Thundering silence

by xscar10

Lost time

"That's... not possible..." Said Azure, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face. Something was missing, she never went to sleep, or stopped to rest, there was no time she didn't remember. Then it came to her, when she stepped in that last room, she couldn't hear the rain. It was as if it just stopped.
"You mean you don't remember anything?" Tinker asked, as they both started walking to her apartment. She needed answers, and maybe she could find some there.
"Not a thing. I took a walk down the block, and walked back. That's it." She said, it was true, but she wasn't about to tell him about the whole event that took place in that horrible corridor.
"How is that even possible?" He asked knowing she had to be keeping something from him.
"I haven't the slightest." She answered, brushing against a passerby.
"Well there has to be some re-" He started, but started sniffing bid sentence. "Do you smell smoke?" Asked Tinker. Azure stopped and sniffed the air, there was the thick smell of smoke. They both look up to see a pillar of smoke coming from down the street.
"That's in the direction of..." Tinker started. "My apartment!" Azure exclaimed galloping down the street. Tinker flew shortly after her. She was met with the sight of a crowd around a burning building. The fire was obviously coming from her apartment, but what did it mean?
She watched as months of work was lost, along with all of her personal possessions. She looked closer, and what was astonishment, became terror. Somepony was standing in the fire. It wasn't distinguishable, but there was definitely the shape of a pony in the center of the blaze. A twinge of fear shot up through her as her blood ran cold. The figure walked away after the flames started to die down.
Once the fireponies said it was safe she walked up to investigate. The, for lack of a better word, corpse of the apartment was barren. You wouldn't think anyone had lived there. She investigated the rooms one by one, not seeing anything noteworthy. Most everything she owned was ashes, and what wasn't ash might as well be. She came to her room, with only a bed frame left, and the box... the wooden box... the flammable wooden box... perfectly fine on the floor.

"How...?" She asked herself, almost not even surprised by this point. She trotted closer, and saw the box was resealed. A silver light emanated from her horn, and opened it. Inside was another note, and another key. Unfolding the note, she read it aloud.
"I'm sorry." She read, and pocketed the key. Her concentration was interrupted by the sound of hoofsteps behind her. As jumpy as she was, she was afraid to turn around. This was followed by a dreadful silence. Azure couldn't hold back a whimper, as she anticipated what stood behind her. She felt a hoof creep onto her flank, and nearly jumped out of her fur. She hopped on the bed frame, and turned to see... Tinker laughing his cutie mark off.
"You! You-you..." She trotted in place out of frustration.
"Handsome devil?" He finished, shining his hoof on his coat. Azure huffed at him, and shortly after remembered...
"You touched my flank!" Her face was glowing red from anger and embarrassment.
"Whoa, calm your hooves." He shook his head.
"I will not! You aren't a pony, you're a pig!" She turned and whipped her tail in his face.
"You really need to loosen up... Why are you so on edge?" He asked, sitting down in the middle of the room.
"I'm on edge because I expect to see a pair of lenses around every corner." She said stepping of the bed and over to the window.
"You're being paranoid." He shook his head looking her over.
"Rightly paranoid." She stated, looking out into the clear evening through her broken window.
"Sure... whatever you say." He said in disbelief.
"You believe whatever you want, but I'm really scared." She turned around toward him, and brushed her hair from her face. Tinker humored her.
"Alright, even if somepony were out to get you, I'm here. Between the both of us we could take him." He said flexing a fore-leg.
"Because that worked out so well last time..." She rolled her eyes.
"Last time I was... startled. This time I'm ready." He said, his snout pointed high. Azure shook her head, and disregarded his comments.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

"Ha ha. very funny." Azure said sarcastically. Tinker raised an eyebrow, siting and lifting his hooves.

Tap...Tap...Tap...

Azure filled with fear again as she tried to pinpoint the noise.

