The smell of the foods that rolled through the doors began to fill the dining room. Pinkie Pie placed her front hooves on the table and took a big sniff through her nose. Her eyes got much wider, and a giant smile swept over her face.

“Is that what I think it is?” Pinkie Pie said, her voice jumping up an octave with excitement seeping through her voice. She looked at each of the carts that passed by, until she finally spotted the one that she was looking for. “Hay Sandwiches!!!”

Carter was left curious. He was looking at all of the foods passing by, some of which he knew, but others were not at all what he expected. There were things like hay fries and hay sandwiches. Pretty much every entree had hay incorporated into the meal in some form. He didn’t think too much about it, until he remembered that he was an omnivore, at least in his human form. If there was no meat in his diet, then perhaps he would be heavily affected by it. He ultimately just hoped that, because he was a pony, then maybe, just maybe, his body would function like one.

The waiters walked over to each pony, asking them what they would like for starters. Carter listened closely to what everypony was ordering, trying to get an idea on what to get, as he had no clue about what was available. He heard a lot of them order a hay sandwich, which made him think that it was something worth getting. One of the waiters eventually walked up to Carter. He had to decide.

“I hear you are the new guy that these ponies are talking about.” The waiter said, sounding very high class.

“Yes I am.” Carter said.

“Very interesting. There have not been many new guests in the castle for quite some time.” He said, a small smile came over his face. “Now I am sure that you are eagerly awaiting for me to ask you what you would like to eat.”

“Don’t feel rushed, good sir. I’d rather the food be perfected. Quality over quantity, I believe.” Carter said.

“Ha. Wise, perhaps. But between you and I, that pink one flips the phrase.” The waiter said, pointing towards Pinkie Pie. Carter looked over and watched as she examined her sandwich before wrapping her tongue around the entire thing and swallowing it whole. Carter and the waiter had a small chill run through their body after witnessing this phenomenon, the latter hiding the unorthodox reaction as to not lose character.

“So it would seem.” Carter said, holding his hoof to his mouth as he tried not to laugh too loudly. “I guess I should eventually order. I will have the hay sandwich with a side of hay fries and a tall glass of water. I do find myself to have quite a dry throat.”

“A classic… alright, I will get that to you right away.” The waiter said, reaching over to the cart behind him and grabbing the correct food items.

Oh… ready from the start. Talk about high class. Reminds me of the cafeteria at Fort Lewis.

Carter was finding himself to be quite nervous. He had no clue if he would even enjoy hay products, as they naturally sounded appalling compared to his normal diet. He was determined not to spit it out, nor act like a baby over it, but even then the taste was ultimately what he was concerned about.

“Your food, sir.” The waiter placed the food down in front of Carter on the table. “I hope you enjoy it.” He said before walking over to Fluttershy.

Carter looked at the food in front of him. There was no doubt that it looked foreign compared to the foods that he was familiar with, but it was unusually appealing from a visual perspective. Perhaps it was his pony-like senses taking over. He smelled the bread, finding it to distribute quite a delicious aroma. He made sure that no other pony was looking at him while he was acting so unorthodox. Carter then mustered the courage to just pick it up and take a bite out of it. He chewed it for a while, letting the taste fill his mouth so that he could properly evaluate it. The taste was actually something that he didn’t just find to be acceptable, but even enjoyable.

“It would seem that you got the same thing as us.” Twilight said to Carter, who sat on his left.

“It was seeming to be quite the pick.” Carter replied. “Where are the others who I met previously this afternoon?”

“Well, Spike is doing some things for the dragon kingdom. As for Cadence and Shining Armor, they had to go back to the Crystal Empire, as it is their respected place to rule.” Twilight stated.

“I see.” Carter said.

“Quite an unfortunate turn of events. They missed out on such a great party.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Seriously. Of all the time they have to relax, you’d imagine that they’d actually use it during times like this!” Rarity said. “Makes me feel distraught knowing that they have such a busy life, yet never enough free time to enjoy the simplest joys.”

“I am sure that Twilight could relate to that.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yes, I can. It isn’t always easy, but I do have time to myself.” Twilight said.

“So, besides Twilight Sparkle, what do you guys do?” Carter asked.

“We do quite a bit, Carter. But not nearly as much as we used to.” Rarity said.

“What do you mean?” Luna asked.

“Well, for Carter’s sake, we used to be teachers in Twilight’s school of friendship. But doing that along with our usual jobs was proving to be too much work for all of us.” Fluttershy said.

“So you don’t teach there anymore?” Celestia asked.

“We teach there on special occasions, but we ultimately found other teachers to take our spots.” Applejack said.

“Don’t get me wrong, that school was insanely fun! But at the end of the day, we were getting progressively more tired as days rolled by. We eventually just let Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst take over for us.” Rainbow Dash explained.

“And I do not have the slightest doubt in my mind that they are doing a great job with their new positions in the school.” Twilight added.

“Interesting.” Carter said. “Though I guess I should imagine that, considering you are the princess of friendship and all.”

“Yeah, life isn’t always cupcakes and rainbows.” Twilight admitted.

