The Legend of the Brony
The Legend of the Brony
Night had fallen over Equestria. Most of Ponyville’s inhabitants were sleeping in their beds, and all the houses were silent and dark.
Except for Sugarcube Corner, whose lights were still on, and sounds could be heard coming from the inside.
The sounds of a party.
And what was the cause of the celebration? That same morning, Pound and Pumpkin Cake had pronounced their first words. That is, their first words apart from ‘Pinkie Pie’. The little colt had said ‘Mama’, while the unicorn’s first word had been ‘Tomato’, for some reason.
Anyway, Pinkie Pie decided that, of course, such an event deserved a party, and a party was thrown.
The pink mare invited her five friends. All of them congratulated the Cakes for how quick the twins were learning and growing up. The party started at four o'clock, and they spent all of the afternoon dancing, laughing and playing games with the two babies, who eventually got too tired and were sent to bed.
After that, everypony reunited in the kitchen, where Rainbow Dash convinced them to practise a more relaxed and yet, according to her, entertaining activity: tell scary stories. Save for Fluttershy, all the others liked the idea.
“And I just know the perfect story to set the mood!” said the blue pegasus, jumping on the table. “I’m gonna tell... the Legend of the Brony.”
Now, the reactions were less positive. Fluttershy quickly hid under the table and covered her ears, not wanting to hear anything more.
“I don’t know, dear...” said Rarity. “That story is a bit strong...”
“Yeah...” said Mr. Cake, nervous. “Maybe... maybe you should tell another one...”
“What's a Brony?” asked Twilight.
Rainbow Dash smiled mischievously, and the other ponies gulped. Now that Twilight had asked, the pegasus was definitely going to tell that story, and no amount of begging could stop her.
“Oh, right...” said Dash, still smiling. “You arrived at Ponyville just two years ago, so you don’t know anything about it... You see, dear Twilight, the Brony is a creature which is said to wander around Ponyville since ancient times.”
Under the table, Fluttershy was already trembling.
“He likes ponies,” continued Dash. “Oh, he likes them very much. Actually, nopony knows exactly if the Brony is male or female, so maybe we should refer to him as it. Yeah, that’s more appropriate.”
The pegasus jumped off the table and started to walk around, sneaking behind her friends and narrating the story with a spooky voice:
“From where did it come? What is it, exactly? There is no answer for those questions, the nature of that monster is surrounded in mystery. The only thing we know for sure is that it is always watching. It watches the fillies as they play in the schoolyard, it watches the unsuspecting ponies as they walk through the market on an apparently nice and normal morning, it watches all of us, even when we think we are completely alone and safe in our houses. The Brony is always watching, for it likes ponies. Oh, it likes them very much...”
Dash touched Rarity’s tail with a hoof, and the white unicorn jumped in her seat, startled. Pinkie was trembling under the table, next to Fluttershy.
“Once the Brony chooses an adequate victim, it waits for that pony to be alone. On a deserted street, in a dark and empty alley, near the Everfree Forest... or even in his or her own house. As soon as the poor pony is without company, and specially if the night is chilling, like this one, the Brony comes out of its hiding place, which could be anywhere, even under this table...”
Dash stepped gently on Fluttershy’s tail. Both her and Pinkie came out from under the table and hid behind the Cakes, still trembling.
“The Brony can hide anywhere, even in the most unlikely of places. Besides, it has all sorts of weird powers. Some say it can become invisible, and others, that it can take the form of anypony else, like a changeling. Now that I think about it, anyone of us could be the Brony...”
Except Twilight, who was expectantly waiting for the end of the story, everypony else gave nervous glances to each other.
“Nah, forget about that,” said Dash. “If anyone of us was the Brony, it would have probably revealed itself already and jumped over us.”
“But...” whispered Pinkie, behind Mrs. Cake. “But Dashie... y-you said the B-Brony only attacks when the ponies are alone...”
“Normally, yes. But there have been cases, you know, when the Brony’s desire for ponies is so big, that it dares to attacks smaller groups. Smaller groups... like ours.”
“Ah’m in mah farm...” mumbled Applejack, hugging her hat. “Ah’m in mah farm... Ah’m in mah happy place...”
“And, when the Brony finally has the poor chosen pony in its claws,” continued Dash, “when nopony else can hear the screams, when the victim is helpless, the Brony...” she exaggerated her spooky voice. “Then, the Brony...”
The air was filled with tension. Rarity covered her ears, not wanting to hear the next part, since she knew it. Applejack hugged her hat tighter, and Mr. Cake was trying to not faint.
“Then... then!” Dash jumped on the table. “Then the Brony tickles its victim!”
Everypony screamed in horror at the revelation. Everypony but Twilight, who raised an eyebrow and asked:
“Wait, what?”
“But it doesn’t end there!” continued Dash, staring directly at Applejack. “Sometimes, if the victim is a mare, the Brony rubs her tummy!”
The cowpony screamed again and went to hide behind Pinkie, who was hiding behind Mrs. Cake, who had hid behind Fluttershy, who was hiding behind Mr. Cake.
