Night Glider, Double Diamond, and Party Favor decided to stay at the bed and breakfast while Sugar Belle went out for a stroll. Night Glider stayed to try and figure out what was making the stallions so, “fidgety”, while in the meantime she also read some old town newspapers, trying to possibly find some clues about the mystery pony that her and Sugar Belle heard the night before.
Double Diamond and Party Favor stayed for obvious reasons. Well, at least it was obvious to them. They where scared. But they didn’t just stay at the bed and breakfast to cower. They, as well, did some research on this town.
Sugar Belle, as she strolled along the small village, hummed to herself as she glanced over at mini markets, and shops. It was sort of odd though, the village didn't seem as small as she thought. The more she walked, the longer the village seem to go. When we first arrived here, she thought, it didn't seem so big before we entered.
Sugar Belle brushed off the oddness. Illusions happen like this all the time! Like, when you arrive to a house: It looks smaller on the outside, but since there is so many more mirrors, items, and rooms inside, it seems bigger. Sugar Belle assumed it was sort of the same deal when it came to this town.
Now the time came that Sugar Belle thought it would be a good idea to get to know some ponies in the village, and to start she went inside of a shop, and looked around, until she hopefully saw somepony to converse with and become acquainted.
Oddly enough, there was no one inside! Only a shopkeeper. She assumed everyone was busy though, and looked around a bit anyways. She found a cute little hair pin, and decided to buy it. When she walked up to the check out counter, the shopkeeper was gone. Or at least, away from the desk. She rung the bell once. Then again. Then another time. Nothing. She called out, “Mr Shopkeeper?” but there was no reply. She was highly worried. What could have happened to him with in the past five minutes? She thought, highly concerned.
She knew it was against the rules, but in this case, it was needed. She walked behind the desk into the back room to see if she could find the shop keeper. The back of the shop was dark, and chilling. She was worried for both herself, and this random citizen. She took deep, panting, breaths. Luckily, she eventually found a light switch. It was one of those light switches you pull down, so she did so by the magic of her horn. When she turned on the light, she gasped.
“What in Equestria is this…?!” she announced, rather loudly, yet no one could hear her. In front of her, seemed to be a board of clue pieces, being put together and many pictures of different ponies and areas in town. Something you would see, and work with, as a police pony. But this was just different. It was hard to tell weather it was based on helping for the good, or the bad.
Sugar Belle quickly turned off the light, and turned around. As she did turn, though, she bumped into a stallion quiet a little bit bigger than her. Hoping it was the shopkeeper, she apologized and brushed out her coat, as she backed away, for personal space. “I am deeply sorry. I was just wondering where you were—“
Before she finished the last word of her sentence, she looked up to see it was not the shopkeeper. Her eyes widened. “Oh, sorry. I thought you were somepony else.” She said, slowly making her way around the stallion, to exit the shop. She made her way around him, and began to exit while looking over at him. All he did was stand there. She finally became some-what concerned for this stallion. She asked, “Do you need any help, sir?” secretly hoping that he would say, no.
But then, the stallion spoke. “Not yet.” He muttered. She hardly heard it, but did nonetheless. She gave him a confused look, even though his head was turned away, as well covered in a hood of a cloak. She decided it was best not to ask further questions, and exited the shop. She began to walk to the bed and breakfast again, but decided to investigate after just taking a few steps away from the shop.
She turned the direction and began walking toward a darker looking part of town. As she walked she noticed that she still had the hair pin that she got from the store. She promised to herself, that she would return it later or pay for it later, when she felt like that one odd stallion was gone, and the shopkeeper was hopefully back. As for now, she just pinned it in between the two hair ties she had on her mane. The hair ties that look liked beads.
Sugar Belle came across an abandoned looking house, oddly enough, still, it was next to a bunch of normal, yet still darker, looking houses. Like most ponies, she should've just walked by and not take to much notice. But something was clearly wrong with this village, so it seemed best to do some investigating in such a crumbling structure. It wasn't to safe looking but Sugar Belle was smart enough to have made her horn glow, and form an invisible force field around her body. She was prepared for anything... Or, so she thought.
She felt as if there was someone following her inside of this odd building... But for now, she seemed to be alone, even if she didn't feel like it. She was as quiet as a mouse. Maybe even quieter.
Meanwhile, Party Favor took notice that Sugar Belle hasn't been back for an hour, at least. The others didn't take as much notice, for they were too busy studying this town and its secrets. Party Favor thought it was about time that Sugar Belle came back. He was concerned. He grabbed his saddle bag, and made his way out the bed and breakfast door. He made his way around town, asking a by passer every-now-n-then, if they've seen Sugar Belle. Though, he would describe her as the following, "A beautiful unicorn, pink skin and magenta mane, with a cupcake cutie mark."
Sometimes, the ponies he would ask while saying this, would smirk at the fact he fancied the mare he was looking for. He would notice this, and end up blushing and awkwardly continue asking the question. He then stepped into a shop, the one that Sugar Belle ended up in earlier, and saw the shopkeeper! He walked up to him, and asked the same question he has been asking everypony else that he has walked by. He was highly expecting a no, but was shocked to hear the shopkeeper say, that he has.
"What? You have!?"
"Well, uh, I believe so. She was in here not to long ago, just lookin around... Then, somethin' must have happened, because I don't remember anythin' after that..."
"How come?"
"I must have fallen asleep, or passed out... Then when I woke up, I was outside in the back of the shop. I must have been sleep walkin'!"
Party Favor grew suspicious, because he had a feeling that's not what happened. He didn't think the shopkeeper was up to know good though. He seemed as clueless as he was. But, the shopkeeper was old. So maybe he was just delusional? Party Favor just threw the questions into the air for now. His main focus was to find Sugar Belle.