//------------------------------// // Chapter 21: Near and Far // Story: Spiritus ex Machina // by wonderkid125 //------------------------------// Elsewhere, amid the eerie silence and dimly lit corridors and rooms of the third floor, Twilight Sparkle and her group of friends lingered by the stairwell, waiting for any news from Glimmer Shine and the others. Twilight sat on the outside of a loose circle that everyone had formed near the landing to the steps. The ponies talked to each other quietly, occasionally sparing a moment to dart their eyes down a darkened hallway, convinced they heard a noise or seen a flash of movement against the dull shadows. Glitterball stood away from the group, keeping a near constant watchful eye on the two hallways and hoping to hear some sign of communication from her teammates. The white unicorn trailed her eyes down to a trail of black stained footprints leading down a hall. “*Sigh* I hope you guys aren’t in trouble… just hold out until Glimmer and the others find you.” She muttered with a quiet tone of concern. “Hey Glitter, hear anything from them yet?” Rainbow Dash asked hopefully from behind the unicorn. Glitterball glanced over her shoulder to see the group of ponies looking to her with guarded optimism. “Nothing yet I’m afraid.” She reported with a slight frown before turning back to her post. The others looked around uncomfortably, some turning to gloomier thoughts or sighing in a deflated manner. Berry Swirl fidgeted her hooves together anxiously, trying to occupy her thoughts. “Oh… I just know they are in danger somehow. If any of them get hurt… it’s all my fault.” She frowned sadly while looking to the floor. “Hey… lighten up.” Rainbow Dash said while putting a reassuring hoof on the purple mare’s shoulder. Berry looked up, surprised to see the cyan mare with a relatively confident expression on her face. “You aren’t worried about them?” She asked hesitantly. “Of course I’m worried about them… at least a little bit,” Rainbow admitted without wavering her reassuring expression. “But I know them better than you do. Applejack is one tough pony, and Rarity might not look like it, but she can hold her own. As long as they are together, they won’t let anything get in their way. I mean… you trust Sparkplug and Silver Bell’s abilities, don’t you?” “I…” Berry paused for a moment before removing her frown and setting her mouth in a line. “I do… I trust them. I know that Sparkplug wouldn’t let anything happen to Silver Bell… or the kids.” She stated with a confident nod. “Well, then there you have it. They’ll be fine… we just have to trust them to get back to us alright, and we have to trust Glimmer Shine and the others to find them in one piece.” Rainbow Dash explained with a resolute expression. Berry smiled softly and nodded once more. Many of the others adopted confident expressions as well as they thought about how strong the missing ponies were. They knew that each of the four mares would fight valiantly to protect each other. Suddenly, Glitterball heard a voice ring out in her ear. “Glitter… *Pant* we found them!” Sunspot reported excitedly, seemingly catching her breath from some strenuous activity. “What?” Glitterball asked in a stunned tone with a smile building on her face. “Say that again?” “We found them all. Applejack, Rarity, Sparkplug, Silver Bell, the kids… they’re all alright. We’re heading back to you right now.” Glimmer Shine explained in a clearer manner, though he sounded like he was running as well. “R-right… right!” Glitterball nodded frantically, despite the fact that her teammates couldn’t see her. Her building smile turned into a wide grin as she dropped her hoof from her ear and turned to the others. “Guys, Glimmer and the others found them!” She reported eagerly. Everyone erupted into surprised gasps of joy and stunned smiles at the sudden news. “What? You mean even Sparkplug and the kids?!” Twilight asked excitedly. “Yes, all of them! They’re coming back this way as we speak.” Glitterball replied with a pleased expression. Twilight, her three friends, and Berry Swirl’s group all started cheering in excitement. Pinkie Pie roped Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy into a hug, Copper Coil heartily patted Berry Swirl on the back, and everyone shared a collective feeling of relief and eager anticipation as they neared the moment when they would be reunited with their missing friends. It was almost hard for them to contain themselves and keep relatively quiet in consideration for their unknown surroundings, but they didn’t care. They were going to be together again for the first time since they started their journey into the depths of the resort. Once the initial excitement had died down, everyone returned to waiting around in a circle and quietly talking to each other. However, now their spirits were lifted higher than ever as they had something to look forward to. Twilight stared off into the distance as she focused on her thoughts. Her mind drifted to the young dragon and a soft smile crept across her face. She couldn’t wait to see Spike again and to embrace him and make him feel safe again. No matter where she was, as long as her number one assistant was with her everything seemed brighter and more cheerful. She also couldn’t wait to be reunited with her other two friends. The unicorn couldn’t imagine what it would be like if she lost one of her five best friends, so she was ecstatic to know that they were in safe hands and on their way back to the group. A few minutes went by with nothing but silence around the ponies. No more animatronics made their presence known, and no ghostly noises or sights came from the darkness around them. Although they were thankful that nothing bad was happening, the suspense and anxiety in the air was still high. Suddenly, Glitterball noticed a beam of light coming from down the hall. As the others turned their heads and watched the light getting closer, their faces lit up as they could make out the sight of Glimmer Shine and the others walking down the hallway. Behind the two ponies and their human companion, Applejack, Rarity, and all of the others were following closely. “There they are!” Glitterball exclaimed excitedly, though most of the others had already noticed. The white mare flinched as a pink blur raced past her and down the hallway. She looked ahead to see Pinkie Pie bolting toward the group. As everyone saw the impatient pony going to greet the others, they started walking forward with eager expressions as well. “GUUUYS!!” Pinkie cheered loudly while zipping down the corridor like a bat out of Tartarus. Glimmer Shine and Sunspot saw the pink pony racing toward them at the speed of Pinkie. They each took a moment to process the situation before taking a single step to the side. Tom, who was still staring ahead in confusion, did not move out of the way in time as the pink mare ran past him to get at the others. While the human nearly got blown off of his feet, Applejack and Rarity got sent to the floor as Pinkie figuratively and literally jumped them. The two ponies were now the recipients of one of the tightest hugs they had ever experienced, all without even signing up or saying a word. “Oh my gosh I thought we were never going to see you again I was so worried I thought you were goners and I was so sad because I haven’t thrown you any parties lately and I thought I wouldn’t have another chance but now you’re here and I’m so GLAD!” Pinkie spoke frantically, barely pausing to take a breath. She buried her head into the two mares and squeezed them tightly. “We’re… glad to see you too, darling.” Rarity croaked out with a smile, silently reaching toward the ceiling and trying to grasp something to free herself from her friend’s surprisingly powerful grip. “Yeah… ya could say we’re… speechless…” Applejack wheezed while patting the pink mare on the back and gradually accepting her fate. The cutie mark crusaders stood by and watched Pinkie embracing the two mares with hesitant expressions. