It was a night that could have just as well been taken from a cheap horror movie: dark, murky clouds hung in a pitch black sky; lightning strikes flashed across the skies, and a severe thunderstorm blew over the country.
And in between all of it was she. All alone, in a dark room. And nopony around to hear her scream.
Scootaloo was trembling; shivering from head to toe as she pulled her blanket a little closer towards her face.
She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all. All week she had been looking forward to this night: she, together with her two best friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle would have a sleepover at Sugarcube Corner, together with Pinkie Pie. Spending an evening with Ponyville's best party pony, staying up all night, a nearly unlimited amount of candy at their disposal ... it should have been the sleepover of sleepovers.
Now, however, she would do anything, anything to be someplace else.
She could have foreseen that the evening wouldn't be as great as expected when Apple Bloom had announced that she couldn't make it because she had to help her family out on the farm, but even without their earth pony friend, Scootaloo had been sure that she could still have a great sleepover with Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie.
This morning, however, Sweetie Belle had shown up at her doorstep and had broke the bad news: her and Rarity's parents had paid them a surprise visit and now wanted to spend the weekend with their daughters, so Rarity had asked her younger sister to stay with her instead.
And so only Scootaloo had been left. After Sweetie Belle had taken her leave, Scootaloo had made her way to Sugarcube Corner to tell Pinkie Pie that the sleepover had fallen through - a party of two wasn't a real party, after all.
However, Pinkie Pie, being the notorious party-pony she was, hadn't accepted this sort of excuse, telling Scootaloo that a great party didn't need a lot of ponies, and had invited Scootaloo to come nonetheless. While she had been hesitant at first, there had been something about the smile on the Pink Pony's face that simply wouldn't allow no for an answer, and so Scootaloo had found herself standing on the doorstep of Sugarcube corner only a few hours later, with her toothbrush and sleeping supplies in tow, and determined to try and make the best of what was left of this 'sleepover party'.
And indeed, the evening had been a lot better than expected. Pinkie Pie, being Pinkie Pie, had prepared a ton of things to do for the two - they would play games like Pin the Tail on the Pony or Hide and Seek, tell each other secrets, jokes and funny stories, and even bake some cupcakes together.
Of course, it would have been a lot better with her friends, but nevertheless, this must have been one of the best sleepovers Scootaloo had ever had.
That is, until now.
Just like all good things, even this great sleepover would have to come to an end eventually, and it felt way too soon that Scootaloo found herself laying in Pinkie Pie's bed -the pink pony had insisted that Scootaloo would have her bed and she would sleep on the couch instead- and trying to force herself to sleep.
Only that it wasn't working. It wasn't working at all.
Scootaloo normally wasn't what one would call a chicken. She was rather courageous and had learned to overcome her fears on various occasions, yes had even received a lesson in 'facing her fears' from the Princess of the Night herself.
But still, this night wasn't like all the others she had been afraid in. Yes, she was laying in her bed in the dark every night, and even during thunderstorms like this, she had never had any problems falling asleep, but this was ... different. This wasn't your average everyday darkness, this was ... advanced darkness.
And she was sure, the monsters were lurking under her bed, right underneath her, only waiting to come over her the second she would fall asleep.
And she could hear them.
Mother of Celestia, she could hear them talking! Even over her stifled breathing and her clattering teeth, she could head their voices.
The calm, reasonable parts of her mind insisted that it was all just her imagination; that there was nopony under her bed, and that her head was the one and only origin of the voices.
But no matter how calm, how mature and reasonable she wanted to be ... it was there.
The voice was there.
And it was talking to her.
"Psst!" she could hear a voice coming from underneath her, "Hey, Scootaloo!" the orange filly gave a muffled whimper, pulling her bed sheet even tighter, "Scoot Scoot Scootaloo! I know you're there. And I know you can hear me!"
"N-no." Scootaloo whispered, her body stiff in horror, "This- this is all just in my head. I can't hear a thing!"
"Aww, why so shy?" the voice asked in an almost tauntingly happy tone, "Are you scared? Scared of me, Scoots?"
Clenching her chattering teeth shut, Scootaloo gave a soft whine, closing her eyes. "Just ... just my imagination." she said to herself.
"You think you're safe by closing your eyes?" the voice said tauntingly, amused, even, then gave a short, dry laugh that sent a shiver through Scootaloo's already trembling body, "Don't get your hopes up, little one. I will get you, one way or another. And there's nothing you can do about it."
