Over time, word of my supposed sleuthing skills was spreading around Ponyville. Locals were knocking on my door to ask me for help, whether it was to find something or somepony, or to find something out.
The only issue was they weren't exactly newsworthy cases. Not even the local newsletter would print that I'd helped Berry Punch find her cat snoozing on top of the wardrobe. And I won't lie, it was starting to frustrate me a little.
"Who cares if it doesn't make the papers?" said Rivershine, the two of us having lunch al fresco at the café one day. "You're doing Ponyville a great service."
"Is it that great, though?" I asked, biting into a daisy sandwich. "I'm finding one of Cheerilee's misplaced textbooks or discovering a fruit bat is raiding Strawberry Sunrise's garden. They could ask anypony to do that."
"Sure they could, but they don't," Rivershine said, smiling. "They ask you."
"Yeah, but anypony could do what I get asked to do. Some probably better than I could, at that."
"And you're the one stepping up," Rivershine pointed out. "Princess Twilight and her friends are usually taking care of big-scale problems or personal issues, so they're going to miss a cat needing saved from a tree. It's good to have somepony looking out for the little guy, y'know?"
I looked at her, and I saw her point. It was a good point too. They were small problems, but they were still problems. Problems that the locals seemed to think I was capable enough to take care of for them. And it wasn't like I was doing it for nothing--Berry Punch gave me a bottle of cider for helping her, Strawberry Sunrise's strawberries are delicious.
"Well, now I just feel like a jerk," I muttered, looking down at my sandwich.
"Oh, you just needed some perspective," said Rivershine. She reached over and lifted my chin with her hoof. "I totally get it: you got a taste of the limelight, and you want more. But just keep doing what you're doing, and the big cases will come to you."
I found myself smiling at her. "I really don't deserve you."
"Nope, but I'm stuck with you so I'm making the most of it." She stuck her tongue out with a cheeky wink.
We both shared a laugh, before I decided to share an idea I had for the future. "Y'know, when I get my place all paid off, I might convert part of it into an office."
"Yeah?" Rivershine's eyes lit up. "Going full-on Private Eye?"
"It seems to be picking up," I said, sipping my coffee. "Plus, it might encourage the locals to actually pay in money. I appreciate the gifts and all, but they're not gonna pay for the essentials unless I take them down to the weekend market."
"You just want to look legitimate and show up that fancy Canterlot detective, don't you?"
River's smirk broke through me. "Okay, that too a little."
"Keep playing your cards right and I don't see why it couldn't happen. I'll even toss a few cases your way if I can."
"Really?" It was my eyes' turn to light up. "That'd be awesome!"
"As long as you help me and the girls out from time to time," she went on.
"Yeah, I know." I rested my head in my hoof. "It's not exactly easy to forget, with Lyra side-eyeing me in passing."
"Just making sure, sweetie." River leaned over and pecked me on the nose, before slurping down the last of her coffee. "I better get going. Sweetie wants me to help her go over a case file."
"Want a hoof?" I offered.
"We might, but we'll let you know."
With our meetup finished, River and I went to go about our days. A smile crept on my face as I kept thinking about my dream office. My name on the door, a mahogany desk, a filing cabinet to keep all my solved cases and clues, a trenchcoat and stetson to wear while I do brooding monologues in my head.
So the monologues you already do, only with a depressed inner voice?
Yes, basically.
But first things first. I needed some real bits so I could pay off my loan. Then I could worry about renovating when it was nice and legal. That meant I needed a big case. Something with a big payoff.
"There he is!" I heard a young voice behind me. I turned around and raised an eyebrow at the trio of familiar fillies marching up to me.
"So, call yourself a detective, do you?" asked Scootaloo, glaring up at me with a stink-eye.
Apple Bloom jumped on her back to sneer at me. "A private eye?"
Sweetie Belle used her magic to levitate herself onto Apple Bloom's back to get nose-to-nose with me. "A regular gumshoe?"
