Rainbow Dash's POV

It had been two days since the Truth or Dare Incident.

And yet, no one would let it go.

Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie brought it up constantly, and Fluttershy just giggled every time someone mentioned it. Applejack? She was playing it cool, acting like nothing happened. But I knew her well enough to notice that little twitch in her eye whenever Pinkie wiggled her eyebrows at us.

I thought I'd survived the worst of it.

Then lunch happened.

"Alright, alright," Twilight said, setting down her drink. "I have an announcement."

The whole table quieted. Even Applejack, who had been focused on her food, raised an eyebrow.

Twilight smirked. "We're making a bet."

Rarity leaned forward, intrigued. "Oh? Do tell."

I crossed my arms. "If this has anything to do with last time—"

"Oh, don't worry," Twilight cut in. "It's worse."

I blinked. "Excuse me??"

Pinkie bounced in her seat. "Oh my gosh, YES! I love terrible ideas!"

Twilight pushed up her glasses. "Here's the deal. A scavenger hunt."

Applejack snorted. "Scavenger hunt? That don't sound too bad."

Twilight's smirk widened. "In the abandoned school building behind the gym."

Silence.

I felt my stomach drop. "You mean—the one that's off-limits?"

"Yep," Twilight said cheerfully.

"The one that's literally falling apart?"

"Correct."

"The one with the RUMORS about it being haunted?!"

Pinkie gasped dramatically. "Oooooooo- SPOOKY!"

Applejack sighed. "Twilight, why are we like this?"

Twilight ignored her. "Here's how it works. We break into pairs, get a list of items to find, and the first team to bring back all the items wins."

Fluttershy shivered. "W-What happens if we lose?"

Twilight grinned way too evilly for my liking. "The losing team has to do another round of Truth or Dare."

Rarity gasped. "Oh my stars. That is diabolical."

Applejack groaned. "Y'all really don't let things go, huh?"

Pinkie pointed at her. "That's what makes it fun!"

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. "Alright. Fine. Let's do this."

Twilight clapped her hands together. "Excellent. Now, for the teams..."

The Teams and The Rules

Team 1: Applejack & Rainbow Dash (because of course we got stuck together)

Team 2: Twilight & Fluttershy

Team 3: Rarity & Pinkie Pie

Objective: Find all five items hidden in the old school building.

Rules:

No backing out.

No phones allowed.

If you get caught, you're on your own. Twilight is NOT bailing you out.

"...Wait, what?!" I yelped.

Twilight shrugged. "We all knew what we were signing up for."

Applejack sighed. "No, we did not."

Too late. We were already doing this.

That night, we met behind the gym, just outside the crumbling school building. The place was creepy—rusted-out doors, shattered windows, and vines creeping up the walls.

I swallowed hard. "Y'know... this looks a lot more illegal in person."

Twilight held up a checklist. "No turning back now."

Applejack sighed. "Why do I even hang out with y'all?"

Pinkie beamed. "Because we make your life more exciting!"

Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose. "That ain't a good thing."

One by one, we slipped through a broken side door. The inside was worse—dust everywhere, flickering lights, and that weird, eerie silence that made my skin crawl.

Twilight handed each team a list of scavenger hunt items. "Alright, we meet back here in one hour. Good luck."

And just like that, we split up.

"Alright, what's first on our list?" I whispered.

Applejack held up the paper. "A broken trophy."

I smirked. "Pfft. Easy. Follow me."

We carefully made our way through the dark halls, avoiding broken tiles and fallen ceiling panels.

Then—

A noise.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I froze. "AJ... did you hear that?"

Applejack frowned. "Yeah..."

We turned a corner, and—

A SHADOW MOVED.

Applejack shoved me behind her. "Who's there?!"

Silence.

Then—

A RAT scurried across the floor.

I squeaked. Applejack snorted.

"You scared of a little ol' rat, Rainbow?"

I scowled. "No! I just—wasn't expectin' it!"

Applejack smirked. "Uh-huh. Sure."

I groaned. "C'mon, let's find that trophy before I die from hanging out with you."

Applejack laughed. "You love it, sugarcube."

Meanwhile, Twilight and Fluttershy were not having a great time.

"Twilight, I don't like this place..." Fluttershy whispered, clinging to Twilight's arm.

Twilight sighed. "It's fine, Fluttershy. Just stick to the plan."

A sudden creaking noise made Fluttershy whimper. "W-What was that?!"

Twilight adjusted her glasses. "Relax. It's just the old pipes settl—"

A loud BANG echoed through the hallway.

Fluttershy screamed and grabbed Twilight.

Twilight also screamed.

Somewhere in the distance, Pinkie's voice echoed—"TWILIGHT? FLUTTERSHY? WAS THAT YOU??"

Fluttershy clung to Twilight's arm tighter. "C-Can we go home now?"

Twilight sighed. "We're never listening to Pinkie Pie again."

After a few more minutes of searching, we finally found a dusty, broken trophy in an old classroom.

I grinned. "Boom! One down, four to go."

Applejack chuckled. "Look at you, actually takin' this serious."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, I plan on winning."

Applejack crossed her arms. "Y'know, we could just say we found everything and call it a night."

I stared at her. "Applejack. Are you suggesting we cheat?"

She smirked. "What, scared?"

I gasped. "Oh, it is on, cowgirl."

She laughed.

And, traitorously, I realized—

I liked her laugh.

A lot.