The Story
It was Friday afternoon. Applebloom had just finished her homework for the weekend and anxiously waited for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to arrive. None of them had anything preplanned for the weekend, so they decided to have a sleepover for both Friday and Saturday night. When discussing the location, the trio had decided to host at her house, mainly because it was the biggest, and that's where they normally had sleepovers. The red haired girl currently sat in the living room, watching TV with Applejack and Big Mac, clad in her standard outfit of a green t-shirt, denim capris, and orange boots.
Applebloom heard the doorbell ring and quickly sprang up from the couch. “Ah’ll get it!”
Applebloom opened the door to see a girl on the other end, the same age as her. Her hair was a mixture of purple and pink, while her eyes were a warm green. She wore a pink and white striped tank top with a yellow skirt that yielded at her knees and was holding a dark pink overnight bag in her left hand. On her feet, she wore a pair of pink boots with two yellow horizontal belt straps; one just above the foot, and one a bit higher up.
Applebloom immediately recognized the girl as Sweetie Belle. “Hiya, Sweetie Belle!” she exclaimed while stepping aside to let her in.
“Hi, Applebloom!” Sweetie Belle said with enthusiasm matching that of Applebloom’s own as she walked into the house. She saw Big Mac and Applejack sitting in the living room. “Hey there, Applejack and Big Mac!”
Applejack gave her a smile from the sofa. “Well howdy there, Sweetie Belle, nice to see you again.”
Sweetie Belle gave a warm smile back. “Yeah, same, and I guess Big Mac has been fine too?”
“Eeyup!”
“Me and Sweetie Belle are gonna be in the basement. Applejack, could y’all tell us when dinner is ready?” Applebloom asked.
Applejack shot her younger sibling a momentary look of confusion until she remembered that the girls always had their sleepovers down there. “Ah guess so, jus’ don’t be messin wit the laundry side too much, y’hear?”
“Ah won’t, don’t worry!” Applebloom said before beginning to walk towards the basement with Sweetie Belle in tow.
As the duo approached the kitchen on the way to the basement, Sweetie Belle got a whiff of the dinner that was cooking. “Ooh that smells good, Applebloom. What are you guys making for dinner?”
"Oh, we're havin’ homemade pizza. Extra large, so everyone will be able to have some,” Applebloom said as she opened the door to the basement and descended the stairs.
“Smells pretty good! I've never tried your families homemade pizza before,” Sweetie Belle said as she descended the steps.
As far as basements went, the Apples was nicer than most. On the left was a fully carpeted, well-lit rec room with a king size fold out sofa bed that the three girls would share, as per usual. There was a TV on the wall opposite the side of the sofa bed with a couple of video game consoles hooked up to it as well as a DVD player. A table sat in front of the couch, while the back wall had a few shelves with an assortment of books, board games and other various knick-knacks.
To the right of the staircase was the laundry and storage area. It was dimly lit and looked pretty creepy. The hallway had three doors on both sides leading to small storage rooms with a big laundry room in the back that led to two more storage rooms. Even though the trio wasn't ‘supposed’ to be in that area of the basement, it was a rule they seldom followed.
Sweetie Belle walked into the rec room. She took her boots off, revealing a pair of light pink socks that she was wearing, then sat on the left edge of the couch. She put her overnight bag down on the floor and sank into the comfortable material.
Applebloom sat down next to her. “So, uhh... y’all know where Scootaloo is?”
With a shrug, Sweetie Belle picked up the remote from the table, turned the TV on, and started absentmindedly flipping through channels. “She told me she would be along a little later. I guess she had more homework than us or something?”
“Aww that sucks,” Applebloom muttered. “Ah jus’ hope she doesn't miss dinner.”
After a few minutes passed, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom eventually got bored of watching TV already and began playing a video game to pass the time. About 20 minutes later the pair soon heard the upstairs door open, followed soon after by a pair of footsteps coming down the stairs. They paused the game and looked at the entrance of the rec room, thinking Scootaloo had finally arrived.
Moments later Applejack entered the room. “Soups on, y'all! Come upstairs and get it while It's still hot!”
The duo followed Applejack up the stairs. “Applejack,” Applebloom started. “Did Scootaloo get here, yet?”
“Sorry, Applebloom,” Applejack replied. “Ain’t seen hide or hair of her yet, but don’t worry, we’ll save some pizza for her if she doesn't get here before we’re done eatin’.”
Sweetie Belle, Applejack, Big Mac, Applebloom, and Granny Smith all sat down to eat. About five minutes into the meal, the doorbell rang. Applebloom got up from the table and went to answer the door.
Applebloom opened the door to see another teenage girl on the other side. The girl was panting and leaned heavily on her scooter. She had fuchsia colored hair and deep purple eyes and wore a short sleeve black zip-up hoodie with a gray shirt underneath, a backpack, and a pair of dark green shorts. On her feet she wore a pair of black boots that seemed to match her hoodie.
“There ya are, Scootaloo! Ah was beginnin’ to think y’all wouldn't show up!”
“Sorry I’m late, Applebloom. I tried to get here as fast as I could,” Scootaloo began, out of breath. “I got detention at school today and had to stay an extra half hour then I got caught up doing stupid homework, I just hope I didn’t miss dinner.”
“Well, actually we’re eatin right now,” Applebloom said as she stepped aside to let Scootaloo in.
“Oh, good, looks like I made it just in the nick of time, then.” Scootaloo put her scooter up against the wall, before following Applebloom to the dining room.
Everyone in the dining room greeted her; she was quickly made a plate, and dinner went on as planned.
Dinner was soon eaten, leaving Applebloom stuck with having to clean the dishes. She told Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo just to go downstairs without her, despite their offerings to help her. On the way back down to the basement, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo started talking.
“You said you got sent to detention for riding your scooter in the hall again, right?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah, I did, what about it?” Scootaloo asked in response with her hands nonchalantly placed on the back of her head as she followed Sweetie Belle down the stairs.
“You know that's against the rules, so why do you do it?” Sweetie Belle asked with a hint of concern and irritation.
“I don’t see what the big deal about it is,” Scootaloo calmly replied as the two girls came into the rec room. “I mean, it's not like I hit anyone or anything. I'm just moving through the hall like everybody else.”
Sweetie Belle stopped dead in her tracks, crossed her arms, then looked at Scootaloo with an unamused expression.
Scootaloo noticed the look and sheepishly dug her booted foot into the carpet. “Ooookay, so maybe I've gotten into a couple of accidents.”
Sweetie Belle raised her eyebrow.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Okay, fine! A lot of accidents! There, you happy?”
“Very,” Sweetie Belle said smugly, before closing her eyes and walking over to the couch.
Scootaloo unzipped her hoodie and sat down on the opposite end of the couch from Sweetie Belle. She put the backpack containing her stuff for the weekend on the floor. “Well, it's not my fault that the hallways are so cluttered,” she quietly muttered to herself, then glanced over at the TV. “Were you and Applebloom playing? Super Smashers 3?”
“Yeah, we were, but I'm not sure if she’ll want to continue it or not, so we’ll just watch some TV till she's done with those dishes,” Sweetie Belle replied.
“Sounds like a plan,” Scootaloo said, laying back in the sofa and placing her hands behind her head.
