"I heard that if you do something that's against the rules, Princess Celestia will send you to live in the Slums!" Sun Spot exclaimed. All the fillies around me gasp quietly in disbelief.
" Then what does she do about the ponies in the Slums that keeps breaking laws?" Faded Willow ask. The soft green filly seemed a little too curious lately. I was kind of worried about her sudden interest in such an awful topic. She wasn't the type of filly to ask about sensitive topics like this unless she had a good reason. My hunger for knowledge of what or who she knew was growing with rapid speed. After all, that was the way Willow worked. She never seemed to care unless she knew something or some pony to interest her. And once she was interested, she didn't let it go until she had what she wanted, or she was horribly rejected. Sun Spot looked over at her briefly before stating with confidence and superiority to the entire room,
"She forces them to sleep with the rats! For the entire night! They are provided nothing more than a run down cardboard box, if that. And that's why so many stallions go missing you know... The rats get them. They catch the stallions while they are fast asleep them tear them apart, limb from limb, and they are never heard from again!" Willow collapsed onto her flank in utter horror. I felt my fur stand on end as I processed what I had just heard. I couldn't begin to imagine what it must feel like to sleep on a dirt floor, listening to rats the size of my hooves scampering around me. Just waiting on me to lower my guard so they are to strip me to my bones. I shuddered softly before turning my focus back to the sleep-over at hoof. Willow, a few other ponies, and myself were all staying the night in Sun Spot's house for her 14th birthday. She was the last of us to have a birthday in the year so she was ecstatic to finally be the same age as the rest of us again. She always had a problem with being below any pony in any way. We all attempted to overlook it as best as we could. That was just the way she was.
I was very excited for what the night would hold for me. The girls and I had been rather distant as of late. Many of the ponies at the party were mere acquaintances of mine, but either way I was glad to be included. Even if it was just another sleepover. I decided I needed a drink and maneuvered my way to the kitchen. Left over plates sat all around and cups cluttered the room. Searching through the mess on the table, I listened to the sound of happy chatter from the other ponies. Maybe, just maybe, I was wrong about their opinions of me, the hateful looks in their eyes. Maybe they really were my friends, even if it did seem that most of the time they wanted rid of the burden that I seemed to be.
Standing at the kitchen counter, I became aware of the sound of unsure hooves shuffling behind me and an odd lack of chatter. I turned to see that almost every pony was shuffling around and staring at the ground like it was a sixth grade dance. They must have finally run out of things to gossip about. I could very obviously tell that they were racking their brains for some idea of a good party game or some activity to fill the dead air. I couldn't help but think, If only we had some sort of party pony around. Sighing to myself, as I knew that this would end up a bad idea, I tossed my mane softly and did a quick scan of the room.
"Who wants to play Truth or Dare?" Every pony lit up with anticipation and fear at the same time. A varying chorus of agreement followed. Willow and several others cleared a large space and we all circled up. The game started off as innocent and stereotypical as any other teenage pony's birthday party. Asking who adored which colt, daring each other to do simple yet insane tasks. Naturally, some gossip of some of the ponies at school cycled through the group every so often. Perfectly normal for the bouncy, happy bunch that we were. But I felt something in the atmosphere of the room shift midway through our game. The look in Sun Spot's eyes turned almost... evil. I attempted to shake the feeling, but I couldn't. Her tangerine eyes flashed under her violently orange mane. Her cutie mark seemed accusingly bright all of the sudden. My neck tingled and I started to shake ever so slightly. Our game had taken a very dangerous turn. I was most definitely sure of that as soon I said made the mistake of telling Sun Spot that I would take a dare this time.
"Okay Silver...I dare you," Spot pointed a commanding hoof at me. I noticed the slightest smile flick across her lips. "To spend a full night in the Slums.... Alone!" I fell back onto my flank, splaying my ears back. I heard several snickers but mostly shocked murmurs. I couldn't believe it! She couldn't be truly serious about this.... Could she?