> Bat Ponies Aren't Scary
>  by Enigmus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Be afraid!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was getting late into the year, and all of the good, little colts and fillies of Fillydelphia were getting ready for Nightmare Night, that spooky time of year where all of the kids overdose on sugar, the adults compete against one another for best creepy house, and teenagers pull really cliché pranks in an attempt to irk the neighborhood. However, though the dark holiday was fast approaching, it was not quite there yet. Still, ponies planned and kids waited in uncontrolled excitement. After all, candy and creepy costumes was a surefire way to get the little ones pumped up. Some ponies did things before as a tradition, though most of those traditions were created by adults for their families, or by adults... for adults. But sometimes, a little filly or colt decides that he/she would really like a bit of tradition before the actual night of spooky candy-hoarding. 

A particular filly, a filly named Mithra, liked to have a slumber party two nights before Nightmare night, so as to extend the festivities as much as she could. Most years, she brought her other filly friends, sometimes a colt or two, but that rarely ever worked out. Because for whatever reason, she was the only one who could make really scary stories. Her friends weren't bad at it,  of course, it's just that their stories didn't exactly do her traditional night justice. Each year, she got a different group of friends to stay with her. This time, however, she wanted just one pony. And she had a specific pony in mind, a pony that would definitely scare the mane right of her.

She sat at her usual lunch table with her usual friends, looking over at a rather sad-looking bat pony colt sitting off on his own. He wasn't really eating that much, he just gave longing stares at everyone else, though it was clear that he didn't want to make it obvious. Mithra knew that look all too well. It was the same look she had the first time she had moved here. It was no fun at all to be alone, especially not at a school. Because at a school, if you didn't make friends fast enough, ponies would start to think that you're weird, and either avoid you, or take pity on you. In Mithra's case, she was the one to take pity, and everyone else simply avoided the poor kid. That wasn't right, of course, that ponies were avoiding the colt, but that wasn't the only reason she was looking at him.

Another reason was because this new pony was the perfect candidate for her special night. The night in which she brought over a friend or friends to her house, and told scary stories to each other all night, trying to scare one another. Because bat ponies are supposed to be super scary. That's what most ponies say anyway. She loved her little tradition, but it never seemed to go all that well. It did, but not in the way she wanted it to. The other nights had been scary in their own right, but they never seemed to be scary enough, not like how she told them. She was usually the one to make everyone scream in fright, but the most she ever got were goosebumps. Goosebumps were fun, but they weren't a run around in circles, and scream kind of fun. It also didn't help that she was the only pony who wanted to have those slumber parties anymore. Her friends didn't exactly have as much fun as she usually did, and normally never came a second year in a row. She always had to find somepony else. But being in a school, rumors travel fast. And now, no one wanted to spend the night with her.

And for most of the year, she had been dreading her special night two nights before Nightmare Night. She had no one to spend time with except on the actual holiday, and it really got her down in the dumps. The closer she got to her scheduled slumber party, the worse and worse she felt. Tomorrow meant a lot to her, more than ponies will likely ever know. Well, her parents were sympathetic and understood, but they weren't kids, so she couldn't spend the night with them unfortunately. She wanted a friend that could dish out just as much as she gave, to scare her. To actually, genuinely scare her. She knew she wasn't like most fillies, and that's why she generally had a small group of friends while others avoided her. They generally didn't like being scared, not like she did.

Mithra looked up at the big clock on the wall of the lunchroom, wondering if she had time to talk to the colt. Five minutes. Five minutes was all that she had. Getting up without telling anyone where she was going, she trotted past a few teachers, and made her way over to the bat pony. She slipped on through a small group of four colts, and plopped her little rump down on the seat right across from the bat pony.

Mithra piped up with a cheery voice, moving a bit of mane away from her left eye, "Hi there! You look really lonely, so, uhm... I guess... uhm... hi. My name's Mithra. Uhm. What's your name?"

The colt looked around in confusion, then focused his gaze on her, excitement on his eyes, and a bright blush on his dark cheeks, "O-oh, you're... you're talking to me! Right? You are talking to me, right?"

Mithra giggled and propped her head up with both forehooves, tilting it slightly as she regarded what she hoped could be her new friend, "Of course I'm talking to you, silly! You're funny. Come on, what's your name?"

The colt's blush brightened up even further and he looked down at his food, fidgeting his two front hooves together in his lap, a goofy, little grin plastered on his muzzle as he shyly said, "Uhm... my name's Swift Shade. You can, uh... you can call me Shade if you want. A-and I know I'm silly. Mom calls me silly all the time. I dunno why, but she just does, I guess."

Alright, first impressions have been made, Mithra! Now seal the deal with a hoofshake, just like how the grownups do it! Yes... yes! Genius!

Mithra shot out with her right hoof, an excited grin on her face, "It's very nice to meet you, Shade! Very nice indeed!"

Shade just sorta stared at the offered hoof as if he was unsure whether or not he was going to be assaulted by a pretty Filly, "Uhm... why are you pointing at me, Mithra?"

Mithra looked down at her hoof, and suddenly felt really awkward, "Oh! I guess this is what grownups do when they meet each other for the first time. So I sorta thought that you might wanna shake hooves with me. You wanna shake hooves with me, right?"

Shade stared at the hoof in front of his face for a moment before putting out his own and slowly shaking it, though not as one would shake another's hoof for a first-time meeting, but rather in the way a small puppy would shake a shoe in its teeth, "Y-yeah! I like shaking hooves! So do we just keep shaking our hooves, or do we gotta, like... I dunno, stop at some point? What time should we stop?"

Mithra thought long and hard at this and kept shaking her new friend's hoof, "Hmmm... that's a pickle alright. When do we stop shaking hooves? Let's do it on the count of three, okay? One... two... three!"

They both yanked their hooves back and plopped back onto their seats, as they had to lean forwards a bit earlier to shake hooves. They sat there for a little bit, just looking at one another, unsure of how to proceed with the conversation. Being kids, getting to know somepony without playing with them, was kind of difficult. Usually, Mithra just joined in on games to get to know other ponies. Here, they actually had to put out the effort in verbally getting to know one another without first being used to each other.

