Author's Note
First story in the site.
Trees
"Cutie Mark Crusaders potion brewing!"
As it couldn't get anymore frustrating, they still had to persevere. The sun had already completed three-fourths of its day cycle yet no imprint of a cutie mark had poofed into existence on either of the fillies' flank. As much as most of the activities they tried were deemed unsuccessful, they still had time for possibly one more. But in order to increase their chances of finding their talents in it, they had to go towards an equine with a much seasoned experience on the field. One that quite particularly calls the Everfree Forest her home. The three fillies decided to travel towards her cottage that's not situated too far from the bustling town of Ponyville, and can be reached within trotting distance, although that would take a bit of time.
"Ughh, this HAS to be it! I don't want our day of hard work to go to waste!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed in frustration. The filly sighed.
"Aw don't worry Sweets! I just might have some knowledge in this. I've been to Zecora's place to help her before! We might just get this in the bag, hopefully" Applebloom replied optimistically.
"Oh alright then, let's just give in our last push for the day." Sweetie Belle replied back, feeling a bit determined yet reluctant after seeing the results of everything else they've tried beforehoof.
"Well, even if we get back home unsuccessful, at least we sorta had fun exploring. I really enjoyed some of the stuff that we've done today, even if it ended badly." Scootaloo chimed in.
"I'll agree with you on that one!" Applebloom replied.
"Same here!" Sweetie Belle followed in.
The CMCs were getting closer to Zecora's humble hut. Despite knowing about the spookiness that the forest had, they had the sun shining for them through the many dead trees which diminished any implication of that. The remaining daylight shone towards the hut, lighting up a bright path towards it. The three fillies travelled under the unblocked sunlight, eager to earn their cutie marks during their first day.
"Wow! I could see a lot of birds and critters hanging around the trees. I think I could recognize a few! Ooh! Ooh! That must be a woodpecker!" Applebloom exclaimed excitedly. "Hey you girls! Maybe if this turns out unsuccessful, we could try bird spotting on the way back!" She continued.
"Hmm, I like that idea! It doesn't seem so hard after all, I can even spot a few of 'em!" Scootaloo replied with a support for Applebloom's proclamation.
"Huh, you're not wrong alright, I could see some canaries here and there. Zecora must be brewing something up using a whole lot of leaves!" Sweetie Belle analyzed.
"Hmm, come to think of it, why would she need that many leaves?" Scootaloo curiously asked.
"It's Zecora alright! She can make anything out of anything! As a matter of fact, she must be stockin' up when she brews somethin'. You know, for trial and error." Applebloom confidently replied.
"That sounds definitely like her." Said Scootaloo. "Hey look! We're here!" She exclaimed.
"Alright girls, time to earn our cutie marks, hopefully!" Sweetie Belle spoke in confidence and anticipation. As she removed her helmet, she disembarked the wagon Scootaloo's trusty scooter was pulling and trotted up to knock on Zecora's front door. The three adventurous fillies all walked up towards the door, waiting for her reply.
"Ah, greetings my little ponies, I wonder what is it that you all need." Zecora happily greeted. She had not seen the trio, let alone Applebloom for a while, so she's ready to provide for whatever purpose towards them. The Crusaders all smiled gleefully in unison, as their last hope for the day has answered.
Some time has passed
"Its time to say goodbye, as the sun lowering for the night." Zecora rhymed as she opened the door for the fillies.
"Well thanks again for letting us try, Zecora." Applebloom replied in defeat.
"Oh don't take it so hard, for one day you'll find a talent and a mark!" Zecora reassured, hoping that her words would comfort them.
Sweetie Belle buckled her helmet and sighs. "Hey uhh, thanks for believing for us, at least we learnt a lot from that experience!" Zecora nodded gladly.
The trio waved back at Zecora as Scootaloo began flapping her wings in a motion similar to a propeller in order to propel her scooter forwards. Zecora waved back as she and her hut began getting smaller from their point of view.
"Well, still no cutie mark, guess we have to try again tomorrow." Scootaloo sulked.
"Hey! We still got bird watching as a last minute resort." Applebloom chimed in reassurance.
"Yeah but, aren't all the critters asleep? We won't be able to find a lot of them!" Sweetie Belle replied.
"Oh yeah, you're right." Applebloom realized.
The moonlight illuminated brightly as the trio travelled back into town. Usually it would be hard to know one's bearings in a forest like Everfree, but Scootaloo showed no signs of doubt on her point of view.
