pretty late for a baby dragon to be up, after all."
Suddenly Fluttershy was out of her tent and nose-to-nose with Twilight, a look of utter shock and horror in her eyes. "You sent little Spike out into the forest at night? Alone!?!"
"Umm, well, yeah but-"
"Do you know what happens in the Everfree Forest at night? Don't you know about all the terrifying creatures and dangerous monsters out there? He could be in serious trouble!"
"Well it sounds pretty bad when you put it that way..."
"And besides, didn't you hear Rainbow Dash's story? The forest is filled with haunted houses and evil ghosts!"
The devilish grin returned to Dash's face and she rose from her resting place and began to stride in ominous circles around her yellow companion.
"That's right, and you never can tell where they are or when they're gonna jump out at you," She lowered her voice to a whisper, her lips practically touching Fluttershy's ear. "For all you know, there could be one right behind you..."
"I'M BACK!"
Fluttershy exploded into to the air letting out an uncharacteristically loud screech. In a yellow blur of feathers and hooves she bolted into her tent for the second time, yet again knocking over the pile of bags that Rarity had just finished re-stacking.
The tiny purple dragon who had made the offending noise was understandably startled by this sudden development, and merely stood in place with a bundle of wood in his claws and a bewildered expression on his face. Rainbow Dash meanwhile, had fallen to the ground and was rolling back and forth with laughter. The other ponies glared at their hysterical cyan companion, looks of disappointment upon their faces. Again, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, whose face looked more like one that was covered in marshmallow.
"Hahahaha! Did you see the look on her face? Priceless!"
"Rainbow!" Applejack's voice came assertively, "Now playin' little tricks is one thing, but takin' advantage of another pony's insecurities is downright mean! What yer doin' is bein' a bully."
"tcsh," Rainbow Dash got her giggles under control and casually brushed off the accusation, "You guys are just too uncool to enjoy a good prank. I may as well get some shuteye if we're not gonna have any real fun." and with that she fluttered up from the ground, past the others, and into her tent without so much as a "goodnight".
"Well I never!" Rarity proclaimed once the flap had shut, "Who knew that our friend Rainbow Dash could be so barbaric! I mean, I suppose I knew she was a bit uncouth, but that little display was simply boorish! So impudent, so coarse, so scurrilous, so..." Rarity became lost in her own astonishment as she struggled to find more synonyms for "rude", but Twilight spoke up before she got the chance.
"Look girls, I think we've all had a long day and the best thing to do is to get some rest, we'll feel better in the morning."
Twilight's suggestion was met with two murmurs of approval and one "okey-doki-loki!" The four remaining ponies bade each other goodnight and retired to their respective tents, leaving only Spike standing outside.
"But, wait! What about all this firewood I just-"
"Goodnight Spike." came Twilight's voice from inside the lavender tent. Her number one assistant sighed and dropped the wood next to the now deceased fire. Trudging tiresomely back to his own spike-sized tent, the baby dragon mumbled quietly to himself.
"I just never get a break."
* * *
"Well that is the absolute last time that I ever go camping again! Just dirt, dirt, and more dirt, everywhere, all the time! And sleeping on the ground?!? There is only so much a lady can bear before it is too much!" Rarity dramatically flung one of her hooves in the air, sending a bit of brown goop from her mud bath flying across the room. The drop of mud landed with a small plop on Fluttershy's wing. Rarity could not see this through her cucumber eye covers of course, and so she continued to complain about the horrible filthy world of being an outdoorspony.
This didn't bother Fluttershy who was used to spending her weekly spa trip listening while her unicorn friend talked incessantly. She quietly brushed the mud off of her wing as Rarity ranted on.
"...without even a single curling iron! And don't even get me started on the humidity. But I must say, the absolute worst thing about that trip was Rainbow Dash's terrible manners! You poor dear, you must have been frightened half to death."
Fluttershy blushed; she had been hoping that Rarity would not bring this up. "Oh, no. I mean yes, I was scared, but it's OK. Rainbow scares me all the time, especially on Nightmare Night. I'm used to it."
"Well it's still rude." Rarity rose from the bath as Aloe and Lotus came returned to the room to give them their massages. As they removed Rarity's seaweed wrap and cucumbers, Fluttershy hopped out of the hoof-deep mud that she preferred and searched for something to say, eager to change the subject.
"So, um, are you going to go to Twilight's movie night this evening?" she asked timidly.
"No, I'm afraid not. I've got a new collection of evening gowns that I simply must finish before next week, and I can't afford any distractions." seeing the guilty look on Fluttershy's face, Rarity quickly amended her statement, "Except for you dear, you know that I wouldn't miss our spa trips for all the Diamonds in Equestria. Besides, Twilight invited almost the entire town, and big bustling crowds aren't really my cup of tea."
