Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie stepped into the foyer of the manor. Twilight darted her head left and right as she took in her surroundings. Dusty paintings hung on the walls which depicted several Hatfield family members. Wilted potted plants flanked the door, their soil bone-dry. A white cloth covered a pair of end tables and what appeared to be a few chairs in the spacious foyer.
Wallpaper was peeling in several places, only to reveal sections of wall that began to dry-rot. Dust hung in the air, illuminated solely by stray sunbeams of dusk as they filtered through the cloud cover above. Two doors flanked a staircase just ahead of them. Both doors appeared to be off of their hinges, swaying in an almost non-existent breeze and sending shivers down the trio’s spines.
“Wow, girls, this place sure looks run down, wouldn’t you say?” Twilight asked. Rainbow coughed from a cloud of dust kicked up by their hooves from the dull-red carpet.
“Geez! Who’s in charge of this place anyway?” Rainbow asked between coughing fits as Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“Well, uh, I’m not entirely sure, Rainbow…” Twilight replied as Pinkie pronked around the foyer, raising plumes of dust.
Rainbow and Pinkie trotted down a side hallway and looked at the paintings. Several were caked with grime and difficult to make out. One, however, was of a stocky earth pony and a unicorn dressed in farmer attire as they stood next to an aquamarine earth pony. The plaque beset in the frame read: "Azure's visit, 1173".
"Are these the owners?" Rainbow mused as Pinkie simply shrugged. As the two continued to look at the painting, a diffused amber light floated down from the stairwell. It fluttered to and fro before making a beeline for Twilight. Twilight turned her head and noticed the light. However, it was far too late. The light impacted her as the world around her blurred. She wobbled on her hooves before she fell to the floor on her side, out cold.
When Twilight woke up, she noticed the main door to the manor was shut tight. “Rainbow?” Twilight asked as her head darted left and right. “Pinkie?” She raised an eyebrow and went further into the foyer. She approached and glanced into one of the doorways next to the staircase. To her surprise, it led into another hallway. But to her dismay, it was too dark to make out anything.
“Strange. I didn’t think they would go on without me… would they?” Twilight checked down a side hallway for them. All she saw was doors, paintings, and a pair of end tables with potted plants that appeared to be rather healthy despite the conditions they were in. She chewed her lower lip as she frantically checked every nook and cranny of the downstairs. Every door was locked aside from the two that were off the hinges.
Okay… calm down, Twilight… let’s think this through rationally… she thought as she sat on her dock in the middle of the foyer. Rainbow and Pinkie were in the foyer with me not even a few minutes ago. The door’s closed, so they didn’t just leave… but… I can’t seem to find them anywhere. Maybe they did leave. I should too!
Twilight returned to the door and gripped the doorknob in her magical aura. She proceeded to try and turn it. It didn’t budge. Twilight tried several more times, each with slightly more force applied. However, her efforts were in vain. Twilight backed away from the door, her eyes widened and brows furrowed. “Wait… the door’s locked now?”
Twilight darted her head left and right as she slowly cantered to a window. Moonbeams streaked down from the sky above as she scratched her head. “That’s odd… the sun set rather quickly today...” A hoof found its way to Twilight’s chin and rubbed along it. She trotted over to the staircase and tested one of the steps. The wood gave slightly with a loud squeaking sound, which caused her to take a step back and hesitate for a moment.
“W-well… seeing as I’m locked in here now, I probably should… explore, I guess?” Twilight mused unsurely as she slowly ascended the stairs.
The upstairs landing was dirtier than downstairs, but not by much. Cobwebs grew in the corners of the hallway, the webs long since abandoned by whatever spider made them. Dust clung to the molding carpet and shot up with every step that Twilight took. She made her way to a side door and gripped the knob in her magic. A few attempts at turning it told her that it was locked. Exasperated, Twilight tried a few more with similar results.
“What’s with this place? Why did somepony feel the need to lock every single door! None of this makes any sense!”
Coming to the last door in the hallway she was in, she gripped the doorknob and turned. When the door opened, a pair of spectral chains shot out from the door and entwined themselves around her barrel. A sharp, stinging sensation danced over her skin as she was dragged into the room. Twilight shrieked, pulling against the chains. Slipping, she lost her hoofing and flopped to the dirty floor.