“Are you serious?” asked Twilight. Again, she was ignored.
Rarity tried to hide behind the Cakes too, but Dash grabbed her by the shoulders and whispered into her ear:
“And, when the mare is specially attractive, like you are, my dear Rarity; the Brony may even brush her mane!”
Rarity fainted, and so did Mr. Cake.
“Oh, but it gets worse,” whispered Dash, as she advanced menacingly towards the others. “It’s get worse if you’re a filly, or a young pony. Pinkie Pie...”
Behind Mrs. Cake, the pink mare curled.
“Pinkie Pie, you’re the youngest of us all, right?” Dash smiled. “Oh, I pray to Celestia that the Brony doesn’t find you. Do you know what it likes to do to the young mares?”
“W-What?”
“Pinch their cheeks!”
Pinkie screamed at the top of her lungs. Rainbow Dash fell to the ground, laughing her plot off.
“That’s not scary at all!” exclaimed Twilight. “Actually, that’s the stupidest story I’ve ever heard!”
“How can you not be scared?!” cried Pinkie. “The Brony is super-duper terrifying!”
“No, it’s not! It just brushes manes and tickles ponies, that’s not scary at all! And, even if it was, a creature like that obviously doesn’t exist! Rainbow Dash made that story up. Look, she’s laughing.”
But, as soon as Twilight said those words, the laughter of the pegasus stopped.
“Oh, do you think I made that up, Twilight?” she asked, now serious. Scarily serious. “If I’m laughing, it’s only to not fly away screaming. Actually, this story should scare me more than anypony else, because I saw the Brony with my own eyes!”
A cold silence invaded the kitchen. Even Fluttershy stopped trembling. Was Dash going to tell...?
“It was a warm spring afternoon,” said the Pegasus, staring at Twilight. “I was napping on a cloud. I rolled and put my belly up, and after a few seconds, I felt that somepony was rubbing it. I opened my eyes, ready to give that idiot a good kick in the face, whoever it was. I thought that it was another pegasus, or maybe a griffin. However, what I saw was none of them. I saw the Brony.”
Everypony gasped, except Twilight.
“Its body was dark and foggy, with things like tentacles coming from its arms and from its back. And its eyes... I’ll never forget those big, white, completely empty eyes in its head without face, staring at me as if they were piercing through my flesh, looking directly at my soul.”
“AhmminmahfarmAhmminmahhappyplace...”
“I’m not going to deny it, Twilight: I was scared. I hardly have been scared before in my life, but I couldn’t help but be terrified in front of that... thing. I still don’t know how it managed to stand in the cloud with me, but at that moment I didn’t care, I flew as fast as I could, right back to my house. I didn’t look back, and once I returned home, I closed the door behind me. I went to my bed, and I thought I was finally safe, when I felt how my mane was being brushed. I looked back... and the Brony was there!”
Mr. Cake fainted again.
“I abandoned my house and came here, at Sugarcube Corner. Right, Pinkie?”
“Yes!” said Pinkie, trembling. “Dashie begged me to let her sleep in my bedroom, she was really scared!”
“When I returned to my house the next day, the Brony was gone. I haven’t seen it since then, but I know some other ponies who-”
“Sorry, Dash, but I’m not buying any of it,” interrupted Twilight.
“Well, too bad!” Dash smiled again. “They say the ponies who don’t believe in the Brony are the ones it will attack first!”
“If you’re still trying to scare me, I’m afraid it’s not going to work.” Twilight yawned. “Actually, I’m a bit sleepy, it’s quite late,” she looked at the bunch of scared mares and the unconscious stallion. “I’d say that nopony here is in the mood to continue the party, so I think we should go home.”
“No!” Pinkie grabbed Rainbow by her hooves. “Not you! Sleep with me, Dashie! I’m scared!”
***
With the exception of Rainbow Dash, who stayed in Sugarcube Corner all night at Pinkie’s desperate petition, everypony returned to their respective homes. While the others were still trembling, and looked at the shadows of the town with nervous eyes all the way back; Twilight trotted happily, with a smile on her face, as if she was taking a walk through the park on a sunny morning.
When she entered in the Library, Spike was already sleeping. The unicorn smiled warmly at the sight of the dreaming baby dragon.
Twilight went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had eaten quite a lot of sweets at the party, and she didn’t want to wake up with a cavity. She put a bit of toothpaste in the toothbrush and inserted it into her mouth, while laughing mentally at the silly story of the Brony.
‘Tickles,’ she thought, giggling. ‘Yeah, that monster is truly terrifying.’
Then, she heard something, like steps. Twilight spat the toothpaste out, cleaned her mouth with a hoof, and went outside the bathroom.
“Spike? Is that you?” she asked, knowing that the little dragon loved to wake up in the middle of the night to eat a snack or drink a glass of milk.
However, Spike was still asleep on his little bed.
The words of Rainbow Dash echoed in the mind of the unicorn:
“Once the Brony chooses an adequate victim, it waits for that pony to be alone... even in his or her own house.”
But Twilight shook her head.