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom weren’t sure if the pink pony was assaulting their sisters or hugging them, but they figured that it would be best to not intervene. Spike glanced behind him to see the group of ponies approaching from down the hall and smiled brightly as he noticed a certain purple unicorn. “Twilight!” He exclaimed while rushing forward. “Spike!” Twilight picked up her pace, pulling ahead of the group and meeting the dragon in the middle of the dark hallway. She knelt down and immediately pulled Spike close to her with her forelegs and buried her head into him. While the unicorn and dragon were sharing a loving embrace, the others gradually caught up to the group. Everyone had bright smiles on their faces as they walked up to people they never thought they would see again. Berry Swirl and High Tide gladly hugged Silver Bell, while Copper Coil did the same for Sparkplug. Rainbow Dash smirked softly as Scootaloo hugged her leg, giving the filly a pat on the head in return. Once they were done with their initial greetings, and Pinkie Pie was done nearly suffocating the pair, Twilight and the others gathered in front of Applejack and Rarity. “Applebloom… I believe this is yours.” Twilight said while levitating the red ribbon over to its rightful owner. She smiled softly as the filly’s face lit up with joy. “My bow!” Applebloom cheered while eagerly accepting the ribbon from the unicorn and tying it on her hair again. “Thanks for holdin’ onta’ it for me, Twilight.” She said with a grateful expression. “It was no problem. That was awful clever of you to leave it there for us to find… I guess it runs in the family.” Twilight said while glancing over to Applejack and Rarity with a warm smile. “You know, you girls really had us worried for a while there.” She playfully chastised the two mares with a jesting tone. “We were worried for you as well. I can’t believe you all came down here after us… you’re all simply too much.” Rarity had to take a moment to try and not cry tears of joy as she was finally reunited with her friends. “We didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter… but even if we did, we still would have come and got you.” Fluttershy stated with a confident glance to the others, who all nodded in response. “Aww… come here, guys!” Pinkie Pie said in a heartfelt tone while reaching forward and pulling all five of her best friends in for a hug. Applejack and Rarity were hesitant, but thankfully the pink mare was leaps and bounds more gentle with their fragile bodies. The others left the six mares alone for a moment so they could quietly hug it out. After a few more minutes of everyone enjoying each other’s company, the group finally decided to head back to the stairs to discuss more serious matters of importance. Twilight and the others gathered around Glimmer Shine and his three companions as they thought about what to do now that everyone was back together. They didn’t need to worry about missing friends anymore, so the only thing to focus on was the root of their problems. They had to get rid of the ghosts somehow. Glitterball was the first to break the impatient silence. “So… now what?” She asked, hopeful that some of her teammates had suggestions. “Well, we need to find a way to remove all of the ghosts… that’s fairly obvious. The question is how do we do that?” Glimmer Shine pondered out loud. He looked around his team, as well as the larger group of ponies, wondering if anyone would step forward with a suggestion while he thought. “I might not be an expert in this kind of thing, but given the lack of information and options we have, maybe it would be a good idea to check out the source of the ghosts?” Sparkplug said, hoping that her idea had some merit and wouldn’t be immediately shot down. “Do we even know where that is? Judging from the tapes we found upstairs, the paranormal activity seemed to start down here on the third floor, but that doesn’t get us very far.” Sunspot shrugged with a deflated expression. Sweetie Belle chimed in from the back of the group. “What about that cave place we heard about on that tape I found?” She asked curiously. Though most of the group was clueless about what the filly was referring to, Sparkplug, Rarity, and Spike could appreciate her good idea. “Huh? A cave?” Glitterball parroted the young unicorn with a confused expression. “Actually, that might be it. Good work, kid.” Sparkplug said while briefly looking back to the young filly, who was smirking bashfully. “We found a tape down here talking about a cave somewhere. I think it’s from way back when the earthquake sank the amusement park underground. The construction crew found some stuff that they put into a museum up on the second floor, so that might be the closest thing we have to a source.” She explained. “Yeah, I think I remember hearing something about that on the tapes upstairs. That would be a pretty good place to start.” Sunspot suggested while looking to her teammates to gather their opinion. The others were open to the idea. However, some people looked less enthused. “Umm… I hate to ruin good plans darling, but if you’ll recall I believe that tape we found said that the entrance to that cave is locked at all times. And unfortunately… I don’t remember it mentioning where the keys were stored.” Rarity added with a slight frown. Sparkplug deflated slightly. “Ugh… darn.” She groaned in frustration. The others were upset as well as they realized they had hit a massive roadblock in their plan. While most of the ponies had given up on the idea of getting into the cave, Glimmer Shine didn’t seem to be defeated. “Well, that does put a wrinkle into things. But… maybe we can find those keys?” The yellow stallion suggested optimistically. “Glimmer, that could take ages. At least with the keys upstairs, we had a lead to follow. Down here, we have nothing to go on.” Sunspot said with a shrug. “I think he’s right,” Tom chimed in. “We need to get into that cave. It is the only solid lead we have on a possible angle on these ghosts. If we split up and search some key areas, maybe we can find the keys.” He added with a slight smirk, noting his unintentional wordplay. “*Sigh*… alright, I’ll bite. Where would we even start?” Sunspot asked curiously. Although she didn’t like the idea very much, she did understand where her teammates’ logic came from. Tom and Glimmer Shine walked over to the map on the wall. While they were looking around, some of the others stepped over and helped in the search. “Let’s see here…” Glimmer Shine muttered to himself while trailing his eyes across the map and scanning the many rooms. “There’s a storage room here.” Tom pointed out, referencing a relatively large shaped rectangle near the middle of the map on the left side. “Looks pretty big… maybe it was used to store Animatronics or mascot suits?” Twilight suggested. “It could have also been used to store other things… like keys, if we’re lucky. That’s a good start… What else?” Glimmer returned to his search while still leaving the discussion open for anyone to join in. “Cotton Swirl had a personal workshop on this floor… up there.” Sparkplug said while pointing to the precise location on the map. “Yeah, we were checkin’ it out when you found us. I think I left the keys there when we ran away from that thing.” Applejack added with a slightly disappointed expression. She couldn’t believe she just let such an important item slip from her mind; although, she was terrified beyond belief at the time. Glimmer Shine nodded without turning away from the map. “Good thinking. I was wondering what you were doing over there.” He suddenly paused as he came across something of interest. “Aha… looks like there’s another security room down here as well.” The others looked to where the yellow pony was pointing. Sure enough, there was a small room at the far left side of the map labeled “security” among some other staff rooms and mascot workshops. “Seems like we’ve got enough to keep us busy for the moment… how about we group up and check these places before searching elsewhere?” Tom asked while turning to his companions for their input. After some