I opened my mouth to answer before the Cutie Mark Crusaders' little totem pole teetered and collapsed onto itself. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be in any pain. Thankfully because I couldn't afford three separate lawsuits.
I took a moment to look down at them with sheer bewilderment. "Can I help you girls with something?"
"I'll say you can," said Scootaloo as she fluttered onto her hooves. "You're stealing our thunder, buddy."
"Say what?"
"We're the detectives 'round here, Mr. Sharp," said Apple Bloom.
Alright, this was a new one. "Wait, I thought you were cutie mark consultants, and tutors at the School of Friendship?"
"Oh, we are," said Sweetie Belle, rolling her hoof. "The detective stuff is more of a side hustle."
"Got more than five cases under our belts," added Scootaloo, "so to speak."
"So, what? I'm treading on your beat?" I guessed.
"That's right, and we ain't much appreciatin' it," said Apple Bloom. "Though, we might forgive ya and let ya keep operatin' on our off time, if ya agree ta a lil'... arrangement."
Own hoof, meet own face. "Okay, I'll bite. What do you want?"
For the most split of seconds, I saw the three exchange some eager grins.
"You might have heard about the story surrounding the abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest," said Sweetie Belle.
"The Castle of the Two Sisters?" I guessed. "What legend is that?"
"Legend says it's where Princess Luna once became Nightmare Moon," answered Scootaloo. "They say that a part of the dark energy that changed her haunts the ruins and messes with anypony trying to investigate."
"And we wanna see if there's any truth ta it," added Apple Bloom... then tapped her front hooves sheepishly. "We don't wanna go without a grown-up."
"We're not scared or anything!" Scootaloo quickly interjected.
"Nothing to be scared of in an old castle in the middle of a creepy forest in the dead of night," agreed Sweetie Belle. "We just want a fellow investigator's thoughts on the matter."
There it was. These three wanted to debunk a local legend and I was to be their chaperone.
"Don't you have guardians for that kind of thing?" I pointed out. "Sisters and such?"
"Big Mac's away helpin' Sugar Bell, and Applejack's gonna be bushed after workin' the farm all day," said Apple Bloom. "And Granny Smith'll be asleep before we get there."
"There's no way I'll get Rarity to agree to explore an old castle," groaned Sweetie Belle. "All the dust and cobwebs will make her have a breakdown."
"My aunties are going out for dinner," added Scootaloo. "And Rainbow Dash is taking night classes at the School of Friendship."
"And this can't wait until one of them is available?" I asked. "I mean, this sounds dangerous."
"C'mon, Mr. Sight," Sweetie Belle pleaded. "It's not like we won't listen to you. We're professionals."
"You're just as professional as I am."
Scootaloo beamed. "See? It works!"
"S'far as everypony knows, we're havin' a safe and sound campout," said Apple Bloom.
I sighed. "You realize if any of you gets hurt and your guardians find out I let you talk me into this - knowing you're lying about what you're doing, by the way - it'll be my head on a pike?"
"Being a detective isn't without risks," said Sweetie Belle with a grin.
I saw the glints in their eyes. "You're going to do it no matter what I say, aren't you?"
They nodded.
It took all my willpower not to scream to the Pony heavens. "Alright, fine, I'll go. Just to make sure you don't get hurt."
"YES!!" the Crusaders cheered.
"We'll meet up near Fluttershy's cottage tonight," said Scootaloo.
"And, uh, sorry about the 'bad cop' treatment before," added Sweetie Belle. "We've been working on it."
"Y'all won't regret this, Mr. Sharp!" chirped Apple Bloom as the three trotted off, eagerly muttering to themselves.
Wanna bet?
It was just as well I had nothing going on that night, or I wouldn't have given the girls' little scheme a second thought. That, and I knew they'd go for it with or without me and I couldn't deal with hearing they'd gotten hurt. Or somepony pinning the blame on me somehow.
The chilly evening breeze blowing my mane made me glad I put my coat on. It was still summer, but autumn was definitely on its way. Good a time as any for foals to get into some shenanigans before school started again.