Realizing that she was resisting, a second pair of chains shot out and snagged her rear legs. Then, they began to pull harder. Twilight redoubled her efforts, however her muscles strained and burned, and her lungs longed for air. Soon, she was at the chains’ mercy. They yanked her inside before the door slammed shut behind her.
The chains clinked and rattled as they left her and snaked away into the darkness. “W-what was that?” Twilight asked with wide eyes. She tried to swallow, but her throat was scratchy and dry from her screams. She lit up her horn, the resulting light just enough for her to see the interior of the room. It appeared to be a spare bedroom that had fallen into a state of disrepair. A nightstand with one of its legs snapped off sat on the floor, the wood nearly completely shaved off.
She turned her head to gaze upon the other parts of the room. She noticed the bedsheets on the bed had jagged rips and tears in several places. When she got closer, she noticed one of the pillows had been cut cleanly in half, its straw stuffing having spilled out and onto the mattress. The bedframe sagged at the middle, with the wood that compromised the canopy in an advanced state of dry-rot.
The window in this room fared no better than the windows downstairs. The glass pane was caked over completely with grime, preventing any light from filtering in. When Twilight tried to open it, it wouldn’t budge.
Twilight looked away from the window after a few attempts and traced the walls. The wallpaper here seemed to fare a bit better in the fact that it wasn’t peeling, unlike the wallpaper she saw downstairs. The few bare parts revealed walls that appeared to be in a similar condition to the bed frame. Wood was missing in some places, only to reveal mostly intact foundation. Some sections of the wall weren’t so fortunate. Twilight noticed a hole in the base of the western wall that lead into the next room over. It appeared to be just big enough for her to crawl into.
"Wow, this place isn’t just run-down… it’s old! I really need to talk with Mayor Mare about making this a public landmark… at least it could be renovated th--” Twilight abruptly stopped speaking when a familiar icy chill ran down her spine. She twirled around, yet nothing was there. A few seconds later the chill came again. This time, the sensation was stronger and more defined. It was directly in the middle of Twilight’s back.
“W-w-who’s there?” Twilight choked out, but no response came. Instead, she felt a stinging chill on her left cheek that came and went periodically for a few seconds before it stopped. Twilight let out a blood-curdling scream and galloped as fast as she could away from whatever this was. She got a glimpse of a teal and aquamarine-colored silhouette before she wriggled through the hole with unusual dexterity.
When she got into the next room, the window allowed moonlight to filter into the room. Twilight immediately turned to the western wall. Whatever that… thing was, it didn’t appear to follow her through the hole in the wall, but she decided not to take any chances. Drawing upon her nearly limitless knowledge of spells, her horn flared to life as magenta-colored magic swirled on the wall. Soon, a golden cross beset in a lattice-work frame created by her magic conjured itself into existence. Afterwards, an amber glow infused itself into every nook and cranny of the room she was in.
“That should hold,” she said as the ward made a soft ping sound after every wall was secured. Shortly after, a harsh crashing could be heard from the western wall, displacing the dust accumulated on the ceiling.
“Huh? W-what was that?” Twilight asked as the crash came again. This time, the force was so great that the wall buckled slightly from the impact. Twilight leapt a few inches in the air as she backpedaled toward the eastern wall. When she rested upon it, a harsh thump collided with the wall behind her, which caused her to leap forward.
Twilight took deep, shallow breaths as harsh thumping and pounding resounded in the small room. Twilight’s head darted left and right as each wall appeared to be attempting to outdo each other in ferocity. Soon, she heard a soft ping sound. Her eyes snapped to the ward. She watched intently as it flickered from the assault. “No! No, no, no, no, no!” Twilight babbled as she quickly flared her horn and added some magic to the ward’s reserves. As the amber light grew harsher, a loud ethereal wail of agony echoed in Twilight’s ears. The assault ended as quickly as it began.
Twilight’s heart hammered in her chest. Whatever that was, it appeared to be gone now. However, she was still on high alert. After taking several deep, calming breaths, she reinforced the ward and wandered around the room. It appeared to be nearly identical to the one she left, save for the fact there was a writing desk in the corner opposite of her. The window in here appeared to be much cleaner as well--maybe a byproduct of her sanctuary ward? Lifting a dusty tome that rested flat on a writing desk, she found a small gold-plated key.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at this. "Huh. What’s this doing here? Let me pick this up. I-I mean, in case I need it, of course..." Grabbing the key in her magic, she held it aloft as she made her way to the door. Inserting the key, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the key turned. The door swung open and revealed the hallway she was just in. When she got outside, she noticed the door she was dragged into was wide open.
