“Alright girls, Cadence is leaving Canterlot Castle tomorrow, so tonight’s our only chance to get something really big pulled off,” Twilight said as the Friendship Express puffed merrily along the tracks.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean… she was your foalsitter… if you don’t want to, I’m sure we can find another target,” Applejack said.

“She’s one of the few ponies I feel comfortable to prank. I mean, yeah, she was my foalsitter and now she’s my sister-in-law! She’s the princess of the Crystal Kingdom and her cutie mark is of love and affection. If anypony will understand, it’s her,” Twilight said. “Are the dummies finished?”

“Exactly to your specifications, dear,” Rarity replied, pointing at a stack of crates in the back of the train cabin. “I just added a touch of my own, like I always do.”

“What? Please tell me you at least made it look scary!” Rainbow Dash said, flying over and opening a crate.

“Of course I did, I just… don’t make atrocities. The very least we could do was make him well dressed,” Rarity said.

“A SUIT? Rarity…” Rainbow Dash said, glowering as she held up a blank-faced, suited dummy with curiously long limbs.

“It’ll have to do. It does look creepy though, in its own way… kind of reminds you of something out of Luna’s games, don’t you think?” Twilight asked as the train chugged to a stop. “Let’s just get this unloaded and head to the castle. I’ve already written to the Princess to tell her we’d be staying there, so it should be alright.”

“We’re staying at the palace? Ooh,” Rarity giggled. “Since we’re not doing anything in the day, I could use the opportunity to…” –Twilight gave her a look- “…get ready for tonight’s wonderful prank?” she suggested timidly.

“Remember what’s at stake if we lose. Everypony grab a box. The way I planned it, we should be able to execute it flawlessly,” Twilight said, lifting a box with her magic and exiting the train.

Princess Cadance took a long sip of mango smoothie and wiped the sweat off of her brow. “Oh come on!” she shouted as she turned back to the screen. “You can’t kill me when I’m drinking smoothie! That’s just not fair!”

“You can kill me when I drink smoothies,” Luna said, her eyes narrowed with focus on the screen.

“But you never drink smoothies!” Cadance complained as her base exploded. “Hmph. I want a rematch.” Luna yawned and sprawled out on the floor.

“Maybe later, we are a little tired from playing so late into the day,” Luna said as she rifled through her wings with a hoof.

“The twenty four hour gaming session was your idea to begin with, and there’s only four hours left,” Cadance said, pulling her up off the floor. “Besides, if you’re getting sleepy, you know we have to switch over to the scary games.”

Luna sighed, stretched, and smiled. “Very well, let us begin. Whoever goes longest without screaming can choose the next one.”

“By the way, Twilight and her friends are visiting the castle today,” Cadance said nonchalantly, looking through the pile of games.

“Perhaps she will join us and be the first to be terrified,” Luna said. “But until then…” she opened a laptop and clicked on an icon. “As host, we choose this one to begin the scary games.”

“Really? Slendermane already? That’s just mean,” Cadance pouted, opening her own pink laptop and running the game nonetheless.

“On thy mark… commence!” Luna cheered, starting the game.

Four hours later, the moon was high in the air and Cadance was taking a shower. “I’m heading out for a bit, gonna catch up with some old friends,” Shining Armor called.

“Have fun, dear!” Cadance called back, flipping her wet mane forward and rinsing it off. She sighed happily as she left the shower, stretching her wings and toweling herself off. After twenty-four hours of not moving, a shower was remarkably refreshing. She reached for a toothbrush and began brushing her teeth. It would be nice to sleep early tonight.

Even in the mirror fogged by the shower’s steam, Cadance could see how much of a mess her unbrushed mane was. “Brushing teeth, brushing manes, brushing pains…” she sang, rinsing her mouth and spitting in the sink. A cool breeze crept in from the open window, chilling Cadance to the bone and unfogging the mirror. Cadance shivered and turned around, confused. “I could have sworn I left the window closed,” she said, shrugging it off and closing the window.

As she turned back towards the sink to leave, she felt something bothering her, something her brain was trying to warn her about. Her eyes crept slowly over to the mirror. “Oh…no…” she whispered. A blank-faced pony in a suit was standing outside her window, reflected in the mirror.

Luna came running as Cadance let out an ear-piercing shriek. “What is the matter?” she asked. “We heard thou scream.”

“Slendermane…” Cadance squeaked, pointing at the window. There was nothing there. “Oh no… I looked away… now he’s going to get me…” she said.

“Still sore over thy defeat?” Luna asked, smirking. “Rest assured, Slendermane is not real, but a character in a game. He wouldn’t…” her eyes drifted over to the window on the far side of the bedroom where a faceless, tall pony in a suit stared in. “Aren’t we on the third floor up?” she asked. Cadance nodded shakily. “We gave the guards the night off to be with Shining Armor,” Luna said, nervously glancing towards the pony in the window.

A cool breeze flew over Cadance’s body. “But I thought I closed that window…” she said, turning towards the restroom. Luna walked over, backpedaling furiously when the faceless pony emerged from behind the shower curtain.

“RUN!” Luna screamed, galloping out the door.

“Wait! Don’t leave me!” Cadance shouted, running after her.

Twilight Sparkle fully opened the shower curtain and stepped out, putting down the dummy she had levitated with her magic. “That went… surprisingly well. Good job, Rarity!”

Rainbow Dash flew in from the far window and tossed another dummy onto the bed as Rarity came out from under the bed. “It’s not bad… I guess. Good thing I thought of Pinkie Pie in case they tried to run.”

“He’s still following!” Cadance shouted, tears streaming down her face. “Every time I turn around, he’s there!”

“Why us? What did we do to you?” Luna shouted back, turning the corner into a dead end. They backed up against the wall as Slendermane calmly walked forward on spindly legs.

“Go away!” Cadance shouted, crying.

Slendermane stopped in front of the two princesses. “What dost thou plan on doing to us?” Luna asked, a hint of fear lining her voice. Slendermane took another step forward, then a step back. Luna’s eyebrow raised in confusion as Slendermane began tap dancing.

“Gotcha!” Slendermane shouted in a high-pitched, bubbly voice, doing a flip and ripping off his mask to reveal… Pinkie Pie on stilts.

“Pinkie Pie?” Cadance and Luna asked simultaneously. Pinkie Pie giggled and snorted.

“We gotcha we gotcha!” she rolled over in laughter while Cadance and Luna laughed nervously. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity came in through a hallway, carrying fake Slendermane props.

“Twilight…” Luna glared. “That was not a nice thing to do.” Cadance laughed weakly.

“Oh it’s okay… they were just having fun. I think I just need some rest…” she wobbled back towards her room.

“So what’s a slendermane, anyway?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“It’s an eater of little ponies with mysterious powers. It looks just like that mannequin you left hanging in the window over there,” Luna said, pointing across the room where a tall, faceless pony in a suit peeked in through the window.

“But… all of the dummies are right here…” Rainbow Dash said. When they turned back towards the window, the faceless pony had disappeared. “You know, now that you mention it, that is really creepy.”

“Where was my brother again?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Taking a night off with all of our guards…” Luna said. Six loud screams rang through the night.

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