I halted mid-step when I got this feeling. I was being watched. But from where?
"...!"
I stepped to the side, just in time for a small bolt of lightning to miss me by inches.
"Aw, dang it!" I heard from above. A familiar, multicolour-maned mare swooped down in front of me. "How'd you know I was there?"
"I heard you snickering."
Rainbow Dash sighed through her lips like a regular horse, which brought me no end of joy. Watching these Ponies do horse things was satisfying for some reason.
"I need to step my game up for Nightmare Night," she lamented.
"Don't go to the trouble on my account. Please." I tilted my head. "I thought you had night classes?"
"I asked Twilight to cover for me," Dash said with a roll of her hoof. "She'll even drop princess work if it means she gets to give a lecture."
"I'm gonna guess you're not just out here looking for hapless victims to zap in the backside again?"
Dash put on a smirk. "Yeah, I kinda overheard that little thing between you and the girls today. Thought you'd feel better if you had an experienced adventurer in your corner."
I noted the cocksure smirk on her face, and was surprised it wasn't a scowl of murderous rage. "You're taking it remarkably well."
"Well, you're not the one I should be mad at." Dash gave a side-eye glance toward the path leading to Fluttershy's cottage. "They totally pressganged you into this, but it was cool of you to step up."
Well, that certainly made me feel a little better about the whole thing. Unless this was all a ruse and she was going to sideswipe me with an angry mob at my front door in the morning.
"Should we head over there?" I suggested. "Before they decide to go on their own?"
"Not even they're brave enough to go into the Everfree Forest alone at night," said Dash casually. "If they're not at the entrance, they'll have ducked into Fluttershy's for tea and cookies."
"She'd be cool with that?"
Dash cheekily stuck out her tongue. "Hey, cute and helpless critters are her thing."
We both travelled to the Everfree Forest together, and sure enough, the three Crusaders were waiting for me at the mouth of the woods. While they were happy to see me, they undoubtedly set a world record for "Fastest Time For An Ear-To-Ear Smile To Fall Into A Fearing-For-Life Grimace" when Rainbow Dash landed next to me. After she had some very choice words with the girls (so choice that I was fairly certain that it would call for a script edit for a kids' show), she led the way into the Forest. I kept to the rear to make sure nopony was jumped from behind by a wild animal.
Won't that mean YOU'LL be jumped from behind?
Crap.
At this point, I'd learned to just humour everypony's apparent discomfort with the Everfree Forest. For some reason, the clouds moving by themselves and the animals and plants surviving without Pony assistance was totally alien to a lot of the locals.
"I heard it rains on and off around here," I spoke up with a smirk of my own.
"Right?!" squeaked Rainbow Dash with no hint of shared sarcasm. "It's so weird!"
The three Crusaders murmured agreement. I almost felt gratified to come from a place where the simple act of an inaccurate weather prediction would cause nightmares for these four.
My attempt at bonding with what I thought was this world's idea of absurdist comedy aside, I decided to try more of a pressing matter. "So you know where this place is?"
"Oh yeah, been there a few times," said Dash. "It's just a bunch of stones and moss now, no biggie."
"But they say some of the dark magic that turned Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon is there," said Scootaloo. "The Pony of Shadows, right?"
"It's not the Pony of Shadows," Dash immediately said. "Trust me, whatever it is, it ain't him."
"But there must be somethin', right?" Apple Bloom tried.
"There wasn't anything when I was there last. Scariest thing you'll find there is a bunch of spiders."
"Spiders?!" yelped Sweetie Belle, looking ready to turn tail right then and there.
"I'll protect you all from any cobwebs," I said flatly.
"Okay, but real talk," said Dash, lowering her voice, "it's the walk to the place you wanna worry about, especially at this time of day. This is when the nastier creatures start popping up, like timberwolves."
My ears pricked up. I still remembered that timberwolf that wandered into town a year ago. The one that made me inadvertently meet Rivershine. I made a mental note to thank it the next time I saw it.