delegation, Glimmer Shine, Sunspot, and Glitterball all nodded in agreement. “Now all that leaves is for us to decide who goes where.” Sunspot stated blankly, turning to the others and hoping they had a better idea of how to split up teams than she did. Thankfully, Glimmer Shine seemed to know what he was doing. A solid few minutes went by as the three ponies and their human companion talked with the others about what they were going to do. Twilight, her friends, and Berry Swirl and her staff all stood and talked about what they wanted. It was eventually decided that Glitterball would take a group down to the security room to search and that the group that went would stay there for safety reasons. Twilight and the others were asked to eventually go to the security room, but they declined. Now that they were getting down to business at hoof, they wanted to help with solving the ghost problem. Finally, the teams had been decided. All of the children, along with Rarity, Berry Swirl, High Tide, and Copper Coil would go with Glitter to stay in the security room. Sunspot and Glimmer Shine would search the storage room. And lastly, Tom would take Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, and Sparkplug to go investigate the workshop. The three groups stood close to each other and gathered before the three hallways that would separate them. They all looked determined to fulfill their part in making sure everyone made it home safely, and they were eager to finish what they had started. Still, there were some concerned expressions of doubt and nervousness among the group as they wondered if their friends would be safe. “Are you guys sure about this?” Glitterball asked curiously, looking to Glimmer Shine and Sunspot with a hesitant expression. The pair would be by themselves as they searched. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. We’ll meet up with Tom and the others at the workshop after we clear out that storage room.” Glimmer Shine said with a confident tone and a reassuring expression. Berry Swirl looked over to the gray mare going with the human’s group with a concerned frown. “Sparkplug… you know you don’t have to do this. You can just come to the security office with us.” She said with a pleading expression. “Sorry Berry, but I’ve made up my mind. I want to help them.” Sparkplug replied with a steadfast attitude. Berry nodded understandingly in response. The purple mare and the others wanted to help as well, but Glimmer Shine insisted that they stay somewhere safe. The only reason the gray pony was going along was because she threatened to bite if they tried to force her to stay, and they took her word for it. “Ok, everyone… listen up.” Tom spoke to get the others’ attention. “Let’s lay out some ground rules before we split off. If you see anything with yellow eyes, run the other way. There are a lot of inhuman spirits down here with us. Some of you don’t know what that means… but just know that it is bad. Aside from them, we shouldn’t have to worry about much else. If any ghosts are down here, they are most likely hiding away from the inhumans. Glitterball, your group should have a straight shot to the security room if you follow that hall. Just keep on your guard, and be cautious… and that goes double for you two.” He explained while pointing to Glimmer Shine and Sunspot. “We’ll meet up back here if something goes really wrong. Stay in contact, and stay out of trouble.” As the human finished his pep talk, the ponies offered a stoic nod in response. Pinkie saluted as well, even though Tom was mostly addressing the other groups. “Alright guys, let’s head out,” Glitterball stated while turning to walk down the hall with her troop. “Stay safe everyone.” She said, turning and glancing to the others as they departed as well. The groups all said their last messages of encouragement and goodbyes as they all walked away toward their destinations. The rainbow-haired unicorn took the lead and walked down the leftmost hallway. The large line of ponies behind her gave her a sort of confidence that helped her quell any unease she might have felt. She was their leader, and she was going to protect them no matter what. Rarity stayed toward the back of the group to give them light. Sweetie Belle opted to walk alongside her, and the other kids gravitated around the young unicorn simply because she was there. Berry Swirl and her three colleagues took up the middle of the group, trying to stay as close together as possible without crowding each other. “Are you sure Twilight and the others will be alright?” Spike asked uneasily from beside the white mare. Rarity looked down to see the dragon with a concerned expression on his face, and she understood why. “Don’t worry your pwecious little head, Spikey-Wikey.” Rarity paused for a moment and ruffled the dragon’s scaly hair before holding him by the cheeks and smooshing them together. Although Spike was slightly embarrassed to be forced into making such an odd expression in front of strangers, he wasn’t opposed to getting this much attention from the unicorn. “But I-” Spike started to say something in a muffled garble until he was cut off again by the white mare. “But nothing, darling... Twilight and the others have Tom to keep them safe. And besides, they can take care of themselves just fine if they braved the horrors of this wretched hovel just to come rescue us.” Rarity said in a confident and slightly impressed tone. “It’s true… your friends are some of the bravest ponies I have ever met. They never once decided to run away and leave without you.” Berry Swirl added with a healthy amount of respect for the four mares. “Yeah… they really are.” Spike said with a warm smile. He knew that nothing was going to get in any of the six mares’ way if one of their friends was in danger. He always admired that about them and felt honored to be part of their circle of friends. With most of their concerns dealt with or at least alleviated, the group continued walking. The sparsely lit hallways around them kept quiet mostly, with only a few out of place noises that were most likely normal things taking advantage of their stressed nerves. And although everyone was expecting something to jump out at them from the shadows, nothing happened. Finally, after several minutes of walking, Glitterball spotted the area where the security office was located up ahead. At the end of the hallway was another three-way intersection, and the white mare could see a door on the far wall that looked like it read “Security” in bold letters. “Looks like we made it.” Glitterball said with a pleased smile. If she was being honest, she expected something to go horribly wrong, but thankfully it seemed like she was just being jumpy. “Let’s hurry up and get inside.” Rarity suggested, eager to finally be free of the dark hallways and enter somewhere even remotely safe. Sweetie Belle perked up eagerly as well. “Maybe we’ll find those keys inside?” She mused with a level of enthusiastic optimism that only a young child could produce. “Only one way to find out.” Glitterball replied with a brief chuckle and a smirk. She admired the young unicorn’s hopeful outlook. The ponies walked up to the door and gathered around it. Glitterball grabbed the handle and twisted, managing to turn it all the way. As the relieved unicorn opened up the door and everyone peered inside, they were met with another dimly lit small room. There was a single chair sat in front of another bank of security monitors and a simple desk. The video feeds were on, revealing static-laden views of various cameras out on the floor they were on. There were sparse few decorations in the room, with only a single potted plant in the corner and a painting hanging on the wall. All in all, the room was standard fare, although the light was fainter than the group would have liked. Still, they would be safe here, and that was what mattered. Everyone piled into the room and got as comfortable as they could. Although they weren’t exactly shoulder to shoulder, they didn’t have much room to roam around in. Copper Coil occupied the only chair in the room, taking a moment to fiddle with the security console. Berry Swirl, Silver Bell, and High Tide stayed near the brown stallion in a group. Rarity, the cutie mark crusaders, and Spike were left to stand around the right side of the room. Glitterball closed the door and briefly examined it. There was a lock on it similar to the one in the first-floor security room. Thankfully, the vent in here seemed to be too small for anything to crawl through, or at least she hoped so. “Well… I don’t think we’re going to find the keys in here.” High Tide stated while going through the last of the drawers in the desk. The stallion and his companions hadn’t found anything of note, and there weren’t any other places to search in the small room. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the others will have better luck.” Glitterball said with a reassuring expression. “Speaking of which… I think I should get going. You guys should be safe in here.” She said while turning around to leave. “Glitter, wait!” Berry Swirl called after the unicorn while walking over to her. Glitterball paused and turned back. “What is it?” She asked curiously. The purple mare smiled softly before looking down and trying to think of what to say. “I… I don’t know how I can possibly thank you and the others enough for helping us through this. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, things might be a lot worse for us than they are now.” Berry said with a grateful tone. “Don’t mention it. We’re just doing our job.” Glitterball replied with a warm smile. “If you’re going back out there… be careful, ok?” Berry said with a hint of friendly concern. Rarity stepped forward to join the pair by the door. “Yes, please make sure you get back to us in one piece darling. And be sure to remind the others about that once you find them.” She added while putting a reassuring hoof on the white mare’s shoulder. Glitterball smiled as she looked around and saw everyone looking her way with bright and confident expressions. “Thank you, I’ll be sure to do just that.” She said before turning and opening the door. As she stepped outside, she turned briefly to see Berry and Rarity waiting inside. “Just keep this door locked, and don’t open it for anything until we come and get you. You’ll be fine.” She added in a reassuring tone. The group inside nodded and waved as the unicorn closed the door. Glitter sighed as she was left by herself. The dark hallways around her were a lot more foreboding now that she didn’t have anyone to talk to or any extra sets of eyes to look for danger. Still, she had to brave the unknown if she was going to reunite with her teammates. After brightening her horn and swallowing her fear, she started walking down the hall toward the distant workshop. -Elsewhere- Meanwhile, Sunspot and Glimmer Shine were still on their way to the storage room. The pair walked through the quiet halls, keeping their flashlights close in case they ran across a dark patch. Thus far, they had managed to get by using the dim lighting around them as they focused on reaching their goal. Glimmer Shine glanced over to his pegasus companion and narrowed his expression. “So… you want to talk about that stunt you pulled upstairs?” He asked with an unimpressed tone. The stallion had put off discussing the orange mare’s brash actions due to more important things getting in the way, but now that they were alone he figured that this would be a good time to talk. His partner, however, did not agree with him. “Really? You want to bring that up now?” Sunspot asked while rolling her eyes. “Did you just pair up with me to chew me out?” She retorted suspiciously. Glimmer Shine shrugged quietly, having expected some resistance from the pegasus. “Not exactly… I don’t really plan these little chats of ours ahead of time. I would say I paired up with you because you’re a good person to have as a partner, but after what you did to get those keys, I’m not so sure anymore.” He said while trying to sound less disappointed than he felt. “What do you want from me, Glimmer?” Sunspot asked while pausing and turning to face the stallion. “I already admitted that I screwed up… I thought the room was clear and I made a judgment call. You would have done the same thing if it meant reaching one of the others faster.” “No… not when there were other people involved. You heard Tom explain how dangerous those spirit things are. That judgment call of yours could have gotten Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy killed too… not just you.” Glimmer Shine said with an aggravated tone before sighing and calming down slightly. “You’re right… I would have done the same thing, but only if there was no other way, and I was sure that I wasn’t putting someone else in danger.” Sunspot scowled while looking to the side, though she was still listening. “Alright… I hear you. Next time I’ll be more careful.” She said with a forced tone of irritated calmness. “If you keep being careless like how you’ve been recently, there might not be a next time, Sunspot. I’m not telling you this to be a hard flank. I’m worried for you… and Glitter is too. If anything happened to you, she would be heartbroken.” Glimmer Shine explained in a genuine tone of concern while softening up. Sunspot softened her expression up as well and hid a smile. “And how about you? Would you be heartbroken if I was gone?” She asked in a semi-serious manner. “Well… as much of a pain in the tail as you are, I’ve kind of grown attached to you. You’re like a sad unruly puppy I have to watch so it doesn’t run off into the wilderness.” Glimmer Shine replied with an impish smirk while starting to walk again. “Hey, I take offense to that! You know darn good and well that I am more of a feisty kitten than an unruly puppy.” Sunspot replied with an impulsive chuckle and smirk. The pair continued winding through another hallway until they suddenly reached an intersection. As Glimmer Shine peered around the two paths they had to take and thought back to the map, he paused abruptly as he noticed a double door marked “Storage” off to the left. “Wow… I guess we’re here.” The stallion said with a surprised expression. He had expected to have to walk further to reach his destination, but apparently he overestimated the distances on the map. “Thank Celestia for that. The less time spent walking around this place, the better.” Sunspot said while suppressing a shudder. Just standing in the sparsely lit corridors and looking into the surrounding rooms gave her goosebumps. Being the designated leader, Glimmer Shine walked over to the doors and tried the handle. He had spent so long searching for keys that he was actually surprised to feel the knob turning all the way. With a brief glance and a nod of assurance from his partner, the yellow pony slowly and quietly opened the door. It was dark inside. Any lightbulbs on the ceiling above had burned out long ago. The room was large, and the ceiling went on for what seemed like forever. There were numerous rows of metal shelves that stretched all the way across the room and nearly to the ceiling, making it resemble something one would find in a warehouse. Shining their flashlights around through the doorway revealed a few boxes and heaps of assorted metal scrap on the two shelves in their view. Glimmer Shine and Sunspot cautiously stepped through the doors and let them softly close behind them. The sound echoed ever so slightly due to the size of the room and the many shelves. The more they shined their flashlights around, the more they started to not like the room ahead of them. “Oh boy…” Sunspot muttered uneasily while looking around. While there were a few boxes and piles of scrap here and there, the majority of the space on the shelves was completely filled by animatronic parts and mascot suits, with a large number of completed animatronics dotted around. Glimmer Shine walked toward the left wall while Sunspot took the right. They each shined their lights as far as they would go, barely catching a wall at the end of the beams. The shelves along