“The Brony doesn’t exist, silly,” she said to herself, giggling. “The sounds you’ve just heard are completely natural and explainable. Houses make sounds like those at night, because the temperature drop causes the structure to contract a bit, that’s all,” she kept laughing quietly, to not wake Spike up, until her voice was interrupted by a cough. She put a hoof in her throat. “Ugh, it must be the cold of the night. Better drink something before going to sleep.”
She went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and served herself a good glass of milk, which she drank in big gulps. Then she rinsed the empty glass with a bit of water and left it in the sink to dry.
But, when the young unicorn was going to abandon the kitchen, a cold breeze stroke her back. She trembled.
“Who’s there?!” she asked, turning back and illuminating the kitchen with her horn.
Empty. Nopony was there.
She came out of the kitchen, and saw that one of the windows of the Library had been opened. That’s where the breeze had came from.
Twilight sighed, and closed the window.
“See?” she mumbled, to herself. “Everything happens for a good, natural reason. The wind opened the window, there’s no Brony out there.”
The unicorn went upstairs and got in her bed, curling under the comfortable blankets. She closed her eyes, and waited for the dreams to come.
Then, she heard it again, the sound of steps.
Twilight tried to ignore it. ‘Just sounds produced by the house due to the temperature drop’, she repeated to herself. But the noises kept going, becoming louder at each second, as if the steps were getting closer. She closed her eyes.
‘Just sounds produced by the house due to the temperature drop... There’s no Brony... Just sounds produced by the house due to the temperature drop... There’s no Brony... Giggle at the ghosties... Just sound produced by...’
She kept repeating those words to herself, in her mind, hoping that her thoughts would override the noises, but it was in vain. The unicorn’s teeth chattered against her will when the sound of the steps became more clear, louder at each second.
Whoever or whatever was making those noises, it seemed to be going upstairs. Right towards her bed.
And she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Spiiiiiiiike!” she screamed, as he jumped in the bed of the aforementioned dragon.
“Whoa!” the baby lizard was woken up as his bed trembled due to the impact. “What’s happening!?”
Spike stretched an arm and flicked a switch on the walls, turning on the lights of the room. He looked to his left, and saw the trembling tail of Twilight sticking out from under his blankets.
The dragon raised a scaly eyebrow. He lifted the blankets and took a look at what was under them.
“Are you ok, Twilight?” he asked.
“It is going to pinch my cheeks!” replied the trembling unicorn, covering her face with her hooves.
“Uh... what?”
“The Brony! It is here, in our house!”
“Um...” Spike looked around. “There’s nothing here, Twilight.”
The scared mare dared to come out from under the blankets and examined the room from the safety of the dragon’s little bed. Now illuminated by the light, it seemed completely empty. There wasn’t anything strange going on, and the windows were still closed. All normal.
But that wasn’t enough for her.
“Can I sleep with you tonight?” she asked, to Spike. “Please?”
“Aren’t you a little old for tha-”
“Pweeeease?” she put on her puppy eyes.
The dragon sighed.
“Fine,” he said. “But maybe you should stop going to Pinkie’s parties. They don’t seem to do you any good.”
And the baby dragon turned off the lights, as Twilight curled up next to him.
***
The day came. The golden sunlight vanquished the horrible night, and the roosters sang their songs. Slowly, all of Ponyville woke up.
Inside Golden Oaks Library, Twilight opened her eyes. She was alone, still curled in Spike’s bed. Judging by the sounds coming from the kitchen, the little dragon was already awake and making breakfast.
The unicorn stood up and looked at herself. Every hoof in its place, even though her mane was messier than it usually was at mornings. At the end, the night had been peaceful and free of supernatural incidents. Twilight laughed, she had allowed Dash’s silly story to affect her, to the point she had believed that the normal night sounds were the steps from an intruder.
Still a bit sleepy, she went to the mirror next to her bed to comb her hair. The brush levitated and started to restore the default shape of her mane.
Twilight yawned. The scent of morning food came from downstairs and tickled her nose, making her stomach growl. She looked down, and saw Spike coming from outside the kitchen, wearing his usual apron with pink hearts, carrying a plate with freshly baked cupcakes and cookies.
“Breakfast is ready!” said the dragon, leaving the tasty treats on the table. “You can come down whenever you want!”
Spike looked at Twilight for a while, as she kept brushing her mane.
“Hey, that’s a pretty neat trick!” he said.
“What?” asked Twilight, yawning again.
“You’re moving the brush without using your magic! How cool!”
Twilight realized that her assistant was right, she wasn’t using her magic, her horn wasn’t glowing. How could the brush be moving, then?
Then it dawned on her. The gears inside her head stopped turning all at once and an ominous realization hit her mind, sending chills down her spine. She turned slowly, her head ticking like a clockwork doll’s, until her eyes looked directly at the mirror.
The unicorn froze. It couldn’t be. It shouldn’t be. But there it was:
THE LEGEND OF THE BRONY - END
Author's Note
Here's the "remastered" version, created to celebrate my first year on FIMFiction. Hope you liked it.
