• Published 4th Oct 2012
  • 16,951 Views, 430 Comments

The Haunting in Ponyville - JasonTheHuman



Lyra and Bon-Bon live in a haunted house

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Ponygeist

Milk. Cocoa powder. Butter. Water. Flour. And sugar.

Bon-Bon had been mixing batch after batch of the stuff for at least five hours now. By now, it didn’t even require any thought–once she got on a roll, she just kept going. Besides, with Nightmare Night coming up soon, she couldn’t afford to stop.

To be honest, the holiday wasn’t one of her favorites. To her, as a confectioner, this month meant plenty of orders and often very little sleep. And just when she thought it was over, some other pony would notice her cutie mark and ask for a batch of lemon drops, or caramels, or the ever-popular chocolate…

She tried not to think about how much of it would end up left in the woods for hours in front of that old statue.

No, Bon-Bon had never really been a fan of Nightmare Night. After the month-long preparations were over, doing any kind of dress-up was out of the question. Besides, it was just silly. Bon-Bon didn’t see the appeal.

The same couldn’t be said for Lyra. Every single year she would come up with some new ridiculous outfit and stuff her face with sweets. Nightmare Night was the only time when Lyra could be her usual crazy self and actually blend in.

At the moment, Lyra was out discussing her costume plans with Rarity at the boutique. Bon-Bon couldn’t remember what she said she was planning this year–Lyra had been babbling about all sorts of crazy ideas, and Bon-Bon couldn’t remember any of them. There were more important things to worry about. Some ponies had responsibilities.

Moving automatically, Bon-Bon turned and crossed the kitchen to the cupboard where she kept the sugar. There were dozens of bags still left; she ordered it in bulk. She took the package that she’d opened this morning, which was already halfway empty, and measured out a half cup. Then, taking the handle of the measuring cup carefully in her teeth, she went back to the counter where–

She let out a sigh.

The wooden spoon was now sticking out of the bowl, handle buried in the mix. The other end was dripping sticky batter onto the counter.

Setting the cup down next to the bowl, she called out, “If you wanted a taste, you could have just asked.”

Lyra didn’t even respond. There was only the sound of hooves trotting up the stairs down the hall.

She moved fast, that was for sure. Bon-Bon hadn’t even heard the front door open. And she hadn’t even seen Lyra come into the kitchen. Not so much as an irritatingly chipper “hello.”

As she leaned in to pick up the spoon, she noticed that the end of it was still dripping–Lyra hadn’t even licked it off. Not that the batter would even taste right without the sugar mixed in. Oh well. She took the spoon over to the sink, rinsed it off, and pulled a clean one out of the crock. She had learned to keep spares.

The floorboards upstairs were creaking now. A slow pacing down the upstairs hallway.

Bon-Bon ignored her, and went back to mixing the chocolate. She had perfected the technique over the years, getting just the right texture. It was this kind of attention that made ponies say her candy was the best in all of Equestria.

Then, there was that noise again. Louder this time. It was like Lyra was pacing back and forth. The hoofsteps were slow, measured.

Bon-Bon stared up at the ceiling for a moment, considering it. This wasn’t like Lyra at all. Then again, she did tend to get weird around this time of year. Well, stranger than usual, anyway.

For the moment, Bon-Bon wasn’t going to bother with it. She picked the spoon back up and went back to stirring. She had a production goal for the day to meet and she couldn’t be disturbed right now. Whatever Lyra was up to, it was nothing that concerned–

A loud crash shook the house.

Bon-Bon froze, gritting her teeth. She didn’t want to imagine how many hundreds of bits' worth of damage that had been. It sounded like Lyra had thrown a bookcase against the wall or something. It didn’t make any sense, but what else could have made a noise like that?

She tilted her head up towards the ceiling. “Is… is everything all right?”

