Everything was still dark when Twinkleshine opened her eyes.
She blinked once, then twice, adjusting to the darkness. Her mind played catch up with her body as it tried to process why she was awake despite it not being daylight outside yet.
The aching in her barrel quickly answered her query.
Groaning, Twinkleshine got up and stretched, getting her blood flowing and mind clear. She then leaned down and gently nudged Lemon Hearts. “Hey, Lemon?” she whispered.
Lemon Hearts shifted a little, but didn’t wake up.
Twinkleshine nudged her harder. “C’mon Lemon, wake up.”
Lemon Hearts moaned as she cracked an eye open. She looked up at Twinkleshine, annoyance clear in her features. “What?” she said, groggily.
“Where was the bathroom?”
“Down the front hall, sixth door on the right.” Lemon Hearts buried her face in her saddlebag.
“Thanks.” Twinkleshine tip-hooved out of the living room and to the entrance foyer.
Now that Twinkleshine was venturing further into the mansion, she had to admit that it was kind of spooky. The quiet ambiance, dark, claustrophobic hallway, and creaking of loose floorboards under her hooves all added up to create a sense of unease in her gut. She’d never, ever admit it out loud to anypony, of course, but she definitely wanted to spend as little time away from the group as possible. Moreover, all the dust she was kicking up with her hooves could potentially ruin her coat, and that would never do.
Finally, she reached the sixth door on the right. She quickly opened it up and slipped inside, flicking the light switch. She then made to answer nature’s call.
…
...
Creak
Twinkleshine had just finished when her ear flicked in response to the distant sound. It sounded like the floor creaking.
Creak Creak
Twinkleshine arched a confused brow. Those sounded like hoofsteps. Had one of the girls followed her? If they were trying to scare her, it wasn’t funny!
Twinkleshine listened as the creaking gradually got closer. Yes, they were definitely hoofsteps, she realized. Somepony was walking down the hall outside. What confused Twinkleshine, however, was that the hoofsteps were coming from the opposite direction as the living room. Had one of the girls been unable to sleep and decided to explore the mansion?
Panic began settling in as Twinkleshine realized that theory made little sense. She’d only been gone for two minutes, and nopony had followed her. If it was one of the girls, they would had to have gone the long way around through the study, but could they really make it to her current location in only two minutes, despite knowing almost nothing about the mansion’s layout?
The hoofsteps had now reached the bathroom door. Alongside them, Twinkleshine could hear what sounded like very soft moaning. A bead of sweat dripped down her face as she tried to decide on a course of action. Whoever was on the other side could be some crazed loon escaped from an insane asylum, or even a starving homeless pony who’d taken up residence in the abandoned mansion. She hoped it was the latter, or something equally harmless.
“... Who’s there?”
The hoofsteps came to an immediate stop next to the door. Twinkleshine backed away and levitated a ceramic soap dish from the sink counter, ready to smash it against the head of whatever came through if they turned out to be hostile.
Nothing happened at first. Twinkleshine’s heart pounded in her chest in anticipation of what might come through. She couldn’t even keep a steady grip on the soap dish, which shook like a leaf in her telekinesis.
The doorlock clicked. Twinkleshine prepared herself as she watched the door slowly swing open. A faint, pony-shaped outline could be seen in the dark hallway.
“Wh-Who are y-y-you?” Twinkleshine stuttered.
The pony’s only response were more soft moans. Then a light blue hoof stepped into the bathroom’s light. Twinkleshine managed to relax a little at the familiar sight of a stallion’s hoof. Another hoof stepped through.
Twinkleshine’s blood ran cold.
A large, rusted nail pierced the pony’s fetlock. Bits of dried blood coated the fur around it.
That hoof was followed by a body, then a neck, and finally a head, all the while a creeping sense of horror and disgust overtook Twinkleshine as more gruesome details about the stallion revealed themselves.
Chunks of rotted, loose flesh dotted the pony’s coat, marring the pretty blue color with a putrid purplish red, while dust and grime coated the bulk of the body. The stallion’s chest was torn open, revealing the colorful organs within, some of which hung out of the open cavity like spaghetti on a fork. His green mane and tail were wildly unkempt, with several bald spots dotting his scalp. His eyes were glazed over, while his mouth hung open to reveal rotted, yellow teeth and a rancid, rotting tongue.
