Secrets

At the mention of "scary stories" Fluttershy let out a muffled squeak and ducked behind Rainbowdash. Dash laughed and pulled Fluttershy back to an upright position next to her. "Don't worry, what I've got in this book isn't all that scary." She said confidently, pulling the book out of her bag. Twilight walked over and sat down on the other side of Pinkie Pie, she looked like she was about to say something before Pinkie jumped out in front of her and up to Dash's face. "OH! Rainbowdash I have a story! It's a really good and scary story- you know why? Because it's true!" Fluttershy hid behind Rainbowdash again and Applejack laughed from the other side of the circle. "Now that sounds like a fine idea Pinkie. As long as y'all think you can handle it." She smirked at Rainbowdash, who's expression remained constant. Rainbow scooted back a bit, away from Pinkie and spoke warily, "Well... alright Pinkie. If you think you've got a good one." Pinkie nodded in approval and moved back to her seat. She blew out all but one candle in the middle of the circle to set the mood and the whole tree was dark except for the dim flickering light. "We've all heard rumors about the Everfree forest right? Well this rumor is true." As Pinkie started talking, Rainbowdash rolled her eyes. "There are tunnels deep within the forest, but not just any tunnels. These tunnels were created by the diamond dogs long ago when the two sisters began to rule. As you all may know, the Everfree forest didn't exist until the banishment of Nightmare Moon. So these tunnels were here even before the forest itself. When Celestia abandoned the castle of the two sisters, the forest grew rapidly. The original dogs who dug the tunnels didn't take notice of what was happening until it was too late. Huge branches of thorns began to seal the entrances to the tunnels, some so strong they pushed the openings to cave in on themselves. All this happened so quickly, the diamond dogs didn't even have time to react. With the forest still growing, large roots began to weave through the ground, surrounding the tunnels entirely. The dogs were so busy looking for gems they hadn't even noticed the entrances being sealed. When one of them finally decided to bring his gem findings to the surface, he saw what was happening. Shrugging it off he told the others that they would simply dig a new tunnel out, but when they tried... they just kept hitting roots, these roots were far too thick to dig through and eventually they gave up. They called for help but through the thickness of the forest, no one could hear them... only when a traveler discovered the tunnels many moons later did she take note of their tragic demise. They had suffocated. Before running out of food, before running out of water, they had run out of oxygen. The traveler alerted a messenger and word of the situation had soon reached Princess Celestia. Shocked and not wanting to cause any panic, she sent two work horse stallions to fill in the tunnels. The Princess waited and waited for news of their return but to this day has not heard back from them... some ponies say that the tunnels were never filled in. Some say that the stallions had run off in fear of getting trapped, but you know what I think? I think they DID get trapped, and THAT'S why the Princess has not heard news of their success, because the mission was far from success. Other ponies think that anypony who ventures into the tunnels will never come out. Lost in the maze of twisted roots and closed walls, every second losing more and more oxygen until you have nothing left to breathe. And then your spirit will become trapped with those who have dared to enter the tunnels before you. It has been said that the spirits of the diamond dogs lurk the tunnels and guide you deeper towards your demise, envious of your life, of your breath...luring you down until you share a similar fate. And that's the TRUE story of the tunnels in the Everfree forest." Pinkie finished her sentenced and glanced around the room. Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity were all shivering, mouths gaped in shock as they stared at her. Fluttershy was holding onto Rainbowdash, face buried in the cyan pony's shoulder. Rainbow looked at Pinkie and spoke sarcastically, "Haha! Yeah. You expect me to believe that's a true story?" Pinkie Pie shot Rainbowdash a glare, she had a serious look on her face that Dash did not see often from Pinkie. This made her curious, but she didn't want to argue about it right now. Twilight broke the silence following Rainbowdash's previous comment, "Well... that was a great story Pinkie. It's getting really late now... I think we should all get some sleep." Twilight yawned as Applejack and Rarity nodded their approval, still slightly shaking. "Sleep...? You want me to sleep after hearing that story?" Fluttershy's voice quivered and she was still clinging to Rainbowdash. "It's okay Fluttershy, its just a story, it's not real." Rainbowdash tried to ease her fears- There it was again, the glare from Pinkie. She seemed pretty confident that there was truth behind her story... and every moment Dash grew more curious. There was only two beds in the tree, and of course Rarity and Applejack were the first to argue over the guest bed. They shared the bed while Rainbowdash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie pie shared a sleeping bag on the floor. Rainbow felt uneasy sleeping next to Pinkie Pie, confused about earlier... Fluttershy moved close against Rainbowdash and fell asleep sooner than she had expected. Rainbow played the words "it's not real" over and over in her head until she too was consumed by sleep's soft embrace.