"Man, I'm exhausted. I could definitely use some shut eye." Sweetie Belle yawned.
"I'm with you on that one." Applebloom replied tiredly.
"Huh, come to think of it, I noticed there weren't any leaves used at Zecora's place. Did you notice that too AB?" Sweetie Belle wondered in confusion.
"Hmmm, not so sure I did. Maybe she had already used them." Applebloom yawned.
"Eh, I'll take your word for it." A reassured Sweetie Belle replied.
Some time has passed
"Bye AppleBloom!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yelled out as they bid farewell towards the earth filly.
"Bye girls! See ya soon!" Applebloom yelled back. She then sighed in relief as she turned back towards the barn, glad that she had arrived just in time for curfew. Moments passed as the Apple family were bonding over dinner and chatting about their day. Finally, it was time for bed. Applebloom was ready for the following day and decided to rest up early to gain some energy. Before she hopped onto the bed, she took the time to admire the starry night that Princess Luna had to offer for the time being. She sighed happily, knowing that one day she will experience the joy of finally receiving a cutie mark, no matter what it represents. AppleBloom then glared around the ginormous apple farm, seeing the many stars hiding behind the leaves and the trunks of the trees. She then hopped onto her bed, and slowly closed her eyes, ready to skip the night.
AppleBloom jolted back up in confusion and hopped out before looking out through her window. She was scouting. Scouting for something strange, somewhere around the groves of the farm. Uneasiness crept up on her. Her mind spotted something in her mental image earlier beforehoof.
"They're just bright white stars. Nothing to see here." She thought to herself. As unnerving as that moment was, she decided to carefully shrug it off and get back to bed. She slowly closed her eyes, ready......to skip the night.
Applebloom groaned. She slowly began to lift her eyelids. Celestia had risen up the sun once again, as the yellow rays of sunlight greeted her eyes through the window. Applebloom slowly got on her hooves and trotted towards the window, glaring through the grove farms of Sweet Apple Acres. She then thought about the rapid sequence of events that occurred last night, about how for some reason, she overreacted all because she thought that there was something on the trees. Her mind was racing that time, which led to the event being sort of vague. Applebloom sighed and began trotting downstairs for breakfast. She didn't want to overthink it and lose her mind going down a rabbit hole in the process.
Applebloom trotted downstairs and saw what had been prepared at the table. She greeted the rest of the Apples took a seat between Granny Smith as she began to dig in on some waffles. After every couple of bites she had taken on a piece, Applebloom would turn her head around and glance towards the window displaying the furthermost groves of the farm. The lingering thought hasn't fully dissolved into nothing, as she swore that something did happen, but she couldn't describe it whatsoever. Applebloom nevertheless made sure that her actions won't be so frequent that it would capture the family's attention, and that she'd had to explain herself which would make it a bit embarrassing. Once breakfast was concluded, Applebloom prepared herself to trek towards Saddle Lake, where the girls had planned to go for their next crusade. She began trotting out of the barn, but not before Applejack came out to advise her on something.
"Don't wander off so late Applebloom! I've heard that its gonna be a foggy day in town." Applejack called out.
"Alrighty, bye sis!" Applebloom replied back, heeding her advice.
Trotting towards the lake, Applebloom gazed over the scenery of tiny grass hills. Applejack was right, the fog had begun to seep through, although it wasn't much, as the Pegasi had planned for more of it later throughout the day and the following night. Visibility would slowly begin to limit itself more as the day passes, but despite all of that, Applebloom would be fine to live with that for the time being. She continued to trot past a couple of dead trees, until she finally caught the sight of the lake, as well as her fellow crusaders hanging about with small paddleboards and creating pyramids on the sand.
"Hey y'all! I guess we're doing a 2 in 1 on the lake?" Applebloom asked curiously.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Scootaloo wondered in confusion.
"Uhh, I meant that we're paddleboarding and building sandcastles that are like, bigger than you girls, from what y'all have already planned." Applebloom replied, a bit taken aback bit Scootaloo's answer.
"What? Oh! Those things? Yeah about that....We didn't make those." Scootaloo reluctantly replied, knowing that she would confuse Applebloom.
"Uhh...okay then. Wonder what those are for." Applebloom pondered.
"Oh don't worry about it. We were just as confused when we got here. We think the townsfolk did it to mark a path back to Ponyville because of the oncoming fog. There's even some on the grass not too far away!" Sweetie Belle replied reassuringly.
