The atmosphere was relatively peaceful in Fluttershy’s house. Despite the ominous wind howling through the various holes and openings in the cottage, and the looming shape of the Everfree Forest in the distance, everyone was actually managing to have a pleasant time. Even Fluttershy was able to push her gnawing fear aside to enjoy the time with her friends.

Rainbow Dash was sitting on the couch with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie was rocking her leg back and forth while lying on her back and propping her head up against the side of a chair, and Tom was sitting in a chair across from the others while leaning back casually.

“Well, it’s official… I’m bored out of my mind.” Rainbow Dash droned tiredly. The group had been waiting for several minutes for something to happen, but the only interesting thing to arise from the night was the wind rustling through the brush on the roof.

“Maybe we could play a game of some sort… any ideas Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked the resident partygoer of the group. Pinkie looked away while deep in thought and pondered for a while on the matter. She suddenly looked up and exclaimed in discovery.

“Oooh, I know! We can play truth or dare.” Pinkie suggested eagerly. Everyone else seemed open to the idea, but were unsure of whether or not they could come up with anything good.

“Alright, I’m game… who goes first?” Tom asked while looking around at the others. The three ponies looked amongst themselves for a moment while deciding who would volunteer.

“*sigh* I guess I’ll start us off.” Rainbow Dash stated before thinking about what question to ask which person. She meditated on her thoughts for a while before looking up with a deviously eager grin.

“Alright, Pinkie… truth or dare?” Rainbow asked with a sly look on her face. The pegasus’s question excited the pink mare as she giggled with anticipation. She furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. before looking back up with confidence.

“Why not make things interesting? I choose dare.” Pinkie spoke with excited resolve. Rainbow Dash smirked as her plan came to fruition.

“I was kind of hoping you would say that… now then, let me think.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself for a moment while elaborating on her thoughts. “Aha! I got one… I dare you to try and catch Tom.” The cyan pony’s dare surprised and confused the others in the room, most of all being the human himself.

“What…? Why?” Tom asked in a confused tone while looking between the two with a puzzled expression. The cyan mare chuckled to see the expected reaction from the human.

“Well, Pinkie is very… energetic, so I was wondering if you could dodge her while she tries to tag you.” Rainbow Dash said while glancing over to Pinkie knowingly. The party pony giggled before looking to the human with a sinister gleam in her eyes.

“Oh boy…” Tom gulped nervously as he watched the pink pony starting to get up from her seat while maintaining eye contact. He slowly planted his feet on the ground and prepared to move while observing Pinkie anxiously. Suddenly, the pink mare sprang out of her chair and pounced towards the human with unrivaled speed.

“Hyah!” Pinkie yelled fiercely while flying through the air towards the human.

Much to everyone’s surprise, the boy quickly leapt into the air backwards and flipped over the chair. He landed on both feet and placed his hands on the top of the chair while he watched Pinkie slam into the now empty space. The pink mare lifted her head out of the cushion from where she had impacted and looked around with a confused expression.

“What the…?” Pinkie muttered in a daze while looking around for the missing human. She finally peered over the chair and met his gaze as he smirked at her deviously.

“Did you really think it would be that easy? If you want to catch a slayer, you need to earn it.” Tom taunted confidently while tensing his muscles in preparation to dodge out of the way of any assault the pink pony would launch next.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched with anxious uncertainty as the two leered at each other pensively with the chair serving as a mediator between them. As Tom would make a swift movement to one side of the chair, Pinkie would match his movement before both would settle back in place to try and fake the other out.

“Raaaghh!” Pinkie yelled a battle cry as she jumped up and over the chair to get at the human, but by the time she was stepping up on the chair to get a platform to jump from, Tom was already diving to the side and rolling to get back on his feet. As the pink pony landed and followed the human with her head, she turned and started running after him with frightful enthusiasm.

“You know, we probably shouldn’t be doing this inside!” Tom stated in between breaths as he ran in circles around the two ponies on the couch to escape his pursuer.

“Well just don’t break anything then, it would probably slow you down anyway!” Pinkie retorted as she tried her best to cut the human off in certain places to gain ground on him. The two zigged and zagged around the room as they continued their game of cat and mouse.