It was about 15 minutes before Applebloom came back down to join her friends. She walked into the room clad in her usual sleep attire, which consisted of a red T-shirt that went down to her mid-thigh and a pair of white socks. “Hiya, girls! Sorry it took me so long, ah decided to change into mah sleeping clothes for the night since ah was upstairs an all.”
“Oh, that's okay, Applebloom,” Scootaloo replied.
“Yeah, we don’t mind,” Sweetie Belle added.
“Does this mean you want us to change into our sleep clothes now, though?” Scootaloo asked.
Applebloom stepped past Sweetie Belle to get to the middle of the couch. “It doesn't matter all that much to me. Jus’ do it whenever y’all feel like it,” Applebloom said as she sat down on the couch.
Scootaloo leaned back into the couch. “In that case, I’ think I’ll wait a little longer. I'm not quite ready to change just yet. I mean, it's only...” Scootaloo paused for a moment to pull out her phone and check the time. “Just after 8 o’clock.”
Applebloom leaned closer to Sweetie Belle. “So, Sweetie, y'all ready for me to stomp ya like an apple in Super Smashers, again?"
Sweetie Belle gave a confident glare back. “Ha! You wish! You just got lucky last time!”
“Ooh, OOH! I play winner!” Scootaloo yelled.
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom picked up the controllers and played another fight. Scootaloo watched in anticipation making bets on who she thought would win. Sweetie Belle tried her best, but still lost to Applebloom. For someone who grew up on a farm, she sure knew her videogames.
“Good game,” Applebloom said, looking over to Sweetie Belle.
“Yep, you beat me fair and square!” Sweetie Belle said with enthusiasm, fully accepting her defeat.
“My turn!” Scootaloo yelled, causing Sweetie Belle to hand the controller to her. Scootaloo quickly grabbed the controller, sat back down on the couch and shot a confident glare at her red haired friend. “You ready to get dominated like last time, Applebloom?”
“That was months ago, ah got some new tricks up mah sleeve this time,” Applebloom retorted as she and Scootaloo started their match.
Sweetie Belle watched for a few moments before getting up from the couch, “While you two are doing that, I’m going to go upstairs and change into my sleep clothes.”
“Kay,” Applebloom responded in a monotone voice, her full attention on the game, determined not to let Scootaloo get the better of her.
Sweetie Belle went up the stairs to go into the bathroom to change. She came down about five minutes later in a nice white nightgown that went down to just above her knees and a pair of light pink slipper boots that went up a little past her ankle. She silently sat on the couch to see the final moments of Scootaloo and Applebloom’s epic battle. Applebloom had won, beating Scootaloo by only one KO.
Applebloom was ecstatic. “YES! Ah told ya I would win!” she said, pointing at Scootaloo triumphantly. She then turned her head and noticed Sweetie Belle, now in her sleepwear. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, you’re back! Did ya see me beat Scootaloo?!”
“Well, only like the last minute, but yeah, I did!” Sweetie Belle happily replied.
The girls hooked up another controller to the game console and played a few more fights with each other until it was almost 9 o’clock. They had agreed to do one last fight, and Applebloom decided to make things a bit more interesting. “All right, girls, ah have an idea fer this last game. How about whoever loses has to pull out the bed… with no help!”
Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were taken aback by the challenge, seeing as how the bed was pretty heavy to pull out alone due to being a king size. They could recall times before when they would help Applebloom pull the bed out and it was still unexpectedly heavy. Despite this, however, it was still very doable.
“That's a pretty harsh punishment,” Sweetie Belle said knowing fully well that she was the worst player out of the trio, and thus would most likely lose. She wanted to back out, but the challenge was just too tempting. “You know what? I’m game! Let’s do it!”
“Well, I guess we know who's going to be pulling out the bed,” Scootaloo smugly remarked. “I’m in too.” She picked up her controller. “But I can’t help but think this is just another one of Applebloom’s plans to turn us into her slaves,” Scootaloo jokingly added.
“Well, not if y’all beat me,” Applebloom replied, sticking her tongue out at Scootaloo.
As they went to the character select screen in the game, Sweetie Belle had an idea to make this little contest more interesting. “Hey, how about whoever gets second place has to move the table out of the way?”
The table wouldn't be as bad to deal with as the bed, but taking all the various items off the table to move it was still a pain in its own way. Applebloom and Scootaloo briefly looked at each other before sharing a nod of approval at Sweetie Belle’s idea.
While the girls went to select their characters, Applebloom decided to make the playing field a bit more level for her friends. “Imma take it easy on y’all and choose a character I'm only kinda good at.”
“Hope you don’t end up regretting that,” Sweetie Belle said in reply. She and Scootaloo chose their best characters.
Without any further talking, they started the battle and intensely focused on the game.
After a tense 10 minute fight, the score was revealed. Much to the surprise of all three girls, Applebloom’s ambitious character choice proved to be her undoing as she was in last place with only 8 KO’s. Sweetie Belle came in second with 9 KO’s, and Scootaloo won the game with 13.
Applebloom stared at the screen in complete bewilderment. Scootaloo jumped off the couch and celebrated. “Woohoo! No extra work for me!”
“Wow, I can’t believe I actually beat you, Applebloom,” Sweetie Belle said.
“Yeah, me neither,” Applebloom said before standing up off the couch and letting out a sigh. “Well, ah guess that what ah get fer trying to show off ‘n’ whatnot.”
As Sweetie Belle got up from the couch and went to turn off the video game console, Scootaloo let out a stretch. She checked the time again using her phone and decided that now would be as good a time as any to get changed. “I’m going to go change,” she said as she finally slipped her boots off revealing the socks she was wearing underneath, just plain white ones that were black at the top. She then grabbed her backpack, and strode upstairs while Sweetie Belle and Applebloom carry out their ‘punishments’.
Sweetie Belle had taken all of the beverages off the table and placed them near the TV while Applebloom was taking the cushions off the couch and putting them near the back of the room.
“So, what do ya wanna do now, Sweetie Belle?” Applebloom asked as they continued to work.
“Hmm, not sure,” Sweetie Belle replied. “But I don’t think I wanna play video games anymore tonight.”
“Yeah, ah agree,” Applebloom responded. “Scootaloo might have some ideas.”
Sweetie Belle had finished moving the table out of Applebloom’s way and was placing the drinks back on it. “Are we going to play around on the laundry side tonight? I brought my slipper boots this time so I could slide across the floor,” she said while looking down at the boots and bending one of her knees.
“Oh yeah, fer sure,” Applebloom replied while struggling to get the bed out of the couch. A few seconds of pulling later, she got it out and finally continued what she was saying as she rolled the bed all the way out. “But ah wanna save that fer later tonight. Y’know, so it's more creepy.”
Sweetie Belle let out a giggle. “So, I guess that means we’re staying up all night?”
“Yep!” Applebloom gleefully replied while jumping onto the mattress.
“Well, I don’t have any problems with that. I mean, it’s only what we do every time,” Sweetie Belle said while gingerly getting onto the bed. “Well, at least, Scootaloo will be happy to know that.”
“Yah she-” Applebloom suddenly stopped speaking, her eyes widening in realization as a very devious idea struck her. She smugly looked over to Sweetie Belle. “Hey, Sweetie Belle, how do y’all feel ‘bout pulling a prank on Scootaloo?”
Sweetie Belle looked back at Applebloom, her curiosity piqued. “Oh? What did you have in mind?”