"Alright I guess, this must be a new thing! I remember some ponies were lost the last time we had a foggy day here." Applebloom concluded. "So we're paddleboarding only, right?" She asked.
"Yeah! I already got some here that we borrowed. Let's hop to it!" Scootaloo announced.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders paddleboarding!"
Slowly but surely, the trio were getting the hang of it. They began to paddle with their mouths through the still water, and decided to circle around a sand pyramid. They all decided to go in a single file line, as they kept a consistent pace between each others' boards. They continued to loop around for a couple of minutes, patiently waiting for something to happen.
"Anything yet?" Asked Sweetie Belle.
"Nope, not at all." Scootaloo replied.
"Nothing here yet." Applebloom followed.
"Still no cutie mark at all. How long should this keep going?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"We should probably do a few more loops. Then maybe something will happen." Scootaloo suggested.
"Alright. This is sorta starting to get to nowhere." Sweetie Belle replied in near defeat.
The trio continued to paddle around the lake, but this time going through their separate ways and increasing their speed by a margin to make it a tad more effective. Despite knowing that an appearance of a cutie mark was quite unlikely, they still had fun paddling on the water. Sweetie Belle giggled as she passed through Scootaloo within a close range of their boards. and she did the same back to her. Scootaloo passed through Applebloom this time, and smiled at her. Applebloom wanted to return the favor, so she turned around to smile at him. She then turned back around to her front view and continued to paddle.
Immediately, Applebloom's board began to wobble due to her legs quivering. Applebloom's face filled with shock as she felt paralyzed. Her six senses skyrocketed as she felt a jolt and snapped her head looking behind. But before her mind can process anything, her legs gave out as she plunged on the lake water. The other crusaders took notice of this and gasped, before paddling hastily towards Applebloom, rushing towards her aid. Thankfully, she was donning a life vest like the rest of them, so she remained afloat face-up.
"Applebloom! Are you alright? You accidentally tipped over!" Sweetie Belle asked eagerly.
"Don't worry AB, you're gonna be fine. You just fell in the water. Let's get you back to shore." Scootaloo reassured.
Applebloom finally caught on the moment as she popped her head up to speak to the crusaders.
"I..uhh...I..I...T-There was somethin'!" She stuttered. "I saw!"
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Scootaloo asked in a mildly confused state.
"Saw what?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
Applebloom stuttered. She in fact saw something, but something was rather a broad word in this case. She tried to pick the most accurate words scrambled in her brain, but to no avail, the details remain to be vague and blurry.
"I-In the fog! I saw somethin'! It was on the pyramid!"
"What?" Sweetie Belle paddled closer towards it. "There's nothing there!" She yelled back.
"What did it look like? Are you sure you weren't just uhh, hallucinating?" Scootaloo asked curiously.
"No! No! I swear I wasn't! It had uhh....It had..." Applebloom tried to recall the recent occurence. It all happened so fast. Just like last night, when her mind allegedly caught on to something on her mental image. She couldn't quite describe what all of it was back then, but now, she might just possibly could. Soon enough, two words echoed on her mind. It was sort of far-fetched, but it would somehow just make a bit of sense.
"White eyes." She emotionlessly stated.
"White....huh?" Scootaloo asked, now really confused and taken aback.
"I-It had eyes. It was looking at me! Glowing!" Applebloom listed as much as she could.
"Y-You're not making any sense AB." Scootaloo replied, trying to make out of what occurred.
"B-But I am! Well, no but yes! UGGH! How do I explain all of this?" Applebloom yelled out in frustration.
"So you're saying that something was looking at, or like, watching you?" Sweetie Belle asked as she disembarked her paddleboard.
"Yes! It was quite hard to see. But I swear I did! I was probably the only one to see it." Applebloom replied, hoping that she would have convinced the crusaders by now.
"Yeah I shouldn't be believing in this hooey, but judging from what you've experienced, I'm sort of in the middle of it." Scootaloo replied, half convinced. "I mean, you're not pulling a prank on us right? Cuz you know, I ain't scared of the fog."
"No! Why would I? I'm not even convinced that I could have pulled a good prank!" Applebloom replied, desperate for them to understand her side of the story.
"Well okay then, we believe you. But right now, I think we should get back to town. I think it's best if we could get things settled first." Sweetie Belle replied, hoping that whatever this occurrence is, would become resolved as quickly as she had anticipated.
