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// Ch 1: The Nightmare Returns 
// Story: Clubhouse of Horror II 
// by Grenazers 
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It was another dark and cold night in the town of Ponyville. However, the ponies in the town are outside and celebrating. Tonight is Nightmare Night, an annual festival honoring the alicorn of the night, Princess Luna. Before the candies the ponies gathered are offered to Nightmare Moon. But, now with the return of Princess Luna, the offering becomes void and all the little children can enjoy their bountiful sweets. 

This night the three crusaders are with a group of other colts and fillies, going to house to house gathering candies. For this Nightmare Night, Applebloom was dressed up as the grim reaper. Her pegasus friend Scootaloo was dressed up as a ninja, while Sweetie Belle was dressed as a witch. 

The three of them are part of a group of other children from their school. Snip was a vampire while snail was his undead minion. Pipsqueak was dressed as an admiral, Twist was a wolf, Dinky was a royal guard, and Feather Weight was Spider Stallion. Even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were there, dress as princesses. This group of foals was being escorted by their teacher, Miss Cheerilee who was dressed as a mad scientist. 

Together the pinkish purple pony escorted the group of foals to a couple of houses, each one giving the foals huge amount of candies. Afterwards Miss Cheerilee led her students to the center of the town, where they partake in many of the festival's games and activities. The crusaders bobbed for apples, toss toy spiders on webs and many more fun things.

The children stayed and played for a few hours until their teacher inform everyone that it was time to go. All the little foals gather up to their teacher and left the area. Cheerilee brought the group to each of the foals homes, one by one the group got shorter leaving only the three crusaders left.

When they got to Sweet Apple Acres, the yellow filly spoke up. "Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee."

"Yes Applebloom?"

"You don't have to take Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle home. Rarity and Rainbow Dash said they'll take care of it."

"Well alright then, you girls have a good night," their teacher said, as she left the three fillies in front of the farm.

With that done the three fillies galloped to their clubhouse, while carrying their bags full of candies. They got into the clubhouse and started pouring all their candies in the center. Their combine candies formed a small hill made of various sweets. The girls then jumped in and enjoy their mountain of sugary sweets.

After thirty minutes and a dozen of candy wraps later, the three crusaders tummies were full of sweet candy treats. As the three lie on the floor of the clubhouse, they stared at the mountain of candy. Even with all three of them the candy mountain barely shrunk down in size, its height tower over the little fillies.

"Soo...much....candy," Scootaloo groaned as she held her stomach.

"We...really....shouldn't...eat...that...fast," Sweetie Belle commented.

With the two filly down, only Applebloom had the strength to get up. She trotted to the huge pile of candy and start to put them away. "Come on girls, we have put this stuff away before they spoil."

The response she got from the two were two groans. But they got anyway and helped Applebloom store the candies. After another thirty minutes of storing the candies, the crusaders lay at the center again tired. 

"What do ya girls want to now?" Applebloom asked her two friends.

Scootaloo gave her a shrug and went back lying on the wooden floor. Sweetie on the other hoof thought of an idea. "Hey Applebloom, I have an idea!" the white unicorn exclaimed. 

Both fillies turned their eyes on the their unicorn friend, wanting to know what she has plan. "Why don't we tell scary stories!" she suggested, receiving a confuse look from the orange pegasus.

"Um Sweetie Belle didn't we already did that?" Scootaloo mention their previous attempt to tell scary stories.

"I know but, we had such a fun time making up stories and telling it to each other," Sweetie explain to her friends."Besides its Nightmare Night and seem appropriate."

"Well alright," Scootaloo said, as she got up. "Sounds fun, lets do it."

Applebloom got up herself and addressed her two friends. "Then it's settled, we go to our corner, come up with a story, and gather at the center to tell our story." After laying out the plan each of the girls went to their corner and brainstorm their scary stories.





Meanwhile outside two ponies were approaching the clubhouse. The two ponies are the older sisters of the two crusaders. One was an orange earth pony name Applejack, older sister of Applebloom, and she was dressed as a devil. Her companion is a white unicorn, older sister of Sweetie Belle, and she is wearing a steampunk outfit.

"Applejack why are we out here?"

"I told you Rarity, the girls are in their clubhouse."

"Why would they be in there, this late at night."

"Well you know those gals, can't wait to eat all them candies." The orange mare smile at the thought of the girls eating too much and getting sick.

As they got close to the clubhouse, Rarity remarked the absence of certain blue pegasus. "I wonder where Rainbow is? She said she'll meet us here."

"I'm already here," said a voice from nowhere.

This caught both ponies by surprise and jumped. After their embarrassing reaction, the next thing they heard was laughter. Out from the shadow was Rainbow Dash wearing a black suit covering her entire body. 

"Man that was rich," she said in between laughs. The two other ponies just stare at their laughing friend in disapproval. 

"Rainbow dear, just what are you wearing?" Rarity asked about the strange outfit Rainbow was wearing.

"Oh this?" she pointed to herself. "This is a black ninja suit."

"So you're a ninja?" Applejack ask.

"Nope," Rainbow replied. "I am the shadow," she explained as she backed up, her body blending in with the shadows. "You see me, now you don't. " She repeatedly trots forward and backward, demonstrating her point. 

"OK we got Dash," Applejack spoke, clearly annoyed by her blue friend's antic. "Come on lets take the girls home." Before she go any further, she was stopped by the voice of her pegasus friend. 

"Wait hold AJ," Rainbow stopped her friend, as she trotted ahead of them. "Follow me," she told them and they followed. The three ponies came across the clubhouse, Rainbow led the two under the building.

"Dash why are here?" Applejack questioned her blue friend. 

"Well you see I was here earlier and overheard that the girls are going to tell some scary stories to each other, " she explained while lowering her voice.

"Is that all, why don't we go in and join them?" Rarity suggested.

"No wait, I want hear it from when we're not there."

"Why Dash?" 

"Well I don't want the girls to feel that they're being judged, besides don't you want to know what how the girls act when we're not around?"

This question intrigued the two older sisters and they both agreed with Dash. The three found a perfect spot under the building and waited for the stories to come.





The three crusaders were finally done making their stories and they all gathered to the center. Each one holding a piece of paper with their story written on them. "All right who want's to go first," Applebloom ask her two friends.

"Oh oh I want to go first!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof, eagerly wanting to tell her story. 

"Okay Sweetie Belle you can go first."

Sweetie Belle picked up a flashlight and shine it below her face. "My tale starts when four friends are seeking shelter from some heavy rain. So they went into an old abandoned building, hoping to wait out the terrible storm. Unknown to them the building they entered had quite an infamous back in the day, this was a place where numerous murders had taken place. The building these four have just entered is called Hoof Bridge Hotel, or as it was also called....

THE MURDER HOTEL