//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: Claustrophobia (6 hours Until Dawn) Part 1 // Story: Blackhoof Mountain // by DeskManiac //------------------------------// 1:04 a.m. ~ 6 Hours Until Dawn The snow storm grew heavier and heavier. Everything away from arm’s length were barely visible now. Only ponies who’ve come prepared for this blizzard would be able to navigate it. Sadly, most of its inhabitants that night were oblivious to its unforgiving rage. One orange pony found herself caught in the storm. She squinted and clenched her teeth, making her way up the winding paths. Snow shot like pallets onto the orange mare’s skin, sending painful signals down to her bones. She ran and she ran, desperately trying to get to safety. Alas, she saw the ski lodge, the place she was spending the night in. Panting and wheezing, she grasped the door handle and stumbled into the lodge. She crawled a few feet forward before shutting the door behind her. She still could not believe what had happened. Her friend had died, sliced in half, right before her eyes, and she can never unsee that tragedy. Shivering intensely on the floor, she tried to get back on her feet again. After what had happened, there was no reason to spend another minute on the mountain. She had to get Rarity and Fluttershy. They needed to get out of here. “Hello Applejack.” She halted. A scarecrow sat calmly in the living lounge, inviting her return. She recognized the voice. It was the same voice from the shed. It had a knife in its hooves, and it was carving a totem of some sort. “I thought you’d be in a rush to get back here,” the scarecrow spoke, eyes never lifting off its work, “But I guess you just want to see another friend die…” “You killed Pinkie!” Applejack shouted. The scarecrow nodded. “Pinkie was a bad filly. That’s why she had to go…” Applejack scowled. She knew she had to do something. But she couldn’t just jump right at it. That was what got her caught the first time. Also, her body needed more time to warm up. “I’m sure you’re worried sick about your friends, Rarity and Fluttershy. Don’t worry, Rarity’s sleeping soundly as of now. And Fluttershy… Let’s just say she won’t be alive for long…” its voice drifted as it continued to shave away. “You keep your dirty hooves off my friends!” Applejack shouted in defense. She had already lost a friend, she couldn’t afford to lose another. The scarecrow snickered, “Always so aggressive, aren’t you Applejack? You think you can protect all of your friends?” It let go of the knife and totem, sending both to the floor. “Fight me.” Applejack blinked in disbelief, but she immediately got into a defensive pose. In that instant, she felt her blood rush through her body, chasing away the cold in her bones. The stranger had just challenge her to a fight, something she couldn't turn down. And if she won, she might just have a chance to get Fluttershy back. Her right hoof was still stiff, and she gave it an involuntary shook, preparing her dominant hoof for some brawling. She had to be careful though. If she’s right, the bastard would have some trick hidden up its sleeves. “What’s going on Applejack? You scared?” The scarecrow mocked. It’s all just a mind game, don’t give in. The two circled each other a couple times, waiting for the other to make the first strike. Alas, the scarecrow charged, jabbing a hoof in Applejack’s direction. Applejack expertly dodged it and returned the attacker with a side kick. The scarecrow skidded back a few feet, holding its stance. Applejack, seizing the moment, went for a roundhouse kick. But the attacker blocked it, as if it expected that coming. The attacker grabbed her hind legs and swung her, knocking her head at the back of the couch and throwing her to the wall. Applejack got up quickly though, her body filled with adrenaline. She charged at the attacker and swung her fore leg, just to be stopped again. But this time she wasn’t going to be countered. She spun around the scarecrow, twisting its foreleg to the back. It yelped, and Applejack kicked its back, sending it to the floor. The scarecrow struggled to get back on its feet. “It’s over,” Applejack said, making her way for the final blow. The scarecrow, unwilling to lose the fight, reached for a vase with its wings and threw it with all its force. Applejack flinched as she dodged the flying vase. When she looked back up again, the scarecrow was gone. Applejack looked around the empty lounge before hearing a voice from above. “Up here.” Before she could react, she was lifted into the air at high speeds, and in an instant, she was driven into the floorboards, rendering her motionless. Applejack couldn’t believe it. She was outwitted by the killer. In her last remaining moments of consciousness, thoughts of tonight’s events swarmed in her head. So many things didn’t made sense that night. The Ouija board, Pinkie, the killer. And then it hit her. Applejack lay unconscious. The scarecrow finished her with one last blow. With Applejack out of the way, it can have all the fun it wants with Rarity. 