Fluttershy said it's uncommon for timberwolves to wander into towns. Maybe if I don't find an evil spirit or whatever, I might find something connected to that.
Thankfully our walk through the dense part of the forest was pretty uneventful (the most that happened was Scootaloo being startled by a leaf landing on her), and we got across an old rickety bridge leading up to some old ruins. I had to admit, as we got closer to the remains of the ancient castle, I felt an eagerness welling up. I was actually going to learn about some of Equestria's history firsthoof! The Crusaders were starting to get pretty excited as well, giggling amongst themselves as we got closer.
And then we passed through the old, mossy wooden doors leading into the grounds.
"What in the name of Chancellor Puddinghead's neck ruffle is that?" I demanded, pointing at the giant glimmering eyesore that somewhat resembled a treehouse dominating the courtyard.
Scootaloo shared my shock. "I do not remember this being here."
"Ooohh, Twilight told me about that," said Dash, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, I totally forgot. Some of the students from the School of Friendship built a clubhouse out of the Tree of Harmony here."
A corner of my mouth curled up in disbelief. "A tree? As in, a plant? Of Harmony?"
Dash shrugged. "Yeah, don't think too much into it."
"Wait, so we came all this way fer nothin'?" asked Apple Bloom, her ears drooping. I couldn't help but feel her disappointment, and so did her friends.
"Chillax, girls... and guy," said Dash. "The juicy stuff's still here, we just gotta go around."
I breathed a sigh. "Good, because I do not wanna go in there. I feel like I'm gonna cough up a butterfly just looking at it."
I put as much distance as possible between myself and the Treehouse of Juxtaposition as Dash led the way around it. I couldn't get over how shiny it was, practically making itself a beacon in the darkness. Between this and the castle in Ponyville, I was beginning to wonder if this part of Equestria was just the Crystal Empire's landfill for unwanted architecture.
I found myself praying that Rivershine wasn't a crystal fanatic, or my next financial venture when we started living together would be an eyemask. And a book on how to walk around while blindfolded.
Just as Rainbow Dash promised, behind the unconventionally frightening treehouse was the entrance to the ruins. We stepped through some old doors made of rotted wood and rusty iron and into a dilapidated entrance hall. Moss coated the ancient stone walls, which had vines and overgrowth from outside creeping through every possible crevice. Thankfully it was a clear night, allowing the moonlight to shine through the many holes in the ceiling.
"Okay, here we are," I said. "Now let's go home."
"But we just got here!" Apple Bloom complained.
"You wanted to see the ruins, we saw the ruins."
"Nice try, Mr. Sharp," said Scootaloo, "but we're doing this properly."
"This place doesn't look like it's seen any upkeep in centuries, and I am not going to be held responsible for a bit of ceiling falling on somepony's head."
"It'll be fine, Sharpy," Dash said. "You've got me on your side, remember?"
I failed to see how that would stop the aforementioned ceiling attack, but the Crusaders seemed reassured.
"We'll stick together," Sweetie Belle promised me. "That way we don't get lost."
You're not winning this, Sharp.
I groaned. "Okay, fine. But nopony wanders off on their own. That means you too, Dashy."
The Crusaders nodded. Rainbow Dash gave me a mock salute. "Yes, Dad."
"Now that we've agreed on that, we should plan how we go around the place." I paced around the foyer and tapped my chin. "I've never been here before, and it's no doubt pretty treacherous. We should keep a note of where we've been and--"
"Let's head down there first," said Dash, pointing to a corridor.
"Alright!" Scootaloo cheered, she and her friends following after the Pegasus.
"Ooorrr we just do whatever and hope for the best." I rolled my eyes and brought up the rear. "Whatever - that was my Plan B anyway."
"Y'all gotta get a sense of adventure, Mr. Sharp," said Apple Bloom. "Half the fun's not knowin' where yer goin'."
"If that were true, I'd be having the time of my life for the past year or so."