Big bustling crowds weren't Fluttershy's favorite thing either, but she had been looking forward to spending some quality time with all of her friends. Oh well, she thought to herself, at least the others will all be there, and at least we won't be out in a scary forest. I'm sure this will be a fun, entertaining, and in no way frightening experience.
* * *
When Fluttershy arrived at the Library that afternoon, she discovered that Twilight had seemed to have invited the whole town. The place was packed. Cheerilee and Caramel were talking near the door, Cherry Berry was getting a snack from Mrs. Cake's vending table at the bottom of the stairs, and several pegasi sat perched on a cloud brought into the room specially for the occasion. The main room was filled with ponies taking their seats and having light conversation. All this was a bit overwhelming for Fluttershy, who was about to turn and leave when a voice suddenly called to her from across the room.
"Fluttershy! You're here! Good, now someone can settle our disagreement." the voice belonged to Twilight Sparkle, who was standing by the far wall with the film reel projector on one side of her and Applejack on the other. "I think that we should watch a classic film such as Citizen Mane-"
"But Ah think we should watch Hooffull of Bits."
"Applejack, you have to respect the classics, Citizen Mane is a historic piece!" Twilight argued.
"And who says Colt Eastwood isn't classic? He's somethin' everypony can enjoy." Applejack retorted proudly, "What do you think, Fluttershy?"
They stared at their yellow friend, waiting for her to make a decision that she really didn't want to make.
"Oh... um, well, I don't, um-"
Luckily Apple Bloom emerged from the crowd and saved Fluttershy from having to take sides. "But Sis, Ah thought you said we were gonna watch Edward Scissorhooves?"
"What Ah said was we might watch it."
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the projector, eager to join the conversation, "Hey are you guys picking a movie? We should watch something funny! I love funny movies! Especially romantic comedies where there's a stallion and a mare and they fall in love and have all kinds of adventures but then there are problems but it's OK because in the end everything works out and they all go home and have cake!" with that, she produced a large slice of chocolate cake and promptly smashed it in her face.
The discussion was getting nowhere fast. It wasn't until a couple argument-filled minutes later that Rainbow Dash swooped in and took charge of the situation. "I know what we're going to watch." The pegasus declared to the foray of ponies on the floor below her. She hovered in place sporting her unique defiant grin. "We're gonna watch the most ultra-extreme-awesomazing movie ever made: Nightmare Encounters 3."
"I've never heard of that one before." said Twilight, a little apprehensive.
"You wouldn't have, it’s kind of a cool pony thing." Rainbow inspected her hoof nonchalantly "Trust me; this is my favorite scary movie."
"Now wait jus' a minute, a scary movie?" Applejack shifted her eyes over to Fluttershy, who had been attempting to quietly back her way out of the conversation, but now stood frozen in place. "Ah reckon that's not a great idea..."
Twilight spoke up, "Dash, I don't even have a copy of-"
"No problem, I brought mine." the Cyan mare replied, holding up a worn out looking film reel. Before anypony could say a word more, Rainbow had stuck the movie in the projector, flicked it on, swooped around the room to blow out all the candles that kept the place alight, and taken her seat front and center on the special cloud.
Applejack would have protested, but by the time she opened her mouth to say something the crowd had settled down and the movie was starting. She decided it was best to leave it alone. Fluttershy might be spooked easily, but it was only a movie. AJ felt that if Shy became too uncomfortable, she could always just leave the room.
Celestia knows, Fluttershy Really wanted to leave the room. But no matter how hard she tried, she never even moved a muscle. She found herself rooted in place, too terrified to move and unable to tear her eyes from the screen. She was experiencing what nurse Redheart would have described as a state of shock, every minute of the horrifying film sending terror through her brain and palpitations to her heart. It was the scariest thing she had ever experienced.
In truth, Nightmare Encounters 3 is not a very scary movie. The plot, at best, can be described as "cheesy." The scares in the film have a certain 'campiness' to them which becomes boring after the first half-hour or so. And the acting is definitely sub-par. It isn't very well known, and the popularity of the film is limited mostly to reclusive overweight ponies and egotistical pegasi.
Fluttershy, however, was yet to be exposed to many scary movies, and so even one of relatively low quality had an enormous effect on the poor mare.
When the film finally ended, the candles were relit, and the somewhat disappointed audience stood up and began to shuffle their way out of the front door. Each of them thanked Twilight on their way out, and a few stayed behind to help clean up. The chairs were stored in the basement, Mrs. Cake's vending table was folded up, and Derpy Hooves managed to get the cloud out through the window after a few unsuccessful attempts ("Sorry, I don't have very good depth perception.") By 9:15 the library was completely back to normal, and only Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash remained.
Applejack and Rainbow were having a heated discussion about Dash's taste in cinematography.
"All Ah'm sayin' is that a fight scene between a zombie and a giant spider is a tad bit heavy-hoofed."
