//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Strangers (10 hours Until Dawn) Part 2 // Story: Blackhoof Mountain // by DeskManiac //------------------------------// 9:15 p.m. The kitchen was dark. Giggling and whispers filled the darkness as three little ponies set up the table. They each had a candle, and in front of them was a large wooden board with letters on it. On top the wooden board was a small triangular piece of wood with a circular hole in it. The giggles continued as they settled for a place to sit and passed each other’s drinks around. Then it stopped. Three eyes stared at the center of the board, the words and letters illuminated by the little light their own candles could give. No one said anything. They just exchanged stares for a while, prompting each other to begin. And finally someone spoke. “Rainbow Dash, would ya like to have the honors of starting our delightful evening?” Applejack said, nudging her on the elbow. “What? You’re the expert here Applejack, you start.” Rainbow already had sweat beads forming on her head, much to Applejack’s amusement. “Alright, alright. Ah’ll guide you through this alright? Just do as ah say.” She put one hoof on the tiny triangle. “Now all hooves in.” The rest followed suit. Rainbow was beginning to tremble a little, and Applejack could feel it. Pinkie was, well, as Pinkie as ever, if that was the word to describe her. She was smiling widely as she anticipated the ‘game’. “So what do we do next?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “We ask questions,” Applejack said calmly. Looking at Rainbow, she continued, “Rainbow, why don’t cha' ask our ‘special guest’ the first question?” “Liike what?” Rainbow asked nervously. “Ah dunno, whatever ya feel like,” said Applejack. It was her turn to give Rainbow the evil grin. Rainbow shook nervously in her seat. She used all the strength she had to keep herself together. With a dry swallow, she began. “Hello? Is- Is anyone here?” Silence. The group looked nervously at the triangle. Any moment now it would start moving, if there was a ghost that is. And it did, much to everyone’s surprise. It moved slowly until it reached one corner of the board, where it said ‘YES’. “Woah, freaky!” exclaimed Pinkie. Looking nervously at the triangle again, Rainbow asked, “What next?” “Well, ask ’em another question.” This night was beginning to get a lot creepier to Applejack, but she knew they had to keep it going. “Err okaay…” Rainbow paused for a moment, thinking of the right things to ask. But she ended up with a simpler question instead. “So err, you have a name right? What’s your name?” The Triangle started moving. R-O-S-E Rainbow shook to get her words out. “Okay Rose… What happened to you?” K-I-L-L-E-D Everyone stared eyes wide as they watched the word spell out. Applejack could see that Rainbow was under too much pressure now so she had to volunteer to take over. “Who was this killer?” asked Applejack, hoping it would lead them anywhere. S-C-A-R-E-C-R-O-W “Scarecrow? A scarecrow’s a killer?” she said in disbelief. “Ooh!” Pinkie leaned forward. “Maybe it was a pony dressed as a scarecrow!” Applejack and Rainbow both looked at the board, sweat dripping from their heads. Things were quickly getting out of hand, and Applejack had to stop it. “Alright Rose, we thank you for being here, but we had our fair share of scares tonight,” Applejack said calmly to the ghost, “now if you’d just kindly-” All at once they felt the wooden triangle move again. It spelt out its last two words. K-I-L-L-E-R L-I-B-R-A-R-Y Suddenly, the table shook violently and the board flew into the air. All three took a step back, shocked at what had just happened. “What the-” Applejack stood back. She was just as shocked as everyone. Everyone was silent for a while, their eyes glued to the mess the ghost made. Then Rainbow spoke up. “Alright Applejack, it was totally you wasn’t it?” she faked a laugh. “Haha. Well you got me. Haha...” She glared at Applejack. Applejack looked at the mess. She knew what the situation looked like. "Look Rainbow, I know what it looks like, but it wasn't me," she said shakily. "Yeah, and Santa Claus exists. Nice try Applesmack." Rainbow replied and trotted away. Applejack frowned at her lost for words. Her throat was dry and she couldn’t convince Rainbow that it wasn’t her pulling a prank. Rainbow was trotting away, and there was nothing she could do to stop her. She turned her gaze to Pinkie, who was looking back at her. Her eyes rather confused. Applejack was hoping she could get some empathy from Pinkie, but that just wasn’t the case. “You know, if you really were just messing with Rainbow, you can tell me. I promise I won’t tell her.” “But it wasn’t me!” Applejack cried. After such a horrifying experience, she was not only left with no one for comfort, but also accused by her friends of lying. She wiped her tears off and ran off to her bedroom, leaving Pinkie alone in the darkness. As she ran off, Pinkie shouted, “I didn’t mean it!” 9:40 p.m. The eerie woods was beginning to make Starlight and Spike feel very uncomfortable. A crow was cawing at a distance not far from there, and Starlight shuddered at the sound of it. Maybe it was just her, but she felt like someone was watching them