"...Scootaloo, that story weren't scary at all." Apple Bloom said.
"How could it not be scary?"
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were holding a sleepover in their clubhouse, and had naturally decided to see if they could get a ghost-story-telling Cutie Mark. Also naturally, none of them had got the mark, but the stories were fun, so they kept going.
Of course, each of the three fillies had tried to one-up each other, fearful tale after fearful tale culminating in Scootaloo's efforts.
"Well... It seemed kind of specific." Sweetie Belle noted.
"Then imagine them on the ground! Imagine how scary they'd be then!" Scootaloo insisted.
The two ground-based ponies shared a look.
"...Scootaloo, if they were on the ground they'd be kind of silly then." Apple Bloom pointed out.
"...Fine, it's your turn then. Just no more Cybermares. That's just insane."
Apple Bloom grinned.
"Okay, so, it was a nice night, kinda like this 'un, but it hadn't bin a nice day, oh no. There was only one pony left in Ponyville at all..."
The next morning, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were leaving Sweet Apple Acres.
"...That last one Apple Bloom told was kinda mean. Especially since that kinda really happened to Miss Sparkle..." Sweetie Belle grouched.
"I dunno, I thought it was kind of specific..." Scootaloo noted.
"...How could a Cockatrice turning the whole town to stone with only Twilight left to save us then it turning her to stone and snapping off every unicorn horn and pegasus wing in town to make a gallery of all earth ponies be specific?"
"...She specifically got back at us for all our stories where the pegasus flew away or the unicorn magicked the monster away but it ate the earth pony."
"Good point. I guess we had it coming."
The two fillies walked in silence until the unicorn spoke again.
"By the way, Scootaloo... Your story, I see why it was scary to you but why'd you think it would scare us?"
The orange pegasus was silent, or so it seemed.
"...I couldn't hear you."
"Cos it would scare any pegasus! It's just a myth but it really scares us! We can fly away from most bad things from the ground and most things that can fly don't attack anything else that can fly!"
"Wait. Any pegasus?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"Yeah!"
"Ditzy Doo?" Belle began listing off all the pegasi she could name
"Sure!"
"Alula?"
"Oh yeah!"
"Fluttershy?"
"Definitely!"
"Rainbow Dash?" Sweetie grinned. Scootaloo was cornered now!
Scootaloo stared at her.
"Yes. Even Rainbow Dash."
The unicorn's jaw dropped.
"Wha... But how can... "
"They're. That. Scary." Scootaloo said sternly.
Sweetie Belle was convinced Scootaloo was making it up. She said as much to her sister when she got home.
"I don't get why she'd be so obsessed with making us believe her story was scary..."
"Well, maybe she was just disappointed. After all, those other ghost stories you all told, you said that you'd been trying to think of the scariest things possible?" Rarity replied.
"I guess... Though we both did kind of pick on Apple Bloom for a while..."
"There you have it. She thought of an idea that was scary and was disappointed that she was scared of something so silly so she just wants to hide it by trying to say it would scare other ponies!"
Sweetie pondered this.
"She said it was a myth though... Maybe there's something in the library about it?"
"Maybe."
Sweetie had made one small mistake. She'd mentioned the other ghost stories in summary.
"...Miss Sparkle? It was just a scary story..."
"Y...You're sure? The cockatrice isn't back?"
"No."
"...You're not sure?"
"I'm sure it's not! Can you come out now?"
The pile of books arranged in a fort began to collapse gently, and Twilight Sparkle emerged.
"Okay... Uh, I guess that might have looked kind of silly but... Well, that night wasn't fun. So, what was the book you were looking for?"
"She wanted Pegasus Myths and Mythology. The one you used in the roof of your fort." Spike pointed out.
"Oh. Well, let's see... Index page. Huh, some of these sound interesting. God-Pegasus of Ponykind. That must be part of the old Pegan religion! I was researching something about them you know. It was a religion that existed amongst the pegasi before they came down from the clouds to find out about Princess Celestia... Look, see, that symbol there on his chest is supposed to mean hope in the old logographic style of writing that the pegasi had..."
"Miss Sparkle, can we look for the right stuff?" Sweetie asked gently, not too concerned about the page Twilight had raced to, even if the pony pictured was the weirdest pegasus ever.
Gold armour? Gold boots? A blank flank? Two more wings like a bat on his head? And how did that thing mean hope? It looked like a sun wearing a dress...
"Oh, sorry. Uh, what was it you were after?"
She had her information. But it still made little sense. Sweetie had one last thing to try.
Seeing if it really did scare other pegasi. And the easiest to catch was Fluttershy. The shy yellow mare was currently walking by the library, as it happened.
"Good morning, Sweetie Belle" She said softly.
"Oh, hello Miss Fluttershy! Can I ask you a question? I saw this really weird big bird flying over the Everfree forest..."
"Oh?