After five more seconds of awkward silence, Mithra was the first to speak up, "So I have this thing I do every year two nights before Nightmare Night where I have a slumber party, and tell scary stories. Since no one else wants to go with me, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go. Besides, you looked super lonely, so I thought that you'd like to come. Uhm. If you want to."

Shade's face lit up in joy and he bounced up in his seat, flapping his bat wings happily, "Yes! I'd love to! Okay, so Nightmare Night is on that one night, so that means you want me to come over the tonight, right? I don't have anything going on. This is the coolest! You're the awesomest filly ever, Mithra!"

Mithra giggled and nodded, her mane bouncing up and down, "That's pretty true. Anyway, meet me out front when school ends, okay? I'll go with you to your parent's house, so you can ask them. And then from there, I'll show you where my house is. My mom and dad won't mind if you stay over. They know I bring ponies over every year on this night. It's kinda my thing."

Just then, the bell rang, and the hundred or so kids in the lunchroom jumped out of their seats and ran to their next class, much to the displeasure of the students. Mithra and Shade said their goodbyes, though they couldn't hear each other over the roar of the crowd, and went to their next class. Unfortunately, they weren't in the same group, so they didn't have the same schedule. All day, both of them were constantly fidgeting and looking out any windows they could get their eyes on, far too excited for their own good. Both for different reasons. Shade was just happy to have a friend, but Mithra was just happy that her special night hadn't been ruined. New friends were nice, too, though.




After school. Finally.
	

Shade darted down the hallway, dodging pony after pony, sometimes using his wings to get past an obstacle. He knew that he wasn't supposed to run or fly in the hallways, but he was far too excited to think clearly. Thankfully, he hadn't caught the attention of any of the teachers, otherwise he might had gotten a detention. He didn't like those. Not that he ever got any very often, but he had one at his last school. They weren't too fun at all. You just sorta sat there and did homework without any peanut butter. He didn't like doing homework without peanut butter. He liked peanut butter a lot.

With a squeal of giggle, he slipped through a group of colts and fillies and bounded down the main path, sliding to a stop at the front gate of the school. He plopped his rump down on the concrete path, looking around with barely contained excitement. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find his new friend. They had agreed upon meeting out in front of the school, and this was the front. So where was Mithra? Had she tricked him? Or worse, had she been kidnapped? What if she had been kidnapped by ninjas? No, what if the ninjas were also zombies? Oh, sweet Luna, not the zombie ninjas!

"Hi!"

With a startled gasp, Shade jumped up at least three feet in the air with the aid of his wings, and fell down to the ground, slamming his rump against the hard concrete, "Ow!"

Mithra came into view, her face close to his as she examined him with a worried expression, "Oh my gosh, are you okay? I promise that I didn't mean to scare you! And now you're hurt! Oh, it's all my fault! I'm so, so, so sorry!"

Shade was about to tell Mithra not to sneak up on a pony like that, but he stopped when he saw tears in her eyes. Whimpering, he wrapped her up in a hug, much to the amusement of all of the colts nearby. The fillies did what they usually did, and just gossiped quietly. This was sure to spark a few rumors, but the little bat colt wasn't worried about that. He hated when others cried, because when they cried, he cried. And hugging usually stopped him from crying. So here they were. Hugging. In front of everyone.

Mithra's eyes were as wide as can be as she accepted the hug, even going as far as returning it, "Uhm... Shade? Why are you hugging me? Seriously, everyone's watching."

Shade's eyes shot open and he threw himself backwards, standing up and refusing to meet her gaze as his cheeks lit up in a crimson blush, "O-oh, sorry... it's just that you were crying, and I wanted to tell you that I was fine. By hugging you. Because I sorta cry when others cry. And hugging usually helps stop that."

He barely mumbled as he fidgeted with his two front hooves, something that he seemed to do quite a lot, "Sorry."

Mithra was embarrassed that had happened in front of basically the whole school, but she also thought that it was super sweet that Shade hugged her, "It's okay. Come on, let's go to your parents' house. I have so much stuff to do with you! Come on, let's go!"

Shade nodded and began walking, but soon had to run, as his new friend seemed to want to get their quickly... even though he was the one who was leading, she liked to be in front of him. He took an immediate right down the round, skirting around a couple who looked offended that two children dared to cross paths with them. The two children paid no attention to this, as they were now running alongside each other, trying their best to stay out of everyone's way, but at the same time, try not to go out onto the actual road. Carriages were dangerous, as grownups liked to say all the time.

About five blocks of running later, both of them were gasping and wheezing as they approached an extremely decorated house. The entire house had been painted different shades of black with fake, thick spider webs covering it and the lawn. The lawn itself was brown and dying, and there had to be at least a hundred different pumpkin lanterns with their own unique, spooky expression. There was a scarecrow in the middle of the yard that was holding up a sign that said all who enter, never leave. Mithra slowly walked up a cobblestone path towards the house, her eyes wide.

Mithra looked very impressed, much to the satisfaction of Shade, "This is your house? It's so cool! Your parents are awesome, Shade! These are the best Nightmare Night decorations I've ever seen! The house is even painted black!"

Shade giggled and led her up the path and onto the black porch, "I know, right? My mom and dad love Nightmare Night. I just like the candy. The decorations are kinda scary. Anyway, come on in!"

He opened up the door and ran into the house despite the pain in his chest from running all the way here. He went straight into the living room and vaulted over the back of the couch, then straight onto the cushion. He was now next to two bat ponies, one of which looked a lot like an older version of Shade, that one being the father. The mother, instead of a darker mane, had more of a silver mane and a dark gray body. But she had all the markings of a bat pony from the ears to the fangs.

The stallion ruffled up Shade's mane, smiling, "Hey there, sport! I see you brought a friend over? What's your name, kiddo?"

Mithra stood near the door, feeling a little awkward at the fact that she had to meet two more ponies, "My name's Mithra, and, uhm... yeah, that's about it. Nice to meet you."

