Stories for a Sleepover

Chapters

The Mysterious Books
Prelude to Calamity
The Terrifying Tale of the Twisted Tree
The First of Many Breaks
The Horrid History of the Apple Tree
Scarlet Rain (Part One)

The Mysterious Books

Chapter One: The Mysterious Books

This was it. The day had finally come! Twilight bounced about the library happily as she anticipated the night's upcoming sleepover. Twilight had this one planned out ever since Rarity and Applejack had slept over last time. Twilight had spent weeks searching for more books about how to make the best of a sleepover. She and her friends had arranged for Twilight's sleepover to be on a day when nopony was busy. But first, Twilight had to make it through the entire day. She pondered on what she would do the entire day while she waited for her friends to arrive. Twilight started to pace the library as she thought.

After a few minutes of thoughtfulness,Twilight decided to get one of her books on how to have an awesome sleepover. As she read through the book, she realized the book pretty much contained the same material as the one from her first sleepover. Despite an additional section that depicted a game called 'Make Your Mare Friends Merrier', which more than slightly disturbed Twilight. She skipped the page. Coming across the scary story section, Twilight came to a shocking realization. The only scary story she knew of was 'The Headless Horse'.

"Hey Twilight!" Spike called, interrupting Twilight's thoughts.

"What?" she responded.

"Where did we get this book from?" Spike asked, waving a book in his hand.

Twilight levitated the book out of Spike's claws, and brought it up to her face to get a better look.

"I thought about taking a look inside, but the title sounds scary." Spike shuddered at the thought. He hated scary stories.

"Hmm... Twilight Sparkle thought. "The Terrifying Tale of the Twisted Tree huh?" she mused, reading the title aloud. A light bulb sparked to life in Twilight's head. She smiled. She had found something to do for the day.

* * *

"Ungh!" Applejack yelled as she struck the apple tree with a well practiced buck. Several thunks confirmed that the apples had landed in the apple cart.

"That's the last of 'em!" Applejack said aloud, taking the cart off her back. She looked down at the cart, pleased with the amount of progress she had made for it being so early in the day. She had decided to only do two rows of trees today. Seeing as it was the day for Twilight's sleepover, Applejack didn't want to tire herself out bucking too many apples. Applejack began to haul the cart to the barn, where she would store it until Big Macintosh was finished doing... whatever he was doing.

"Heya sis!" shouted Apple Bloom, poking her head out from behind a tree.

This startled the hay out of Applejack, who proceeded to stumble and fall over.

"Oops." Apple Bloom said, giving Applejack an innocent look.

Applejack glared daggers at Apple Bloom. "Apple Bloom! What in tarnation are ya' doin hidin' behind that tree?"

"Well, I wanted to wait for you to finish buckin' apples cuz' I didn't wanna bother ya." Apple Bloom replied.

"Bother me 'bout what?" Applejack questioned Apple Bloom.

"I was gonna see if I could go gather up the other crusaders to remain in search of our true talents!" said Apple Bloom.

"Ah suppose that'll be all right." Applejack told Apple Bloom.

"Great!" Apple Bloom yelled, running off towards the clubhouse.

That's funny Applejack thought. She thought Apple Bloom was going to Sweetie Bell's and Scootaloo's. Applejack heard yells coming from the direction of the clubhouse.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SLINGSHOT SHOOTERS, YAY!"

Applejack growled. It was obvious that Apple Bloom had decided to invite her friends over before she had gotten Applejack's approval. She shook her head. If anypony knew how to get in trouble, it was those three. Applejack sighed, and picked up the cart off the ground as she proceeded to make her way towards the barn. When Applejack arrived in front of the barn door, she pushed it open and walked inside. Setting the cart down, she turned to exit the barn. That's when she noticed it; the book on the chair nearest the entrance. Applejack approached the book, wondering where it had come from. She picked it up and read the title. 'The Horrid History of the Apple Tree'. Just as she finished reading the tile, the barn door opened. Big Macintosh stepped inside.

"Big Macintosh, do ya know where this here book came from?" Applejack asked.

"Nope." Big Macintosh replied to his sister.

"What're ya in here for anyway?" Applejack asked.

"I was gonna fill up the rest of the carts." Big Macintosh replied while shifting the piece of straw he always chewed on around.

"Okay, well ya'll can do that, and I'll get on down to Ponyville." Applejack responded.

"Eeyup." said Big Macintosh, while picking up a cart.

Applejack decided to take the book with her. On the way to Ponyville, she decided to peek inside. The look on her face quickly changed to horror as she read the first page. The look of horror quickly dropped off of her face as she smiled. If this horrified her, she couldn't even imagine the reactions from her friends at Twilight's sleepover. She laughed, and went off to sit by a tree, then continued to read.

* * *

"Order up!" said Pinkie Pie cheerily, as she placed a tray of cupcakes on the counter. A black stallion got to his hooves and trotted to the counter. "That'll be six bits please!" Pinkie Pie told him, beaming her famous smile the whole time.

The stallion reached into his saddlebag, and pulled out six bits. He placed them on the counter. "Thanks." he mumbled through the tray in his mouth.

"Pinkie!" yelled Mrs. Cake, popping her head out from the kitchen.

"Yes?" asked Pinkie.

"Mr. Cake and I have to go to the hospital. I think Pound Cake has the flu. He's running a high fever. Can you take care of the shop by yourself?" Mrs. Cake asked.

"Yes Mrs. Cake, you can count on me!" Pinkie said, raising her left forehoof to her head in a salute.

With that, Mrs. Cake and her husband rushed out of the bakery with Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake. With Pinkie busy running the bakery, she wouldn't be able to take care of Pumpkin Cake as well. A green mare trotted up to the counter as Pinkie Pie went back to the register.

"Can you make a super huge cupcake with lots of sprinkles please? It's for my colt's birthday." the green mare said.

"Okie-dokie-loki! I'll see what I can do!" Pinkie replied to the green mare.

As Pinkie ran into the kitchen, she gathered a large amount of ingredients used for making a super huge cupcake. Pinkie mixed all of the ingredients up, and poured the batter into a large cupcake tray. Pinkie Pie went back to the register, and continued taking ponies' orders until she heard the oven go off for the super huge cupcake. She carefully removed the tray with a heat resistant cloth, enchanted with magic, and made to be used by the mouth. As Pinkie put her mouth on the side of the tray, she struggled to lift the colossal cupcake out of the oven and onto the counter. She began to make her way back to the register with the green mare's cupcake, but then she realized that she had forgotten the sprinkles.

Quickly turning around, Pinkie Pie placed the enormous cupcake on the counter again, and reached up to open the cupboard. As she did so, something very solid fell out, and hit Pinkie in the head. "Oof!" she exclaimed, looking down at the assailant, who now rested on the floor. Pinkie picked up the book and read the title. "The Super Special Treats of Crimson Pastry." Pinkie gasped. "How exciting! A cook book!" Pinkie opened the book eagerly, wanting to learn new recipes. She quickly realized how wrong her first assumption was. She had an idea.

Pinkie walked back to the register after she had put lots of sprinkles on the cupcake. "Order up!" she yelled.

The green mare spotted the gigantic cupcake, and got up to retrieve it. "That'll be ten bits please!" Pinkie told the mare.

After the mare levitated the cupcake away with her magic, Pinkie rang the counter bell multiple times. After she had everyponys attention, she cleared her throat and began to speak. "Ahem, everypony listen up!" Pinkie began. "Sugarcube corner will be closing early today, due to... plans." she finished.

Everypony grumbled and complained, but cleared out nonetheless. Pinkie then went back to the kitchen and picked up the book.

* * *

Rainbow Dash shot upright in her bed. She had been having nightmares for about a week now, causing her to sleep uncomfortably, and also to sleep in for large periods of time. Rainbow got to her hooves as she stepped down from her bed, and onto the cloud floor. Rainbow walked over to the window, and looked outside. She could tell that it was past midday. Rainbow sighed. She did like to sleep in, but definitely not till this late in the day. She walked back over to her bed. She had nothing to do until it was time to head over to Twilight's sleepover, so Rainbow Dash decided to read a Daring Do book. Rainbow got up, and walked over to her bookshelf composed solely of Daring Do books. Rainbow smiled as she wondered what book to pick. She read the spine of each one, until she came to the last book. Oddly, the last book didn't have any words on the spine. Curiously, Rainbow Dash brought the book out of the shelf, and dusted off the front cover. 'Scarlet Rain' was the title.