"But… guh… what?" Twilight babbled as a few strands of her mane stood on end. “T-that door closed behind me. How is it open now?” She turned to trot away when she felt a chill run down her spine. When she spinned around this time, she saw a teal and aquamarine earth pony flying at her.
“Oh, thank Celestia! Someone else is in… here…” Twilight paused as the realization dawned on her. Wait. Earth pony… no wings… no horn… and flying? That makes no sense! Unless…
Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she took a few steps back from the pony. Wait, does that mean that she’s a ghost? I refuse to believe it. They’re not real, it’s scientifically impossible! As Twilight stood there, the earth pony phazed right through her, showing no signs of discomfort at all. Twilight screamed again as she galloped off as fast as her legs could carry her.
The earth pony flew after her, its teal and aquamarine coat reflecting the moonlight. Its mane and tail fluttered in what could only be described as an invisible breeze as it pursued her.
Maybe if I shut my eyes it’ll go away... Twilight thought as she screwed her eyes shut tightly. When she opened them a moment later, the pony had caught up to her and reared down to capture her neck in its hooves. Seeing this caused her to scream again as she deftly ducked under them and ran faster. When she rounded a corner, she didn’t notice the staircase ahead. She tripped and tumbled down the stairs, hitting her head rather roughly on the floor below.
The last thing she saw was the pony reaching down to her before her body fell limp and her vision went completely black.
A soft beeping noise filtered in through Twilight’s ears, which roused her from a dreamless slumber. When Twilight eventually regained consciousness, she found herself on a bed in a hospital room with Pinkie holding a hoof in hers. When she looked over, Pinkie appeared to be napping, yet she had a firm hold on Twilight’s hoof. Twilight took this moment to get accustomed to her new surroundings.
She noticed that a small equipment rack sat off to the side of her bed, burdened with an ECG monitor and an IV stand that held a pair of bags on two of its hooks. Upon closer inspection, she noticed one of them was filled with a bright red, viscous liquid and the other with a bright yellow liquid. When she glanced down, she noticed she was in a hospital bed on a slight incline.
Rotating her head to the right, she saw two things: One, Rainbow Dash pacing in front of a door with meaningful strides. As she watched, she saw Rainbow deviated from her course to look through a window right across from the door. She stood there for a few moments and appeared to be distraught about something, before she went back to the door and continued pacing. Two, a small nightstand with several balloons and a vase full of flowers. Twilight could just barely make out the words ‘Get well soon!’ written on a small standee inside of the pot. After regaining her bearings, Twilight shifted her focus back to Pinkie and drew in a deep breath.
That had to be the strangest dream I ever had. Twilight thought as she let it out slowly and allowed her head to flop back down on the pillow. Strange… it felt so real though. Maybe I should try and ask the girls what exactly happened to me… Twilight mused as she returned her focus to Pinkie once more.
“P… Pinkie?” Twilight rasped as Pinkie’s head shot up.
“Dashie! Dashie, Dashie, Dashie!” Pinkie cried out as Rainbow turned her head over to her. The pink pony propped up the conscious form of Twilight. Her frazzled mane stood completely on end. Her eyes were bloodshot and her fur was matted, pressing itself tightly to her barrel. Her forelegs limply dangled in Pinkie’s grip. Rainbow abandoned her post almost instantly. She flew over and enveloped Twilight in a hug.
“You had us so worried, egghead! You were out for several hours!” Rainbow remarked as she released Twilight back into Pinkie’s care.
“Oh, I was only out for… wait, did you say hours?” Twilight blurted out as she took a few deep breaths in rapid succession. “W-what happened? Where are we? Why did I faint? I don’t remember… my head hurts…” Twilight babbled as neither Pinkie nor Rainbow said anything.
“Well, we’re in the hospital. Ponyville General to be exact,” Pinkie mentioned as she started to explain, “Earlier, Rainbow came to you and told you about some strange occurrences and--”
“Wait,” Twilight interjected as she tried to clear her throat with limited success, “I remember now… I went inside to investigate the weird lights that Rainbow saw...”
“And we went with you,” this time, Rainbow interjected as Pinkie glanced up at her. “I just didn’t want to see you hurt, is all. I don’t know what Pinkie’s motivation was, but I came along to make sure you were okay,” Rainbow said self-assuredly as Twilight managed a weak chuckle.
