MLP: Midnight Threat. Part 1
The cold night air had the whole of Ponyville at its mercy, freezing every warm substance into a withering, cold shell of its former status. The citizens were no exception, as all steadily became desperate for a form of protection from this horrific weather.
One such estate for example, the local library, contained four ponies who all slept in the main room, each struggling to survive this ill-humored climate though any means available. Among the inhabitants of this barely inhabitable environment of Twilight Sparkle's abode was Twilight Sparkle herself and her friends Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who sought refuge amidst the furniture.
Pinkie Pie had spent a majority of the night in a fitful struggle, squirming pitifully in her sofa bed and tugging on her quilt. However, though it had a hand in this behavior, the current weather was not directly responsible for this behavior.
Pinkie Pie was currently suffering from another nightmare, nightmares becoming ever more abundant during her recent nights of sleep, and each featuring the sinister anomaly responsible for her actions the day prior to tonight. Grunts and shrieks occasionally spilled forth through her gritted teeth, despite her obliviousness of doing so.
From across the main room, a blue pegasus squirmed underneath her bed covers from the commotion from across the room. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and leaned up from her temporary sleeping quarters, yawning as she stretched her arms. She looked across the room and noticed her troubled friend, tossing and turning in torment from her horrific dream.
She stepped off of the sofa and quietly approached Pinkie Pie, deciding how to approach this situation. Just then, she heard the sound of hoofsteps from behind her and turned to face the source, finding Applejack stepping off of her own temporary bed.
"Wha… What's that sound?" Applejack whispered nervously from across the room. "It's Pinkie Pie. I think she's having a bad dream" Rainbow Dash answered in an equally nervous whisper. Applejack silently crept towards the pair, all the while listening to her friend's unintelligible muttering and steadily growing more concerned for both Pinkie Pie's wellbeing and her own pledge for rest.
"Wake her up. It'll be fine" Applejack suggested. "Grrgh… ack… no… hmmph… no…" faintly echoed around the room, Pinkie Pie's distressed grunts steadily growing louder. "What? No way! How will she react?" Rainbow Dash questioned in genuine fear.
"Gergh… ilk... Eh Hehehehehehahahahahahahahaha…".
The consultants were both diverted from their conversation by their topic, who suddenly began giggling uncontrollably as she tossed and turned in her fitful slumber. At first, they chose not to question it, but became more and more concerned by it as it continued. Pinkie Pie kept laughing inn her sleep and only so often would draw breath.
Soon, however, Pinkie Pie's delighted snicker began to decrease in its pitch, eventually becoming a more sinister and malevolent chuckle. Applejack and Rainbow Dash immediately recognised the voice, and the pair of them found themselves to be reluctant to wake her up.
Suddenly, without any warning, Pinkie Pie's mischievous laughter erupted with a flow of psychotic cackling, taking the pair of witnesses by surprise. Pinkie Pie flipped to her side and fell from the couch onto the carpeted floor, though this hadn't awoken her nor ceased her laughter.
Applejack noticed that Pinkie Pie's face was turning a light shade of blue from her exhaustion, and announced "Okay… I'm waking her up now". Immediately, Applejack leaned down and held Pinkie Pie by her shoulders, screaming "Pinkie Pie! WAKE UP! LOOK AT US!" as he shook her back and forth.
"PAHAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- Hehahaha… heh… ugh… wh-what?"
Pinkie Pie immediately felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her, as she panted heavily from her dry throat. She opened her eyes and attempted to focus on whomever disturbed her, but was unable to focus on them without straining her eyes. Her hearing, in the meantime, was capable of understanding the voice she hear, recognizing it to be Applejack and wheezing "Tired… can't move…".
"Rainbow Dash, get her some water! Quick!" Applejack instructed, the pegasus immediately disappearing into the next room and fetching a pitcher. The moment she returned with Pinkie Pie's salvation, a light in Twilight's bedroom loomed brightly and a shadow emerged along the staircase.
Twilight made her way downstairs and shouted "What is going on down here? What's happened?" before happening upon a terrifying sight. Pinkie Pie chugged down a majority of the pitcher before exhaling deeply, "Tha…. thanks" she muttered between desperate gasps for air.
"What happened to her?!" Twilight asked in surprise, running to Pinkie Pie's side as Applejack held her. Pinkie Pie then pushed free of Applejack's grasp and attempted to stand on her own, only to stumble back into the southerner's embrace. "Good question… What did happen to me?" Pinkie Pie questioned, swooning less than she had upon awakening.
Each of her observers looked at eachother in unison before Rainbow Dash answered "Well, you fell out of bed". The pegasus then held Pinkie Pie and help her back onto the sofa, before continuing "That must've been a pretty rough dream you were having".
Pinkie Pie simply tilted her head in confusion without responding, understandably confused due to her obliviousness to her previous actions. Applejack then added "Yeah, gal. Ya were tossin' and flailin' like some kinda mudfish. Then ya started laughin' up a storm while ya were still asleep. It was really bizarre".