Rainbow Dash read a few pages into the book, and looked back up, traumatized. Images of Twilight's sleepover seeped into her mind, and she grew a huge, toothy grin on her face. "So awesome!" she whispered.

* * *

Rarity hummed as she moved about the Carousel Boutique, picking things up and re-organizing them. She had made so many dresses the previous day, and now her boutique was in utter chaos. Fabrics were strewn about everywhere, and she had dress designs all over the floor as well. The only things that looked good in the boutique were her, and the dresses she had placed on the mareaquins. Rarity carefully gathered up all of the dress designs off of the floor, and levitated them onto her desk. Continuing to hum, she began to gather up the fabrics next. As she was putting them back in their shelves, Rarity noticed a book sitting in one of them. Rarity brought the book out with her magic, and set the fabrics down. Thinking that Sweetie Bell had put the book in the shelf to annoy her, Rarity just snorted, and flung the book across the room.

Grinning smugly, Rarity turned back to the shelf... and fell right on her rump. The book was back in the shelf. Shaking, Rarity placed her hoof on top of the book, and slid it out. She read the title... rather, she tried to, but it is quite hard to read something when you are shaking so uncontrollably. She refrained from shaking long enough to read the title. 'The Sewing Machine'. She opened the book, expecting it to be a fashion book. Instead, the words she read made her cringe away. Rarity wasn't really one for enjoying scary stories, but she couldn't help but think of how the other ponies would call her a chicken at Twilight's sleepover. After all, it was tradition to tell a scary story at a sleepover. Of course Fluttershy wont, Rarity thought. Let all of the attention be directed on her.

* * *

A few minutes later, in Canterlot...

Princess Celestia paced the Royal Chamber, pacing back and forth, impatiently waiting her sister's return. Princess Celestia did not have long to wait. A few minutes later, black smoke began to come in through Celestia's window. It could be none other than Luna.

"Hey Tia!" said Luna, as she turned back into an alicorn.

Celestia giggled. "Did everything go according to plan sister?"

Luna began to laugh too. "Yes. You should have seen the white ones reaction; Rarity, was it?"

The sisters began to roll on the floor with laughter. When they got bored of ruling all the time, sometimes they would play foul pranks on eachother, or sometimes, they even interfered in the lives of Canterlot and Ponyville citizens.

Twilight had sent Celestia a letter a week prior about having a sleepover. Celestia had been pleased to know that Twilight and her friends were so close to eachother. But today, Celestia and Luna had decided to spice up the night a bit. Together, they had created the most horrifying stories that Celestia could think of. They used their magic to write them rapidly, and to bind them. Earlier in the morning, Luna had snuck into each one of the Bearer's houses, and placed the books accordingly. Fortunately for her, she had also stuck around to see their reactions.

"Too bad the yellow one is too much of a chicken." said Luna.

"Yes." Celestia responded. Originally, they had planned on placing the books in Fluttershy's house too, but quickly decided against it as they did not want the poor mare to have a heart attack. Hearing the stories from the other mares should be good enough to give her quite a scare though,thought Celestia.

The two sisters just had to relax for a while, until it was time for Twilight's friends to head over to the library, then they would proceed with plan two: Operation scare the hay out of everypony attending Twilight's sleepover.

Celestia and Luna discussed the upcoming awesomeness as they awaited the time for Celestia to do her duty in putting the sun down, and Luna to bring the moon up.

The two sisters only had to wait a few hours before they got to their hooves, and walked out onto the balcony. Celestia's horn lit up as her unmatched magical power enveloped the sun in her embrace. Slowly, Celestia pushed the sun over the edge of the horizon. It was Luna's turn. Luna focused her magic on the moon, and began to coax it towards her. Finally, the sun was down and the moon was up. The Royal sisters walked back into Celestia's room, as they prepared for their leave.

* * *

The two royal guards outside of Celestia's chamber conversed in idle chatter. It was quite boring being on duty, as one was expected to be stock still, and alert all the time. Suddenly, the chamber doors opened. Out strolled none other than the two mighty princesses.

"If anypony asks to see us, tell them we are out on royal business." Celestia commanded her guards.

"Yes, very royal business." Luna put in, giggling uncontrollably. Celestia joined in the laughter as well, as the two princess sauntered down the hall, giggling the entire way.

"What the hay was that all about?" one guard asked the other.

The latter snickered. There was only one word to answer his comrade's question.

"Mares..." he said.

Prelude to Calamity

Chapter Two: Prelude to Calamity

Twilight sat stiffly as she watched the hands on the clock. It seemed to take one minute for the second hand to move at all. But then again, time always went by this slow when you were waiting for something. Twilight was surprised by how fast the time seemed to go by when she was reading the mysterious book. Usually she read books way larger than that in an hour or two. Twilight jumped as she heard a knock at the door. Excited as ever, she shot off towards the door before Spike could get the chance to answer it.

"Hello?" Twilight called, opening the door. It was Applejack.

"Howdy there Twi!" Applejack called as she stepped into the library without waiting for an invitation.

"Uh, hey Applejack! Where is everypony else?" Twilight asked, closing the library door behind her.

"Ah dunno. Ah didn't meet up with em." Applejack told Twilight.

The two just sat in silence for a few minutes, waiting for the other ponies to arrive. Fortunately for Applejack, Twilight broke the unnerving silence. "So Applejack, did you bring anything special for tonight's sleepover?" Twilight asked.

Hearing this, Applejack chuckled a bit. "Yep. I brought sumthin' purty special all right!" she began to chuckle again.

Twilight looked Applejack over. "Umm... I don't see anything." Twilight deadpanned.

"Well... let me tell ya sumthin' Twilight." Applejack said, motioning for Twilight to get closer. "That's because the special thing ah brought is right up here!" Applejack yelled in Twilight's ear, touching the top of her head with her hoof.

Twilight cringed when Applejack yelled in her ear. She began to wonder if Applejack was okay. "Applejack, are you feeling alright?" Twilight asked.

"Yep! Never been better! Ah'm jus' so excited! Ah can't wait for everypony else ta get here!" Applejack exclaimed, beaming at Twilight. Hehe, Ah can't wait to scare the hay outta everypony with that dandy story!

Applejack nearly screamed when excessive knocking was heard at the door. Obviously, it was Pinkie Pie. Twilight went to open the door, but this time, Spike did his duty and beat her to it.

"HEY EVERYPONY!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, nearly knocking Spike off his feet with the sheer power of her voice. Spike got up, wondering if even the Royal Canterlot Voice could compete with Pinkie's obnoxious yelling.

It was then that Pinkie noticed there was only Twilight and Applejack there so far. Embarrassed, she went over to sit by Twilight and Applejack.

"Hey Pinkie, how have you been today?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, I've been just super today! Earlier, there was this green mare, and she wanted me to make a huge cupcake, and she wanted it with sprinkles, so I got the tray, and I poured the batter in, and blah blah blah blah blah."

Pinkie Pies words began to fade as Twilight's eyes began to glaze over while she listened to Pinkie's never-ending monologue. Applejack had gone over to the window to scout for the others, so she was paying absolutely no attention to Pinkie's rambling.

Then Twilight came back to her senses as Applejack walked over to them. "Ah spotted Rarity heading down the road, she'll be here any minute!" Applejack informed the two.

Pinkie continued to speak. "And then I opened the cupboard, and something fell on my head, and then I looked down, and I noticed it was a..." Pinkie was cut off when there was a knock at the door.

This time Applejack was closet to the door. So naturally, she went to open it. Rainbow Dash and Rarity stood outside.

"Howdy ya'll! Come on in!" Applejack greeted them warmly. More than happy to accept the invitation, the pair stepped inside.

"Hey Pinks! Hi Twilight!" Rainbow Dash greeted them.

"Hi Rainbow, how have you been?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, pretty good." Rainbow Dash lied, not wanting to tell her friend that she wasn't sleeping well due to her nightmares.

It was really quite embarrassing actually. Ever since the Flim-Flam brothers had challenged Applejack's family to the cider-making contest, Rainbow Dash had been having nightmares about the un-qualitized cider that the brothers had made when they started losing. Rainbow Dash would always remember that day. In her nightmares, instead of her drinking Applejack's cider, she would always find herself drinking the brothers' cider. As she tilted the cup back into her mouth, she would always see the tree roots and apple cores, but regardless, she would still drink it. Then her stomach would feel really weird, but she kept on buying cider from the Flams anyway. Finally, after about five cups, her stomach would really start to hurt. Then she would look around, and see the crowds of ponies staring at her, pointing at her with their hooves, looks of fear on their faces.