Classic Rainbow, loyal as ever… Twilight thought as she turned her head so she could look at both of them. “T-thanks, girls. I really need a drink of water… it hurts to laugh or even breathe…” Twilight’s horn flared to life as a small glass of water appeared in front of her. She slowly drank it down and cleared her throat. “T-that’s better… I’ll get some more at the Castle later.” Twilight rolled out of bed despite Pinkie’s protests and stretched her legs and wings. “I feel like I ran a mile…”
“Well, uh, about that, Twi…” Rainbow remarked as she rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “You see… me and Pinkie were in the nearby hallway looking at a painting when Pinkie heard you calling our name.”
“Yep yep! I figured that you didn’t notice us walk away, so I went back to find you. When I discovered you, you were… staring at the open spot where the doorknob was. You were just… staring at it and using your magic on… something. Wasn’t sure what, but I figured that you were doing something super-duper important so I didn’t bother you!”
“Wait, what? What do you mean I--” Twilight tried to get a word in edgewise, however Rainbow cut her off.
“You were mumbling something about how quickly the sun set or something… but it was still late afternoon when you looked out of the window. Then, you just started wandering aimlessly. You passed by us at least twice. Then you went to the staircase and tested one of the stairs before climbing them. I said that we should probably follow you, and Pinkie took off with me following behind.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “B-but… I don’t remember seeing you two! Like, at all!” Rainbow and Pinkie exchanged worried glances before Pinkie spoke up and picked up where Rainbow left off.
“Well, when you got upstairs, Rainbow had this bright idea to cut you off further down the hall. We saw you standing in front of the doors and mumbling something… so Rainbow thought that a good shock would snap you out of… well, whatever that was…” she said before adding, “Rainbow said I should come with. So, when you got to the last door on the hallway, we… kind of opened it and tried to drag you inside to talk to you--”
“--however, you put up quite a fight, egghead!” Rainbow interjected as she shadowboxed the air in front of her. “It took both of us to drag you inside. When we tried to shake you out of it, you screamed and disappeared through the wall! We tried to bang on the wall to get your attention… but you must’ve done something to the wall, because I sprained my hoof trying to punch a hole in it,” she remarked.
“So, I opened the door to try and find you. You were in the hall at the time and I flew at you. Granted… that probably wasn’t the smartest idea, for you screamed and ran away again. I tried to grab onto you, but you ducked. I held out my hoof to try and warn you about the staircase… but it was too late. You were already falling down it. I called Pinkie over, we decided that we should get you some medical attention and… well, that’s about it. That was really uncool, Twilight. If you’re going to prank us, at least make it tasteful! Geez...”
“Well, you’ll never believe it… but I saw a real-life ghost! They exist! This is a scientific breakthrough! I’ll be the first to prove that ghost ponies exist!" Twilight chirped as she pranced in place, only to wince at how tense her muscles were. “I’m going back out there to see if I can see it again! That is, if it wasn’t a hallucination… Anyway, are you coming, girls?” she asked as she approached the door.
“U-uh… I should probably go first.” Despite Twilight’s protests, Rainbow peeked her head out from behind the door. Figuring it was safe, she motioned for the others to follow her. Pinkie and Twilight exited the room as they tip-hoofed down the hallway. As Twilight walked, the hallway slowly changed. White-washed hallways started to crack and flake the further she walked, becoming dilapidated and rotted.
Ceramic tiles gave way to wooden planks as the floor of the hospital slowly faded away only to be replaced with the floor of the Hatfield Manor. The hallways became ridden with dust and dry-rotted wood. The dust that hung in the air caused her to cough whenever she inhaled. As they made their way up the corridor, a vase that sat on an end table rattled and knocked itself off. It shattered upon hitting the floor, which got Twilight’s attention.
“D-did you hear that, girls?” Twilight asked, worry dripping from her words.
“Hear what, Twilight?” Pinkie asked as she followed Twilight’s eyes to a blue and white vase that sat on the end table she was looking at.
“That vase! It fell over and shattered! How could you not hear that? It’s literally right there!” Twilight admonished, splaying her hooves for dramatic effect.
“Uh… Twilight? The vase is perfectly fine. I don’t know about you, but it's not shattered at all,” Rainbow remarked as Twilight trotted over and bent over to scrape at the ground. Rainbow and Pinkie exchanged unsure glances as Twilight trotted back over with empty hooves.