"Oh, I know what's got your tail in a knot," said Dash, starting to fly backwards so she could point her smirk right at me. "You're scared of the dark, aren't you?"
"What's wrong with that?" I asked, more defensively than I intended. "You can't see what's in the dark."
"He makes a good point," Sweetie Belle admitted. Her horn was aglow with a mint green light to illuminate what was ahead of her. She might have been as reckless as her two buddies, but at least she seemed to be the one with common sense.
"You're not gonna chicken out, are you?" asked Scootaloo.
"Y'all would know if she was," Apple Bloom remarked with a smirk.
"Oh, don't you start that again."
"Ah didn't start nothin'."
"You were gonna."
I tried to dissolve things. "Uh--"
"Girls, seriously?" said Sweetie Belle with a scowl. "We're best friends, and we have our cutie marks now. We're above making fun of each other like this."
"Yeah, yer right," said Apple Bloom. "Sorry, Scoots. Ah guess this place is gettin' me jumpy."
"Yeah, me too," Scootaloo admitted. "It is pretty dark. And quiet."
'Quiet' wasn't exactly the word I'd use. I'd certainly go for 'decrepit'. The carpet was hardened from centuries of humidity, and I felt moss a few times. Any portraits had been withered away to rusty frames with blank canvases, and anywhere that looked like it would be the spot to decorate with something valuable looked like someone had helped themselves to it already.
"The old library's this way, if I remember right," said Dash.
"A library?" Apple Bloom frowned. "Did Twilight tell you to go there?"
"If you're looking for ghosts, check for creepy books," Dash answered sagely. "It worked for Daring Do that one time."
"Ooh, maybe they'll have Daring Do books there?" Scootaloo grinned.
"Nah, they don't," Dash frowned. "I've looked."
"Pretty sure this castle was operating long before A.K. Yearling's time," I pointed out, trying to mask my own disappointment. I'd found myself getting rather invested in the literary side of Equestrian culture, mainly in fantasy books. Sure, a lot of the stuff in them might have seemed feasible in this world, but they were still fun to read about.
I found myself wondering if anyone was going to write down any of my exploits one day. If they were interesting enough to read, anyway.
The five of us entered a very dilapidated library. Well, I personally found the lack of a ceiling dilapidated but maybe somepony else would call it a very generous skylight. Any books sitting out in the open on the selves, or laying open on the ground, were subjected to decades of water damage thanks to said skylight. If any words were left, they were barely legible.
"Maybe we'll find a librarian's ghost or something," Scootaloo said flatly as she dragged her hoof along the worn book spines.
"Scooootaloooooo," Apple Bloom droned in a wavering voice as waved her hooves at her friend, "yer two minutes late bringin' yer boooook baaaack!"
"You must paaayyyy the fiiiinnneeee!" Sweetie Belle groaned, dilating her pupils. "Twoooo biiiiiits!"
"You guys are so lame," Scootaloo murmured, the edges of her mouth twitching before the three of them burst into laughter.
I looked away from the ruined concrete Alicorn statue (its face was jarringly realistic) and saw the girls enjoy themselves. I couldn't help but smile myself. Initially I thought this little trip would be a health hazard and a waste of time, but so far it had been relatively safe, and at least the girls were enjoying themselves. Even if Rainbow Dash was getting bored by the lack of action, flying around the library's airspace for any form of life to appear. Or unlife, whichever appeared first.
"Maybe I should've told them to go home, like you said," she groaned, flopping down next to her. "I'm so bored."
"Maybe a suit of armour will come to life and chase us down," I said in an attempt to bring her spirits up. "And it'll turn out to be the old stallion janitor who was scaring everypony away because he wanted revenge."
I certainly didn't make Rainbow Dash feel worse, because she fixed me with an arched eyebrow. "Wha'?"
I shrugged, feeling my cheeks warm up. "Nothing." I quickly shuffled off toward one of the bookshelves against the wall and busied myself flicking through old moldy books.
"Oh, careful over there, girls," I heard Dash say. "I think Twilight said once that some of these books open trap doors."
