Chapter 5: One, Two, Three's a Crowd
Twilight had returned to the entrance with no sign of Cadence or her friends. The foyer was lit up with candles, brightening the yellow coloring of the entrance's door and the base of the stairs. She had wondered why Cadence would have moved if Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had returned with the candles and lit the area.
'Perhaps they all headed off together to find the Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle?' She thought, as she examined the door.
She took a moment to think of all the spells that might help break this barrier. The earlier panic had drifted from her thoughts. She tried to melt the hinges again but to no avail, her magic could not reach past the mysterious barrier. Teleportation smacked her into the wall of the castle.
'It's like it's a bubble or a dome that fits perfectly to the structure of the castle. Only someone with great magical capabilities could do something like that. The last time I heard of a fitted barrier was in the books of Star Swirl the Bearded at the Castle of the Two Sisters.'
As she headed for the kitchen she tried desperately to figure out how to bring down the cursed barrier. She had forgotten to bring the book down that contained the information for the shield breaker spells, and was unsure if she could bring herself back up past Pinkie.
She turned the corner to the corridor that contained the door to the kitchen. When she did she was met with a roaring fire that burned the entire hallway. Flames rose to the ceiling in an orange inferno. A pony in a black mask and overalls stood in the middle staring at her. The masked pony was untouched, a circle around it clean of any fire as if the entire air was chilled or frozen in time.
Her mouth dropped, horrified and bewildered by the scene she closed her eyes out of freight. When she reopened them the fire and masked pony was gone, the hall remained empty and the only light shun from the kitchen.
"I-I'm losing it." She said, confused and beginning to cry.
She shook her head, "No. No! I'm fine."
Taking a deep breath, she closed then reopened her eyes and continued on. Perhaps wishing she hadn't as she entered the kitchen.
The two fillies still hung from the ceiling, candles lit the room, and the opposing outside door was closed. Red paint had been rubbed all over the cabinets, hiding any lettering that may have once been there.
Twilight stared at the dangling corpses. Tears started to fall from her eyes. She rushed over to them and saw that one of the dirt cocoons had been busted open, showing Sweetie Belle's cold, dimmed face.
Anger started to boil inside of Twilight. She quickly smashed open the other cocoon revealing Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom appeared to have been in more pain with a bloody cut below her eye, mud and dirt fell from her mouth. Not only was she suffocated but choked at the same time.
Taking a step back, Twilight realized that her emotions could not take her over, if she was going to find the culprit she needed to understand all the evidence.
She looked at the fillies cocoons and started to scan the ceiling and floor, finally stumbling across muddy hoof prints. Two sets, one that ended near the counter and the other leading out the door.
"Examining the hoof prints shows two different sized hooves. Both had access to the outside and one mysteriously disappears where the other continues on. Perhaps one pony snuck up on the one at the counter?" She paused. "…Or what if there are two ponies working together?"
The idea sent a shiver down her spine.
'If the killer is one of us, could it also be possible to be two of us?' She knew at that instant, there was no outside culprit. Perhaps there wasn't even just one killer.
She grabbed one of the candlesticks with her wing, wanting to conserve her magic for a pony that deserved it. At that moment she remembered that she sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy off to get candles.
'If there were indeed two murderous ponies on the loose, a duo who was friends much longer than anypony else would definitely work.' The thought turned her face sour. 'What would be their purpose of starting with Spike?'
Twilight took one quick scan of the room, satisfied with all the evidence she obtained she felt ready. She looked one last time at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's dangling corpses.
She backed out of the kitchens double doors, "I'll find who did this and make them pay. I swear it." She rushed off back to the entrance.
As she entered the foyer she could hear the rain hitting the door and windows harder, the storm getting worse. She headed down the other side of the stairs and continued down the corridor she had sent Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. The candlestick lit her way, but not as well as her horn could.
She came to the storage closet and looked inside. All the candles and matches were gone but there was no sign of the two pegasi. She continued to search the hall.
Twilight passed many doors as she came to the steps to the basement, a light could be seen at the bottom next to a pile of books. As she stopped at the top her candle was blown out.
She felt something behind her and quickly turned around, lighting her horn as well.
The pony in the black mask was standing behind her, rubbing a bloody knife against the neck of their shirt - smearing the blood.
Twilight was immediately terrified, letting out a loud scream. She backed up and fell down the steps, dropping her candlestick. Luckily for her the steps were not nearly as tall as the ones leading to her bedroom. She got up and shook her head, then looked up at the top of the steps.