"What?! That was the most awesome part! Did you even see the army of ghosts in the background? Or the bog-monster?"
"You kiddin'? I darn near fell asleep after the second time they met the vampires. You with me on this Twi?"
The purple unicorn thought for a moment and then said "I actually kind of liked that part, but that's beside the point. Dash, maybe next time before jumping in to make up everypony's mind for them, you should..." Twilight trailed of when she noticed that there were in fact four ponies left in the library. Fluttershy sat frozen in place like a statue, staring at the blank space of wall where the screen had been. "...Um, Fluttershy, are you alright?"
No response.
"The movie is over, you can go home now."
She slowly turned her yellow head toward her friends, and her quivering lips opened. What came out was only barely audible. "G-g-go h-home? You M-mean alone in the d-d-dark?"
"Now see? Ah knew that movie was a bad idea." Applejack shot Rainbow Dash an accusing glance. "I'd walk you home if'n I could, sugar cube, but Apple Bloom is waitin' for me outside, and it's already past her bedtime."
Fluttershy looked desperately toward Twilight, who wore a guilty expression on her face.
"Sorry, Fluttershy. Spike's already asleep, and if he wakes up and I'm not here he'll have a panic attack."
"I'll take you home." Rainbow Dash offered. She gave her friend a pleasant smile, and Fluttershy returned the favor, extraordinarily thankful for Dash's loyalty. The three ponies bid Twilight goodbye, and turned to leave.
As she walked back to Sweet Apple Acres, supporting a very sleepy Apple Bloom, AJ had some time to think. Rainbow had been very nice to offer to take Fluttershy home, but somewhere behind Dash's smile, buried deep within her features, Applejack couldn't help but notice what she thought was the tiniest glint of mischievousness.
* * *
The cool night air blew through a flowing pink mane as it made its way along a forest-side path. The evening was quiet, not even the crickets could be heard, and the owner of said mane found this a little eerie. Lucky for her, she had a tough and fearless companion to accompany her journey home.
The two strolled alongside one another, either too scared or too cool to bother starting a conversation. Finally, when they were only minutes from Fluttershy's cottage, Rainbow Dash broke the silence
"That was a pretty scary movie, huh?"
"Oh, yes. Much too scary for me, actually. Thank you for taking me home, by the way."
"No prob. Even I wouldn't want to walk home alone after- well, you know..."
"After what?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow turned dramatically towards her. "After that filly disappeared. Don't you remember? Everypony was talking about it."
Fluttershy's eyes grew wide. "A filly disappeared? Oh my goodness!"
"Yeah, it was terrible. Apparently there was this little filly walking alone on this very path one night, and something got her! She was never seen again."
Fluttershy froze in place and began to shiver, even more than she already had been. "It happened h-h-here?"
"Yep," Rainbow replied, and then rose up off the ground and began to circle Fluttershy ominously in the air. "Some ponies say that on cold dark nights, you can hear her screaming for help as she's dragged into the forest. Some even say that her ghost still roams this very stretch of road and waits for other unsuspecting ponies to come walking by so that she can grab them, and drag them to the same terrible fate that befell her. We'd better be careful, she might be watching us right now..."
Fluttershy had huddled into a small yellow lump on the ground, and her body was shaking furiously. Her mane was hanging in curtains over her eyes. "Th-there isn't really a g-g-ghost, right Rainbow Dash?" but there was no answer.
Fluttershy pushed her mane aside, and looked at the empty space where Dash had been just moments before. Fluttershy turned around, then around again, then around one more time, but the chromatic mare was nowhere to be seen. All she could make out in the darkness was a few shrubs and a dark cloudy sky.
"R-rainbow?" she said, a little louder.
Still no answer. Fluttershy was becoming very frightened. She was about to call out her friend's name one last time when suddenly-
"BOO!"
* * *
Rainbow Dash is by no means a bully. Certainly, those who know her might describe her as "coarse" or "a bit pompous", but for the most part she is an upstanding pony. She always puts her friends first, and is known to go out of her way to help others. But loyalty doesn't make a pony perfect, and one of Dash's flaws is that she doesn't always see when something goes too far.
Having known each other since they were foals, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are well used to each other’s company. Scaring Fluttershy was not a new hobby; Rainbow Dash had been doing it for as long as either could remember. Nightmare night was always her favorite day of the year (aside from cider season, of course). It was simply in Rainbow's nature, and Fluttershy really didn't mind. She had gotten used to it; besides, Shy was scared of something on a daily basis anyway.
Regardless, Fluttershy was not in a very stable state of mind when Rainbow leapt out at her from behind a low-hanging cloud that night. Between the camping trip, the movie, and Rainbow Dash's stories, the timid yellow pegasus was almost at her breaking point. This final shock seemed to have pushed her over the edge.
Fluttershy fell flat on her back, her legs sticking straight up in the air. Her face was contorted into a frightened expression, her mouth was wide open, but there was no scream or sound of any kind.
