“That is a terrible plan.” Sweetie Belle groaned. “I don’t know about you ponies, but I would prefer not to be grabbed by my hooves and tossed around the room by an invisible monster.”
“He would have to catch us first,” Scootaloo said confidently.
“That could work,” Lilymoon said, “but then what? It didn’t leave the Schoolhouse last time. I think it likes it too much in there!”
“Yeah, but if we had somewhere better we could lead it…” Scootaloo thought aloud.
“It’s gonna have to be reallllly nice to convince it to leave,” Lilymoon pointed out.
“Well, no offense, but your rock stacks weren’t all that impressive,” Scootaloo responded. They all sat and thought about it.
“Maybe the bogle is just tired of living in the woods?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“How does that help us?” Scootaloo asked, rolling her eyes. “Unless you wanna let it live with you and Rarity?”
“No way!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Rarity loves her boutique. And she’s scary when you mess with her stuff.”
“Wait a minute!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “I bet the bogle would love Rarity’s stuff, too! It’s way prettier than rocks and sticks in the woods!”
“What? No!” Sweetie Belle squealed nervously. “We are not setting a bogle loose in my sister’s shop!”
“Of course not,” Apple Bloom said. “But we are gonna need to borrow some of her stuff. Here’s what we’re gonna do…”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Ponyville Schoolhouse, which was so welcoming during the day, looked incredibly creepy at night. Of course, thought Apple Bloom, that might be because we know there is an invisible monster lurking inside. The ponies hid in the bushes by the playground and looked warily at the school.
“Everything is set up. This is it. Is everypony ready?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Why are we doing this at night, again?” Sweetie Belle replied nervously.
“For the hundredth time, we are doing it at night because we don’t want an invisible bogle knocking over every single pony in Ponyville during the day!” Scootaloo said.
“Okay, okay,” Sweetie Belle muttered. “Doesn’t make it any less scary!”
“We have the paint?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Yes.” Lilymoon nodded toward the bag next to her.
“I just hope Rarity doesn’t notice everything we borrowed,” Sweetie Belle said.
“It’s for a good cause,” Apple Bloom reminded her. The ponies all sat in the bushes, none of them moving.
“Maybe we should go check everything in the Forest one more time?” Sweetie Belle suggested.
“No more stallin’. It’s time to get in there,” Apple Bloom said. “Let’s go.” The ponies all crawled out of the bushes and approached the Schoolhouse. They crept up the steps toward the front door. It was chained shut with a giant padlock on it.
“Oh well. Guess that’s that,” Sweetie Belle said, turning to walk down the steps. Scootaloo stopped her while Apple Bloom and Lilymoon studied the lock.
“Think you can pick it?” Apple Bloom asked.
“I don’t know how to pick a lock!” Lilymoon said, annoyed.
“Hey, guys!” Scootaloo whispered.
“Can’t you use magic?” Apple Bloom whispered.
“Guys!” Scootaloo said louder.
“I don’t know that kind of magic,” Lilymoon insisted.
“Guys!” Scootaloo called. Apple Bloom and Lilymoon turned. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were standing next to one of the Schoolhouse windows. Scootaloo slid it open. “Not everything needs to be super complicated. Come on!” Apple Bloom and Lilymoon hurried down the stairs with the bag of supplies and followed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle through the window and into the Schoolhouse.
The Schoolhouse was dark. Even with Lilymoon and Sweetie Belle lighting their horns, it was still hard to see. The books were all restacked in precarious arches, each book carefully placed. The desks and chairs had been removed from the ceiling and now magically lined the sides of the walls. In their place, pictures drawn by the students plastered the ceiling in strange patterns. Miss Cheerilee’s desk was in the center of the Schoolhouse, upside down on the floor. The curtains from the windows were placed in swirling shapes around it. Apple Bloom’s ears perked up.
“Shhhh. Y’all hear that?” she asked. The ponies listened quietly. Steady breathing was coming from the center of the room.
“Is the bogle snoring?” Scootaloo asked. Apple Bloom nodded. She motioned to the bag next to Scootaloo.