Cold sweat was running down Scootaloo's forehead and she gave an involuntary swallow. "All. Just. In. My. Head." she whispered breathlessly, trying her best to ignore the mysterious voice.
"Come on, I thought you were a fun little filly!" the voice said, "Why don't you come down here?" the voice invited her with a terrifying playfulness. A moment of silence passed; the only thing Scootaloo could hear were her chattering teeth and the rain pattering against the window from outside. "Here, you want a balloon?" the voice finally asked, and Scootaloo, thinking before acting, carefully cracked an eye open.
Her blood froze.
There, right next to her bed, literally right in front of her face, was floating a balloon. A red, shiny, helium-filled balloon.
She opened and closed her eyes a few times, expecting the -obviously imaginary- balloon to vanish after a second or two, but it didn't. It just kept floating there, right in front of her face, lit only by the occasional lightning striking outside.
Scootaloo opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out were a few breathless gasps. What was this? What was going on!? Why in Celestia's name was there a balloon floating right in front of her face!? Of course, it could have just been forgotten by Pinkie Pie -this was her room, after all- but Scootaloo was absolutely sure that it hadn't been there when she had come into the room earlier.
So where did that balloon come from?
Slowly, carefully, Scootaloo wiggled forward on the bed, inching towards the edge and leaning her head forward, casting a careful glance over the edge of the bed.
"Hello there, Scoots!"
Scootaloo had never known she could scream like this.
Laying on the ground, halfway under the bed and looking up at her was ... a clown!?
It most certainly looked like a clown, at least based on the poofy red hair, the white makeup that covered what must have been its face, and the big, red clown nose in the middle of its face.
But this ... clown wasn't a pony! Its features looked so ... different; so ... grotesque! It's face was flat, as if the creature had run into a wall, its eyes were only a fraction the size of a pony's, and of course ... its mouth - twisted into a devilish grin, it revealed two rows of very, very sharp-looking teeth.
Quickly, as if by instinct, Scootaloo's head shot back again and she was staring at the ceiling like petrified, her chest heaving with her heavy breathing.
"Okay Scoots..." she said to herself after a moment as her breathing began to calm, "no more horror movies before bed." She paused, drawing in a long breath to calm herself, "From now on you'll only watch ... My Little Human or something. But no more horror movies."
As her pounding heart began to calm down, she dared to lean to the side again, and cast another glance at the ground next to her bed.
Nothing.
"Phew." Scootaloo said with a relieved sigh, "it was just my imagination after all." she gave her head a soft nudge with her hoof, "Thanks brain!"
Feeling relief wash over her, Scootaloo smiled and leaned back again, resting her head back on her pillow. And now that she knew that the only sort of monster was that inside of her head, she could feel relaxation taking over her mind, and sleep slowly washing over her.
"Hey Scoots."
And suddenly she was wide awake again.
Her ears perked up, and she was sitting upright on her bed not even a second later. That voice ... that voice!
"Ra- Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked into the semi-darkness of the room, and could feel her heart skip a beat in both, relief and surprise as her look fell onto the door leading to Pinkie Pie's closet, and indeed, she could see the rainbow-maned pegasus standing in the doorway and looking at the filly with that trademark smile on her face.
"How you doing, squirt?" Rainbow Dash asked, grinning at the filly, "Scary night, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, but..." Scootaloo stuttered, wondering if she was starting to hallucinate, "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, you know..." Rainbow Dash replied with a casual flick of her hoof, "Just making you're not..." her eyes widened slowly, and she gave Scootaloo a knowing wink, "scared."
"I-I'm not scared!" the filly gasped with a forced laugh, "D-do I look scared!? I ... I'm not scared! I-I'm just as brave as you, Rainbow Dash!"
"I'm sure you are." the pegasus replied with a raspy laugh that, somehow, didn't quite fit her character. "Hey, wanna come in here?" she asked Scootaloo with a toothy grin.
"What?" she squealed, raising an eyebrow in confusion, "W-why should I ... why should we be in there?"
"Trust me, it's fun!" Rainbow Dash assured her with wide eyes. "Don't you wanna have fun!?"
"Y-yes, but-"
"Come on, Scoots..." in her horror, Scootaloo barely noticed, but Rainbow Dash's voice slowly began to change, getting deeper, raspier and ... creepier, "Come on in here. I have a balloon for you!"
