//------------------------------// // CAM_03 // Story: CAM_09 IS OFFLINE // by RunicTreetops //------------------------------// 10:00 P.M. The video shows a grand entryway, with a large set of wooden double doors standing out amongst the marble walls of the castle. The wood appears to be rotting, but it's still on its hinges. In front of the door, the camera is being kept very steady, as if Rocky has had plenty of practice with cameras. "Alright Pippsqueaks! Pipp wants us to explore this castle and find traces of the paranormal, and I'm prepared to do exactly that! Libraries are always haunted, and we're bound to find something spooky in here! Let's check it out!" Rocky makes his way into the library, the light from his flashlight being the only source of vision in the dusty, dimly lit room. The library is massive, with rows upon rows of bookcases stuffed end to end with old books. Rocky starts coughing a little bit as he runs his hoof across one of the bookcases. "W-wow, I probably shouldn't be surprised that it's so dusty in here. It has been thousands of moons since anypony has been in here, after all! Alright, let's get this ghost hunt started!" Rocky makes his way deeper into the library, carefully shining his flashlight at the spaces between bookcases as he passes them by. The room seems to go on and on, and it's completely silent save for the sound of Rocky's hoofsteps. Suddenly, something grabs his attention. The camera turns to look behind Rocky, and for a brief instant, a shadow can be seen running between a couple of bookcases. Rocky gasps. "D-did I get that on camera? There was definitely something over there, yeah?" Rocky doubles back to where the shadow was and glances in both the direction that the shadow came from and the direction it ran towards, but nothing can be seen. "...Alright, then. It might have just been my eyes playing tricks on me. Let's see here..." Rocky turns around once more and goes deeper into the library, but after a few moments, another shadow seems to briefly emerge from behind a bookshelf before it too runs around a corner. "...Hm. Haha. Ahahaha! Pippsqueaks, you saw that, right? There are totally shadows in here stalking me! Oh man, that's like the oldest haunting trick in the book! I knew this place was haunted! Come on, let's go deeper inside!" 11:00 P.M. Rocky reaches the center of the library, indicated by a circular space housing several tables for research. A few scattered books are still resting on said tables, and a large wooden statue of a stallion on its hind legs acts as a centerpiece for the whole library. Bookshelves extend in all directions, but pretty much all of the makeshift hallways between them lead back to this section of the library. "Well, here we are. It's pretty cool to look at, but I'll admit, I was hoping to find something more... substantial?" Suddenly, something appears to catch Rocky's attention as he quickly turns the camera to his left. Affixed to the side of one of the nearby bookshelves is a large, circular mirror. Rocky shines his flashlight on it, causing the light to be reflected back and the reflection itself to be difficult to see. "Well, hellooooo, gorgeous!" Rocky trots over to the mirror and lowers the flashlight just a little bit, allowing the camera to see the reflection. It appears normal, with Rocky carefully using it to adjust his mane. For a brief moment, it looks as though movement is occurring behind him, but he fails to notice. Suddenly, he stops messing with his mane and his eyes widen a bit as he turns his nose to the air. "...I know this is a livestream, so you're going to have to take my word for it, but it suddenly smells in here. Like... like a scented candle, or something." Rocky looks around, and as he does so, a new source of light can be seen coming from behind where his head just was in the reflection. It gives a faint orange glow, and Rocky notices it before turning around completely. On one of the nearby tables, a lit candle appears to be resting next to an open scroll. 12:00 A.M. "What is this?" Rocky approaches the table, looking down at both the candle and the scroll. The candle is in a perfect position to light up just enough of the table that the scroll can be read, but Rocky can't help but shine the flashlight on the scroll anyway, making it impossible to read through the video alone. "I know I got sent here because I wouldn't be tempted to read anything, but... come on. I didn't light this candle, meaning I'm either being pranked, or the ghosts want me to read what's written here. I'll just go ahead and do that now." The camera stays still for several moments as Rocky reads silently to himself, apparently unaware that his own flashlight is making it impossible for the camera to pick up what the words on the scroll are. Eventually, Rocky picks up the scroll quizzically in his hoof and glances more closely at it before putting it back down. "Well, to all of you Pippsqueaks who couldn't make out all of that, this looks to be a note addressed to Princess Twilight Sparkle. It's apparently suggesting to her that she use some kind of spell that's detailed on the bottom of the scroll, but I have no idea how to interpret these ancient spells. I guess this spell would help her protect something called the 'Celestial Amulet,' since the creation of the Unity Crystals might make that amulet extremely important in the future? Weird. I was expecting notes on, like, a murder or something. I wonder what this is all about?" 1:00 A.M. Suddenly, the candle gets blown out. As it does so, Rocky's flashlight begins to flicker before dying entirely, leaving the video feed completely dark. "Ah, shoot. Come on, flashlight." The sound of Rocky repeatedly tapping the flashlight against his hoof can be heard in the darkness, followed by a sigh. "Well, this sucks. I should probably contact Pipp." The sound of a walkie-talkie turning on can be heard. "Pipp? I've got a little bit of a situation here. The investigation is going great, but my flashlight just died and I can't see a darn thing." Only static can be heard coming from the walkie-talkie. "...Pipp?" More static. "...Great. I can't see an inch in front of my face. Seriously, I'm waving my hoof in front of my face and I can't see it." The room is dead silent for a few moments before Rocky sighs again. "I should probably get out of here. ...Which way did I come from, again?" The sound of Rocky's hoofsteps can be heard once more, followed by a small banging noise. "Ow! Hit my head on a bookshelf. Let me just feel my way around it... here we are. I guess I'll just have to feel my way to the exit. If I'm going the wrong way, I'll eventually reach the edge of the library and just go along the perimeter until I find the door." The next few minutes are silent save for Rocky's breathing and his gentle hoofsteps. Eventually, a strange squishing sound can be heard. "...Am I stepping in something? What is this?" The squishing continues as he keeps walking until he lets out a little yelp. "Th-the bookcase is squishy too! What is going on in here?! This is so gross!" After a few more minutes of squishing, Rocky finally speaks up again, his voice sounding frantic. "I-I can't do this any more! Pipp! Jazz! Anyone?! My flashlight is out! Please come help me!" 2:00 A.M. "P-Pippsqueaks? This is going to sound crazy, but it feels like the bookcases are breathing. I-I don't like this investigation anymore! I want to go home!" The squishing sound continues until it is interrupted by a loud crunch. "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!?! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The squishing and crunching becomes frantic as even through the pitch-black video, it's clear that Rocky is now running. Over the strange noises and Rocky's heavy breathing, a voice can be faintly heard from an indiscernible direction. "Rocky?" "JAZZ! JAZZ, IS THAT YOU?!" The sounds of both Rocky and something else breathing can be heard slowly increasing in volume until the video suddenly cuts out entirely. 3:00 A.M. CAM_03 IS OFFLINE 4:00 A.M. CAM_03 IS OFFLINE 5:00 A.M. CAM_03 IS OFFLINE