Doctor Whooves: Night of the ShadowFright

Morning in Ponyville shimmered and shined, as Ditzy Doo opened the window to the second story apartment she rented with her daughter. The blonde pegasus took a deep breath of morning air and sighed contentedly, flapping her grey wings in anticipation of a brand new day. She just loved the morning; the crisp morning air, the sight of sunrise, and the feeling of newness and promise that always came with it. But today seemed extra special; she knew for absolute certain that some thing wonderful was going to happen today.

Ditzy fluttered past the still sleeping form of her little unicorn filly, Dinky Doo, in the bed next to hers, careful not to disturb her, and promptly crashed into the wall. Her depth perception had always been a bit out of whack and this, combined with her distracted nature, often led to accidents such as this. Dazed but otherwise unhurt, Ditzy shook it off, and glanced at her daughter, who merely murmured and rolled over sleepily. Dizty giggled lightly at her own clumsiness and carefully flapped through the door, humming a happy tune to herself. Upon reaching the downstairs kitchen, she was greeted by her friend and landlady Carrot Top, the morning paper under her foreleg, curlers in her auburn mane, and a batch of coffee percolating.

"Well," greeted Carrot Top gruffly, pouring herself a fresh cuppa. "You're bubbly as ever this morning." She wasn't a morning pony. "Somethin' good goin' on?"

"Just have a good feeling about today, that's all," Ditzy grinned as she trotted to the pantry to get a bowl and muffin ingredients. She always woke Dinky up for school with a fresh batch of muffins.

"Let's see, she muttered to herself. "Eggs, milk, salt, hay-seeds, oats..."

Carrot tuned her out as she sat down at the table, opened the morning edition of Equestria Daily and gulped down her coffee with a grimace. She absently skimmed through the front page headline, set the comics section aside for Dinky when she woke up, attentively studied the gossip column, snorted at the proposed weather schedule for the week, and skipped the sports page altogether. Her green eyes went wide when she reached the local news section and saw the headline.  "Oh my heavens!"

"Something wrong?" asked Ditzy, as she mixed the ingredients in her bowl.

"Filthy Rich's little girl's gone missin'!"

"How awful," replied Ditzy, carefully pouring the batter in a muffin tray just as the oven finished preheating. "I think she's in Dinky's class."

"It says here, she's disappeared along with two other foals and the last pony to see them was little Silver Spoon."

Ditzy set the timer on the oven and somberly sat down next to Carrot Top. "Poor little filly," she said sadly. Then she brightened. "Well, I'm sure they're all right. They'll turn up eventually."

"How can you still be so chipper?" her friend demanded. "Ain't you the least bit concerned?"

"Well of course I am, silly," said Ditzy plainly. "But I believe in maintaining a positive attitude, no matter what the circumstances. Sure I feel bad for those foals, and their poor worried parents, but, moaning and crying won't help them any. Is anything being done?"

"Well," Carrot flipped through the pages. "It says here that Filthy Rich has offered a reward, and the Apples are organizin' a search party..."

"There you are then," Ditzy grinned. "With Applejack on the job, those foals are as good as found."

"Ditzy," declared Carrot Top gravely. "You of all ponies should be taking this more seriously. Suppose somepony - or something - is out there snatchin' kids. Suppose it nabs one of us next? Or Dinky?"

Ditzy's jovial smile vanished at the thought of her daughter in danger, and her golden eyes took on a dangerous sheen. "I won't let that happen," she gritted her teeth resolutely. "Not to my Muffin!"

"Oh, I'm sorry Ditz," Carrot spoke gently, folding up the newspaper. It's just that I worry about you two. I know it's been a struggle ever since what happened to Fixit..." she trailed off, knowing that she was broaching a dangerous topic. Ditzy hung her head.

An uncomfortable silence stretched on until the house was filled with the smell of baking muffins.

"I smell muffins!" cried little Dinky Doo as she happily trotted down the steps. "'Mornin' Mama!"

"Good morning Muffin!" Ditzy smiled warmly as she enveloped her filly in her wings and rubbed muzzles with her beloved daughter. "And how's mommy's little trotter doing today?"