Eventually the two were on opposite sides of the couch. They leered at each other past the two bystanders on the couch while catching their breath. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were looking between the two while hugging their legs tight against their bodies to prevent someone from knocking into them at high speeds.

“Just give up already…*Pant*” Tom spoke up in an attempt at ending the chase. Pinkie shook her head in between pants while trying to catch her breath to speak.

“If you think you can tire me out… you’ve got another thing coming mister.” The pink mare spoke with as much determination as her current state of exhaustion could allow while staring down the human with a determined expression.

“I may not be able to tire you out… but I can out live you if we keep this up long enough.” Tom retorted jokingly while mustering a smirk. The pink pony chuckled weakly as her body prevented her from producing anything more than a slight laugh.

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to catch you before then huh?” Pinkie replied before bolting out to the side again. Tom huffed in annoyance before running away from the energetic pink blur.

The boy jumped into the air backwards in an attempt to backflip over the incoming pink mare. Much to his surprise, he failed to locate the party pony as he was in the air. He looked around in confusion for a moment while trying to find where she went.

“Wait what the…?” Tom muttered in bewilderment at the apparent disappearance of the pony. Suddenly, a blurry pink shape slammed into the human’s chest, knocking him off balance. As he slid along the floor and slowly came to a stop, he noticed a familiar pink pony grinning down at him while sitting on his stomach.

“Got you!” Pinkie announced in a cheerful tone before hopping off and raising her hooves in celebration. Tom laid on the floor for a moment in confusion at his sudden loss.

“But… how did you…? Where did you come from?” The boy stammered in a confused daze as he tried to figure out the logistics of what just happened.

“Duh, I came from beside you… you’re not the only one who can move fast you know. I saw that you were trying to flip over me, so I just jumped to the side and hid out of your sight until you landed.” Pinkie explained in a satisfied tone. Tom was understandably upset that he just lost to a pony.

“Alright then… fair enough I suppose. Let’s just go sit down and continue the game.” The human groaned tiredly as he plopped into his chair. “And please… no more dares that involve running or jumping.” He sighed while sinking into the chair further to relax.

“Good job Pinkie, you get to go next since you won.” Rainbow Dash congratulated the pink pony on her achievement. Pinkie smiled in excitement before giving an eager cheer.

“Yay! Now what should I do? Hmmm…” The pink mare rubbed her temples as she thought of something to do. She then looked up and smiled again.

“Ok Fluttershy, now it’s your turn. Truth… or dare?” Pinkie spoke while putting devious emphasis on her words. Fluttershy was caught off guard by her sudden inclusion into the game, but was eager to participate, if not a little nervous.

“Umm… well umm… I guess I’ll go with… truth?” Fluttershy stated with uncertainty as she wondered whether or not she would regret playing this game.

“Hmm… Alright then, if you could trade lives with anyone in this room, who would it be?” Pinkie asked quizzically while watching the pegasus with an intrigued expression. Fluttershy thought about it for a moment as the question peaked her interest.

“I guess I would have to say you, Pinkie.” Fluttershy finally looked back up and replied. The yellow pony’s answer surprised the pink mare and made her feel a little flattered.

“Really? I would have figured you would pick Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie reasoned while looking over to the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash sort of expected the same answer.

“Well… you’re always so happy and cheerful no matter what the circumstances are. Anypony would want to be that happy.” Fluttershy explained with a loving tone of admiration.

“Aww… Thanks Fluttershy.” Pinkie smiled at her friend while giving her a heartfelt expression. Fluttershy returned the gesture before looking down in thought again.

“Alright… I guess it’s my turn now… Tom, truth or dare?” The pegasus asked timidly while trying to get up the courage to ask something of interest.

“Truth…” The human replied with slight intrigue. Fluttershy thought for a moment before gulping nervously.

“I… don’t feel comfortable asking the only thing I can think of right now.” The yellow mare said while looking down uncomfortably.