She would then look down at herself. That's when she saw it. When she looked down, she would see a gnarled, twisted tree root protruding from her chest. Then she would try to scream. Bad idea. As she opened her mouth, no sound came out. Instead, she would feel her voice get cut off as a tree limb forced it's way up her throat. Unfortunately, that activated her gag reflex. She then proceeded to vomit up apple cores. Hundreds and hundreds of apple cores. That was how far each nightmare had went before she woke up in a cold sweat.

Rainbow Dash shied away from the memory as she snapped back to her senses. As her eyes came into focus, she saw two large blue eyes, and a beaming smile looking down on her.

"Hi! Are you okay Rainbow Dash? I said hi earlier, but your eyes were like..." Pinkie's irises and pupils started to drift off towards the sides of her eyes in a perfect impression of party of one.

"Yeah Pinks, I'm fine." Rainbow Dash sighed.

Pinkie Pie frowned. "Rainbow Dash! Don't look so down! Let's turn that frown upside down!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It is a sleepover, after all!"

Looking at the pink party pony, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile. There was something about the way happiness emanated from Pinkie that seemed to infect other ponies around her. "Thanks Pinkie, I needed that." Rainbow Dash said.

"No problem! It's my job to make everypony smile you know!" Pinkie replied cheerfully.

Rainbow Dash looked around the library, and noticed that Fluttershy had arrived.

"Hey Fluttershy! What's up?" Rainbow Dash called.

"Oh, not much Rainbow, not much. I was just thinking how amazing this sleepover was going to be. You know, umm... I've never been to a sleepover, or had one. Unless you consider the night that the Cutie Mark Crusaders spent the night a sleepover." Fluttershy responded.

The two were interrupted by Twilight's voice. "Everypony, if I may have your attention please!" she yelled.

Everypony stopped their conversations and gave their attention to Twilight. She was looking down at a book, and mumbling to herself. She then closed the book, and looked at the rest of the ponies with a gleam in her eyes.

"First of all..." Twilight began, gathering pillows unsuspiciously. "PILLOW FIGHT!"

The other ponies had no time to react, as Twilight launched the pillows with her magic. Hoping to avoid a repeat of her last sleepover, Twilight made herself a clear target for all of the others. Rainbow Dash was repelling the incoming projectiles by flapping her wings rapidly. Applejack was bucking the pillows with great force; stunning everypony she hit.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was squealing with fear as she tried to dodge all of the hostile pillows. She knew that she was going to get hit eventually, but it didn't hurt to try and stay alive. Rarity claimed the first hit on Fluttershy.

Fluttershy gasped, and glared at Rarity. But Rarity was too busy engaging on pillow to pillow combat with Applejack. Fluttershy picked up the pillow and stared at it as if her life depended on it. Screaming with rage, she hurled the pillow back at Rarity.

The room got quiet, and no more pillows were launched as everypony looked at Rarity and Fluttershy. "Haha! Got you!" Fluttershy yelled, grasping a whole new meaning of fun.

"It... Is... ON!" Rarity yelled, launching the pillow back at Fluttershy.

The other ponies quickly joined back in as they realized that all was well between Rarity and Fluttershy.

* * *

"Tia! Move! I can't see!" Luna protested as Celestia hogged up all of the window space.

"Shh! They'll hear you!" Celestia told Luna, as she looked into the window and watched the girls pillow-fighting. "All they're doing is pillow-fighting anyway!"

Princess Celestia had cast a spell on the window that let her and Luna see through it, but the ponies on the other side could only see the normal scenery outside of the window.

"Tia! I want to see! I've never had a pillow-fight before!" Luna pouted.

Celestia stuck her hoof in Luna's mouth. "Shh! Fine!" Celestia stepped aside as Luna sidled up to the window.

Luna stared in awe at the sight that greeted her. The library was littered with pillows, and the ponies causing the catastrophe weren't letting up. Luna giggled as Rainbow Dash nailed Applejack in the face, knocking Applejack's hat off.

"Why you!" Applejack called, bucking pillows at the rainbow pegasus.

All of the pillows hit their mark, knocking Rainbow Dash back a bit. Luna was eager to see Rainbow's counter. A bit too eager. As she leaned in close, her nose met with the glass, making a thunk sound.

All of the ponies inside stopped as they heard the noise. They all looked at the window suspiciously. Outside, Luna had stuck her own hoof over her mouth as Celestia glared at her. "Whoops..." Luna said sheepishly, with a goofy grin on her face.

* * *

Twilight and her friends had gathered in the center of the library. The pillow fight had come to a halt, due to the strange noise at the window.

"What do you think it was?" asked Twilight.

"Probably a little squirrel who dropped his nuts!" Fluttershy answered.

All of the ponies looked at Fluttershy, but said nothing.

"If you ask me..." Rainbow Dash growled "... I would say it's somepony spying on us!"

Fluttershy gasped. "Like... like peeping colts?" she asked.

"Of course darling! You can't expect us gorgeous mares to go around un-noticed!" Rarity put in.

"If ya'll ask me, ya'll are crazy as hay!" Applejack said.

"Enough!" Twilight said, stamping her hoof. "Whatever it was is gone now! We should just carry on with the sleepover!"

The other ponies mumbled agreement as Twilight went back to her sleepover book.

* * *

"That was close..." Celestia muttered, keeping a stern gaze on her sister.

"Sorry Tia! It was just so interesting that I..." Luna began.

"It's okay little sister, it's not your fault." Celestia said.

"Lets not dwell on this for long. We might miss the next activity." Celestia added, moving back to the window.

The two princesses watched as Twilight and her friends began giving each other makeovers. It was dreadfully boring, but they had to wait for Twilight to begin her story. So they just stared into the window, waiting for their stories to be told.

* * *

Ms. Cheerilee hummed to herself as she headed home from the restaurant her and her date had went to. So far, their relationship was doing good. The only thing that scared Ms. Cheerilee, was what Applejack would say if she found out. Big Macintosh was a good, strong stallion. He was also very kind, strong-willed, and quiet. These were the qualities that drew her close to Big Macintosh. Ever since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had introduced them to each other, they had known they were meant for each other. They just tried to keep it a bit hush-hush.

As Ms. Cheerilee passed by the library, she remembered that Twilight was having a sleepover that night. She wondered if she should drop in and say hello, but she decided against it. So she continued on her merry way, spotting the princesses peeping into the library window. After going a couple of hooves, she stopped in her tracks. Why were the princesses peeping into Twilight's window? Ms. Cheerilee thought about saying something to them, but changed her mind. She didn't want to interrupt the princesses' happy time. Skeptical about the princesses', and the future of the kingdom, Cheerilee just shook her head as she continued the rest of the way home.

* * *

Thank goodness! They're finally going to start! Celestia thought, gazing into the window with her sister. They watched as Pinkie pulled a flashlight out of an odd location in the library. They could hear them speaking now.

"I keep flashlights hidden all over Ponyville in case of an emergency!" Pinkie told the rest of her friends enthusiastically.

The other mares just shook their heads, knowing better than to question Pinkie's ways.

"Tia! You're hogging up the window again!" Luna complained.

Celestia scooted aside, as she focused her attention back on the dialogue inside.

* * *

"Spike, are you SURE you want to listen to these stories?!" Twilight asked the little dragon. Her and her friends knew how much he hated scary stories.

Spike looked unsure for a moment, but then straightened up, a look of determination crossing his face. "Every dragon's gotta grow up, right?"

The ponies exchanged looks.

"Are ya sure Spike? Ya don't gotta do this." Applejack said.

"Of course I'm sure!" Spike snapped. "What kind of dragon's afraid of a little scary story?"

"Didn't we already go over the fact that you're not a normal dragon?" Twilight asked.

Spike opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Rarity. "Of course little Spiky-wiky isn't like a normal, brutish dragon. He's far too adorable to be classified with the rest of those fiends!"

Spike let some steam out of his nose, slightly peeved at being thought of as adorable all of the time. But, coming from his Rarity, he couldn't help but blush a little.

"Everypony leave Spike alone! If he wants to listen to scary stories, then let him! Just don't cry when you get scared out of your scales!" Rainbow Dash said.

"I'm not scared!" Spike yelled.

"Everypony be QUIET!" Twilight yelled. "You too Spike."

All of the ponies (and Spike) grew quiet as they looked to Twilight. "Alright! Everybody gather 'round! It's story time!" Twilight said ominously. She took the flashlight from Pinkie Pie, and shone it on the bottom of her face.

