“I think we should wait here until morning. Wandering through the forest at night isn‘t the best idea, right here is definitely the safest place. Monsters hate daylight after all. So we’ll sleep in shifts, there‘s 7 of us so…One hour each? That sounds about right.” The room seemed to agree with Coronet’s plan, everyone except Pipsqueak, Scootaloo and Saphira. Something was bothering him again, and it wasn’t the noise in the back of his head. ‘Noise…’ Why did that worry him so much?
“This place isn’t safe.” Saphira protested, “I think we should leave.”
“Where would we go?” Noi asked.
“Zecora’s hut. I know where it is from here, if we make it there Zecora will definitely protect us.” Scootaloo responded.
“Ms. Zecora can’t use magic! How could she protect us?” Coronet interjected harshly.
“Ms. Zecora has lived here for years, I bet she has all kinds of potions to ward off monsters.” It was Pipsqueak who spoke up this time.
“I say we put it to a vote.” Diamond Tiara spoke up all of a sudden. It was unusual for her, usually she’d be the one to take charge and tell ponies what they were doing. Maybe she took Pipsqueak’s advice to heart? Maybe she’d be a nicer pony now? “All in favor of staying here?” Everyone except Pipsqueak, Saphira, and Scootloo’s hooves shot up into the air immediately. “And for Zecora’s hut?” The three remaining ponies raised their hooves in vain. “Guess we’re staying here then, so who wants first watch. What about you Pipsqueak?”
And so that’s how Pipsqueak took first watch. Pipsqueak sighed, from all the events of today...he of all ponies could use the rest. Or maybe sleep wasn't such a great idea, what if he had nightmares? 'Don't think about it.'
"Hey, Pip?" It was Scootaloo's voice. She hadn't gone to bed with the rest? That's strange. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure." Pipsqueak took note of the way Scootaloo looked back to the others, it reminded him of when Featherweight would look around to make sure no one was within earshot before he would tell Pipsqueak some interesting secret he heard or show and tell a snapshot he just took of somepony.
"Listen. Some, crazy things are happening right now." She was shaking. "I...want to see Applebloom and Sweetie Belle again, Pipsqueak. I never got to tell them how important they are to me." She closed in on Pipsqueak all of a sudden, her muzzle just inches from his. "Pipsqueak, you're the only one I really trust here. So...do you trust me?"
Something about this conversation made Pipsqueak feel uneasy, "O-Of course!" Hesitation, bad move. "I mean, yes. I trust you Scoots. We're friends."
"Good. Because...something about this whole thing feels wrong to me. I think...someone here is working for the monster?"
"Working for it?"
"Yeah, it kind of feels like we're playing an unbeatable game, doesn't it?"
Now that she mentioned it, if this was the Pied Piper that was attacking them then...it was quite possible that someone here is a minion or the Piper itself. If only there were a way to test that theory. He should've paid more attention to his dad's research. Of course he wasn't gonna worry Scootaloo with that, "Don't worry Scoot, we'll make it out of here."
"You're a liar."
She sighed, "Yeah but...I'd be wary of certain ponies. If someone were a spy, they'd most likely be very smart."
'Someone as smart a her...'
"They'd be able to do things that we wouldn't be able to."
'There's only one unicorn here.'
"They'd have to have encountered the monster before."
"That thing that took your friends. It followed you. Didn't it?'
"And finally, they'd have to have some method of communicating discreetly."
He remembered all those times the pony in question's ears had perked up and she looked at something that only she could see, 'How many times had she used her unicorn magic?' Pipsqueak knew who fit the bill perfectly, but...could it really be? It...was possible. How was Pipsqueak supposed to know she wasn't communicating with the Pied Piper? He was an earth pony, to him unicorn magic was (as his father would put it) a convenient plot device. He eyed Saphira's sleeping body suspiciously, could it have been possible? Could she have been betraying them all along?
"Yeah. I think so too. We can't let her know that we know though. I'll keep a close eye on her, if she tries anything I'll kick her flank." Scootaloo made striking motions in the air with her forelegs and smiled slightly. Confident in her abilities apparently. It was nice to see Scootaloo smile at least. "Well, goodnight Pip...try not to sleep on your watch okay?" She playfully nuzzled his cheek.