Tap...Tap...Tap

The tapping was coming from the the window by the front door. She ran out of her room, and into the living room. There was nopony there.
"But..." She started, and leaning into view of the window from the side was Trance. When he leaned in, her hair stood on end. He waved to her, and Tinker.
"He's back." Azure stated, a chill crawling through her skin. Trance disappeared from view again, and seconds later the door started to open. Now both her and Tinker were shivering. Trance was walking in with a slight limp, and the trickle of blood from when he was hit with a chair had dried, and still lay on his fur. He came to a stop a few feet in front of them both, and held up a hoof.
"I think he wants you to come this time too." Azure said, and Trance nodded.
"Are you kidding me...? Me go with... him?" He let out a huff of refusal. At that Trance turned back to Azure, and held out the hoof. Azure, knowing the terror she felt, still wanted answers. She felt like she wanted to discover more. She held his hoof.
"You can't be serious...!" Tinker shook his head, and reluctantly stepped forward.
"Look I can't let you go alone. I'll come this time." He said gulping loudly. Trance turned and started walking with Azure and Tinker following after. They walked out in the opposite direction of the corridor, towards the gates of lower Canterlot. Trance's limp wasn't hindering the speed of his walk, but instead seemed to actually walk faster because of it.
"Why are we doing this?" Asked Tinker, he was more than a little uneasy.
"Because, we might find some answers." Azure said, unsure herself as to just why she needed to follow.
"So we're following a strange, possibly dangerous, and absolutely terrifying pony out of the city... on a hunch?" Tinker was right, it just screamed cheap horror movie logic... but there was just something about him. There had to be more to him than that mask.
"It sounds crazy, but trust me." Azure said, glancing over to him, then back to Trance.
"Trust you? Yeah, I trust you, but about now, I'm starting to wonder why." Tinker was more fidgety than Azure, which is odd knowing what she'd seen last time she followed him. As she walked, the cold air was causing the scratch on her back to sting, and she shouldn't be in a good mood at all, but was still oddly content. They left the city, and headed down a dirt road out into a lightly wooded area. They were walking out off the main road, when she remembered something.

Day 12 Theres a place a cabin just outside of Canterlot maybe if I go there he wont find me

The Journal from the corridor mentioned a cabin outside of Canterlot. Could that be where they were headed? Azure became gradually more anxious as they walked further out into the woods. Then she saw just barely in her view, obscured by trees was the cabin. Just as she thought.
They came closer, and the place looked in terrible condition. It either wasn't maintained or was extremely old. It was completely made of wood, splintering and rotting. The support beams of the porch didn't look like they could hold up a pigeon. The yard was littered with scraps of rusted metal, and the remains of what was once a fence.
They walked through the yard stepping on a stray plank of wood. Tinker stood as close as he could to Azure, and Azure wanted to do the same, but showed little sign of fear. Trance walked up the steps of the old cabin, and stood beside the door, waiting.
Azure figured that, like last time, she had the key to open the door. She stepped up to it, and pulled out the key. The key slid into the lock and as she turned it, it let out an almost sickly clack. She turned the knob, and pushed the door open. It was dark inside, she couldn't see a thing that wasn't in the light of the, now setting, sun.
Azure felt a light tap at her side, and turned to look at Trance. He was holding out a lantern, the same one from the corridor. She took it, feeling sweat build on her brow. Her horn glowed for a moment, igniting the lantern, and she looked back inside. It was old, dusty, dank, and smelled of mildew. There was old furniture, that had all broken down, and fell into all manners of disrepair.
She stepped inside, and the stagnant air filled her lungs, bring a slight cough. She looked back, seeing both Trance, and Tinker following her. It gave her a sense of ease knowing she wasn't alone this time, but it didn't console her from her fear entirely. She walked over to the living room, seeing two chairs, a couch, a table, fireplace, and a window, all broken. On the table was an old yellowed piece of paper, she tried to pick it up, but it was stuck to the table, from what there was no telling. So she leaned down to read it.

Day 31 Of all the things that have happened to me, what I regret most was the death of my wife and son. They were innocent. They did not deserve death. The last I saw my wife Peach was back in Canterlot, before the fire. We had argued that there was a way out, but I see now that I was wrong. I should have let her go. She burned with the building, unable to escape from the kitchen. I had been meaning to fix that blasted knob for so long... no point now. I did have time to save my son though, and I did, only to have him taken away from me. They said that I was unfit to care for him, that the smoke had damaged his lungs and throat. In a few days they said he was gone, and when I asked for details they gave me none. I'll never see his big green eyes again. My blind pursuit of something greater, my greed and avarice blinded me. Now they are dead, and I will be soon. This will be my last entry, and I ask not for your pity, but for anypony reads this to learn from my mistakes.
Final regards-
Cordwainer Cobbler

