Chapter 9
Chapter 9
I stared out at the alley I had just left, stricken with a subtle combination of pain and anger, as though I had just been insulted. It was like the landscape was mocking me, taunting me with the possibility of escape only to fold in on itself and drive the point home that there was no getting out. I looked from right to left, a sense of urgency building inside me bred from the need to see something familiar, something safe.
It wasn’t as if the walls or windows were screaming at me—threatening me. In fact, they were almost placatingly serene in their sameness. Each building looked just like the one next to it. I could see no intersections nor turns in the road from where I was. Towering over the building in front of me was the facsimile of the town center’s spire, and as I glanced left and right on a hunch, I saw the same image in the background of the streets on either side. I knew, with a dreadful certainty, that it was painted onto the backdrop behind me, as well.
Weighing my options, few as they were, I decided to examine the houses themselves. The abrupt realization of my predicament, after crossing the doorway, had instilled a sense of calm, as if part of me had already accepted my circumstances. Either that or the sheer absurdity of my environs had stalled me out long enough to stop and think. Either way, I couldn’t think of much more to do than study my surroundings.
There was something both familiar and alien about the… house. Like I’d seen it before, but it had since been perverted. Apparently it had distorted just enough that I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen it before. The moldings didn’t stand out, and the door—aside from having a very special eject system—looked like every other door. Like if someone had asked me to describe a door, I’d just point at it and say, “Look. See? Door.”
I propped myself up on the windowsill and peeked through the glass and, despite not having any way into the house itself, could see furniture. No lighting, of course, because that would only make my life easy, but there was definitely something in there. The window fogged over with my breath, and I moved a hoof to wipe it clean. Passing my hoof over the glass, I noticed something… different, about the room. It wasn’t obvious at first, but the second time my limb passed over the glass it became more apparent. The furniture. It had moved.
It was creeping closer to the window. I moved my hoof again, just to confirm my suspicions, and sure enough, the couch had shifted, the table was closer, and the desk had scooted just a tad. Like they were all closing around the window in a little circle. I wasn’t entirely fond of finding out what would happen once the woodwork had reached the glass, so I abandoned the window entirely. Landing back on all fours, I turned to get a look at the “house” across the street.
And found myself surrounded by a circle of furniture.
---------------------
“Hold on, Daisy, what do you mean Roseluck is gone?” Octavia tilted her head at the strange sentence. “I just saw her not four hours ago. How can she be missing?”
Daisy paused for a second, and took a breath. Octavia steadied herself for another heady rant. “Ok, so I saw you guys arguing or whatever when Roseluck freaked out about the house and stuff and decided she couldn’t walk inside or something I couldn’t really hear all of it I was looking through the window but anyway I saw her run off and I was thinking how is she gonna get any sleep without any of her stuff I should pack it up and bring it to her and maybe we could go get something to eat or whatever but anyway I threw all her stuff in a bag and not really all her stuff just like the stuff she packs for overnights or anything and then I chased after her, and I found her walking around just kind of dazed or whatever and I went to catch up with her and she turned a corner down that alley that leads to the bridge to the road to Fluttershy’s house and she disappeared and I ran out around the nearby houses and asked around and nopony’s seen her and I thought maybe she just took off running again cause she’s really stressed and she jogs when she’s stressed so I thought maybe she’s already gotten to Fluttershy’s but Fluttershy hasn’t seen her although I don’t know why she’d go to Fluttershy’s but I haven’t seen her since and I checked like her favorite restaurants and all kinds of stuff and then I thought wait she was gonna crash here and I came down here to see if she was but then I realized she wasn’t here because whenever she visits Vinyl plays music or whatever for her and I know Vinyl’s here cause she just walked up behind you and you’d have said if Roseluck was here when I said she disappeared cause you know that’s kind of obvious so I thought maybe you’d seen her or something and then she’d left to go do something but you said the last time you saw her was hours ago and that’s when you guys had that weird talk or whatever so that didn’t work and I’m actually really close to freaking out or something.”
Octavia glanced sideways at Vinyl, who, as Daisy had said, had walked up beside me, and raised a very concerned eyebrow. The two shared a startled look, at which point the cellist turned to Daisy and said, “Come on Daisy, let’s go look for Roseluck.”
------------
I’d like to think I’m at least as aware as the next pony, but being snuck up on by a coffee table was just plain insulting. I stared around at the furniture, glancing sideways from one piece to the next. It didn’t look any different than the most basic versions of any furniture catalog picture I’d ever seen. I took a solid look at the coffee table, as a point of reference. It was very nondescript, a solid piece of wood made out of a single solid piece.
I dismissed it as unhelpful and turned to the desk. Which was now distinctly closer than it was when I turned around the first time.
I backed up against the wall, making a point to keep all the pieces in my line of sight. At that point, a mildly crazy thought ran through my head. Keeping my eyes on the living room setup that obviously hadn’t been built out of a respect for personal space, I edged my way along the wall until I could feel the door. I didn’t even bother opening it properly, I just bucked the thing open, and backed the hell up.
The last look I got at the Desk of Space Invasion was right before I slammed the door on the lot of it.
-----------------------
The trio of mares had made their way to the last spot Daisy had seen Roseluck, and glanced around. It was an intersection of a few residential houses and a coffee shop. After a few interviews and some snooping, they’d come up with absolutely nothing. No one had seen Roseluck after Daisy had watched her turn a corner.
Octavia was just about to give up when she saw Daisy sniffing about on the other side of one of the houses. “Daisy, what are you doing?”