The mare giggled and looked over at Mithra, "Ooohh, my son made his first friend! And a filly, too!"

The stallion nudged his son's side, "That's my boy. A real filly magnet, just like his old stallion."

Shade cringed away from the nudge and curled up in his own little ball, blushing profusely, "Daaaaad, mooooom! Stop it, you're embarrassing me in front of my friend! Mithra, don't listen to them. They always do this whenever I bring someone over."

Mithra snickered a little and sat down near the door, waiting for Shade to ask his parents about the sleepover, "Oh, I don't mind. Soooo... Shade, can you ask your parents about that thing? You know, that thing?"

Shade perked up in realization and looked at his parents with wide, pleading eyes, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that! Mom, dad, can I go to Mithra's house and have a sleepover? Pleeeeeaaase? I promise I won't get into any trouble, and I'll do extra chores when I come back!"

Shade's father looked over at his wife, who nodded, looking amused, "Well, as long as your friend's parents don't mind, it's fine by us. Just make sure to come back by at least noon tomorrow, oky? So, Mithra, would your parents mind?"

Mithra shook her head and tried to keep the excitement out of her voice, "Nope! I always bring someone over for a sleepover every year on this night. It's kind of my thing. My mom and dad are used to it by now. They've been asking who I'm gonna bring for, like, a week."

Shade's mother smiled at this and nodded towards Mithra, "Alright, if it's fine with your parents, it's fine with us. Remember, Shade, at least be back by noon tomorrow."

The two kids wasted no time in saying anything other than thanking Shade's parents, and ran out the door, heading straight towards Mithra's house. The little filly was in front again, doing her best to avoid running into any passersby. All the while, Shade couldn't help but giggle over the fact that he had a friend. A real friend to do stuff with, to play with, and to do... well, friend stuff with. It was nice to be with someone that acknowledged your existence. The first couple of days at his new school had been really lonely, and he thought that he would never make any friends. Thankfully, he had been wrong. However, one thing was constantly bugging him... he didn't do so well with scary stories. And the last thing he wanted was to be a coward in front of Mithra. But despite that nagging thought at the back of his head, his excitement at having made a new friend overwhelmed any doubts he had. He just giggled and ran alongside his new friend.




Mithra's house.


Mithra burst in through her door and sprinted into her house before spinning around, and holding her front hooves out in front of her with a happy grin, "This is my home! It's basically the coolest house ever. My parents are gonna be gone for today. They trust me enough to be by myself. So we can pretty much whatever we want. So... what do you wanna do?"

Shade trotted in and looked at the house, enjoying how lively it all seemed. His house was pretty empty from the whole we just moved in not too long ago thing. Other than Nightmare Night decorations. They always had those on hoof. He looked back to Mithra, a big smile on his face.

"Well... we can make smores! Or we could eat peanut butter. Peanut butter is always an option. In fact, let's abandon the smores. Smores take work, and I dunno how we'd make them. Say, where do you keep your peanut butter?"

Mithra raised an eyebrow at this and went out into the kitchen before grabbing a chair from a small table in said kitchen, dragging it noisily towards the counters. She hopped up onto it right when her friend walked into the kitchen to see what she was doing. She got up onto her hind legs and reached up towards the cabinets, opening one of them up. She grabbed a jar of peanut butter and let it fall down in the sink with a loud crash, or at least as loudly as falling peanut butter jars went. She looked down at it and licked her lips. It did sound good. Peanut butter, that is.

She jumped off of the chair and ran over to the silverware drawer, nearly yanking out and pulling out two spoons. She placed one on the counter and kept the other for herself. With a giggle at the fact that they were going to eat peanut butter out of the jar, which her parents would more than disapprove of, she grabbed the bottle and went over to the table before sitting at the only chair left. 

Shade got the idea and went over and retrieved the other spoon before going over to the table... but paused. Oh, the other chair was near the counters. He ran over to said chair and began dragging it across the floor, his sensitive ears hurting from the loud noises it was making. With a huff, he yanked it around until it was facing the table. Impatiently, he tried hopping up onto the chair, but ended up slipping off with his rump hanging off the side, his hindlegs kicking out in protest against gravity. Whimpering, he slid back down to the floor, feeling embarrassed. Mithra's giggling definitely didn't help.

Shade hopped up on the chair, this time managing it, pouting and feeling sorry for himself, "It's not funny, stop laughing. Come on, I wanna eat some peanut butter. Don't tell anyone about that, okay?"

Mithra giggle some more before opening the jar up, though with a little difficulty since it was new, and moved it forward so that they both could reach it, "You're cute when you're embarrassed. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

She slipped in her spoon and scooped up some of the delicious peanut butter, popping it into her mouth with a coy smile. 

Shade didn't say anything to that, as he was too busy fighting off another wave of embarrassment, this time about being called cute. Usually, his mom was the only one to say that, so when he heard it coming out of her mouth, it was all he could do not to run out of the room so as to avoid looking at her. He was still pouting, only this time, it was because he really didn't want to be cute. He began stuffing his face with peanut butter, his little brow furrowed in frustration. Eventually, however, due to his attention span being childishly short, he didn't stay mad for very long, especially since he had peanut butter to eat.

Smack.

Smack.

Smack.

He loudly smacked the treat against the roof of his mouth, trying to get it down his gullet, though it was defying him at every possible corner. Eventually, the problem of just eating peanut butter alone soon became obvious. There was a sort of tightness at the back of his throat, causing a choking sensation despite the ability to be able to breath. With a muffled whimper, he jumped off of the chair and dragged it back towards the counter desperately, hating the fact that he was so darn small. Once it was against the counter, he got up onto it and turned the faucet on before shoving his face into the water.

Even through the noise of his desperate gurgling of water, he could hear the laughter of his friend. Another blush formed on his cheeks as he pulled away and sat on the chair, not bothering to drag it back to the table. He jumped off and placed the spoon next to the jar, and peeked out into the dining room, seeing a much larger table with a hanging light up ahead.

