//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Mare Who Cried Monster. // by ChromeRegios //------------------------------// The shadows seemed to pull away. The sky outside the window brightened, and the grey triangle of light from the moon fell over Mr. Warts’ desk. Opening my eyes, I realized I’d been holding my breath. My chest felt as if it were about to burst. I let the air out slowly and took another deep breath. Then, without glancing again to the front of the room, I turned and ran. My hooves thudded and clopped over the creaky floors, but I didn’t care. I had to get out of there as fast as I could. I bolted out of the front door of the library onto the street then flew up to the sky quickly. I flew as fast as I could, my wings flapped wildly at my back, my mane blowing behind me. I didn’t stop until I was about a mile away. Then I dropped down on a cloud and waited for my heart to stop pounding like a bass drum. I saw some pegasi flew right above me pushing several storm clouds in place. The sky became eerie, dark and ominous. A mail wagon with several mail mares on the back of it flew pass me as they called on to me, but I didn’t raise my head. I kept seeing the shadowy scene in the library again and again. Mr. Warts is a monster! The words repeated nonstop in my mind. It’s can’t be, I thought, gazing up at the black clouds so low overhead. I was seeing things. That had to be it. All the shadows in the dark library. All the swirling darkness. It was an optical illusion. It was my wild imagination. I was a daydream, a silly fantasy. NO! a loud voice in my head cried. No, Rainbow Dash, you saw Mr. Warts head bulge. You saw his eyes pop out and grow like hideous toadstools on his ballooning face. You saw him reach for the critter. You hear him humming so happily, so…hungrily. You saw him jam the critter into his mouth. Not just the critter, but a jar of pink stuff too! What was in that jar?! And maybe he’s still in there, eating his fill. It was dark, Rainbow Dash. There were shadows. But you saw what you saw. You saw it all! Mr. Warts is a monster! I climbed to my hooves. I felt a cold drop of rain on top of my head. “Mr. Warts is a monster!” I said out loud. I knew I had to tell Fluttershy and Scootaloo as fast as I could. “The new librarian is a monster.” That’s what I’d tell them. Of course, they’ll be shocked. Who wouldn’t be? Feeling another raindrop on my head, then one on my shoulder, I started Gliding for home. I had gone about half a mile when I stopped. The stupid book!! I had left them in the library again. I turned back. A gust of wind blew my mane over my face. I pushed it back with both my hooves. I was thinking hard, trying to figure out what to do. Rain pattered softly on my body. The cold raindrops felt good on my hot forehead. I liked the rain… Sometimes I prance around the rain and sing. I decided to go back to the library and get my book. This time, I’d make a lot of noise. Make sure Mr. Warts knew someone was there. If he heard me coming, I decided, he’d act normal. He wouldn’t eat critters in front of me or jam a jar with pink stuff in front of me. He wouldn’t let his eyes bulge and his head grow like that. Would he? I stopped as the library came back to view. I hesitated, starting through the drizzling rain at the old building. Maybe I should wait and come back tomorrow with Fluttershy. Wouldn’t that be smarter? No. I decided I wanted my book right now. And I was going to get them. I’ve always been pretty brave. The time a windigo ran up to me and my friends, I was the one who yelled and screamed at it and chased it with a big stick. I’m not afraid of windigos or any of those things. “Or monsters,” I said out loud. As I walked up to the front of the library, rain pattering softly all around me, I kept telling myself to make a lot of noise. Make sure Mr. Warts knows you’re there, Rainbow Dash. Call out to him. Tell him you came back because you left your book. He won’t let you see that he’s a monster if he knows you’re there. He won’t hurt you or anything if you give him some warning. I kept reassuring myself all the way up to the dark, old building. I climbed the wood steps hesitantly… even if it’s just three steps. I looked around some more, making sure I wasn’t being watched in the window… Then, taking a deep breath, I grabbed the doorknob and pushed… But the door refused to open. “What?!” I tried again. It took me a while to realize that it was locked. The library was closed. “No! My book!! That’s not fair!!” I shouted as I punched the door in frustration. How come he never head that? The rain pattered softly on the grass as I walked around the front window ledge and looked inside. Darkness. Total darkness… I felt relieved and disappointed at the same time. I really wanted to read that book tonight, but I didn’t really want to go back there. “I’ll get them tomorrow,” I said out loud. The rain was starting to come down harder, and the wind was picking up, blowing the rain in sheets. “Seems the weather mares are doing a good job tonight,” I said to myself. Though I loved the rain, I didn’t want to do my mane once more if it was too wet… especially at night! I started to