Pip felt a chill run down his spine. That...was weird. Well, the kiss from before was weird too but...really? What was with Scootaloo right now? He remembered his uncle talking about how fillies mature faster than colts so maybe this was that? Or maybe it was just the crazy situation they were in. Yeah, yeah that was probably it.
.....
It was gonna be a loooong night. He jumped at the sound of a hooting owl from outside.
An hour had passed and it was nearly time for Pipsqueak to wake up whoever was next in the rotation. The mansion creaked every so often and over the past hour, he'd tried his best not to stare down the dark void of the hallways. Even now, he averted his gaze, instead fixating on the comic book he'd been reading for the past hour or so. Every time he peeked down the hallway, he thought he would see a terrifying monster running at them ready to turn him into a pony snack.
‘Be brave, Pipsqueak. You’re a hero.’ “No you’re not, you’re a coward.”
Pipsqueak sighed, the voices in his head were were getting much more prominent. 'Don't think about it, Pipsqueak. "You can't hide forever. Surrender. Put them all out of their misery. Kill. Kill. KILL!" He ignored the voice, even though it kept chanting kill in his head. His temporary insanity was broken up by the sound of rustling sheets. “Hm?” He turned the lantern back towards the sleeping ponies.
Saphira? Check.
Scootaloo? Check.
Noi? Check.
Diamond Tiara? Check.
Silver Spoon? Check.
Coronet? When he shined the light on her sleeping bag, all he saw was a ponyless sleeping bag. Where had she gone? She wasn’t supposed to leave without permission, she didn’t even take one of the lanterns.
Creak
He wheeled around towards the creaking floor board, the floor lantern illuminating Coronet‘s figure, facing the hallway. “Coronet?” He called to her, but got no response. How the hay did she get past him anyways?
She ran off down the hall.
"H-Hey!" He chased after, hearing the rhythmic sounds of thunder like a beating war drum. A sense of dread filled him, his father would call this the climax.
He tried not to think about it, this wasn't like his father's stories.
He chased her throughout the house, finding his way into a room filled with various, worn out musical instruments. The windows had been boarded up, the floor creaked dangerously as if it were going to break, the room looked like a tornado had come through. And there was Coronet, standing in the middle of the room, not facing Pipsqueak, “What are you doing up, it’s not your shift y-” He stopped. There was something very wrong with Coronet. Why? Because she had just twisted her head in a way that wasn’t natural for ponies.
At first, he didn’t know what he was seeing. “C-Coronet?” Surely his eyes must’ve been playing tricks on him. Must be tired. “Coronet, what are-” Suddenly she lunged at Pipsqueak, pinning him to the ground. He felt Coronet push the weight of her hooves down on his throat, trying to cut off his air supply. He pushed against her, tried to call for help but he couldn’t make a sound. He made a mistake. Coronet had led him here, where he was isolated so nopony could hear his struggles. "Y-You! Pied Piper!"
It let up for just a second, smiled a big toothy grin and then continued pressing down on his throat.
'Why?!' She was attacked by the monster too, so why- Daylight hit his brain as he remembered the conversation from earlier.
"It can mimic the shape of a pony its taken, it can even control what‘s left of their body to fool other ponies...
She wasn't hurt by the monster back then, she WAS the monster who took Lemon Daze or at least her corpse was being controlled by the Pied Piper who then took Lemon Daze.
Coronet was in Archer's group. Archer was dead, and Firelocks had never arrived. So where was Coronet during all that? Did she stop Saphira from questioning Lemon Daze because she may have seen something? Why didn't he see it sooner?!
His struggles started to become weaker, he could feel the strength being sapped out of him. Why couldn't he have been a smarter pony? He could've put the pieces together sooner. Featherweight definitely would've figured it out before things got to this stage! Was this it, was this where he would die? He was getting light headed now, the room was spinning, his strength fading, his vision going blurry.
CRASH
Suddenly, he could breathe again! He took several seconds to let the air into his lungs, he dry heaved and saw Coronet wrapped in the blue glow of Saphira’s magic, and then viciously slammed into the ground where she fell through the floor down to the main lobby where everyone had been resting. Everyone had been woken up from the sound of the crash. One of the lanterns lay broken by Pipsqueak’s side. Saphira lowered the two ponies down through the hole. Coronet tried to get up and run but was wrapped in a telekinetic field by Saphira.