The masked pony's red painted eyes stared down at Twilight, it slowly descended down the steps, still carrying the knife in hoof.
As Twilight looked back up at the masked pony her flight or fight senses took hold. She could not bare to let anyone else get hurt.
Her horn lit up as she let out a magical missile, a powerful blast uncontrolled due to Twilight's anger and desperation. Her emotions running wild.
The blast hit the masked pony, stopping it in its tracks. It tilted its head in wonderment and shook off the blast like it was nothing.
"W-What?! How?!" Twilight yelled at the masked pony.
The masked pony breathed heavily as it continued to make its way down the steps.
Twilight immediately turned around and started running the hardest she had ever ran.
She ran all the way to a second part of the hallway, a crystal door at the end of the passage was open. Several castle banners lined the path. Death, next, and behind you were written on some of the banners in red.
She ran through the open door and slammed it closed.
Looking around the room, she searched for something to barricade the door. Boxes lined the room full of gifts yet to be opened from residents of Equestria congratulating her on her princess-ship and castle.
The boxes came from all over, from Appleloosa to Fillydelphia and Canterlot. All gifts for the princess who defeated Tirek.
Using her horns magic, she shoved several of the boxes against the door. She looked around the room for another opening. The crystalized castle was unfortunately lack in secret doors and hidden pathways.
As she thought on how to escape, a knocking came to the door followed by a slamming. She tried to teleport, but ended the same as when she tried to teleport outside the castle, a slam of her face against a wall.
The masked pony shoved the door open slowly, pushing their masked face through the crack in the door. Its red eyes shown well even in the darkness.
Twilight slammed her body against the boxes to prevent the pony from pushing further in. She concentrated her magic to try and remove the mask. The masked pony pulled its head back to try and prevent its removal. As it pulled back the mask came off, the mysterious pony had pulled their head back behind the crystal door to prevent Twilight from uncovering the truth of who it was.
When the mask came off, Twilight shoved the door closed as the unmasked pony fled.
She let out a short sigh and closed her eyes for a second. She had forgotten she was magically holding the mask. When she opened her eyes the mask was to her face.
As she screamed she threw the mask to the ground.
"Oh… Right." Another sigh of quick relief.
She arose from the ground and lifted the mask for examination. Inside the mask was large enough for a pony with a horn, but contained no specific horn hole. The eye holes were red inside as well, showing that all the pony would see is red. It was a rubbery material, but hard enough to keep its form no matter who wore the mask.
She smelled the inside, a distinct whiff of apples filled her nostrils.
'Apples?' She thought.
Looking around the room she found a purple and yellow knapsack. She threw the mask inside the bag and the bag over her back.
Removing the boxes, she prepared for a fight if the mysterious pony was still there. She threw open the door and pointed her horn, hoping that without its mask it would not be able to resist the bolt again.
Luckily no pony was there.
Cautiously, she lit up the corridor before exiting. A door to her left had been cracked, red light shined very dimly. She peered into the door and saw a pole with the scorched remains of Scootaloo.
She knew it was Scootaloo from the size of the body and the wings. No other distinguishable features were there as the fur and skin had been turned black or simply fallen off the bone.
She quickly shut the door out of abhorrence of the gruesome sight.
Twilight knew it wasn't going to stop until all the ponies were dead, or the killer had been killed. Magic would be useless as an attack, she needed a weapon or an idea.
She quickly turned around and went back into the boxes room, slamming the door shut.
Her mind thought swiftly about what she needed, finding a piece of paper, some ink and a quill. As she found the items amongst the room, she jotted down the entire castle.
"Well, I needed a map of the castle eventually." She said to herself as she mapped the rooms she knew.
As she finished she rolled up the map and tucked it into the knapsack. She opened the door, making sure no one was around, and then closed it. After it was closed she sealed the door shut with her magic, the same magic that was being used to seal her and her friends inside the castle this very night.
'If I check the rooms and then seal the doors, then eventually the killer will be unveiled, or I'll run into my friends.' The thoughts of her plan kept her going as she sealed the door to Scootaloo's corpse.
She noticed that the books surrounding the door had been kicked in all directions.
"Well who would do that to my poor books?" She questioned. "This awful monster dares ruin everything and everypony I love."
As she worked on the door she had wondered what personal vendetta she had caused for this all to have happened.
Twilight stopped and thought about her plan for a second as she finished the seal on the door and moved onto the opposing crystal door across from the book pile.
'I can seal the murderer in a room with this spell. If I can't break their magical barrier, there is no way they'll be able to break mine.'