“Really? You’d think that Dash and Pinkie would make that become a reality for you.” Carter said sarcastically.

“Huh. That was actually a funny joke, Carter.” Applejack said, giving Carter a bright smile. Carter simply turned to the orange mare and winked in return.

“Try not to tire yourself out all the time, Twilight.” Celestia said.

“Me and my sister made that mistake when we first ruled over Equestria. Better you learn while you still can.” Luna added.

“I’ve made sure to monitor myself from time to time, as to avoid that from happening, Celestia.” Twilight said.

The discussion carried out for a few moments longer as each pony finished up their food. Carter felt good about his choices, as he felt that the portion sizes were just enough to make him not want to eat another bite, yet not walk away feeling as though he would expel all that he had eaten. He placed his plates in a small pile in hopes that it would make the clean up crew’s job much easier.

“What did you think, Carter?” Fluttershy asked, seeing that Carter was completely stuffed. Carter held up his hoof, thinking that he was giving a thumbs up. This, however, was not the case and he corrected himself immediately after.

“Let’s just say that I got the full experience.” Carter replied. Fluttershy laughed softly and placed her front hooves together.

“I guess that’s the best way to experience it.” She said.

“More or less.” Carter added.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Rainbow Dash said, looking over at Celestia and Luna, who also appeared to be in the same predicament as Carter.

“I have forgotten how to have fun without letting the fun take over.” Celestia said.

“Please, you girls just know how to party.” Carter said, laughing.

“Maybe a bit too much.” Luna said, placing her hooves over her stomach.

“Well I hope that doesn’t affect you too much, because I made a big cake for dessert.” Pinkie Pie announced. Coincidentally, a giant, pink cake came out into the room on a giant tray, carried by a multitude of ponies and placed in the middle of the table. “There it is! The giganticus-cakeicus!”

Luna and Celestia’s eyes widened, wondering if there was any possible way for them to gain enough room to eat even a small crumb of the cake. Carter sat up and placed his forehooves on the table.

“If there is one thing that I have learned through life, it is that there is always a pocket for dessert.” Carter said. His stomach made a growling sound, the feeling that followed reminded him that he was stuffed to the top from his previous meal. “A small one, at least.”

“That’s good! I almost thought that you ponies wouldn’t want my cake. What kind of strange things will you think of next, Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie said, continuing to babble on about how silly the thought was.

“Pinkie, if there is one thing I know about you, it’s got to be the fact that you never let me down with a good cake to top off a hearty meal.” Applejack said.

“Oh, so the bar is raised to quite a high and precarious level of expectancy, I see.” Carter said. “Looks like I will have to try this thing out for myself.”

“Challenge accepted!” Pinkie Pie said with pride. She hopped on top of the table and somehow pulled out a knife and a chef’s outfit from seemingly nowhere. “Now, how many slices would you like, Carter?”

“Just one, make it small. I will see where that goes once I am done.” Carter said.

“One super duper yummy slice of Pinkie’s giganticus-cakeicus coming right up!” Pinkie Pie said as she cut him a perfect slice of the pink cake. She carefully set it on a plate and passed it over to Carter. She dealt out the other ponies’ slices as Carter started on his.

Carter was a little hesitant to eat it, as he was not given a fork or any utensil like it. He decided not to care and just have fun while he could. He grabbed it between his forehooves and took a big bite out of it. He could taste a lot of strawberries, along with other assorted fruits in the cake itself, while the frosting was just a simple cream cheese layer. He enjoyed that bite, along with each one that followed soon after.

“Well, mister cake connoisseur, how does it taste?” Pinkie Pie asked, grinning intensely.

“It is not bad at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit, actually.” Carter admitted.

“So you admit that I make a mean cake!” Pinkie Pie shouted, mockingly.

“Hey now, I never said anything contrary to that. I just thought that Applejack’s description of her past experiences with your cakes set the bar pretty high. Don’t get me wrong, this one doesn’t disappoint.” Carter said, defending himself.

“I agree with him there, Pinkie. This is one mighty tasty cake.” Applejack said.

“Agreed.” Rainbow Dash said, kicking her hindlegs up onto the top of the table while finishing off her slice of cake.

“Rainbow Dash! Manners!” Rarity shouted. “Honestly, if you can’t even do the simplest of things then I am sure that you must live like a slob.”

“I do not!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“I am not so sure that I believe you.” Rarity scoffed.

“You ponies are so interesting.” Carter said.

“Whatever do you mean, dear?”.

“You girls are so different from each other, yet I could totally tell that you’d all be perfect pals just by looking at you.”

“I guess you could say that.” Rainbow Dash said. She sunk deep into her chair and let out a satisfied belch that reverberated across the room.

“We are indeed different from each other, but that does not mean that our friendship is any less valuable.” Twilight said, fanning away the foul smells with her right hoof.

“I’d hope not.” Luna said. She herself also finished her slice of cake. “Ok, nope. I am all done with food. The ol’ tummy is telling me to stop.”

“Agreed, sister.” Celestia added, placing her left hoof over her stomach. “Do you have any other plans for the night, Twilight?”

