A Canterlot Ghost Tale
Chapter Five: Night Ten
Bon Bon forced her eyes open at first light, pulling herself out of bed. Lyra still lay slumbering in bed next to her. Try as hard as she could, the cream-colored mare could not bring herself to remain angry with her wife. Lyra hadn't seen the things she had noticed the night before... the shadows of the room moving the very instant the door had slammed, coming ever closer until Lyra had busted in.
Bon Bon made her way to the stairs, grunting as she started down them. With a hint of morbidity the mare wondered if the stairs would do her in faster than the ghosts that haunted the old house. With a grim realization, Bon Bon noted that she didn't really know much more about the place other than Archibald's brief history of it.
Bon Bon stopped in the kitchen, taking the time to put a note up on the refrigerator for Lyra. It was time she learned a little more about what was going on in the house, she'd decided. Strapping on her saddlebags, she stepped out into the crisp morning air and made her way towards the Public Archives.
Lyra awoke as the door slammed shut, sighing as she tried to wrap her mind around what had happened the night before. Bon Bon was clearly upset about the whole thing, and Lyra didn't want any stress to hurt their foal. She trotted down the stairs.
“Bonnie?” She called out. No response. Stopping in the kitchen, she looked up and saw the note. Lyra sighed again.
“Guess I'm on my own for the day,” she said. “Great. Might as well see if Honey Dew is up for practice.” She started down the hallway, stopping halfway down. One of the pictures that had fallen the first night in the house was back on the floor. Lyra frowned as she picked it up in her magic. The glass had shattered completely, but only over Bon Bon's face in the photo.
Grimacing, Lyra carefully removed the photo and took the frame with her. Placing it in her saddlebags, she collected her lyre case and left the house. She made her way up the street, stopping only to regard the house that belonged to Archibald. The elder unicorn was outside, watering his plants. Fuming and without thinking, Lyra stormed up to him.
“What did you tell Bon Bon?” She said angrily. Archibald stopped his watering, setting the can down calmly.
“Good morning, my dear,” he said flatly. “What can I help you with?”
“Bon Bon. You've got her head filled with all these ghost stories,” Lyra said, pointing her hoof at the other unicorn accusingly. “You're just trying to prove that you're right. I bet it was you who's been messing with her last night.”
“Lyra, my dear, I quite frankly don't know what you're talking about,” Archibald replied. “Did something happen to you last night?”
“You know what happened,” Lyra said harshly. “Stay away from Bon Bon. I am warning you.”
“I do apologize, Ms. Heartstrings, but Bon Bon is a good friend, and I consider you both to be very good neighbors,” Archibald said, ignoring the mare's threats. “Do note, if either of you need my help, I will be very glad to render any assista--”
“We don't want your assistance,” Lyra said, cutting him off. “I don't care what you think of us. Leave us alone.” She turned, kicking over Archibald's watering can, causing water to splash all over. She trotted off, leaving the elder unicorn standing in the center of his garden with a small puddle forming at his hooves.
“Oh dear,” he said softly. “That's far too much water for these plants.” His horn flashed, clearing as much as he needed to as he watched Lyra make her way up the street. His gaze narrowed as he followed the mare's progression. “As for you, dear Lyra... I fear things are much worse than I initially thought...”
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“Can I help you, miss?” The voice snapped Bon Bon out of her thoughts. She looked to find the source of the voice, one of the Archive's assistants sitting behind the front desk. A bright pink unicorn mare with a pinned back brown mane. She wore a badge that marked her as an employee with her cutie mark of a gilded scroll emblazoned on it.
“Um... yes, sorry,” Bon Bon replied, smiling sheepishly. “I'm looking for public records and old newspapers, Old Canterlot district.”
“Down the hall, take the elevator down to the basement. Ask for Dusty,” the assistant said, smiling widely. Bon Bon nodded, thanking the mare before heading down the hallway. She stopped at the elevators. While she waited for one to come up, she sighed. She'd left Lyra without telling her where she had gone really, just that she'd gone out. Would Lyra be upset with her? Bon Bon waved away her thoughts, stepping into the elevator that was waiting for her. No... Lyra would need to understand. She had to hope that she would understand why Bon Bon needed to know this information.
The elevator descended down the levels, depositing the pregnant mare out into the basement level. She carefully stepped out into the dank and dirty hallway. A sign on the wall pointed down to her left that said Old Canterlot District Records. She trotted down the hall, pushing open the old wooden door at the far end of it.
“Hello...?” She called out. “Is anypony back here? I'm looking for the old records room.”