There were a few specks of blood spotting the page, and for something written by a dying man, it seemed surprisingly calm. She looked around and saw nothing else of much notice in the room. She walked over to the fireplace, and saw a few old pictures on the mantle. The first picture was of a regal looking bearded stallion, in a poor pony's clothes. The second was a picture of a beautiful mare, her dress was also that of a poor pony. Last was a picture of both of them together swaddling a white faced colt in the woman's hooves.
All the pictures looked as if they had been taken good care of, and the frames had been held together and maintained. Untouched by time as it were. Azure turned and saw two doors and a staircase.
"Azy what's going on here?" Whispered Tinker. Azure didn't respond, but instead walked through the first door. It was a bathroom. She looked in the sink, and saw nothing; the same was true for the bathtub. Nothing was here, not even a bar of soap.
She turned the knob on the sink, and nothing came out; so she turned the other knob, and again, nothing came. She left the bathroom, and headed into what was apparently an old kitchen. There were cupboards, and shelves, counters, cabinets, and a stove, but no refrigerator. She used her magic to open the drawers quickly, finding old spices, and utensils, but no food. There was nothing in the cabinets or shelves either.
"Hello? Azy? What's going on?" Tinker asked a little louder.
"I don't know, I'm trying to find out." She answered, and walked over to the stove.
"You act like you've done this before." He said raising an eyebrow.
"I have, last time I went with him." She said quietly.
"You said you just went for a walk..." He shook his head in confusion.
"I never said where to." She quipped, opening the oven. A stench erupted from it, that of rotting meat and blood. Azure quickly covered her snout with her hoof. She looked inside and saw a slab of meat, charred and forgotten. It looked like at one point it would have been a meal for a griffin. She closed the oven and stepped away.

"What else were you keeping from me?" Tinker asked, in an angry whisper.
"Nothing, that's it." She replied, walking into the dining room. There was only one chair at the table, but all the places were set. There was no food, but all the cutlery was in place. She walked around the room and in the plait in front of the chair there was a locket. She took it, and opened it. Inside was a scratched out picture. She put the locket around her neck, and closed it.
"You're just taking that?" Tinker asked, wrinkling her nose at her.
"It might be important." She said, walking past him back into the living room.
"This is all starting to stink." He said shaking his head. Azure started to trot upstairs, the boards groaning and creaking under each hoofstep. As she reached the top of the stairs, she saw a hall with two doors, and at the end was stairs that head back down.
She opened the door to the first room, and inside was essentially a small library. With a desk in the center, all four walls were lined with fully stocked bookshelves. Given the room as not large, but it was still at least a hundred books. She walked in, and looked over the books; all the were on pony history. One was on the life of Starswirl the bearded, one was on the defeat of Discord, one was on the life of Solemn Oath, another on the founding of Manehatten, and another of all of Equestria, so on and so forth.
She came to the desk, and looked it over. It had a book of recent history, but next to it was a pen and inkwell, and there were lots of segments of the book marked out. Azure looked back through the pages, and segments were marked out only on that one page and onward. She read the page, the date was set at 24 years ago. At one segment that was talking about a celestial event he had marked some out, and wrote "He comes" over it.
Further down it was marking Celestia's appearance to watch the event, but it had more marked out, and over it was written "She finds him". On the next page, it was saying that there was an earthquake, but it's cause was marked out, and replaced with "He's angry". Further down, there was a short paragraph on a strange disease going around, but the name was marked out and replaced with "Getting stronger".
The last segment of note was recording how Celestia had gone on a trip of secret origin and importance, he marked out the official statement, and wrote "They battle, he's captured". Nothing was marked out anywhere else in the book, but on the back cover he wrote "He grew stronger in secret, and is breaking free." It seems to be the account of some creature coming to Equestria, but what, and why are unsaid. What all it means and what it has to do with Celestia was a mystery.