"Cut it out Mama," Dinky protested, halfheartedly suppressing a grin. "I'm not a baby. 'Morning Auntie Carrot!"

Carrot smiled, hastily hiding the distressing headline. A sweet little filly like Dinky didn't need to see such things. "'Mornin' yourself, kiddo. You want me to read you the Sillies?"

"I can read 'em on my own Auntie," said Dinky proudly puffing out her chest before shyly adding, "But, you can read 'em with me if you want to."

"Well, you drive a hard bargain kiddo, but you've got yourself a deal."

As Dinky read the comics with Carrot Top helping her with the more difficult words, Ditzy sighed and looked out the window. The morning that had seemed so magical before was now marred by the news of Diamond Tiara's disappearance. Though she tried to show a brave face, she was terrified that something might happen to her daughter. She couldn't bear it if she lost her too...

"Mama? Mama!"

"Hmm?" Ditzy shook herself from her reverie and noticed that the kitchen was full of smoke.

"Ditz, your muffins are burning!"

After an extra-crispy breakfast, Dinky retrieved her saddlebag and declared, "Well, I'm off to school. Bye Mama, bye Auntie Carrot."

"Wait up Muffin," called Ditzy hastily donning her mailbag and fluttering after her foal. "Why don't I fly you to school today?"

"Oh," said Dinky hesitantly. "That's okay Mama. I can get there on my own."

"Nonsense," said Ditzy. "A mother should fly her filly to school every once and a while. Gives me a chance to show off my mane girl to all my home-mares...um...yo."

Dinky rolled her eyes at her mother's atrocious grasp of modern slang. "B-but the post office is on the other side of town," the little filly reminded her mother, with mounting desperation. "You don't want to be late. Again."

Ditzy smiled in that argument invalidating way. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I'm sure Mr. Delivery will understand when I tell him my little trotter needed a lift to school."

"But-but-but-" the little unicorn strained to find an excuse - any excuse - that would both spare her mother's feelings and get her off her back, but, alas, nothing came to her. Finally the grey pegasus had had enough, "Dinky Doo," she spoke in that authoritative voice that all mother's seem to possess that would brook no argument. "I am flying you to school today and that is final." She stamped her hoof conclusively, declaring the subject closed.

Dinky hung her head in defeat, "Yes Mama."

"Good," said Ditzy, once again all smiles. "Come along Muffin, we don't want to be late.:

Carrot Top watched her friend kneel down outside the door so her dejected daughter could scramble upon her shoulders, and then, once she was settled, lift off towards the schoolhouse in an awkward, lopsided glide, resulting in a bizarre, zigzagging flight pattern, poor Dinky hanging on to dear life. With a resigned shake of her head, Carrot Top muttered into her coffee, "I don't foresee this ending well."

* * *

The schoolyard was filled with foals, and, much to the chagrin of most of the older children, the parents who escorted them. In response to the morning headline, many concerned parents opted to personally see their sons and daughters safely to school, eliciting moans of embarrassment from the foals.

Applebloom, for her part, was thrilled to be driven to school by her older brother Big Macintosh. The quiet stallion was something of a local hero, almost as much as their sister Applejack, and the little farm filly was just ecstatic to be showing him off to her schoolmates.

"Thanks fer th' ride Big Mac," said Applebloom, hopping of her brother's cart.

"Eeyup," rumbled Big Mac with an affectionate wink to his little sister. Apple Bloom smugly noted the other fillies - and more than a few of their mothers - swooning.

"And thanks for letting me ride with you," piped up Sweetie Belle, bouncing after her friend. "Otherwise, my sister might've insisted on an armed escort."

"Aw, c'mon Sweetie Belle," said Applebloom, rolling her eyes. "Nopony's that over...pro...tect...ive..."

The buttercream filly trailed off as she noticed an orange pegasus filly with a bright magenta mane despondently walking her scooter towards them. Scootaloo came to a halt by Big Mac's cart. Three sets of eyes stared at her agog, and three mouths hung open. The grain stem Big Mac was chewing dropped to the ground.

Scootaloo stood before them, with her usual safety gear; a helmet and kneepads, but she also had a pair of thick, fluffy pillows tied to her front and rear with caution tape, and a flashing yellow light had been fastened atop her helmet. She glared at her friends, daring them to comment.

