Author's Note:.....................
Nothing...I hear Nothing...
The sound of silence is nerve racking to the military trained mind, whether an ambush or some pony that might be watching you fuels a pony's imagination. Noise is part of my everyday life, rarely is it silent. Normally, a quiet evening with my wife would not bother me, but tonight... is no ordinary night. I fear no pony, but that sound......it scares me. My beloved rests on my lap, dreaming away in a world of harmony and peace. Oblivious of the environment that surrounds her form. I protect her from harm. But only from physical harm. I have no power over her mind or any who might wish to exploit it. I was trained in combat, I rose above the ranks, I lead the most powerful army on the planet, and yet......silence burns my ears.
The second element of the night would be darkness. No light illuminates my surrounding. Complete darkness and the sound of nothing are my company this evening. As far as I'm concerned, my wife is not here. Until the sunrises in the morning, I have lost her. Only I remain. Not even the princess's moon makes an appearance. Utter blackness. Who's to say that there won't be something waiting here when I flick on a light? Even if there was, I can't see or hear it. I don’t know why I bother staying awake now. Its past 2:00 and I have a duty to fulfill in the morning. But.....something stops me. This something, I know not what it is.
I'm beginning to feel the cold of this winter evening as it travels through my regrettably enormous home. A large living room on a large couch is where my wife and I await. We live in a giant mansion of a house, yet only two live in it. It gets lonely sometimes…too lonely. When you live with your wife or husband alone, you can almost get the feeling that...you're being watched. But that's not possible...is it?
(Thunder)
Perfect, simply perfect, as if tonight wasn't evil enough. What's worse is now the sound of rain trickling onto the window echoes through the halls. I prefer silence over repeated tapping and scratching on the windows, like a mad pony would do before charging in and attacking its victims. I can't be the only pony that hates flashes of lightning that fill an area with light. With every thunderbolt and flash of white, I only briefly see shapes within the living room.
I can't help but feel....awake. Whether from constant alert or from fear, I can't determine. But I feel.....awake. Insomnia some call it. But for a Canterlot Guard, it's a sense of security. Sometimes it is a blessing, other times, a curse I hear and see everything, nevertheless.....nothing.
Ooooooooo
3:10. I'm still here. But I've come to a conclusion. My wife and I are not alone. I've determined this much so far. What worries me is that it knows where we are. I do not know if our guest is dangerous or maybe just some teenager that broke in. I can't take any chances, I have a wife to protect, and here, is not a safe place for her. Charging up my magic, I give her a quick kiss on the lips and teleported her away to the castle in a bright flashing light. Now nothing holding me back, I embark on a hunt to find this mysterious visitor. I know he she or....it is here. While sitting in the dark I heard hoof steps coming from somewhere in the house. That is when I realized it was not safe.
Ooooooooo
3:55. I still hear nothing. I've been searching for an imaginary pony. Ever since I started looking for signs of anything, the only thing I’ve been hearing is the sound of my own hoof steps, and that friendly silence. Yet, this little search has not been a complete waste. I did manage to find something....something disturbing...a page. A page that says....
Follows...
I'm not the type show fear but, I'm a bit creeped out. Ok...I'm terrified. It stopped raining so that’s good I guess. I could just leave the house and investigate this more with my troops in the morning. But.....but...something tells me, that’s a bad idea.
Page number 2. This page seems more disturbing then the first. It’s just some sort of drawing? Is it a drawing of...trees? Yes definitely trees. I found this page in our library. I was reluctant at first to enter one of the creepiest rooms of my house at night, but because of this, I knew I could find some clue in here. I've come to realize that I'm not looking for some pony anymore. Some pony is looking for me.... These pages are my concern right now. I've also realized that this isn't some teenager. This is much deeper than I thought. I'm grateful for getting my wife out of here as soon as possible. I'm still trying to decipher these pages. It Follows.....and a drawing of trees. None of this makes sense at all. I'm no were near the woods or trees, and what follows? Or is it, following what? Something tells me this is more than a joke that some sicko is playing on me. At first I thought this was some game but I'm starting to believe that I shoulda left while I had the chance. No turning back now.
Ooooooooo
Pages 3, 4, and 5. I have five pages now. Also, I know that I'm being watched constantly. By what, I still don't know. More writing on the 3 pages I just found. At first I thought this was a good thing. Now I realize that it's worse now. Help me....Leave me alone.....can't run....So far the only information I could gather is that 1, whatever is following me, I'm not the first. 2nd, It leaves these pages in a certain area for its victims to find. 3rd, It has the advantage...in MY own house. All I have is my magic and a flashlight. I still can't decide whether or not this thing is a killer. So far, I've found no evidence of any deaths. I keep passing the opportunity to leave, possibly because I'm determined to get to the bottom of this, or I'm too afraid. All those years of training and I don’t think I would ever be ready for this. It's almost morning but the sun hasn't appeared yet. I've almost had a few encounters with the mysterious guest, but according to these pages, hiding is probably the best option. A few minutes ago, I was walking down a hallway full of portraits. Pictures of family, the princess, etc. That’s when I heard slow hoof steps...oh Celestia....it's coming this way. I chose the coward's way and fled to the nearest closet. My father would be so ashamed. But I did what I had to do. I looked through a crack in the door but I couldn't get a glimpse of its face.......
ooooooooo
Page 6. Don’t look or it takes you......? I'd be smart to listen to this. I don't know how far it is or what IT even is. Now I’m glad I hid in the closet. I decided to hide here until the morning. As I wait there, my madness starts to consume me. My mysterious guest has passed this hallway almost 7 times now. I have my suspicions that it knows I’m here. But it’s waiting…taunting me, passing the closet door every time.