She looked through the desk drawers and inside were dozens of drawing, all of the same thing. A large circle, with a small circle inside. Some had captions, while others did not. They read odd things like, "The eyes are here", "He is watching", "They are fire", and the familiar "Run". She closed the drawer, and walked to the door, it was then she realized the others weren't following her.
"Tinker? Where'd you go?" There was no answer.
"Trance?... Guys?" Still only silence. She gulped, and opened the door to the second room. She levitated her lantern in to shed light on the room, it showed a bedroom. She walked in and saw a bed, a closet, a nightstand, and a cupboard with a mirror. She walked in and closed the door behind her. The room smelled slightly different than the other rooms, in a way she couldn't put her hoof on.
She walked over to the bed, and sheets were disheveled. She pulled them back, to have her eyes meet with a skeleton. She covers her mouth, and screams into her hooves, falling back on her rump. Her breathing was hyper, and her eyes wouldn't focus. She knew she had to calm down, so she could make sense of the situation.
She slowed her breathing, and stood back up. She looked down at the skull, and saw there was no flesh, or bloodstains anywhere on the sheets, so the skeleton must have been... moved here... recently. Her heart was still racing, but she had to be brave. She looked over the body, and there was nothing special. She then turned her attention toward the closet. She walked over, and opened it up, inside the closet was no clothes, or items, but written on the wall was the circles from before. She shrugged it off and closed the door. The next thing to investigate was the nightstand. She walked over, and on the nightstand, was a key.
"Another key?" She asked nopony. She slipped it away, and went on to investigate the cupboard. She levitated her lantern just behind her, so she could freely search. She opened it, and saw only a music box. She reached down to touch it, but before she did it started playing. She jumped at the sudden sound, and sighed. It was a light tune something one would fall asleep to. She looked up from the cupboard into the mirror, and looked at her face. Her eyes didn't linger there for long though, just behind her she saw another pair of eyes.
Her heart nearly stopped, these eyes were a mix of red yellow and orange, with small contracted pupils. The face connected to these eyes was that of a stallion smiling at her with bladed teeth. She quickly turned around to face him, and his grin grew wider, as her fear showed in her face.

"Hello my dear." He said, his eyes wide, and hers wider. "And what might you be doing out here in the middle of nowhere?" He asked licking his lips. She couldn't utter more than a squeak as he stepped forward. He stepped into her lantern's light, and it showed his light brown fur, with a long black mane. On top of his head was a top hat, black with a red ribbon. This must be what that pony was talking about, "They are fire" the symbol was of his eye.
"Come now, you must have some reason for coming here." He said lifting his hoof. She noticed then that he wasn't pony sized, he was as big as Celestia. She stood in terror for a while, but eventually brought herself to speak.
"I-I followed Trance here." She stuttered, as he sat down in front of her.
"Trance? Oh yes! That's what they've come to call him isn't it? How fun." He chuckled.
"You know who he is?" She asked backing up slightly, and he leaned his head in.
"Know him? He's my favorite toy!" He said, cocking his head.
"Toy?" Azure's breath seemed to quicken.
"Yes, toy. A plaything. Like you." He stepped forward, backing her into the cupboard, and the music box started playing slower.
"What do you-" She started, but was interrupted by his hoof touching her lips.
"I want silence." He hissed. She sat quiet. "Now what to do with you?" He cooed, crossing his front legs, and his back legs floated above the ground. Azure wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Oh! I know! I can make you an offer, and see if you like it." He clapped his front hooves together, and out of the shadows appeared Tinker.
"Tinker?!" She gasped, and started to move. The large stallion grinned widely. Tinker was floating unconscious in front of him.
"Ah, that got a reaction!" He said, and Tinker's mouth started to bleed. Azure felt sweat all over her body grow cold. His pupils seemed to shrink even more, and his grin disappeared.
"If you're just going to think about the people I could hurt, then this could get boring..." He said, and a twinge went down her spine. That was what she was thinking. He knew what she was thinking. He licked his lips again.
"What are you going to do?" She asked, and the grin reappeared.
"What's the fun in telling you?" He laughed internally, as Tinker faded into the dark. "But I think now would be a good idea to run." He said, just as the music stopped. Azure, frozen with fear, put all her effort into moving. She looked toward the door, and made a break for it. She galloped to the door struggling to open it, hearing hoofsteps just behind her. She finally got the door open and rushed down the stairs. half way down she tripped, and fell to the floor. A blinding pain shot through her as she hit the ground. She laid on the floorboards staring at a pair of dark green hooves. It was the last thing she saw before blacking out.

