Fluttershy yelped when the dim lights of the attic winked out. She and Sugar Belle had finally gone up the stairs under Key Keeper's annoyed gaze. She had not been so scared, but now, in the dark, dusty boxes cast large, looming shadows. Wind howled and gripped her in its cold claws, and she was unable to see where it had entered.
"At l-least we have each other, right, Sugar Belle?," she said to her right. There was no response. "S-s-sugar Belle?," she asked a little more urgently.
With nothing but silence, Fluttershy reached out the find the caterer's warm fur, but could only feel damp, dusty cardboard. She whirled around, checking each direction, but every way she turned just led to more old boxes.
Panic rose in Fluttershy's chest. Her breathing became quick and heavy.
"HEEEEEEEEEELP!"
Sugar Belle winced at her cry as she descended down the stairs. She took another quick glance at the note in her hoof. She had felt it being placed behind her ear as the group had gathered, right before splitting up again.
Meet me in Billiard Room. Tell nopony.
The writing was scrawled and messy. It was familiar to Sugar Belle, but she couldn't place her hoof on who it was from. It was short and curt, drawing in the curious Sugar Belle.
Still, mysterious messages would now always make her wary. They were the reason she was in this mess in the first place.
She quickly slipped into the dark Billiard Room, silently closing the door behind her. Though the room was dark, she could see the shape of a pony in the shadows, and hear their deep breathing.
"D-did you send the note?," squeaked Sugar Belle. The shadowed pony was silent, but she could still see a nod. "W-what did you want to s-say?," continued Sugar Belle.
The figure made several noises, the beginnings of words. Sugar Belle waited, her hooves shaking from the cold winds, and from her frozen blood.
A glimmer of orange light appeared where the mysterious figure stood. Her eyes drawn to it, Sugar Belle paled when she saw the shape of an apple.
"N-" she started to cry out, but a blast of orange magic wrapped around her head before she could finish. The magic seeped through her ears, under her eyes- any opening it could find. She felt it tickle her brain with its cold tendrils. Her shock, her fear, they both melted away, and her consciousness soon followed.
She landed on the floor with a thud, the rope of magic fading from visible sight. Her eyes were grey, open still with a shocked expression.
Her attacker came forward. They lifted her up onto the pool table with their hooves, laying her flat. The apple-shaped gem, now glowing faintly orange, was placed onto Sugar Belle's chest.
The figure left the room quickly, not even stopping to close the door behind them.
Soarin was shivering in the cold room. The power had suddenly gone out but he still held the phone to his head, hoping it was somehow still working.
A lump was in his throat. He kept mumbling to himself, "There's only a party…power outages happen in storms…" but it couldn't dispel the cold fear that gripped his chest.
His hoof spun the rotary dial. Over and over, he dialed the same number, hoping each time that this would be the time it would ring.
As he paused to wipe sweat off his brow, the door creaked open behind him.
A pony crept through the shadows, holding a pink butterfly gem.
Soarin reached out to dial again. A pink burst of magic blinded him before his hoof could reach the phone.
He fell on the floor, his eyes grey, still holding onto the receiver.
A hoof placed the gem on his chest, the receiver back in its cradle. They quickly dashed back out the door.
Everypony's ears flicked when the doorbell rang through the house.
One pony opened the front door. Over the doorstep flew a small purple and green dragon. "DragonFire Mail!" he chirped. "Sorry, but the address you listed on your letter doesn't exist, so-"
A blast of magenta magic cut him off as it wrapped around his head.
With a thud, and an unpleasant crunch from one of his wings, he landed on the concrete.
The dogs growled at the attacker, bearing their fangs, but said attacker slammed the door before they could do anything. They walked quickly away from the door, heading back to where they were supposed to search.
Fluttershy heard the door slam. With a yell, she charged straight forward, toppling boxes as she ran. Running blind, she whipped her head back and forth, looking for a door.
When she found it, she didn't hesitate to throw it open and run down the stairs. She almost tripped over her hooves. In the hallway, she flung open the bedroom doors, shouting,
"The door slammed! I think they ran out!"
Applejack and Key Keeper followed her voice, rushing to the doors. The three hurried down the stairs. Key Keeper wasted no time, grabbing the power lever and flipping it to the up position. The mansion was filled with a light that was blinding to the ponies.
Pinkie and Rainbow quickly came to the anxious group. Pinkie bounced forward while Rainbow trudged. Her mane was disheveled, her eyes puffy and bleary, and she was wiping a strand of drool away from her mouth.
Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing, swiveling her head with a gasp. When the others approached, they saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Sniveling, she pointed a shaky hoof to the open Billiard Room door.
The group gasped and became teary-eyed once they had gathered around the door. Sugar Belle lay flat on the pool table, eyes wide and grey, the apple-shaped gem glowing brightly. Pinkie loudly sobbed in the background.
As Fluttershy reached out a hoof to comfort her, a low, wailing moan came from the Library. Rushing in, they saw Rainbow standing over Soarin- unconscious, another victim of the dark magic. Though she quickly and repeatedly rubbed at her eyes, tears streamed down her face, an unstoppable river.
Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow came outside the rooms. The three clung to each other, all crying- Pinkie wailed, Fluttershy whimpered, and Rainbow sobbed. Applejack's eyes were full of sorrow, but she did not join the crying mass, instead offering each mare a consoling pat.
Key Keeper checked each of the rooms and victims, then headed towards the front doors. Applejack noticed this and gave him a stern look. He ignored it and threw open the doors. "Applejack, why don't you track…" he trailed off once he looked down.
Everypony came over to him, their eyes still wet. Fresh tears threatened to spring from their eyes at the sight of the young-looking dragon before them. Key Keeper and Applejack just stared solemnly at the poor unconscious drake.
Key Keeper turned his head towards Applejack. Once she noticed, she spat at him, "There's no tracks. And nopony could fly or walk in a storm like this, anyway." The winds shrieked, as if to prove her point. "In fact, we should bring him inside before he catches cold."
With that, Applejack promptly scooped the small thing into her hooves and carried him to the Study. Key Keeper grumbled and huffed as she placed him gingerly on the sofa.
Once she was done, carefully placing him so as to not disturb his injured wing, he started, "Now, I believe I know-" A loud BANG interrupted him. The ponies all rushed out of the room to see what had happened.
The bang had been the cellar door bursting open. Rarity rushed out, her blue eyes wide, her white face seeming even paler than normal. She was shuddering, staring ahead as though gazing into a void. The group, sans Key Keeper, gathered around her, trying to revive her and get her to tell them what happened.
Their ears perked as a creaking came from the cellar stairs. After some seconds that felt like an eternity for them, an exhausted Twilight came over the top of the stairs. Her horn was red and smoking, her knees shaking, her eyelids drooping under heavy pressure.
But she still kept her horn alight, straining to do so, determination etched across her face. With a final burst of magic, she flung what she had been carrying onto the floor and their hooves. The strain of magic gone, she crumpled to the floor, her consciousness fading in and out.
Everypony gave a true gasp of fear when Twilight brought forth her discovery.
Sitting before them was a unicorn skeleton and shattered gemstone.