Riddle of the Rusty Horseshoe Read online

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  HASBRO and its logo, MY LITTLE PONY and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2017 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved.

  Cover design by Christina Quintero. Cover illustration by Franco Spagnolo.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  Visit us at LBYR.com

  mylittlepony.com

  First Edition: October 2017

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Library of Congress Control Number 2017946350

  ISBNs: 978-0-316-55737-5 (pbk.), 978-0-316-55739-9 (ebook)

  E3-20170911-JV-PC

  Contents

  COVER

  TITLE PAGE

  COPYRIGHT

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  NEWSLETTERS

  The Pony moved through the Everfree Forest, making no noise at all, almost as if they were part of the shadows themselves. They passed the ridiculously cheerful nest of the bogle and groaned in disgust. Thanks to those annoyingly resourceful Cutie Mark Crusaders, the bogle now had a taste for bright, pretty fabrics and shiny objects. How embarrassing! The Pony slipped past the Poison Joke Tree and traveled deeper into the darkness, finally arriving at their intended destination.

  The Pony stood at the edge of a clearing. This was as close as they could get to the Livewood. No amount of magic would keep the twisting vines and branches from noticing them. Just then, a deep growl caught The Pony’s attention. Four Timberwolves glared at The Pony from beyond the writhing trees. The Livewood was their home, and what The Pony desired was theirs to guard.

  The Pony could feel the magic pouring out of the Livewood and shivered with the need to find a way in. The Pony knew what was inside, just waiting to be taken. But first The Pony had to find a way to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders from getting any closer to the secrets that would lead them here.

  “Be careful!” Sweetie Belle called to Scootaloo. “If you fall, the lava is going to burn you to a crisp!”

  “I can’t make it!” Scootaloo said, looking down nervously.

  “You got this, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo stared ahead at the giant chasm. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood anxiously on the other side. She took a deep breath and leaped toward them! Wings flapping frantically, she sailed through the air… but not far enough.

  “No!” Scootaloo called, reaching out with a hoof as she fell to her doom.

  “I don’t get it,” Lilymoon said, standing off to the side watching the life-or-death struggle unfold in front of her. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood on top of the bookcase in Lilymoon’s bedroom. Scootaloo was on the ground between the bed and the bookcase in the throes of agony. She stopped writhing and looked over at Lilymoon, rolling her eyes.

  “What’s to get?” Scootaloo asked, hopping up. “The floor is lava. Anything that’s not the floor is safe. If you touch the floor, you’re out.”

  Lilymoon looked dubiously at the Crusaders. “And this is really what other fillies do at sleepovers?” she asked.

  “Yeah. The good ones, anyway,” Scootaloo said confidently.

  “I still don’t get it,” Lilymoon said again.

  “It’s just fun!” Scootaloo said. “You know, fun? That thing ponies do when they aren’t being attacked by crazy monsters?” When it came to battling a bogle or tracking a Timberwolf, Lilymoon was definitely the kind of pony you wanted on your side. But Scootaloo was realizing that when it came to simply hanging out, Lilymoon had a lot to learn.

  “Well, this is your house and your first sleepover,” Apple Bloom interjected as she hopped down off the bookcase. “What do you want to do?” When Lilymoon had casually admitted she had never had friends over for a sleepover, Apple Bloom said they had to plan one right away. Between the creepy house and Lilymoon’s strange family, Scootaloo wasn’t sure spending the night here would have been her first choice for a relaxing evening, but Apple Bloom had insisted.

  “I really don’t know what we should do,” Lilymoon admitted after considering for a few seconds.

  “Well,” Apple Bloom said, “we could play board games, do arts and crafts, tell ghost stories. Whatever we want!” Lately, Apple Bloom and Lilymoon had been spending a lot of time together. Scootaloo felt like Apple Bloom had made it her personal mission to show Lilymoon what fun and friendship was all about. And of course, Scootaloo knew Apple Bloom meant well. But she couldn’t help noticing that the more focused Apple Bloom was on Lilymoon, the less attention she gave Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

  “Well, I do like spooky things,” Lilymoon stated. “I bet I could tell some good ghost stories!”

  “Great!” Apple Bloom said. “The spookier, the better!” Scootaloo glanced at Sweetie Belle, who looked less than excited at the prospect of spooky stories told in the bedroom of an already-scary house.

  “Is that okay with you, Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked.

  “Why wouldn’t it be okay with her?” Apple Bloom challenged. Sweetie Belle looked back and forth between her two friends.

  “It’s fine. Ghost stories sound great.” Sweetie Belle was trying to act excited, but Scootaloo knew that even though Sweetie Belle had been very brave as of late, particularly when they were hunting the Timberwolf, she still wasn’t the type of pony who liked getting scared for fun. Of course, that was something Apple Bloom would have thought about as well, if she weren’t so focused on making sure Lilymoon was having the perfect sleepover.

  “Okay, y’all. Let’s set the mood,” Apple Bloom said as she turned the lights down in the room.

