My Little Monster House

by KidatHeart5

An Accident

Just about a mile from Sweet Apple Acres, an old house lay nestled in the woodsy hills. It was a most unusual sight compared to most houses. This one was square like the others, but its windows were only on the second floor. The left window was twice the size of the right window and only the latter was on a box-like bulge. The porch was shaped like a carousel cut in half and there was a sharp waterspout that hung upside-down from the left edge of the porch roof. On the top of the house, there was a crooked chimney on the right side and a tree limb shaped like a deer antler on the left.

The house sat on a lawn strewn with bramble bushes and strange black vines with blue thorns. There were bare trees on either side and a curvy cobblestone path connected the front porch to the front of the lawn. The beginning of the path was where Apple Bloom stood in fright. Diamond Tiara dared, “Well, go ahead, Apple Boo. Just run to the house, ring the doorbell, and get the hay out of there.” Silver Spoon added, “Yeah, it’s nothing more than a…dare.” Both snooty fillies snickered quietly.

DT whispered, “Though I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets caught...in a trap.” The two ponies giggled cruelly as Apple Bloom became more frightened when she heard that. Scootaloo reassured her nervous friend, “Aw, don’t listen to what they say. You’re going to be fine. So what if the house is haunted? It’s not like a ghost is going to catch you. But maybe if there’s a grumpy old housekeeper, then you’re a goner for sure.”

AB glared at her and said, “Thank you so much for your calm words.” She took a deep breath and whispered, “Okay…I’m going in.” As Apple Bloom began to cautiously walk up the path, Scootaloo said, “Uh…be careful.” The snooty fillies both shouted derisively, “NOT!!!” Scoots scowled at them as the two ponies chuckled nastily.

Apple Bloom knew to not let it get to her, so she carefully weaved through the curvy path and made it to the porch. She placed pressed a hoof on each step before climbing to make sure there weren’t any booby traps. She was relieved when she made it onto the porch without any surprises. She slowly walked up to the door and froze. Several moments had passed before Diamond Tiara called out to her, “Hey! This could be your chance to earn your cutie mark! Don’t let it slip from your hooves!”

The yellow Earth pony considered it, and though she was not naïve to believe it, she knew she had to be brave. Otherwise, DT and Silver Spoon were going to call her a yellow-bellied chicken and the whole school would follow suit. At this juncture, Apple Bloom didn’t really have a choice. Before she could think twice, she shakily raised her hoof and pressed the doorbell. The ringing started normal before deepening into eerie bongs. AB didn’t like the sound of that.

Oh, that was a big mistake, my dear.

Apple Bloom ran as fast as she could from the porch. She was only a few feet from the fillies when she became stuck in something! She looked down to see that the cobblestone beneath her now acted like glue, anchoring her hooves to the stone. She cried, “Help! HELP! I’m stuck!”

Scootaloo tried to rush in, but she was held back by the snooty fillies. DT remarked in a tone that almost sounded afraid, “Don’t try to help. She’s a goner now.” Apple Bloom then screamed, “SOMEPONY, HELP ME!!!” Just then, the door flew open. The fillies were amazed when they saw a pink unicorn with a blue mane and tail with red stripes burst onto the porch. What really surprised the ponies was that the unicorn didn’t have a look of anger or malice, but rather of concern and shock.

Her blue eyes widened behind her dark pink glasses and she cried, “NO!” In a blue flash, she teleported herself from the porch to behind Apple Bloom. The unicorn lowered her horn and zapped away at the adhesive stone that rendered AB immobile. Scootaloo and the rich ponies looked at this heroic feat in amazement before Scoots caught sight of something emerging from the brush on either side of her friend and the stranger. The fillies, including Apple Bloom, saw that the vines were rising up. Scoots cried, “Look out!” Thankfully, the mysterious pony freed AB and teleported her to the edge of the lawn.

The vines were swooping down just before the unicorn teleported the filly to safety. The thorny plants collided at the exact spot where Apple Bloom was. Unfortunately, one stray vine had missed the mass entirely and headed for…

“AAAGGH!”

Apple Bloom turned back to see the stranger lying down on the path. She was barely breathing and she was practically still. The fillies looked in shock when they found the reason why: the vine’s thorns had slashed her neck. The CMC just stood there in silence, but almost immediately, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon ran away, shouting:

“Help!”

“Help!”

“Apple Bloom’s a murderer!”

“She killed somepony!”

“She’s a killer!”

The door closed by itself and the shingles beneath and above the windows closed in around the edges as if the house was in sorrow. The furnace lit itself up and smoke began rising from the chimney. Though very subtly, the house groaned as if it was mourning.

Ruby…Ruby…

The chimney was still smoking by the time the paramedics came to wheel the pink unicorn away. A bandage had been wrapped around her stiffening neck. She lied very still as the stallions lifted the wheeled cot and began to roll her away. A small black vine sprouted from the ground and wrapped itself around her tail before losing grip.

Rube…I didn’t mean it…

The paramedics continued to wheel her until the cot became stuck. They noticed that a black vine had enveloped one of the wheels as if it was trying to hold the cot back.

No! Don’t-you-dare-take Ruby…

However, the stallions managed to pry the cot from the vine, with the exception that the small plant held the now-detached wheel. Without anypony noticing, the vine sunk back underground with the wheel still in its grip.

…away…

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo watched as the paramedics took the unicorn inside the back of the ambulance cart. AB walked sadly up to the cart before the stallion in front pulled it away. As it drove farther and farther away, Scootaloo said, “No sirens…Never a good sign.” Apple Bloom knew that somehow, it was her fault, but then why would the stranger give her a key?

Just after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had run away, the unicorn was barely awake enough to use her magic. A blue aura pushed away a small part of the brambles at the edge of the lawn and opened a secret door covered with grass. Underneath the door was a box. Apple Bloom walked towards it to open it and found that there was a key inside. The key was golden and had the sun and moon emblem found on the Equestrian flag. AB looked back up to the unicorn, who smiled weakly before laying her head down on the path and closing her eyes.

Now that her savior had been taken away, Apple Bloom looked down at the key in her hoof again. She sat down on the ground and mournfully said, “They’re right. I am a murderer.” Scootaloo wrapped her arm around her friend and comforted, “She sacrificed herself to save you.” With tears now welling in her eyes, AB choked, “But I wish she didn’t!” While she was weeping, water formed on the windowsills of the house. A crack then formed on the left window, causing a small leak as if the house was crying with them.

Why, Ruby? Why?

Author's Note:

Just to clear any confusion, the italicized lines between paragraphs was the house thinking. The "AAAGGH!", however, was Ruby shouting out. Before we continue on with the story, I will disclose Ruby's full name: Ruby Lips.