Going into the depths of the Everfree Forest was a bad idea, especially for the little fillies. They didn't know why they were there, but they assumed it was for them to earn their cutie marks. The forest itself wasn't too scary, but the unfamiliar area they were in was a different story.
They ran as fast as their little legs would let them, but the sound of trees falling and the stench of a beast who only just finished feasting on a few ponies grew closer. They didn't want to become food for that monster, so they continued running regardless of how much pain they were in.
Scootaloo repeatedly wished that she was with her scooter, but she knew she couldn't go back for it. She couldn't even hope Rainbow Dash would save her. She didn't know where they were. Scootaloo tried to act fearless in front of her friends, but it was harder to be convincing the more she ran.
Apple Bloom kept hearing Applejack's voice telling her, "don't go deep in the forest alone," even though she wasn't alone. She had Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle by her side. Maybe Applejack meant without an adult. It was too late now, but she wished her sister was with her.
Sweetie Belle promised Rarity that she would visit later that day. She didn't expect to be trapped in a forest running from a pony eating monster. If Rarity was there, she would kick that monster's flank if it laid a claw on Sweetie Belle. Unfortunately, no one was there to help her nor her friends.
Apple Bloom noticed a shack in the distance and informed the other two, and the three ponies gained enough energy to speed up. They had to get to the shack before the beast got to them. As their destination got closer, they were able to see the burnt wood and the slant of the outer walls. It had to have been abandoned for years, but it was the only place the fillies could hide.
They found themselves face to face with a large wooden door. They tried to open the door, but it appeared to be locked. Apple Bloom didn't want to wait, so she turned around and bucked the door as hard as she could. It swung open as if it was never locked in the first place.
The inside lacked furniture, and the floor was covered in a layer of dust. Cobwebs invaded the corners and every place where the beams formed an angle. The interior walls were in poor condition giving no sign that they were sturdy.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sweetie Belle asked. Her voice was shaking to compliment her shuddering.
"Would you rather get eaten by a monster?" Scootaloo asked her. Sweetie shook her head and ran inside.
They were safe now. They just had to stay in the shack until morning, then they would be safe. Sure, it was creepy, but it was expected as it was an old shack. One day in there was nothing.
Apple Bloom screamed for seemingly no reason. She jumped on Sweetie Belle's back, and Sweetie used her horn to illuminate the area in front of her. A large, brown, tarantula stood in front of her. She smiled, ready to laugh, but as she lifted her head, her horn shined on what looked like thousand of other spiders.
"I'm not afraid of spiders, but even I think that's scary!" Scootaloo admitted.
"Tarantulas are usually harmless, " Sweetie informed.
"I know, but they still crawl!" Apple Bloom said trembling.
"Rats aren't exactly friendly, though," Scootaloo explained.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other puzzled. They weren't even talking about rats. Sweetie increased the brightness of her horn, and their question was answered. Giant, black, rats lined every inch of the walls.
The spiders and rats weren't there before, but they didn't want to figure out where they came from. They wanted to get out of the shack and get out of the forest as fast as they could. Sweetie used her horn to search for the door, but to her dismay, she couldn't find it. There was no way they could lose the door in a small shack like the one they were in.
"When we had a rat infestation, Granny Smith told us that they love to stay near the walls," Apple Bloom explained.
"So we just have to stay away from the walls to avoid the rats," Scootaloo concluded, "but what do we do about the spiders?"
"We don't need to worry about the spiders. These ones are harmless," Sweetie Belle informed, "we just have to worry about the rats."
The walls started to shrink into the shack as if triggered. It was slow but still noticeable. They huddled together in the center of the shrinking shack. The closer the walls got, the faster they seemed to move.
There was no way out. The doors and windows were missing. Apple Bloom bucked the walls to no avail. The shack was stronger than it looked. The Cutie Mark Crusaders hugged each other ready to accept their fate.
The walls got to the point where they pushed the ponies in a tiny space. They tightly closed their eyes, but nothing happened. The shrinking suddenly stopped.
They breathed a sigh of relief, but the walls of the shack crumbling revealing a beast that stood taller than the average house. Its face resembled a black wolf, and its teeth were jagged and curved inwards. The body was that of a gorilla but larger. The tail was long and curvy, similar to a panther's. The back legs belonged to a dragon, but the front ones were of a sloth with sharper and longer claws. It raised one of its clawed feet ready to strike the fillies, but the area around them disappeared.
They found themselves together on a bed. The bed was drenched in their sweat. Their hearts pounded against their chests, and their breaths were fast and unsteady.
A laughter was heard nearby. It wasn't menacing nor cold. In fact, it had a ring of joy and amusement. The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked in the direction of the laughing and saw Princess Luna rolling on the ground.
"What was that all about!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"It's April Foals!" Luna explained in a fruity voice.
The files looked at the calendar, and sure enough, it was April Foals day. They laughed about it. It was just a nightmare that Princess Luna created as a prank.