“Come on… It’s truth or dare, Fluttershy. The whole point is to ask about things that people wouldn’t normally say.” Rainbow Dash spoke in an encouraging tone while trying to get the shy pony to speak.

“Out of curiosity, what were you going to ask?” Tom questioned the yellow pegasus in a lighthearted tone. Fluttershy shrugged in dismay before looking up.

“I was going to ask what is the most embarrassing thing you would feel comfortable admitting… but I don’t want to impose something like that on you.” Fluttershy explained in a gentle way so the human wouldn’t be offended in any way. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie smiled slightly from hearing the yellow mare’s reason for not saying her question. It was always heartwarming to see how she didn’t want to upset anyone.

“Well…” Tom spoke up suddenly to interrupt anyone else speaking. The others looked over to him in curiosity while allowing him to talk.

“I’m afraid of the dark… to the point where I slept with a nightlight up until I became a slayer.” The boy explained with slight embarrassment.

“Really? You’re afraid of the dark?” Rainbow Dash asked with more intrigued curiosity than anything else. The boy nodded uncomfortably as he owned up to his secret.

“Yep… I still feel a case of the heebie-jeebies whenever I have to go into a dark spooky place. Probably the only reason I can sleep in the dark now is because of my senses.” Tom stated while looking around to see how the others would react.

“Wow… I thought I was the only nervous one back at the hospital. You looked so brave back there… that was part of the reason why I didn’t panic.” Rainbow Dash said while thinking back to how Tom had made her feel better about journeying through dark, cold, and monster infested hallways of the hospital.

“Well I felt like turning around and running away while screaming like a frightened schoolgirl on the inside, but I didn’t want to make you feel any worse.” Tom elaborated in a slightly comical tone while thinking back to his previous hardships.

“Alright then, my turn now… truth or dare Rainbow Dash?” Tom spoke up again to interrupt anyone lingering on the slightly depressing thought of him enduring his worst fear to assist them. He didn’t want them to feel bad on his behalf no matter the circumstances.

“Umm…” The cyan pony muttered uncomfortably. The sudden change in pace made everyone feel awkward and uneasy.

“Dare I guess…? I sort of owe you some payback from that last dare.” Rainbow Dash stated while preparing herself for anything the boy could think of.

“Yes… yes you do. Alright then, I dare you to dye your hair pink for an entire day.” Tom announced deviously. The sudden question caught the pegasus off guard.

“Wait what?! How did we go from fear of the dark to dying my hair pink?!” Rainbow Dash asked while defensively putting her hooves on her hair.

“I guess I’m just that spontaneous.” Tom retorted with a devious smile on his face. He leaned forward in his chair while watching the nervous pegasus squirm as she thought of what to do in her head.

“Umm… We can’t do that because we don’t have any hair dye here. I guess you will just have to pick another dare.” Rainbow Dash said with false disappointment as she smiled nervously in an attempt at getting out of the dare.

“It doesn’t need to happen right now… we could head down to Rarity’s place tomorrow and I’m sure she would be happy to help you out.” Tom stated with a cool and collected smirk on his face. The cyan pony started sweating nervously as her exits to the situation closed up around her.

“I suppose you don’t need to do it… you could always chicken out.” Tom stated while putting emphasis on the word chicken. The boy’s statement made Rainbow Dash cringe with irritation.

“Fine… I’ll do it, but we’re not taking pictures.” The cyan mare finally huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms while glaring at the satisfied human. Tom tried his best to hold in his laughter as the pegasus stared daggers into him.

“I think we should stop playing truth or dare for the night.” Rainbow Dash said in an upset tone while avoiding eye contact with Tom. Pinkie Pie groaned in disappointed protest of ending the game.

“Aww, but I wanted to pick Tom one more time.” The party pony whined while giving Rainbow Dash a devious facial cue. The cyan mare smirked as she caught on to what she was getting at. Tom gulped nervously as he came to the same conclusion.

“Alright Pinkie… I guess I could let you have one more turn.” Rainbow Dash said while hiding her excitement behind a blank expression.

“Wait, hold on. You can’t just give her the reigns. It’s not her turn, it’s yours.” Tom said uneasily.