"W-what?" Scootaloo whimpered, her confusion now turning into utter horror. "What are you ... what are you saying, Rainbow Dash!?" She wiped a hoof over her face, turning her look away from her idol for just a second. When she looked back, a big, red clown's nose had grown in the middle of Rainbow Dash's face, similar to that one she had seen on the odd creature under her bed earlier.
"What's the matter?" the pegasus asked with a teasing grin, "Don't you want a balloon?" she reached behind herself, and indeed, she pulled a nice, yellow balloon from within the closet. It looked similar to the one that had been floating next to Scootaloo's bed earlier, only that it was yellow and a little bigger. "Look, it even floats." Rainbow Dash explained to the filly with an amazed smile on her face, "They all float." she added, lifting a hoof and making another dozen balloons appear from within Pinkie Pie's closet. "And you can float, too."
Forcing her tearful eyes shut and shaking her head, Scootaloo whispered to herself. "No! This ... this isn't happening. This isn't real! You're not the real Rainbow Dash!"
Slowly, she opened her eyes again, her look darting back to the open closet. Rainbow Dash was gone, and in her place was standing the monster that had been lurking under Scootaloo's bed earlier. It was standing on its two hind legs, towering at at least six feet. Its body was covered by a colorful clown's costume; one of its two front legs was stretched out, holding the bunch of balloons Scootaloo had seen Rainbow Dash holding earlier.
The clown's face turned into a disappointed frown. "Aww, what gave it away? Am I not good enough to be a colorful little horse?" He asked sadly
"No!" Scootaloo shouted back, feeling a new wave of tears welling up in her eyes and forcing them shut again. "Just ... just go away already! You're just in my imagination!"
"Aww, you think you can defeat me just by closing your eyes and pretending I'm not there?" she heard the clown's raspy voice give an amused huff, "What a naive little filly you are."
Giving a muffled sob and making sure her eyes remained tightly sealed, Scootaloo buried her head into the pillow, determined to just sit this out and wait until this nightmare was over.
"You can't defeat me, little one." the clown's cold voice came to Scootaloo's ears, sounding awfully close, but she forced herself to hold still, pressing herself deeper into the pillow instead. "I will always be there, in the back of your mind. Ignoring me will only make it worse, don't you know? I will get you, Scootaloo. I will get you, and I will kill you. You can't get away from me."
Scootaloo could feel a cold breath against her neck, and only with a serious effort could she refrain from wetting herself.
"Open your eyes, Scootaloo." she heard the monster whisper into her ear, "Open your eyes, and accept your fate."
Even though every bit of reason within her told her not to, and to just remain silent, Scootaloo couldn't help it. Slowly, carefully, she cracked an eye open to see what was happening.
Her eyes were met with a shiny, red clown's nose.
"Hello, Scoots."
Pinkie Pie was laying on the sofa in the living room of Sugarcube Corner, her eyes closed, and a big, content smile on her face. She was just about to drift off to sleep, and had decided to recall the events of this day to fill her mind with happy thoughts before hitting the pillow. Yes, what a wonderful evening the sleepover with Scootaloo had turned out to be. To be fair, Scootaloo hadn't seemed too happy when she had gotten to Sugarcube Corner earlier, making Pinkie Pie wonder for just a second if insisting to have the sleepover, even without the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders, might have been a bad idea after all.
However, just like so often, the party pony's gut feeling had been right, and once she had told Scootaloo about her awesome, super amazing plans for the night, it seemed like the filly had begun to share some of Pinkie Pie's enthusiasm.
And indeed, the evening had turned out to be a full success. They had played games, told each other stories and jokes, had baked cupcakes together, and Pinkie Pie had even shown Scootaloo the super special, secret ingredient that made her (and the Cake Family's) cupcakes so delicious - it was powdered sugar.
Of course, Pinkie Pie had been just as sad as Scootaloo when the evening had reached its inevitable end, but just like her mother had always told her, all good things had to come to an end, and the filly had seemed a lot happier when Pinkie Pie had promised her to have another sleepover with all her friends soon enough.
Letting out a happy sigh, Pinkie Pie turned over onto her back, resting her head on her hooves, and feeling sleep come over her.
Truly, what a wonderful day this had been.
