Shadow Chaser. Thesaurus. Dojo. Storm. Ferris.
Unlikely, unintimidating names, belonging to an even more unlikely group of ragtag friends who just so happened to have a mystery thrust upon them. Twilight, more so than the rest, was not a fan of her schoolfilly outfit.
"I look like I belong in one of Rainbow's fanfics," she complained.
"Hey!" Rainbow protested.
Rarity shrugged with indifference. "I must say this is not the type of thing I would usually wear on an outing like this, and especially not to solve a mystery. I would have brought along my feathered sleuthing hat. But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose, and it will have to do for now."
"You have a sleuthing hat?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'm prepared for everything," Rarity said. "Now, Rainbow, dear, seeing as we've been twisted into this mystery program of yours, and you're such a big fan of it, perhaps you can tell us how to get out. Who done it, as they say." She giggled. "Ooh, I feel like such a detective!"
"I'm afraid it's not that easy," Rainbow sighed. "It's a premiere story, which means it's not a rebroadcast, which means it's never played before. I don't know how this one turns out."
"Then we solve it!" Twilight announced. "Now, what sort of spooky creature were we hunting after again?"
"A headless horse," Rarity said. "A ghastly apparition of emerald coloration, approximately one and a half times larger than the average pony. Bits of ivory bone stick out from where its flesh has decayed, giving it a horrendous appearance in addition to its lack of a head, while its neck extends out and simply ends.. The only thing that's worse than its appearance is its breath, which one might compare to sulphur or rotting eggs."
Fluttershy squeaked and jumped into Rainbow's front legs, and Rainbow, who had not been prepared to catch a leaping pegasus, fell to the ground.
"Get off me," she hissed.
"That's excellent, Rarity!" Twilight said, surprised. "You'd make a great radio announcer. How did you know all that?"
Rarity flushed. "I was paying attention to the base description given in the introduction of the broadcast," she explained. "And it's standing right behind you."
"Oh, well in that ca-" Twilight blinked. She looked behind her, into the glowing red eyes of a bright green headless horse, which roared at her in a hideous fashion, splattering her features with drool.
"That's unfortunate," Spike said, and the gryffin chick leaped onto Twilight's back. "Would love to stay and make friends, but look at the time, it's late, gotta be going!"
Twilight made a run for it, not daring to look behind her a second time. Rainbow was on her left, with Fluttershy and Rarity immediately behind.
"Go faster, go faster, it's gaining on us!" Fluttershy cried.
The quartet burst through the woods, weaving between the trees in the darkness, their path only dimly lit by the moon. They skidded to a halt outside of the wooded border, and Rarity cast a glance behind them.
Silence.
"That was awesome! We totally lost it!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"That was horrible," Fluttershy said quietly."
"That was fake," Twilight said. "It has to be. There's no such thing as a headless horse. But for the sake of keeping up appearances, I'll hold off accusations until I have more clues."
"That's very noble of you," Rarity said. "I'd hate to embarrass ourselves with false charges."
Fluttershy had begun walking away, and Twilight hurried after her.
"What is it?" The gryffin asked.
"I want to see where this path leads," Fluttershy said. "The farther away from that thing we are, the better."
"I like this plan!" Rainbow said. "Lead on, Shadow Chaser!"
The path they were on wound out of the park, and onto a street. Across the street was a very shady looking motel, with the large letters overhead mostly burned out, only the M O L faintly flickering.
The group shared a glance, before crossing the street and entering the motel. And at once, encountering the last creature in the world they wanted to see at that moment.
"Greetings, ladies and gentleman!" Discord announced. "Will that be four rooms or five?"
"He did it!" Rainbow announced. "Discord's the terrifying headless pony, mystery solved, we can all go home now."
There was silence for a moment as they all looked around expectantly, but nothing happened.
"I'm afraid you might have me mixed up with someone else," Discord said. "I am the innkeeper, Hilton. While I am happy to accommodate your group, I've never seen you before in my life."
"Likely story!" Rainbow threatened. "You're up to your old tricks again!"
Twilight grabbed her friend by the tail and hauled her backwards.
"I thought we just agreed not to make false accusations!" She hissed.
"But it's Discord!" Rainbow pleaded.
Twilight looked over at him. "No, I don't think it is. We've been sucked into a radio broadcast by unstable magic. Since radio is an auditory medium and not a visual one, I suspect the magic did what it could and our memories did the rest."
Fluttershy frowned. "So, like, this this place is going to be filled with ponies we know who aren't who we think they are?"
"Don't start using 'like' improperly, Fluttershy. It makes my brain twitch," Rarity warned.
"I think so," Twilight continued. "Similarly, they might know us by our radio characters. It'll make things less confusing."
"Fine," Rainbow said. "But it doesn't mean I have to like him." She turned her attention back towards the draconequus. "Four rooms, please," she said.
Discord just smiled. "And who will that be under?" He slid the registry forward across the desk.
"I'm... uh... Storm."
"Well then, Storm, I hope you enjoy your stay," Discord said. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Oh, I'll let you know alright," Rainbow said, and once they'd all finished signing, the group headed upstairs to their rooms.
Outside, rapidly flicking light cast shadows on and off, as if ominous lightning had suddenly cracked across the sky, without the usual thunder that followed it.
Discord frowned, and looked outside. "I really must get that back light fixed," he muttered.