“Get ready,” Apple Bloom whispered. Scootaloo reached in and pulled out two cans of paint. She handed one to Lilymoon and held on to the other one.
“Ready,” Scootaloo whispered back. Apple Bloom nodded to Sweetie Belle, who nervously rushed over to one side of the classroom while Apple Bloom headed to the other side. Scootaloo and Lilymoon quietly carried the cans of paint as close as they dared to Miss Cheerilee’s desk. Everypony turned to watch Apple Bloom for the signal. Apple Bloom gulped and quickly wondered if Applejack was ever this scared when she was saving Equestria. She pushed the thought aside and looked to make sure everypony was ready.
“Now!” Apple Bloom yelled. She kicked hard, knocking over the stack of books closest to her. Sweetie Belle leaped onto one of the chairs stuck to the wall and pried it down. It fell to the ground with a loud crash. The snoring in the center of the room stopped. Scootaloo and Lilymoon both heaved the paint cans. Pink and purple paint flew through the room and landed on… something.
That very scary something covered in pink and purple paint rose slowly and let out a ferocious roar. The bogle was awake.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“I think we made it mad!” Scootaloo yelled as she kicked over another pile of books.
“Ya think?!” Apple Bloom called back. “Keep it up! We need to make sure it’s really, really mad!” The ponies rushed around the room, destroying as much as they could while avoiding the angry bogle. Apple Bloom couldn’t make out all the details (the bogle was still invisible), but thanks to the pink and purple paint, she could see it was a little bit smaller than Big Mac and had horns on top of its head; massive arms; long, spindly legs; and a powerful spiked tail. No wonder it was invisible. It was ugly!
“Okay, the first part of the plan worked!” Sweetie Belle squealed as the bogle rushed toward her. It tried to grab her, but she ran between its legs. “Can we get to the second part now? Please?!”
“Everypony out the window!” Apple Bloom yelled. The ponies all rushed toward the front of the Schoolhouse. They dived through the open window and landed in a heap in the bushes below.
“It’s coming!” Lilymoon grunted. The ponies untangled themselves and ran across the playground. Apple Bloom looked back over her shoulder just in time to see the bogle crash through the front door of the Schoolhouse, easily breaking the chain and lock.
“Miss Cheerilee is not gonna like that!” Sweetie Belle wailed.
“At least the monster isn’t in the Schoolhouse anymore!” Scootaloo said. “That’s progress!” They ran toward the bushes, and Scootaloo brushed some leaves and branches aside, revealing her scooter.
“Okay, Scootaloo, you go ahead and make sure everything’s ready,” Apple Bloom ordered. “We’ll be right behind you!”
Scootaloo nodded as she put on a headlamp and jumped onto her scooter. She sped off into the darkness.
Apple Bloom turned to see the bogle knock aside the playground’s seesaw as it rushed toward them. She nodded at the others and they took off in the same direction as Scootaloo, the bogle close behind them.
They rushed through the empty streets of Ponyville, always turning back to make sure the bogle was following. Apple Bloom looked ahead and could see the edge of the Everfree Forest and the path the Crusaders had used earlier to follow Lilymoon. She couldn’t believe that had been just this afternoon! When she woke up this morning she never would have guessed she would end the day bein
g chased through the center of town by an invisible monster.
“Come on, y’all! The Forest is just over there!” Apple Bloom called. They rushed toward the path. Behind them, the bogle knocked over carts and took chunks out of several buildings as it rushed to catch them.
Apple Bloom hoped her plan would work. She didn’t want to find out what the bogle was going to do to them if they failed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Apple Bloom ran as fast as she could next to Lilymoon and Sweetie Belle, their horns the only source of light now that the moon and stars were blocked by the leafy canopy of the Everfree Forest.
“You sure this is the right way?” Lilymoon asked Apple Bloom.
“I think so?” Apple Bloom said, squinting into the darkness.
“Look! Over there!” Sweetie Belle shouted. Apple Bloom saw a bright light ahead of them. She and the others rushed toward it.