“What is going on?!” Noi demanded, sounding cranky from being awoken and confused at the sight she was beholding.
“Co…Coronet…that’s not Coronet!” Pipsqueak choked out through rapid breaths, “She…she…she tried to kill me!”
“He’s lying!” Coronet protested, “I woke up to go to the bathroom, all of a sudden Pipsqueak just attacked me right out of nowhere! I had to fight him off, and then Saphira put me in this bubble!”
“NO, YOU’RE LYING!" Pipsqueak retorted fiercely.
“Quiet, Pipsqueak!” Noi spat out, “Saphira. Let Coronet down, tie up Pipsqueak before he kills us like he killed Archer and Lemon!” Surely she must see the hole in the ceiling, Coronet's story doesn't add up, and yet Pipsqueak was being labeled as the aggressor?
“No, please! You have to believe-” He stopped. What did Noi just say? Saphira seemed to pick up on it too.
“What are you waiting for?” Noi demanded, the desperation in her voice evident.
“Noi…how did you know about Archer and Lemon?” Saphira asked.
“What are you talking about? You told me, when we got here. You said you found Archer‘s body tangled up in tree roots by a cliff.”
“…” Pipsqueak and Saphira exchanged glances, as if they just realized some great truth.
“What? That‘s what you said.”
“Noi. We never mentioned Archer was dead, and we never said anything about how she died.” The room grew dead silent at the sudden reveal, “Furthermore, we never told you about Lemon Daze either.”
“Yes you did, you told us when we got back!”
“But that’s not the first time you said it.” Saphira responded sharply.
“Do you remember what you said when you first met us after Lemon and Coronet were attacked? You said: "
"It got Lemon just like it got Archer."
"How would you know that it got Lemon if you were on the other side of the building?”
“….” Dead silence filled the room, Noi just stood there. Dumbfound and not saying anything. For a while it looked like she was trying to figure out some way to talk her way out of this, but what really sealed the deal was this one last sentence:
“Noi…show us your cutie mark.”
"What? I'm a blank flank."
"No you're not." Scootaloo spoke up. "You've had your cutie mark since last year, it was a pillow. You said it symbolized your desire to make everyone comfortable." The whole room surrounded Noi. "Take off the Wonderbolt costume."
"What? No, I'm not gonna do that." Her green eyes darted around the room suspiciously, she looked just like a cornered animal. It was very clear she was still trying to figure a way out of this.
'Wait a minute...green?'
Before Pipsqueak could say anything, it was Scootaloo who brought the finishing blow: "Noi doesn't have green eyes." For a while, nobody moved or said anything.
Noi’s gaze turned to her hooves. Her shoulders shook, was she crying? No. No that wasn’t crying. That sound was definitely not crying. That was laughter, a broken, high-pitched laughter. Coronet soon followed her example as the coats of the two ponies started turning pale and their eyes sunk into their bony heads, become dead and lifeless, replaced by two black voids. They stared at the others with a big, twisted toothy grin stretching further than their mouth should've been able to go.
"It's the Pied Piper!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "Everyone run, get to Zecora's!"
Suddenly, all Pipsqueak heard was laughter coming from everywhere around him. From Coronet, from Noi. Silver Spoon. Diamond Tiara. He looked down the hall to the see the dark figures of the lost ponies, he even saw Twist and Dinky poking their heads out from the hole in the ceiling. It was all coming full circle now. Pipsqueak, Saphira, and Scootaloo backed up towards the doorway. Saphira was shaking in her hooves, dead silent, eyes locked on the green light from down the hall and Scootaloo just kept trying to pull the door open in vain, the orange pegasus didn't have the strength of an Earth Pony, she needed help moving that door.
“Give up Pipsqueak.”
Their situation was hopeless. If it was just Coronet and Noi, Saphira could probably handle one of them and the rest could overpower the other. But when he factored the other 15 ponies, there was no way even Saphira’s telekinetic skills could save them.
“Give up Pipsqueak.”
He sat on his haunches, shutting his eyes and waited for the end.
........