“I do, actually. I was thinking that we could all sit around a campfire outside of the castle and tell ghost stories.” Twilight offered.

“That sounds like a lovely idea, Twilight!” Celestia said.

“What? G-g-ghost stories!?” Fluttershy screamed.

“Oh boy! Here comes the little whiny pony to ruin the fun.” Rainbow Dash said. “Nothing scares me.”

“Careful, Rainbow. You might one day eat those words.” Applejack said.

“Bah, words of a fool. Why, fear is the one thing in life that keeps you from reaching your full potential.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Fluttershy,” Carter whispered as Applejack and Rainbow Dash continued arguing. “I’d be fine to sit next to you to keep at least somewhat sane. That is, assuming you don’t find that awkward.”

“I would like that very much, actually.” Fluttershy said. “Thanks for the offer.”

“Good, I will make sure no pony gets near you that isn’t one of us.” Carter said with a very over-the-top and heroic tone.

“My hero.” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, over hearing their discussion. “Now come on, let’s get these spooky stories started!”

Without any warning, Rainbow Dash flew out of the room as fast as the wind. The other ponies shouted for her, but she was already long gone. Twilight simply shook her head before she got up and led the others out of the castle and into the area where they would begin sharing their spooky ghost stories. All the ponies sat down on the grassy ground in a circular formation as Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Carter went into the nearby woods to find some firewood.

“Just find some small branches won’t ya, Carter.” Applejack said. “Rainbow, you search up top and-”

“Yeah yeah, leave me to my work.” Rainbow Dash said before flying off to find some wood of her own.

Carter saw a nearby tree in the distance. The sun was nearly set, so he had to act fast before all of his vision was gone. He grabbed a hold of the branch and began jumping around in an attempt to break the branch off of the tree, only to find that it had little to no effect. He dropped down and looked at it with a puzzling expression. He knew that he was going about it wrong - like a human. He had to go about it from a different approach.

Alright, give me your wood you stupid tree.

Carter looked over at Applejack, who already had quite a number of branches in her possession. His jaw nearly dropped, as he did not expect anything like what he saw. He waited for her to break off another branch so that he could see how it was supposed to be done. He watched Applejack walk up to a tree and kick it so hard that all the loose branches fell right to her hooves. Carter had a dumbfounded look come over his face.

Oh ok, so we have the tree whisperer over here. That doesn’t explain how I am supposed to get wood.

Carter looked back at the tree that he previously attempted at and readied himself for a swift kick. The only problem was that he noticed that Applejack kicked with her two back legs, using her front two for balance. He got in position and attempted a kick just like hers. Simply put, it failed. He tripped over his own legs and fell right on his stomach.

“Ok, that is definitely the way to go.” Carter said, his voice sounding strained and raspy after getting the wind knocked out of him.

Carter stood up and stared at the tree with a bit of anger in his eyes. He was not about to lose to an inanimate object. He grabbed a hold of the branch and thrusted himself on top of it. He then raised his hoof and struck the branch with all of his might. A low rumble shook the tree soon after, leaving Carter with nothing but a cautious look. Every branch on the tree fell down to the ground, taking Carter with him.

And just like that, I have become the new tree whisperer.

“Carter, are you okay?” Applejack asked, pushing the sticks away so that Carter could get out. “You had one mighty fall on your way down.”

Oh, really? I couldn’t tell, I just saw my face shift itself down and meet the floor head on.

“Alas, the firewood is acquired!” Carter said, his vision swaying to the right every few seconds, making it quite difficult for him to continue standing.

“That’s good, I guess. I assume that ya need a bit of help carrying it back to the meeting spot.” Applejack said.

“Just help me load them on my back if you don’t mind. I should be good to go after that.” Carter said.

“If ya say so.” Applejack began grabbing a few branches at a time and placing it on top of Carter. Soon enough they were all safely on him. “You’re all set.”

“Sweet.” Carter said, beginning his return back to the meeting point.

Though the wood took a bit of energy out of the poor pony, Carter was determined to get it to the others without needing to take a single break. He saw the others in the distance and began running over to them.

“Carter! You have returned.” Twilight said with a cheerful tone.

“And with quite a number of branches.” Rarity added.

“The others are coming with more, so I assume that we could be out here for hours with the wood that we will have.” Carter said. “The sun has gone down, so we should start things pretty soon.”

“Remember when you used to raise the sun, sister?” Luna said to Celestia.

“Ah, the old days.” Celestia said, sighing to herself.

“I’m sorry, what!?” Carter shouted, making sure that he heard them correctly. “You raised the sun?”

“I used to, yes. But now that I am no longer in control I have passed that responsibility down to Twilight.” Celestia said.

“She raises the sun, along with the moon.” Luna explained.

“Huh… neat.” Carter said quietly. His jaw stayed dropped for a moment or two, as he now thought by now that he had heard and seen everything.

Is there some great wizard moving the sun and moon on Earth? Am I simply an idiot!?

“Sorry I’m late, fellers.” Applejack said, running towards the rest of the group with her share of wood.

