A, Uh... "Scary" Story...?

It was another crisp autumn evening at Meadowlark’s Campsite. Campers wandering about, enjoying nature and each other’s company… It was lovely, really. Zora themselves was looking to find someone to spend some time with; just for a little while, really. It was such a nice evening, and nice evenings are best spent with friends. That’s what they thought, at least. 

After meandering about for a good few minutes, a familiar Luminite caught their eye. Oh! Pudding Cup! It had been a while since Zora had seen the timid farmer. Gleefully, Zora approached, tail wagging behind them cheerily. 

“Hey, Pudding!” Zora greeted. Pudding Cup jumped, fur standing on edge. They whirled around in a panic.

“O-Oh! Zora! You scared me…” They replied sheepishly. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for someone to hang out with for a bit! Do you wanna go sit by the fire and tell…” Zora paused for dramatic effect, lifting a paw up and wiggling their digits as they continued. “SpoOoOoky stories?” 

“Scary…stories…?” Pudding Cup paled slightly, tail inching between their hind legs. “I…I dunno about that, haha…”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! And I promise I won’t say anything too scary! Besides, I don’t even think I know any stories aside from a few silly urban legends.” 

“Um…If…If you’re sure.” Pudding Cup cleared their throat. “Yeah! Yeah, let’s…let’s go.”

Zora, not noticing their faked enthusiasm, happily led the skittish Luminite over to the campfire. Since it wasn’t too late yet, not too many Luminites were hanging about. Perfect. 

Zora sat down on a log, patting the space for Pudding Cup to join them. Once seated, the two made themselves comfortable, Zora’s tail wagging furiously in anticipation.

“Are you ready?” They asked with a mischievous grin. A bead of sweat briefly trailed down Pudding Cup’s brow; oh, stars, what had they gotten themselves into…? 

“Um…Yeah.” They answered after a moment, sounding a bit sheepish while still trying to seem at least somewhat unbothered. 

“Alright! Okay, okay…Hm…” Zora coughed into their paw, settling back on their hind legs to get ready. Pudding Cup shifted nervously. 

“...Once upon a time, there was a little Luminite who had only recently been created. They were still learning how things worked, and didn’t really understand a lot. They still wanted to have fun though, y’know? Even if they weren’t very experienced.” Zora began to tell the tale, moving their paws as they spoke to accentuate their words. Pudding Cup nodded along.

“One night, the Luminite was out camping with their friends! In a quaint little campsite, not unlike this one. The group were having a great time! Telling stories, eating snacks… As night fell, they lit a fire, as you do. One of them suggested that the gang roast some marshmallows, but the newly formed Luminite didn’t really know how to do that. They didn’t want to look lame in front of their friends though, so they didn’t say anything. Surely it couldn’t be that hard, right?” 

Pudding Cup didn’t know why their paws were already shaking. This…wasn’t really scary at all. The opposite, really. Maybe it was just the tone of Zora’s voice? They didn’t know, but they couldn’t help but be nervous. 

“Little did that Luminite know that they were about to make the worst mistake of their life…in fact…” Zora paused again, for more dramatic effect. 

“That this mistake would be their…LAST!”

Pudding Cup flinched, covering their mouth with a paw.

“The new Luminite tried to roast their marshmallow like the others, but they accidentally left it over the fire for too long! The marshmallow turned completely black, and got all goopy, and was basically inedible.” Zora continued with a flourish. “No big deal, right? WRONG! As the goopy, burnt marshmallow dripped off the stick and into the fire, the spirit of that marshmallow was awoken! Angry at the Luminite for ruining its perfectly good, sugary fluff, the spirit of the marshmallow emerged! From within the flames rose a big, white and brown mass, with sharp teeth, and glowing eyes! The creature roared in anger, lunging forwards at the Luminite and their friends to get its vengeance!” 

Pudding Cup was shaking. 

“The Luminites tried to get away, but there was no hope. The marshmallow spirit caught them, and… Ate. Every. Last. One of them!” Zora flung their head back and cackled manically, which sent Pudding Cup tumbling off the log. With a terrified squeal, the poor Luminite scampered off into the bushes, nearly knocking a passerby off balance in the process. 

“And that’s the story of the Ghostmallow–” Zora paused. Oh. Where had Pudding Cup gone? They frowned, their tail stopping its intense wagging. Had the story scared them that much…? 

“Pudding…? Pudding!” Zora called. There was no response. “...Huh. I guess it was too much for them…”

With a sigh, they got off the log to go find their friend. Maybe they should tone it down next time…They didn’t know that they could be that scary!