“…No.” He told himself. “No.” He said a bit louder. “No!” He didn’t want to die here, he didn’t want to give up and become one of them. No, he wanted, NEEDED to survive. He needed to go back home and tell everyone what happened here! If he died here, then everything will have been pointless, a lot more foals would die if word about the Pied Piper never got out. Just part of an old story that everyone will forget! No! He couldn't let it end with just him! He was not going to die. Plan, he needed a plan. There must be something, something he could use to- "Saphira. Teleport us." He whispered to us.
"What?"
"You said you managed to teleport yourself and a teacher out of a room. Can you teleport us past this big iron door?" He needed a quick answer because Pipsqueak did not like the way the other ponies were advancing on them.
"Th-That was a mistake though, I haven't teleported anything in ages."
A roadblock in the plan already, come on Pipsqueak there's gotta be something. "Remember when you got really angry a while ago? Do that again!"
"I..."
"Just turn your fear into anger like you said before!" If there were ever a time for Saphira to use what she learned back home, NOW WAS THE PERFECT TIME! If she could just manage to build up that same level of anger then maybe they could get away.
"I...I need a minute or two to concentrate."
"No problem!" Pipsqueak was about to do something that he would consider to be the stupidest thing he's ever done: "FOR GLORY!" He shouted as he dived headfirst towards the pony thralls that used to be his friends. Now was a great time for him to show off the Earth Pony strength that should've been coursing through his veins!
"Give up."
'SHUT UP!'
He barreled right into his former classmates, avoiding their diving bodies. 'Duck and weave, Pip!' For the first time in his life, he was THANKFUL for being so short! His small frame made him nimble, while his classmates seemed to have trouble locating him. Maybe this was what they called adrenaline?
"Pipsqueak!" Scootaloo called out to him.
Just a second. Just a second away and he felt something crash into his side.
"PIPSQUEAK!"
That hurt a lot more than he thought it would, he saw the ponies running towards him. He wanted to close his eyes and give up: "NO!" He hopped out of the way just as Noi and Featherweight crashed into where he'd been laying. Coronet bit at his tail and he kicked her with his hoof. Panic was starting to set in as he scrambled to Scootaloo and Saphira. Some of the thralls had switched tactics and started to go after the two of them instead, Pipsqueak needed to get there first. He raced against his thrall classmates, running as fast as his little legs would take him. "TELEPORT NOW!" He shouted as he dived. Then he heard a pop sound.
Next thing the three ponies knew, they were outside on the mansion grounds. The sound of multiple bodies slamming against the heavy iron door broke them out of their dazed state. Yeah, that door was not gonna hold them back forever. No time to celebrate little ponies, RUN! As they ran down the path, they heard the ear splitting screech once more. “Don’t stop!” Pipsqueak shouted over the sound of thunder and heavy rain. “Scootaloo, which way’s Zecora’s hut?”
“Um," She stopped, dumbfounded and circling the fork in the road. She faced them and then, with her left wing, she pointed down the right path, "It’s this way!” She turned right at the fork in the road.
"Alright, let's go!" After Pipsqueak had passed her by, Scootaloo stretched her good wing, separating Saphira from the two ponies.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"You're not coming with us!" Before Saphira could process what Scootaloo had just said; Scootaloo had spun around and bucked Saphira in the chest, knocking the pale unicorn into the mud. "Come on Pipsqueak!"
Pipsqueak looked at the struggling Saphira, he started galloping along with Scootaloo but hesitated when he heard Saphira's voice struggle to cry out:
"Wait!" Pipsqueak stopped just long enough to hear Saphira's next words: “…Zecora’s hut isn’t that way.” Saphira revealed, coughing and struggling to regain her normal breathing. That kick must've hit her worse than Pipsqueak realized.
Scootaloo stopped to see Pipsqueak wasn't following, "What are you waiting for, Pipsqueak?!"
"Pipsqueak..." Saphira gasped, "Listen, to me..."
Scootaloo walked closer towards them, "I thought we were friends Pipsqueak? I thought you trusted me!"
"Zecora's hut...isn't-"
Pipsqueak couldn't hear the rest, as the screeching noise got louder. They didn't have a lot of time to waste here.