“I am here, too.” Rainbow Dash said, flying just behind Applejack.

“Great, now we can get started!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “I have got quite a couple stories to tell you guys that will surely make you tremble in fear.”

“Being the pony of laughter, I certainly doubt that.” Rarity said.

“Hey!” Pinkie Pie shouted in embarrassment.

“Now then, if every pony can gather around the fire, we should be getting started.” Twilight said.

All of the ponies began to huddle around the campfire. Carter spotted Fluttershy and sat down to her right. She looked at him and thanked him for supporting her. He nodded to her with his stoic expression and awaited the telling of the first scary story.

“Who would like to go first?” Celestia asked.

“Ooh, me! Me!” Pinkie Pie shouted, raising her hoof in the air.

“Ok ok, Pinkie. Go ahead.” Applejack said.

“My story is called, Cupcakes!” Pinkie Pie said. Carter felt his body randomly tremble at the sound of the title. He wondered what he could possibly have thought of to draw out such a reaction, but just shook the feeling off of his conscience.

“Cupcakes? This should be good.” Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes.

“There he was… Mr. Baker, in his little bakery. He was doing his casual routine that he always did before closing his establishment until he heard the sound of a bell go off. He looked over the counter top towards the front door, seeing if anyone was in the room. He found nobody around him, so he went back to his work. But then there was another bell sound.

“Now he was sure that it wasn’t just him. He got up and searched all around his bakery, but couldn’t find anypony near him. He got irritated after hearing a third bell sound and decided to look for the source of the noise, instead. He looked and looked all over the place, failing to find anything that could point him in the right direction.

“Mr. Baker was about to give up, until he looked at his oven. What a silly pony he was, he only forgot to turn off his oven.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I thought for sure that there would be some creepy creature in his bakery.” Fluttershy said.

“That’s what you’d like to think, Fluttershy.” Pinkie Pie said. Fluttershy just swallowed and hid her face behind her mane.

“Oh boy, here comes the good part!” Rainbow Dash said.

“As Mr. Baker went to turn off the oven, he heard some noises coming from inside the oven. They sounded like the sounds of tiny creatures. He was hesitant to open the oven, as he didn’t know what could possibly be in there. His fears were soon gone, however, as he saw that the oven was at a very hot temperature, so there was no way that anything was alive in there, so he just thought that it was the sounds of some wires or something.

“He reached out for the oven knob to turn it off, but it was stuck. He wondered how it could’ve possibly gotten stuck, as he had just used it an hour ago. He heard the noises again, but it was louder this time. He opened up the oven to find a tray of cupcakes. He pulled them out and placed it on the table behind him. He then turned to look at what could possibly have been making that noise.

“His questions were soon answered, as he heard steps coming from behind. He slowly turned around only to find that the cupcakes were gone from the tray. He was scared by this point, looking both left and right. He felt something tap his hoof. He looked down to find the cupcakes. He was about to run, but the cupcakes jumped at him with high pitch screams coming from each one. They clawed at his face and pushed him into the oven. The oven closed behind him, leaving Mr. Baker trapped in the oven forever!”

Fluttershy screamed loudly, wrapping her arms around Carter. Her scream scared all the other ponies more than Pinkie Pie’s ending. Fluttershy regained her senses and immediately pulled her arms away from Carter, blushing in embarrassment. Carter laughed loudly after seeing a reaction such as that come out of Fluttershy.

“I knew I’d scare you guys.” Pinkie Pie said.

“Meh, it was ok.” Rainbow Dash said.

“What!? You should’ve seen your faces!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“That was because of Fluttershy!” Applejack said. “No offense, but that story of yours was simply not enough.”

“Sorry, girls. I don’t know what got into me.” Fluttershy said. “I suppose I owe you a big sorry for my reaction, Carter.”

“You are fine, Fluttershy. If anything that made my day!” Carter said, laughing a bit to try and cheer her up. It did not work, though, as she just hid behind her pink mane yet again. Carter turned away from her, giving off a smug look at Rainbow Dash, who was staring at the two, shaking her head.

“Now then, you guys don’t know scary until you’ve heard mine.” Rainbow Dash said.

Many more stories were shared throughout the night, but none of them could really get any of the others in a scared state. One by one they tried their best to creep each other out of the skin, but to no avail. Celestia and Luna passed on telling their own stories and wanted to only listen to the others’ stories. They were just about to call it a night when they noticed that Carter had not gone.

“Carter, are you going to share a story?” Rarity asked.

“Do you girls even want me to tell one? You all look like a mix of tired and bored ponies.” Carter said.

“Of course we want to hear one. But make it actually scary!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “I’ve been intentionally trying to scare myself, but that isn’t even working.”

“Yes, dear. Do tell us a good story.” Rarity said.

“Ok, then. I think I have one.” Carter said. “This one is an old favorite from where I come from. It’s called the Screaming Tree.” The minute everypony heard this, they all shivered. Even Rainbow Dash felt a chill run through her body.

“What? No I didn’t just get scared!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“No one asked.” Applejack said, the other ponies laughed at her reaction.