"What was that about traps?" I asked, looking over my shoulder just as I jerked out one of the books.
My ear twitched from a clicking sound, and I found myself being scooped up by the bookcase tilting up and sliding me into a dark abyss. I screamed as I sped downward, tilting this way and that like I were on a stone slide. I'd be having the time of my life if I was younger and could see where I was going.
All I could hope was there wasn't rusty spikes with bits of Pony skeleton impaled on them waiting for me at the bottom.
I finally rolled to a stop when the slide came to an end. I couldn't see my nose for how dark it was, but at least I wasn't impaled. That was something.
I still had my saddlebag. I rooted around in it for the lantern I picked up in town earlier in the day. Once I fished it out, I felt around until I found the dial and twisted it. A flame flickered to life inside the wick, creating a warm glow. This kind of magic must've been foal's play, with how cheap the lantern was in Barnyard Bargains.
I looked around, finding myself in some kind of old tunnel made of stone brick. A bit claustrophobic, but nothing that worried me too much.
What did worry me was that I had no idea whether to go one way or the other.
"Don't panic," I murmured, before I lifted the lantern to illuminate the end of the slide. I pressed a hoof on it and was taken aback by how slippery it was. No way I was climbing up. "Which way did I slide down...?"
I went back down the slide in my head. I was caught off guard by that trap (which Rainbow Dash did inadvertently warn me about, so I couldn't be mad at her), but I could still remember the twists and turns.
"That way," I decided, turning in one direction and starting to walk.
As I walked, I couldn't help but wonder why I remembered that slide so well. Details like that used to slip right by me, but now, having come to this world, I was subconsciously paying attention to everything. Apple Bloom's theory rang in my head again: that it was my cutie mark giving me super deductive powers or something. I didn't dislike it, it was just so strange.
I came to a crossroad and racked my brain again. A quick deduction told me to keep going, and when I took a step forward, I saw the tip of a tail disappear into the darkness down the path I was set to follow. I jumped a little, but kept going.
"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing through the tunnel. "Anypony there?"
I kept walking forward, and amongst my echoing hooves I could hear something in the distance. My ears flicked as I tried to figure out what it was. An organ, maybe?
I halted again when one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked into the lantern light.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle," I sighed. "You got knocked down a trap door too?"
"Yeah, I did," she muttered, looking up at me with an ice cold glare. "Thanks to you."
I frowned. "Uh, what?"
"I got lost after you disappeared," she said, rather blankly. "Got separated from my friends because you weren't there to point out any traps. I'm lost down here, because of you."
I could only stare at her. Not only did that hurt, but she sounded so... empty. Like something had sucked the life out of her.
"W-Well, I think I can figure out a way back up," I tried. "Lemme just--"
"Don't," Sweetie Belle interrupted. "I'll find my own way. Eventually. You never should've come to Equestria."
Ow.
Sweetie Belle backed into the darkness, and I sprinted along the path after her. I stopped at another crossroad and my mind began swimming.
Wait a second, why wasn't Sweetie Belle using her horn as a light? And why did she sound so... emotionless?
I shook my head, trying to clear it and focus on a way out. "Left," I said, turning that way.
The noise got louder. Definitely somepony playing an organ.
"Sweetie Belle?" I called, tentatively walking forward. "C'mon, stop messing with me. It's dangerous down here."
"Darn right it is," rasped Rainbow Dash as she skidded to a stop in the air before me. Her eyes were focused on me in an icy scowl. "And you let her wander around down here on her own? Talk about irresponsible."
"Wha'?" I gawked. "She walked off on me!"
"And you didn't try to catch her?" she shot back. "Well, good thing I found her. No thanks to you."
"Seriously?" I scowled back at her. "Give me a break."
"Oh, I'd break you," she growled, "but I gotta get the girls home. Some great detective you are, great loser."
And with that, she flew off into the darkness, leaving a dumbstruck me alone.
Where is all this coming from?