A couple of minutes later, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had agreed on the prank and were now just acting natural. Applebloom, along with Sweetie Belle’s help, had gotten the sheets, blankets, and pillows all in one go. Applebloom was now making the bed while Sweetie Belle waited, leaned up against the wall with her hands behind her back and one foot on the wall.
The two girls heard the door open and close and knew it was Scootaloo, coming back from changing. As Applebloom heard Scootaloo descending the steps she leaned over to Sweetie Belle. “Y’all remember what to do?” she quickly whispered to her.
Sweetie Belle gave a silent nod and Applebloom went back to making the bed.
A few seconds later Scootaloo came into the room wearing a black T-shirt and black underwear that was just barely covered by the shirt. “Hey guys I’m back.”
Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle immediately noticed the absence of something Scootaloo usually wore during sleepovers and were confused.
“Umm Scootaloo don’t you usually have a pair of pajama pants with that outfit?” Sweetie Belle asked in perplexity.
“Yeah… about that,” Scootaloo said as she approached the bed. “Kind of a funny story actually. I actually forgot my pajama pants on purpose.”
“What?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Scootaloo started rubbing the back of her head. “Well, I had just gone out the door, I was on my scooter and everything. But then I remembered that I forgot my pajama pants. So I thought for a few seconds whether I should get them or not.” She then paused what she was saying and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “But then I would have to go back in the house and go back up the stairs and stuff to get to my room so I just said ‘screw it’ and came right here.”
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other and snickered a bit at the terrible reasoning.
“Wow, only you would be that lazy, Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle said through the giggling.
A grin appeared on Scootaloo’s face. “Yes! I’m that lazy and proud of it! Besides, I'm still comfortable, so I don’t really mind.”
“Alright, then, ah guess y’all don’t look that bad either,” Applebloom said as she finished making the bed and crawled onto it.
Sweetie Belle walked over to the foot of the bed and climbed onto it, and Scootaloo did the same from the left. Applebloom sat on the bed with her legs crossed, Indian style, while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were on their knees. They sat in silence for a couple seconds with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exchanging a quick knowing glance while Scootaloo was looking away.
“So, what should we do now?” Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle let out a yawn. “You know, I may just go to bed right now. I’m pretty tired.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really, Sweetie Belle, you’re already tired? It's not even, like, ten o’clock, yet!”
Sweetie Belle got off the bed and walked around to the left side to tuck herself in, prompting Scootaloo to move to the right. “I know, but I kinda had a long day and a big test at school and all that, and I’m just real tired so... goodnight.” She laid her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes.
Scootaloo looked at the now asleep Sweetie Belle. “Aw man, what a buzzkill.” She looked at Applebloom. “Well, at least I still have you. Right, Applebloom? How about we watch a movie or something?”
Applebloom gave a nervous look. “A-ah don’t know, Scootaloo; ah’m kinda tired too. Ah think ah may be with Sweetie Belle on this one and jus’ go to bed early, as well.”
Scootaloo watched with wide eyes as Applebloom went and tucked herself in near the middle part of the bed. She let out a yawn. “Sorry, Scootaloo, y’all can watch some TV if ya want, just keep the lights off.”
Scootaloo looked on in disbelief as both of her friends were now seemingly asleep. “C-Come on. You two h-have to be joking, right?” the fuchsia-haired teenager stammered. After getting no response, she let out a low, agitated groan and went to turn on the TV, then slowly went to turn off the light.
The room was now illuminated only by the dim glow of the colors on the TV screen. “This is so unfair.” Scootaloo pouted as she sat on the edge of the bed and watched TV with nothing else to do but periodically look back at her two sleeping friends.
After a few minutes of watching TV, Scootaloo became annoyed again and went to turn the light back on. She sat down at the end of the bed again and continued to gaze into the TV with an uninterested expression. It only took a few seconds before she began muttering to herself. “This is the worst sleepover ever. I mean, what's the point of having a sleepover if you're going to go to sleep?” She let out a sigh. “I might as well just go upstairs with Applejack and all the others and watch the news or whatever grown-up people watch now.” Scootaloo went over to the other end of the bed, pulled her pillow closer and laid her head on it while keeping her feet on the floor. “I guess I’ll just keep watching TV…” she said defeatedly.
As Scootaloo flipped through the channels, she was completely unaware of the two shadows creeping up behind her. All of the sudden Scootaloo felt something touch her back, causing her to let out a yelp and fell off the bed with an audible thud. She heard giggling and quickly got back up on her feet to see the ones who touched her back where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.
“S-Sweetie Belle? Applebloom? I thought you two were asleep!” Scootaloo said in confusion.
“Got you!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed through her giggling.
“Y’all should have seen the look on your face, it was priceless! Did ya actually think we were gonna go to sleep this early?” Applebloom asked.
“So wait, you two were just messing with me?” Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle responded with a nod. “Well, to tell the truth, it was actually Applebloom’s idea. I just played along,” Sweetie Belle responded.
Applebloom nodded in confirmation. “Yep, thought of it while y’all were changin’. Ah thought it would be funny, and it was. Of course we're gonna stay up all night!”
Scootaloo was overcome by both relief and anger. In an attempt to vent her frustration she picked up her pillow that fell onto the floor with her. “You jerks!” she playfully exclaimed as she smacked them both with the pillow, and jumped back onto the bed. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged a sly grin and Scootaloo knew what she had started. “O-oh no,” she shakily muttered as she slowly held up her pillow like a shield and waited for a barrage from the two girls.
Soon enough, Scootaloo found herself under fire from both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. After taking a few seconds to defend herself, she decided to fight back. An all-out pillow war ensued.
Over the next ten or so minutes, the three girls exchanged fluffy blows and playful taunts as they all mercilessly smacked each other around until finally they all fell onto the bed in a mixture of feathers, exhaustion, and playful laughter.
“Well, girls,” Applebloom said, still panting. “Ah think it’s pretty safe to call that one a tie.”
“Agreed,” Sweetie Belle replied, out of breath.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo conceded, slowly sitting up. “I think I just want to watch a movie now or something.”
Applebloom slowly sat herself up. “Ya, that sounds like a pretty good idea ‘bout now.”
“Got any new movies, Applebloom?” Sweetie belle asked while getting herself back onto her knees.
Applebloom jumped off the bed and walked over to the DVD's. “Well, ah do have this new movie named, Highschool of Friendship: Terra Ponies. It's an animated movie where this girl gets a gemstone stolen, and she has to go through a mirror into a land of magic ponies to get it back.”
The title nearly made Scootaloo gag. “Wow, that sounds like a terrible idea for a movie. Wonder who wrote that?” she criticized. “It would be way cooler if that girl had to, like, start a rock band with those ponies for some reason.”
“Or maybe they could play a series of games to find out who gets to keep the gemstone,” Sweetie Belle suggested.
Applebloom tapped her chin and started to think. “Y’know, this is beginnin’ to sound oddly familiar fer some reason.” She went silent for a moment and just shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, y’all wanna watch it?”
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo thought it over for a few moments before eventually saying, yes. With that, the girls made some popcorn, got some drinks, and sat down on the bed to watch the movie.
While they were watching the movie, Applejack came downstairs at around eleven to give them a message. She walked into the rec room and turned on the light, causing all three girls to look in her direction. “I’m a’might sorry for intrudin’ on y’all, but ah was hopin’ y’all could pause that movie so ah could tell ya three somethin’ right quick.”