"Pinkie Pie! Piiiinkie Piiiie!" the appalled scream of Scootaloo and the sound of hooves coming running towards her tore the pink pony from her sleep within seconds, making her shoot up and jump to her hooves. Instinctively, she reached for the light switch located next to the sofa, and turned the lights in the living room on in time to see the filly coming running down the stairs, her eyes red from crying and her face a mortally scared grimace.
"What's the matter, Scootaloo? Anything wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked surprised, walking up to the terrified filly who was looking at her with eyes wide in horror.
"T-there's a m-m-monster in your room!" Scootaloo declared, her whole body shivering, "I-it's gonna get me! It's gonna kill me!"
"Calm down, Scoots." Pinkie Pie said, running a comforting hoof over the filly's back, "You know there are no monsters, right?"
"But it's there! It's real!" the filly shouted wide-eyed, casting a hasty look over her shoulder, "Thank Celestia it didn't follow me!" turning back towards Pinkie Pie, she begged, "You ... you need to come with me! Please! I ... I can't go back there! Not alone!"
"Aww..." Pinkie Pie said with a touched smile on her face, sitting down next to Scootaloo, "You know, you sound just like me when I was your age." she flung a back around her neck, getting ready to tell a story, "You know, back then I used to be afraid a lot of things. Darkness, shadows, all that. I even have a song about that."
"That's really not-" Scootaloo wanted to protest, but Pinkie Pie didn't leave her a chance to do so.
"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." the pink pony broke into a happy song, much to Scootaloo's dislike. "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..."
"Pinkie Pie, please!" Scootaloo begged, "Please just-"
"I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw. But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all..." she continued undeterred, but was cut off as Scootaloo firmly placed a hoof on her mouth.
"Pinkie, please." she said tensely, "I know that song, and I know all too well that I need to face my fears, but..." she shot forward, facing Pinkie Pie with big, tearful eyes, "This is serious! It's not just a nightmare! There really is this ... this thing in your bedroom!"
Pinkie Pie remained silent for a moment, but then let out a short sigh and shrugged. "Oh well, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll come with you. Just to prove that there's nothing to be afraid of. Because if there were..." she gave the filly a wink, "I wouldn't sleep there every night, right?"
"O-okay." Scootaloo replied, slightly relieved, and turned around again to walk up the stairs, "But you go ahead!"
"Sure thing!" Pinkie Pie said casually and walked up the stairs with a light-hearted spring in her step, shortly followed by a still moderately trembling Scootaloo.
"See?" Pinkie Pie asked happily as they entered her bedroom and she turned the lights on, "Nothing here!"
"I-it's probably just hiding!" Scootaloo said terrified as she carefully stepped through the door, "I-I think it can teleport. And transform to look like other ponies!"
That gained an amused snort from the pink pony. "You're funny, Scootaloo." she said with a smirk, "Sounds like you've just read too many horror stories to me."
"B-but it's real!" Scootaloo defended herself with wide eyes, "I saw it! With my own eyes!"
"I'm sure you did." Pinkie Pie said with a lenient smile, ruffling up the filly's mane, "Right there in your little head."
"But-" Scootaloo wanted to protest.
"Nothing to worry about here, Scoots." Pinkie Pie said with a bright smile on her face and turned around to leave the room again, but was stopped by something standing in her way.
Or rather, somebody standing in her way.
"Hello there, Pinkie Pie."
Scootaloo gave a high-pitched scream as she saw the monster from earlier standing in the doorway. And it looked even more horrifying in broad light! Towering at at least twice of Pinkie Pie's size, it looked down at the two ponies, its face a joyful, happy smile.
"Oh, hi!" Pinkie Pie replied with an equally happy smile, "How you doing? What's your name?"
"I am Pennywise. Pennywise the dancing clown." the monster replied, baring its extremely sharp-looking teeth at the pony in a sick, twisted smile.
"Wow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a beaming smile, turning her head at the terrified filly, "Look Scootaloo! We have a clown visiting us! Isn't that just amazing?"
Scootaloo could hear her teeth clattering, even over Pinkie Pie's talking. "P-Pinkie Pie! T-that's the m-monster!" she gasped breathlessly.
"What?" Pinkie asked disbelievingly, "Oh Scoots, you jokester! Pennywise is a clown, not a monster!" tapping a hoof against the creature's leg, she giggled, "I'm sure he's completely harmless. Nice to meet you, big boy."