Rainbow rushed to her side and looked into her friend's eyes as the lights faded. The last thing Shy saw as she drifted into unconsciousness was a fuzzy cyan shape directly above her, looking very worried.
"Uh, oh." it said.
* * *
"We've diagnosed your friend with a bad case of shock." Nurse Redheart read from a clipboard to a small group ponies in the waiting room of Ponyville hospital. "She needs to rest for a few days but after that she should be OK. Good thing it was only shock, mental stress can cause serious brain damage."
Four of the five visiting ponies shot very harsh glances at the most colorful member of the group, who pawed the floor guiltily.
"So, can we go and see her then?" asked Twilight Sparkle, turning back to the Nurse.
"Yes, yes, absolutely. But please be quick, visiting hours end at 4."
Fluttershy sat quietly in her hospital bed, stroking the fur of angel bunny, who was curled up in her lap. For the most part, she had returned to her normal self, although she was still a bit shaken.
When all of her friends entered the room, her face lit up. She hadn't seen any of them since the black out.
"Fluttershy, We're so glad to see that you're alright!" said Rarity, truthfully.
"We came over as soon as we heard what happened, but you were still out cold. We had to wait outside 'till you regained consciousness. How're you doin' sugar cube?" Applejack inquired.
"I'm fine, thank you." replied the yellow pegasus, "I had my little Angel to keep me company when I woke up." she gave a gentle squeeze to the white ball of fur, who scowled in return, grumpy about having been risen from his slumber.
Twilight approached Fluttershy's bedside and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her saddlebag, "We made you 'Get Well' cards. I'm re-"
Pinkie Pie suddenly popped up directly in front of Twilight and dropped her own card into Fluttershy's hooves, shouting "Mine has Balloons!" and indeed, three full sized balloons somehow inflated themselves and rose out of the card's fold. Pinkie gave an enormous smile, and a few awkward seconds passed before Twilight pushed her aside and continued speaking.
"Anyway... I'm relieved that you're alright. You gave us quite a scare."
"Speakin' of 'scare'," Applejack said, turning harshly towards Rainbow Dash, "Ah think somepony owes you an apology."
Rainbow had sunk into a corner of the room, looking very guilty. "Yeah... Sorry Fluttershy." she said half-heartedly.
"A sincere apology"
"Fluttershy, I'm very sorry, it was my fault, please forgive me." This time was louder, although she sounded a little annoyed at being talked to like a child.
"And she promises to pay fer your hospital bill." Applejack continued.
"Yes." Dash begrudgingly agreed.
"And she promises to take care of your animals while you're here."
"Yes"
"And she promises to never intentionally scare anypony ever again."
"Ye-Whoa! Wait, what?!?"
"Y'all heard me. Ah propose that you stop tryin' to frighten others. It hasn't caused nothin' but trouble."
Rainbow Dash was practically in hysterics at this idea. "You can't- I don't- why should- You can't ask me to stop scaring! It's in my nature! So I accidentally put a pony in shock, big deal! Everything's fine now, and she's totally cool with it! Fluttershy, back me up here."
Dash looked expectantly to her bedridden friend, but instead of conceding, as she so often did, the yellow mare stared down at her sheets and mumbled something airy and inaudible. She must have realized they hadn't heard her because after a few seconds she lifted her head and repeated it. "Actually, um, I would prefer if you would stop scaring too, if that's OK."
Rainbow Dash was shell-shocked. In the past she could always count on Shy to take her side and forgive her mistakes. They had been friends since fillyhood after all.
"Well, Ah'd say that was pretty clear," said Applejack, triumphant "Wouldn't you agree Miss 'Cool'?"
"I don't believe this." Rainbow Dash professed, "Real friends wouldn't be doing this. Real friends would respect me. Real friends-"
"Real friends don't hospitalize each other." Twilight suddenly spoke up from beside Fluttershy's bed.
Dash stood for a moment, searching for a comeback. Unable to find one, she stormed out of the room in a huff, proclaiming "I don't need this." as she left, and slammed the door behind her.
Almost an entire minute of silence ensued, save for the sound of gentle breeze flowing through the window.
Finally, Applejack spoke, "Ah don't know 'bout y'all, but Ah think it's about time we teach Rainbow Dash a lesson about respect fer others."
"And how do you expect to accomplish such a thing," asked Rarity, "I'm afraid Rainbow Dash is about as stubborn and thick-skinned as it's possible for a pony to be."
Twilight strode over to the window, her brain working its magic. Her eyes narrowed in thought and she gazed out towards the Everfree Forest. Suddenly, a light bulb clicked in her head and a sly smile arose on her lips.
She turned to her friends and said "I think it's time we took another camping trip."
