Just Another Victim

Nightmare night. The third biggest day of the year. Second is hearth's warming, first is the summer sun celebration. But that didn't stop anypony from having fun. And it's been a lot more fun sense Luna came back. But who was Azure Aura to care? She was going to Ever free with her friends this year.

She placed a bet with her coltfriend, Silver raindrop, that no more than three of their friends would come. Seven bits says she's wrong.

"Yo! Azzy!" A voice called and Azure turned to look. Trotting up into the stone cortyard was Sunset Snow, the one and only. Despite being so full of himself, he was sweet.

"Hey Sunny!" Azure responded, a smile plastered on her face. "You know who else is coming?" She asks him. He walks up and stands in front of her.

"Other than your coltfriend, Cherry and Cloudy." He says looking towards the pathway. "Speak O' the devil." He slyly remarks. Azure looks where Sunset was looking to see the mare couple walking up the stone walkway.

"Hi! Cherry! Cloudy!" She shouts at the two and they wave a hoof happily at her. Once the two made it over to Sunset and Azure, Azure spoke again.

"You know where Silver is? He was supposed to b- AAAHH!!" somepony had picked her up off the ground and was lifting her higher and higher. And she knew, once she saw her friends laughing.

"Fucking put me down Silver!!!" She shouted, angrely. "YOU KNOW I'M SCARED OF HEIGHTS!!" She screamed, only making the ponies, who were getting smaller by the second, laugh even harder. Azure then puts her forehooves over her eyes in attempt to calm herself. And it was another full minute of her friends laughing on the ground before she felt her back hooves on stone again. Laying down to calm herself, she took her forehooves off her eyes.

"Nice!" She hears Sunset say, and she looks up in time to see Silver and Sunset Hoof bump.

"No more kisses rest of the night!" Azure yells, standing up and walking over to Silver, she pushes through him to make a point.

"Come on girls." Azure says to Cherry and Cloudy. They comply and follow her towards their destination, the Everfree Forest.

"Wait! Really?" Silver whined. "Anyway, We need to take account of who's here!" Silver yells at the three mares. They turn around and wait for the two guys to walk over. Once they reach the mares, Silver speaks again.

"Okay so we got Sunset Snow." He says, pointing to the stallion. Following the statement they all look at him. He's an earth pony, white of both coat and mane, and his Cutie Mark a simple couple snowflakes.

"Your bet your flank I'm here." Sunset says.

"Speaking of bets." Azure starts.

"Later." Was Silver's reply. "Cherry blossom." He says, pointing to Cherry. The unicorn mare with a red coat and green mane, her Cutie Mark being a cherry, responds.

"Here, oh bossy sir." She says, with a giggle at the end. Silver just rolls his eyes.

"Cloudy, miss no last name." He says. Azure giggles and looks at the pegasus mare. Her coat a dark purple and mane a light blue. Cutie Mark a cloud, dissipating.

"Present!" She responds in a sing song voice.

"And, my personal favorite, miss Azure Aura." He says, causing a blush to darken her face. Everypony looked at the Earth pony. Her coat a light-ish blue. Her mane black. And to Silver, a beautiful mare.

"Now, don't forget my favorite. Silver raindrop." Azure bows while saying his name. Rolling his eyes, he notices all eyes on him. His coat a cream yellow, and mane a shiny silver. His Cutie Mark a cloud being hit with a hammer.

"Alright!!! We done? All good? Ready to go?" Cherry hurries them all along.

"Alright!" Azure yells. "Let's go explore us some Everfree!"

"So, where exactly are we going?" Cherry asks, almost tripping on a root.

"Yea, Mr. Planner. Where we going?" Cloudy continues, helping her marefriend regain her balance.

"Well." He starts, walking ahead of everypony. He then stops walking and turns around.

"Well?" Azure beckons him to continue. The whole group stops and looks at him.

"Nah." He says, waving a dismissive hoof at the group. He then turns around and continues walking.

"Uhh, no!" Sunset yells, running up to Silver. "Dude, c'mon. You gotta tell us." He says.

"No." Silver says nonchalantly. Sticking his nose in the air, he starts to walk faster than Sunset.

Cherry, who, along with the other two girls, was following Silver quietly, then bumps into Azure.

"Girl, you go up to your coltfriend, and you get the information we desire." She tells Azure.

"What a weard way to phrase that." Cloudy says to Cherry, flirtatiously bumping into her.

"How am I going to do that?" Azure asks, preventing the two mares from going any further.

"Well, you've got your ways, don'tcha?" Cloudy asks.

"Yea, he's your coltfriend." Cherry continues.

"Yea, well..." Azure replies hesitantly. Glancing ahead, she speaks again. "I-i guess I could try something."

"There ya go girl!" Cherry half-shouts.

"Here I go..." Azure spoke half-heartedly. After a couple of more encouraging complements from the mare couple, trotted up to Silver.

"And dude, it's huge!" She heard Sunset say.

"Am I interrupting something?" Azure asks, hoping not to get an answer.

"Oh, we're just talking about my d--"

"Fuck off, Sunny." Silver cuts him off, jokingly, he places his right forehoof on his friends muzzle and pushes him.

"Fine." Sunset replies. "I'm gonna ask these two nice mares to a threesome." He says, than turns around.

"Don't get killed, jackass!" Silver yells at Sunset, then turns back to his marefriend.

"Watcha need, girly?" He asks.

"I wanna know where we're going." Azure tells him.

"Nope, I wanna see all y'all be surprised." He said, sticking his nose in the air again.

"Well, you'll get kissing privileges back, if you tell me where we're going." Azure tells him. After thinking for a minute, Silver replies.

"I'm a stallion of sacrifice." He said.

"Well, if you don't tell me, than you don't get any kisses at all, even tonight." She said, biting her lip for a second after saying 'tonight'. He looks at her, then replies.

"As I said, I'm a stallion of sacrifice." He says, keeping his nose in the air.

" I wouldn't call you a stallion." She says. And before Silver could retaliate, they hear a loud 'OW!' from behind them. Turning to look, Cherry and Cloudy walk past them angrely. They look at Sunset and he's holding his snout. Silver and Azure can't help but laugh.

"A cave?" Cloudy asks anoyingly. "You brought us to a cave?" She repeats herself.

"Not just any cave. Zecora's cave." Silver replies.

" Zecora's cave? Like, that creepy witch?" Cherry asks.

"Oh! Yes!" Sunset yells. "I've heard of this place. It's where she keeps all her forbidden things, right?" He asks.

"Correct!" Silver yells.

All the while, Azure is staring into the cave, mesmerized by the darkness, and she could swear she saw something move. 'probobly a bat' she told herself.

"Aaaaaand, Azure." Silver says. And she has to tear her eyes away to look at him.

"Yes?" She asks.

"I'll give you those seven bits I owe you if you go in." He says slyly.

"I won't do it for the money." She says, curiosity over welming her. She turns to the cave and walks towards it. With a couple of concerned yelps from the ponies behind her, she walks in. Her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she looks around. She sees something move and she looks again.

"What was that?" She whispers to herself. She then sees what looks like another pony, slowly walking to her. And is it, growling? She turns and starts to walk out. Then hears the sound of.... Claws. And they're aproching fast. And she starts to run. She hits the moonlight, but feels something sink into the flesh of one of her back legs. Soon after, pain shot up her leg, then back. With a scream, her friends run towards her. But she was dragged back into the cave. Desperately trying to grab onto something, she was pulled into the dark.

The distinct sound of hooves beating against the ground hit her ears. She looked towards the entrance of the cave. And just before her brain decided to cut the lights, she could see the outline of a black and white..... Zebra.