“Tom, do you really think you want to let me have a turn right now?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow and a serious tone of voice.

“I… well… I guess not.” Tom replied with an irritated shrug as he thought about the matter further.

“Then it’s settled. Pinkie, go right ahead.” Rainbow Dash said while turning to the pink mare with a pleased smirk.

“Yay! Alright Tom, truth or dare?” Pinkie bounced in her seat eagerly as she asked the question. Tom leered at the two apprehensively as he thought of what she could possibly ask him to do.

Like hell am I picking dare. The boy thought to himself as he prepared to choose what he thought was the safe option.

“Truth…” Tom stated with a smirk as he tried to ruin their plan. Much to the boy’s dismay, Pinkie didn’t appear to be fazed by the decision, in fact she seemed like she was hoping for him to say that.

“Ok Tom, who would you rather kiss… me or Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked with a devious smirk and an unwaveringly straight delivery. The sudden question made Tom instinctively pull backwards into his chair.

“W-what?!” The human asked with a mixture of nervousness and surprise while looking between the two. Rainbow Dash could hardly contain her joy at watching the boy squirm. She smiled ear to ear as she looked to him for an answer.

“You heard her Tom… which of us would you rather kiss?” Rainbow asked with a sly grin. The cyan pegasus was enjoying this a little bit too much, and Tom could tell. He sweated nervously as he subconsciously thought about the question’s answer. He then shook his head to rid himself of such thoughts.

“Umm… can I pass?” Tom asked with a nervous smile as he tried to weasel his way out of the situation. The two ponies shook their heads simultaneously as they shot down the boy’s last line of defense.

“If you don’t answer me right now, I’m going to keep asking you every day, and tell the others about who you choose when you finally do give up.” Pinkie stated with an almost sinister smirk on her face. Tom was surprised with how devious the party pony could be when she wanted to. He suddenly looked over to Rainbow Dash with a pleading expression.

“Rainbow Dash, I’ll call off your dare if you end this.” Tom practically begged for a way out of the situation. Rainbow Dash took a moment to think about the proposal. She of course wanted out of her dare, but she thought that she would let him suffer a while longer.

“Well… I don’t know. I don’t want to chicken out of anything.” Rainbow Dash droned sarcastically while looking away from him and crossing her arms. Tom was practically melding into the chair as Pinkie loomed closer to him with each passing second.

“Chicken out? Who told you that would be chickening out? That guy sounds like a moron… let’s just let bygones be bygones and call a truce.” The human stammered nervously while trying to avoid the piercing gaze of the pink mare staring at him.

“Alright Pinkie, back off… I think he’s had enough.” Rainbow Dash announced to her friend while laughing. Tom breathed a sigh of relief as Pinkie backed away and walked over to her chair. The two ponies gave each other a quick high five before giggling to themselves.

After taking a moment to settle down after their rousing game of truth or dare, the group started to notice how late it was getting, and how tired they were. Rainbow Dash yawned while taking a look out of the window to see if anything was happening outside.

“We’ve been here for a few hours now, and I don’t see anything weird out there.” The cyan mare stated in a dull tone while trying to stay awake.

“Well if you guys want to get some sleep, I can keep an eye on things until morning.” Tom suggested while observing the three tired ponies. Everyone felt like they would fall asleep standing up shortly, so the boy’s proposal sounded like music to their ears.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Rainbow Dash said while climbing on the couch and preparing to settle in for the night.

“Let me know if you guys need anything… I’m going to bed.” Fluttershy stated while walking up the staircase towards her bedroom.

“Night, Fluttershy.” Rainbow Dash said while digging through the pile of blankets and pillows. She tossed a pair of each to Pinkie and Tom before arranging her blanket on the couch.

“Nighty night… sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.” Pinkie stated while hopping into her position on the other side of the couch across from Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy smiled warmly as she admired her friends settling in for the night. She switched off the light in the room before walking away to get to her bedroom. As she walked through the dark rooms of her house and got further away from her friends in the living room, the shy mare started feeling uneasy as she let her imagination get the better of her in the dark.