* * *
"Alright, look. I brought enough firewood to last the whole night. So will you please not wake me up this time?" Spike said as he dropped the final few logs onto the pile.
"Yes, Spike," Twilight began, "Thank you very mu-"
"Oh No!" Pinkie Pie wailed from across the fire pit, "I forgot the marshmallow toasting sticks! How could I forget my marshmallow toasting sticks? I NEED MY TOASTED MARSHMALLOWS!!!"
Twilight turned to the purple dragon and shrugged sheepishly. Spike sighed and trudged back into the forest. "I'm going, I'm going..."
"Heh, heh," Rainbow Dash chuckled, "poor Spike, he just can't get a break."
The sun was just beginning to set on the Everfree Forest. As the day grew darker all the woodland creatures began to return to their homes for the night, and a small group of Ponies gathered around a fresh campfire at a campsite not too far off the beaten path.
Rainbow settled down on her favorite stump and spoke, "Hey, thanks for inviting me along again guys. I'll be honest, I thought you were all pretty mad at me after that whole 'incident' last week."
"Why it was our pleasure Rainbow, we'd never miss out on the opportunity to help out a friend." Applejack exchanged a knowing glance with Twilight and then returned to her cyan compatriot, "And since there're only four of us here this time-"
"Four!" Pinkie exclaimed, and then hastily counted the number of ponies around her in an effort to make sure that the Element of Honesty was in fact being honest. "But I brought exactly enough marshmallows for five ponies and a baby dragon! I mean it makes sense that Fluttershy wouldn't come because she's all messed up after being scared so much and has to rest for a while so that the doctors can make sure that she doesn't have any serious injuries, but I was expecting Rarity to be here because she didn't seem to have anything wrong with her last I saw her but maybe in the short time in-between then and now something bad happened and-" Pinkie paused here, as even she needs to breathe occasionally, and Twilight seized the opportunity to put an end to the horrific run-on sentence.
"Rarity actually chose not to accompany us this time. Apparently she was not in the mood to spend another day 'floundering in the terrible, filthy outdoors'."
Applejack snorted, "heh, that Pony sure does love her cleanliness. Anyway,
seein' as there's only th' four of us out here t'night, Ah was thinkin' we could try our hooves at tellin' stories again."
Rainbow Dash perked up at this suggestion. "Really? Aw, sweet! Cloud Kicker told me this really great one the other day, and I can't wait to-"
"Actually, Ah was gonna take the first turn t'night." Applejack interrupted, and before Rainbow could protest she had taken off her Stetson hat and launched into her story.
"Settle down everypony, and listen up 'cause Ah'm 'bout to tell y'all the story of little Blue, or as she's better known to most ponies, the ghost filly."
The three audience members scooted in attentively, and Applejack began the tale with the light of Twilight's magically-created fire dancing across her face.
"'Bout ten years ago, there was a little filly livin' in Ponyville by the name of Blueberry Belle, but everypony called her little Blue. Little Blue was one of them adventurous types, always wantin' t'go out and explore, but her parents never let her do it seein' as they were scared she might get inta trouble. Well one night little Blue got fed up with her parents' restrictions, and snuck outside after they'd gone to bed. And where d'ya think the first place she came was? The Everfree Forest. She set off walkin' down the very path we took t'get here, and after a while she began t'hear voices. 'Blueberry, Blueberry, leave this place.' At first she thought she was imaginin' it and tried to ignore 'em, but they grew louder and closer. 'We're comin' for you, Blueberry, Leave this place.' She fine'ly got scared enough to heed the warnin's, but when she turned around, the path was gone. As the voices drew nearer, she galloped off blindly into the forest, no idea where she was goin'. Then, it happened. Somethin' reached out of the trees, Grabbed little Blue, and dragged her screamin' inta the darkness. She was never seen again." Applejack leaned in close to Rainbow Dash, and lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. "Some ponies say that you can still hear her screamin' into the dark night, roamin' the forest, lookin' for her next victim to drag off inta the trees, same as she was. So y'all better be careful out here t'night, 'cause it might be you."
Silence befell the ponies around the campfire. Applejack was staring straight into Rainbow Dash's wide eyes, and Twilight and Pinkie were unmoving. Everypony was waiting to see what would happen next.
All of a sudden, the tension was completely shattered when Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. Startled, the other three ponies watched their hysterical friend and wondered what could be so funny.
"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow choked out through her laughter, "A filly getting dragged off into the forest? That's the same story I told Fluttershy when I took her home! Ominous voices telling somepony to leave? That's from the story I told the first time we went camping! That was just a couple of my old scary stories stitched together! Did you really expect that to scare me?!?" She fell into another fit of giggles, as a disgruntled Applejack replaced her hat and blushed a deep crimson.
"Twilight, you said that would work." Applejack complained to the confused purple unicorn.
"I, I thought it would... I mean, it should have." Twilight had the tone of voice of somepony who wasn't used to her plans going wrong.