"I was laughing? How in the heck did I do that?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously. "No idea, but it's done now… let's just get back to sleep" Rainbow Dash recommended, hoping to end this conversation before it got any worse. Without another word, the two nodded in agreement and each returned to their own beds.
But now, the only one who couldn't sleep was Rainbow Dash, who was growing increasingly worried of what this peculiar occurrence could mean. Pinkie Pie obviously had a dream about Pinkamena, there was no doubt about this fact; and what could entail from this is no less than unspeakable.
Later that following morning, Pinkie Pie had fully recovered from her ordeal. The same could not be said though for Twilight, who now had to find a way to reconnect the chandelier sturdily to the ceiling.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was sitting on the sofa again, her mind haunted by not only her nightmare, but also by the events of the previous day. Her nightmares had been steadily getting worse throughout the months, and this wasn't the first time she has reacted in this fashion, as she had awoken in a panic from them many times before.
While she considered these occurrences, Spike came to the living room and sat on the opposite sofa, staring at Pinkie Pie in a suspicious fashion all the while. Applejack was busy eating her breakfast when she noticed this and asked "Hey Spike, what's the matter?"
Spike trembled nervously and pointed at Pinkie Pie, answering "She came into my room last night".
Applejack was puzzled by this accusation as much as Pinkie Pie was, who replied "That can't be. I was out here sleeping the whole time". Spike shook his head in denial, "You were sitting at the end of my bed, just… staring at me".
"What?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in confusion, and Spike continued "Yeah, and you were smiling too… it was really creepy". The four pairs of eyes gazed towards Pinkie Pie, who sat in disbelief.
"Spike, are you sure? This is very important!" Twilight questioned, to which Spike answered "Positive it was her. She had a really freaky smile. It was horrifying! I thought she was gonna jump at me or something".
Pinkie Pie was horrified by this discovery, and inevitably assumed that the worst of herself was to blame. Unfortunately, the others had these assumptions as well, as they traded worried glances at one another.
Pinkie Pie simply sighed and resigned herself to the possibilities, grunting "I guess it wasn't as over as we thought it was". She hung her head in defeat and growled furiously towards her own lack of self-control.
"Hey Pinkie Pie! Gals! None of ya know for sure that it was her, do ya?" Applejack objected, before Pinkie Pie interrupted and said "Applejack, it's alright. It had to be me… or Pinkamena". Even the simple act of saying the name spread a cold, piercing chill throughout the house, as everypony became silent from the very mention of the name.
"Sorry, Pinkie Pie. There's only one way to find out".
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie found herself rising into the air, losing all contact with the ground and floating helplessly. Some form of charm had been casted upon her, as discovered by Twilight's horn glowing in a violet hue. Twilight then, much to Pinkie Pie's confusion and eventual protest, carried her up the staircase to the second floor before she stopped at a particular door.
"Twilight!? What are you doing!?" Pinkie Pie babbled in a panic as she was carried against her will through the library. Twilight opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom, and soon released Pinkie Pie and left her standing in the center of the room.
"Twili…" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, before pausing to observe the unicorn whilst she swiftly set about shutting the windows. "No… not enough" she thought to herself before rushing out of the bathroom for a quick moment, before swiftly returning with multiple wooden planks and rapidly boarding the windows up.
"Twilight, what is this all about!?" Pinkie Pie asked her superstitious colleague, the latter halting in her actions to turn and face her colleague. "I'm testing you" she responded quickly before the last plank was positioned and the last nails were hammered.
Twilight then sighed with guilt and instructed "You need to stay in this room for tonight, Pinkie Pie. We'll let you out tomorrow morning. If you're still in here, then we'll know it wasn't Pinkamena. But if you're gone, th-".
Rainbow Dash took this particular opportunity to step inside the bathroom and interrupt Twilight's questionable strategy, questioning it in a most sophisticated manner. "Twilight, have you lost your mind?!" Rainbow Dash questioned angrily. "We have to be sure, Rainbow Dash! It's for our own safety!" Twilight replied in a fit of irrationality.
"And what about hers, eh? Do ya expect her to just sit in here by herself for both a whole day and a whole night?!" Applejack screamed furiously. And then, quite unexpectedly, Pinkie Pie interrupted "NONONO! It's okay…" before settling back into the center of the tiled floor.
"Twilight's right. We have to make sure I'm not gonna… lose… control again…" Pinkie Pie whimpered as she lost herself to her depression once again. As she sobbed pitifully to herself, Twilight assured "Pinkie Pie, I'm so sorry. I really don't wanna do this to you".
"Just shut the door and lock it… before this gets any worse for me" Pinkie Pie demanded, hesitant to get the whole ordeal over and done with. Left without any alternatives, the trio reluctantly obliged this command and shut the door, officially transforming the bathroom into a temporary prison cell.
Twilight walked ahead of the group as they left, as if to escape the piercing glances from her followers. "Twilight, stop!" Applejack commanded, though Twilight ignored this and continued to detach herself from the trio. But such desired were tarnished when Rainbow Dash soared in front of her and held her by her shoulders, hissing "Stop!"