in the woods, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Starlight didn’t know what she would do if that happened. She contemplated telling Spike about it, worrying that it would only make matters worse. She watched as Spike treaded through the snow, waiting for an opportunity to tell him about her fears. However, it was Spike who brought it up first. “Hey, um Starlight?” Spike shivered. “Do you feel like we’re being watched?” He looked at her, but she could only give him an uncertain look. “I- I dunno Spike. But I really hope we get out of here soon,” Starlight said. She had to battle to get her tongue out of a twist. She usually wasn’t tripping on words to say. Maybe it was the fear. She just wasn’t used to being in such situations. They were almost at their destination, and they only had to cross another bridge to get there. Their backs began to ache as they continue to plow through the snow, each hoping that they could get back to the lodge as soon as possible and snuggle close to the fireplace. Alas, they saw it. The generator. They each took greater steps as they approached the small cabin. Just as Pinkie described it, it wasn’t locked. They let out a sigh of relief as they shut the unrelenting cold outside. Rubbing his hands together, Spike muttered, “Well at least we’re out of that cold.” His words unclear under his shivering breath. Starlight shone her torch around. She could see the generator, but she also got a strong smell of gasoline in the air. She approached the generator cautiously, before realizing she was stepping in something. “What the-” Gasoline was spilt all over the floor. A messy trail led to broken canisters in one corner of the room. “Who could have done this?” Starlight began to felt things were getting very wrong. Her stomach did flips as she whiffed in another breath of gasoline. “Spike, open the door!” Spike was confused at the sudden instruction, after all, they wanted to keep the cold out, not in. Seeing that Spike was still standing there, Starlight shouted at him again. "Spike!" This time, he complied. The door swung open, and fresh bits of cold air came rushing in. Starlight stumbled to reach the doorway. She had inhaled enough gasoline to give her nausea. “Woah,” said Spike, fanning the smell away, “What the heck happened here?” “That’s what we need to find out,” she replied, getting up on her feet again. The room smelt less of generator fuel now, and Starlight wasted no time beginning her investigation. She started by looking through the damaged canisters. They were all damaged by some sort of sharp tool. She also noticed by the pattern of the damage, that it was done in a hurry. There was anything but a clean cut on the cans. They all had a couple of slashes on them, as if someone couldn’t make a good enough cut the first time. Starlight proceeded to check on the generator. Empty. But that wasn’t all. The bottom of the fuel tank was a hole, where the bottom cap should be. Looking more closely she could see bits of rubber stuck to the hole. Using her magic, she fished out the bits and showed them to Spike. Spike cringed at the smell of dissolved rubber. “Ugh, what the heck is that?” Spike said, trying not to face the disgusting smell. “Cheap rubber. Those that dissolve quickly when exposed to gasoline. It was used as the bottom cap in the fuel tank.” “Why would they use that if it doesn’t keep the fuel in?” Spike gagged, only because Starlight was still holding the bits in front of him. “They don’t Spike. They’d use something that would resist corrosion to gasoline like tough plastics.” Starlight placed the dissolved bits down. “I suspect someone must’ve switched it sometime before and was waiting for the rubber to dissolve completely.” She looked at Spike again. “Once the rubber was gone, the fuel tank emptied-” “And we’d have no electricity,” Spike finished her sentence. “But who would do such a thing?” Starlight stared at the evidence at hand, she didn’t know how to put it, but she had to say it. “I suspect it was one of us,” Starlight said in a serious tone. Her statement made Spike feel nervous about the entire situation. “But it can’t be! Why would they do that?” Starlight stared hopelessly at the floor, she didn’t like the accusation either, but she knew this was the closest they can get. “I dunno Spike. Someone who likes sick jokes apparently.” She moved towards the door. She was ready to get out of here, tell Twilight, and find the perpetrator. As they started up the trail back to the lodge, Spike noticed something. “Star! Come take a look at this!” As Starlight got closer she saw what Spike was pointing at. Footprints. Ones that went further into the woods away from the generator. And they were freshly made. Starlight stared at the tracks, then at the forest ahead. There was no reason anyone would venture so deep into the woods. Starlight hesitated telling Twilight about it. The snow was quickly covering up the tracks and they would disappear by the time they returned. There was only one thing to do. “Starlight!” Spike cried. But Starlight had already ran deep into the woods. She was determined to find the truth, and fast. Spike was left behind at the generator, his wailing could not stop his friend from going deeper into danger.