"Hey, Mithra, can we go up to your room? Bring the peanut butter. We'll probably want more later. I know I will."

Mithra seemingly brightened up at the prospect of showing her friend her room, and ran out of the kitchen... totally forgetting about the peanut butter. Sighing, he grabbed it with a hoof and tucked it into his side. He always hated carrying stuff and walking at the same time. Grownups made it look so easy, but in actuality, it was very difficult. At least, it used to be. With practice, he was able to carry stuff with more ease, but not without at least some difficulty. Awkwardly, he began running on three legs, unable to catch up with Mithra, but was at least able to keep her within eyesight.

While going up the stairs, he tripped three times, each time accompanied with an exasperated whimper. At the top of the stairs, he stumbled against the hallway wall, grunting a bit. Stairs were his mortal enemy whilst carrying things. He stuck to walking the rest of the way, his cheeks red with embarrassment. From the way Mithra was giggling in her room, his paranoia began to kick in. Did she know of his stair blunders? The thought alone made his cheeks brighten up even more. Once he went into her room, he realized she wasn't giggling because of that. She was currently engrossed in pulling out books of all shapes and sizes from a large toy chest. From the covers of most of them, he wagered that they were of the scary variety.

He trotted over to chest and peered inside, "Whoa... that's a lot of books."

Mithra nodded her little head proudly, mane bouncing along with said head, "Yup! I've read all of them at least a hundred times! Buuuut, I'm sure we can still have fun with them. It's not time for that, I'm just getting ready. Momma always says to be prepared!"

Shade brightened up and baring his fangs in a big smile, "My mom always says that, too!"

He paused, a look of uncertainty on his face, "Well... sometimes. Anyway, uhm, if it's not story time just yet, what should we do? Cuz I don't wanna just wait around and do nothing."

Mithra went to another toy chest and pulled out a board game. Ponopoly. She set everything up, and they played the game for most of the day. He got his flank kicked every time, though, as she was apparently a finance genius. He halfway wondered if she had a leprechaun backing her up. She never seemed to have a bad roll or a bad draw. She won two games by now, but he was anything, if not persistent. He was determined to win at least one game, and by Luna's mane, he was going to do it!




Mithra's house. Ten horribly lost games later.


Mithra had been more than glad to give up the game. She had beaten Shade every time he had challenged her, and it was getting kind of boring. Winning didn't exactly feel too good anymore, especially with him scrunching his muzzle up in a silent, reserved fit every time. She knew he wanted to comment on his losses, but he was either too polite or too afraid. Something like that. Now that that bit of business was out of the way, it was time for her to erect the tent, as was tradition. And tradition was law on this night. She just knew that Shade would be a great storyteller. All bat ponies are supposed to be scary. Or at least, good with scary stuff. 

She had positioned eight chairs, all of which were in a circle, their backs facing inwards. It took a bit of doing and finding, but she managed to find blankets big enough to cover all ends and holes. After a bit, the whole thing was covered from top to bottom, and there was even two fluffy, big blankets on the floor to give them cushioning. After all, they were going to be sleeping here tonight. She set other blankets and pillows off to the side for them to use when they were ready to go to bed.

With a squeak of excitement in her voice, she spoke up, "Alright! It's finally time for the best time of the night! Story time! I really hope you know what you're doing. But for now, we're gonna read scary books to really get in the mood. Er, our muse. Insp-... insparashun."

Shade lifted a questioning brow, "You mean inspiration?"

She waved a dismissive hoof and chuckled, "Please, let me focus on spelling and grammar. I am, after all, a master of it. I got an A on my spelling test last night. So I think that makes me automatically right."

"I don't think-"

She interrupted him by plopping a ridiculously large book out in front of them, her muzzle scrunched up in barely contained excitement, "Okay! Now that we got that out of the way, it's time for the main course! I'll read first to start us off."

She turned a lantern on besides them and opened up the book, a huge smile on her muzzle despite the fact that she had read this book at least a hundred times, "It was dark and lonely night, and the woods beck-... aned. Beckaned. Yeah, that. Anywho, they beckaned towards a small colt-..."

She paused and looked at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't quite make it past the stammering point before staying quiet, a look of defeat on his face. Oh well, it couldn't have been that important. She had a ton of ways to go about this. She could always make the story more personal for him. Yeah, that could work out.

She looked back down at the book, sticking her tongue slightly out in deep thought, a furrow in her brows, "Anyway! It beckaned to a small colt... a bat pony colt!"

Shade squeaked out, hiding behind his front hooves, his tail tucking in between his hind legs, "But I'm a bat pony colt!"

Mithra nodded and flashed a knowing grin, "The bat pony colt couldn't help but be drawn towards this forest despite how scary it looked. He had heard tales of little fillies and colts being snatched up by a monster. A monster with one big eye, and a hunger bigger than the forest itself! The forest was more along the lines of a large woods, but that's still pretty big. So his hunger must be super big! And the only thing that could tame that hunger were fillies and colts! But do you know know what the monster's favorite snack was? Go on, guess."

Shade was shaking, and his wide, terrified eyes shook behind a mop of dark blue mane, "N-no... no, I don't know. I guess, uhm... peanut butter? Everyone l-likes peanut butter."

Mithra shook her head and frowned at him, then returned back to the book, "No. It's not peanut butter. It's... bat pony colts!"

Shade let out a squeal of fright and curled up into a ball, holding on to his hind legs as he stared at Mithra with one eye, the other hidden by mane. Surely, there was no better scary story teller. She was the best, and her friend was in for a ride tonight! A scary ride!

Mithra was feeling pretty proud of her storytelling skills by now, "The little bat pony colt was unaware of what the monster's favorite snack was, and didn't even believe in the rumors in the first place. So he went inside, holding his favorite stuffed animal by his side. A rabbit, I think. The trees seemed to bend down and hold their branches out, like they wanted to snatch the bat pony up. Being the scaredy-cat he was, the colt screamed and tried to run away!"