"Wait!" Fluttershy called. Everypony looked at her. "Umm... can we l-leave the l-l-l-lights on?"

Everypony groaned and face-hoofed. All except for Spike, who looked kind of relieved.

"Fine!" Twilight said. "Everypony ready?" All of the attenders nodded. "Okay! Here we go!"

Nopony inside noticed the eager faces of Celestia and Luna pressing up against the glass, as they eagerly anticipated the fear that their creations would cause.

The Terrifying Tale of the Twisted Tree

Chapter Three: The Terrifying Tale of the Twisted Tree

"It is said that one night, a long long time ago, a horrific experiment was conducted. It was a dark and stormy night. Rain pounded the streets, lightning streaked the skies, and thunder rumbled ominously. Little did Equestria know, a strange doctor by the name of Flawed Flask was conducting a freak science experiment with some of his lab partners."

* * *

Twilight had all of the ponies' undivided attention as they were immediately sucked into her story. Twilight smiled. She knew all of those books on narrative hooks wouldn't fail her!

* * *

"Are you sure this is safe?" asked one of Flawed Flasks lab partners.

Flawed Flask glanced at the idiot standing next to him. "Of course it's safe you moron!" he yelled.

The other ponies glanced at him as they thought about Flawed Flask's past experiments. Most of them had involved an involuntary death of some sort. Luckily, most of the deaths that had occurred were only on small animals, including some bunnies, birds, and some squirrels. Only one had involved the death of a pony. They had managed to cover up the ponies' death as a freak accident... which it was. They then vowed to never talk about it again.

Flawed Flask stared down at the seed in front of him. Several syringes containing strange substances surrounded the table around the seed.

"Substance number four!" Flawed Flask commanded.

His lab partner Franch En Styn held out the syringe marked number four in his hoof. Flawed Flask snatched away the syringe, and inserted it into the seed's soft spot. He then pushed down the plunger. His eyes gleamed eerily. "Substance five!" he demanded.

Flawed Flask could barely contain his excitement. After this last substance, he would have the cure for all of the weak fillies, with small, brittle bones, and brittle teeth. This new species of tree he was creating would produce fruit so immensely powerful, that any who ate it would immediately become more powerful then before. Of course, it would probably have some little side effects, but it was for the greater good, right?

"Syringe number five sir!" said Franch En Styn, handing (or hoofing?) the syringe to him.

With a maniacal grin, Flawed Flask brought the syringe up to the seed. However, he couldn't insert it before the inevitable happened.

The door to his house busted open, and a dozen royal guards galloped in. "Freeze right there! The royal guard has been ordered to put you under arrest!" the group leader said.

Flawed Flask didn't know how to react. Luckily, his lab partners did. Acting quickly, his groups' unicorns managed to hold off the guards for a while. Frank En Stein shoved the seed, and the final syringe into Flawed Flask's hooves.

"Go!" Frank En Stein yelled, then whirled around to face the guards.

Flawed Flask quickly made his escape through the back door. Unfortunately for him, he had not managed to get away unnoticed.

"After him!" the group leader commanded, still in combat with the science junkies.

One of the pegasus guards quickly galloped out of the front door and took to the skies, in pursuit of the crazed scientist.

Flawed Flask's hooves pounded the earth as he tried to make it to the Whitetail Woods. As soon as he got there, he would inject the last substance, and plant the seed. Flawed Flask shuddered as thunder shook the ground. Flawed Flask glanced over his shoulder. Just as he did, lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating everything in sight. Oh, dear Celestia...
thought Flawed Flask, as he caught sight of a pegasus guard tailing him.

Flawed Flask tried to pick up his pace, but running for so long was beginning to take it's toll. He was so close...

Just then, the pegasus guard had spotted sight of the Whitetail Woods looming in front of them. He knew that if Flawed Flask made it into the woods too far ahead of him, it would all be over. Diving with a speed that would've impressed even Rainbow Dash, the pegasus made his mark on the mad scientist. Flapping his wings rapidly, the pegasus was about to tackle the scientist, when, oh dear...

Flawed Flask's horn began to glow, and he knew he had the pegasus. The pegasus guard didn't have time to stop before Flawed Flask teleported.

The pegasus tried to comprehend what was going on, but didn't think about much before he crashed into the tree. Luckily for him, he hadn't crashed headfirst, but his wings were severely injured, and his hind left leg was broken. He then caught sight of Flawed Flask approaching him. Okay, maybe he wasn't so lucky to have not died on impact.

Flawed Flask looked down on the poor, helpless creature in front of him. The pegasus struggled to get away, but his leg and wings were not permitting him to go anywhere. Flawed Flask smirked.

"You were so close..." Flawed Flask whispered into the pegasus' ear.

The pegasus still had some fight left in him. Twisting his body over, he delivered a sharp kick across Flawed Flask's face. Flawed Flask gasped in pain, as his head whipped to the side from the force of the kick. Flawed Flask glared at the fallen pegasus.

"A pity. Perhaps I would have allowed you to live if you hadn't been so foalish. But you just couldn't resist a direct order from Celestia..." Flawed Flask drawled out Celestia's name, loathing how her name sounded on his tongue.

Flawed Flask looked back down upon the struggling pegasus. "You will pay dearly for your mistake." he told the pegasus.

Flawed Flask began to hum an eerie tune, as he released the seed and syringe from his magic's grasp. He made sure the pegasus was watching as he carefully inserted the needle into the seed. He pressed down on the plunger ever so slowly. Eventually, the seed was full of all the combined substances.

This is when Flawed Flask realized his mistake."

* * *

"Tia! They're getting to the good part!" Luna exclaimed.

Celestia giggled as she thought of all the ways to toy with the ponies inside. "Hmm..." she thought. "First of all, let's turn off those pesky lights!"

Luna giggled as her horn lit up. Poor Fluttershy! What shall be her reaction? Luna thought, as she reached through the window with her magic. She looked inside, and guided her magic to the candles. She then concentrated, and let her magic burst into a blast of wind.

As soon as her magic made contact with the candles, Fluttershy shrieked in horror. Luna and Celestia once again rolled on the floor with laughter as they thought of how genius their ideas were.

* * *

"EEEK!" Fluttershy screamed, flailing around.

"Fluttershy..." Twilight began, her words wasted as the yellow pegasus continued to dash about madly.

"FLUTTERSHY!!!" Rainbow Dash yelled, causing Fluttershy to shut her mouth, and stop in her tracks.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash!" Twilight thanked the rainbow-maned pegasus.

"I-I'm sorry." Fluttershy apologized, shaking, and glancing around the room as if a monster was about to attack her.

"It's okay Fluttershy. Ah' reckon Twilight can use one of her fancy light spells." Applejack commented.

Twilight grinned. "Actually, I think it would be better if we just listened to the story in the dark."

Fluttershy squeaked.

"Alright! Awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

All of the ponies looked down at Spike, who had assumed the fetal position.

"You okay Spike?" Pinkie Pie asked the purple dragon. Spike just nodded his head shakily, getting back up.

"Yeah. Of course I'm fine! Why wouldn't I be?" Spike asked.

"Everypony be quiet!" Twilight yelled, eager to finish her story. "Let's just get on with it."

Fluttershy squeaked again, her hooves making a soft, repetitive clopping sound as she trembled.

Twilight sighed. "This is gonna be a long night..."

So Twilight continued her story, with the only source of light coming from the flashlight focused on the bottom of her chin.

* * *

"Flawed Flask leaned down to speak into the pegasus' ear.

"Before you die, I'm going to let you witness the most wonderful sight to have been bestowed upon you." Flawed Flask growled, then dug a hole with his hoof.

Flawed Flask hadn't thought about it earlier, but he hadn't calculated the time it would take for the seed to become a tree. There was no point in bringing it up in front of the pegasus. Flawed Flask didn't want to seem like a fool. So, nevertheless, Flawed Flask put the seed into the ground.

The pegasus guard just stared for a while. Eventually, the guard built up the courage to laugh.

"HAHAHAHA! Yes! What a majestic sight! Sweet Celestia! It's even more beautiful than the sun!" He then began to splutter and cough, as he was reminded of his injuries.

Flawed Flask glared at the pegasus with unmasked fury. "Just you wait! In a couple of-" CRAACK!

Flawed Flask was cut off as a huge lightning bolt struck the ground where the seed was planted. Both of the stallions were blasted back from the impact. Dazed, Flawed Flask got to his hooves.

