Alone in the Dark Cover Short Preview · 2:21pm Oct 1st, 2013
All of my previews are unedited. Recommended Listening
CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP....
Under a high moon and within a light fog, Pinkie Pie trotted merrily down a darkened forest path - as jubilant as if it were a sunny day. Attached to her sides were two saddle bags - filled with groceries and various small, party-related accessories. She came to a fork in the path, with two, ancient-looking wooden signs marking the ways.
Ponyville to the left.
Pie Mineral Farms to the right. The path not taken.
For once, she chose the path to the right - and felt all the better for it.
She continued to trot, not even unnerved by the forest's unusual dead silence. All that could be heard came from a stretch of willow trees bordering her family farm's - a ghostly wind that blew through them. This time, she paused, her ear perking in curiosity.
"Hmmm..."
A memory triggered - her mind briefly flashed to the past.
"But father - I could have sworn I had sworn I had heard someone..." she had once said.
Her father merely chuckled. "It's just the wind, Pinkie - nothing more..."
Yet still - it seemed that every year around this time, the night before Nightmare Night, the 'wind' grew a voice through those trees.
"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."
She paused, continuing to listen.
...
"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."
...
Eventually, Pinkie shrugged at this, before giggling. "Hiiii there, Willow Trees! Is that your own language? Oooo - can you teach me tree-talk! What's your word for hello?!"
"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus..."
"Huh..." Pinkie blinked. "I guess you're busy." She then beamed at them. "That's alright! I'll come back later! Try not to have too much tree fun without me! Doo di doo di doo... I'm a tree and that's good for me..."
And so she trotted through the thicket and onto the barren fields of her family's farm.
"...Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."
Weaving through scattered cracked and broken rocks, Pinkie neared a small, two-story farm-house in the distance. There was an organization to the chaos of her farm, however, as Inkie seemed set on labeling every single rock with one note or another.
Bloodstone - very valuable! A splintering potion would work well on this... we'll need to soften it slightly before harvest.
Mithrill - yes, that's right! Mithrill! I guess there were additional deposits, after all. Found in the lower mines. Do not add any growth catalyst - it will cause it to become very stiff.
Gold. Straight gold. Magical lay-lines should help with the purification and growth of this without any intervention. Coagulating multiple stones together should help.
Pinkie cocked her head at the word 'Coagulating.'
'I should ask her what that means later! Coagulate! Why is that word so fun to say - er, think? Coagulate! Coagulate! Coagulemananate! Hehehe!'
At the end of that thought, she had reached the front door to the farm house, grinning as she flung it open.
"SURPRISE!.!.!" she shouted.
The darkness failed to answer her.
"H-Huh?" Pinkie blinked, glancing the darkened lobby area. "Inkie? Blinkie? Where are you two!"
At that, she thought for a second, before her eyes widened.
"Oooo! Did you two somehow know I wasn't leaving and you're throwing a surprise party for me!? Is that it?! Is it?! Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!?"
She took a deep breath after that.
'I really shouldn't be eating so much sugar... my lungs can barely keep up with my words. Silly lungs.'
"Well...?!" Pinkie continued.
...
"P-Pinkie?!" a voice gulped from behind her.
Pinkie twirled about, grinning in glee at the sight of her two sisters - standing behind her in the open fields.
"Ooooh! There you two are!" Pinkie squealed. "Were we playing hide and seek? Cus I didn't see you two at all!"
At that, she galloped towards them, and leaned in for a hug...
Her fur nearly leaped at the feel of them. They were unusually cold. Still - Pinkie didn't give it another thought.
"Woah! You two are popsicle pies! Were you out in the cold for a long time?!"
The two glanced at each other oddly, before giving her two, sad smiles.
"Erm - yes," Blinkie coughed. "There were a few stray rocks on the left field we wanted to gather up!"
"To make dad happy," Inkie quickly beamed.
"But Pinkie..." Blinkie said slowly, as the former released her from her tight hug. "What are you still doing here? I thought you were going home for Nightmare Night?"
Pinkie winked. "Well, duhhhhh - isn't it obvious?! I decided to spend some time with my family instead of mah hoes! I honestly don't spend enough with you... and since Ponyville is a half-days trot away..."
The two glanced at her oddly, Blinkie with a bemused look on her face.
"It's an expression," Pinkie said blankly, before her cheerful smile returned. "I picked it up from this mare Vinyl Scratch! You would love her Blinkie, seriously!"