  “You sure you’re okay with this?” Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle.

  “I’ll be fine,” Sweetie Belle whispered back. “You don’t think Lilymoon’s story will be that scary, do you?” They both looked over at Lilymoon, who stared at them ominously, her piercing violet eyes shining brightly.

  “The story I’m about to tell you is the most terrifying tale I ever heard—” Lilymoon whispered. Sweetie Belle groaned quietly next to Scootaloo.

  “Hey, maybe I should go first!” Scootaloo interrupted. At least she could make sure her story wasn’t too scary. In fact, she could tell a ghost story Sweetie Belle already knew! She grabbed a blanket a
nd pulled it around her like a shawl. “The tale of the Olden Pony! It was a night just like this one—”

  “Hey now! Lilymoon wanted to tell her story!” Apple Bloom said, annoyed. “Besides, that story ain’t scary. We’ve heard it!”

  “Lilymoon hasn’t heard it,” Scootaloo shot back.

  “I don’t have to go first,” Lilymoon said nervously. She was clearly uncomfortable with the arguing. “Who is this Olden Pony?”

  “She’s older than anypony you’ve ever seen,” Scootaloo said. “And she’s looking for her rusty horseshoe.”

  “That’s not how the story starts!” Apple Bloom groaned. “First there’s the young ponies on a date—”

  “It’s my story,” Scootaloo said.

  “Your story? Why? ’Cause it gave you nightmares the first time you heard it?” Apple Bloom shot back. Scootaloo gaped at Apple Bloom. She couldn’t believe she had just said that! Nopony aside from the Crusaders and Rainbow Dash knew how much that story had scared her, and Apple Bloom had just blurted it out in front of Lilymoon!

  “Maybe we should play a game? Oubliettes and Ogres?” Sweetie Belle said, trying to calm things down.

  “You all can do whatever you want to do,” Scootaloo said, dropping the “shawl” and walking toward the bedroom door. “I’m going downstairs. I… need a snack.”

  “Should we all do that?” Lilymoon asked.

  “No,” Scootaloo said firmly. “I’m fine by myself.” Scootaloo hurried out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

  Scootaloo stormed down the dark hallway. She, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom had been best friends for as long as she could remember. The three of them had been through so much together. But ever since Lilymoon and her family had shown up, things seemed to be changing, and Scootaloo didn’t like it. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Lilymoon. If anything, life in Ponyville had been more interesting than ever since Lilymoon’s family moved into the house on Horseshoe Hill. But things between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were different now, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  Scootaloo jumped as something creaked in the shadows. She might like Lilymoon, but she didn’t feel the same about Lilymoon’s house. It always felt like somepony was watching you. Scootaloo looked at the framed pictures on the wall as she walked down the hall. There were no photos of Lilymoon and her sister, Ambermoon, as little fillies, no fun family vacation pictures. Instead, there were photos of strange creatures Scootaloo had never heard of hanging next to maps and old newspaper clippings. It looked more like a museum than a home.

  Something creaked again. Closer this time.

  “Hello?” Scootaloo whispered. But nopony answered. She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Scootaloo. It’s just your imagination,” she muttered to herself.

  She made her way down the stairs to the first floor. Something howled in the distance outside. Scootaloo trotted over to a window and stared out at the backyard. The house on Horseshoe Hill was closer to the Everfree Forest than any other house in Ponyville. In fact, technically it was in the forest, although just barely. Behind the house stood the shadowy hulk of Lilymoon’s family’s greenhouse, and beyond that stretched the dark wilds of the Everfree Forest. Scootaloo gulped as she studied the backyard. Who knew what kinds of creatures were lurking just outside the window? Creatures looking to make a late-night snack of a small pony who was herself looking for a late-night snack.…

  “What are you doing?” a voice whispered in her ear.

  “AHHHHHPLEASEDONTEATME!” Scootaloo yelled. Startled, she ran as fast as she could, right out the back door. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going; she just wanted to get away from whatever was behind her. However, she quickly realized that there could be something just as dangerous outside the house, which meant she wasn’t any safer than she had been. Moonlight glinting off smoky green glass caught her eye.

  Scootaloo changed direction and rushed toward the shelter of the greenhouse. Once inside, she hurried past the reaching leaves and tangled stems of the strange flora toward the back of the greenhouse to find a good hiding spot, and glanced behind her to see if she was being followed. She didn’t see anypony… or any other creature. But just as Scootaloo turned to face forward again, she slammed into a huge ceramic pot and fell backward. The pot—and the large feathery plant inside it—wobbled. She reached out to keep it from tipping, but it was too late. The pot crashed over, pouring dirt and the feathery plant onto the floor.

  “Scootaloo?” an annoyed voice shouted. “Why are you in my dad’s greenhouse in the middle of the night?”

  Scootaloo knew that voice. It was Ambermoon, Lilymoon’s sister. She and Scootaloo did not get along.

  “What do you think you’re doing out here?” Ambermoon called from the front of the greenhouse.