"Yeah. It didn't flap its wings, and it was shaped like a big dart. It had four little barrel things below the wings and a red beak... It was flying after a pegasus..."
"...I-I-Is this b-b-bird still around?" Fluttershy trembled.
"I dunno. The pegasus flew into a cloud and the bird followed, but the bird flew out and flew towards Cloudsdale..."
Fluttershy screamed and took off, before screaming back to earth, running around in circles.
"I need a shovel!" She screeched and ran away.
"...That was odd." Sweetie wondered.
"Hey, what did you say to her?" Ditzy Doo demanded.
Sweetie explained.
The muffin-obssesed mailmare screamed too.
"...Wow, I guess it really must be scary. I never thought something as silly as a Jumbajet really existed. That other thing can't be real though..."
"Hey, Apple Bloom! Can you help me with something?" Sweetie Belle shouted as she ran up to the apple cart in the market.
"Ah'm workin' the stall, Sweetie Belle..."
"Ah, you can take a break, sugarcube! You been doin' great this mornin'!" Applejack cut in.
Apple Bloom sighed.
"...But no cutie mark."
"Aw, don't you worry about that just now. Go help Sweetie Belle out."
"Okay. Thanks, sis!"
Sweetie Belle explained what had happened.
"...So I need you to come with me to tell her that you saw a bunch of darts fly off the ground with smoke behind them chasing the Jumbajet away!"
"...Isn't that Scootaloo's story?"
"It's a real pegasus myth after all! She didn't just make it up, someone else did!"
"Oh. It's still kinda silly though. Ah mean, why're they all called Sam?"
They found Fluttershy and three more pegasi now digging holes near the edge of town. A fifth was dragging tree branches over. Two foals were hiding in one hole that had been finished. To their surprise, Rainbow Dash was apparently also there, digging a very deep hole.
"Uh... What're you guys doin'?" Apple Bloom wondered.
"Hiding!" All five older ponies shouted (including Dash in her deep pit)
"Oh, from the Jumbajet?"
The five ponies screeched and darted into the one finished hole, Dash leaping out of her pit without even using her wings.
"Cos ya'll don't need to worry about that! Ah saw a bunch of dart things come out of the Everfree forest and scare it off!"
"R-really?" One pegasus asked from the huddling mass, then his eyes narrowed.
"...Dart things?"
"Yup! They had trails of smoke behind 'em and they chased after the Jumbajet! They came outta big boxy things that popped out of the ground."
The pegasi all stared, seven pairs of eyes looking out.
They all screamed, leapt out of the hole, and ran around in circles.
"We have to find the MCV and blow it up before they start building them everywhere!"
"Kane's Wrath is upon us!"
"Nothing with wings is safe!"
The two ground-based ponies stared as the seven pegasi ran away, on foot.
"...I didn't think they'd be that scared of Samsights too."
Two sheepish fillies sat in the library.
"...Okay, so. You claimed that two pegasus myths had arrived in Ponyville, saying one scared off the other... Just to see if they really were as scary as Scootaloo said?" Rarity asked.
"Well, yeah! I didn't think they'd overreact!" Sweetie said sadly.
"Well, there's no real harm done, we stopped them before they set fire to the whole forest..." Applejack noted.
"No real harm done? Every pegasus in Ponyville is going to have nightmares!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
From the cellar.
"Aw, come on, Dash, it's not that bad..." Twilight tried to reason
"Fluttershy is petrified down here!"
"P-p-pet..."
"She means the scary kind, not the stony kind!" Applejack snapped.
"The stony kind is the scary kind..." A voice said from inside a book fort.
"Aw, horse apples! Now we got her cowerin' in terror!"
"...How did she build that fort so fast?" Rarity wondered.
"Never mind! Point is, they goofed, they're sorry, and I think all them pegasuses..."
"Pegasi!" Dash shouted.
"...are being awful foalish about all this. Ah mean, what's so scary about a big metal flyin' demon with four mouths? Sounds plum ridiculous."
"They're called Engines! It punches you with the nose and throws you in, it tears you to shreds and swallows your soul! "
"Well, okay, but these Samsights. I don't understand them. They fire rockets that chase anything that flies?"
"Yeah! And you can't outrun them!"
"Ah still think all three of y'all are overreactin'. Twilight, there's no cockatrice here, Fluttershy is just frightened. Dash, Fluttershy, there ain't no such things as Jumbajets, Samsights, Fightahjets, Hynd-Dees, Stingy Missiles, or Saw Lid Snakes. And there shore as heck ain't no bald two-legged demon called Kane buildin' Samsights in the Everfree forest helped by a load of white scorpions!"
"Fine! But we're both staying down here!" Dash shouted, as the book fort was taken down.
"Okay. Now, what have you two got to say to Dash and Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.
"...We're sorry." Apple Bloom said down into the cellar.
"Good. Now go apologise to the other pegasi. I think most of them are hiding in the basement of the town hall..."