Hesitantly, Bon-Bon set the spoon down next to the bowl and trotted over to the stairs. Everypony on the street must have heard that noise. Bon-Bon definitely didn’t want to deal with it right now, but if Lyra was going to destroy the house that they shared…

Bon-Bon took a deep breath. One hoof at a time, she climbed up the stairs.

Everything had gone quiet now. Still, she’d have to be careful. No need to rush in and upset her.

There were a few photographs hung over the stairs. A few shots of Lyra and Bon-Bon together, some of their families who lived out of town. One photo of Bon-Bon taken last Hearth’s Warming Eve, when they’d gone to Canterlot, was hanging slightly crooked, so she gently straightened it. Satisfied, she braced herself and headed upstairs.

The hallway was empty. Sunlight filtered in through the window at the far end. The curtains hung motionless in front of it.

Bon-Bon paused at the top of the stairs. “Lyra? Is something wrong?”

Still no response. She shook her head and trotted down the hall. The doors were all left open.

She peeked her head into the study. Whatever that noise had been, it didn’t seem like it had come from here. The shelves were upright. All the books were still on the shelves where they belonged. Of course. No matter how angry Lyra got, she’d never ruin her collection. She claimed they were rare. And, more importantly, none of Bon-Bon’s own novels or recipe books had been touched.

Bon-Bon turned around to check in her own bedroom on the other side of the hall. Her eyes quickly scanned the familiar setup. Her bed was still made and not a single object on the nightstand had been moved. Everything was neatly put away where it belonged.

The only other rooms up here were the bath and Lyra’s bedroom. Bon-Bon headed further down the hall. The floor creaked slightly under her own hoofsteps now, but nowhere near as loud as it had sounded from downstairs.

“Lyra, if something happened, you can talk to me,” she said.

But the bathroom was empty as well. Bon-Bon stared at it, then looked back out at the hallway. There wasn’t much of a chance Lyra could have gotten past her after she came up here. Then again, Lyra didn’t usually slip through the front door unnoticed, either.

The silence was broken by the clock downstairs striking once for the half hour–three thirty, the middle of the afternoon. The chime seemed to echo through the house. She was wasting time that she should be working.

Only one room left. Bon-Bon went to the end of the hall. She noticed a draft coming from somewhere. She shivered. It was getting chilly. Probably just the fall weather. She’d taken care to close all of the windows this morning to keep the heat inside, though.

She approached the doorway to Lyra’s room. She stopped before walking in.

It looked like a hurricane had gone through. The covers on the bed were thrown aside in a heap on the floor. Sheets of music were scattered all over the place.

In other words, it was exactly as Lyra had left it this morning.

It seemed like the only thing Lyra took care of was her lyre. It rested in its stand on her dresser, lovingly polished to a shine.

“Lyra, are you in here?” Bon-Bon called. She was hardly surprised at the lack of a response.

There were clothes spilling out of the closet. Lyra seemed to own more than most ponies. Bon-Bon carefully stepped over it to search the room. Completely deserted. Just like the others.

All the furniture was all exactly where it was supposed to be. It had been that way in every single room. She was sure of it. So what had the crash been?

And where was Lyra, anyway? Those hoofsteps had stopped, too.

Bon-Bon sighed. She turned around to leave and came face-to-face with a pair of bright yellow eyes.

“Hiya!”

Bon-Bon nearly jumped out of her skin. “Lyra!” She took a moment to catch her breath. “What are you doing?”

“This is my room…” Lyra said, raising an eyebrow. “What were you doing in here? I thought you said you would be working all day.”

“I thought I heard…” Bon-Bon’s voice trailed off. “Where have you been, anyway?”

“I was over at Rarity’s. I thought I told you.”

“The whole time?” Bon-Bon said. “But you left at least two hours ago.”

“Yeah,” Lyra said. “It took a while to explain the costume I wanted to her. She said she’d never even heard of some of the items I was asking for. I told her that maybe Spike would know about–”

Bon-Bon raised a hoof to cut her off. “You just now got here? As in, within the last couple of minutes?”