The ponies raced into the clearing where Lilymoon had originally found the bogle. Only now, it was completely transformed! It didn’t look anything like it had earlier in the day. Lanterns hung from tree branches, bathing the clearing in a warm, cozy glow. Fabrics of every color and pattern were stretched between the trees, creating a colorful tapestry that flowed gently in the breeze. Rocks were arranged carefully in swirling patterns on the ground, and in the center of all of it, piles of cloth were organized into an inviting nest.
“Psssssst!” A voice from above caught Apple Bloom’s attention. She looked up to see Scootaloo waving to them from the branches of a tree. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Lilymoon rushed up to join her. They all quietly watched the clearing below.
The paint-covered bogle burst into the clearing, expecting to find a bunch of scared ponies. Instead, it found its transformed nest. It stopped, looking around, confused. It growled menacingly as it slowly circled the clearing. It brushed its tail along the cloth and gently tapped the lanterns, watching them sway back and forth. It studied the patterns of the rocks on the ground, tapping each one with a claw as it passed.
“I think it’s working,” Scootaloo whispered.
“Shhhhh! Quiet!” Sweetie Belle hissed.
The bogle tested the nest of fabrics in the center of the clearing. It sniffed them, rearranged them, sniffed them again, and finally plopped down and burrowed into them.
“I think the bogle likes its old nest again,” Lilymoon said.
“Well, as my sister would say, you can’t argue with good taste,” Sweetie Belle added. Below them, the bogle purred happily. Rocks floated magically into the air as the bogle rearranged them into new patterns.
“Awww. It’s kinda cute when it’s not roaring and chasing you,” Scootaloo said, grinning.
“Uh. One question,” Sweetie Belle whispered to the others. “Now that the bogle is happy… how are we getting out of this tree?” The ponies all looked at one another.
“I guess we gotta wait for it to go back to sleep?” Apple Bloom said.
“That’s what I was afraid you were gonna say,” Sweetie Belle said, yawning. She and the others settled in as comfortably as they could to wait for the bogle to go to bed.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Apple Bloom didn’t remember falling asleep. But she must have, because the next thing she could remember was waking up to Sweetie Belle gently nudging her with her hoof.
“I think it’s safe,” Sweetie Belle whispered. Apple Bloom peered sleepily down at the bogle’s nest. Some of Rarity’s fabric was magically hovering in the air over the bogle’s nest. It was curled up underneath them, still covered in paint, and snoring loudly.
“Those lanterns are brighter than they were before,” Apple Bloom said with another yawn.
“That’s not the lanterns,” Scootaloo said. Apple Bloom blinked a few times and realized the warm glow wasn’t coming from the lanterns but instead from the sky in the east.
“Oh Celestia! We’ve been out all night!” Apple Bloom yelped loudly enough that the bogle below snorted and stirred. The ponies all froze until it resumed its snoring. Apple Bloom and the others carefully crawled out of the tree and slowly snuck around the edge of the bogle’s nest, careful not to disturb anything. Once they were a good distance away, Sweetie Belle turned to the others.
“Do you think that’s it?” she asked. “It’s just gonna stay there?”
“I think so,” Lilymoon said slowly. “Everything I read made it sound like if a bogle loves its nest, it just wants to be left alone. I think as long as nopony goes looking for it again, we should be fine.”
“Let’s hope so,” Apple Bloom said as they walked out of the Everfree Forest into Ponyville.
“Uh-oh,” Scootaloo said. The Crusaders and Lilymoon watched as ponies rushed around, shouting and examining the destruction left by the bogle. Scootaloo turned to the others. “You think we’re gonna get in trouble for this?”
“There you are!” a voice called from up ahead. Apple Bloom saw Applejack marching toward her, Granny Smith and Big Mac close behind.
“Eeyup,” Apple Bloom said.
“We’ve been worried sick! Where in the name of Celestia have y’all been all night?” Applejack shouted as she marched toward the Crusaders. Before Apple Bloom could answer, another voice broke through the crowd.
