//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Friday the Thirteenth // by BoredAuthor817 //------------------------------// The female character ran from the common room to the bathroom. She pulled the door closed behind her and used all her strength to hold it shut. She looked to the ajar window just a few feet away as a means of escape. “Don't do it” whispered Rainbow, before being nudged by Rarity's foot, “He's right outside.” “Hush!” scolded Applejack, “Don't ruin it fer the others.” “Oh, please” Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Even the first time I saw this, I knew he had gone out the door and 'round to where she was.” “It is a bit predictable” observed Twilight. “Shh!” hissed Pinkie, “We're about to get scared again!” Truer words had never before been uttered. There was a flash of lighting outside, followed by a clap of thunder and a large explosion. Then, everything fell into darkness. A cry was let out from all the girls. “Rainbow!” yelled Applejack, “I can't breath!” “Sorry...” Rarity turned on her penlight just in time to see Rainbow pull away from Applejack. “Is everyone okay?” she asked. Twilight turned on her flashlight. “Will be, once my heart stops racing.” Fluttershy only let out a whimper. She clung tightly to Twilight, as the two remained under the relative safety of the blanket. “Ooh!” squealed Pinkie, “That was so scary and exciting! What happened, though?” “I think a transformer blew” replied Rainbow, “It happens quite a bit around here. Especially during storms. All the same, I'm gonna check the panel. We've also had some instances where a power surge tripped the main breaker.” “I'm comin' with ya” said Applejack, grabbing her flashlight, “Don't want ya electrocutin' yerself.” “Wait!” Fluttershy's voice was thrown into a panic, “Where's Sunset? She didn't answer earlier.” “Afraid you're not gonna get much out of her” replied Rarity. She gently stroked a form next to her, “She's out like a light. Has been for most of the movie.” Twilight shone her flashlight over Sunset. She was amazed on how peaceful the girl was; blissfully unaware of her surroundings. “At least one of us is calm.” “I'm calm” pouted Pinkie. “Darling,” Rarity said, simply, “what you call 'calm', other people call 'manic'.” “Huh, that's odd...” Rainbow was at the window, peering through the blinds, “The lights at Ms Bridle's house are still on.” “Maybe it just is a tripped breaker” offered Applejack, with a hopeful smile. “Or, maybe, it's Jason...” Everyone looked at Fluttershy. “Really?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Or,” Fluttershy shrunk behind the couch, “someone like Jason...” “Don't be silly” laughed Pinkie, “Jason only lurches around camps.” “But remember, the beginning of this movie?” said Twilight, “He left the camp and the woods to go to where that girl was staying.” “Oh, fer cryin' out loud!” cried Applejack, “It's just a movie! We took care of Gia Everfree months ago, so we don't have to worry about her followin' us back here.” Fluttershy shrunk away. “What if something else followed us back from Camp Everfree?” The room was quite for a moment. “That's not outside the realms of possibility.” Twilight adjusted her glasses, “We do know Equestrian magic hit the camp. Who knows what else may have come over.” Rainbow gave the two girls behind the couch a stern look, then broke out into laughter. “Now I know you two are trying to scare me! Really, you're gonna have to do better than that. Though,” she winked and gave a thumbs up, “good effort. You almost had me going for a moment there. Guess, I kinda had it coming.” “I'm not so sure, Rainbow” pondered Rarity. “Not you, too!” “I'm partial to agree with Rarity” Applejack spoke up, “Even Sunset cautioned that, until we got a grasp on what came though when the portal was damaged, we should try to keep alert to any sort of magical happenin's. “That said,” she took in a deep breath, “I'm pretty sure, this ain't no magical happenstance and we're just getting' ourselves all worked up for nothin'.” “Well, in case you have forgotten, our only expert on the subject is fast sleep” Twilight motioned to Sunset. Fluttershy spoke up: “Should we try to get a hold of Princess Twilight?” “What?” argued Rainbow, “And get her all riled up over something which is most likely nothing? If we must bother the princess, we're gonna need some hard proof.” “Look,” Applejack pinched the bridge of her nose, “It's Friday the thirteenth, it's October an' we've been watchin' scary movies all night. It's understandable we're all a little jumpy. Except for Pinkie...” She made a look at the Pink girl who was making scary faces with her flashlight. There was another explosion, which caused everyone to jump. “Okay,” said Rainbow, “that was definitely a transformer blowing.” “Or,” Fluttershy dug further under the blanket, “it's coming to get us.” Rainbow put her foot