Applebloom sighs. "Alright then. But, how am I gonna spill the story? Everypony would think that I'm crazy!"
"Oh don't you worry, there has to be a reasonable explanation! Right now, I'm thinking that its some sort of wild animal." Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Ehh, maybe. But somethin' about it seemed so off. Or maybe I just overreacted. Who knows?" Applebloom replied in doubt.
"Yeah, maybe you were. You do get pretty jumpy sometimes. And in a foggy day? Now that's more likely to happen for you, rather than something else unusual." Scootaloo replied as she helped the rest of the girls pack up their things onto the wagon.
"Hmm...maybe, but still, I'm not too entirely sure." Applebloom replied back.
"Hey guys? Why don't we go to the clubhouse and like, hang out there? We can discuss a few things, especially our next cutie mark activities!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
"Sounds like great idea to me. I'm all out of options for the rest of the day, so let's get to it!" Scootaloo replied confidently. She began to flap her wings, and just like that, the CMCs were off back to town from Saddle Lake. Visibility was starting to get a lot more limited, so Scootaloo equipped her helmet with a wrapped torch, giving her an advantage. They zipped through the hills and dead trees, and through some of the grass pyramids. They passed through him and some ponies, steering clear of any of their paths to avoid a collision. Moments later, they were zipping across Sweet Apple Acres, until they have finally arrived at the clubhouse, where their main hangout spot is situated. They deboarded the scooter-wagon and began trotting up the slopes towards the entrance before heading inside.
"No no no, not this. Oh, we've already done that." Scootaloo silently spoke as she marked around the ponyville map, looking for other opportunities to try out. Sweetie Belle was slowly trotting in circles helping Scootaloo come up with new ideas, all while Applebloom was busy staring out the window emotionlessly towards the day fog. Sweetie Belle, upon seeing her in that state, broke out of her brainstorm and trotted up towards her.
"Hey uhh, you okay? That thing must have really made your head spin, didn't it?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying to reassure Applebloom.
Applebloom sighed. "Yeah, it did. Two times already. I think I saw it last night too. Before I went to sleep."
"Are you sure you're really not seeing things? It sure could have been like...I don't know, a timberwolf?" Sweetie Belle curiously responded. "I mean, we do live in a magical world after all."
"No, I don't think so. Don't they have like, green and yellow eyes?" Applebloom replied.
"Oh yeah, right. But still, don't you think you're still overreacting? You've been nervous ever since the day started." Sweetie Belle asked.
"I...well.....I honestly think that I am, maybe its just the fog; or even the night. Those could make you see crazy things." Applebloom replied, yet somehow doubtful.
"You're right, although there isn't enough proof on what it is, I think it's best that we wait patiently for what's to come." Sweetie Belle assured as she patted around Applebloom's neck. Sweetie Belle then went back to her brainstorming. She thought hard, until it came to her.
"Hey guys! I know what we can do! We should go cave mining! My older sister Rarity does that sometimes, she can probably help us!" Sweetie Belle announced.
"Oh sweet! That's a great idea! We could find so many gems! We're gonna be looking for treasure!" Scootaloo exclaimed in excitement.
"Wait, mining...in the dark?" Applebloom gulped.
"Oh don't be so nervous. We're gonna get Rarity to help us! Don't worry, we won't be exposed to the outdoors, and we'll stick together no matter what." Scootaloo confidently replied.
"Well, alright, but...." Applebloom silently spoke.
"So are you in or are you out?" Scootaloo asked eagerly.
"Well, I'm not so sure..." Applebloom silently replied.
"Oh come on, this could be our chance!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
"Scoots, slow down. Applebloom needs some time to think about it. Obviously she's just experienced something that frightened her. So maybe we should cut her some slack for now." Sweetie Belle lectured out at her, a bit annoyed by her behaviour.
"Oh, sorry for rushing that, It's okay if you don't want to, but as I said, we'll stick together and have a grown up beside us." Scootaloo softly spoke, hoping to ease Applebloom as she's deciding.
"Hmm, alright then, I think I'll be fine. I know how much we all want a cutie mark, so let's give it a go!" Applebloom answered. "But promise that we stick together?"
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." They all spoke in unison.
"Thanks y'all, now I don't feel too nervous after all." Applebloom spoke in relief.