“I think I’ll feel better once I get in bed… hopefully having Angel in the room with me will make me less edgy.” Fluttershy thought out loud while trying to avoid looking into any of the dark rooms beside her. The mere blurry images of the shapes and silhouettes out of the corner of her eye made the pegasus jumpy and nervous.

After a short walk, Fluttershy quickly opened her bedroom door and walked inside while closing it tightly. She tried to give herself the mentality that her room was a comfortable and safe place where she could relax, but the various pitch black areas of the small space made her uneasy as ever.

She quickly walked over to her bed and sat down. She then looked over to the floor where Angel usually slept. Seeing the blurry whiteness of her pet and hearing his soft breathing made Fluttershy feel a little more at ease.

The yellow mare crawled up her bed and peeled back the covers so she could slip inside them and cozy up. After settling her head onto her pillow, she rested for a while whilst staring up at the ceiling. A slight feeling of morbid curiosity elicited the shy pony to peer downwards into her room.

Upon noticing some ominous looking shadowy shapes that were comprised of her furniture and various other knickknacks, Fluttershy quickly averted her eyes and rolled onto her side while pulling the covers closer to her head.

A creaking sound made the pegasus sit up nervously to look around again. Deducing the sound to be the rustling of the wind against the cottage, she shrugged uneasily and settled back down.

“Ugh… I’ll never get to sleep at this rate.” Fluttershy mumbled to herself while forcing her eyes shut to try and get comfortable enough to sleep.

After a few minutes of remaining as still as possible, the pegasus started feeling hazy and blissful. She was finally starting to slip into a state of relaxation and warm comfort that would lead to her drifting off to sleep. Not wanting to compromise this progress, Fluttershy made sure to remain still and allow herself to lose focus of her surroundings.

…
……
………

*Boom*

A loud crackle of thunder made the pegasus lift her head and upper body in alarm. She opened her eyes just in time to catch the last moments of the blinding flash of lightning as it illuminated her room in a bluish white glow. The constant pitter patter of rain filled her ears as she suddenly realized that it was storming.

“I didn’t think it was supposed to storm tonight…” The yellow pony pondered to herself as she tried to remember the weather forecast for the week. “Oh well…” She muttered sleepily while settling back down into her pillow.

Suddenly, a different noise barely distinguished itself from the rain. It sounded like a crashing noise was coming from downstairs. The noise continued a few more times before dying down into the ambience of the rain.

Fluttershy threw the covers back and sat up in bed. The odd noise had given her a new sense of unease that wouldn’t go away. She couldn’t just chalk the sound up to the rustling of the wind this time. She would have to investigate.

“What was that noise…? I thought the others were asleep.” Fluttershy spoke to herself while peering out into her room. She suddenly realized that she could see out of her open door into the dark hallway outside. The realization that she had closed the door before climbing into bed made her heart sink to her stomach.

Fluttershy whined fearfully while hugging her legs tight to her body. She darted her eyes around her room to see if some unknown intruder had crept inside with her while she slept. The mere thought of something lurking in the darkness next to her made her heart race.

As she drew her attention back to her open door, she realized that nothing was happening. At any rate, nothing was happening right now. If she was going to figure out what was going on, she had to reach her friends.

The nervous pegasus slowly inched her way towards the foot of her bed and planted her hooves on the floor. The sudden thought of something waiting for her under her bed made her walk forward a little faster to distance herself.

Fluttershy walked forward while defensively staring at the open doorway on the far side of the room. Another flash of lightning illuminated the hallway outside and made her tense up in fright again. She slowly walked forward while looking around her room. She then looked down to the bed where her pet was sleeping.

“Angel…?” Fluttershy muttered in confusion as she noticed that the rabbit was nowhere to be found. The frightened pony was completely alone in the pitch black darkness of her room, with only the rain to break the otherwise eerie silence of the house.

After cautiously making her way to her door, Fluttershy peered out into the dark hallway and scanned it for possible threats. The hall was masked in a veil of darkness that shrouded the numerous open rooms in a disturbing blanket that could hide any monster that the nervous pony’s mind could conjure up.