down. “No!” “Not like we can do anything else” said Rarity, “It's still storming outside. Let them create their own little scary story.” “Oh,” a malicious grin crossed Rainbow's face, “if it's scary stories they want...” “Not now” interjected Applejack, “Let's see if we can get the lights back on first. Where's your electrical panel?” “Right over here in my parent's room.” Rainbow lead the way to the master suite and to the walk-in closet. In a far corner, she opened a cabinet door and pointed to the metal box inside. She opened the panel and examined the breakers. “Well, everything looks okay here.” She closed up and returned to the living room. “Looks like we're gonna be in the dark fer a while” said Applejack as they rejoined the group. “What should we do now?” asked Rarity, “It's still a bit early to go to bed.” Rainbow pulled out her cell phone. “First, let me get a hold of my parents and let them know what's up.” She fiddled with the display for a moment. “Huh? How can I not have cell service?” She looked at the others. “You guys the same?” A quick check of the cell phones showed that none of them had signal. “That's weird” commented Rarity. “That's an understatement” said Applejack. “No worries,” waved Rainbow, “we still have the land line.” She picked up the house phone. “Uh-oh, this isn't working either.” “That's because it's cordless” said Twilight, “Do you not have a corded phone?” Rainbow blinked, “A what? No, we threw our last one away two years ago.” “Well, that's just great!” Applejack threw her hands in the air, “Our cell phones don't work and yer house phone is useless without power. We may as well be stranded a thousand miles up-creek in a leaky canoe and no paddle!” “Do we at least have life vests?” asked Fluttershy. “Look,” Rainbow said, sternly, “the lights are still on at my neighbor's. Let me go over and see if I can borrow her phone.” Pinkie looked out the window to across the street. “Yes, but is your neighbor home?” “What do you mean?” “I'm just saying there's no car in the drive way.” “She parks in her garage.” “Then, she doesn't do a whole lot in her house. The same lights have been on all night.” Rainbow stammered for a moment. “What are you talking about?” “Your neighbor has the same lights on that were on when we first got here.” “I think I get what Pinkie's sayin'” said Applejack, “Rainbow, is Ms. Bridle partial to havin' all her house lights on?” “Only when she plans on being out late...” Rainbow replied, “Oh, crap!” “Don't you have other neighbors you can ask?” offered Twilight. “Not really...At least, not that I really know. We had a couple families move out and move in over the past few years. Really haven't gotten to know all of them yet. Actually, the house to the left of mine is empty and the other is a rental property.” “It doesn't matter,” said Rarity, “we still need to get a hold of a phone. If anything, to let our parents know we're okay.” “Um, girls?” came a soft whimper. “You think I don't know that?” Rainbow said to Rarity, “But, chances are, none of them have power, either—or are even home!” “Girls?” the whimper grew louder. Applejack agreed with Rarity. “We do need to tell someone...” “Girls!” Fluttershy cried. That got everyone's attention. With the room quiet, she continued. “Can anyone else hear that?” Without the back and forth bickering, the storm outside became much louder. It was still raining, and the distant rumble of thunder could be heard. Then, it came. A horrible sound. A combination of a sharp whistle joined with a low moaning, all tied together with a blood-chilling howl. “W-what was that?” asked Pinkie. She backed away from the window and re-joined the others in the middle of the room. “M-must have been the wind” Twilight swallowed. Applejack shone her flashlight around the room. “That ain't no wind I've ever heard before...” “Windigos!” cried Rarity. Rainbow face-palmed. “Sunset explained they're winter spirits. We're half-way through fall.” “You think they know that? Or even care?” “It ain't Windigos” Applejack said, flatly, “They were defeated in Equestria over a thousand years ago.” “So were the Sirens” replied Twilight, “Then, they showed up here. Why can't this be the same?” The noise came again. This time much louder, and much closer. A shriek ejected from the group as they all huddled closely together. “Sunset!” Rainbow tried in vain to wake their sleeping friend. “It's no use” said Pinkie, “She's in a deep sleep. You would be, too if you were up for over thirty-six hours straight.” “You speak from experience?” Fluttershy's voice trembled. “What if she's not asleep?” Twilight reached down and placed a hand on Sunset, “She's not dead, if that's what you mean.” The other girl's eye twitched. “Well, aren't you suddenly morbid...No, what I mean is what if she's been enchanted?” “Of course!” Rainbow turned back to examine Sunset, “As a unicorn from