"Trust me! She'll be alright!" Twilight exclaimed plainly, before pushing Rainbow Dash away. "I thought ya said ya'd stop treatin' her like an experiment; and now look where she is!" Applejack retorted. Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but had no rebuttal for this fact, forcing her to concede defeat and sigh deflatedly.
Rainbow Dash shook her head and stepped past Twilight and staggered grudgingly down the staircase, grumbling unintelligibly all the while. Applejack soon followed suit, before stopping to face the unicorn.
"I just hope ya know what ya're doin'!"
Pinkie Pie barely moved a single muscle for the following hours, sitting perfectly still in the center of the room without any intent to alter her position. The hours continued to pass, and still, any alteration of the room, including Pinkie Pie's statuesque stance, had yet to occur.
Eventually, the blackness of night peeked through the pencil thin gaps of the boarded windows, the glittering stars reflecting across the tiled floor. Pinkie Pie soon felt the wrath of fatigue take its toll on her body, as she soon felt her body numbing from a lack of function. She gently slid against the floor and laid on her side before shutting her eyes, knowing that now was the moment of truth.
Time to put Twilight's theory to the test.
The next morning, Twilight was not only eager to check Pinkie Pie's current status, but determined; as she immediately leapt out of bed upon awakening and clumsily rushed down to the bathroom door. Before unlocking it, however, she leaned against the door and listened for any audible evidence of inhabitance.
Hearing nothing but silence, Twilight flung the door open in a panic, and what she found inside as truly astonishing. Pinkie Pie was still asleep, having never moved from the middle of the room. She was curled up in the fetal position, possibly due to her lack of a bed to sleep in, to which Twilight now felt a pang of guilt for never considering to offer one.
This outcome brought a great deal of relief to her over Pinkie Pie's mental health, but conjured a new fear for Pinkie Pie's physical health. From the loud creak of the door reverberating throughout the bathroom, Pinkie Pie soon stirred from her slumber and lifted herself off of the cold tile floor.
"Did… it work?" she muttered sleepily to herself. Before regaining her senses in time, "IT WORKED!" echoed throughout the house from her former captor. Twilight shouted "We've done it, Pinkie Pie! You're still here!" Pinkie Pie simply endured the onslaught of sound as she covered her ears. "Oh… uh, sorry about that, Pinkie Pie. But still, this is really good news" Twilight beamed proudly.
However, as she had complimented herself and Pinkie Pie for this result, Spike suddenly entered the bathroom and objected "Well… yeah, Twilight… This is good and all… but there's still one question we haven't solved yet". All attention was fixed upon him as he questioned "If Pinkie Pie wasn't in my room, then who was?!"
Twilight quivered in surprise, as she had completely disregarded this mystery to make way for her 'test'. But then, Pinkie Pie suddenly grunted in pain as her stomach churned loudly, audible enough to be heard from within this confined space. "Hey Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" Spike asked curiously. "Ugh… that hurt…" she groaned as her gut continued to rebel against her.
By this time, Applejack had entered the room as she Pinkie Pie held her hoof against her stomach. "Ya hungry, Pinkie Pie? We've got pancakes and syrup out in the-" Twilight offered, before Pinkie Pie interrupted "Ack! No way! I'm not hungry… Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick".
"Pinkie Pie, I'll get ya home!" Applejack offered before leading her out of the bathroom and through the front door. Twilight was the last occupant left in the bathroom, who continued to search for an explanation for these peculiar occurrences.
Who was in Spike's Bedroom?
"Hang on a minute!" Twilight grimaced as she came to a realization, "Maybe there wasn't somepony in Spike's room". Twilight tensed as she shouted "Darn it, Spike! It probably could've been a dream the whole time!"
Twilight's face reddened with fury and she began losing her temper. "And I just locked my friend up in a bathroom by herself for a whole day! BECAUSE OF YOU, YOU IDIOT!" Twilight screamed wildly. As her frustration reached its peak, she turned to face the boarded windows, before running to them and heaving on one of the planks in a mindless rage.
Surprisingly, the plank came out of the wall without any resistance, sending Twilight tumbling backwards and ramming the back of her head against the bathroom sink, before collapsing to the floor without restraint. As she sat in a daze, she stared unfocusedly at the window. She observed as the rest of the boards freely fell from the wall, revealing a wide open gap that formerly housed an intact sheet of glass.
The boards had apparently been removed from the wall previously and hastily placed back into their previous positions, and the window was left wide open from the other side. After a few attempts to remedy herself of her injury, unconsciousness eventually claimed Twilight as she passed out on the bathroom tiling.
Meanwhile, Applejack waited outside Pinkie Pie's house, while Pinkie Pie herself sat next to her, remaining sickly from this morning. Rainbow Dash soon found the duo and hurried towards them in a panic, "Pinkie Pie! Are you alright!?"
"Ugghhh… I don't feel good…" she croaked in response. "She was still in the bathroom this mornin'" Applejack informed the pegasus. "Really? She never left?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. "No. Why?" Applejack asked out of curiosity, while Pinkie Pie tried her best to listen to the conversation while tending to her nausea. "Um, well…" Rainbow Dash began.
"The café was broken into last night".
To be continued…