CAM_09 IS OFFLINE

by RunicTreetops

CAM_05

10:00 P.M.

The video feed shakes every so often, indicating that the pony carrying it, Zipp, is doing so somewhat haphazardly. A combination of her flashlight and the moonlight pouring into the castle from the nearby windows illuminates the grand marble staircase that she is currently ascending. Cobwebs can be seen between each step, and the amount of dust in the air looks downright dangerous.

"Alright, everypony. I don't know about this 'paranormal' stuff, but I need to see what's going on in the living quarters. I mean, three different alicorns used to live here. Three! There HAS to be something important that was left behind, right?"

Zipp arrives at the top of the staircase, revealing a long hallway. On the right side of the hallway, several dusty stained glass windows bathe the corridor in various faded colors. On the left, three sets of doors can be seen. Zipp casually approaches the first of these doors, which looks like it was, at one point, painted a dark blue.

"Might as well start the investigation here, I guess."

Zipp gently opens the door, which creaks loudly as she does so. She peers inside before making a clicking noise with her tongue.

"Dang, it is really dark in there. I'm gonna do my best to use this flashlight for your sake, but for me, I think I'm just gonna rely on my rad-visor."

Along the top of the feed, the video shows Zipp placing a strange device over her eyes and smirking before repositioning the flashlight in her hoof.

"This baby lets me see in the dark, as well as heat signatures, infrared lights, all that good stuff."

Zipp finally enters the room, and like she stated, it is pitch black aside from the light provided by her flashlight. It appears to be a bedroom, with the walls and floor both painted a deep navy blue color. In fact, the whole room has a similar aesthetic, with the nearby vanity and cabinet painted an almost identical shade of blue. On the far side of the room, a glass door leads to an outside balcony, but the glass has been tinted a dark enough shade of black that no moonlight comes through. In the center of the room, a very large, somewhat gaudy-looking crescent-shaped bed looms over the rest of the space. Apart from that, the room seems to lack many other amenities.

"I'll admit, I like the aesthetics of this room. But apart from the fact that whoever lived here was clearly an edgy night owl, there's not much to see. Next!"

Zipp nonchalantly exits the room, closing the door behind her as she does.

---

11:00 P.M.

The next door that Zipp finds is an off-white color. It might have had a golden trim long ago, but that color has long since faded. Once again, Zipp gently opens the door and enters a room much different than the previous one.

In this room, the floor is a gentle green color, with the walls a pleasant shade of pinkish-purple. An ornate, multicolored canopy bed sits along one wall, and a homely looking fireplace can be found on the opposite wall. Some rotting firewood still sits in the fireplace, as do some long-rusted tools next to it. A large vanity with many drawers isn't too far from the bed, and just like in the previous room, a door leading to an outside balcony can be seen on the opposite side of the room. Unlike the last room, however, this one has no tint, and the room is much brighter than the previous one because of it.

"Huh. I can't say I like this color scheme any more than the last one, but this room does feel different. It feels, like... I don't know, warm, I guess?"

Zipp pokes around the room for some time before sighing to herself in the darkness.

"Not much here either, except for some gross expired makeup and scrolls that are too old to be legible. Next room it is, I guess. Sorry if this isn't entertaining, everypony. I can't exactly force the ghosts to come out."

Zipp exits the second room more disappointed than she entered and pops back out into the hallway before heading to the final door.

---

12:00 A.M.

The last door is a light purple, and the handle looks like it has seen less use in its time than the last two. With a shrug, Zipp opens it and does her best to use her flashlight to make the inside visible.

This room stands out quite a bit from the previous two. The walls and floor are a plain marble, much like the outside hallway, and the bed in the center of the room is much more plain. The nearby cabinet and writing desks look a lot more "normal" as well, but the copious amount of bookshelves lining the walls is far from normal. However, the most different (and somewhat odd) aspect can be seen in the dust floating in the air wherever the flashlight is pointed. Specifically, the lack thereof.

"...Hm. Has, uh, has somepony been living here? It's very... clean."

Zipp runs her hoof along the top of a nearby bookshelf.

"There isn't a speck of dust in here."

Zipp begins covering every inch of the bedroom, looking for anything that looks out of place. Eventually, she reaches this room's door to its outside balcony. The glass on this door is completely normal, offering neither the darkness of the first room nor the warmth of the second. However, rather than opening this door, Zipp's attention is focused on what is next to it. With the flashlight aimed at the space to the right of the door, the video shows a small wooden pedestal, upon which rests what appears to be an amulet of some kind. When the camera is pointed at it, the image gets grainy, making it difficult to make out any details.

---

1:00 A.M.

"What is this thing?"

Zipp picks up the amulet, though the image quality is so poor, little more than basic shapes can be made out. She sets the camera down on the pedestal, providing a full view of herself with her rad-visor on as she fiddles with the amulet.

"I'm definitely getting magical readings coming from it. Strong ones at that. Why was it left here? What is it for?"