I could only keep walking, and wondering just why I was getting so much verbal abuse. All because I accidentally shot myself down a trap door.
Wait, if she hadn't taken the girls home, why did she leave them alone to come down here and tear me a new one?
Something wasn't sitting right.
I went forward at another crossroad, and the organ noise was getting way too loud. Almost like somepony was playing the soundtrack to my growing despair.
How poetic.
And yet, when Twilight Sparkle walked into my lantern light, I could hear her perfectly over the organ.
"Rainbow Dash told me everything," she said, shaking her head. "I'm so disappointed, Sharp Sight."
I arched an eyebrow. "She told you already?"
"I thought you'd be better than this. A better person after coming to this world. But you're just as irresponsible as ever. Rivershine deserves better than you."
My nostrils flared as I took a step forward. "Okay, now you're getting personal."
"And you're getting out of here." Her horn began to glow. "I've perfected the spell to send you back, and I think it's best if I use it now, before you put somepony else in danger."
An icy terror shot through my heart. "What? Wait!!"
"I take no joy in this, Sharp Sight. Goodbye."
"Twilight!!" I screamed and reached out to grab her.
But my hooves passed right through her and caused her body to warp and fade into smoke. I watched it dissipate into the air.
I could only watch. "What the...?"
Calm down, Sharp. Be logical about this.
I nodded. Right. If that Twilight wasn't real, then that Sweetie Belle and Rainbow Dash couldn't be either. It didn't add up.
So... was all that just in my head? Was I imagining things?
Two minutes in a dark corridor and you're already losing your mind.
"Shut up."
I finally came to some stairs, which led to a trap door in the ground above I opened with a chain on the wall. I had stepped into a large hallway. The organ was almost deafening, but I could easily tell where it was coming from. I peered through a doorway and saw a a huge pipe organ in a dark room, flanked by some stone Alicorns holding tall candelabras. A figure was sat at the keyboard, providing the foreboding dirge.
I gingerly stepped into the room, and got a few steps in before the music stopped. The figure shifted off the bench, and I had no idea why I wasn't running for my life when they shambled toward me. Their glowing yellow eyes glared daggers into me beneath the hood of their cloak.
Even when they got almost nose-to-nose with me, my hooves were glued to the floor.
I swallowed and found my voice. "You're the one messing with me, aren't you?"
"So, even my enchantment on the Organ to the Outside failed to dissuade you," they said quietly, in a voice I couldn't tell was male or female.
"So there was a reason for all that drama?"
"First and final warning," they continued, leaning even closer. "Leave Equestria. Stay out of my way."
"I didn't realize I was in your way," I pointed out. "I don't even know who you are."
"Keep meddling in my plans, and you will know exactly who I am."
I opened my mouth to retort, when I heard Rainbow Dash call my name outside of the room. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see her and the Crusaders enter the room. Part of me was terrified to see her and Sweetie Belle, but I quickly reminded myself that these were the real ones.
"There you are, Mr. Sharp," said Apple Bloom. "Y'all alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good," I said, turning to look at the cloaked figure. Or, I would, if they were still there. "What the...?"
"Some organ, huh?" said Dash with a grin. "Last time we were here, Pinkie decided to scare the tails off us by playing it while we thought she was some kind of monster living down here."
"Uh, yeah," I said, forcing a smile. "Monster..."
"Did you find one?!" gasped Sweetie Belle.
"What'd it look like?" added Scootaloo.
"Maybe we oughta move this along," said Dash. "It's getting pretty late now; better head home."
"Aww," the Crusaders groaned.
"Yeah, I'm getting outta here," I agreed, before eyeing the Crusaders. "Unless you three wanna have a sleepover down here?"
The young mares found themselves changing their minds and happily following Dash and I out of there. Thankfully Dash knew the way out from the organ room, and I was happy to retell my dark corridor experience to them as a ghost story to placate them.
It helped me to make a vivid mental note of that hooded figure and what they said to me that I could tell Rivershine about next time I saw her.