“Oh… right.” Rainbow Dash said, slouching in her spot.

“Now, our story begins on a peaceful night in the summer season. A young colt was getting ready to meet his friends in the nearby forest for a camping trip. He was just done packing his things and left the house at a decent hour so that by the time he met up with his friends they would still have time to enjoy themselves before they needed to sleep.

“He got to the borders that separated the colt’s hometown from the forest and took the paved road that was safe for travellers to walk on. He made sure that it was the same one that his friends told him to take so that he’d meet them at the right place. He did eventually find some tents set up out in the distance and began to run over, feeling ever so anxious to start the night off right. But when he got there, something wasn’t right. He looked around the campsite and couldn’t find any of his friends. He was beginning to feel scared, and for good reason, too, for when he looked on the backside of their tents he found nothing but blood streaks across the fabric.”

“This one is gonna be good.” Rainbow Dash said quietly over to Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Twilight.

“Not the fabric.” Rarity whispered to herself.

The royal sisters were beginning to look over at each other every so often and their faces had quite a nervous look upon them. Fluttershy was nothing but a mess, quivering against the grass with her rump sticking in the air and shaking possibly even more than the rest of her body.

“The young colt was beginning to breathe heavily, trying desperately to think of what could possibly be going on. A prank perhaps? Not likely. His fears went up a notch after he heard what was quite possibly the loudest scream he had ever heard. It pierced through the air and made the colt certain that every other creature in the forest could hear it, too. The only problem was that it did not sound like a normal scream, but rather one that sounded like it came from a monster of sorts, as it sounded low pitched and augmented.”

Carter eyed the other ponies, who were sitting on edge. Even Pinkie Pie was a bit frantic, and he thought nothing could affect that one.

“He looked over some trees and found an old watch tower in the distance. He figured that perhaps that would be a place to look for help. He ran over there as quickly as he could, never once thinking of resting his adrenaline filled body. He climbed the stairs to the top of the watchtower and frantically looked for somepony to help him. There were no other ponies in the area. He did find an old radio. He pressed a button on it and immediately regretted his decision.

“The radio pumped out a loud broadcast of a news station that erupted through the forest. The poor colt tried to turn off the radio or even lower the volume, but the technology proved to be too much for the colt to understand. The broadcast just kept going on.

“‘There have been reports about a murder that has taken place within the forest. If you or somepony you know is or has made their way into that place by now, please take evasive action and warn them. The police are on their way now to examine the crime scene for themselves. Repeat, get everypony out of there, now!’

“The colt gave up and threw the radio onto the ground, breaking the radio and causing a flame to ignite the entire watchtower. He freaked out and ran away from the watchtower, slowly watching it burn into flames. The colt tried to regain his breath, but got back into a state of panic after finding an abnormally tall tree out in the distance… except it was moving.”

Fluttershy let out a yelp before running away. Rainbow Dash noticed this and flew over to her and grabbed her by her tail. She placed Fluttershy back in her spot and Rainbow Dash sat down in hers.

“Come on, Fluttershy. Just listen to it and then you can run away, scared and all.” Rainbow Dash said. Throwing her forehooves into the air with an agitated look on her face.

“Ok… I think I can do that.” Fluttershy whispered in a high pitch. Her eyes were so big that Carter thought he should just stop there. But alas, the others wanted him to continue.

“Anyway… the tall tree was moving, and it looked over at the colt. He knew his time drew short, as the tree, no... creature, began to chase after him. Once out of the dense group of branches and leaves, the creature looked to be a giant tree with skinny arms made of wood, standing about fifty feet tall. The monster let out a loud screeching sound as it chased the colt. The young pony screamed for help as he got up and ran in the opposite direction of the creature.

"The chase continued for what felt like many minutes, as the colt began to lose his breath. The monster looked to be gaining on the colt, so he had to do something, and fast. He eyed a small pipe and turned his direction to go for it. He barely got ahead of the monster enough to slide into the small pipe and begin crawling through it. The monster reached inside, only its arm was able to fit inside. It grabbed a hold of the colt’s leg and began to pull it out. The colt screamed for his life as he kicked his leg free and crawled away. Though he was out of the horror, his leg was severely wounded by the monster’s sharp claws, so he knew that if he had to run again, it wouldn’t work out.

"The colt climbed through the pipe, and at the end of it was where he found his hometown. It was something he had never thought of seeing again, and he limped his way back to his parents. He used every bit of energy left in him in hopes to see his family and friends at least one more time. He shouted for his parents once he was close enough, and they ran out of the room. They saw the state that their young colt was in and ran over to him to bring comfort to his soul. The colt was in tears, crying so hard, knowing that it was over and that he was back in the arms of his loving parents.

"They asked him about what happened, and he explained the whole story to them, knowing very well that they wouldn’t believe him one bit. However, they all looked into the vast darkness that surrounded the forest, and what they saw was the silhouette of the creature, which they now call… the Screaming Tree.”

“Oh… my… gosh.” Rarity said, holding her forehoof to her mouth.