“Lilymoon! What have you done?” Lumi Nation shouted as she and Blue Moon came bursting through the crowd.
“Hey, y’all…” Apple Bloom said. “So, what happened was—”
“I went into the Everfree Forest by myself and a bogle followed me out,” Lilymoon admitted, stepping in front of Apple Bloom. “That’s what attacked the school. I’m to blame. The Cutie Mark Crusaders helped me lure it back into the Forest where it wouldn’t hurt anypony.” Lilymoon turned to Apple Bloom. “I couldn’t have done it without… my friends.” Lilymoon’s parents’ eyes went wide.
“A bogle?” her father asked. “Really?”
“Tell us everything,” her mother said. “How did you lure it? What did it look like? Oh, darling, I’m so impressed!”
“Impressed?!” Granny Smith blurted out. “I’d be more impressed if she’d leave dangerous monsters alone in the first place.” Lilymoon’s parents glanced at the Apple family and shared a look.
“Yes. Well. We need to get Lilymoon home,” Lumi Nation said curtly.
“We apologize for any problems this might have caused,” Blue Moon said. “We will keep a closer eye on Lily. No need to bother her. Come, Lilymoon!” Her parents turned and walked off. Lilymoon obediently followed but looked back and mouthed the words thank you to the Crusaders as she walked away.
“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, “there’s definitely something strange about that family.” Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded. Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom.
“Is what she said true?” Applejack asked. “You went and helped her catch this bogle thing she set loose?”
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom replied.
“And why didn’t you ask for my help?” Applejack looked more hurt than angry.
“Because…” Apple Bloom glanced at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, who nodded encouragingly. She turned to Applejack. “You’re my big sister and I love you, but you save Equestria, like, every other day. I just wanted to show you I can be as brave as you are.” Apple Bloom looked down sheepishly. Applejack studied her sister thoughtfully.
“Now listen,” Applejack finally said. “You are one of the bravest ponies I’ve ever met in my life… and I know some pretty brave ponies. But you’re also my little sister. I’m always gonna worry about you, and I’m always gonna want to help you. It don’t mean I think you can’t help yourself. It’s just what big sisters do. Got it?”
“You really think I’m brave?” Apple Bloom asked, smiling.
“Of course I do!” Applejack replied. Apple Bloom considered that for a second.
“Well,” she finally said, “then just stop bein’ so amazing all the time, and I won’t have to work so hard to keep up.”
Applejack burst out laug
hing and hugged her sister tightly. “I’ll get right to work on that. But listen up.” She looked at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, including them in what she said. “One thing my friends and I never do is run and go lookin’ for danger. I have a feelin’ y’all are gonna have plenty of adventures that are gonna give us all kinds of panic attacks. But don’t go makin’ trouble when you don’t need to. Y’all shoulda told us about this bogle.”
“We’re sorry,” Sweetie Belle said.
“But we were pretty awesome,” Scootaloo added.
“I have no doubt,” Applejack said, grinning, “and if I’m bein’ honest, I’m pretty impressed. Y’all are gonna have to tell me all about this bogle.”
A shriek ripped through the morning air, causing everypony to freeze.
“What in Equestria happened to my fabrics?!” Rarity screamed from her boutique.
Sweetie Belle slowly turned to the others. “We are in so much trouble.”
EPILOGUE
The Pony once again looked out the window at the expansive Everfree Forest. Not with excitement this time but with concern. The Pony opened the Book of Legends and flipped through the pages. Things The Pony had been certain of seemed less so now. There were questions where there hadn’t been before. The events of the past couple of days had changed things drastically.
The Pony would have to be patient. Plans would have to wait. The bogle had caused too much attention. And then there was the issue of the three little ponies with the matching cutie marks. That required further investigation. That was unexpected. There was too much at stake here to leave anything to chance. If The Pony’s plan was going to succeed, something would have to be done about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
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My Little Pony--Ponyville Mysteries--Schoolhouse of Secrets Page 4