"Oh it's alright. We all look out for one another, right?" Sweetie Belle asked rhetorically. Scootaloo nodded.
"Huh, it appears to be getting dark now, I think we should get going." Sweetie Belle stated.
"Oh yeah, I should get back to the barn. Don't want to come home late at this time of day." Applebloom replied.
The crusaders then trotted out and headed down the clubhouse. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle prepared themselves to travel back towards their homes.
"Bye Applebloom!" Yelled out the two of them.
"Bye y'all! See ya tomorrow!" Applebloom waved back as she bid them farewell. The two fillies zoomed out of her vision, and towards the fog, heading for down town. Applebloom sighed as she began trotting back towards the barn. The fog was getting thicker as the sun began setting, so she would have to trot a bit faster. Applebloom was casually heading down the groves, navigating her way back to the barn. Silence fell within each step she took. There were no nearby critters or animals, so no noise were produced. It was peacefully quiet, with only Applebloom's hoofsteps being audible.
It was quiet. Perhaps even too quiet. Applebloom tried to ignore the silence. But as time went on, the silence refused to fade out, as Applebloom was constantly rifting through the foggy groves. She tried to brush it off, but within each clip, and each clop, her heart continued to race. She tried to breathe and calm herself down, but all she can ever think of, is how vulnerable she thinks she is. Applebloom was on the edge, her anxiety slowly rising as the silent fog built nothing but suspense and adrenaline. She slowly started to pick up her pace and went from trotting to galloping. She doesn't want to stay in the fog for too long, and she didn't want to look anywhere else other than the front. She galloped, expecting anything to happen at this point. All she wanted was to reach the barn door and call it a day, but a lingering feeling didn't want her to feel just that. It wanted her to feel more than she already was. Applebloom galloped, knowing; That she is being watched.
"Applebloom! There you are!" Cried out Applejack. Applebloom had finally arrived. The barn lights illuminating its yellow rays shone down towards her. It began to get brighter as she finally reached the barn. Applejack was holding a lantern, watching out for Applebloom, whom she slowly reduces herself to trotting speed, finally going beside her older sister.
"Man, I was hopin' that you'd somehow won't get lost. How was Saddle Lake for ya'll anyways? Applejack asked, eager to hear about her younger filly's day.
"Fine, I guess. Hey uhh, we might head down to the caves with Rarity tomorrow, hopefully you'd be fine with that." Applebloom said.
"Oooh, I'm not too sure about that. I've heard Rarity's caught up on a busy schedule, so your plans might be in turmoil." Applejack replied. Applebloom was somehow glad, but a bit disappointed, knowing that her friends might not be able to get a cutie mark from that.
"Anyways, let's get you inside. The fog is getting thicker. Heard that a few ponies got lost but thankfully made their way back." Applejack stated.
"Huh, did they use the pyramids that you guys dug up?" Applebloom wondered.
"Uhhh, what...pyramids?" Applejack asked in confusion.
"The ones that you and the townsfolk made! You know, to help point the way back to town." Applebloom replied, yet in mild confidence.
"Uhhhh....We never do that? As far as I know we only use torches and many other sources of light. You alright, sugarcube? You must be seeing things." Applejack chuckled. "How silly, although that idea doesn't sound half bad now...".
"Well then, somepony must have done it. If they didn't, then...who did?" Applebloom was now taken aback by this her confusion grew for a short period of time.
"Oh it must be some burrows for the critters. Probably even set up by Fluttershy!" Applejack replied confidently.
"Uhh.. I don't think so...." Applebloom silently spoke as she stopped on her tracks while watching Applejack trot towards the kitchen. Right away, Applebloom thought of it. About how it all could link with whatever she saw that day. However, Applebloom physically shook her head as she went up. The idea of it sounded eerie, but it just wouldn't make sense at all. It just somehow wouldn't. She decided to ignore anything related to that, as it would keep her up all night.
Author's Note
short chapter
Believe
"Bye Scootaloo!"
"Cya soon, Sweetie Belle!"
And just like that, The orange pegasus zipped off towards the mist. The night had loomed over Ponyville, accompanied with the fog that seeped through the town as well as the occasional floating blobs of yellow lights from the lanterns and lit houses. Sweetie Belle quickly trotted back inside the boutique, eager for some dinner as her hunger hadn't been satisfied during the day. Dinner went normal as both Rarity and Sweetie Belle normally conversed, mainly about their day. It wasn't long until Sweetie Belle pitched up her idea for their next crusade towards her.