"I thought for sure she'd be running back to Ponyville faster than Pound Cake when it's bath time." said Pinkie, popping another marshmallow into her mouth.
Rainbow stopped laughing and turned to her friends, "Wait a minute, you two knew she was gonna tell that story?"
"Well, um..." Twilight rubbed the back of her head, guiltily.
"I see what this is," said Rainbow, "You guys were trying to scare me weren't you? I'll bet you were trying to get me to stop scaring other ponies again, huh? Well, guess what? It's not gonna work, I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's who I am and I am not changing." the pegasus crossed her arms defiantly and gave a challenging stare to her three friends who looked away embarrassedly.
"Alright Dash, if it means that much to you we'll stop bothering you about it."
Rainbow smiled victoriously, "hah! Trying to scare me, the best scarer in Ponyville. In your dreams!"
"Alright, alright. Ya don't have ta rub it in." Applejack said, hotly.
Rainbow smirked, "Hey Pinkie, toss me a marshmallow would you? I feel like I deserve a victory s'more."
"We could all be having victory s'mores if I hadn't forgotten the toasting sticks." Pinkie whined, and then buried her head in the bowl of white fluff.
"Hey, yeah," said Twilight turning towards the forest behind her. "Where is Spike? He's been out there an awful long time for just a few sticks."
"Maybe the 'ghost filly' got him."
"Rainbow, that aint funny."
"Spike?" Twilight called into the woods, a hint of worry in her voice, "Spike, can you hear me?"
There was no answer.
"Something's wrong," Twilight stood up and began to frantically look around her, "I need a lantern, I'm going out to look for him."
"If you're goin' then we're comin' with you." Applejack said. She began to move toward her friend, but was blocked by Twilight's outstretched hoof.
"No, a couple of you need to stay behind in case Spike comes back while I'm gone. Rainbow Dash, it's possible that I'll need your wings, are you willing to come with me?"
"I'm always up to a challenge." replied the chromatic pegasus.
"Great. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two watch camp and keep the fire going so that we can find our way back. He couldn't have gotten far; we should find him within twenty minutes."
"Aye, aye, captain! I'll be on the lookout!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed and then jumped up on a log to vigilantly observe the surrounding forest.
Applejack gave Twilight a lantern and said "Be careful out there, sugar cube."
"Don't worry about us." Rainbow Dash said, as they began to into the forest. "After all, who'd wanna mess with me? I'm the toughest pony north of the San Palomino!"
Applejack responded to this only when she was sure the cyan pegasus was out of earshot. "Only somepony who's teachin' you a lesson."
* * *
"Twilight, I don't think we're going to find him..." Rainbow confessed her opinion as she glided in circular patterns through the thick forest growth.
"We can't just leave Spike out all by himself! How will he manage? What if he's in danger?!" Twilight's mane had become frazzled and filled with burs during the extensive search that the two ponies had devoted the last forty-five minutes to. The unicorn's unkempt features and frantic demeanor gave Rainbow the impression of a mad scientist. It was a bit unsettling.
"Maybe he made it back to camp without us. After all, he hadn't been gone that long bef-"
"But we can't be sure!" Twilight exclaimed as she stuck her head in the hole of an oak tree. "Spike! Are you in here?"
"Look, why don't we just go and check if he's at camp. If he's not there we'll go right back out and start searching again, I promise."
Twilight pulled her head out of the tree and brushed a rather surprised squirrel out of her mane. She sat down heavily, "I... Alright, we'll check. But could you fly up above the trees one more time and see if you can find him?"
Rainbow sighed and ascended through the branches, carefully so as not to hurt her wings. She pushed her way through the thick layer of leaves and out into the open space above the tops of the trees. There was not much point to this seeing as the canopy layer was much too thick to see through and even if it weren't, there was no moon out that night and she couldn't see very far by starlight. Spike would have to have been sitting on top of a tree holding a glow stick to be visible.
Rainbow returned to the ground and found Twilight busily overturning rocks, as if the baby dragon could be hiding underneath them.
"Sorry Twi." Dash really did feel bad for her friend. She seemed very stressed.
"It's... It's fine... Let's get back to camp." and the duo began their long walk back, searching for the light of the campfire through the trees.
But they could not seem to find this either. They were both pretty sure that they were walking in the right direction, and a few above-the-surface checks by Rainbow Dash confirmed that the edge of the forest was ahead, but there was no firelight to speak of. This confused and worried the mares as they wandered through the trees, hoping they would stumble upon the campsite.
As luck would have it, they did stumble upon the campsite, and it became clear why they could not see the fire through the brush. Because there was no fire, at least not anymore. The embers were still smoking, but they clearly had not been tended to in over half an hour.
"Hey! They were supposed to keep this going!" complained Rainbow, looking around for her pink and orange companions. "Where are they? They better not have gone to sleep!"