“Oh, sure, Applejack, what do ya need?” Applebloom asked while pausing the movie. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked on and listened.
“Well, ah jus’ wanted to let y’all know that me, Granny Smith, and Big Mac are all goin’ to bed now, so either get to bed early or if y’all don’t wanna sleep at least try to stay just a little quiet so the rest of us can.”
“Don’t worry, Applejack, we’ll keep quiet,” Applebloom affirmed.
“Alright, then. Have a good night, y’all,” Applejack cheerfully said while exiting the room.
“Goodnight!” the three girls said in unison.
With Applejack gone and the light off again, Applebloom went back a few seconds in the film, and girls continued to watch uninterrupted.
About a half hour later the movie ended and Sweetie Belle went to turn on the lights.
“Well, that was pretty terrible,” Scootaloo deadpanned.
“I don’t know; I kinda liked the ponies,” Sweetie Belle remarked while walking back over to the bed.
Applebloom turned off the DVD player and the TV, and went to put the DVD back in its case. “So what do y’all wanna do now?” Applebloom asked.
Sweetie Belle thought for a moment. “Well, I think it’s pretty late. How about we do something on the laundry side of the basement?”
Scootaloo gasped in realization. “Ohhhh, I forgot about that. I wonder what we are gonna do in there this time?”
Applebloom got back onto the bed. “Ah guess we could, at least, discuss it.”
For all three girls, this was always the most exciting part of sleeping over at Applebloom’s house. They would always wait until late at night, go into the laundry side of the basement and act out a story or scenario in their imagination. It was pretty akin to roleplaying for them. As long as it wasn't inappropriate, the stories could be anything from getting captured and thrown into a dungeon, to exploring an ancient temple. The layout of the area really gave their minds room to explore. It would always feel colder in there than the rec room, so it gave the area an ominous feeling. They would always have to wear socks, slippers or even their boots cause the concrete floor would be so cold, but that wasn’t really an issue, in fact it just made things more immersive.
When they did this, they always turn the lights in the rec room off, so the entire basement would be darkened. It was truly like stepping into an entirely different house. That cold draft was useful for any scenario that might have the girls outside. Sometimes there would be a low fog or mist on the floor which would fit right in with any dungeons they may get thrown into. Lastly, there were always cobwebs and cracks in the walls which made for an interesting temple exploring experience. The possibilities were truly endless, and it was almost guaranteed that all three girls would always agree on a story and have fun acting it out.
It was about a half hour since they started discussing ideas, and all the girls sat on the bed looking at each other with deadpan expressions.
Applebloom let out a sigh. “Neither of y’all have any ideas?”
Scootaloo let out a frustrated grunt. “We have ideas, we just can’t agree on anything. I had an idea where we were exploring a secret cave, but we weren't supposed to be there, and we get caught and thrown in a dungeon. You both said we did that already and it lost its scare factor.”
“That's because it has!” Sweetie Belle aggressively said, shooting a glare at Scootaloo. “I suggested that we got lost in a dark, scary forest and had to find our way out.”
“Yea, but there’s no reason fer it! We didn’t even go into the forest fer anythin’, we just got lost fer no good reason,” Applebloom fired back. “We should do mah idea where we're lookin’ for a priceless treasure in a real old temple.”
“I know, but I don’t wanna do that either!” Scootaloo said with clear annoyance in her voice. “We need something new, something we’ve never done before something more… real.”
“Scootaloo is right,” Sweetie Belle agreed with a nod. “Maybe we’re just too old for this now… we need something a bit more… different.”
Applebloom began to think when a wild idea popped into her head. She was a little nervous to say it though, but she figured it was still worth a try. “How bout we play a tie-up game?”
“A tie-up game?” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle parroted in unison.
Applebloom couldn't help but give a sly grin, realizing she had piqued her friend's interests. “Yeah, a tie-up game! A game where one person has to tie up all the other players fer fun and then they have to try to get out.”
“Tying people up for… fun?” Scootaloo repeated in bewilderment. “Are you okay Applebloom? Because that doesn't sound like much fun to me.”
“Yeah, I'm with Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle said with slight confusion in her voice. “That doesn't really sound like fun. In fact, that sounds scary. Where did you even get that idea, anyway?”
Applebloom looked down and started nervously twiddling her thumbs. “Well, ah hope y’all don’t think ah’m weird or anythin’ but… sometimes… Applejack and I play tie-up games when no one else is around.”
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You do?” Sweetie Belle asked, raising an eyebrow.
Applebloom gave a nod. “Yeah! Applejack used to use some rope to tie me to trees and stuff when we were kids. Then after ah got out, ah would tie her up the same way and we would see who got out of it the fastest. We’d also tie each other up in other ways like hogties and tyin’ the hands behind the back, but the really excitin’ and fun part is tryin’ to get out! Nothin’ like the feelin’ of accomplishment after breakin’ out of a good tie-up, which is one of the reasons me and her still do it from time to time! Oh and don’t worry, it’s also safe ‘cause if we can’t get out or wanna give up we just call it quits and untie each other… but what kind of fun would that be?”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both stared at Applebloom, eyes wide and mouths agape.
Applebloom nervously bit her lower lip. “C'mon, girls, ah know it’s kinda shockin’, but ah promise it's real fun and real safe!”
“So you’re telling us that Applejack does this to you, and you both have fun?” Scootaloo asked.
Applebloom gave a confident nod. “And since y’all want something more excitin’ and real ah think we should try it!”
Scootaloo pondered in thought for a few moments, before turning to Sweetie Belle. “Whaddaya think, Sweetie Belle? I mean it doesn't really sound too dangerous and we did want something different.”
Sweetie Belle rubbed her arm anxiously while looking away. “I don’t know… I’m still not very comfortable with the idea yet.” She looked back at Applebloom. “What would you do to us exactly?”
“Hmm.” A grin formed on Applebloom’s face as an idea for the tie-up game popped into her head. “How ‘bout… both y’all are two girls that wandered into a house, and the house can be this basement. Both of y’all get locked in the house and have to find the key, and ah’ll have it, but ah’m also lookin’ fer y’all cause y’all are in my house, and I tie up trespassers so y’all have to escape by gettin’ the key from me!”
Sweetie Belle thought for few moments. The scenario Applebloom suggested intrigued her. This idea seemed like a pretty big departure from what they normally did and she was interested to see what would come of it. “You know, that actually sounds pretty interesting…”
Both Applebloom and Scootaloo leaned in close seeing as it seemed like they were finally able to rope Sweetie Belle into the idea.
“I’m in!” Sweetie Belle happily exclaimed.
“Yes!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “I have a feeling this is gonna be lots of fun!”
Applebloom wore an excited smile. “So ah guess we’re all on agreement on the tie-up game?”
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gave confident nods.
“Alright then! Ah’ll be right back!” Applebloom said before she went to get the things she needed.
After taking a couple of minutes to get prepared Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were waiting in the rec room for Applebloom.
Scootaloo was sitting on the left side of the bed just looking down and stretching her legs in anticipation. She looked up and saw Sweetie Belle pacing back and forth which a slightly nervous look on her face. “You okay, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle gave a nod. “I’m just thinking about how this game will go. I mean, neither of us have ever been tied up before.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure Applebloom will go easy on us. She knows it’s our first time, so I think she’ll understand,” Scootaloo said in a reassuring tone while standing up.