“See! Shattered! Look at all of these pieces!” Twilight replied as she wiggled her empty hooves in front of their eyes.
“Are you sure that you’re okay, Twilight? You seem a little loopsy-doopsy right now…” Pinkie stated as Rainbow swirled a hoof near her head with crossed eyes.
“I saw that, Rainbow!” Twilight snapped as she faced the pegasus. “You think I’m crazy, don’t you? I bet you both do, huh?” Twilight said as she continued down the hall. “Come on, we have to get out of here.” Rainbow and Pinkie sighed, but eventually followed along.
As Twilight trotted further along, she stopped and looked at an empty patch of wall. Twilight saw the words ‘Get Out’ written on the wall in blood. Rainbow and Pinkie tried to move her along, but she brushed them off with a hoof. “Get out… huh, wonder who wrote that?”
“T-Twilight? Y-you’re starting to scare us now. Come on… let’s get out of here so you can have a nice rest,” Rainbow said as she sighed. “And maybe a trip to a psychiatrist…” she muttered under her breath.
“What was that last part, Rainbow?” Twilight shot back as she raised an eyebrow.
“N-nothing! Nothing important!” Rainbow quickly cantered away to prevent Twilight from asking any more questions. She simply shrugged and continued on. Further down, the writing began to fill the wall with words that overlapped each other. Twilight started taking shallow raspy breaths as her head darted back and forth. Suddenly, she screamed and galloped along the hallway again. Pinkie and Rainbow sighed before they followed her.
“I-it’s back! The ghost is back! Get it away from me!” Twilight cried out as she crossed the foyer and rushed to the door. Rainbow and Pinkie saw Twilight grasping at the open air where the doorknob would have sat if the door was closed. She tugged and tugged in an attempt to open an already open door to no avail.
She saw Rainbow and Pinkie simply phase through the door, which only redoubled her paranoia. Suddenly, the door swung open and launched Twilight out of the manor. She landed roughly onto the pavement of the sidewalk just outside. With her outside of the manor, Rainbow and Pinkie saw a bright light evacuate Twilight’s body and quickly float back inside.
“W-w-what was that?” Pinkie asked as Rainbow blinked and rubbed her eyes with a foreleg.
“I-I don’t know… but it floated out of Twilight!” Rainbow mentioned as she galloped up to her friend. “Twi? A-are you okay?”
“Y-yeah… I think so. I’m not sure what that was... but, it’s gone now…” Twilight mentioned as Pinkie gripped her by her withers.
“It was a ghost, Twilight! A ghost just left your body!” Pinkie said as she shook Twilight for emphasis. Twilight’s eyes swirled in their sockets after Pinkie released her. “See? See? I told you the rumors were true, this place is haunted! What do you have to say to that, Twilight? Huh? Huh? Huh?” Pinkie asked as she hopped in place excitedly.
“Well, maybe. Either that or it could’ve been a trick of the light… or an elaborate prank. If I recall, you two love to play pranks on Nightmare Night…” Twilight shot back as she leveled an accusatory glare at the pair. Pinkie and Rainbow exchanged wary glances.
“Uh, Twi… as much as we love pranking you--” Rainbow started to explain.
“--and how easy it is as well--” Pinkie interjected.
“--we’ve had nothing to do with this!” the pair finished, almost in unison. Twilight’s mouth opened and closed a few times as her brain tried to process what they just said. Eventually, she found the capacity to form words. “S-so… about what you were trying to explain to me earlier...”
“About how you were acting really strangely?” Pinkie interjected as Twilight nodded.
“--you’re trying to tell me that actually happened?” Twilight raised an eyebrow and rubbed the side of her face as her friends nodded. “W-well… how do you know that… whatever that was had anything to do with it? For all we know it could’ve been something about the house itself!”
“You know… that’s a good point. Maybe we need to go back in there…” Rainbow mentioned as Twilight’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
“C-can we not?” Twilight half-whimpered. “I think that I had enough excitement today to last me for a while. However…” Twilight mused as she glanced back up at the manor, “maybe another investigation is in order. This time, though… maybe we should wait until we’re more… prepared? Now that we know what we’re up against, we can go back inside with a plan. What do you say, girls?”
Rainbow and Pinkie both nodded as the trio trotted away from the manor. Up in the second story window, a pony silhouette silently watched them leave and disappeared when they were out of sight.