1:17 a.m. Starlight squeezed through the rubble, making her way onto the other side. She shone her light around. She was in an underground basement or something. Ahead was a flight of stairs. She took the broad stairway up to the top. On top, she could see that she was in a really ancient structure. The air was stale and everything was dusty. This place hasn’t been kept for years. She shone her light around the room. Other than being crammed with old wooden furniture, the building was infested with rats, scurrying around the corners of her light wherever she shone it. She made note be careful of the rats. She took a step forward, and then another. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue. Something about the place rubbed her the wrong way. Yes, she was glad that she was finally out of the mines, but this place didn’t feel any safer than when she was underground. She knew she had to brave it anyway. Her friends were in danger and she's already wasted enough time in the mines. The more she contemplated, the more of her friends would die. And she's already lost Spike at this point. Now that she was on the surface, it would be easier for her to navigate back to the lodge. She didn't want to let go of this opportunity. She walked around the upper sanctuary, trying to find a way out while noticing that pieces of plaster were falling off the roof. She knew she had to be careful in this place. After years of harsh winds, the roof could collapse at any moment. After working round the maze of furniture and opening a couple of closets, she concluded that the remaining door in front of her had to lead outside. Starlight tried pushing it and shoving it but it wouldn’t budge. She didn’t have time to look for keys so she teleported onto the other side. Once outside, a flight of stairs met her feet. She almost tripped over and fell because of how dark the stairwell was. She began to descend the building, wondering where it would take her. The stairs stopped at the floor below her. Beyond that was blocked by debris. Starlight couldn’t see where the blockage ended, so it was dangerous to try and teleport across it. Teleport too close and she could be pierced by any of the metal supports sticking from the wall, teleport too far and she might get stuck in a wall. She didn’t have much magic to spare anyway, lighting the tunnels for a few hours has really been draining her. Seeing that she only had one option, she pushed the door to the second floor. The door creaked eerily, and the echos only amplified the effect. A dark narrow corridor stretched beyond her sight. Starlight walked forward. Dusty furniture and cobwebs kept getting in her way. She brushed and pushed them aside one by one. She kept walking until she reached a corridor where there were old records strewn all over the place. Curious about the place she was in, Starlight picked one up. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Name: Swift River Age: 42 Date: 21 January 1894 Species: Earth Pony Sex: Male Occupation: Miner Room: 110 Background: Patient was rescued from the mines along with 2 others after being trapped for 21 days. Of the 11 miners caught in the rubble, only 3 survive. When questioned about what had happened, the patient reported witnessing all of his friends being eaten by a ‘long-legged pony creature’ inside the mines. His friend, Garbackle, reported that Swift was already losing his mind in the mines and that he saw nothing of the like while his other friend, Iron Pick, died from pneumonia 3 days after being rescued from the mines. Syptoms: Patient has grown increasingly anxious of ‘long-legged creature’ after 2 weeks of being hospitalized. He would not stop talking about it and has repeatedly scribbled the letter ‘W’ over and over in his room. Doctors suspect paranoia has developed within the patient after the traumatizing tragedy and has sent him to Blackhoof Mountain Asylum. Report: Patient began showing aggression towards attending physicians. At one particular point, the patient attempted to chew of a nurse’s face. Extra care need to be taken when approaching subject. Due to his violent behavior, patient has been fed less and less these days for the staff fear of getting hurt when approaching him. Medication: Patient is injected with 5 ml olanzapine every day. Nursing staff has to tie him down in order to provide medication. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It wasn’t anything important. But at least she now knew she was in an asylum, and said asylum used to be a home for really crazy ponies. She continued to walk until she saw light from a room on the left side of the corridor. At first she wasn’t sure, but she slowly moved towards the light. The first thing she noticed was shattered glass on the floor. The glass was broken from the inside by whoever wanted to escape. Inside the room, a lone incandescent bulb swayed back and forth. There was also lone chair in the room with shackles on it, though they were long broken by then. Starlight cringed. She was witnessing what used to be room for a poor tortured soul. Starlight looked at the door. Room 110. Suddenly, she heard a hissing sound coming from down the dark corridor. “Hello?” Starlight stayed as still as she can, licking her lips. There shouldn’t be any pony left in this place. Starlight thought. This asylum was abandoned a century ago, even if the patients were left here, they would all be dead by now. Starlight flickered her light. Out from the edges of her light, a creature crawled towards her. “What the hell…” The creature leapt. In the brink of survival, Starlight let out a powerful blast, sending the creature a couple feet back into the darkness. For a brief moment, Starlight let out a breath of relief. Then she saw movement. Shit. Starlight began running for her life. Her initial blast was not enough to kill whatever the hell that creature was. She turned back to see the creature in hot pursuit. The creature pounced again, but Starlight manage to levitate a huge wooden cupboard to block its path. It didn’t stop it for long though. The creature quickly climbed over it and chased after her. Starlight was at a disadvantage of not being able to use her magic properly. The creature was fast, and at the speed she was running, she would most likely miss her shot. Starlight turned a corner and the creature crashed into an old pile of cabinets. This slowed the creature, but not for long. Finally, for what seemed like eternity in those dark narrow hallways, Starlight reached the door to the stairs. She glimpsed at the creature one last time as she slammed the door shut. It’s not going to hold long. Starlight raced up the stairs. From beneath her, she could already hear the door crack. Soon, the creature broke through, just in time for her to reach the top. Starlight pushed the door, but it didn’t budge. “Dammit, I forgot!” The creature leaped onto the ceiling, and was glaring right down at her. It pounced, Starlight froze up, her eyes widened. And she was gone. The creature looked around. It could see that Starlight was on the other side of the door. Starlight hyperventilated. If it was not for her teleportation spell, she would have been a goner. She was cornered now. She can’t out run the creature. And she definitely did not have enough magic to kill it. So what could she do? Pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling as the creature shook on the door. In a sudden moment of intuition, Starlight looked up. Unless… The long-legged creature tore down the door. It crawled onto the walls and eyed its victim. Starlight stood her ground, facing the heartless beast. The two locked in stares. Starlight wasn’t sure if it would work, but even if it didn’t she hoped it could buy her time. The creature attacked. Starlight shot the ceiling, letting down piles of massive rubble onto the creature. The rest of the ceiling collapsed as well, and Starlight put on a protective shield just in time. Before her, the creature lay buried under heaps of rubble. Feeling victorious, Starlight began to walk away. That’s when she heard movement in the rubble. It wasn’t dead. The creature broke through, and eyed Starlight with an angry look. There was no other choice but to run. Starlight saw the stairs from which she entered from, the one that lead back into the mines. She dreaded going back there, but that was her only hope. She teleported and ran down the stairs, back to the rubble she crawled in from. She crouched onto the ground, and quickly crawled under the think rubble. The jagged rocks underneath tore on her skin, but she had to keep going if she wanted to live. She could hear the creature growling behind her, getting closer. Finally her head emerged from the other side, and she pulled her entire body away from the rubble. Starlight stared at the hole for a while, all she could hear was hissing from the other side. As she suspected, the creature was too large to crawl through. The creature continued to hiss as Starlight got back up on her feet. She stared at the dark mines before her. Back in the mines again.