Both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle heard the door to the basement open and close and looked over to the entrance of the rec room seeing what Applebloom brought back down with her. She soon emerged into the room, carrying a few bundles of rope and two flashlights.
“Y’all ready, girls?” she asked while putting the rope and flashlights down.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded.
“Great!” Applebloom excitedly shouted. She then picked up a rope and started circling her two tense friends. “Now, ah know y’all are new to this, so before we start this one fer real ah wanna make sure y’all can get out of a simple tie. If y’all can get out of this, y'all can get out of the way ah plan to tie ya up in the actual game, all right?”
Scootaloo nods. “Okay, so what do you want us to do?”
“All ah want you to do is stand up straight, keep ya arms to ya sides, and stand back to back.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle momentarily looked at each other before following Applebloom’s instructions. They both straightened their posture, put their hands to their sides and backed into one another until their backs and legs were touching.
“Like this, Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice a bit shaky.
“Exactly like that,” Applebloom said in a devious voice. She began to make a lasso with the rope, causing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to exchange a worried look.
“If y’all can’t escape this then I’m afraid ah won’t feel comfortable playing this with y’all, ya understand?” Applebloom said now wielding a fully functional and efficient lasso.
Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gave an understanding nod and braced themselves.
Applebloom gave a nod back and narrowed her eyes to concentrate. After a couple of tense seconds, Applebloom cast the lasso on her friends. It went down around them perfectly. Applebloom waited till the lasso was roughly down around their torso before giving the rope a strong pull and tightening the lasso around her two victims, binding them tightly together.
Sweetie Belle felt an instant chill run up her spine as she helplessly watched the rope tighten around her torso and trap her and Scootaloo back to back. Scootaloo, meanwhile, was shaking with adrenaline and fear as well as excitement at the fact that it actually felt like she was in some kind of peril. For her, it was a mix of all kinds of emotions that all pointed to one goal: escape!
Although Applebloom may have locked the two girls together, she wasn't done yet. She ran over to her captives and tied off the knot on the lasso as a way to finish the tie up and secure her catch. She also tied another rope around them, just for good measure. She stood up with her hand on her hip and giving the girls a sly grin, obviously happy with her handiwork. “All right. Now, ah want y’all to try to get outta that! As soon as y’all do that, we can start the game fer real!”
Scootaloo started trying to struggle to figure out which parts of her body she could move. She discovered she could move her legs, but it wouldn't do her much good. She also discovered she could move her arms below her elbows, once she found that out she went right for the knot Applebloom tied.
Sweetie Belle had to calm herself down a bit before she could assess her situation. Just like Scootaloo she thought it best to see with parts of her body she could move first, that being her feet and hands. She thought for a few moments, saw Scootaloo trying to undo the knot, and used her own hand to help her along.
“I think all we have to do is untie this knot, Sweetie Belle, and then were home free,” Scootaloo said while struggling to get a better grip on the knot. She tried to do things like bending her legs in a specific way or moving her body to get a better look at the knot. However, all the tactics failed with the way the two girls were tied. Sweetie Belle was also trying out her own ideas, but they all failed as well.
After setting down a bit, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo started communicating with each other on how to untie the knot. Seeing as how Scootaloo was able to reach it and Sweetie Belle wasn't, Sweetie Belle gave instructions helpful to Scootaloo on how to untie the knot they were in. After a couple minutes of picking at the knot and loosening it, Scootaloo was finally able to get a finger through one of the loops and the knot was quickly dealt with. The girls then took care of the other knot binding them with very little trouble.
After a few minutes Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were finally able to break out of the tie, thus giving Applebloom enough confidence to begin the game with them.
“Alright, girls, ah'm proud of y’all. Before we start the game, though, ah was wonderin’, how did y’all feel being tied like that?” Applebloom asked.
Scootaloo answered first. “That was actually pretty fun and exciting. I like how it felt like I was actually in some kind of danger!”
“That was really… different. Though I have to admit, I kinda liked how we had to work together to untie ourselves. It was actually… fun,” Sweetie Belle replied after Scootaloo.
Applebloom had the biggest smile of the night on her face. “Ah’m real glad to hear that.” She leaned a bit closer to them. “Does that mean we're ready to start?”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle nodded in unison.
Applebloom explained the rules to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and what would happen over the course of the game. The three girls took a couple minutes to adjust the rules till all three agreed on it and they were ready to start the game.
Applebloom promptly handed Sweetie Belle a flashlight and turned the lights in the rec room off, making the entire room and basement very dark. She instructed Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to go to the top of the stairs.
Sweetie Belle turned the flashlight on so she and Scootaloo could see in the darkness.
Scootaloo, out of pure curiosity, tried to open the door to the first floor, but it wouldn't budge. “What the?” Scootaloo muttered in confusion before trying to open the door again with a little more force but failing.
Sweetie Belle noticed Scootaloo messing with the door. “What are you doing?” she asked while shining the flashlight in her general direction.
“The door is locked! It’s not budging!” Scootaloo said with worry in her voice, thinking someone accidently locked them in from the outside.
“What!?” Sweetie Belle shouted before coming up the few stairs and checking the door for herself.
Scootaloo backed down a couple steps and decided to alert Applebloom. “Applebloom,” Scootaloo called out.
Applebloom looked up the stairs at her friends from the bottom. “What do y’all need?”
“Did you lock this door?” Scootaloo asked.
Applebloom gave a bit of a devious chuckle and started to slowly ascend the steps. “Ah was wonderin’ when y’all were gonna notice.” She kept advancing until she was a couple steps down from both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “As a matter of fact ah did,” she said before pulling a key out of her left sock.
A wave of relief washed over Scootaloo as she reached out for the key only to have Applebloom pull her arm back and put the key into her left sock again. “Hey, give that key to us! We need it to unlock the door!”
“Sorry, Scootaloo, but you and Sweetie Belle ain’t goin’ anywhere unless y’all are able to take this key from me during the game. That’s why ah locked the door in the first place.” Applebloom taunted.
“So, we’re actually trapped in here unless we can get that get that key from you?” Sweetie Belle asked with a bit of fear in her voice.
“YEP!” the smug redhead gleefully responded. “Well unless y’all wanna quit the game before it even starts.”
The two girls exchanged a knowing glance and nod. Sweetie Belle turned back to Applebloom with a determined glare. “Nope, not gonna happen!” she confidently exclaimed.
“We’re not gonna quit just because of a locked door!” Scootaloo added on.
“That’s what ah wanted to hear,” Applebloom said briskly walking back down the stairs and going into the laundry side of the area. “Well, ah’m ready whenever y’all are!”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded to each other and began to act in character. They pretended to act like they were surprised they got locked in again and started to walk down the steps.
“This place gives me the creeps,” Sweetie Belle remarked.
They got to the bottom of the steps, and Scootaloo looked around. “Hmm… We could either go left or right. What do you think, Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked as she shined the flashlight into both directions periodically.
“Hmmmm.” Sweetie Belle thought for a few moments. “Something tells me we should go right.”
Scootaloo shined the light into the right hallway and then checked the left again. “Are you sure? The left looks a little less… scary.”
“I still say we go right and get the scary part over with,” Sweetie Belle said with her voice indicating that she had made up her mind.