(Clop.....clop......clop.....clop)
That might be one of the most terrifying sounds I've ever heard.
Ooooooooo
As the sun finally takes my hoof and leads me out of the night, I finally gather the courage to leave the safety of the closet and make a run for the outside. I open the closet door, only enough to check both ways of the hallway, empty, now’s my chance. I bolt out of the room and find the nearest window. Mere inches away from freedom, I throw myself out through the glass and run as fast as I could, not daring to look back. I make a run for the castle, the warm sun bringing tears of relief to my eyes.
I’m met by some of my troops at the front gate who are surprised to see me this early. With no time to explain, I order them to get every pony inside as fast as possible.
Ooooooooo
6:30 P.M.
The whole day I've been locked in the royal library finding anything at all that might help.
Nothing...
I haven't spoken to anyone, not even Cadence, all day. She's worried about me, but I'm glad that she's safe. My house is under tight security, no pony is to come in, or out. Princess Luna herself arrived at the scene to examine the area. I showed her the pages, I told her everything. But nothing. I've been consulting with Twilight and Princess Celestia about paranormal activities involving pages and stalking, nothing. Not even a bedtime story. No pony has questioned my instincts before, for this, I'm grateful. I'm also thankful that no pony thinks I'm going crazy. But still....It's like this thing doesn't even exist. My house was thoroughly searched, turned inside out, but the only thing found was the glass from the window I crashed through. No sign of anything breaking in, no pages, no nothing. No evidence.
9:20
Book after book, scroll after scroll, nothing at all. The more I try to get to the bottom of this, the farther I wander from the truth behind this nightmare….
Midnight…
I sit here once again, alone in the dark, waiting for nothing. A faint candle is the only light in the room. I think about everything that’s happened, the pages, the darkness, the fear, that all too familiar silence… and then it hit me. Familiar silence……? That’s when I found the 7th page: “Always watches, no eyes…”
It’s here……
It’s amazing how hectic an entire castle can get in a few minutes. I ordered the evacuation of the entire palace. My wife and the Princesses were transported to a safe location that only I knew. My stallions on the hunt for anything suspicious, I advised them,
“Stick together, and watch each other’s backs. Look for suspicious pages. This thing is unpredictable…especially in the dark”.
(Thunder)
And just like that, my men and I lose the advantage of numbers. The castle is in complete darkness and the only sound that echoes through the enormous corridors is the sound of hoof steps. My troops remain silent but I feel their fear. I know that fear all too well. It’s the fear of the unknown, and the fear of being alone. We listen carefully to each step, each step coming closer, and closer. Never have I seen my soldiers shake in fear or wet themselves like foals. This is beyond them, and I know some of them will not see the morning. Suddenly, the hoof steps cease. This time, the silence is a dark silence, an evil silence, almost as if it’s telling us that it’s ready for us. I deploy squads of 5 soldiers to investigate the castle. Some of the smart troops fled before I could give the order. As for me, I’m facing this thing alone.
The same strategy as the night before, stay alert, eyes open for pages, stay alive. I’m having the worst case of déjà vu as of right now, alone, scared, oblivious. Something at the back of my head is telling me that THIS time, it’s pissed.
1:00
Sounds of screams fly through the halls. I was a fool to involve my men in this. Slowly, it’s narrowing down its victims to one pony.
2:00
Running. Running for my life. With the last of the royal guards gone, I’m on my own. The last scream I heard was of my 2nd in command. I froze in place as I recognized the voice, and then….
(Clop……clop…clop)
Page 8….
The last page I found….”NO NO NO NO NO NO”. I’m hiding once again, tears running down my face, bladder control completely gone my sanity gone as well. (Clop…clop) Locked inside a one of the castle suites, the pages are scattered across the bed and I panic, trying to find an escape. Desperately I study each page, heart beating, sweat running, tears falling, and as I looked at each page, I finally began to understand...
Follows
the first page I found when I first began to investigate, It followed...
The trees...
The mysterious guest having the advantage in my enormous house, like wolf in the woods...
Leave me alone....
It, walking past the closet several times, taunting me...
Can't run...
The fear of leaving my house, thinking it was a bad idea...
Help me....
Defenseless and alone until sunrise...
Don't look or it takes you...
When I looked through the crack in the door, unable to see its face, that's when it discovered where I was...
Always watches...no eyes...
Following me, knowing I would be at the castle...
But page 8 still confused me. No no no no. What did it mean? And a picture of a pony without any facial features, wearing a suit. (Clop...clop). This doesn't make sense (clop...clop...clop) each page somehow connected with everything I did the night before and tonight (clop...clop) No no no? (Clop) suddenly It came to me.
Violently turning my head to the direction of the door, the knob began to slowly turn and open...
No.....
A tall slender pony walked in, no face, no features, just wearing a black suit....
No....
It slowly made its way over to me... I fell back and began to shake uncontrollably...
No...
I slammed my eyes shut, his image burned into my brain...
No....
I heard it come closer and closer, until I knew it was inches away...
NO!
And the last thing I ever heard...
Was the static in the night.......
Author's Note: "Click to Continue"