"Nope." said Twilight after poking her head into a couple of the tents, "They're not in any of these."
"Well where did they go? Looking for us maybe? They shouldn't have left like that!" A pony who didn't know any better might say that Rainbow Dash had a hint of fear in her voice.
Anypony, regardless of whether they knew better, would have been able to recognize the fear in her eyes when she saw what was on the ground near the edge of the site. Lying on its side, covered in dirt as if had been thrown off, was Applejack's Stetson hat. "Twilight, I'm freakin' out over here."
"I know. This is just weird. Where could they possibly have gone?"
"I think we should l-leave." Rainbow's voice was noticeably trembling now, and Twilight picked up on it.
"Oh, come on Dash, there's nothing to be afraid - Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"
There was an enormous booming sound like a thunder crash, and Twilight jumped about 3 meters in the air, but she did not come back down. She hung suspended in the air for a few seconds, and then began to be dragged backwards towards the trees. She writhed and squirmed trying to get loose from some invisible grip, slowly pulling her into the darkness like a sick evil puppet show. She screamed, "Let go! Let go! Rainbow! Dash please help me!"
She wanted to. Oh nelly, did she want to go help her struggling friend more than anything in the world. But she couldn't. Rainbow Dash was literally paralyzed with fear. For that one brief moment, Rainbow Dash understood how Fluttershy feels.
And then it was too late. Twilight had been pulled out of sight and all that was left was her fading screams. Five seconds passed. Then ten. Fifteen. Rainbow took one cautious step forward.
"LEAVE THIS PLACE!!!"
And Rainbow didn't have to be told twice. She bolted off into the forest in what she hoped was both opposite where the voice had come from as well as the direction of Ponyville. She couldn't think or look back; all she could do was run. Then she heard the moaning.
"ooohwaohoohwaaooh..."
It seemed to be coming from every direction. She doubled back trying to get away from it, but then it was in front of her!
"Waaoooohaaooahohooh..."
She couldn't tell where it was coming from, it just kept getting closer.
"aahooowaaoowooaahoh..."
"Omygosh, Omygosh, Omygosh! What do I do!?!" Suddenly Rainbow Dash remembered the feathery appendages resting on either side of her body. "Oh right, Wings! Duh!"
In a flash of speed impressive even for Rainbow Dash, the prismatic pony bolted into the air, past the branches, through the thick layer of leaves, and out into the open air above the forest. She sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That's right you stupid ghosts, you can't get me up here!"
But she spoke too soon. Right on cue, it rose out of the trees. A huge, monstrous figure cloaked in brilliant white. It was as tall as two ponies and thin as if it had been starved for years. It had no visible wings yet somehow was managing to fly just the same. It had no discernible facial features except for to two blood-red eyes sparkling in the starlight, both of which were focused directly on Rainbow Dash.
Her paralysis returned. Her wings snapped to her sides and she fell with a plop onto the forest canopy. She lay unmoving on her back; her eyes wide with fear, watching the specter grow closer. She couldn't move, she couldn't scream, she could barely breathe. This was it. Nothing could save Rainbow Dash now.
The horrible phantom moved in so that it was almost on top of her. It leaned its head in so close that all Rainbow could see were those terrible red eyes only inches from her own.
Time seemed to slow down.
Then the creature began to lift its hood.
Slowly and steadily the veil began to rise. Their eyes remained locked, the apparition didn't flinch, and Rainbow's heart was beating faster than it ever had before. Gradually the cloak was lifted over the specter's face, until what lay beneath was revealed.
Staring right back into Rainbow Dash's wide fearful eyes, was the smiling face of a butter-yellow pegasus.
"Boo."
* * *
"I think that went well." Fluttershy said as Twilight Sparkle and Applejack trotted out of the woods to meet her.
"It sure as sugar did!" replied Applejack, merrily dusting off her hat. "Ah must say, fer such short notice, this was one a yer best plans Twilight."
"Thanks, AJ. And thank you Rarity for making such a wonderful costume for us."
"It was my pleasure darling, always happy to help out a friend." Rarity smiled and then gestured toward the prostrate Rainbow Dash. "Speaking of, is she going to be alright?"
Rainbow had not changed position at all from when she was lying on her back on the treetops. But Fluttershy had carefully brought her down, and now she was lying on her back on the ground. She hadn't moved a muscle, said a word, or even blinked for the last three minutes. She just lay there with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
"She's only stunned, I see it in my animals all the time," Fluttershy assured, "She'll be back on her hooves in a few minutes."
"Cos... Tric.... Gho..." Rainbow Dash began to stutter, "You... You tricked me? You tricked me?"
"That's right sugar cube!" said Applejack happily. "Since you love scarin' ponies so much, we thought we'd give ya a taste of yer own medicine."