With no further conversation, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went right and after a few steps and another right turn they quickly found themselves in a very dark and foreboding hallway. They exchanged a worried look and slowly started to creep down the hallowed passage.
They continued down the hallway, and Scootaloo was inspecting the first couple side rooms.
Sweetie Belle only opted to stand in the doorway of the rooms Scootaloo inspected and not go inside. While Scootaloo was busy checking one of the rooms, Sweetie Belle quickly turned around, thinking she heard something in the hallway akin to a soft whisper or footstep. She poked her head into the hall from the doorway she was standing in and darted her green eyes all around, but all they were met with was inky black darkness. She felt herself beginning to sweat as the lack of knowledge as to what may be going on around her within the darkness began to slowly chip away at her resolve and willingness to explore this… place.
Scootaloo finished exploring the first two storage rooms and slowly proceeded further down the hall with Sweetie Belle.
“This hallway is really starting to give me the creeps,” Sweetie Belle said, still cautiously looking around.
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Scootaloo said in agreement.
The girls were coming up to the next two storage rooms when suddenly a draft of cold air blew against the back of their bare legs. Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stopped dead in their tracks with Scootaloo very quickly spinning around with the flashlight to look behind them. She saw nothing save for a concrete wall and the passages to the two storage rooms she already checked. Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle with a worried look on her face. “You felt that, right?”
Sweetie Belle nodded before hearing a noise that sounded like something being dragged across the concrete floor like a footstep, causing the already frightened teen to turn around. Scootaloo noticed Sweetie Belle’s reaction and turned around to light that part of the hallway for her.
Scootaloo saw nothing and wore a look of confusion. “What happened, did you hear something?”
“I-I don’t know I just feel like we’re being watched,” Sweetie Belle responded.
The two girls decided to try to get to the end of the hallway as fast as possible and just avoid the rest of the storage rooms as their fear was starting to get the better of them.
As the girls were coming up to the last two storage rooms, they could see the closed door to the laundry room. They breathed a sigh of relief and thought they were home free when all of the sudden Applebloom, with rope in hand, stepped out of the left storage room and blocked their way, actually startling the two girls.
Even though both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo knew who this was, they reacted in character as if it was a person they had never seen before and Applebloom did the same.
“Who are you?” Scootaloo asked the shadowy teen standing before them.
“Ah think the better question is who are you, and why are y’all in mah house?” Applebloom responded with a lower voice to sound more intimidating.
“Wait. This is your house?” Sweetie Belle asked in response.
“Last ah checked it was, and ah don’t appreciate intruders, ‘specially when they’re wakin’ me up in the middle of the night with their screamin’ and flashlights and whatnot. So ah’ll ask again, who are ya, and why y’all in mah house?” Applebloom asked in a meaner tone this time. She brandished the rope in front of the two girls indicating what would happen if they failed to comply again.
Scootaloo took a deep breath and answered. “I’m Scootaloo, and this is Sweetie Belle. We were lost in the woods and came into your house because it was cold out and we thought no one lived here. We didn’t mean to wake you up or anything it's just that the door locked behind us and now we’re…” Scootaloo paused as Applebloom’s intense glare was beginning to intimidate her. “Kinda stuck here,” she finished, nervously using her hand to rub the back of her head.
“Me and my friend just need the key, we would be happy if you could give it to us or unlock the door. If you do, we’ll leave, and I promise you’ll never see us again,” Sweetie Belle said, in an overly delicate and demure voice.
Sweetie Belle’s whole helpless little innocent girl shtick caused Applebloom to involuntarily chuckle at the notion that she was trying to convince her character to let them go. “Hmm, so y’all just want the key outta this place huh?”
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both nodded.
“Well, ah do know where the key is and ah would help y’all out but ah’m jus’ confused as to why y’all think it's a good idea to be intrudin’ on other people's property,” Applebloom responded in a dark tone prompting Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to become nervous and take a step back from the girl.
“B-But Scootaloo told you: we didn’t think anyone lived here,” Sweetie Belle nervously responded.
“While that may be true, ah think y’all need a lesson in manners first,” Applebloom said now twirling a lasso over her head.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened in terror at this sight. “RUN!” Scootaloo screamed before they both ran in the opposite direction back towards the stairs.
Sweetie Belle’s slipper boots gave her little traction on the concrete floor, and she nearly slipped as she tried to run away, giving Applebloom the extra few seconds she needed to lasso her.
Sweetie Belle quickly regained her footing and was running down the hall when she was suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. She let out an audible ‘eep’ as a rope tightened around her torso and pinned her arms to her sides. She immediately tried to struggle and worm her way out. “Scootaloo, help!”
Scootaloo was almost at the end of the hallway when she heard Sweetie Belle’s cry for help and started running back towards her. “I'm coming!"
Applebloom grinned and began quickly to pull Sweetie Belle back into the darkness as if she was nothing more than a freshly caught fish on a hook. Sweetie Belle tried to fight back against the pulling by planting her feet and standing her ground. Unfortunately, the slipper boots gave her no purchase, and she just slid across the floor as if it was ice.
Scootaloo got over to Sweetie Belle as soon as Applebloom finished reeling her in and the three stood there in a standoff.
“Let her go, or else!” Scootaloo threatened.
“Or else what?” Applebloom smugly asked, holding Sweetie Belle close, almost as if she were a hostage.
Scootaloo shot a glare at Applebloom before jumping at her. She successfully tackled her down to the ground, dropping the flashlight in the process. Applebloom let go of the rope before Scootaloo pinned her down, enabling Sweetie Belle to slip out of her bonds quite easily.
Sweetie Belle quickly escaped the lasso, thanked Scootaloo, and grabbed the flashlight.
“Go back down the hall and check if the key is in the other room, Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo shouted while struggling to keep Applebloom down.
“Okay!” Sweetie Belle affirmed before hastily running back down the hall towards the rec room.
“Ah swear, y'all will pay fer this!” Applebloom growled as she grabbed the rope again and tried to overpower Scootaloo.
“Oh, yeah? Well, let’s see how you like a taste of your own medicine!” Scootaloo retorted while grabbing the rope as well, forcing the two girls to fight over it.
Sweetie Belle had gone into the rec room and attempted to look for the key but didn't find it. She kept up the search for a few minutes and went back to tell Scootaloo she didn’t find anything but was shocked to see what she found instead.
Applebloom was kneeling down on Scootaloo’s back tightly tying her arms behind her. Apparently she was able to overpower her and now had Scootaloo completely captured. Sweetie Belle’s heart began to race as, from a safe distance, she watched Applebloom help Scootaloo up and escorted her new captive into the laundry room. Before Applebloom was completely out of sight, she turned around in the doorway and pointed directly at Sweetie Belle. “You're next!” she shouted, before closing the door.
Sweetie Belle kept her eyes locked on the door for a few seconds and let out a gulp. She leaned her back against the wall and began to breathe heavily, trying to digest what she saw but unfortunately there wasn't much to it. Applebloom was tying Scootaloo up now and would soon be coming for her. Sweetie Belle continued to collect her thoughts and evaluate her options, but honestly, she didn't have many. All that could happen to her now would be her getting captured as well, trying to get the key and win the game alone, hide and try to untie Scootaloo without getting caught, or stop the game.