"What a pleasure to meet you too, Pinkie Pie." The monster rasped, pulling another floating balloon from behind his back, "Do you want a balloon? It floats, and you, too, can-"
"A balloon?" Pinkie asked excited, cutting him off, "Do you even have to ask?" she giggled and pulled the balloon from the monster's grip, "Who doesn't like balloons?"
Pennywise, giving the pony a slightly surprised look, remained silent for a moment, but then quickly regained his composure. "I'm so glad you like it." He said with an exaggerated smile, "Now, why don't we go into your closet? I have many more balloons for you in there!"
"A closet party?" Pinkie Pie gasped, her eyes wide in excitement; the smile on her face seemed to reach new dimensions, "Great idea, Mister Clown! Come on, Scoots!" she said, turning around and addressing the filly, "We're gonna have a closet party with our new friend, Pennywise!"
"Pinkie no!" Scootaloo squealed on top of her voice, desperate to keep her friend from walking into the monster's trap, "It's a trick! Don't go into your closet!"
The pink pony stopped dead in her tracks, giving the filly a confused look for a moment, before an understanding smile spread across her face. "Oooh, I see." she said, nodding her head, "Can't have a closet party without snacks, am I right?" she exclaimed joyfully, and pulled a platter of the cupcakes she and Scootaloo had baked earlier from somewhere behind her, "Here we go. Thanks for reminding me, Scootaloo!" she said with a wink.
Scootaloo facehoofed. "Pinkie, that's not what I-" she wanted to say, but was cut off as the pink pony turned around again to face the two-legged clown.
"Here, Mister Pennywise. Want a cupcake? We made them ourselves!" she announced happily.
The clown gave her a look of annoyance for a moment and opened its mouth to protest, but cut itself off as the look on its face was replaced by one of confusion, followed by one of disbelief.
"Cupcakes?" the monster asked, and while it didn't seem physically possible with its white make-up, Scootaloo could have sworn it got a whole lot paler.
"Yes." Pinkie Pie affirmed, happily nodding, "We made them ourselves earlier today." she leaned in to the clown, making a conspiratorial face, "And we even used the special ingredient, so they're extra delicious!" she wiggled her eyebrows knowingly, "If you know what I mean."
The disbelief on the clown's face was replaced by disgust for a second, before his eyes went back to Pinkie Pie who was still giving him a joyful smile, and it turned into pure, primal horror.
"You ... you..." he gasped, "Made them yourself? With your special ingredients?"
"Uh-huh." Pinkie nodded her head again, presenting the platter of pastries to the clown. "You want one?"
"You..." Pennywise gasped at Pinkie Pie, the horror and disgust on his face growing stronger by the second, "You ... you sick, disturbed individual. You're a bigger monster than me!"
"What's wrong?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently, tilting her head to the side, "Don't you like cupcakes?"
The look on the clown's face turned into one of outrage. He shook his head in disgust, raised both his arms, and -as physically impossible as it may seem- disappeared through a crack in the deck boards on the floor.
"What ... what the hay was that?" Scootaloo asked, walking up to Pinkie Pie who was looking at the spot where the clown had stood mere seconds ago with a pleased smile.
"I don't know." Pinkie replied, shrugging happily, "But the monster is gone now, so that's good, right?"
"Wait!" Scootaloo cut her off, staring at her with wide eyes, "You knew that it was a monster?"
Pinkie Pie nodded.
"And still you acted like..." Scootaloo paused, searching for the right words, "Like this?"
"Of course!" The pink pony affirmed.
"B-but why?" the filly asked outraged, "How could you stay this calm and not be scared to death by that thing?"
"Oh Scoots..." Pinkie Pie giggled, putting her off with a wave of her hoof, "Don't you remember what I told you?"
Scootaloo just looked at her in confusion.
"Whenever you're faced with something creepy, spooky or sinister, all you have to do is..." she began, motioning Scootaloo to finish the sentence.
"...giggle at the ghosty?" Scootaloo asked, starting to understand. "Ooh." she said as her mind put one and one together.
"Uh-huh." Pinkie said, smiling proudly, "Always works, even with child-eating movie-clowns from another dimension."
"Wait, what?" Scootaloo asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Don't worry about it." the pink pony replied with a light-hearted giggle, putting her off with a wave of her hoof, "Hey, I'm getting hungry. Wanna see if there's any cupcakes left in the fridge?"