Shade scoffed and pulled out of his ball of fur, puffing out his chest, and closing his eyes smugly, "I'll have you know, we bat ponies are super brave, and we never get afraid. So your story can't be real, cuz it's not realistic."

Mithra jabbed a hoof in Shade's direction, pointing off to the side behind him, "Oh my gosh, it's the monster! It's the monster! It's come to eat you, Shade!"

Shade let out a squeal of fright and jumped forward, wrapping both hooves around Mithra, and digging his face into her chest, "Make the monster go away! Make him go away, Mithra! I don't wanna be eaten. I bet I don't even taste good!"

Mithra's cheeks were ablaze with a blush as she looked down at her friend, who was now burying his muzzle into her body, "U-uhm... he's gone now. I scared him away using my, uhm... my scary skills. Yeah, those. He's never coming back. You can get off me now."

Admittedly, she kind of liked him hugging her. It wasn't so much a hug, though, as it was a terrified cuddle. But there was no way she would ever tell him that. With a big blush, probably bigger than hers, he pulled away and sat in his original spot. He still looked really scared, but apparently she had made him feel somewhat better.

Mithra couldn't help but feel bad for him, though she continued reading anyway, "But the bat pony colt was stopped by a big, lumbering figure... who was at least, uhm... nine... no, ten feet tall! He was super tall, and super scary. He had big teeth that were as big as bananas, and his eyes were almost as big as his face. In the moonlight, you could see them better than anything else. The pupils were really small, and the eyes themselves were red. Redder than the moon, which was red that night!"

Shade scoffed at this, who looked to be getting braver by the second, "The moon isn't red. You're just being silly. Besides, you haven't changed the page the entire story. I bet you're just making this all up. The monster doesn't even exist."

Mithra, her pride as a scary story-teller on the line, scoffed in return, "Nuh-uh! The moon can get red sometimes! It doesn't happen often, but I've seen it before! I was with my daddy, and we thought it was really cool! Are you calling me and my daddy liars?"

Shade backed down from his sudden bravado, whimpering a bit, "N-no... no, I'm not. I guess the moon can get red if you say it can. But it's mostly white. That I know. So, uhm... the pages. Why haven't you turned a page yet?"

Mithra looked down at the book and gulped nervously. She wasn't actually reading from the book, she was making it all up as she went along. But she didn't want him to know that.

Mithra muttered as she turned a page, "It has really small words. And a lot of them. Let me tell the story."

She continued, "Anywho, the monster was really scary. Like, out of this world scary. He might even be an alien, I don't know. And the colt sure didn't. He tried to run past, but was caught and held up, their faces almost touching. And then..."

She leaned forward, a huge, maniacal grin tugging at his lips, "It got him!"

Shade had been on the edge of his seat, so to speak, but the moment she said those words, he relaxed and scoffed again, "That wasn't a very scary story, Mithra. How did it get him? Did it eat him? Did it, uhm... turn him into a mind slave or something? You hinted at the monster actually being an alien. So it's possible. Oh! What if-... what if it, uhm, put a worm in his brain? Like, a special type of worm. A mind worm!"

Mithra threw the book off to the side, crossed her arms, and huffed in annoyance, "No. It just got him. It ate him, that's all. End of story. It was super scary. You just don't know scary when you see it."

Shade looked to take offense at that particular remark, his muzzle scrunching up in anger, and his voice squeaking, "I do, too! I know tons of scary! So much scary that if I told a scary story, you'd be... y'know... scared. Really, really scared! I am a bat pony after all."

Mithra seemed to become ten shades whiter than she already was, "T-that's right... I heard bat ponies were super scary. Go ahead, tell a scary story. I wanna hear it."

For all his bravery, Shade hesitated. But he was just trying to devise a story. A really, really good story. Mithra knew it. Because, after all, bat ponies were supposed to know how to be scary. It was just the way of things, because everyone said so. And if so many ponies said the same thing, it had to be true, right?





Shade's POV.



Shade sat there in silence for about a minute, feeling terrified. At the end of his friend's story, he had felt a little better, but he was still really scared, and felt as if Mithra's scary skills hadn't actually scared the monster away all the way. It might come back. He mentally scoffed. No, there was no such thing as monsters, Mithra was just telling a story. Granted, a super scary story... probably the scariest he had ever heard. He snapped out of thought when he realized that his friend was staring intently at him. It took him a moment to figure out why, then he remembered that he was supposed to be telling a story of his own. He knew that Mithra had actually been making the story up, because there was no way the words were that small where she only turned the page once.

"I'm so good at scary stories that I don't have to have a book. I can just make them up on the spot. So! Scary story time. Uhm, give me a second, okay?"

Mithra didn't say anything, she just stared.

Sighing, he began with the first thing that popped into his head, "Once upon a time-"

Mithra interrupted, "Once upon a time? What kind of scary story starter is that? It's a scary story, not a princess fairytale."

Shade frowned at this and sighed again, starting all over again, because someone doesn't know when to be quiet, "There once was a small filly who was white, and had a sort of light brown mane with... with, uhm... an ever lighter shade of light brown kind of streaking down the sides. Yeah, just like. Anyway, she was super pretty, and everyone in school liked her. But one day, there was a big test coming up... and she didn't study! WoOoOo! And her parents were going to be super angry with her if she didn't at least get a B or something. But she knew that she wouldn't be able to get even a C, because she was terrible at math. Even worse, she didn't have a friend she could cheat off of! WooOoOoO!"

Mithra didn't look scared. In fact, she looked really disappointed.

Shade reached for the flashlight they had brought upstairs, turned the lantern off, and flashed his face, "But it gets even worse! The teacher that gives out that test is, like, super mad at everything. But he gets even more mad at students who fail tests. So the filly is going to be in a lot of trouble from both her parents and her teacher! WooOooOooOo!"

Even more disappointment.

It looked like Shade would have to break out the big guns, "A tough crowd, huh? Well, you asked for it. Don't say I didn't warn you... this one isn't for the... faint? Yeah, it's not for the faint of heart."