Sweetie Belle definitely wasn't going to stop the game, and she didn’t want to just surrender to Applebloom like that, so those two options were out. Sweetie Belle still had the opportunity of trying to get the key from Applebloom and win the game on her own, but if Applebloom was able to overpower Scootaloo in a fight, Sweetie Belle knew she had no chance there either, She decided that hiding from Applebloom and trying to get to Scootaloo to untie her was the best option and took off to the rec room to find a place to hide.
While Sweetie Belle could have hidden in one of the storage rooms in the hallway so there would be less distance to travel to free Scootaloo, she was certain that Applebloom would be expecting her there and choose the rec room instead.
The nightgown-clad teenager ran into the rec room and looked for a place to hide. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have many options. She was immediately drawn to the bed and thought of hiding under it but quickly dismissed the idea, certain that she would be caught in seconds if she chose that spot. She then considered hiding under the covers and even tried it for a few seconds before ultimately deciding that spot wasn't going to cut it either.
Sweetie Belle started to sweat. She knew Applebloom would be coming for her any second and desperately needed a place to hide. She searched the room with her flashlight until her eyes were drawn to the now hollowed out couch the foldout bed was attached to. She got an idea and lifted up the part of the foldout bed that partially covered the inside of the couch. She surveyed the area and realized it was big enough for her to lie down in. There was nothing inside the couch except for a horizontal metal bar that was easily avoidable. Sweetie Belle, desperate and with no better options available to her, went into the hollowed-out space and returned the uppermost part of the fold out bed to its original position, making it look as if no one was there.
After a couple tense minutes of waiting, Sweetie Belle heard Applebloom’s footsteps and turned her flashlight off so she wouldn't be discovered.
Applebloom stepped into the rec room shining a flashlight around, half expecting to see Sweetie Belle kneeling down on the bed, holding her hands up in surrender or something along those lines. To her surprise however, Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be found.
Applebloom scanned the room with her flashlight before venturing further inside to search for the girl. Applebloom had checked every storage room on the way down the hall and was positive Sweetie Belle wasn't hiding in any of them. As Applebloom continued to thoroughly check the room, she pondered for a split second if there was a way Sweetie Belle could have escaped the basement. She dismissed the idea almost immediately as she considered that impossible to do without the key which she still had in her possession.
For Sweetie Belle, the next three minutes felt like a year as Applebloom checked nearly every nook and cranny except the one she was hiding in.
Applebloom eventually left out of the rec room, slightly confused, but sure that her friend would turn up sooner or later. There was no way she could stay hidden forever, and now the yellow skinned hunter had just resorted to patrolling the basement until she found her.
About a minute or so after Applebloom left out of the room Sweetie Belle finally allowed herself a moment to breathe easy. Her breathing slowed down, and she wiped her sweat covered face clean. She emerged from her hiding place and gave herself a few more seconds to catch her breath.
Now that Applebloom had concluded her thorough search of the basement, Sweetie Belle knew that her objective now was to get to the laundry room without being spotted.
One of the things Applebloom had told the girls before the game started was that if they could successfully hide from her during her first search, and she had to patrol, she would not look behind her unless she saw or heard something. Taking this knowledge into account, Sweetie Belle sprang up from her hiding spot and started to make her way to the laundry room.
Sweetie Belle got to the start of the hallway, looked down it, and saw Applebloom on the far end already. Sweetie Belle took this opportunity to quickly duck into the first storage room to her right. This is where her slipper boots came in handy, with them on; Sweetie Belle was able to gracefully slide and walk across the cold concrete floor with very little sound, essentially making her harder to detect.
She pressed herself up against the left wall of the storage room because Applebloom wouldn't be able to see her there on her return down the hallway unless she turned around.
Sweetie Belle waited and about a minute or so later, she saw the light from Applebloom’s flashlight pour in through the doorway, briefly illuminating most of the right side of the room. A couple seconds after the light, she saw Applebloom herself walk by, the sight of her alone sending chills up the poor girl's spine.
Sweetie Belle waited till Applebloom was completely out of sight before making a mad dash to the laundry room.
She opened and closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief, but she knew the game was far from over. One of the first things Sweetie Belle noticed upon entering the room was that the light was on, and she was thankful for that. She looked around the room a bit more and saw all the stuff that she would expect: water heater, furnace, laundry chute, Manetag brand washer and dryer, fuse box, and all the usual utilities.
“Sweetie Belle, over here!” Sweetie Belle heard a raspy voice call out from her right. She looked into the right storage room to see Scootaloo. Her hands were tied behind her back just like before but now rope had bound her legs both above and below the knees, and she had a rope around her torso that kept her arms from moving.
“Oh my goodness!” Sweetie Belle yelled while making her way over to Scootaloo. “Are you hurt?” she asked her bound friend with genuine concern.
“It hurt a little bit at first, but I'm fine. I’m just happy to see that crazy girl didn’t get you yet. Nevermind that though, you need to untie me! I got a plan to get us outta here, and I know where the key is!” Scootaloo said with both excitement and seriousness in her voice.
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle replied as she knelt down and started working on the rope binding Scootaloo’s hands together when she suddenly stood up and nervously looked at the door.
“What are you doing?” Scootaloo asked, annoyed.
“It’s the girl! She’ll be back any second! I gotta hide!” Sweetie Belle said with clear distress before sprinting to the left laundry storage room and hiding there in hopes that she wouldn't check.
About half a minute later Applebloom calmly walked into the room and looked around, like normal, all she saw was Scootaloo still helplessly tied up the way she left her and exited the room.
Sweetie Belle waited a few seconds to make sure Applebloom was gone and sprinted over to the other side of the room to continue untying Scootaloo. “Whew. That was a close one,” Sweetie Belle said with relief.
She was fully focused on the knot binding Scootaloo’s hands until Scootaloo shouted out. “Sweetie Belle! Behind you!”
Sweetie Belle turned around with a start and saw Applebloom looming over her with an evil grin on her face.
Sweetie Belle jumped up to her feet with a scream as she began to shake in fear and back up towards the wall. “H-how did you find me!”
Applebloom chuckled. “Ya didn’t think ah could hear y’all through the door?”
Sweetie Belle felt stupid for such a large oversight on her part. Scootaloo also felt guilty seeing as how it was partially her fault for talking so loud.
“Anyway, ah knew y’all would turn up sooner or later. Saw how ya left the bed in the other room when ah went back in there. Figured out your hiding place, pretty clever if ah do say so myself, but bein’ clever won’t save y’all now!"
Sweetie Belle was now completely backed up against the wall, shivering with fear in her eyes.
Applebloom grinned. “I’m gonna give y’all a chance to make this easy on yourself. All ya have to do is put your hands up in surrender or y’all can try to escape like the other one, your choice.”
Sweetie Belle let out a gulp and looked over to Scootaloo. “Come on, Sweetie Belle! You can take her!” she yelled.
She looked back to Applebloom who was still making a very devious grin in anticipation for the inevitable. Sweetie Belle stood there for a few seconds, evaluating her options, before finally letting out a hopeless sigh and putting her arms up. “I give up, you win,” she quietly said in defeat.
“No, Sweetie Belle, what are you doing!?” Scootaloo yelled, clearly not happy with the pink and purple hair girl’s choice.
“Sorry Scootaloo,” Sweetie Belle started as Applebloom brought her arms down and began tying them behind her back. “I tried my best, but she won.”