“And so,” Carter said, flicking his head towards Fluttershy. “with that said, I should add that there are still Screaming Tree sightings almost every night.” He turned to Rainbow Dash. “They say that it will walk up to your house at the dead of night and stare at you through the window, and if you wake up and spot him,” Carter then turned to face the two sisters. “it will grab you with its long claws and rip you apart… but not before blaring out an ear piercing screech. The end.”

“Shoot. Now that was a story.” Applejack said. “Why, I think I have more goosebumps than I have ever had in my life.”

“I’ll say. I d-d-don’t think I will b-b-be able to sleep after th-th-that one.” Fluttershy said, shaking so much that even while Carter tried to hold her still, he too was shaking.

“It was pretty good, but not enough to scare me.” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, just thinking about it is ridiculous. A loud noise coming from a piece of wood? Please. You’re telling me that I am going to go to bed one day and look out my window, only to find this ‘Screaming Tree’ guy look at me and-”

All of a sudden, the most malicious shout came from behind Rainbow Dash, making her scream at the top of her little pegasus lungs and send her, quite literally, flying out of her seat and landing on the grass a few feet in front of her original position. The rest of the ponies, including Carter, also shouted at the sudden noise that swept over everypony’s ears.

“Where is he!? Fight me! I am not afraid of you!” Rainbow Dash shouted in a hoarse voice, holding up her forehooves in a fighting stance and frantically looking around for the source of the shout. Every other pony in the area went from scared straight to laughing and rolling around on the grass. “What!?”

“I didn’t think I was that scary, Dashie.” Rainbow Dash turned around and found Spike. He was crossing his arms and smiling with pride straight at her.

“You did that!?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Me? No, that was the monster. Obviously.” Spike said, his smug look never once leaving his face.

“No, that was you who shouted. I could tell it was you from any point in Equestria.” Rainbow Dash said defiantly.

“Why I’ll be, Dash.” Applejack started saying, as she wiped a tear from her eye after laughing so hard. “I think you have hit a new high in screams.”

“I did not… it was a set up.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to defend herself.

“Clearly.” Celestia said, looking over at Luna.

“Of course.” Luna said, trying to stop herself from laughing so much.

“Whatever, the story is over, so I guess the party's over.”

“Party! Over!?” Pinkie shouted, getting tears in her eyes at an astonishing pace. “I hate when parties are over.”

“You okay, Carter?” Twilight asked. She saw him fanning himself with his hoof while slowly petting the top of Fluttershy’s head, who was in the worst state of fear of her life.

“I was not expecting that, quite honestly. Not planned in any way, shape or form.” Carter admitted.

“I guess I am just the scariest creature in Equestria.” Spike said, looking deviously at Carter.

“Ha. It would definitely seem like that, wouldn’t it?” Carter said. He looked over at Fluttershy, who was trying desperately to get her breath back after hyperventilating for a solid minute. “Come on, Fluttershy. It’s over. Grow a spine and calm yourself."

Ok… maybe that was a bit harsh.

“Oh, I am so scared. I just, I can’t! I can’t! I…” Fluttershy fainted and fell to the ground.

“... Does she always do this?” Carter asked.

“Not always, but this isn’t at all the first time she has made herself faint.” Rarity said.

“Ok. Well isn’t that just great to know that I made her faint. I’ll remember to hold back next time we do this. If there ever is a next time.” Carter said, nervously laughing to himself.

“We must definitely do this again.” Celestia said as she stood up.

“Do you really have to go?” Twilight asked.

“I am afraid so.” Luna said. “But Twilight, thank you so much for inviting us to this. It has been so long since me and my sister have had any company.”

“Of course! Feel free to let us know if you would ever like to do anything like this in the future.” Twilight said.

“And you, boy.” Celestia said, looking over at Carter. “Thank you for joining us all. I sense greatness in you, which is not something I can truthfully say to everypony.”

“Thank you, your grace.” Carter said, bowing before the two sisters.

“We hope that you might one day find your way home.” Celestia said.

“But if that day never comes, don’t forget that you will always have friends in your life who will support you all the days of your life.” Luna added.

“I won’t, Luna.” Carter said.

“We are leaving, Twilight. Thanks again for such an amazing night.”

“Uh, you mean thank you, Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“Yes, thank you, Pinkie Pie.” Celestia said, laughing to herself. Soon following, the two sisters used their magic to teleport back to their home. Twilight turned back to the rest of the gang.

“Alright, everypony. It is time we return to our homes and rest.” Twilight said.

“Easy for you to say, Twilight. It’s the dead of night. None of us will be able to get home by this hour.” Rainbow Dash said, pointing to the moon, which rested in the middle of the sky. “For the record, you put it there. Remember?”

“Yeah, that might be an issue, Twilight.” Applejack said.

“You are right, girls. I guess a royal sleepover is in order.” Twilight said cheerfully.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she planned this.

“Sleepover!!!” Pinkie Pie shouted.

“Yes, a sleepover, dear.” Rarity said, rolling her eyes at the prancing, pink pony.

“I will get rooms for you girls squared away. In the meantime feel free to chat in the foyer while that gets taken care of.” Twilight said.