Grinning a grin that any scary story master would be proud of, he began his spooky tale, "There he was, trapped. He had no way out. He had been tricked. He stared at the screen, an expression of fixed horror on his face. He only wanted his free boat, why did he have to sit here for four hours? A pony stood near the screen, pointing at the many statistics that proved that condos were a good investment. And guess what? When it came to the end of the presentation, they didn't give him a free boat! They just wanted to sell condos! WooOOoOooOOo!~"

Mithra had a scowl on her face, "That's what you call a scary story? What even is a condo?"

Shade sighed, "I dunno, I heard my dad talking about it. I'm doing the best I can, alright? So, there once was a small filly. Again. She was pretty and everyone liked her. Again. One day, she was home alone just the night before Nightmare Night, and the power had just gone out. Lightning was striking all around the city, thunder was crashing against her ear drums. She wanted to cry, but she was a brave filly. So she didn't. She didn't like being home alone, especially not on the night just before the spookiest night of them all. She peeked her head out of her bedroom door, and looked down the long, dark hallway. To her blinded eyes, the hallway looked like a bottomless pit of darkness. She was afraid to go, but she knew she had to turn the emergency generator on. Because without lights, she wasn't sure if she could handle being alone."

Mithra's eyes widened as Shade's storytelling suddenly become a lot darker. She covered up with her blankets and held a stuffed teddy bear close to her little body, eyes staring at Shade with uncertain fear. She looked to be having second thoughts. Maybe he was being too scary? It certainly sounded like a scary story. He wouldn't want to be the one being told this tale. But being the one who was doing the telling, he knew that this story couldn't possibly be real. How could it?

He continued, "She began walking down the hallway, flinching with every crash of thunder, and flash of lightning. She could swear she could see shapes of monsters with each flash, stalking her, wanting to eat her. But she was a brave filly. A smart filly. She knew that there were no such things as monsters. Still, she was afraid. She eventually made it to the stairs and began walking down them, each step creaking and groaning under her weight. She whimpered with each creak, and hurried along as quickly as she could."

Shade turned the flashlight back on and aimed it upwards at his face again, his expression blank, "Still, there was nothing. The flashing and crashing of the storm was still going on, however. Right next to the stairs, there was a door... and that door led to the basement. And the basement was where she would find the backup generator. She didn't want to go down there. It was the last place in the world she wanted to be right now. But if her parents were brave enough to do it, she could be as well."

He leaned forward into the beam of light after a short pause, "She opened up the door, and began going down the steps. These were louder. A lot louder. Her scared mind thought the steps were somehow warning her not to go down. But being the brave filly she was... she kept going. One step, two steps, three steps. Eventually, she felt concrete on her hooves. It was a straight shot to the generator, and she could see the dim light a few of its buttons were giving off. With a big smile, she went forward and pressed the big, red button. And just like that, the lights began to flicker on. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all?"

He leaned back into an upright position, "She went all the way back upstairs, straight into the kitchen, and over to the counters. After all that, she felt as if all her troubles were gone. After all, with the lights on, what could ever get at her? She was safe in the light. Or at least, she thought so. Bringing a chair over to the counters, she got up onto it, and looked into one of the cabinets. She looked around for just a second when..."

He leaned forward, trying to adopt a look of horror on his face, though he just looked really goofy, "That was when she realized it. The horrible truth."

Mithra squeaked in terror and shrunk further into her makeshift bed, "W-what did she realize...?"

There was a long pause before he finally spoke up, "There was no more peanut butter left! WOOOOooOOOOooOO!"

Mithra scowled at this and threw her blanket off to the side, "What?! That doesn't make any sense! That's your story? All that build-up , and you come up with that?!"

Shade cringed away from Mithra's tantrum, his ears folding back against his head, his bottom lip beginning to tremble, "B-but... I thought it was scary. I tried really hard. I'm sorry it wasn't good enough for you, Mithra. But please d-don't be mad at me. I'm sorry."

Mithra wasn't having any of it, "At least tell me you have another story to make up for that one. Because I've been waiting a long time for this, and I don't want to end the night on that. I'm tired of being the one who tells all the good stories!"

Shade's eyes began to water up and thought for a little bit, though he couldn't come up with anything, not with the way he was feeling right now, "No, I can't think of anything! I'm sorry. I know t-this night is your thing, but is yelling at me going to do you any good?"

Mithra pouted heavily at this and turned away from Shade, crossing her arms and glaring at the floor as she stayed completely silent.  Shade couldn't help but feel bad for his friend, though at the same time, he was almost over the edge. He cried very easily and often , and right now was about to be one of those times. He scooted towards the pouting filly and put a hoof on her shoulder, about to attempt to make her feel better so that he could as well.

Mithra instantly turned on Shade and glared at him, "No! Every year is the same exact thing! Every year, no one can scare me enough, and every year, it's a big disappointment! You're the same mistake I make every single year! I should have never invited you over here! I've been planning this night all year long and you ruined it!"

She jabbed at his chest to prove that she meant business.

Shade's muzzle scrunched up and he let out a angry bat pony skree, followed by angry ranting, "Wow, what's your problem? They're just stories. You're overreacting. I think we should go to bed, and never talk to each other ever again! You're a really mean filly, Mithra!"

Mithra recoiled as if she had been slapped, "Yeah? Well, you're-"

CRRRRRRRAAASSSSSSHHH!!

Both foals jumped in fright, clinging to one another. The little bat colt absolutely _hated_ lightning and thunder, as his sensitive ears were overloaded each and every time. He was about to go on another rant about how Mithra was a selfish filly, but her look of absolute terror made him feel bad for her, even if she was really mean. He sighed and patted her back.

"Hey, it's just thunder... it's okay."

Mithra shook her head and slowly pointed towards the window, "It's... it's the monsters!"