“Hello!” A voice came out of nowhere, startling the pregnant mare. She yelped as a gray earth pony stallion wearing glasses appeared from behind a large oak desk. Aisles of old boxes and papers stretched on for miles behind him. “Oh my, I'm terribly sorry for startling you like that. Can I help you with anything?”
“That's... that's alright,” Bon Bon replied, catching her breath. “Are you Dusty?”
“Dusty Tome, at your service,” the earth pony said, taking a bow. “What can I do for you today, miss...?”
“Bon Bon,” the cream-colored mare said. “I'm looking for some records on an old house in the Old Canterlot District. It's down on the other side of what used to be University property.” Dusty nodded, trotting over to his desk where he started pulling out reference cards from a drawer.
“I'm guessing this house used to be a dormitory?” He said. Bon Bon nodded.
“How did you know?” She asked.
“You're looking for that house, aren't you?” Dusty replied evenly. His eyes narrowed at the mare.
“H-H-How...?” She sputtered. Dusty sighed and motioned for the pregnant mare to take a seat.
“You're not the first one to come in here looking for answers about that place,” he said as Bon Bon moved to the chair. “Every time it's a young pretty mare like yourself who thinks things are happening there.” The earth pony reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out a large bundle of papers. “This is all I have on the place.”
“You keep it up here?” She asked. Dusty nodded.
“Never know when it's gonna be needed,” he said. “Most of this stuff is tabloid material, but there's some honest to Celestia bad stories in there.” Bon Bon grimaced, pulling the top papers off the bundle. Much of it was newspaper clippings, disappearances in the old Canterlot district and the like. No real mention of any murders. Then she found it.
The report on the dorm fire. Complete with a picture of the dorm, on the very land she now lived in, ablaze while several fireponies struggled to contain it. Listed as well were pictures of the mares whose lives had been claimed in the fire.
“What about before the fire?” She asked, looking up at Dusty. The gray earth pony was busying himself with straightening a few boxes.
“Hmm? Oh, I don't quite know much more than what's in those papers, miss,” he said. “Nopony's really ever asked.”
“Do you have any records from the university prior to the fire?” She said. Dusty nodded.
“It'll take me a few minutes, but I think I have some of that,” he said, dipping behind an aisle. After several long minutes he emerge with another box. Bon Bon set it down in front of her and began to go through the papers inside. Every so often she would find references to the dorm in question, transfer requests that were approved for students wishing to move somewhere else. How far back does this go? She thought. Was the fire when things started getting more serious?
“Miss, if you don't mind me saying,” Dusty interrupted her thoughts. “But I think if you're living in that place, you oughta consider finding a new place to live.”
“I have, thank you,” Bon Bon replied. “Can you make me copies of all of this? I'd like to show them to my wife.” The earth pony nodded, dutifully picking up the papers and taking them back to their magical copier. Within moments, the stallion had bundled up what she'd needed in a box for her. Bon Bon gave the old stallion a few bits for his trouble and left.
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“Bonnie?” Lyra called as she opened the door. Nothing. The main hallway was dark, like nopony had been home all day. Lyra sighed as she trudged inside. She knew that she'd been wrong for arguing with Bon Bon, but she also felt like she was still right about the house. There was no such thing as ghosts, she reasoned. That crazy old professor was just putting ideas into her wife's head.
Lyra trotted down the hall, taking the time to place the picture back on it. The new frame hadn't been cheap, but she'd been able to get it completely replaced and the picture cleaned up too. She hoped that maybe it could serve as a sort of peace offering between the two ponies. She had to do something. She couldn't have Bon Bon mad at her, after all, it would affect the foal.
Mulling over her thoughts, Lyra made her way towards the living room when something stopped her dead in her tracks. A loud scratching noise was coming from upstairs. She trotted over to the landing.
“Hello?” She called up. Nothing. Lyra frowned, taking a step up. The scratching noise ceased, further confusing the seagreen mare. After a few moments, it started once more. Deciding that enough was enough, Lyra calmly strode up the rest of the stairs and made her way into the hallway. The scratching was unbearably loud. It sounded like it was coming from the bedroom. Lyra carefully walked until she reached the door. It was closed.
“Who's in there?” She called out, reaching for the door handle with her magic. It wouldn't budge. Lyra stopped for a moment. Wait... didn't I bust this door in last night? She thought. The door looked like it had never been touched. She blinked. The scratching noises continued, as if whatever was making the noise was right on the other side of the now-repaired door.
“Alright, whoever you are... this isn't funny!” Lyra yelled. “Get out of my house and leave us alone, you hear me?!”
The scratching noise stopped suddenly. Lyra sighed loudly. Suddenly, a powerful force struck her in the chest, sending her flying into the wall. She struck hard, grunting as she felt something crack. Something started pounding on the door loudly, almost as if it were trying to get out. Lyra forced herself to her hooves, wincing as she realized the pain was coming from one of her forelegs. It felt broken. Her eyes widened as the door started to creak. It was beginning to open.