The sound of a walkie-talkie turning on fills the silence, followed by Pipp's voice.

"Zipp! What are you doing?!"

"I just found some kind of magical amulet in one of the bedrooms. It's pretty neat, isn't it?"

"Ugh, Ziiiiiip! Your video quality is terrible! It's all grainy and weird! Besides, you're getting distracted! We have more important matters at hand!"

"Oh? What's going on?"

Zipp continues conversing with Pipp, but she never looks away from the amulet as she continues to analyze and fiddle with it.

"Well, I've completely lost contact with Izzy and Misty. Their cameras have gone out and they won't respond on the walkie-talkie. Meanwhile, it looks like Rocky and Jazz are experiencing some weird stuff, and I've lost audio contact with both of them. Something really is going on here, Zipp."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"W-well, sort of, but- AHH!"

Zipp finally looks up from the amulet at her walkie-talkie.

"P-Pipp?"

"..."

"Pipp, are you there?!"

"...S-sorry, I could have sworn I heard somepony whispering to me, and... oh no."

"What now?"

"I think I'm losing contact with Sunny, too."

---

2:00 A.M.

"Look, Pipp, I'm sure they're fine. Don't you know who you're talking about?"

"Of course, but I just... have a bad feeling, okay?"

"Look, I'll head back down there in just a bit. I want to finish analyzing this amulet first, though."

"Ugh, just what is it about that amulet that has you so engrossed?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think it's important. This whole bedroom is strange, and the fact that this amulet is both magical and in perfect condition makes me think that it's used for something, maybe even to this day."

"Zipp, that's ridiculous. Nopony has been in the castle in moons!"

"That might be true, but maybe it's automatic."

"And still working? What about before we restored the magic?"

"I... I don't know. Princess Twilight made the Unity Crystals, didn't she? I think this is her bedroom. If that's the case, then maybe she didn't put all of Equestria's magic in the crystals. Maybe she left some of it in this thing?"

"Why would she do that?"

"..."

"Zipp?"

"Maybe she didn't have a choice?"

"Huh?"

"I already visited Princess Celestia's room and Princess Luna's room, and neither of them had anything like this. But, without the princesses, who has been raising the sun and the moon every day?"

"Uhh, Zipp? News flash, that's just a bunch of old mythology that was used to garner public support for the princesses. Nopony actually controls the sun or the moon!"

"But what if it's not? What if Twilight knew she was in danger, and made this amulet so that the sun and the moon would rise on their own?"

"Yeah yeah, sure. That's all well and good, and all the more reason to put the darn thing back where you found it and get back here!"

"Ugh, all right Pipp, I'm on my..."

Zipp moves to put the amulet back on the pedestal, but as she does so, she appears to be pushed forward by an unseen force, bringing both her and the amulet to the ground out of the camera's vision. A shattering sound can be heard, and the video feed suddenly goes dark.

---

3:00 A.M.

The video is completely dark, though audio can still be heard.

"Z-Zipp? Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine, but I think I just messed up big time!"

"What's going on?! All at once, everyone's lights, cameras, and walkie-talkies are going haywire! You're the only pony I can still contact, and even then your camera isn't showing anything!"

"My flashlight went out, too. If it wasn't for my rad-visor, I'd be in deep trouble. Anyway, I fell over and dropped the amulet, and it just broke into a bunch of pieces! There are a lot more parts to it than I realized, too!"

"What does that have to do with anything?!"

"I think it messed up the moon or something! Maybe that's also what's screwing up our equipment!"

"Zipp... I-I'm scared! I don't want to do this anymore!"

A few hoofsteps can be heard, followed by the sound of an opening door.

"Yeah, me neither, but it looks like I was right. I can't see the moon at all!"

"What do we do?!"

"...I-I don't know!"

"Can you fix that amulet thingy? Will that make the cameras come back on? Will it make the whispering stop?!"

"I-I'm not sure! Wait, what do you mean whispering?"

"..."

The faint sound of Pipp sobbing can be heard through the walkie-talkie followed by a slamming sound.

"PIPP?! PIPP, ARE YOU THERE?!"

No sound comes out of the walkie-talkie.

"Argh, come on! Stay with me, Pipp!"

Zipp's voice grows progressively more anxious as she continues speaking. The sound of Zipp messing around on the ground can be heard, as well as the occasional clink of metal.

"I... I just have to fix this amulet. Then everything will go back to normal, right? Don't worry, Pipp! I'll fix it! I promise! I promise..."

---

4:00 A.M.

The video feed is still completely dark, and the silence is replaced by a static-like white noise. Occasionally, bits and pieces of what sounds like Zipp's voice come through the noise.

"...ipp..."

"S...ry..."

"Cold..."

"...elp..."

---

5:00 A.M.

CAM_05 IS OFFLINE

Comments

[overdue]

NO WAYYYYYY

[joElecTeen]

"Ugh, Ziiiiiip! Your video quality is terrible! It's all grainy and weird! Besides, you're getting distracted! We have more important matters at hand!"

hoof