The stallion edged closer to Twinkleshine, his deadened gaze fixated on her.
Twinkleshine shrieked. She smashed the soap dish against the stallion’s head. He stumbled back a little, only to be pushed back as Twinkleshine barreled through him, bolting from the bathroom and down the hall.
“Girls! Girls!” she shouted once she’d entered the living room. “Wake up! C’mon, wake up pleeease!”
Her friends were all roused from their peaceful slumber. They rubbed the sleep from their eyes before fixating their collectively annoyed expressions on Twinkleshine. “What is it?” Lemon Hearts asked weakly.
Twinkleshine pointed a shaking hoof behind her. “Th-Th-There’s a m-m-m-monster here!”
Her friends all blinked in unison. Their expressions all turned bemused before they plopped their heads back down on their saddlebags. “Go back to sleep,” Moon Dancer said tiredly.
Twinkleshine stomped her hoof. “I’m serious! There’s a–” Her ear flicked. Panic overtook her again as she bolted into the living room, jumping behind the nearest couch before curling herself into a shaking ball. “He’s coming this way!”
Minuette lifted her head up, brow arched in curiosity. “What’s coming this way?”
“Wait a minute.” Lemon Hearts lifted her head up, looking towards the doorway. “I heard something.”
Curious, Moon Dancer strained her ears. Sure enough, the faint sound of hoofsteps was steadily approaching the foyer. Moon Dancer got up and ran through a mental list of disarming spells. Whatever was coming would never get the chance to hurt her or her friends.
Finally, the stallion turned around the corner into the living room. Moon Dancer, Lemon Hearts, and Minuette all immediately froze where they stood. The sluggish, decaying form shuffled towards them on three hooves, while the one with the rusty nail embedded in it reached towards them.
”K-Kill me,” he said in a hoarse whisper.
“Do something Moon Dancer!” Twinkleshine shouted.
Moon Dancer lowered her horn, shooting forth a magic blast straight at the stallion’s head. He instantly stopped in his tracks.
For a few moments, all was silent. The girls all anxiously stared, waiting for Moon Dancer’s spell to take effect. The stallion’s body twitched once, then twice, before what little life there was left in his eyes receded. One after another, his legs buckled, falling and splaying out on the floor. And it might’ve been a trick of the light, but all of the girls could’ve sworn they saw him smile a little before he completely fell to the floor.
The girls all waited for a few more moments. When it became clear the stallion wasn’t getting back up, they all breathed a deep, collective sigh of relief.
“What in the name of Celestia just happened?” Minuette asked.
“And what is that... thing?” Twinkleshine asked from her spot behind the couch. “And is it dead for good?”
“It’s a zombie, or, more scientifically, a ‘revival dead’,” Moon Dancer explained. “And yes, it’s dead. I cast a nullification spell on him, so the revival spell keeping him alive was neutralized.” An inquisitive frown crossed her muzzle as she took a step toward him. “As for who he is, well…” She turned to see Lemon Hearts had a look of stark realization plastered over her face, to which all the pieces clicked in Moon Dancer’s mind. “Is he really…?”
Lemon Hearts nodded. “It’s Snowy Pine, no doubt about it,” she said. “He looks exactly like the colt in the family portrait back in the hallway.”
“So,” Minuette started, her voice unusually shaky, “all that stuff in the journal was true?”
“I thought it might’ve been,” Moon Dancer muttered. She stared down at Snowy’s corpse, mourning, for a few seconds before lifting it up in her magic. “We should bury him,” she said, and turned to her friends. “Anypony wanna help me?”
“No way am I going anywhere near that thing!” Twinkleshine declared, crossing her hooves with a resolute frown.
Moon Dancer looked between Minuette and Lemon Hearts. Minuette shifted uncomfortably, clearly none too thrilled with the offer either. Seeing her friends’ disinterest, Lemon Hearts stepped forward with a proud smile. “I’ll help,” she said.
“Thanks, Lemon,” Moon Dancer said.
With that, the two of them left to the foyer and out the front door, leaving Twinkleshine and Minuette alone.