the walls were shorter than the others, and there were a couple of work tables interspaced throughout. Through the empty spaces in-between and around some of the shelves, the ponies could see another smaller door set into the middle of the back wall. However, there were a lot of shelves in between them and there, and there were a lot of potential bodies for the ghosts to occupy. Many of the animatronics seemed either damaged or incomplete, and a lot of them didn’t even have anything more than an endoskeleton. The mascot suits were mostly in pieces, with the heads and bodies of each suit stored above and below each other. There were, however, some complete suits lying lengthwise across some shelves, with some lying on top of each other like they were crammed in there and forgotten. The entire place was a neat freak’s worst nightmare. “*Sigh*… I suppose it would have been too easy for the keys to be out in the open.” Glimmer Shine said with a deflated expression. “Keep your eyes open and start looking. I know Tom said that the ghosts were hiding from the inhuman spirits, but I don’t want to be caught with my hoof in the cookie jar if these things wake up.” He explained with a cautionary glance to the orange mare. Sunspot nodded understandingly before slowly walking down the rightmost row. Only the soft echo of their hooves shuffling against the floor filled the air. The thick silence served them well for keeping an ear out for danger, but it was nearly suffocating. They each scanned their flashlights around, examining the contents of the shelves in more detail. Sunspot paused before a miniature raccoon suit and cringed slightly. The purple rodent seemed to be designed to be placed over some kind of armature because a pony definitely couldn’t fit into the small humanoid shaped animal. The hollow eye sockets stared back at her blankly, and the toothy grin frozen on the mask’s face creeped her out to no end. She pushed aside her apprehension, and also the suit as she searched the pile of objects beside it. “Ugh… how long has this stuff been sitting here?” Sunspot crinkled her face up in mild disgust while holding up a piece of pipe that was caked in dust and other such filth. The scrap bits of metal that the pipe was under settled onto the shelf with a slight rustle as the pegasus dropped it. “Having any luck over there?” She asked while glancing behind her. Although she couldn’t directly see her companion, she hoped he had already found the keys. “If by any you mean none... There’s nothing but piles of junk and robot endoskeletons over here… which have been sitting in the junk for so long that they might as well be part of it.” Glimmer Shine called back with a revolted tone. The pegasus understood what he meant perfectly. Although the mascot suits were a little more organized and cleaner than the animatronics, even some of them had things piled on top of them. Whatever Cotton Swirl had intended for these suits and animatronics, they were most likely being discarded as trash or unused junk. Glimmer Shine spoke up again. “Maybe we can find something in that room over there? If I remember the map correctly, it should be a smaller section of the storage room.” Sunspot turned her attention off to the side. The door at the back of the room had another flashlight beam pointed at it, confirming that the yellow pony was referring to it. She could only hope that it was less cluttered than what she was currently seeing. “Yeah, maybe you’re…” The pegasus trailed off suddenly as she saw something catching her light off to the side. She widened her eyes and smiled joyfully as she noticed a pegboard hanging on the right wall with a few sets of keys hanging on the pegs. “Hah! Glimmer, I think I just hit paydirt!” She exclaimed eagerly while rushing toward the board. “Really…?” Glimmer Shine perked up as he heard the excitement in his partner’s voice. He quickly made his way around the shelves and over to the right side of the room where the orange mare was already examining the board on the wall. The board was hanging above a work table that held various tools on top and some more junk endoskeletons underneath. The board itself was also full of hanging tools like screwdrivers and wrenches. Most of the tools were rusted, but they weren’t what caught the ponies’ eyes. There were also numerous keyrings dangling from different pegs, each one with various numbers of keys on them. “Well, crud… First, we don’t have enough keys, and now we have too many. The universe must really hate us huh?” Sunspot asked rhetorically while turning to the stallion. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Sunspot. Let’s just focus on finding the right keys.” Glimmer Shine muttered while leaning in closer to see if he could differentiate the different sets of keys. Thankfully for the pair of ponies, the keys did, in fact, have ways of identifying themselves. Each keyring had at least one key that had a faded rubber covering on it, each with different colors. The keyrings also had small strips of paper placed above them on the board, and although much of the writing was faded, they did seem to explain what the keys were used for. Sunspot and her partner strained their eyes to make out the faded or smudged labels above the keys. One set was dedicated to hotel rooms on the floors above, while another was for staff rooms. Thus far, they hadn’t even seen anything pertaining to the floor they were on. Suddenly, the orange mare read something that made her pause. “Hmm… I think I might have found it.” Sunspot reported while pointing to one of the keys near the top of the board. The label seemed to read “Third floor” but much of the text was hard to decipher. Glimmer Shine looked to the keys in question and struggled to read the label. “What does that say? Third… floor?” He muttered before shrugging. “Well, it’s not exactly confirmation, but it’s the closest we’re going to get I think.” “Sounds close enough to me.” Sunspot said while giving her flashlight to the stallion for him to hold. While her companion backed up to give her some lighting and some room, the pegasus stepped onto the table with one foreleg before balancing on her hind legs and stretching to reach the top of the board. “Need some help there?” Glimmer Shine asked curiously while watching the orange pony trying to gain as much height as possible without falling over. “No… hrk… I think I… almost got it.” Sunspot muttered while deep in focus. She could almost grasp the keys with the tip of her hoof if she only had a bit more reach. Before the pegasus could reach the keys or try something else, however, a sound came from beneath her and something cold clamped around her back leg tightly. Sunspot yelped as she was pulled off balance by whatever had a hold of her. “Sunspot!” Glimmer Shine caught the falling mare and helped break her fall as she was sent to the floor backwards. As both ponies huddled on the floor and looked ahead, they were stunned into shocked silence as they saw two red eyes staring back at them from under the table. The endoskeleton that was formally lying under there was now reaching out and firmly holding onto Sunspot with its metal fingers. “Get off me you hunk of junk!” Sunspot yelled while using her free hind leg to give the endoskeleton a fierce kick to the head. With a hollow crack, the animatronic’s head bent back and it let go as it was sent back under the table. Glimmer Shine helped the orange mare crawl backwards to gain some distance from the possessed robot. The pair bumped into the shelves behind them and watched as the endoskeleton recovered from Sunspot’s kick. The broken torso bucked upwards in an attempt at getting out from the cramped space under the table. The force of the movement caused the table to jump up slightly, knocking into the pegboard above it and knocking it down from the wall. The board hit the table and started falling to the floor. The two ponies covered their heads as the board and everything on it came clattering down to the ground. Thankfully, nothing but some dust flung up from the floor managed to