"Oh my..." he gasped. Flawed Flask was gazing at the tree, which now protruded from the ground about seven feet.

The tree had gnarled, twisted roots swelling from the ground, and they branched out in all directions.

"It's... beautiful..." Flawed Flask gasped.

Then he stopped as he realized one major detail that was missing. Flawed Flask stared at the tree. As he looked up the trunk, he saw that the branches were all twisted and stony looking. This was all very well; The detail that bothered him was, there was no fruit.

The pegasus guard had just regained consciousness, and was staring in horror at the sight in front of him. He once again struggled to get away, but his feeble attempts got him nowhere.

"This... This is all... THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Flawed Flask yelled at the grounded pegasus, walking over to end his pathetic, useless life. He was just about to smash the pegasus' skull in, when he heard a loud thunk! behind him.

Flawed Flask turned around to see a lone, silver fruit on the ground. Forgetting all about the pegasus, Flawed Flask approached the fruit. Well, since nopony else was going to eat it, Flawed Flask figured he might as well.

Taking a large chunk out of the fruit, he began to chew. It was absolutely disgusting. Flawed Flask began to retch. But try as he might, the fruit didn't come out of his mouth. It seemed to... attach itself to his tongue. Flawed Flask was left with no choice but to swallow. Strangely enough, after eating that bite, he was eager to devour the rest of it.

The pegasus continued to stare in horror, as the mad scientist ate the strange fruit. When he turned back around, the changes were obvious. His face had become wrinkly, and his eyes were red, and sunk back into his head. He also sported two massive fangs, that hung all the way down to his chin.

"Thisss isss when you pay..." the creature hissed ominously.

The pegasus guard blinked. When he opened his eyes, the creature was gone. He sighed with relief, and turned his head. Bad move. He stared straight into the soulless eyes of the horrifying creature as it bared it's massive fangs above him.

"Goodbye..." the creature hissed.

The pegasus' screams were cut off by the sound of blood gurgling as the creature plunged it's fangs into the guards' neck. The guard managed to take one last, blood filled breath as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he succumbed to death's grasp...

The next day, the guards that had been ordered to arrest Flawed Flask were ordered to find their missing companion. They had returned to the castle with high hopes of their comrade returning with Flawed Flask in custody. They were wrong. The group leader had suggested heading into the Whitetail Woods, because that was the closest, most obvious choice for a convict to escape to. As the guards entered the woods, they noticed a sick, gut-wrenching stench.

"Ugh! What in the name of Celestia is that?" one of the guards asked. The group continued to head into the Whitetail woods. As they got further along, they noticed a grey, twisted tree, that emanated danger.

"I got a bad feeling about this..." one of the guards said, scouting the area for any potential threat.

"Uh, guys! Come l-look at t-this." one of the guards called timidly from a crater by the tree.

"Sweet Celestia!" the group leader cried, taking in the scene in front of him.

An empty pony pelt lay in front of them. The skin appeared to be drained of all blood, and organs. The eyeballs were missing, and the skull was smashed, obviously for access to the brain matter. The only reason why this was recognizable at all, was because the cutie mark was all too familiar.

"Dear Luna! What kind of creature would do such a thing?!" the group leader asked.

An eerie laughing seemed to echo through the entire woods.

"The hay with this! I'm outta here!" one of the guards decided. The other ones followed close behind, leaving the skin where it was, in all haste to escape the creepy echo of the forest.

To this day, nopony knows what became of Flawed Flask. Many towns and cities have reported strange disappearances, and have encountered many empty skins, much like the one of the poor pegasus guard.

It is told that if you are in an orchard, alone at night, eventually, you will come across a strange tree adorned with beautiful silver fruit. If you see the tree, do not approach it. It will be the last thing you do."

* * *

Twilight took the flashlight away from her face, and shone it in the faces of her friends. Rarity looked shocked with horror, Rainbow Dash looked like she was trying really hard to suppress a scream, Pinkie Pie just stared into space with a blank stare, Fluttershy had promptly fainted, and Spike looked like he had tried really hard to not pee himself. Applejack looked to be the most unsettled of all. The part about being alone in an orchard must've really gotten to her Twilight thought.

Twilight began to smile as one word formed in her head. Success!

Everypony snapped back into reality as Spike spoke. "I have to go to the bathroom."

Everypony stared at him expectantly. "Umm... are you gonna go?" Twilight asked.

Spike made a face. As much as it hurt him to say this, he knew he wouldn't be able to go otherwise. Spike sighed.

"I'm scared," Spike said simply.

"And?" Rarity asked.

Spike sighed again. "Can somepony go stand outside the door?" he asked.

This caused everypony to laugh. Spike looked down in shame.

"No problem Spike!" Pinkie Pie said cheerily, walking over to the bathroom with Spike.

"When he's finished." Rainbow Dash said "It's my turn."

The First of Many Breaks

Chapter Four: The First of Many Breaks

After Rainbow Dash finished using the bathroom and Fluttershy had come back into consciousness, Applejack declared that she would be telling her story next. "A'right ya'll! It's mah turn!" The main reason why Applejack wanted to tell hers next, was because she wanted Twilight to get freaked out. Bad. Nopony's 'scary story' had been able to scare Applejack ever. Twilight had been the first to achieve what Applejack thought was un-achievable. This was the first time Applejack had been genuinely scared. Now Applejack would probably avoid staying out late in the orchards for at least a month. Not like her own story didn't already make sure that would happen...

Spike kept on looking around the room nervously. He didn't think he could handle one more story, let alone four. He thought of how he could get back at the mean ponies, for dragging him into this mess. Well... it was his fault really. Nevertheless, he would think of a way to do it somehow. Well, there was that book he had read a long time ago, in the Canterlot library. Dragon Emperor Trynex, the ancient dragon lord, would probably get the job done...

* * *

"Ooh! Tia! Are we going to stick to the plan?!" Luna asked, eagerly bouncing up and down like a little filly.

"Of course!" Princess Celestia replied. The two princesses had put parts in the story where they could act it out on the mares inside. Using their magic, they were going to make things fall in the library, mirroring things that happened in the story, this one in particular. The two devious princesses had decided to spare the readers, making sure they wouldn't falter and freak out. This meant maybe Applejack could forget about Twilight's story before Luna and Celestia scared the crap out of her using a more...useful method.

Judging by the reactions of Twilight's friends, the two princesses had done quite a good job with the first story. There was still four to go! There was nothing to do but sit back, chill, and enjoy the ride! "Popcorn?" Luna asked suddenly, levitating an unpopped bag of popcorn in Celestia's face.

"Luna, where did you get that?" Celestia asked. Luna looked dumbfounded for a minute.

"I- I don't know. I just saw it on the ground right here..." Luna said, looking puzzled. Celestia looked kind of creeped out for a second. She was SURE that the popcorn hadn't been there before Twilight's story. Celestia shrugged. Focusing her magic, she called on the power of fire to heat up the bag of popcorn. Luna formed a magic shield above the heat, placing the bag of popcorn on top.

The bag quickly expanded, releasing the delicious smell of freshly popped popcorn. After it was done, Luna dropped the shield, letting the popcorn fall into her hooves. As soon as it made contact, Luna's eyes widened. Luckily, Celestia knew just what the problem happened to be. Just as Luna was about to scream "HOT!", Celestia slapped the bag of popcorn on the ground with one hoof, and stuck the other into Luna's mouth.

Luna began to wave her hooves in the air frantically, trying to cool them down. Eventually logic won, and she just shoved them into the dirt. "Better?" Celestia asked, a slightly amused smile on her face.

"Don't make that a habit. The sticking your hoof into my mouth business." Luna said, continuing to mumble while glaring at Celestia. Luna trotted over to the bag of popcorn and picked it up. Taking her place in front of the window, Luna opened the popcorn, beginning to munch on it happily.

* * *

Thirty minutes earlier, in Canterlot Castle...

"What do you mean 'not here'!?" Shining Armor raged at the guards in front of Celestia's room. The two guards cast frightened glances at eachother.

"S-she said it was 'Royal Business'!" one guard said.

"Y-yeah! Royal Business!" the other guard chimed in quickly.

"Hmm..." began Shining Armor thoughtfully. "Have the princesses been acting... strange lately?" he asked the two guards. The guards looked at eachother again, this time thinking about the princesses strange behavior earlier.

"Y-yeah actually." one of the guards said, thinking of how ~~high~~ ~~wasted~~ odd the princesses had been acting that evening.