Lyra nodded slowly. “That’s what I said…” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you feeling alright, Bon-Bon? You don’t look too good.”

Bon-Bon pushed past her. “Then what was that noise?” she muttered. She headed down the hall, checking every room again–the bathroom, the study, her own bedroom. All empty. Was there anything else she had missed?

She stopped for a moment. Of course. She walked inside and headed for her closet.

Lyra followed after her. “See, usually what happens when I do something like this costume and other ponies don’t understand me, that’s when you criticize me and say I’m being too–”

Bon-Bon shushed her. Lyra’s eyes widened as she realized that something was wrong.

“You said you’ve been gone this entire time, but I’ve been hearing hoofsteps. And… other things.”

“You’re sure?” Lyra said.

“And somepony was moving things around in the kitchen. There’s somepony else in the house.”

“Then…” Lyra slowly looked over at the closet.

They approached it together. They exchanged an uneasy glance. Then, taking a deep breath, Bon-Bon reached up and flung the door open.

They both jumped back at the same time.

Everything was silent for a while, then Lyra let out a breath. “Now that’s a letdown.”

There were a few dresses and some old aprons hanging inside. Some cardboard boxes were pushed against the back wall. Other than that, it was completely empty.

Bon-Bon turned around and started pacing back and forth. “I checked the entire second floor. There’s nowhere anypony could hide. But I know I heard somepony up here.”

“Maybe you’ve just been working too hard,” Lyra suggested. “You could be hearing things.”

“Did you look around outside? Did anything, I don’t know… fall?” Bon-Bon said. “The pegasi didn’t have another accident with the mail, did they?”

“Nope. I don’t think so, at least.” Lyra gave a smile. “Maybe you do just need a break. You’ve still got a few days to get your orders filled, right?”

Bon-Bon wasn’t satisfied yet. “I know what I heard. There’s somepony in the house. I know it.”

Lyra was silent for a moment, thinking. “Somepony… or something,” she said in a low voice. Her eyes widened. “Or somebody!

“This is serious, Lyra. Stop joking around.”

“I’m not! I’m just saying, we haven’t seen anybody, so maybe we’ve got a–”

“And maybe you’re a little bit too much into this Nightmare Night thing and you’ve heard one too many scary stories.”

Lyra frowned. “Hey, you never know. You’re the one who was hearing stuff, not me.”

“And whatever it was, it wasn’t a ghost, or whatever you think it is. You should know better than to believe in things like that.”

Bon-Bon pushed her way past before she could respond. Lyra made a face and followed her into the hallway.

“What if our house is built on one of their ancient burial grounds?” Lyra said suddenly. “I mean, they must’ve had those. Something like it. We should start digging.”

Bon-Bon spun around. “Lyra, for the last time! They're just as made-up as ghosts. And I distinctly heard hooves. You don't actually believe that we'd have not only have a ghost, but the ghost of one of your–”

Lyra's ears perked up. “Wait. Did you hear that?” She glanced behind her into Bon-Bon's room.

“Hear what?” Bon-Bon said.

“Listen.”

They both fell silent. Bon-Bon looked around the hallway. She shook her head. “Lyra, there's nothing–”

The door to Lyra's room slammed closed. Then, one by one, the others followed. Bon-Bon was suddenly hit by a blast of cold air that rushed through her and nearly knocked her off her hooves with sheer force. The wind reached the stairwell, and down the line, the picture frames fell off the wall and shattered on the steps.

She and Lyra stood there for a moment without a word.

Lyra spat her mane out of her mouth. “Then what do you think that was?”

Bon-Bon's mouth opened, but nothing came out. She could still feel the unnatural chill even though everything had gone quiet. Finally, she managed to choke out, “I… I don’t…”

Slowly, a grin spread across Lyra’s face. She began bouncing up and down. “This is going to be the best Nightmare Night ever!”