"So uhhhh, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle carefully asked.
"What is it, Sweetie Belle?" Rarity questioned.
"If you're not so busy tomorrow, would you be be able to take us to the caves and search for gems?" Sweetie Belle requested, eagerly hoping that her big sister would comply willingly.
"Oooh, sorry dear. I-I don't think I could do so, I've got a couple orders to tend towards," Rarity regrettably answered.
"Oh, well okay. Maybe we could try some time later? Like maybe the afternoon?" Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Hmmm, I suppose a time like that would be appropriate. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess," Rarity replied with a hint of doubt. "However, don't be so sure that we would push through with your plans tomorrow," She advised.
"I know, we'll still find other things to do if that's the case," Sweetie Belle replied.
"Then it's settled. Promise, sooner or later I'll be able to take you there, okay?" said Rarity, "Who knows, we might end up with similar cutie marks if you're lucky!" She winked.
"Well, I hope so. Thanks anyways. Good luck on finishing the dresses!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed as she began to trot to her room.
"Ah well, thank you dear. I might need it after all," Rarity replied, sighing as she got off the table.
Sweetie Belle entered her room as she yawned. She felt anticipated for the following day, as there laid a chance of getting their cutie marks around that time. She then hopped onto her bed, however she wasn't feeling that sleepy. Sweetie Belle then proceeded to take up a book about cutie marks and have a little reading time until her eyes can't resist to shut. She sighed in relaxation. It was a peaceful night, the fog gently sweeping outside the window, the yellow lamps glowing within the mist, the warmth of her room, Sweetie Belle couldn't ask for a more relaxing moment.
It wasn't long until her eyes began to feel weary. The little white filly placed down the book and switch off the yellow room lights, ready to hit the hay as she dropped her head on the pillow and covered her body with the blanket. Her breathing relaxed and eased, as she slowly opened her eyes again, catching a small glimpse of the bright white lamps outside, before finally closing, ready to enter the dream world.
Sweetie Belle gasped as she jolted back up. It wasn't a dream. She shot a look towards the window, glaring at the mist. All she saw that accompanied it were the yellow lamps. Her anxiety levels rose as she felt her heart going through a sprinting race. She remembered everything now. Once doubtful, now all of that was gone. She finally believed her.
Immediately, Sweetie Belle felt as she needed to go to the bathroom. She took action as she got down and rushed towards the door and opened it. She was then greeted by the darkness that loomed over the hallway. Sweetie Belle caught a glimpse at the bathroom door, which stood across the hallway. She was sweating profusely, feeling a bit reluctant to move, as tension began to rise, and so did her senses. Fortunately, she mustered up the courage and galloped straight for the bathroom. She kept her vision forwards, not bothering to look behind, or any of her sides too. As she reached the door, she quickly opened it and slammed it shut before locking it, right before attending towards her business.
As she sat down, Sweetie Belle slowly caught up towards her breath. Her business temporarily relieved her, as that ground breaking thought snatched all of that relief away. Sweetie Belle sat there in the bathroom, contemplating everything that had just went down. Is it possible? Is it all true? Was Applebloom fully right all along?
Were those "White Eyes" really there?
All these questions circled Sweetie Belle yet she initially still held no answer to any of them. However, the evidence was right there. Those white eyes were staring back at her for a split moment. It appeared to be all true after all. Sweetie Belle felt overwhelmed by all this. She wanted to go back to bed, but she knows that this may keep her up all night. She initially thought of joining Rarity in her bedroom, but quickly dismissed it as she might not take this seriously. Sweetie Belle wanted to be brave nonetheless, so she decided to stay right in her room, and not bother looking out at the window until next morning.
Sweetie Belle slowly trotted away from the bathroom and through the dark hallway. Her anxiety rose again, as she hung her head low, feeling beyond intimidated. She can't help but imagine him to appear almost anywhere, possibly even behind her, or even waiting; Waiting in her room. Sweetie Belle then gulped as she bolted quickly towards her room, She began to shut and lock her door, before rushing towards the window and covering it completely with the curtains. Sweetie Belle proceeded to hop towards her bed, and this time she covered herself fully with the blankets over her entire body. She had tried everything. Everything to escape the feeling of being watched. She wanted to quickly enter the dream world and leave all of this behind, but she knew that it would have to take a while to fully calm herself.