Applebloom had tied Sweetie Belle up in the same way as Scootaloo and sat them back to back. She then placed a flashlight on the floor in the corner of the room and left it on so the two girls could see each other better than if they just had the light from the laundry room.
“So… now what?” Sweetie Belle asked in character.
Applebloom smiled and started walking around the two tied girls. “Well, ah think ah will leave y'all here till the sun comes up, that should be enough to teach y’all not to come into just any ol’ person's house. Ah’ll check up on y’all to make sure you two stay like that ‘cause if y’all don’t, I’ma keep y’all here longer, so don’t even think about tryin’ to escape! Now, ah got some things to attend to, so if y’all will excuse me.”
With that, Applebloom promptly walked out of the room and left the two tied girls to figure how to get out themselves.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both struggled against their bonds.
“How are we supposed to get out of this now?” Scootaloo grunted.
“I don’t know, but we need to figure out something, I really just wanna get out of here.” Sweetie Belle said in reply. “What was your plan anyway?” she asked looking back at Scootaloo.
Scootaloo let out a sigh. “Well, I was hoping that you would untie me and then we would both attack that crazy girl. I would hold her down while you hogtie her, you know, give her a taste of her own medicine.”
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle acknowledged.
“After she tied me up she showed me the key was in her sock, just to taunt me. So I figure we tie her up, take the key out of her sock, lock her in here and throw the key into the forest!” Scootaloo finished.
“That does sound like a good plan, but we have to figure out how to get out of this first.” Sweetie Belle said trying to somehow reach the knots of her own bonds to untie herself.
The two girls sat there tied up for about 5 minutes. Both of them them were wracking their brains as to how they could possibly get out of this situation and even considered giving up entirely, but the last thing they wanted to do was let Applebloom win. Applebloom had come in and checked on them once already. They were hoping she would provide some sort of clue as to how the girls could untie themselves on her way out, but she did no such thing.
A couple minutes after Applebloom left the room Scootaloo looked behind her, realizing that it was impossible for them to untie their own bonds, but maybe… just maybe. “Hey, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah?” she responded.
“Are you able to reach the knot tying my hands together?” she asked.
Sweetie Belle thought for a few moments as to why Scootaloo would ask that when a lightbulb went off in her head and she had an idea of what Scootaloo was hinting at. “Let me check.” She said before moving a bit closer to Scootaloo and feeling the rope tying her wrists for the knot. After a few seconds of searching Sweetie Belle felt the knot and her face lit up. “I-I can feel it!”
“That’s great! Then untie it if you can! We’ll bust out of this place yet!” Scootaloo said with determination.
Sweetie Belle nodded and quickly went to work on the knot.
Over the next few minutes the girls had been untying each other while periodically stopping and making it look like they were still tied the two more times Applebloom came back to check on them. Applebloom could tell the ropes were completely untied by the second time time she checked but decided to let them get away with it anyways, just to be nice.
A few minutes after Applebloom’s second check, the two girls freed themselves and, stretched their muscles out. Despite the fact that they both wanted to rest, they knew that the game wasn't over and put their plan into action.
Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo went to the doorway to the storage room and stood up against the right and left sides respectively. Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle. “Remember, I hold her down and you tie her up,” Scootaloo reminded, pointing to the rope on the floor.
Sweetie Belle nodded and grabbed the rope up off the floor, holding it close as the two waited in anticipation for their captor to come along again.
A couple minutes later, Applebloom entered the room, expecting Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo to be not only out of the tie-up she put them in but also gone. She looked into the right storage room and got exactly what she expected. She wanted to congratulate Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle for getting out of a tie-up like that in under a half-hour but knew the game was still going on. Technically the girls didn't win until they nabbed the key from Applebloom and she had no intention of going easy on them now.
She reacted in character started walking towards the right storage room wondering where her captives went. “Dang nabbit! Ah knew those two were gonna escape! Next time ah find those varmints, they’re gonna be in for a real tie-up!”
Applebloom took a few steps into the storage room and was caught by surprise when she was tackled to the ground by Scootaloo yet again. Applebloom looked up in resentment at the teen pinning her down. “Y-You!” she said trying to get back up only to be pushed back down by Scootaloo.
“Ah ah ah, Not this time,” Scootaloo playfully said while keeping her down. “I think it’s about time me and Sweetie Belle show you how much fun it is to be tied up!”
Applebloom looked behind her and saw Sweetie Belle standing beside Scootaloo with a rope in her hand and a grin on her face. She then felt her arms and legs being pulled up behind her and tied together. “Ah swear! Y’all won’t get away with this! When ah get outta this y’all are payin’ the price!”
“Oh really?” Scootaloo smugly asked before putting her hand into Applebloom’s sock and pulling out the key.”
Applebloom’s eyes widened. “N-No!”
“Ooh, what's that, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked in a playful tone while she finished hogtying Applebloom.
“Well I’m not sure, Sweetie Belle, but it looks like a key!” Scootaloo responded in the same tone of voice. Scootaloo stepped in front of the now hogtied Applebloom and dangled the key in front of her. “Sorry, little miss tie-up, but it looks like the only price me and Sweetie Belle are paying is the price of freedom!” She said before sticking her tongue out at the hogtied girl.
Applebloom growled and tried to get out of the hogtie. “Fine, leave then! But y’all ain't seen the last of me, ah’ll track y’all down and make ya pay!”
“Well, you have fun with that, but we are going to leave now, goodbye,” Sweetie Belle said, as she walked out of the room with Scootaloo following close behind, leaving Applebloom there, hogtied.
The two girls got to the basement door and opened it, officially winning the game. They both let out a quiet “Yeah!” before high-fiving each other in celebration.
After opening the door, the game was considered over so both girls went back down the stairs, turned the lights back on, and untied Applebloom.
Applebloom stood up and wore a huge smile before leaning closer to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. “Sooooooooooo, what did y’all think?”
Sweetie Belle smiled. “I actually had a lot of fun, There were times where I was really scared and felt like I had something to lose if you caught me.”
Applebloom let out a chuckle. “Well, to be honest, ya kinda did. But ah’m still relieved to hear ya had fun. Ah hadn't had that much fun myself in a while.”
Scootaloo nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I had a blast, I can’t wait to play another one! Maybe we could do it tomorrow night!”
Applebloom turned around and started picking the rope up off the floor. “Ah guess we can see how we feel, we definitely could.”
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle helped Applebloom clean up the rope and put everything back in it’s proper place. By the time the trio finished it was just a little after 3AM. They all went into the rec room and sat down on the bed. They debated going to bed but ultimately decided against it seeing as how they really weren't all that tired yet.
They decided to go into the laundry side of the room again and play around some more, just for fun. The girls decided to take part in some freestyle floor skating using their socks and for Sweetie Belle, her slippers, to glide across the concrete floor. This eventually gave way to some weird version of clothes hockey with them using a random shirt as a puck. Aside from that, they did some other silly things in there until they started to get tired.
The three of them started to get tired around 4:30, so they went back to the rec room and discussed if they should go to bed yet.
This time, they all seemed to be happy with how the night turned out and decided to go to sleep. They turned out the lights, tucked themselves in and were all fast asleep within minutes.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading the story and I hope you enjoyed it. I may or may not have a sequel in the works depending on if this fic is received well. ;)
Special thanks to Chapter 13 for editing, and Zolfy for proofreading and editing.