  Scootaloo looked at the fallen plant. Great! Another reason for Ambermoon to get snotty with her. She quickly set the pot upright and scooped a few hoof-fuls of dirt back into it before grabbing the feathery plant and jamming it into the pot. Just then, Ambermoon trotted around a large purple cactus and spotted her. She glared at Scootaloo. So Scootaloo glared back.

  “What are you up to?” Ambermoon asked suspiciously. “And why did you run out of the house when I tried to talk to you?”

  “You mean when you tried to scare me?” Scootaloo responded angrily. Ambermoon rolled her eyes.

  “I just wanted to know why you were sneaking around my house in the middle of the night!” Ambermoon shot back.

  “I wasn’t sneaking. I was going to get a snack,” Scootaloo explained.

  “So you steal our food, snoop around our house, and don’t actually sleep. Is that how a sleepover works?” Ambermoon glanced at the greenery next to her. “Should I make sure you didn’t take any plants while you were at it?”

  “With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder you don’t know what happens at a sleepover. Who would want to hang out with you?” Scootaloo trotted past Ambermoon. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the kitchen.”

  “Me too. To make sure you don’t go poking around anywhere else you’re not invited.”

  “Whatever.” Scootaloo huffed. They both walked back into the house. Scootaloo studied Ambermoon out of the corner of her eye as they went. It wasn’t just that Scootaloo didn’t really like her; she also didn’t trust her. The Crusaders were pretty sure that Ambermoon was responsible for their recent Timberwolf trouble. At the Schoolhouse, Twist had taken a candy cane from Lilymoon’s lunch bag. When she ate it, the candy cane transformed Twist into a werepony! The Crusaders and Lilymoon had to get a spell from Zecora to cure her. Later, they found out that the candy cane had come from Ambermoon’s room. Scootaloo could think of a few reasons somepony might have a candy cane that could turn another pony into a monster, and none of them were good. But the Crusaders wanted to wait for more proof before they told Lilymoon their suspicions. Until then, they had agreed to keep an eye out for anything else that seemed odd. Like Ambermoon sneaking around in the middle of the night…

  “So,” Scootaloo said casually as they entered the kitchen, “why are you awake?”

  Ambermoon studied the kitchen counter as she answered. “My room is right next to Lilymoon’s. You four were keeping me up with all your carrying on.”

  “Oh,” Scootaloo said. They probably had been pretty loud. “How much did you hear?” Without looking up, Ambermoon arched an eyebrow.

  “Enough to know that this ‘snack break’ is just an excuse to get away from your friends for a while.”

  Great! So she knew Scootaloo was mad at Apple Bloom. Ambermoon was the last pony Scootaloo wanted in her business!

  “It’s no big deal,” Scootaloo said quickly.

  “Of course not.” Ambermoon sounded annoyed. “You felt left out for the first time in your life. Did you expect me to give you a pep talk?”

  “So you just came out here to rub it in?” Scootaloo demanded.

  “No!” Ambermoon was quiet for a minute, weighing
her options, then she finally said, “I… was just making sure you were okay.” Scootaloo was speechless. Why would Ambermoon, who had never been anything but mean to her, care if she was okay?

  “Where is it?” a strange voice whispered.

  “What was that?” Scootaloo said, looking around the room.

  “I said I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Ambermoon repeated.

  “Not that. The other thing!” Scootaloo ran past Ambermoon and looked down the dark hallway.

  “What other thing?” Ambermoon looked around, confused.

  “WHERE IS IT?” The voice was raspy. And it was getting louder.

  “That!” Scootaloo rushed out of the kitchen toward the foyer, following the noise. It sounded like something she had heard once before in a dream. But it couldn’t be…

  “Hey! Wait up!” Ambermoon called after her.

  Scootaloo rushed into the foyer and gasped. There, at the top of the stairs, slowly walking toward her, was the Olden Pony from her ghost story! But this was no ghost story; this was a very real pony. And she walked slowly down the very real stairs, muttering to herself in a terrifying low growl.

  The Olden Pony looked just like Scootaloo remembered from her nightmares. She was ancient, with knobby knees and flea-bitten flanks. She wore a tattered shawl that was hundreds of moons old. Wisps of white mane stuck out from her bun. Two long hairs grew out of a mole on her wrinkled chin. One red eye squinted shut while the other glowed bright blue. And it was glaring straight at Scootaloo.

  She couldn’t believe it. The Olden Pony was real.

  “Where is my rusty horseshoe?” the Olden Pony moaned.

  Scootaloo panicked. She desperately dashed for the front door, shoving past Ambermoon, who had just entered the foyer.

  “Scootaloo! Why are you acting so weird?” Scootaloo heard Ambermoon call after her. But she couldn’t stop. Her hooves wouldn’t let her. She just had to get away from the Olden Pony. She had to get home.

  The next morning, when Scootaloo opened her eyes and found herself in her own bed, she briefly thought everything had been a dream. She hopped up and headed toward the kitchen. But when she rushed into the hallway, she heard a curdling scream.