Shining Armor pondered this, the changeling attack all too fresh in his mind. "Have you ever considered the possibility that they are not the princesses at all, but in fact, changelings?" he asked the guards. They shook their heads, fearing that Shining Armor may have been right. "You don't mind if I look for... evidence do you?" Shining Armor asked the guards. They looked at eachother hesitantly. "DO YOU?!!!" the captain of the Royal Guard shouted. The guards quickly shook their heads, opening up the chamber doors for Shining Armor. "Good." he said, stepping inside. The two guards heard him mumble something about "can't even trust your own comrade guard members."

The two kept letting their eyes stray over to the other, expecting an attack. The poor guards didn't even think they could trust eachother. Little did they know, Shining Armor was a......troll.

* * *

Somewhere else in Canterlot Castle...

"Look. It'll be quick, okay?" Cadence said, trying to convince the stubborn guards to let her inside of Luna's room. The guards shook their heads adamantly.

"No can do princess. We're under strict orders from Luna herself to make sure nopony goes inside." the guards answered. Cadence thought for a minute.

"Have you noticed anything strange about Luna lately?" she asked the two guards. One of them nodded.

"Yeah! She has been acting kind of different lately." he said, looking around nervously, making sure Luna was nowhere to be seen. Cadence nodded in understanding.

"Shining Armor and I have suspected for quite some time, that the princesses are in fact, changelings." Cadence said. The guard that hadn't spoken yet burst out in gruff laughter.

"That's preposterous! Surely the captain would've warned us!" he said, unable to deny how idiotic Cadence sounded.

"You see, the reason why Shining hasn't told you, is because he fears that some of the Royal Guard itself could be changelings." Cadence reasoned. The second guard's look of certainty began to waiver. The two guards opened the door.

"Go right in." they said quietly. Cadence stepped into the room, smirking slightly. Time to get dirty(not that way you nasties), Cadence thought, ready to rock and troll.

* * *

Shining Armor tapped his hoof impatiently. Cadence should have been there a while ago. He had been waiting for more than twenty minutes, with nothing to do but stand there and tap his hoof impatiently. Finally, he saw a pink horn poke it's way out from behind a fountain. Shining Armor's wife looked pretty excited about something. Shining Armor's heart rate quickened. "Did you find anything?" he asked. Cadence nodded and smiled.

It took her a few seconds to catch her breath before she spoke. "You wouldn't believe it! I found a letter in Luna's room about Twilight having a sleepover."

"How cute. Little Twilee's having a sleepover." Shining Armor said, acting stallionly in front of his wife. How dare she not invite me! Why that little... Next time I see her is noogie time.

Cadence continued. "And get this! Luna and Celestia planned out a little 'practical joke' to make the ponies scare the hay out of each other!"

Shining Armor snorted with laughter. Oh, they would be scared all right! But if the princess were going to act foalish, then so was he. By the end of the night, the princesses little 'practical joke' will have completely backfired.

* * *

"Attention everypony!" said one of Luna's chamber guards. "Princess Cadence has informed us that the princesses are changelings!"

The crowd burst out into laughter, some booing, calling the guard a liar, and even a few that threw tomatoes at him. He flinched away from the hostile veggies, and stood back to let another guard speak. This time however, everypony in the crowd was silent. Standing on the pedestal was one of Canterlot's most senior Royal Guards. "It's true." he said bluntly. "Never before have the captains of the guard failed us. If that is what Shining Armor thinks, then I believe it." he said, stepping down from the pedestal.

The crowd was still completely silent, save for the few murmuring about how the stallion was so old he had probably lost his marbles.

The second in command of the Royal Guard stepped forward. "Comrades! It's time to rise up! It's time for us to shine! It's time to rise up, and crush the changeling scourge forever!"

The crowd went wild. The whole palace was shaking with the roar of all the hooves stamping on the floor. Colonel Sharpspear had to wait before speaking again. "All of those willing to fight say 'I'."

There was no hesitation as the whole crowd of guards replied 'I'!" Sharpspear smiled.

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" he yelled, dashing off the pedestal, and towards the door.

"OOO-RAH!" the crowd shouted in reply, following their current commander out of the door.

The Horrid History of the Apple Tree

Chapter Five: The Horrid History of the Apple Tree

In the library, Applejack had begun to tell her story. "Alright ya'll! Ya'll ready ta listen ta mah story?" Applejack asked. The ponies nodded. "A'right! It is said that a long time ago, in an orchard far far away..."

"Applejack! No Constellation Wars references!" said the egghead Twilight, proud to show off her egghead knowledge.

"Ya'll just hush now and listen to mah story!" an angry Applejack yelled. "Anyways, as Ah was sayin..."

"POPCORN!" Pinkie Pie blurted, making a dash for the kitchen.

"Oh, for Celestia's sake!" Applejack cried, face-hoofing. Eventually, Pinkie walked back into the main library area carrying a massive bowl of popcorn. Applejack glared at Pinkie, who was oblivious to the stare while shoving large hoof-fulls of popcorn into her mouth. Once all of them seemed content, Applejack continued to try and tell her story. "It is said that a long time ago..."

"Can we skip this part?", asked Rainbow Dash,"You already tried to do an introduction." Applejack suppressed her anger and desire to wring Dash's neck, and continued her story.

"One day, an almond farmer named Almond Shell was plantin' his trees. The government would only let him have a certain amount of trees, ya see..."

* * *

"Mister Shell."

"Just call me Almond!" Almond Shell said, bumping hooves with the official Celestia had sent to do Almond Shell's field inspection. The official seemed disgusted, looking down at his hoof, now tainted by the dirt of the farmer's field.

"I am sorry to tell you this, Almond, but all of your trees are going to be up-rooted." said the official.

"What?!" yelled Almond Shell, outraged. "What in the name of Celestia would make you want to do that?" asked Almond Shell, heart-broken.

The official shook his head. "You didn't make enough money last year, and now you are being forced to give up your property. We leased you this land so you could plant your trees and make money from your almonds. You weren't able to pay the money. So now you must move on. Go find a job doing something else, you're obviously not cut out for this almond-selling business." he said harshly, staring at Almond Shell with distaste.

"No! My family's been in the almond business for generations! I will not let my family's heritage be destroyed by the likes of you, not even Princess Celestia herself!" The official had had enough of this country pony's behavior. He had always hated everything about them: the filth on their hooves, their stupid accents, the way they were always so nice, and the way that they couldn't ever just forget about their stupid "heritage". Somepony needed to teach Almond Shell a lesson. The official glanced around the property. Nope. Nopony in sight! Let's get this over with.

"Oh yeah?" the official asked. He leaned up to Almond Shell's ear. "What are you going to do?" he asked provokingly. Almond Shell didn't fall for the trick. If he attacked first, he would surely be thrown into the Canterlot dungeons. Almond Shell just stood where he was, desperately trying to refrain from smashing this sassy Sally's face in. The official smirked.

"Good boy." he said, lightly smacking Almond Shell across the face. This managed to piss Almond Shell off even more than he thought was possible. Still, he refrained from attacking. All he did was get red in the face. Very. Very. Red. And angry. Really angry. The official laughed again. "A sissy boy, huh? I guess you won't do anything about THIS!" he said, raising a hoof up to smack Almond Shell across the face. He was wrong.

Almond Shell ducked and planted his forehooves into the ground. He then spun around and lifted his rear legs into the air. He bucked with all of his might. His hind hooves made direct contact with the official's neck. The official's shades flew off of his face, then hit the ground several feet behind him. The official's windpipe was instantly crushed under the force of Almond Shell's hooves. The official hit the ground, gasping for air. Almond Shell quickly realized what he had done, and knelt down to the dying official.

The official looked up at Almond Shell, his outlook on these farm ponies instantly changing. Unfortunately for him, he would not be around long enough to enjoy this new outlook on life. Every breath he tried to take just killed him faster. The pain in his neck was unbearable. "Oh my sweet Celestia! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Almond Shell spluttered. Actually, he had meant to at the time. The agent's eyelid muscles began to grow weaker. His heartbeat grew irregular. Almond Shell had never seen death before. The intelligence and thoughts of the dying pony could be seen leaving his body as his eyes began to glaze over. He tried to take one more breath of air. The oxygen could be heard failing to pass through his larynx. Almond Shell didn't know what to do. He was now a murderer, and he was staring at his victim.