Lyra ran. At least as well as she could run with an injured leg. Limping along as fast as she could, the unicorn made her way to the stairs and took the first step. Unable to balance herself with her injury, she toppled over and began to fall down the stairs. Lyra landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, thanking her stars that she was alright. She attempted to crawl along to the front door. If she could reach it, she could get out and get some help.
Lyra stopped in her quest. Something cold and clawlike wrapped around one of her back legs, holding her down. She struggled to look, but she couldn't see what it was. Then she felt herself begin to be pulled. Lyra tried to pull free, but couldn't. Her leg was too injured to stop her movement. With a tug, the thing holding her pulled her up the stairs and into the upstairs hallway.
“Help! Help!” Lyra screamed and shouted. “Somepony please help me!!!” Lyra cried as she laid upon the cold wood floor. The pressure on her leg was gone now. Did it stop? What in Tartarus was it? Lyra thought frantically, trying to scramble up to her hooves. Bonnie was right, this place is haunted! I have to get out of...
Before she could continue that thought, the thing pulled her hard, scraping along the wood flooring. Lyra kicked, crying and screaming for help as she was suddenly pulled into the open bedroom door, which promptly slammed shut.
The hallway grew quiet.
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“Lyra? Are you home?” Bon Bon said, pushing the door open to the house. It was late, but she'd had some grocery shopping to do after going to the Public Archives. Even with a house that was supposedly haunted, a pony still needed to eat after all. The kitchen light was on, and Bon Bon could hear humming. It stopped as it heard her voice.
“I'm in the kitchen!” Lyra called back. Bon Bon sighed, picking up her bags in her teeth. She made her way down the hallway. She stopped, noticing the picture in the hallway. Dropping the bags, her mouth dropped open. Lyra had not only replaced the picture of their vacation photos but had done her best to enhance it and even bought a new silver frame for it. Tears welling up in her eyes, Bon Bon sighed once more.
“Hey there,” a voice said, breaking her out of her moment. Bon Bon looked up, seeing Lyra in the ktichen entrance. She wore a simple apron. She stopped as soon as she saw Bon Bon crying. “Oh, sweetie. Wha'ts wrong?”
“I... I'm sorry, Lyra,” Bon Bon replied. “I'm sorry I snapped at you... and you went out and still did this... for me... I just...”
“Oh honey buns,” Lyra said, trotting up to her wife's side. “Of course I would do that for you. I love you, remember? Besides, we just had a fight. That's all. No bigs.”
“But you...” Bon Bon said, fighting back the tears. “You didn't believe me...” Lyra sighed.
“Look, I may have just been a little too stressed. This place is new for me too, remember?” She said. Bon Bon nodded. “I'm not saying that I believe there are ghosts in this house, though. I still think that's crazy. I do think something is going on, and I intend to find out what it is. But I just... I don't want to fight with you Bonnie. Now come on, I made dinner.”
“You made dinner?” Bon Bon said, raising an eyebrow. “Who are you and what did you do with Lyra?”
“Heh, I figured you'd say that,” Lyra said, chuckling. Bon Bon's eyebrow remained raised. Lyra grinned sheepishly. “Alright, alright. I ordered Neighponese takeout. Happy?” Bon Bon grinned.
“Very,” she said. “I wasn't feeling like cooking today anyways.” She followed Lyra into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. Her wife set a plate with food on it in front of her.
“So what'd you do today?” Lyra said as she levitated a pair of chopsticks over her food. “You left kind of early.”
“I went down to the Public Archives,” Bon Bon said. “Wanted to see if I could find out any more information about this place.” Lyra's gaze narrowed.
“Bonnie...” she said.
“I just wanted to see if there were other... incidents,” Bon Bon replied. “That's all.”
“And what did you find out?” Lyra said. Bon Bon grimaced.
“The land this house was built on used to be an old dormitory. It caught fire and they had to tear it down. Since then the house has been fraught with strange disappearances from the ponies who've moved into it over the years. Nopony knows why,” she said. Lyra sighed, but nodded. The two continued to eat in silence. When they were finished, Lyra cleaned up the plates and escorted her wife upstairs. Bon Bon was surprised that Lyra had the time to even fix the door she'd broken the night before.
The two ponies crawled into their bed. Bon Bon reached over and latched onto Lyra, snuggling close to her.
“I love you, you know. I'm sorry if I'm difficult... just, the hormones,” she said. Lyra nodded, turning away so the two could stay close. As she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes glowing green briefly.
“I love you too,” she said, smiling.