Dusk Shine watched as the two mares had an extremely intense catfight. Rarity’s mane still was soaking wet, and she was tearing at the dress she had made for Applejack to the point it looked like somepony had TP’d an apple tree. Applejack, freed from the restriction of her dress, started her counterattack. She pulled at Rarity’s mane, slippery as it was. Rarity answered by biting the apple farmer’s legs. The two went on as the fight went more and more heated. As Applejack’s dress finally was completely destroyed, sexy lingerie was revealed, complete with leggings, a choker, and a restricting corset.

Dusk realized he was getting an erection from this.

“Stop this senseless fighting!” Trixie said. “Does The Great and Powerful Trixie have to split you two up?”

“Just one moment, Trixie,” growled Rarity. “There’s this slut I need to teach a lesson to.”

“An’ whatever entitled Dusk ta you, huh?” said Applejack. “He never really liked you, you jus’ harassed him, no matter how many times he told ya ta stop!”

“He never told me stop,” said Rarity suggestively. Applejack’s anger flared at this, and she leaped back into the fight. She turned to a different strategy, this time standing on her hind legs and punching for Rarity’s face with fisticuffs. Rarity shook herself awake, dazed by the country girl’s assault. The wet unicorn wiped a bit of blood from her mouth.

“I wasn’t going to hit you as hard as I wanted to, since it might ruin my hooficure,” she said, sweat clinging to her face. “But now, all bets are off!” She clawed at Applejack, only to be stopped by an amazing tackle courtesy of Trixie.

“We’re going to STOP this fighting,” said the blue unicorn through gritted teeth. “And we’re going to stop it NOW!” After struggling for a minute, Rarity let out a sigh of defeat.

“I suppose it wouldn’t be very ladylike of me to murder Applejack.” She shot a cold glare at AJ. “No matter how much she betrayed me as a friend by exchanging tongues my true love.”

“An’ Ah can’t stay mad at mah friends,” Applejack said, returning the look. “Even if they attack me like they have rabies.”

“Fine!” said the fashionista, raising her volume.

“FINE!” repeated Applejack.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” said Dusk, try desperately to lower the tension in the room. It didn’t work. “How about we move on to scary stories?” The lights dimmed, the little ponies passed around a flashlight they held up to their faces.

Applejack took the first turn. “Well, Ah did hear this one about th’ prissy ghost who didn’t scare ponies away but she ANNOYED them away with her uptight attitude an’ neat-freak standards.” She let out an “OOOoooOOOoooo!” for effect.

Rarity snatch the flashlight away from Applejack in a rough manner. “This one’s scarier: It’s about an evil demon succubus who went and kissed her friend’s boyfriend!” She gave a similar “OOOooooOOooooOO!”

“Dusk ain’t yer boyfriend!” protested Applejack.

“Your stories suck,” said Trixie bluntly, grabbing the light from them, this time with magic. “THIS is how a real ghost story should go…”

“That’s just preposterous!” Rarity exclaimed when Trixie finished the story. “How’s an eldritch abomination that just BRUSHES PONIES’S MANES supposed to be terrifying??”

“It just doesn’t brush your mane,” Trixie said with a pout.

“Riiight,” said Applejack sarcastically. “He also rubs your tummy, too! Oh, the humanity!”

“At least it was better than your stories,” Trixie deadpanned. “And for your information, that story made Trixie wet her bed at night when she heard it as a filly!” She passed the flashlight to Dusk. “Alright, you’ve been quiet this whole time, what do you got?”

“Ummm…” said Dusk Shine, fiddling with his hooves. “I only know one ghost story, and I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“Don’t chicken out,” scoffed Applejack, rolling her eyes. “It can’t be that bad.”

“Are you sure?” said the host. “It’s pretty scary…”

“Now you’ve gone and us curious,” complained Rarity. “Just tell us, Darling!”

“Alright,” said Dusk, and the three mares swore they felt the temperature drop a little. “Here’s how it goes…”

Deep in the Everfree Forest, there lives a mysterious creature called Slenderpony. He’s taller than Princess Celestia herself, and is always seen wearing a black suit. Nopony knows where he came from, what he is, or what dreams of cruelty hide within his skull. Some say that he’s the very heart and soul of the Everfree Forest, and he’s the source of all the evil and darkness inside it. Nopony even knows what his face looks like… because he has no face to begin with.

“Ah have a question,” said Applejack, completely ruining the mood. “How’s he eat without a face? Ain’t yer mouth attached ta there?”

“Shhhh!” hushed Trixie. “This was just getting good.”

Anyways, the Slenderpony never need food, water or air. He only wants. And the only thing he wants… is fear. And he will kill to get it.

To achieve this, he swipes an unlucky pony on a dark and stormy night, a night just like tonight. He then plays a sick game with you, and the stakes could never be higher, because you’re playing for your life.

“Wh-what’s the game?” Rarity shivered. “Shuffleboard? Parcheesi? Red-Light-Green-Light?”

The rules are simple: You wake up deep in the woods with nothing but a flashlight that is low on batteries. It’s always pitch-black, so you have to hope your flashlight doesn’t run out of power, or risk stumbling around in the darkness. There are eight pieces of paper hidden somewhere in the forest, and the goal is to find them.

“That’s it?” interrupted Trixie. “You just have to play a game of scavenger hunt in the dark?”

It’s not as simple, for Slenderpony is stalking your every single move. Eventually, you’re convinced he’s right behind you. But no matter what, you can NOT turn around to look if he’s there; because that’s the one rule you should never, ever, EVER break. If you look behind you, you lose. If you lose, you die. Nopony’s ever beat Slenderpony at his game, you know why?

“Why???” demanded the frightened girls, fully intrigued by Dusk’s story.

Because when you reach for the very last piece of paper, you feel a cold, heavy breathing down your neck and a pale white hoof is placed on your shoulder with a vice-like grip. You know right then and there that any promise of freedom was a lie, and this was always your destined night to die. He leans over to whisper the very last words that you’ll ever hear in this life in a voice that feels that is coming from the very darkest part of your very soul, yet resonates like an entire legion of monsters howling at the moon:

dO YoU kNoW whY LitTlE foALs ArE aFrAiD Of tHE DaRk?

Your blood turns to ice as you lose the ability to control you muscles, and every instinct is telling you turn around and look. You suck up every ounce of courage and-LOOK BEHIND YOU, GIRLS, IT’S HIM!!! IT’S REALLY HIM!!! HE’S GONNA KILL US ALL!!!!!

The three listeners whipped their heads around, expecting to see Slenderpony in all his infamous horror. What they got to both their relief and disappointment was nothing but a wall.

“That wasn’t funny, Dusk!” said Trixie, her cheeks getting hot. Dusk Shine, however, was rolling on the floor, laughing out loud. (Gettit?)

“Hahahaha, oh, but it was!” he said, turning the lights back on and wiping a tear from his eye. “You should have seen the looks on your faces! BWAHAHA!!”

“And I thought you were a gentlecolt!” said Rarity harshly.

“Ah’m tried of scary stories,” said Applejack, trying to quiet her beating heart. “Ah’m gonna make us some s’mores.”

“iNdEeD,” said Slenderpony, who was standing outside and watching from a window. The four little ponies did not see or hear him over the storm, but they still felt a strange sensation, like an gigantic eye was observing their every action. “ThAT StORy gAVe mE tHE wilLiES.”