"PIPSQUEAK, YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE NOW! I'VE BEEN YOUR FRIEND SINCE YOU GOT HERE, SHE'S JUST A PONY WE BARELY KNOW! YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHO YOU WANT TO BELIEVE, BECAUSE ALL THREE OF US CAN'T WALK OUT OF HERE LIKE WE CAME IN!" Scootaloo bit down on Pipsqueak's scarf, "WE HAVE TO GO!"
"LET HIM GO!" Saphira's telekinetic shove returned the buck that Scootaloo had given her earlier by knocking the orange pegasus into the mud.
And now it came to Pipsqueak. He couldn't stay here forever, Scootaloo was right about that. He needed to make a choice, because there didn't seem to be a chance for all three of them to walk out of this together.
Scootaloo struggled to her feet, staring daggers at Saphira, rather than fight the unicorn, she instead turned towards the path to Zecora's hut, "Pipsqueak, come with me! We have to get to Zecora's hut!"
Saphira stared at the sky for a few seconds, it looked as though a sudden realization came upon her, "You're a bad liar, Scootaloo." Saphira pointed to the left path with her hoof, “Zecora’s hut is in the opposite direction.”
“No it isn’t!” She stomped her hooves, “It’s this way! I know it is! Trust me!”
“I...” Pipsqueak remembered Coronet and Noi, all their classmates. Turned into monsters. Who's to say Scootaloo or Saphira weren't monsters like the rest of them? 'Make a decision, Pipsqueak!'
"I can't decide!"
“Why not?!”
"Because, you’re not Scootaloo!” Saphira announced loudly.
“…What? That's ridiculous!” Scootaloo stepped towards Pipsqueak, but Saphira stopped her with a second telekinetic shove, she retaliated by picking up a rock with her tail and tossing it at Saphira's head.
"Stop it you two!" Pipsqueak cried out in vain.
Scootlaoo became noticeably enraged when she looked at Saphira's deadpan expression, "See, I told you! She's one of the Pied Piper's minions, just stalling us! Think about it. She gave us the Runes, they were working fine then suddenly they stop working? Notice how she's never close by when they start working? She's the only unicorn here."
"You can't possibly blame me for that!" Saphira shot back.
"And she expects us to believe that some monster, that we've never seen close up, just followed her all the way to Ponyville? Why?! For what reason? None of this started happening until she came. I think she knew all along. Don't think I haven't noticed, you're always evasive when someone asks you about what happened in Hollow Shades. You've been staring into the Everfree Forest every day, probably listening to the words. You've been sneaking around, and you seem to KNOW where the monsters were and..."
Pipsqueak's ears perked up. Somewhere during her rant, she let something slip. "You've been hearing the voices."
"!" Everything seemed to go dead silent.
That alone casts the shadow of doubt over Scootaloo. Come to think of it, Scootaloo wasn't acting like herself: like the way she was so convinced that there was a traitor, or how she suckerbucked Saphira, and some of what she was saying contradicted things she'd said earlier. Scootaloo would go through life thinking "What would Rainbow Dash do." and here was Scootaloo, trying to frantically pin the blame on Saphira. There was something else though, something she'd done earlier. "Scootaloo. Lift your wing."
"What? We don't have time for th-"
"Do it, Scootaloo." Pipsqueak demanded.
Scotaloo scoffed and lifted her unbandaged left wing, "There, happy? Now we can stop debating this, leave the traitor and just go?"
Saphira telekinetically grabbed Scootaloo's RIGHT wing and lifted it up, she showed no signs of pain...until 3 seconds had passed. 3 seconds too late. "That's the wrong wing, Scootaloo." It was too late to fake the pain.
Pipsqueak saw all he needed, he returned to Saphira's side.
"You're taking HER side over mine? I've been your friend much longer, what the hay Pipsqueak?!”
“…Back at the cottage, you mentioned three of us. You weren‘t there when Snails showed up.” Thunder cracked overhead.
“I-I-I was hiding nearby, I saw him come to the cottage.”
“How’d you know a monster got Lemon?”
“How did you know there WAS a monster, we never mentioned any specific ones.” Saphira quickly added.
“B-Because…”
“And…everyone who we left alone, turned into a monster. Noi was alone with you…I noticed she was acting strangely, after she‘d been alone with you.”