Not wanting to be alone any further, the pegasus walked through the dark hallway while making her way to the stairs that would lead her to the living room and her friends.

“Tom… you still awake? W-what was that noise?” Fluttershy called out with a slight nervous stammer, hoping that the human would be able to hear her from this far away. The loud thunder and rain outside combined with the pitch blackness inside was starting to get to the yellow mare, making her jumpy and anxious. She felt like she was going to have a panic attack if she didn’t find her friends soon.

Fluttershy contemplated remaining silent to conceal her location from any threats, but her sense of logic told her that the house was still safe and that her friends would be nearby to explain the sudden noise.

“C-calm down Fluttershy… nothing is wrong. I’m sure that this storm was scheduled… I probably just forgot about it with everything that’s been happening.” Fluttershy spoke to herself to break the eerie silence and instill courage in herself.

“My door probably opened in the wind… I must have not closed it as tightly as I thought. Y-yeah… I’m sure that’s it. And Angel probably just went downstairs to get a drink or something.” The pegasus said with a nervous chuckle while slowly marching forward through the darkness. She had to do something to get her mind off of the fact that she was alone in the dark, even if that meant reassuring herself.

As she walked towards the opening to the stairs, a thick feeling of dread and unease filled the yellow pony’s stomach. It was like she knew that something bad was waiting for her in the dark, and as she slowly walked down the steps, her feeling was confirmed.

A shocked gasp escaped Fluttershy’s lips as she observed the room’s condition. Many of her pictures and other decorations were either skewed or broken on the floor. Both chairs had been knocked over, with the one Tom was using covered in what appeared to be claw marks from an animal. And the couch’s cushions were ripped, with the white fluff inside of them being strewn across the room.

The front door was open and moving with the wind as the storm raged on outside. Rain was pouring in through the open door, soaking everything in range of the droplets. Another flash of lightning lit up the room, revealing even more claw marks on the walls and floor.

Fluttershy looked around feverishly for any sign of her friends. They were nowhere to be seen, with the only indicator of their presence being the blankets and pillows scattered along the sides of the couch and chairs. The pegasus leaned in close to one of the blankets on the couch. She noticed a dark stain of liquid on the fabric of the blanket.

“I-is that b-blood?” Fluttershy stammered fearfully as she wondered what had happened to her friends. The fact that the dark stain was tinted red, and the fact that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were preparing to sleep on the couch when she left, made Fluttershy panic stricken for their safety.

“What happened in here?!” The yellow pony shook her head in frustration and horror as she tried to think of what could have happened. If the mysterious green light and the noises she had heard were responsible, then she could have very well put her friends in grave danger.

Suddenly, a low growling noise made the pegasus freeze in place. It sounded like it was coming from just outside the front door. She slowly turned her head and stared out into the yard outside. Just as a flash of lightning flooded the area with blinding light, a dark shape slowly walked into the door.

Fluttershy immediately recognized the dark shape. It belonged to the creatures that had attacked her and her friends at Zecora’s hut. She remembered that Tom had called the creature a darkling when he fought them.

The shadowy beast slowly walked into the house while growling and pointing its head at the terrified pony. The darklings didn’t have visible eyes or any other feature besides their gaping mouths, but from the way it was snarling at her and bearing its sharp teeth, the pegasus figured that it was angry. Fluttershy backed up and prepared to run upstairs, when another growl from behind her made her turn around swiftly.

Another darkling was stalking down the stairs towards the frightened mare. Fluttershy jumped back in fright and walked backwards until her back hit the wall. She looked around as the two creatures walked towards her. There was no way that she could make a break for the door without one of them pouncing on her.

“No… please…” Fluttershy begged in the vain hope that it would somehow spare her. She raised her arms defiantly in an attempt at keeping something between her and the approaching monsters. Suddenly the darkling on the left paused and reared its hind legs in preparation to jump. The beast let out a loud snarl before leaping at the helpless pegasus.

“AHHHH!” Fluttershy screamed and shielded her face with her arms as the beast leapt at her. The shadowy monster collided with the yellow pony and sank its teeth into her soft flesh.