The tree branches from outside casted gloomy shadows into Twilight’s room. On her wall they looked like the creepy hands of a monster that was going to snatch her from her bed. The branches bounced up and down, waiting for the right moment to do their wicked deed. Twilight covered her little head with her blanket, repeating to herself that there are no such thing as monsters.
That is what her parents had always told her.
The wind howled like a wolf in the night, and Twilight shivered under her blanket, gripping it with her hooves for protection. The howling grew louder and menacing, sounding more like the wails of a mare. Soon, the raging winds turned into thunder booming from the sky. The little unicorn whimpered and tightly closed her eyes. “There’s no such thing as monsters,” Twilight whispered. The giant monstrous hand on her wall danced like a madpony, and the wind continued its eerie howl.
This was becoming too much for her. Twilight climbed out of her bed, with Smarty Pants in her arms, and quickly exited her bedroom. The house was completely dark. She froze in the middle of the hallway, not sure of where to go. Twilight stood like a frightened fawn caught by a hunter. Twilight illuminated her horn so she could see where she was. She took small foal steps on the wooden floorboard, but each step she took made a loud creaking noise. “Shhh!” she said to herself.
Twilight traveled down the hall until she found the door she wanted. She slowly extended her forearm to reach, but she hesitated. A thumping noise from outside the house startled her, and Twilight opened the door.
“Cadance?” she asked. She saw Cadence, her foalsitter, sleeping peacefully on her bed. “Cadance?” Twilight asked again, but she did not answer. Twilight let herself in and edged closer to the pink alicorn. She lightly shook Cadance body until she opened her eyes. “Cadance, are you awake?” she asked.
Cadance yawned, and said, “I am now. What’s wrong, Twilight?”
“I can’t sleep.” The pink alicorn sat up to get a good look at Twilight. What she saw was a frightened little filly holding her stuffed doll. “It’s too dark,” Twilight said. “Can we sleep with you?”
“We?”
“Me and Smarty Pants.”
Thunder and lightning clashed loudly in the dark sky, and Twilight became frightened each passing moment. She clutched to her stuffed animal tightly. Cadance saw the fear in Twilight’s eyes, and could not help but to feel sorry for her. She moved to the other side of the bed to make room for Twilight.
“Thank you,” Twilight said, and she made herself and Smarty Pants comfortable beside Cadance. The wailing wind scared her out of her wits, and she hid under Cadance’s blanket. A bright pink light ignited from the alicorn’s horn.
“Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ll protect you,” she said sweetly. With Smarty Pants close to her, Twilight gazed at the ceiling. Lightning flashed, followed by an explosion of thunder.
“Why won’t it stop?” she whimpered. Cadance saw a shivering bulge emerge from under her blanket. She rubbed the bulge softly and said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just thunder.”
“But it’s so loud and scary,” Twilight said.
Cadance looked outside, and the tree branches danced wildly along with the wind. From the corner of her room, shadows appeared on the wall. The trees looked like giant monsters that were about to attack them.
Twilight took one peek from under the blanket and saw the giant shadow figure on the wall in front of her. “A monster!” she cried. “Don’t let it get me!”
“It’s not a monster, Twilight,” Cadance said. “It’s just a tree. Look.” Twilight turned her head and saw a tree branches shaking back and forth. “It’s not going to hurt you.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
Twilight relaxed herself and laid her head on the pillow. Unexpectedly, a roll of thunder shook the little unicorn, and she felt her heart beat a mile a second. “I hate thunder,” she said.
“I know, I do to,” Cadance said. She reached out her forearm and brought Twilight close to her. “But it’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Lightning and thunder clashed again like gods during battle, and Twilight held on to Cadance. “Why does it have to be so loud?” Cadance put her hoof under her chin, wondering what she could say to make her feel better.
“... Maybe the clouds are just having a party.”
“What?” Twilight asked confusingly. A lightning bolt struck the ground and thunder echoed across the sky. She buried her lavender head under Cadance’s arm.
“The clouds must be having a party, and a pretty wild party if I have to guess,” Cadance said.
“A party?”
“Yeah. Whenever there is a storm, the clouds have a huge party for all of their friends. When they’re all together, they get really excited. That’s why there’s thunder and lightning.”
“But why do they have to so noisy?” Twilight asked. She quickly covered her little ears when more thunder approached.
“They don’t mean to be noisy, they just love having fun,” Cadance explained. “In fact, one of their favorite things to do at parties bowling.”
“Bowling? That’s silly.” Thunder rolled again, but instead of the loud exploding thunder Twilight was afraid of, it was a small rumbling noise.
“See? They’re bowling right now,” Cadance said. Twilight looked at her like she was crazy. How can clouds bowl, she thought to herself. Thunder rolled over the sky again. It was loud, but not too loud that it scared Twilight. She laid down on the bed and increased her grip on Smarty Pants.
After sometime, the storm seemed to slow down. The winds ceased its howling and the booming thunder was reduced to low rumbles here and there. Twilight and Cadance had fallen asleep, but something had awoken the little unicorn. With her head facing the wall, she saw the scary shadow of the tree.
“Cadance,” she began, but paused mid-movement. Twilight saw the tree out the window that was casting the spooky shadow. She turned her head and gazed at the shadow on the wall. “... You’re not a monster,” Twilight said to the shadow. “You’re just a tree.” Twilight smiled, and returned to her slumber, with Smarty Pants in her arms.