Almond Shell could just stare as the official died right before his eyes. The official's eyes now had a complete glaze over them, and some blood trickled out of his mouth. Almond Shell shakily reached his hoof out to the official's eyelids, and closed them gently. I'm so sorry, Almond Shell thought. How was he supposed to cover this up? Almond Shell suddenly got a brilliant idea. He glanced around his property. Nopony was looking. Almond Shell quickly dragged the body to a hole he had dug earlier. He dumped the body in the hole. It landed directly on top of the almond seed that Almond Shell had planted earlier.

Almond Shell quickly covered the hole up with dirt, and headed for his house.

* * *

"Tia! That was a good idea! I didn't know you could write so well!" Luna exclaimed. Celestia looked at her sister disbelievingly.

"How could I not be a good writer? I'm a thousand years old! Do you know what kind of documents and files I have to look through every day?" Celestia asked her sister.

"No I don't, actually. I just get to be the princess who sits around all day, doing nothing important! Why do you think that I'm the one who's always ignored?! Why doesn't anypony ever ask about me?! Why do all of our subjects only care about you?!" Luna asked angrily, the rage flashing in her eyes.

"Luna, shut up and eat the popcorn." Celestia told her sister. Luna obediently shoved her face into the popcorn bag. Seconds later, her face emerged covered with butter.

"Absolutely delicious, Tia! You sure you don't want any?" Luna asked, still chewing on a mouthful of the delicious food. Celestia made a disdainful face at her sister.

"Eew. After you just shoved your face in the bag? No thanks." Celestia said. The two royal alicorns looked back into the window, waiting for the part where they could intervene.

* * *

"Honey! I'm home!" called Almond Shell. His wife, Spring Blossom, came trotting out from the kitchen. She embraced him in a hug after he hung up his Stetson.

"How did it go?", Spring Blossom asked. Almond Shell's smile faded as he told his wife the story. "What?!", she asked loudly. "He tried to attack you?", she asked disbelievingly. Almond Shell nodded. Spring Blossom silently stood there for a moment, but then burst out laughing. "That's a good one, honey! That's funny!" Spring Blossom laughed. Almond Shell was silent. Spring Blossom stopped laughing. "Umm... you're serious, aren't you?" she asked. Almond Shell nodded.

"I buried him in one of the tree holes." Almond Shell told his wife. Spring Blossom was silent again.

"You know we can't get away with this, right?" Spring Blossom said.

"Yes we can!" Almond Shell said. "It's not my fault! He attacked me first!"

"Princess Celestia will send somepony to investigate." Spring Blossom said, concerned.

"We can't do much until then though." Almond Shell said, heading up to the bedroom. Almond Shell just wanted to sleep. Spring Blossom went upstairs as well, and the couple slept peacefully while they still could.

A week later, the couple was surprised to hear a knock on the door. Almond Shell got up from his recliner to answer it. "Hello?" he asked. An official stood there, looking almost identical to the deceased one that had been there a week ago.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Shell. I was sent here on behalf of Princess Celestia. This is in regards to the disappearance of an agent that was sent here to tell you about the destruction of your trees a week ago. Do you know the whereabouts of Agent Smith?" the official asked Almond Shell. So that was his name... Agent Smith.

"Nope." Almond Shell replied. "He headed off my property after he told me the unfortunate news. Has something happened to him?" Almond Shell asked. The official nodded.

"He hasn't been seen since his trip to your orchards.", the agent replied.

"That's horrible!" Almond Shell feigned disbelief. "Has there been any reports about his location?"

The official shook his head. "All we know is that he was here before he disappeared."

Almond Shell shook his head sadly. "That's tragic. Sorry to hear about that. Anything else?" he asked.

"I don't believe- Ah! Actually, there is some good news. Due to the investigation of Agent Smith's disappearance, your orchard's trees are at the bottom of our priorities list. Your trees will be left intact for another few months or so. If you manage to raise enough money by then, you might be able to pay off your lease." the official said. Almond Shell resisted the urge to jump up and down with joy. "That is all. Good day to you, Mr. Shell." With that, the official began to make his way down the almond field trail. Almond Shell smiled and shut the door.

The official strolled through Almond Shell's almond field, admiring the way the trees so gracefully danced up from the ground and blocked out the sun. There were a few smaller trees in the field that looked like they had been planted fairly recently. One was just barely starting to poke it's way up from the ground! The official continued to walk, only stopping when something caught his attention. A lone pair of sunglasses sat on the ground. The official chuckled. Did the cowpony really need sunglasses? The sun was hardly visible through the thick branches of the almond trees. The official thought about telling Almond Shell that he had dropped his sunglasses, but figured that Almond Shell would find out on his own eventually.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Agent Smith's makeshift grave...

The almond seed had sprouted, and Agent Smith's body had all but decayed. The seed's roots had wrapped around Agent Smith's heart, preserving it. The heart of Agent Smith had adjoined with the almond seed. Now, new roots had begun to grow out from his heart. A new fruit tree was born in the process.

* * *

"Sister, they are getting to the part where we are to make it rain." Celestia told her sister, who was still eating popcorn.

"Huh?" Luna asked. She was busy thinking about the castle for some reason.

"You know! The part where we make Spike do extra work..." Celestia hinted. Luna still looked confused. "Ugh! Are you sure that the moon's low gravity didn't mess with your brain?"

"I don't think so." Luna answered, looking insulted. "Actually, I think my brain is more developed than yours!" Luna said.

"How dare you?!" Celestia asked. "Of course I'm more intelligent than you!"

The two sisters continued to bicker. Back and forth. Back and forth. They were so caught up in their battle of wits that they forgot all about their story for the time being.

* * *

Almond Shell walked through his orchard, proud of all the work he had been doing over the course of the past eight months. He had managed to make quite a profit off of his almonds, but it still wouldn't be enough to pay for his lease. A few weeks ago, the spot where Agent Smith had been buried had started to sprout an odd-looking tree. A few, strange fruits had begun to grow on the tree too. Most were red, but one was green. Now the tree was pretty well developed, but Almond Shell decided to wait until the fruits fell off to harvest them. This was always a signal that the fruit was ripe.

Spring Blossom had been impregnated the night that Almond Shell had involuntarily murdered Agent Smith. They had went to the hospital earlier that morning to have the foal delivered. Almond Shell sat down under the tree. He had decided on a name for the fruit the tree was bearing. Apples. He didn't know why he chose that name, but it just sounded appealing at the time. His daughter was green, just like the largest apple. Almond Shell sat under the apple tree, pondering this years events. He closed his eyes and sighed. He had started to drift off, but was rudely awakened by a hard thunk on his head. "Ow!" Almond Shell exclaimed, opening his eyes and looking down.

The apple lay on the ground next to his right leg. Almond Shell looked down at the apple and smiled. The first apple. This was the grandmother of all the new fruits. Smith had died in this spot. He was the reason this new fruit was on this tree. Granny Smith, thought Almond Shell. His expression brightened as an idea popped into his head. "Honey! I have the perfect name for our new filly!" Almond Shell shouted, sprinting for his house. Perhaps it was time to give up his heritage. Maybe almond harvesting was a thing of the past. Maybe now, it was time for the reign of apples. The family tree would no longer be a tree of Almonds, but a tree of Apples. And it would all start with Granny Smith...

* * *

"What?!" the mares shouted in unison.

"Where did you learn that from?! Is that true?" Twilight asked.

The other mares made disgusted faces. "That better not be true!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I don't want to think about how many dead bodies are in Applejack's orchard if that's true!"

The mares all looked at Applejack nervously. She gave them a look of pure disbelief. "If ya'll actually think Ah'd murder somepony, then Ah'll murder you." Applejack said. The ponies continued to stare at her uncomfortably. "Come on ya'll! How many ponies d'ya think live in Ponyville?! Do ya know how many trees Ah have?" Applejack asked. Rainbow Dash laughed hysterically.

"Did you guys actually think I was being serious?! Why would Applejack murder somepony?! She can't lie to us! She's the Element of ~~Loyalty~~ Honesty for Celestia's sake!" The other ponies began to join in the laughter. Of course Applejack would never kill anypony! Or would she?

* * *

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were finished up with their trivial little argument, and were now back at the window. "Darn it, Tia! Now look what you've done! They already finished the story!" Luna said angrily.

"My fault? Who's the one who was shoving her face into the popcorn bag like an idiot?" Celestia countered.

"Whatever, Tia. Talk to the hoof." Luna said, sticking her right forehoof into the air.

"You're soooo mature, Luna." Celestia responded. Luna continued to ignore her. "Would you get over it? We have plenty more chances to do it!" Luna still didn't acknowledge her sister. Celestia sighed.