"Scoots," greeted Sweetie Belle after the silence stretched uncomfortably long. "You...uh...you...erm...

Scootaloo's glare darkened.

"I really like your mane..." Sweetie finished lamely.

Applebloom placed a sympathetic hoof on the little pegasus' heavily cushioned shoulder.  "Yer ma made ya wear pillows and an emergency light to school?"

"No," gritted Scootaloo, baring her teeth at a pair of snickering colts. "I had to talk her down to pillows and a light. She wanted to add a siren and floaters to the ensemble."

"Floaters?" asked Sweetie Belle before Applebloom could shush her.

"Don't ask why!" shouted Scootaloo. "My crazy mom's completely paranoid! She actually walked me to school with her megaphone telling everypony to 'make a hole!' 'School-bound filly comin' through!' and, of course, 'move along'!"

"Have a good day a school sweetheart!" called a departing earth-pony mare through a megaphone from across the street.  She had similar coloring to Scootaloo with her magenta mane tied back into a prim bun and a stop sign cutie mark.

Scootaloo smiled weakly and waved back. "Sure thing mother," before turning back to her friends and facehoofing, "Ugh! It's so embarrassing having the safety inspector for a mom!"

"Now, don't be too hard on yer ma," rumbled Big Mac, trying his darnedest not to grin. "She's just worried 'bout you is all."

The aspiring daredevil snorted. "Easy for you to say. My Wings are pinned under these stupid things, I can't even ride my scooter without wobbling all over the place! I just hope Rainbow Dash doesn't see me like this, I'd just die! The humiliation would kill me! I have the most embarrassing mom in all of Ponyville - no, in all of Equestria!"

Applebloom winced and looked towards her brother, who just smiled and shook his head sadly. Applebloom was too young to remember their parents, but Big Macintosh and Applejack still acutely felt the void their passing had left. If Applejack her here instead of busy rounding up some volunteers, she'd probably give Scoots a stern talking-to about minding her mother, but Big Mac was too considerate and obliging in nature for that.

"Seriously," griped Scootaloo, tearing the pillows off with a disgusted snort, "Can anypony's parents be more embarrassing than mine?"

"LOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUTLOOKOUT!"

As if on cue, a grey blur whooshed out of the sky, pirouetted around the surrounding trees, spun around the merry-go-round, catapulted off the teeter-totter, zipped up the slide, made several mid-air loop-de-loops and, finally, collided with the school bell. A loud bong! echoed throughout the schoolyard as a pair of grey shapes tumbled unceremoniously on the school steps. Ditzy landed first, cushioned by her trusty mailbag, with Dinky landing onto her stomach, saddlebags and all, knocking the wind out of her mother with a whoof! Books and papers were scattered everywhere. They both trembled from the vibrations of the bell, their eyes rolling comically.

They whole assemblage of foals laughed uproariously at the spectacle while the assorted parents shook their heads and clicked their tongues. Dinky recovered from the fall first and, after taking stock of her surroundings and surmising the object of the crowd's ridicule, she buried her face in her hooves.

"I didn't expect to get an answer so quickly," muttered Scootalo before receiving an elbow jab from Applebloom. Big Mac, ever the gentlecolt, went to help the disoriented mailmare to her hooves as her daughter scrambled to gather up her lost supplies.

"Sorry," slurred Ditzy, smiling awkwardly at the red stallion with a cross-eyed expression.

"Eeyup," came the standard response, as Big Macintosh recovered her mailbag, which she gratefully took after shaking herself to make her eyes stop spinning.

"Sorry everypony," the blonde pegasus plaintively repeated to the gathered parents and foals. "My bad."

Dinky desperately gathered up her supplies and stuffed them in her saddlebag, hot tears trickling down her burning cheeks as she dashed inside the schoolhouse, brushing pashed Ms. Cheerilee who had opened the doors to investigate the commotion.

"Muffin?" Ditzy called after her daughter. Dinky didn't even glance backwards as the school bell rang to signal the start of class and all the colts and fillies filed into the schoolhouse to begin another day of learning. Big Macintosh gave the mailmare a sympathetic nod before he went to retrieve his cart. Applebloom and her friends gave her worried glances before following the others inside. The parents and guardians whispered amongst themselves as they too left the schoolyard.