Twilight gestured for everypony to follow her back into the castle, which they did. Carter looked over at Fluttershy, who was still passed out on the grass. He shook his head and walked over to her. He picked her up and carried her on his back back into the castle.

“You are one strange, sad, little pony.” Carter said to Fluttershy, knowing that she wouldn’t hear any of it.

When Carter got into the foyer, rooms were already being shown to each of the ponies. When they asked for Fluttershy, Carter raised his hoof. He walked up to the guard and told him that she was dead asleep and that he would take her to her room. The guard simply nodded and let him go to the room.

Once Carter arrived, he quietly opened the door and turned on the lights. He found the bed and pulled away the covers so that he could lay her down on the mattress. He did so and adjusted her position so that she would wake up in the morning without any sore muscles. He then pulled the covers over her and placed her head on the pillow.

“Ugh. What happened?” Fluttershy suddenly said, waking up to find herself in one of the castle bedrooms.

“You passed out.” Carter said, looking at her with a smile on his face. “I just took you and placed you in here. It’s like midnight or something.”

“I passed out? Oh, I am so embarrassed.” She said, shaking her head in denial.

“Nothing to be ashamed about. It happens.” Carter said, using his hoof to quickly brush her mane away from her face. Though his expression showed no emotions, the mare sensed a bit of a loving side to the stallion after realizing all that he had done for her. “It’s late. Why don’t you get some shuteye.”

“Yeah, I think that is best.” Fluttershy said.

‘I think so, too. Goodnight, Fluttershy.” Carter said, turning around to turn off the lights.

“Goodnight, Carter.” Fluttershy said, adjusting her head to make herself feel comfortable against the pillow.

Carter shut the door behind him and walked towards the room that he was designated to. He found it and opened the door, looking at what was there. He saw a giant bed all to himself, along with a large window that led to a balcony where a great view of the city was seen. He closed the door behind him and walked over to the window.

Carter was not feeling tired and just wanted some time to himself. He stared out into the window and smiled. He was never one to admire a scenery when he saw one, but there were times when he would find himself enjoying a simple view. He looked out at the city below him, also eyeing Ponyville way off in the distance.

While looking out of the window, Carter saw his reflection in the glass. Though he physically saw a pony, he mentally saw his real, human self. He let out a sigh. He was still eager as ever to return home and live his normal life, yet after rethinking about the past events he had previously taken place in just this last day, he wondered if it was really worth it. He thought about just how much he’d miss his new friends if he were to leave.

“No, Carter. They are ponies. They mean nothing to you.” He said to himself, affirming that it was ok that he would eventually have to leave. But even then he felt a hole in his heart just by the thought of leaving them. He felt like more and more questions were appearing in his head, but no answers were ever getting received. He decided to let his mind calm down from all of the intense thoughts and he laid down in the bed. He pulled the covers over his body and placed his head on the pillow.

He got comfortable and began to close his eyes. He stopped, however, after he heard a voice call his name. He bolted out of bed and searched for the voice, as he knew that it wasn’t coming from the room. He opened the door and heard the voice again, this time it was a little louder compared to the first time. He was determined to find the source and left the room to seek out the one responsible for such a strange way of calling for him.

Carter found himself a couple of floors lower than where he started, making him feel uncomfortable about the situation. He continued hearing the same voice call out for him, each time getting louder than the last, so he knew he was close. He continued down the hall, looking all around for the pony that was calling his name.

“Behind you!”

Carter swiftly turned around and saw nothing but a statue. It was quite an interesting statue, though. It had the shape of evil looking creatures that seemed to want freedom from their stone prisons. The first looked like an evil pony with holes in its legs, which he found himself calling the swiss cheese goddess. The one in the back was a weak looking minotaur, with small, frail horns on the top of his head. The last one was a unicorn filly that looked like she had seen better days. Carter looked at the statue, feeling nothing but admiration for whoever made it.

“What a cool looking statue.” Carter said to himself.

“Yes, Carter. Do appreciate what you see before you.”

Carter looked both left and right to try and finally find the source of the voice.

“What do you want?” Carter said. Demanding that whoever was talking to him would reveal themself.

You can free us from our bonds! You must free us!

“Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t, all of Equestria will become corrupt, and everything you see before you will fall.”

Carter looked back at the statue.

“Yes, that’s right. Free us.”

“You seem like very bad creatures. I do not trust you.” Carter said firmly.

“You must!!!”

Carter fell to the ground and placed his forehooves against his ears. He tried to get the voices out of his head, but nothing he did seemed to stop them from entering his mind.

“Free us, or you will fail to see the light of day!”

“Leave me alone, you damn heathens. Be gone!” Carter shouted as loud as he could without intentionally meaning to, but what followed shortly after was what truly surprised him. A beam of red light escaped his horn and exploded into a bright light across the entire hallway.

“Fool. Your arrogance will cost you greatly. When we break out of this, you will be the first to go.”

Carter tried to forget whatever it was that he had just experienced, but he knew that something wasn’t right.

“Carter?” He turned to find Twilight at the other side of the hallway.