Shade tapped her hoof, making her look over at him, "Hey, it's okay. There aren't any monsters. We're totally okay here in the tent. This is, like, our safe space, y'know? Even if there were monsters, this tent-"

Mithra grabbed his head and turned it towards the window that was facing towards the opening in the tent. Surely enough, there looked to be something horrific just behind the glass. It was black. Pure black, like a shadow. Its form was gnarled into something he could barely make out. It had two big, clawed hands that scraped against the window, making this awful sound. The little bat pony shrunk away in terror, suddenly forgetting about how invincible they were supposed to be in the tent. Never in his life did he ever think he'd run into a monster. It didn't say anything, it just scrraaaatched against the glass, as if asking for permission to enter.

Shade slowly got up and apprpoached the tent entrance to make a swift escape, "W-we need to get out of here, Mithra. We can't let the monster get us!"

Mithra nodded in agreement, looking a lot whiter than normal. She wordlessly got up, sniffling as tears brimmed at her eyes, and began making her way towards the entrance, ready to dart around the tent when they got out. One step, two steps, three steps... time seemed to slow down, but that terrible scratching sound never ceased. The horrific, monstrous form seemed to be _grinning_ at them, never making a move to get through the window. It just sat there, staring them down.

CRRRRRRRAAASSSSSSHHH!!

Shade let out a terrified skree and ran to the side, squeezing in between chairs and almost taking the blanket with him in doing so. But instead, he fell to the ground the the blanket crumbled all around him. Despite feeling pain from smashing his muzzle on the ground, he got up and continued to skree, running around in blind terror. Thankfully, though, despite their argument, Mithra came to the rescue, yanking the blanket off of him and urging him to run out of the room, which he agreed with wholeheartedly in the form of constant skreeing.

Both of the foals ran out of the room, attempting to go downstairs. Each step reverberated throughout the house, their screams (skrees) were overwhelming pretty much every other noise except the occasional lightning strike that lit the building up with light. They stopped at the front of the stairs, their screams intensifying as something incomprehensibly horrifying was lit up with the latest lightning. It was long and slender, like a broom, but it had weirdly angled arms at the top of it with what looked to be things hanging off of them. Four arms, four foal-destroying weapons.

And back up the stairs they went, still screaming as they tried to escape the monsters that so very clearly desired their foal bodies for food. They tried to run into Mithra's parents' room, but there were monsters there as well! There were monsters everywhere! The darkness was home to many of these beasts, it seemed. They ran into the bathroom and switched on the light before slamming the door shut. And into the tub they went, cuddled up against one another as they listened for anything that might suggest the bad things knew where they were.

Mithra sniffled and stared at the door, "Shade, I'm s-scared! Don't let the monsters get me!"

Shade held Mithra against his chest and cried right along with her, wanting desperately to protect her, but wondering if he had the strength to defend her against things that seemed as if they came from Tartarus. The thunder filled the house with more noise, and they went back to screaming (skreeing.)

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!

Something was running up the stairs, and they were sitting ducks! There was nowhere to go! The monsters were surely going to get them, and there was nothing they could do about it! Shade hugged the little filly against him, almost as if he was shielding her from the horror of their situation. He wasn't the bravest colt in the world, but there was no way he would let any monsters get his friend, even if they had a small disagreement.

Boom, boom, boom, boomboomboomboom!

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The hoofsteps were right outside the door, and the door knob was opening! Shade, with his superior in every way hearing capabilities, could hear heavy breathing that was distinctly masculine, and another behind him that was obviously feminine. He clung tighter to the filly, ready to defend her with his life if need be. Their screaming only heightened, tears wetting down their fur.

The door flung open, slamming against the bathroom cabinet. Due to the force, it tried to rebound back to the doorway, but was pushed to the side with frightening ease. Shade only saw a large shape coming towards them before he turned away, digging his face into his friend's neck, crying violently. This was it. This was the end. At least he got to meet someone that saw him for who he was instead of just some bat pony to avoid. In his final moments, he found peace in the fact that he was about to go with someone whom he had grown to care for in such a short amount of time.

No!

He wouldn't let it end like this, especially if his friend was in trouble. Turning around with his eyes closed tightly, he used the side of the tub to jump forwards and attempt to tackle the form that was quickly approaching them. He let out a warrior skree, which would have made his ancestors proud. He must have surprised it, because he could hear it stopping in its tracks, letting out a startled gasp. But the brave, little colt didn't falter for one minute. There was no way he was going to let some monster gobble up someone as sweet and kind as Mithra was. He latched onto the monster's neck, and, with the momentum of his foward jump, brought the two of them to the ground.

He began to absolutely wreak havoc on the now helpess creature, teaching what for with his hoof strikes of unstoppable force and blinding speed. He was the shining example of Supercolt in those comic books he liked to read. He was here to save the day, and he had surprise on  his side. However, seconds into his devastating assault, he was pinned to the ground, screaming in rage.

"You won't get her, monsters! I won't let you! Let me up and fight me like a real stallion!"

The monster spoke, sounding as if it was pretty troubled by what had just happened, "Calm down, kid, for Celestia's sake, you need to calm down! We're not monsters, we're Mithra's parents! You two need to tell me what's going on here. Now."

Shade's black face suddenly felt ten times whiter than it should have been. He was let up off of the ground, and Mithra was off to the side, looking at him with a weird expression on her face, blushing quite profusely. She didn't say anything at all. He looked over at two furious-looking ponies that most definitely were Mithra's parents. He looked down at his two front hooves, feeling quite silly and ashamed of himself for attacking Mithra's father.

Shade spoke up, unable to meet the menacing gaze of his friend's parents, "I-... I'm sorry! We saw a bunch of monsters in the dark, and they, uhm... they tried to get us. So we ran in here and hid in the tub. I thought the monsters were trying to get us, so I-... well, I guess we kind of overreacted."

His eyes widened, "Wait, the monsters are still in the house, you gotta help us!"

The adults' expressions softened, and even transformed into what looked like amusment for some reason.

Mithra's dad spoke up, his mouth twisted into a grin as he ruffled up the colt's mane, "Well, Mithra's going to be extra safe with a colt like you protecting her, that's for sure. Don't worry, kids, there aren't any monsters in the house. We didn't see any when we came in."