“Maybe she was just scared? Okay, fine, maybe there isn't a traitor and I just got a little paranoid but come on, guys are you really-”
“Do you know whose idea it was to come out here? I remember now, there was a voice blocking the memory but…I think I remember now. Scootaloo, you‘re the only one who‘s ever been deep into the Everfree Forest. It was you who told me that.” Pipsqueak specifically remembered, back in class when Diamond Tiara was calling them blank flanks and scaredy ponies, it was Scootaloo who said that they could find the old house in the Everfree and stay there for the night to prove they weren’t scaredy ponies.
“It’s so deep in the Everfree, Diamond Tiara would never know there was an old house out here.” Saphira was starting to put the pieces together, “You were the first to fall. It was you all along. You made the maps. You even marked Zecora‘s hut being in the south from the big house. Diamond Tiara would NEVER know where that was.”
“So what?”
“You’re going North.” Pipsqueak pointed his nose to the north star in the sky.
“…”
“…You’re the one who led us out here. But Diamond Tiara, being Diamond Tiara is the one who took charge.” Saphira then added, "You look pretty pale, Scootaloo, that color doesn't really go with the blood on your hooves." Pipsqueak's eyes darted to the dark red splotches on her hooves that he thought were part of the red streaks on her costume, but now he saw that they were actually a much darker shade than the painted decals on the costume.
Had she always been suspicious of Scootaloo? Or did she just realize it now. "Oh you thought I didn't notice the way you were constantly wiping your hooves? Are they clean enough yet or can you still see the blood?"
Scootaloo twitched at the words: "Clean enough."
"Where were you, Scootaloo? When you went to the back of the cabin, where did you go? You weren't hiding nearby...you're the one who killed the Cockatrice. Who else did you kill?" She reached into her saddle bag and threw down a wooden sword.
...The same one that Pipsqueak brought with him (even had his name carved into the hilt).
...The same one Scootaloo had never returned.
There was the unmistakable sight of dried blood on the side, "Because, I see a couple blue hairs in your mane."
Blue hair...just like...Archer.
"...She didn't go quietly. Her blood's dry as well, I think she's been dead for a while now." Saphira said while kneeling down to do something that Pipsqueak couldn't see.
"How long ago?"
"...Probably not long after you last spoke. I'd say...about an hour?"
No. No. No. No. There had to be another explanation right? "Scoot...tell me it isn't true. You didn't..."
“…” For a while the only sounds were from the rain beating down on the trees.
"Scootaloo!"
"...."
"How long have you been like this Scootaloo?" Saphira asked.
“A few days ago, I was feeling lonely without Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. I went to visit Zecora in the evening, I followed the path but there was a mud slide blocking my normal route. I took a route through the forest and that‘s when…that‘s when…” She trailed off, “That’s when I…ARGH!” She clutched her head in her hooves. “…I think…I died. Back then. I remember, a cold, dark, loneliness, I remember feeling crushed. Hard to breathe. Then I woke up outside the Everfree Forest. Every night I had this dream, a voice…telling me to do things. Even when I was awake, I could hear it. In the back of my head. And that music, that DUMB, STUPID MUSIC! Always, always, ALWAYS playing!” A small green light, far in the distance was becoming larger. Quickly. Scootaloo’s already pale coat was starting to lose more of its orange color.
“I hear the voice now you know? It‘s telling me to stop you. To lead you away. To attack you. But I don‘t want to. I won‘t…ya know, there's a lot of souls in there. So many, it's like a buzzing hive. All of them working towards the same goal, all of them of one mind. One vision. But I think...something's wrong with me, I still have some control, I think. I'm not sure if it's holding the reins and directing or if I'm just a puppet, as I speak words that aren't my own? But still, I want to believe that I have a chance. So...maybe...I can stop it. No, I can't stop it...but I can slow it down. And I will because…” The void in her eyes stared at them through the tears, “Because you’re my friends and I don't want to hurt anypony. I’m so sorry, for everything. RUN!” She shouted as loud as she could.
Pipsqueak and Saphira sprinted off immediately in the correct direction. Pipsqueak looked back at Scootaloo’s shrinking body every so often, until…she was gone. ‘Scootaloo.’ He fought back the tears and just kept galloping.