"Whatever."

Scarlet Rain (Part One)

Chapter Six: Scarlet Rain (Part One)

After the ponies in the library had settled down after Applejack's story, Rainbow Dash had a strong urge to tell her story next. Her story was sure to make the others wish this sleepover had never even happened. "Anypony want to make any sudden interruptions before I tell my story?" asked Rainbow Dash while glaring at Pinkie Pie. The pink party pony ignored the rainbow pegasus, the bowl of popcorn that she had been plowing through still seeming untouched.

"Wait a second, Rainbow." Twilight said. Twilight looked over to Spike. "Spike, go make some macaroni like the good assistant you are." Spike grumbled un-contentedly, but got up and started for the kitchen anyway. The purple dragon climbed on top of the counter to open the cabinet.

"Twilight and her magic..." Spike mumbled unhappily, reaching up to open the cabinet. The dragon opened the cabinet clumsily, but that was nothing out of the usual. What was unusual was the glowing pair of eyes staring at him. "AAGH!" Spike screamed, falling off of the counter and face-planting on the hard floor. Luckily he was covered in thick scales, so it didn't hurt him too badly. Pinkie Pie rushed in at the sound of Spike's landing on the floor. She stared at him for a second, then looked to the open cabinet.

"That's where I left them!" Pinkie gasped, bouncing up onto the counter. She pulled out a pair of glowing googly eyes. "Huh, guess I must've left them here when I got the popcorn out..." The rest of Pinkie's words faded as Spike's mind was invaded by thoughts that should not have been there. He imagined that the poofy pink mane had caught on fire, and the pink pony was rolling around on the floor, desperately trying to put out the fire. Spike began to laugh hysterically, but then shook his head as he realized how bad those thoughts were. Pinkie was staring at the dragon, confused. Before Spike could say anything, the pony dashed out of the kitchen.

Spike climbed back on top of the counter and pulled out the macaroni. Spike set the box on the counter and jumped down. He pulled a large pan out of the cabinet and set it by the sink. Spike filled the pan up and then struggled to carry it all the way over to the stove. He set it on the burner when Twilight's voice called to him. "SPIIIIKE! Rainbow Dash is starting her story now!" Spike rushed out of the kitchen, making the silly mistake of forgetting to turn the burner on, as well as forgetting to pour the macaroni in the pot.

* * *

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna awaited the beginning of the next story eagerly. Some odd noise was bothering the dark princess' ears. "...Tia, do you hear that horrible noise?" Luna asked her sister. Princess Celestia stepped away from the window and listened for the noise Luna was talking about. After a few long seconds, Celestia stepped forward and smacked the back of Luna's head with a hoof gently.

"You want to know what that noise is, Luna?" Celestia asked. The white unicorn gestured for silence as the noise started up again.

WOOSH! WOOSH!

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "...nope." Celestia facehoofed, and resisted the urge to smack her sister once again.

"That's called the WIND, Luna!" Celestia yelled, exasperated. Luna tilted her head confusedly.

"I don't think so, Tia. The wind is usually constant. This is more of a spastic beating sound..." Luna persisted.

"Just forget about it! We're going to miss the story!" Celestia yelled angrily, moving back toward the window. Luna looked after her sister and listened for the sound again. Sure as sugar, Luna continued to hear the sound from earlier. Luna swung her head toward her sister angrily. The royal white alicorn stood in front of the window with a silly smile on her face. Luna looked down frustratedly and shed a few tears.

Why doesn't she ever listen to me?

* * *

Back inside of the library, everypony (and dragon) had settled down to listen to Rainbow's story. "Are you SURE you're not going to interrupt anymore?!" Rainbow asked Pinkie. Pinkie sighed.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie responded, going through the motions of a Pinkie Pie swear. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in approval.

"Great! Anypony else?" asked the pegasus, looking at each of her friends directly before continuing. When no objections were voiced, Dash took that as her cue to continue. "Okay! Now, there was once this awesome pegasus pony named Crimson Wake. Crimson Wake went out to play with his friends one day when something went terribly wrong..."

* * *

"CRIMSON!!!" called a female pony's voice. Crimson Wake was startled out of his sleep when his name was called. The dark red pegasus pony sprung to his hooves and looked around for the speaker. "CRIMSON!!!" the voice called again. Crimson scanned the area around him. Yep, just like the outdoor-loving colt he was, he had fallen asleep in the park... again. "OH MY CELESTIA, CRIMSON!!!" Crimson shook his head. Where was this voice coming from? Suddenly Crimson heard a loud screeching sound from above his head. Oh. There she was. Crimson's friend Dive Bomb swooped out of the sky, nearly crashing into the former. Crimson rolled and dodged his playful friend. Dive Bomb ascended back into the sky after missing Crimson.

"Nice try. Divey!" Crimson called after his friend, leaping into the sky for revenge. Crimson quickly reached his desired altitude, then looked around for Dive Bomb. It was a pretty sunny day, but a few clouds were dotted here and there. Crimson scanned the skies for his friend. He saw a glimpse of tail dart behind a small cloud. "Gotcha!" he called, flying full speed for Dive Bomb. Crimson approached the cloud rapidly, leaving the blood-red trail he was named for behind him. Crimson experienced the feeling of having his face filled with mist as he broke through the cloud.

"Ha! I'm over here!" called Dive Bomb from somewhere behind Crimson. Crimson wished he could stop for a moment. If Dive Bomb was behind him, who was in front of him? Crimson had no time to brake as he crashed through the cloud full-speed into the pony on the other side.

"Oof!" gasped the pony that had just taken Crimson's weight in the gut. Crimson shook his head to clear the stars, then backed away a bit and looked at the pony. Crimson was about to apologize, but forgot all about manners when he saw this pony. It was a stallion, with a massive build and large wings. His fur was a night-black color, and his mane was a dark purple. This was all very well; the thing that made Crimson freeze was the eyes. If there was a word to describe the horror Crimson felt when he looked at these eyes, it would be against the law to say it. "What're you lookin' at, kid?!" the stallion asked.

Crimson still could not speak. The irises were a bright red, and the whites of his eyes could not be seen. The pupils... the pupils were the darkest color imaginable, and Crimson din't doubt that if you were to stare at them for long enough, you would end up in a completely different dimension. "Uh..."

"Spit it out!" the stallion said irritably.

I'm sorry... "Uh... nice eyes." Crimson blurted, covering his mouth with his hoof as soon as it closed. Much to his surprise, the stallion gave a good-natured laugh.

"Boy, lemme tell ya something. Not a day goes by without somepony not starin' at these eyes, ya know that? I'm honestly not surprised you had the audacity to ask that. Most ponies take one look at these mean suckers and either bolt for the closest door or just get as far away from me as possible. I'm kinda glad ya decided to ask, kiddo."

Crimson was surprised at the friendliness that this stallion was showing. Crimson waited for more words to come, but apparently it was his turn to talk. He wasn't exactly good with long, awkward silences. "Um... were you born like that?"

The large stallion laughed again. "Of course not! Would you like to hear the story of how I got these here eyes?" the stallion asked. Crimson nodded his head eagerly. "Well okay then. One day, when I was but a mere col... wait." Crimson froze with fear as the big stallion tilted his head sideways, making his already unnatural eyes take on an appearance that was even more menacing. His voice had also taken on an eerie prospect. "You...haven't...even...asked...my...name..." he rasped hypnotically. Before he could react, the stallion grabbed Crimson's neck in his hooves and brought Crimson's face up to his.

"So...you really like these eyes...I can...see it." continued the stallion. "Look...into my...eyes..." he finished. As much as Crimson tried to resist, he felt himself obeying the stallion's desires. No matter how badly he wanted to look away from the eyes, he could not bring himself to do it. "I must...warn you...these eyes...come with a price...you...you shall carry my burden..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Dive Bomb had begun to wonder what was taking so long. Crimson had disappeared behind that cloud a long time ago. Dive Bomb would have checked on him earlier, but she was afraid that he was planning a surprise attack on her. Dive Bomb's thoughts were interrupted by an ear-piercing scream. No longer caring if Crimson was planning an attack or not, Dive Bomb propelled herself straight toward the cloud where Crimson had disappeared behind.

Crimson writhed in pain as he was dragged into the hypnotic stare of the eyes. He could feel Crimson going away. He could feel his eyes burning. He could tell. The strange mystery stallion no longer had the hypnotic eyes. Crimson knew. He knew that those eyes were now his, and that nothing good could come out of them.