“Well, I was thinking about where I saw her go, like maybe I got the intersection wrong or something? Cause I didn’t remember the coffee shop being right there. Like, I know it doesn’t make sense, but you see this crack right here?” Daisy gestured to a space of mere inches between the house at the corner and the one next to it. Octavia nodded as Vinyl came up to join the conversation.
“Yeah, so?” Vinyl asked. Daisy nodded at it. “Wait, are you saying she disappeared in there? How the hell is that possible? I mean, she ain’t fat, but that is one skinny hole, come on.”
“Trust me, she’s in there.” All three of them jumped as a voice chimed in. They turned around all at once to see Ditzy Do joining them. The grey mare was staring at the hole between the buildings like it was more important than anything else around her.
And as the other three mares stared between her and the gap, they saw that Ditzy was staring at it with both eyes.
--------------------
The door slammed shut with a rather satisfying thud, and I turned to stare at what I was sure was going to be the alley again. I was even ready for another staring match with furniture if I had to.
I was not, however, ready for the inside of my own house.
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You've got your person messed up in a few spots - a bit of third person in the first person part and vice versa.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/9/27/436503__safe_solo_meme_animated_big+macintosh_seizure+warning_vibrating_descriptive+noise_x+intensifies_artist-colon-redhotkick.gif
Whelp, Rosie's dead. So, who's next on the list of Potential Protagonists?
You missed a couple of things in editing
I believe there's a word missing.
POV shift.
Well then.
6871965
Octavia and Daisy, obviously. Ditzy is with them, and looking straight ahead.
6871937
The Great and Powerful Roseluck?
6872531 She's looking at the gap though not the mares.
6871981 your fucked
6873103
That just means they won't be hunted. Yet.
You see, this is why I don't trust furniture...
Have I said I love this story's atmosphere? Because I love this story's atmosphere. Furnitures. Awesome.
Dang, Daisy. And I thought pegasi would be the ones with the best lung capacity.
Still, Best Pony is on the case. A ray of hopes shines, refracted through seven bubbles.
Wow I didn't know this was still going.
Damn this is so good! Where did you get the idea for this? It seems familiar...
I know the stories about this you see in the corner of your eye... But I'm not 100% sure about it.
Anyway I hope for a new chapter soon!
Is this based on a doctor who? That episode... What was it called again?!?! Listen it was called listen, Season 8 episode 4 of doctor who. Is that what this is based on?
Damn story, you scary!
6875821 No. I started writing this story before Listen.
6876085
Was it based on anything else cause my other guess was Odd Thomas.
On another note.
I now have a fear of houses.
6876738 Nope.
I'm happy to see this getting continued again.
Well if I were to ever decide to write a Doctor Whooves crossover (or just plain Doctor Who) I think I found a good reference for "how to write existential horror Moffat would be proud of".
Tracking.
Oh man another intense update!
YOU HAD ONE JOB
but no this is just chilling. Narrow spaces, impossible angles. Seeing her turn to the left, but when you go to where she turned there is no left, or she turned a different left than left, and now you're stuck staring at an impossibly thin gap that should not be there, with no way to help the pony for whom it was a yawning abyss.
6876748
Damm. Did anything Inspire you at all? Or did you come up with this own?
6878905 Just Lovecraftian lore in general, and a conversation I was having with someone in a writer's forum.
6878921
Ah.
6878921
Huh, two updates in a single month.
What are you, what have you done with Daemon McRae and which elder god do you serve!?
6881211 Yes.
Update soon please?
Looks like you wandered into a bad place. Better keep moving Rosie. Whatever you do... Don't Rest Your Hooves.
Thought I should point that out. It's an error in the story summary.
6918768 Thanks
This is our one crooked price of art.
I like how it rears back on its self. Going back to the unknown from the prologue. We have no idea what this thing is, and we are forced to just guess at it and as such, we fear the unknown. Indeed, it is a masterpiece!
I love this story. It's dark and horrifying, yet isn't some twisted blood and gore fic like so many other dark fics are. Hopefully it remains that way.
I'm also hoping everypony afflicted by this curse of seeing shit best left unseen makes it out alive and relatively sane, by the end. Anyway, great fic.
Gave me shivers in me spine.
Tis a win.
Get a fave.
Shit is about to get real derpicdn.net/img/view/2013/9/2/416835__safe_solo_animated_upvotes+galore_derpy+hooves_reaction+image_underp_epic+derpy_artist-colon-mysteryben_epic+rage+time.gif
Delicious! Finally caught back up... Thanks!
I have had this story for a long time in my "read it later" list. And has been a long time since i visited this site.
I spent the last 2 hours and a half reading all of this. REALLY GOOD!
Update soon, my friend!
Have a follow.
I feel like there should be a horror game made out of this.
And then the 1 billion lets play channels across YouTube all play it and lose their minds because it's so damn freaky.
I have never been more scared by my fucking couch in my life.
Oh good, Ditzy decided to show her muzzle again. I really hope she has a plan.
Wait. Whose perspective are we in, right now?
7726445 Us, the readers.
7151712 Fuck off. Fuck off right now before someone hears you.
Daisy...what part of "I can't go home, they will track me" aren't you getting?
hath thee no sense, Daisy?
A:home
B:Daisy
C:Roseluck
D:house
1.
A
B
C
D
2.
AB
C
D
3.
AB
C
D
4.
B
D
see what I'm getting at?
Oh hello there video game jumpscare.
only thing worse than zecora not rhyming is derpy looking completely straight