Mithra stopped looking at Shade strangely, and looked at her dad pleadingly, "But daddy, there are monsters in the house! Come on, I'll show you where they are so you can kick their butts! No monster can beat you up!"

She ran out of the bathroom, being followed by two parents who were obviously resisting the urge to chuckle. Shade followed closely behind them, watching behind him, at his sides, and at their front, ready to spring into action a second time. They went downstairs and looked at where the front door monster had been. Instead, there was a coat hanger with coats on it. Coincidentally, it would have made the same shape in the darkness that they had perceived as a monster. Feeling awfully silly, Shade went back up the stairs and into Mithra's parent's bedroom.

The shape that they had thought was a monster was just a dresser. Both of the foals felt incredibly embarrassed that they had let a dresser and a coat hanger get the best of them. But surely the window monster was real! What else could it possibly be if not a spooky monster from the depths of Tartarus? Mithra ran into her room in desperation, the light still off. Indeed, the monster was still there, scratching against the window as it gave all of them that creepy grin. It obviously didn't care that there were adults here. More ponies to eat, it probably reasoned.

Mithra's mom smiled and turned on the light, "See, there are no monsters in this house. I promise both of you, this house is monster-proof. See, it's just some branches from the tree outside the house. Though, we really need to cut it down. It's the creepiest looking tree I've ever seen."

Indeed, it was really creepy to look at, but it was just a tree with branches that probably formed the face and the arms of what could look like a monster in the dark. Both foals felt really silly, especially Shade. He had attacked Mithra's dad! What if he wasn't allowed over here ever again? What if they hated him after this?

He gasped. What if they told his parents? His eyes widened, and he cowered.

Shade spoke up, "P-please don't tell my parents I attacked you, Mr. Mithra's dad! I'm so, so sorry for doing that to you! Please don't ban me from ever seeing Mithra again! She's super nice, and I wanna spend more time with her! She's my friend!"

Mithra blushed yet again, looking at him with that strange expression. Now that he was in a better state of mind, he could see confusion there. But also admiration and respect. There was something else there as well, but he couldn't quite place it.

Mr. Mithra's dad laughed at this and ruffled up the colt's mane yet again, making the little guy give out a small, barely audible skree of embarrassment, "Hey, it's okay, kiddo. You were scared, and you thought you were defending my little filly. The fact that you went to such lengths to keep her safe is enough reason for me to let you come over whenever you want. You're always welcome here. By the way, the name's Ferris. You can call mom over here Bloom."

Shade blushed and fiddled with his two front hooves, "O-oh! Well, uhm... thanks Mr. Ferris! Sorry we screamed so much. I bet we look awfully silly right about now."

Bloom giggled and gave her little filly a kiss on the cheek, who sort of cringed away, "Oh, you're just kids. I remember when I used to be scared by monsters when I was a filly. Your father and I were just like you two, Mithra. Telling scary stories and scaring each other half to death. But that's half the fun. The best part is learning that there weren't any monsters to begin with! Then we just laughed and laughed!"

Both of Mithra's parents began laughing, remembering when they were foals. As they say, laughter tends to be pretty contagious. Soon enough, all four of them were sent into a giggling fit. Now that all of the bad stuff was over with, Shade did find the whole situation to be incredibly funny. They had been scared by a coat hanger of all things. How silly is that? Eventually, they all calmed down, and the adults began helping the kids get settled into their tent.

Ferris kissed his daughter on the forehead, "It's time you two went to bed. It's really late. Goodnight, sweetie. You, too, kiddo. You're definitely getting some bits for defending my little filly so bravely, that's for sure."

Shade grinned at this and said goodnight as well. Pretty soon, both of them were alone yet again with their thoughts. It was pretty awkward now that all of that nasty business was out of the way. His mind shifted towards how they had acted towards one another. She might have started it, but he should have tried to calm her down instead of making the situation worse.

The little bat pony colt spoke up, looking up at the roof of the tent, "Hey, Mithra? Are you still awake?"

Mithra let out a quiet giggle, "Mom and dad just left, of course I'm still awake."

Shade was quiet for a moment before finally speaking up, "I'm sorry I called you a mean filly. You're really not that mean. I know how important this day was to you. I'm really sorry I could tell you a good story. I'll make it up to you some day, I promise."

Mithra sat up and scooted over to him, laying down on her side right next to him, "I should be the one apologizing. It's just a stupid tradition. The best thing that could have come out of today was making such an awesome friend like you. I'm really sorry I acted the way I did. Do you still wanna be friends after this?"

Shade turned over onto his side as well, grinning as he made eye contact, "Oh, you know it! Next time, you should spend a night over at my house. My mom makes the best desserts, like... ever. I'm really glad I made a friend like you. Everyone has sort of ignored me ever since I moved here. It's been kind of lonely."

Mithra smile at this and snuggled up against him, making the bat pony blush, "I just wanna say... thanks for protecting me back there. Even if you attacked my dad. I think it's really sweet that you did that for me. I just met you today, but it already feels like you're my best friend. I don't think any of my friends would have ran to my rescue like that. You're a really great friend, you know that?"

Still blushing, Shade did his best to snuggle back against his friend, though it was rather awkward and forced, "I just did it. Something snapped in me, and I just did it. I thought about what would happen to you if monsters got to us, and I told myself that I couldn't let you get hurt. I think you're my best friend, too, Mithra."

Mithra let a faint smile form on her muzzle, "Forever and ever?"

Shade giggled and hugged Mithra close to his chest, "Forever and ever, Mithra. Goodnight. Sweet dreams, best friend."

And thus, both foals slowly fell asleep, content in the fact that they would never be gobbled up by monsters as long as they had each other for protection. A day into their friendship, and they were already inseparable. For once, Shade didn't dream about peanut butter and peanut butter accessories. But rather, he dreamed of a very special filly that had quickly come to hold a special place in his bat colt heart. There, in each other's arms, the world couldn't hurt them. There, under that makeshift tent, they had found friends in each other.