hit them. “What the hay?! I thought Tom said the ghosts were hiding down here?” Sunspot quickly got to her feet and stepped to the side to get the endoskeleton back into her line of sight. She briefly tried to find the keys amid the chaos surrounding the board, but they were most likely underneath it. Glimmer Shine stepped over to his teammate, all the while never breaking eye contact with the table. “I guess one of them was hiding in here.” He stated, still anxious about the potentially dangerous endoskeleton still in front of them. The animatronic let out a faded and broken cry that sounded like the whine of a mechanical device shutting off. While the two ponies could see the endoskeleton starting to move the table and the board as it crawled, they also heard something else coming from behind them. More distorted cries and the sound of metal scrap moving rang out all around the room. Sunspot and Glimmer Shine turned around and saw many red lights in the darkness, along with a lot of movement. Their faces paled as they realized what was happening. Several of the animatronics and mascot suits around them were waking up and climbing off of the shelves. “Ok, scratch that last part… more than one!” Glimmer Shine exclaimed in an alarmed tone. “We need to go, now!” Sunspot said in a panic while turning back to the board leaning against the table in front of her. She quickly tried to find the keys again, only to jump back as she saw the endoskeleton underneath swiping at her. She tried to move around it, only to be pulled toward the side by the yellow stallion. “No time for that! We need to get out of here before they box us in!” Glimmer Shine said while running with the orange mare toward the entrance. Sunspot was frustrated that she had to leave the keys, but as she looked ahead, her eyes widened. There was already a living mascot suit in their row, blocking their path. It was the purple raccoon that Sunspot noticed earlier, and it didn’t look any less eerie now that it was standing upright and staring at her with its hollow eyes. Toward the end of the shelves by the double doors, a quadrupedal endoskeleton was turning the corner as well, and there were many more animatronics on the way. “Out of the way you little freak!” Sunspot pulled ahead and kicked out her foreleg as she reached the purple raccoon. The suit’s head flew off and rolled along the floor, and the body fell backwards as the ponies rushed by. As they reached the pony-shaped endoskeleton, it opened its jaw and shrieked at them. Sunspot and Glimmer Shine ducked around the haunted hunk of metal as it lunged for them, completely ignoring it and making a break for the door. “Get the door!” Glimmer Shine shouted urgently as he watched the orange pegasus rushing ahead. Thankfully she needed no confirmation as she raced over to the double doors and reached for one of the handles. A loud snap erupted in front of her and a green shape bolted into view. Sunspot jerked her hoof back as she watched an animatronic slamming into the door and biting down on the handle, breaking it off. She was suddenly met face to snout with a five-foot tall cartoonish alligator. Its enormous jaw was chipped along the edge, one of its eyes was cracked, and its mouth was full of fake teeth that at one point in time were most likely blocky and dull, however they were now jagged and sharp. As it turned to face the two ponies, the animatronic let out a guttural growl that didn’t sound too far off from something a real alligator might produce. “Uh… Glimmer, do we have a plan B?” Sunspot muttered, her eyes the size of pinpricks as she stared at the robotic predator standing in front of her. Glimmer Shine looked off to the side, trying to find a way out. The only escape route he saw that didn’t involve going through their new toothy friend was the smaller closed off area on the other side of the room. “This way!” He said while grabbing his companion by the foreleg and pulling her along behind him down the center row of shelves. The alligator snapped from behind them while giving chase, but it didn’t seem to be running. Even if it was, the two ponies were beating feet to get across the room as fast as they could before the rest of the animatronics reached them. They could hear them off to the sides, and even see them moving in the darkness outside of their flashlight beams. The pair’s hearts were practically ready to explode from how much they were panicking. “Keep going! *Pant*… keep going!” Glimmer Shine egged the pegasus on from beside her, straining to catch his breath. “I know!” Sunspot replied while ducking under an endoskeleton foreleg swinging at her from one of the shelves. Past the few animatronics and suits dotted around their row, the pair could see the far end of the room getting closer and closer. The door ahead that would lead them to safety might as well have been miles away, despite the fact that they were halfway there already. “AGH!” Glimmer Shine suddenly yelled in pain behind Sunspot. She skidded to a halt and turned around, only to gasp in shock. Another humanoid animatronic had darted around one of the shelves and lashed out at the stallion. It was a pink vulture that stood taller than most of the other robots, mostly due to its long neck. The rigid white rings of feathers around its stringy neck were chipped or missing, and the neck itself was snapped at one of the joints further up. The robotic bird’s head was hanging upside-down beside its body as its neck dangled limply. One of its eyes was missing, and the other was loose in its socket. It had somehow managed to whip its neck around and used its metallic beak frame to peck at Glimmer Shine’s foreleg. The limb was bent backwards, and blood was dripping out of it, explaining why the yellow pony was in so much pain. “*Gasp* Glimmer Shine!” Sunspot exclaimed while reaching a hoof out toward her companion. The animatronic bird yanked its beak out from the stallion’s leg, causing a small spray of blood as it spun around to face the orange mare. Its head swayed before settling back into place beside its body. Its singular eye seemed to be little more than a painted ball inside of its head, but it still managed to stare right through her. The bird didn’t have long arms, having custom made stubby wings instead. However, even without limbs to grab her, the animatronic had already demonstrated how dangerous it was, with its bloodstained beak and the crippled stallion serving as a testament to its ability to harm others. Sunspot backed up a step as the bird staggered closer. It didn’t move its beak or make a sound, but it looked like it had the intent to kill. Glimmer Shine was still clutching his injured leg, trying to get up from the floor to no avail. With the other animatronics still closing in, the pegasus had to do something fast. Sunspot swallowed uneasily while turning around. “Here goes nothing.” She steeled herself before reeling in her back legs and shooting them out toward the vulture’s head. Her hooves connected with the dangling skull of the animatronic and sent it whipping backwards. The already broken joint of its neck snapped even further, causing the head to keep flying as some wires got torn out. The bird’s body fell backwards, and the head came to a sudden stop as the wire in its neck prevented it from totally disconnecting. With her foe lying motionless on the ground, the orange mare briefly celebrated before racing to her companion’s side. “Gah… I think it might be broken.” Glimmer Shine reported through clenched teeth while accepting the concerned mare’s assistance with getting up. Sunspot cringed as she saw how the stallion’s limb was bent. Although it wasn’t bleeding very badly, it looked like it would be impossible to walk on it. “Here, let me help you walk. We need to get moving!” She said while gently pulling Glimmer Shine along by the shoulder. The pair moved as fast as they could, given their new handicap. Although the stallion was limping now, he was still moving fairly fast with the orange pony’s help. Soon enough, they reached the door, and not with much time