The thought in her plan came together, 'I'll kill it, I'll seal it, or I'll die.'
She nodded to herself, knowing full well what may become of her if she fails.
She awoke in a haze. The head of her mane being pulled as she was dragged, Fluttershy finally opened her eyes to the sight of the masked pony.
Whoever this pony was had a lot of strength in order to drag Fluttershy by her hair, as she was moved up to the second floor and inside the bathing area.
Fluttershy tried to move her legs, but they were bound together by rope. A second rope was wrapped around her body and neck but did not seem to restrain Fluttershy.
She looked around the bath as she tried to figure out where she was in her disorientation.
The bathing room was the size of a pool, it was meant for many ponies such as the main six to enjoy and relax, while Twilight had a personal bathroom up near her room. It was much like a spa area, and tonight had a seemingly romantic setting. Candles lit the area and a sweet serenade played from the record player, which was clearly moved from the dance hall.
The water area itself was in the middle of the room, a set of four steps could be used to get in and out of the water. This allowed any pony to completely submerge themselves while others could enjoy just their hooves or lower halves in the water.
As of that time there was no water to be found, and Fluttershy soon felt that as the masked pony dragged her down the steps into the bath, hitting her head on every step.
An "ow" could be heard for every hit. The masked pony dragged her to the middle and then looked at her.
"W-what are y-you gonna d-do with me?" Fluttershy asked her captor, struggling in the ropes that bind her.
"Heh, heh, heh." A dark deep voice came from the mask. "Do you like swimming, Fluttershy?"
The masked pony spoke in a strange tone that resembled a voice changer.
She had heard the voice before, it was almost her voice when touched by the poison joke plant.
Fluttershy stared at the masked pony in horror, trying to comprehend their question as she started to tear up.
"What's the matter Fluttershy? Do you like my voice? I, misplaced, my other mask. I like this one more, it allows me to speak to you before you… succumb. It's so much easier to breathe too."
The voice sent spears of anguish into Fluttershy's heart. She began to cry hysterically.
"W-why are you doing this to m-m-me?" She said as she closed her teary eyes, pressing her face against the floor.
The masked pony did not answer. It walked away and pushed three small boulders into the spa one at a time. The boulders were about the size of Fluttershy's head, easily comparable in size as they were shoved next to her.
Fluttershy nervously looked at each of the boulders behind her back and in front of her. The masked pony took the rope that was tied around Fluttershy's neck and tied it to two of the boulders. The remaining boulder was tied directly to her back and around her stomach so that she couldn't move her body very well, only her neck.
"Ple- please!' She whimpered.
"You've been a very bad girl Fluttershy." The dark voice said. The masked pony walked over to some towels that sat on a purple cushioned bench outside the bath. The towels were white with gold trimming, a gift from Rarity or perhaps for herself whenever she visited Twilight. The pony shoved the towels into each of the drains, preventing the water from escaping the pool.
"Listen, whatever I've done I'm s-sorry! Just please, don't!" She cried and begged to her captor. She laid her head onto one of the boulders that tied to her neck for fear of what she knew would come next.
Another chuckle came from the mask.
"You will be sorry Fluttershy, but don't worry. I'll wash away your sins." It said as it walked out of the pool.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" She cried and protested, wiggling her body as hard as she could.
The masked pony turned on the faucet, letting the raging water flow into the bath. The water would take some time before it would ever fully cover Fluttershy or flood the room.
She screamed and yelled, panicking and squirming. "Please, stop!"
"Ok." The masked pony said as the water was turned off.
"W-what? Real-really?" Fluttershy asked in panted breaths.
"No." They replied as they turned back on the water, followed by a truly blood curdling laugh – one that could strike fear in even the eldest of ponies.
Fluttershy screamed in terror, calling for help.
The masked pony filled a metal bucket from the raging faucet, and carried it over to Fluttershy.
"Hey Fluttershy, what's soaking wet and clueless?" The murderous pony asked.
"N-n-no no no!"
"Your face." The pony finished the question for Fluttershy as it poured the water onto her, smashing the bucket over her head. After the bucket was placed on her head, a quick kick to the bucket from the evil pony knocked her out cold once again.
"Now now, you be a quiet Fluttershy. At least until it fills up nice and full, then you can scream all you want. If you'll be able to." The voice said companied with a shallow laugh.
The masked pony threw the bucket to the side, as it returned to the faucet, making sure the water on full blast.
The masked pony exited the room, making sure the door was closed behind them.