“Your majesty, forgive me. I hope I didn’t wake you up.” Carter said, holding his hoof to his head.

“What happened? Why were you yelling?” Twilight asked.

“I could’ve sworn that I heard a voice. It was calling me, telling me to free them. I don’t even know who they are.” Carter explained. Twilight looked at him with a confused look, but soon understood what he said once she looked at the statue.

“Oh. You heard it from this, didn’t you?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. I did… at least, I think I did.” Carter admitted.

“Strange. Some of my guards have said the same thing. I don’t understand.”

“I think that’s for the best, Twilight. I wouldn’t mess around with anything that shouldn’t be messed with.”

“Maybe you are right. Let’s get you back to your bed.” The two ponies walked back to Carter’s bedroom. He looked back at the statue, staring at it with an angry look on his face.

Do not mess with me.

Twilight opened the door and led Carter into the bedroom. Carter said nothing and simply laid in the bed and rolled over. Twilight wasn’t sure what was going on inside of his mind, so she sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to talk to him.

“Carter. What is going on? Be honest with me.” She said softly.

“... I will be honest with you, Twilight. Ever since I have arrived here at Equestria, I have become less understanding about the truths in this world. I thought friendship was just something that everyone has to hide their weaknesses; something that we just find comfort in. But here… friendship seems like something much greater. But it isn’t just that… it’s something else. It’s something that I can’t explain. This thing I feel brings a sense of fear, as if something evil will come upon me.”

“Well, Carter, I can tell you that from experience that I know what it is like to live without friends in your life, and I will say that it is no farther from the wrong thing to do.” Twilight’s words grabbed his attention. “Friendship is much more than just something in this world. Friendship is much greater, and much more deserving for everypony, and not just ponies, but everyone.”

“If what you say is true, then how can I learn this for myself?” Carter asked.

“How old are you?” Twilight asked.

“22.” Carter replied.

“Ok, so a year older than me.” Twilight said.

“Wait, what!?” Carter exclaimed. “You are a flipp’n princess of an entire land and you are merely 21!?”

“Yes. I am not like Celestia and Luna who grow up to be thousands of years old, ya know.” Twilight said.

“Right. I guess that makes sense.” Carter said, still surprised by the princess of friendship’s young age.

“Well, I am afraid you are too old to take part in my school of friendship… but you can do what I did when I was Celestia’s pupil.” Twilight said.

“What is that?” Carter asked.

“Everyday I would write down something that I learned about friendship and its purpose. Perhaps if you did that every time you got the chance, then you too would understand it like me and my friends do.”

“I see. I guess that wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.” Carter said. Twilight’s horn illuminated the room with a pink aura, as she used her magic to make a notebook and pen come out of nowhere.

“Use this, Carter. It’s one of the many notebooks I have in this castle. Use it to record what you have learned, and when you are ready you can show me what you have.” Twilight said.

“Why are you doing this for me?” Carter asked.

“I believe that everyone should have the experience of friendship in their lives. You are included, Carter.”

“Thank you, princess. I will do my best to understand this powerful force that you so call friendship.” Carter said, trying to sound sophisticated.

“I don’t doubt that you will do great.” Twilight said, hopping off of the bed. She walked over to the door and opened it, but looked back at Carter and smiled.

“Sleep well, Carter, and thank you for everything that you have done for me and my friends. I want to tell you that it doesn’t go unnoticed.” Twilight said.

“The same for you, your majesty. You have helped me become a better pony and a better friend.” Carter replied. Twilight winked at him before leaving the bedroom.

Carter laid down in his bed and stared off into the starry night outside the window. He looked back at the notebook and wondered what to write in it.

“Better to start now.” He said to himself. He opened up the notebook to the first page and began to write down his first lesson about friendship.

Friendship log, #001

Today, I have learned that friendship is something that is not only a thing that we need in each of our lives, but also something that we must not take for granted. It is important to not just have friends, but to also be a friend to those around us. It is not easy to keep friends close to you, but take every chance that you can to be with them and make each one of them feel special, as that is one of the many things that makes friendship such a powerful magic: positivity. I missed many adventures in life because I was too afraid of making friends, but starting now, I won't be the same.

With that, Carter placed the notebook on the nightstand beside him and readied himself for a great slumber. He closed his eyes without hesitation and happily drifted off to sleep, leaving all of his questions for another day. He knew not what tomorrow would bring, but knew that whatever it was he would hold strong and tackle any and all obstacles that would come his way. He owed the others for their kindness and compassion, and he was determined to return the favor in some way.

Author's Note

Bit of a longer chapter, I know, but builds upon character development.

Still crazy to think that the series canonically ended with the Royal Sisters' retirement and Twilight becoming the new leader of Equestria, but it does make sense. We sometimes get so caught up in the present that we find it hard to accept change. Damn, I loved season 9... Except for Discord's plan to boost Twilight's confidence by becoming Grogar. What an A-hole, almost creating MLP season 10: Marefinity War.

But I digress. XD

As always, be sure to comment and feel free to ask about any questions.

Peace out! 😉