to spare. They could already hear the animatronics in the room breathing down their necks and converging on them. With a silent prayer to anyone that might be listening, Sunspot flinched her eyes shut and grabbed the handle. Much to their relief, the door flew open and they staggered inside. Glimmer Shine fell to the floor and Sunspot swiftly turned around. She slammed the door closed and locked it, being incredibly thankful that it even had a lock. With a startling bang, the animatronics outside rammed into the door, but it was holding with no signs of failure. Sunspot let out a huge sigh of relief while falling to a seated position. She wiped the sweat from her brow and took a moment to calm her racing heart. For now, she was safe. However, the painful cringes of her companion made the pegasus shift her expression from a relieved smile to a concerned frown. “Oh man…” Sunspot shook her head sympathetically as she saw Glimmer Shine examining his injury. “Yeah… I’m no expert, but even I can tell that is broken.” She stated in a concerned tone. “I think I’ll live…” Glimmer Shine flinched in pain before looking up. “Where even are we?” He asked curiously while looking around. Now that the subject was brought up, Sunspot looked around the room as well. “Don’t know… I guess this is just another storage room.” She said curiously while scanning her eyes around. The area was much smaller than the storage room outside, with only a couple of tables and filing cabinets up against the walls. There was a relieving lack of animatronics in this room. However, there was also something even more uplifting present. There was another door at the back wall. Sunspot walked over to the door and tried the handle. It firmly resisted her attempts at turning it, causing her smile to vanish immediately. “Of course… this one had to be locked.” The orange mare sighed in frustration while stepping away and running a hoof down her forehead. “Take it easy… we’re at least safe in here.” Glimmer Shine said optimistically. “Yeah, for now… Who knows how long that door is going to hold out?” Sunspot asked rhetorically. “We need to find a way out of here.” She urged while looking around the room again. Glimmer Shine shrugged while his partner checked the room. “I think we should call Tom and Glitter and see if they can help.” He suggested confidently. “No… they would get here too late. And besides, how are they going to get us out of here exactly? There’s an army of those things out there… probably just waiting for an opportunity to kill something.” Sunspot muttered while blankly scanning around the room for a third time. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head as she laid eyes on something. Glimmer Shine watched curiously as Sunspot walked over to the wall to the right of the door back into the storage room. The pegasus ignored the door, opting instead to climb onto the table against the wall and reach up toward the air vent cover close to the ceiling. The stallion narrowed his eyes uneasily as he realized that the vent was roughly pony sized. “Sunspot… what are you doing?” Glimmer asked suspiciously. Sunspot ignored him and grabbed ahold of the loose looking vent cover. With a grunt of exertion, she pulled the cover off, nearly falling off the table in the process. “Hear me out on this one, Glimmer.” Sunspot said while tossing the vent cover to the floor. “I can fit through here. This vent probably leads to the one on the other side of the door above the shelves. If I can get back in there, I can sneak around the animatronics, grab the keys, and head out the way we came. Then I can swing around here and unlock this door to let you out.” She explained, fully confident in her own ability and plan. Glimmer Shine shook his head. “No way… That is way too dangerous.” He said in a firm tone. “Really? You want to explain to me how waiting to get slaughtered like rats in a cage is any less dangerous? There’s no way for us to deal with that many animatronics… and there is absolutely no way you are getting back through that room with that leg the way it is.” Sunspot explained bluntly while pointing to the stallion’s limb. Glimmer Shine stifled a cringe while glancing down to his broken foreleg. He tried to move it and put weight on it, but it only resulted in shooting pains through the leg. “Ok, you’ve got a fair point there, but there’s got to be another way besides you risking your life out there.” “Glimmer… I can do this, and you know I can do this. Stop treating me like I’m a kid!” Sunspot said with an aggravated tone. “Maybe I wouldn’t treat you like a kid if you didn’t rush off into danger every five seconds!” Glimmer Shine replied, raising his voice as well. “Think about it, Sunspot. There are at least a hundred things that could go wrong and get you killed if you go out there. The doors might be blocked, or the animatronics might catch you, or the keys might not even work… if you can even find them!” “I remember what color they were. They had a yellow marker on them… I just need to get over there and snatch them. It would take like a minute to get in and get out.” Sunspot explained, stubborn as ever. “I said no, Sunspot, and I meant it. I’m calling the others for help… just sit down and let me get us out of here.” Glimmer Shine instructed bluntly before turning away and putting a hoof up to his ear. Sunspot screamed internally, letting a little of her frustration escape as she kicked the wall. She was fed up with the stallion preventing her from taking action and treating her like a rookie. As she slowly got off of the table and started to walk away, she suddenly paused and looked back. She glanced over to the stallion for a moment before looking to the air vent and shifting her expression to a more serious one. Glimmer Shine started to concentrate on his other teammates so he could communicate with them until he heard a sudden noise beside him. He turned his head just in time to see Sunspot running up to the table and jumping on it before climbing her way into the air vent. “Sunspot, what in Equestria are you doing?!” Glimmer Shine yelled after the pegasus, but to no avail. She wriggled her body into the opening of the duct and rushed inside and out of sight. Glimmer tried to get up and go after her, but his leg immediately gave out and he nearly fell to the floor. Cringing and pushing himself up, the stallion put a hoof up to his ear frantically. “Sunspot, you get back here right now! I swear I am going to kill you if those robots don’t beat me to it!” He said in a demanding tone. Nothing but silence greeted him on the other end of the communication spell. Either the pegasus was busy, or she was ignoring him, and he was willing to wager that it was both in this case. Glimmer Shine could hear Sunspot removing the vent cover on the other side. The animatronics hadn’t made any drastically different noises, so they had apparently not noticed her yet. The yellow pony heard the pegasus hop down from the vent, seemingly onto a shelf. After a few other faint sounds of her making her way around, she went quiet. Glimmer Shine sweated bullets as he stared at the door and listened. He was certain that he would hear the sound of the pegasus being eviscerated and her blood-curdling screams soon. He could only pray that she would be safe somehow. “I’m almost to the board… They’re all still gathered by the door, I don’t think they’ve noticed me yet.” Sunspot suddenly whispered in his ear through the communication spell. The stallion was vastly relieved to hear her voice, and even more so to hear that she was still doing ok. “Just get to the entrance and get out of here, Sunspot. Don’t push your luck by trying to find those keys.” Glimmer Shine said in a hushed tone of concern. Although she didn’t respond, he somehow knew the orange mare wasn’t going to follow his instructions. The stallion limped over to the door and put an ear up to it. He could still hear the animatronics’ metallic bodies moving around, but he couldn’t hear much else, let alone any signs of the pegasus. Still, he kept listening, hoping to