"Wait...," Rainbow Dash considered the situation, "Twilight I saw you float off the ground and levitate into the trees! How did-" Something clicked in Dash's brain, and she looked up at the purple pony's rather gifted horn. "Oh, right..."
"See Dash? it was all a trick! Jus' fer you" Applejack seemed beside herself with joy at the sight of Rainbow's humbling.
"But, but, but, the giant flying specter-"
"Was nothing more than Fluttershy and I beneath a cleverly created disguise of cloth and gem." Rarity explained. She gazed at the folded lump of fabric and its sparkling red eyes. "Rubies. Aren't they fabulous? Fluttershy provided the wings while I provided the support, it worked out fantastically, if I do say so myself."
"And the boom before Twilight was taken?"
"That was one of my patented Super-Bucks; splits a pine right down th' middle." Applejack sauntered over and put a hoof on Dash's shoulder, "So, how's it feel? Bein' on th' receivin' end of a good scare." She turned to look smugly at the pegasus, but her gaze was not met.
Rainbow had lowered her head, and a few tears began to fall from the end of her nose. Every other pony present instantly felt a pang of guilt and a hot blush come to her face, but none more than Applejack. "Aww, shoot. Rainbow, Ah'm real sorry. Ah guess Ah shouldn'ta been so-"
"No." Rainbow held out a hoof to stop Applejack from continuing. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I've treated all of you like junk this past week, when I should've been listening to you. And I'm especially sorry to you Fluttershy. If there's anything this experience has taught me, it's that being scared isn't fun when you don't want to be. Applejack was right, I'm just a bully. Can you ever forgive me?"
"You're not a bully, Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy embracing her best friend in a big hug, "And of course I forgive you."
"I vow never to scare anypony ever again." proclaimed a teary-eyed Rainbow Dash into Fluttershy's shoulder.
"Well... Oh, what the hay." Applejack decided, "Ah was jus' angry when Ah said that. Ya don' have to stop scarin' everypony, ya jus' gotta know who all it's OK to scare an' when."
"R-really?" Rainbow sniffled.
"Sure! I don't even mind you scaring me every once in a while." said Fluttershy, then whispered "A long while." in Dash's ear.
She smiled and looked to her friends, "I love you guys. Thank you so much."
"No problem," said Twilight. "Helping friends out is what we do best."
"No I mean thanks for such a cool evening! I mean sure, it was traumatizing and I'd never want to do it again, but still! You all put a lot of work into this. That whole giant ghost thing, and the abandoned campsite, and Spike going missing, good stuff! Hey I'll bet Spike was the one who made those moaning noises out in the woods, huh? Where is he anyway?"
Twilight looked confusedly at the excited cyan mare. "Rainbow, Spike was tired so I told him he could go back to the library after he went 'missing'."
"What? Well then who was making that noise? Applejack? No? Rarity?"
"Nopony here was making any moaning noises. Are you sure you heard them?"
"Yes I'm absolutely sure! I was running through the trees and-"
"Wooohaaoohooh..." This time it was really close. At first nopony said anything, but when a second even closer moan rang in their ears, they all screamed.
And out from the bushes stepped none other than-
"Pinkie Pie?!?"
"Waaoohaaooh..." Pinkie wailed as she stumbled into the clearing. She clutched her bloated belly, a look of extreme discomfort on her face.
"I think I ate too many marshmallows."
And for once, everyone except Pinkie Pie was laughing.
* * *
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned about the importance of respecting your friend's comfort zones. Just because you think that something is fun or cool doesn't mean that someone else does, and you should never risk making a friend upset or uncomfortable by making a bad assumption. You should learn when it is and isn't OK to play pranks and do other stuff that they might not like. Sometimes, you have to accept that other ponies' feelings are just as important as your own and should be treated with just as much respect.
Keeping it Cool,
Rainbow Dash
"Keeping it cool?"
"Yeah, it's a personal touch."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's a report to the Princess."
"Sure, but it's my personal report to the Princess." Rainbow spit the pen out of her mouth, "Thanks again for sending this off for me, Twi. I would deliver it myself, but we gotta bring in a whole rainstorm today."
"Anytime. What are baby dragon assistants for?"
Rainbow thanked Twilight one more time and was about to speed out the door when she suddenly remembered something.
"We're still on for another camping trip this weekend right?"
Twilight smiled, "Absolutely. Although I don't know if we're going to convince Rarity to leave the sterility of her boutique ever again."
Rainbow chuckled, and with that she sped off into the cloudy sky.
Twilight levitated the letter off of the table, rolled it up, and sealed it with her magic. She walked towards the stairwell, expecting Spike to be on the second floor.
"Spike! I've got a letter for yo-" Twilight almost tripped over the scaly purple lump that lay sleeping on the bottom step, too exhausted from a long night of wood-gathering even to make it up the stairs.
"Poor Spike," Twilight smiled and shook her head, "He just never gets a break."