Equestria, she would know exactly how to defeat them! But, how can we tell?” “Maybe, with our geodes?” inquired Rarity. “I don't think so” replied Twilight. “They only allow us to perform magic, not detect it.” Another howl from outside sounded and, with a scream, the girls retreated into the kitchen, leaving Sunset alone and defenseless on the couch. “This is bad!” Twilight began to panic, “This is really bad...” Pinkie palmed a fist. “We just need to fight magic with magic.” “What magic?” asked Applejack, “Without Sunset, we can't use the combined power of our geodes.” “There is some 'magic' in this world. Do you have an Holy Water?” “Sorry,” Rainbow shrugged and thumbed to the sink, “just tap.” “Garlic? Powdered or whole.” “Top shelf of the pantry.” “On it!” said Applejack, who was nearest the pantry. She opened the large cabinet behind here and was quickly surprised on how packed it was. “It may take some diggin'...Oops!” An item fell of the shelf and hit the floor. Rarity shone her light down to see what it was. The carton had opened and some of its contents had spilled onto the tile. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the label. “Salt!” she gasped, swinging around to Applejack, “You've spilled the salt...” Without any notice, she grabbed the farm girl by her shirt collar, “You've doomed us all!” “Easy!” cried Applejack, fighting Rarity off, “If it bothers you so much, just throw a pinch over yer shoulder.” “Then give it to me” said Pinkie, “We may need to make a line. Now, we need some talismans...” “How about rabbit's feet?” asked Fluttershy. Pinkie thought for a moment. “I guess those could qualify. You have some?” Fluttershy nodded. “Gee, Fluttershy” Twilight rubbed the back of her head, “that's not something I though you, of all people, would be carrying...” She stopped when she saw the timid girl pull a rabbit form her backpack. “Wait,” said Rainbow, “you had Angel here this whole time?” “Oh, yes,” replied Fluttershy, rubbing the white rabbit's head. “I couldn't just leave him at home. The poor little dear hasn't been feeling well.” As if to prove the point, the little rabbit let out an equally tiny and cute sneeze. “Hold on,” said Rarity, “that rabbit has four feet.” “Um, yes?” “Remember what Sunset said about the number four? Doesn't that also make him unlucky?” Applejack grunted, pulling the garlic from the pantry, “Can somethin' be lucky an' unlucky at the same time?” “Maybe they cancel each other out?” offered Twilight. “Hang on” smiled Pinkie, “we can fix this.” Fluttershy held Angel closely to her chest. “I won't let you harm him!” “No” waved Pinkie, rifling through her bag, “we'll just give him one more. Sunset didn't say anything about the number five, right?” She held up a little rabbit's foot key ring. “We'll just put this around Angel's neck and he becomes lucky again.” Rainbow crossed her arms. “Have a rabbit wear a severed rabbit's foot. That's not demented at all...” “Look,” Pinkie lit up the display of her travel clock, “it's almost eleven now. All we have to do is wait till midnight and we can put this Friday the thirteenth stuff behind us.” “Don't forget the witching hour” said Twilight. “Right...” “...and four a.m.” added Rarity. “Okay! Those two and then we can put this all behind us! Let's just get what we need and hunker down” --- “My parents are gonna kill me” Rainbow whined as she watched Pinkie Pie outline the living room area with salt and sprinkle garlic powder around. “This is gonna take a long time to get out of the carpet.” “Better your parents than Windigos, or whatever else may be out there” said Pinkie. “You're gonna help shampoo when this is all done.” “We found some candles in the linen closet” beamed Rarity as she and Twilight returned form the bathroom. They had decided that it was best to do things in pairs. “We also found the camping lantern you mentioned” said Twilight. With a few extra lights on, the living room was soon bathed in a soft and warming glow. “There!” smiled Rarity, “Now this place doesn't look so gloomy.” She settled down in her sleeping back on the floor, where the others had set up their beds. Sunset was still alone on the couch. They thought it best just to leave her there. Applejack punched her pillow. “So, what's the plan? Jus' stay up 'till five an' hope nothin' happens?” “Pretty much” replied Pinkie. Rarity let out a yawn and stretched. “Sounds fine for you, but I'm exhausted.” “Same here” Fluttershy yawned a reply. “You girls get some sleep” said Rainbow, messing with her phone, “I'll stay up and wake you if need be.” “Sounds good” agreed Pinkie, “I'll stay up with you. I'm not tired at all.” Twilight shuffled further down in to her sleeping bag. “With all the sugar you consume, do you even sleep?” Pinkie didn't answer, but checked the time on the travel clock. “Okay, it's almost midnight. We'll wake you when it gets closer to three.”