run as my hoof squishing over the wet grass… I slowly flapped my wings to get momentum until I finally was air born… I flew as fast as possible back to my little cloud home. But despite my maneuvering of my flight pattern, I was totally drenched by the time I made my way to the front door. My mane was matted down my head and my coat was soaked. “That’s just great!” I cried. I ran through the hallway, nearly slipping on a smooth cloud fluff and went straight to my bathroom and took a bath all the way. After several minutes, I went up to my room and dried my mane and body… I started to go into a deep thought. Is Mr. Warts really a monster? That question repeated in my head. Did I imagine the whole thing? DO I just have monsters on the brain? It had been so dark and shadowy in the library with all the lights turned off. Maybe Mr. Warts didn’t eat that critter. Maybe he pulled it out of its cage and gave it a drink using the jar. Maybe I imagined that he ate the critter and stuffed the jar in his mouth. Maybe his head didn’t swell up like a balloon. Maybe his eyes didn’t pop out. Maybe that was just a trick of the darkness, the dancing shadows, and the dim grey light. Maybe I need glasses. Maybe I’m crazy and weird. “Great, now I think like, Twilight…” I said to myself, frowning at that thought…. Me, like Twilight? Yeah, like that would happen… I went to my bookshelf and looked for some (Or rather repeat) a book. “Daring Do and the Soul Cube…” I took it and went back to my bed, flopping on the soft mattress and lay on my back as I open the first page. Although I already did read it, I still want to repeat it, since my latest one got felt back at the library. I’d seen Daring Do’s movie of “The Soul Cube” and this is chalk full of monsters. It sounded like my kind of story. I wondered if it was true. As I was about to flip the pages, I was surprised to see Scootaloo walking up towards me… How did she got up to my house, I wondered. But before I can ask, Fluttershy came in next. “H-hello, Rainbow Dash… Good evening…” She said in a mild tone of a voice. “Hi… so, what brings you here Fluttershy?” I asked her, while looking at the book I was holding. “Scootaloo just wanted me to take her here for a sleepover…” She said softly. “Is that so? Well you’re more than welcome to sleep with me, kiddo!” I said with enthusiasm in my voice…Actually I was glad that Scootaloo was sleeping over, that way, I can apologize to her properly. “Okay, I’ll leave her to your care then…” After that, Fluttershy went home, leaving Scootaloo standing in front of my bed. There was an awful moment of silence for a minute or two, as we both looked at each other oddly. “W-well… come on in bed Scoots…” I offered as I patted the side of my bed. Scootaloo nodded and trotted herself near my bed and went under the covers. She pops her head out next to me and looks at the book I’m reading. “What are you reading, Dashie?” She asked curiously…. Though Pinkie was the only one calling me by that nickname, it seems that everyone in town, (Or at least the one’s who’s close to me) Are also calling me by that name. “Oh, just the usual~ Daring do!” I nearly shouted her name, as I was all giddy with excitement, just imagining her adventures in my head. “Are there any monsters there?” Scoots asked, gripping at my pillow as she looks at me, expecting what I’m about to do next is to scare her again. “No scoots… and, by the way… Sorry about earlier.” I said, remembering what happened to her earlier. “I shouldn’t have scared you like that… sorry, kiddo.” Scootaloo simply shook her head and looks at me reassuringly. “No, don’t worry Dashie… I’m not scared anymore…” She said smiling at me… almost makes my heart all warm. “That’s good to her,” I said to her, then patted her head. Then, I remembered… about Mr. Warts. I kept having second thoughts on saying to Scoots about what I saw earlier… But since she said she wasn’t scared, might as well tell her… I have to tell somepony at one point in time, now’s probably the time. “Scoots…” I started, as she looks at me, listening closely. “Earlier, I saw… a real monster.” I said in a low tone. Scoots went silent, and her smile disappears. “Yeah, it’s real… he even ate a critter!” I continued. Scoots just frowned and grunted. “Dashie, I said I wasn’t scared, but you don’t have to start that again…” She said with a disgusted look on her face. “But it’s true! I saw a real monster! I swear!” I kept saying, but she just won’t believe me. “Dashie, did you ever hear the saying… “Evidence speaks louder than words”?” She asked, which I only respond with a tilt of my head. “I mean… show me that it’s real, then I’ll believe you.” She said, while rolling her eyes at me. “B-but~” “Dashie… please, it’s really getting old…” Scootaloo cuts me off, then just covers herself in my sheets. I don’t believe it… She didn’t believe me!! I was so angry at this… I’m really angry that the fact is I was telling the truth for once, and she didn’t took it seriously! I knew at that moment, that I had no choice. I had to prove that I wasn’t lying… I had to prove I wasn’t making this up. I had to prove to Scootaloo and probably Fluttershy that Mr. Warts was a monster!