"I suppose," she said, smiling weakly again.
"B-But," Inkie gulped, glancing about in a strange, paranoid way. "Y-You've had like... twelve Nightmare Nights with us - and you've only known your friends for like two years, right? W-Why don't you want to spend time with them?"
"Cus we haven't had Nightmare Night together in like forever and a day!" Pinkie chirped, before glancing at her saddle-bags. "Come onnnn.... I know you don't want to keep me here, but I want to stay! I got all this stuff for a super-awesome Nightmare Night extravaganza!"
"Er, Pinkie," Blinkie coughed. "We don't know that many ponies around here who celebrate Nightmare Night. Most of Nowhere is filled with old people."
"PARTY IN THE RETIREMENT HOME!" Pinkie roared, before giggling slightly. "Na - just kidding. But still - the three of us can still party! All we need is our best friends Twelve-Pack Hard Cider and Reckie the Record Player!"
...
Blinkie and Inkie glanced away from her.
"Um..."
"Well...
:"WORK!" the two shouted in unison.
Inkie nodded rapidly. "There's a lot of work to be done tomorrow! Um - I still have a lot of labeling to do!"
"Yeah, don't want dad to get mad at us - hehe," Blinkie chuckled nervously.
Pinkie quirked her head, before gazing at the two suspiciously. "But... I helped you get all your work done this week. And I know what your work quota is..."
Suddenly, to the look of Inkie and Blinkie's regret, her eyes began to shimmer with tears. "D-Do you two not want me around anymore?! W-Was it something I said?! A-Are you worried about Courage getting too scared or something? Cus - I could cut back on the shouting! Really! And-"
She took a deep breath, before nodding slowly.
"It doesn't matter... I shouldn't be a burden on you two," she sighed.
At that, she began to slowly, sorrowfully trot around them and towards the line of Willow Trees...
"I'll just - get out of your manes..."
...
Inkie and Blinkie glanced at each other, biting their lips in shame, before glancing back at Pinkie.
"Pinkie, wait!" Inkie called.
She paused, but did not look at them. "Huh?"
At that, Blinkie galloped to her side, nuzzling her with a bone-cold stout. "Of course we want you to stay with us! We just didn't want to feel like we were keeping you here... your friends are probably a lot more fun than us..."
At that, Pinkie turned to her, a look of utter incredulity locked on her face.
"H-How could you think that?! You're my sisters!" she cried. "You helped me learn the meaning of fun! I mean - I love my friends to death, but family is family!"
Inkie trotted up to her as well, her eye that wasn't hidden behind her mane glancing at her shyly. "Y-You really mean it?"
Pinkie smiled down at her warmly. "Of course. I would love you even if you were the most boring boringer on the planet borington!"
Inkie glanced away from her, closing her eyes. "B-But... what if we were something else?"
Pinkie glanced at her oddly. "Huh?"
"Nothing..." she sighed.
"Well, alright, alright!" Blinkie chuckled. "Now that we've got that settled! Let's get one of your famous parties going! On this Nightmare's Eve!" She then took a deep breath, and gave her best impression of an evil laugh. "BUAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Yeeeeeeah baby!" Pinkie grinned, and began galloping towards the farm-house.
However, Inkie and Blinkie lagged behind, glancing at each other worriedly.
"Inkie..."
"Y-Yeah?"
"How are we going to-"
She shook her head. "I-I don't know... we could barely keep it together last year... and this year... I-I just feel like... it's growing stronger. Still - we have to keep our heads... and bodies straight. For Pinkie."
Blinkie took a deep breath. "Well - this was bound to come up, anyway, I suppose. We're just lucky mother and father aren't home. But why is it like this every Nightmare Night?!"
Inkie opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, though she was interrupted by a gust of wind...
"...Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."
The two slowly turned about, glancing at the line of willow trees with pondering eyes.
... And for a brief second, unbeknowingst to them, those same eyes flashed a pure, supernatural white.
well shit, now i must command you to finish this amazing story for me to finish.
As soon as that was said, having Courage in the cover art suddenly made sense! Also I've heard that chanting somewhere before, is it in an episode?
maybe the one with the mummy...
1387917
The one with the mummy was just "return the slab or suffer my curse."
This one should prove interesting. If the cover image is anything to go by, we might even have a visit from Slendy.
Oh, yeez