be able to distinguish a noise that would let him know of his friend’s progress. Time ticked by at a painfully slow crawl. Glimmer Shine knew that Sunspot would most likely be moving slowly, but the tension was killing him. He had to shake the thoughts of the pegasus already being dead out of his mind. She was out there somewhere, or at least he hoped she was. “Ok… I’m with the keys. I just need to find the right ones now.” Sunspot reported quietly. Glimmer Shine heard a soft sound bleeding through the call, most likely the orange mare lifting up the pegboard to search underneath it. For the first time since the pegasus left through the vent, Glimmer felt good about her chances of success. She was at the halfway point, and now it was just a short race to the finish. If she hadn’t been noticed by now, she would be in the clear once she found the keys. “I think… yes… yes!” Sunspot had to contain her excitement as she cheered quietly. “I found them! I found the keys!” “That’s great Sunspot, you did an amazing job! Now hightail it out of there!” Glimmer Shine said with an impressed smirk. He couldn’t believe that she actually pulled it off. “Wait… what was that n-” Sunspot’s voice trailed off abruptly. Before the stallion could ask what was wrong, a loud scream of terror erupted from the storage room. It was the orange pegasus. “Sunspot…?! Sunspot?!” Glimmer Shine called after the mare to no avail. The sudden clamor of the many animatronics outside shrieking and running off made the yellow pony’s heart plummet. A loud noise rang out as something fell. More animatronic cries and metallic feet pounding against the floor followed. Another clang sounded out, followed by another noise indicating a shelf falling. Soon enough, the animatronic footsteps slowed, but their cries and shrieks still pierced the air in the distance. “Sunspot, say something! Are you alright?!” Glimmer Shine demanded while looking to the floor with wide eyes. His blood ran cold in his veins and his heart raced as the silence went on. There were only a few reasons why the animatronics would have stopped chasing the pegasus, and he didn’t want to accept the obvious answer. After what seemed like an eternity, a panicked and exhausted voice finally spoke up in his head. “I’m… *Pant* I’m ok… I’m ok.” Sunspot said while catching her breath. “I made it out… That alligator thing broke off the other door handle. They can’t open the doors from their side. Sit tight. I’m coming around to get you out of that deathtrap.” Glimmer Shine let out a painfully intense sigh of relief as he slid to the floor. He let his hoof drop from his ear and leaned his head back against the door. After taking a moment to calm his racing heart, he slowly got up and started making his way over to the other door. A minute or so went by as the pegasus walked around the hallways outside trying to find the door from her end. Soon enough, Glimmer Shine heard footsteps rushing closer from behind the door. “I’m here, Glimmer. Just give me a minute to find out which key unlocks this thing.” Sunspot’s muffled voice carried through the door, followed by the sound of her trying keys on the lock. Glimmer Shine waited impatiently, still processing what had just happened. The more he thought about the orange mare’s death-defying escape, the more upset he became. She had completely undermined his instructions just because she didn’t like his plan better than hers. And although he was immensely happy that she had survived, he was getting angrier by the minute as the pegasus worked on unlocking the door. Sunspot exclaimed cheerfully as one of the keys fit. “Aha, got it!” She opened the door with a pleased smirk on her face, revealing the stallion staring blankly at her. “Never fear, the cavalry is here.” She remarked with a playful chuckle while bowing and motioning for the yellow pony to step outside. Glimmer Shine merely kept staring back at her with unimpressed eyes. “Are… are you insane?!” Glimmer Shine said with a stunned tone. The orange mare’s smile immediately vanished. “You’re kidding, right? I just saved your tail, and this is how you thank me?” Sunspot asked while looking to the stallion in disbelief. He ignored her remark and limped past her while muttering to himself in thought. The yellow pony paused in the hallway and turned back to face her with a dumbfounded expression. “I don’t get it, Sunspot… I really don’t. Help me to understand your thought process here.” Glimmer Shine said while falling to a seated position and throwing his good foreleg up. Sunspot groaned while shaking her head. “You know what? I don’t need you to understand me. I just saved both of us, and got the keys we need.” She said while holding the keys up and jingling them in a condescending fashion. “By going into an enclosed space full of killer haunted robots? Absurdity of that last statement aside, are you suicidal Sunspot? Do we need to have your head examined when we get back? Because after pulling something like that, I’m convinced you either have a death wish, or you’re crazy!” Glimmer Shine raised his voice slightly, more so out of shock than anger. “Don’t call me crazy, Glimmer,” Sunspot yelled back, mirroring the stallion’s volume. “I’m the only one on this team aside from Tom that isn’t afraid to get things done, and he isn’t even technically on the team!” She threw her hooves up and shook her head. At this point, their tempers were flaring so high that neither of the two cared for how much noise they were making. “Tom can heal himself after doing something really stupid! And if you think you’re as indestructible as he is, maybe you should rethink being on this team at all! I’m not going to be the one to tell your family that you died.” Glimmer Shine lowered his voice slightly, though he still had a harsh tone. “Well then maybe I should leave this stupid team. I’m not going to waste my time being put on a leash because my leader thinks I can’t take care of myself!” Sunspot glared at the yellow stallion and gently shoved him. “Between you criticizing me on every move I make, and telling me to stop considering things just because of a little danger, this team hasn’t been functional since Pepper and the others died!” She yelled. As the pegasus finished getting her words out, she immediately regretted her statement as she realized what she was saying. Glimmer Shine paused with a stunned expression and drew back slightly. He had to take a moment to think of what to say, but nothing came out as his mouth hung open silently. “O-oh my gosh… Glimmer, I… I’m so sorry. I… I didn’t mean to say that.” Sunspot said in a quiet and apologetically sad tone. The yellow stallion kept staring back at her, his eyes shakily looking her over while deep in thought. He looked to the side briefly, trying to hide any sadness or other emotions that might have bubbled to the surface. Still, he couldn’t manage to produce any expression other than stunned shock. Glimmer Shine opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by another voice ringing out in both their heads. “Hey guys, come over to the workshop quick! We think we might have found a way to beat the ghosts!” Tom’s voice spoke in an excited tone, though it did not have the desired effect on the two ponies. Glimmer Shine exhaled silently and stiffened up his expression as best he could. “We’ll talk about this later… we’ve got a job to do.” He said in a hollow tone before turning around and starting to walk away. Although he was limping from his injury, he didn’t seem at all interested in receiving help from the orange pegasus. Sunspot lingered in the hallway, staring at the stallion with saddened eyes. She reached out to him and opened her mouth, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. She wasn’t sure if she could say anything. As much as she wanted to take back her words, the damage had been done. Finally, she got up and followed the yellow pony while hanging her head regretfully. She hoped that the human was right and the crisis with the ghosts was almost over because right now she desperately wanted this night to end.