She woke up, and it looked like morning, but where? Her eyes started to adjust, and she saw she was still in the cabin. She was laying in the bed where the skeleton used to be. She sat up, and felt pain run down her left hind-leg. Then something caught her eye, standing by her side at the nightstand was Trance. At first she filled with fear, but then she noticed the medical supplies on the nightstand. She pulled up the sheets, and saw her leg bandaged.
"You... did this?" She looked at him, and he nodded.
"Why?" She asked, knowing he was with that... thing. Trance stood silent.
"Why don't you talk?" She asked, looking into his lenses. He stood for a moment, and then sat down. He reached up with his fore-hooves, and slowly removed the mask. His face was white as a cloud, with bright green eyes. He had no mane, but his face was actually handsome, other than the scar from where the chair hit above his brow. She stood in awe for a moment, as this colt that she and so many others had demonized... smiled at her. Then he opened his mouth, but no sound came out, and his breathing was shallow.
"You can't speak, can you?" She said rather than asked. He shook his head no with a frown.
"You're just a victim here aren't you?" She asked, and he just blinked. He walked over to the cupboard, and pulled out the music box. At first she just watched, but then it started to play. He set it off to the side, and clicked his hooves on the floor to the music. At that moment she recognized the tune; it was the same one he clicked on her window when they first met.
"You like music?" She asked, and he nodded his head, smiling in a way that was almost sheepish. She clicked her hooves against her bed frame in tune with him. He continued clicking his hooves on the floor, bobbing his head to the tune. She readjusted herself to lay on her stomach, clicking her hooves all the while.
She even started to smile with him, but was interrupted by him suddenly coughing and gasping for breath. He fumbled around with his hooves, grabbing the mask, and securing it back onto his face. It slipped on as fast as he could get it, and after a click you could hear his breathing again.
"Dear Celestia... You need that mask, don't you?" She covered her mouth with a hoof. He nodded in response, looking as emotionless as ever, but she knew better.
"What could have happened to you?" She asked, and leaned forward. He took a step toward her, and ran his hoof gently down the side of her face. He then turned, and limped out of the room. Azure rolled back the covers, pulling herself slowly out of bed, and hobbling over to the cupboard. She looked inside to see if she'd missed anything, and sure enough there was a page inside, it looked like it used to be underneath the box. She picked it up, and looked at the paper.

Day 10 He lied to me. He offered me that deal, and said he'd solve my problems. He did, and gave me worse ones. Why did I listen to him? I could feel his evil... Now I hear his whispers... He wants me to find some mare named Esmeralda...

Day ten... Another one of the pages... "If only I had them all." She said to herself. She lifted her injured leg and walked on the three good ones. It was an awkward walk, but it'll do for now. She walked over to the door, and nudged it open. She walked into the hall, and in the library just across the hall Trance was writing something at the desk. She walked down the hall to the second set of stairs.
She awkwardly set down the stairs into another hall. This one was long and empty, with only one door, at the end. She walked through the veil of darkness, reaching the door in a much longer time than she expected. As she came closer, she used her magic to open the door, as to use as little energy as possible.
On the other side of the door, she saw a large familiar metal room. A room with three tables, and a mannequin. The mannequin however looked slightly different this time. The limbs were much longer, enough to fit the large sleeves, and didn't have a pole to stand on. She walked in, and the door slammed shut behind her. She quickly turned around, but having no light, couldn't even tell which was she was facing. Her mind was buzzing with thoughts that all stopped as she heard the clicking of hooves just behind her. Her heart was beating so loud, you could take her pulse from across the room.
A light appeared, and she was facing the center of the room with her lantern at the mannequin's feet. Her horn glowed as she started to levitate the lantern, when the mannequin lifted it's hoof, and held the lantern in place. Azure, not having the energy to waist screaming any more, turned back to the door. The clicking was getting louder as she fumbled with the handle, scrambling to open it. She finally felt the click of the handle turning, and rushed through, not even looking to see the horror behind.
She slammed it shut, and leaned against it. Her breath was heavy and labored. She looked up, leaning her flank on the door. She was back in the corridor. The same corridor as before. She took a few steps forward looking into the first room, and seeing the bed, desk, and chest. Wait... the chest. The locked chest. She had a key from the owner's house.
She limped slowly in, and sat in front of it. She pulled out the key, and sure enough it let a satisfying click. The lock released, and the lid creaked open. Inside were a couple papers, and a cloth. She didn't have time to read them, so she grabbed the journal from the desk, and the papers, wrapped them in the cloth and carried them out. She walked through the front, seeing she was back in Canterlot.