Ditzy hung her head sadly as she flapped her wings and took off, taking no notice of the strange blue box by the white fence surrounding the school that had not been there yesterday. The morning that had been so promising seemed so far away now, and the worlds seemed a far less friendly place to be.

"I just don't know what went wrong," she whispered.

* * *

"Fifty-five million years ago, Equestria was a very different place," Cheerilee explained, turning the slide on the projector to depict the image of a vast prehistoric jungle, a smoking volcano looming in the distance, and a winged reptile gliding through the air. "Fossil evidence suggests that our ancestors were much smaller and quicker in order to avoid being gobbled up by the predators that ruled over our lands in those times. In fact, according to paleontological theory..."

Dinky, couldn't focus. Ordinarily she would have been fascinated by Ms. Cheerilee's lecture, but the morning's spectacle still hung over her like a shroud. Most of the other children already found her peculiar. Most fillies her age were concerned with what kind of cutie mark they would have, Dinky was eagerly awaiting the latest Daring Do book. While other girls squeed for the release the newest Sapphire Shores' album, Dinky preferred the classic works of Ludwig von Beathooven. While colts and fillies gasped at the scandalous gossip surrounding Wonderbolt Soarin' Skies and his alleged use of horsepower performance enhancers before flight competitions, Dinky was more or less indifferent to such things, opting to read up on the latest astronomical findings from the Hover Telescope instead. While other kids collected stamps, trading cards, or graphic novels, Dinky collected insects, spores, molds, and fungus. While most foals engaged in sports and other such social activities, Dinky generally found herself on the sidelines watching the others play with a sense of longing.

It wasn't that she was unfriendly, just the opposite. She wanted friends, she wanted to fit in, but she would always do or say something strange that would cause the other foals to ridicule her or ignore her entirely. They just didn't understand her, and frankly she didn't really understand them. She just wasn't certain how to go about making friends. As much as she loved her mother, her many accidents had given her a reputation that blanketed everything she associated with, including Dinky, and fillies like Diamond Tiara and her ilk didn't make things any easier...

"So," whispered Sweetie Belle from the desk in front of Dinky. "Anyone else notice that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon haven't come in today?"

Scootaloo snorted. "Do we care?"

"I heard Tiara's gone missin'," whispered Applebloom.

"For real?" hissed Sweetie Belle.

"Yup," the little farm filly crossed her forelegs over her chest, quite enjoying being the one in the know for a change. "My sister's been up since the crack of dawn rounding up a posse to go search for her."

"Is that why all the grownups are freakin' out?" Scootaloo asked.

"You don't think anything...bad happened to her," inquired Sweetie Belle hesitantly. "Do you."

"From what I've heard, Silver Spoon was the last one to see her," continued Applebloom. "And she ain't said a word since some pony saw her barreling down from that old house on the hill the other night."

"Ravensmane?"

The three fillies turned in their seats to look at her before Dinky realized she had said that aloud.

"Dinky Doo," said Ms. Cheerilee gently, but firmly. "You must remain quiet and attentive during my class. If you have something you wish to say, raise your hoof."

"Yes ma'am," Dinky blushed. "Sorry ma'am."

"Now, as I was saying, recent archaeological discoveries support the theory that the ruins of Llama Picchu were actually built by a civilization that predates pony-kind by..."

"You know about that mega-creepo house?" demanded Scootaloo, her tiny wings fluttering with excitement. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were also regarding her curiously.

Dinky was taken aback by the sudden attention. "Um...well, I was going to do a report on it for our Ponyville History assignment about a month ago, but asking about it just seemed to make everypony uncomfortable, so I just did it on Sugar Cube Corner..." The grey unicorn gave an involuntary shudder as she remembered the ordeal of interviewing Pinkie Pie. As much as she liked the bubbly pink pony, she had the attention span of a humming bird who had just discovered the power of Auntie Carrot's coffee.

"But, you've actually been up there," the little pegasus pressed. "At the house?"

"Well, yes," Dinky sighed, dropping her gaze. She didn't like thinking about how she went to Ravensmane and who she felt as though the windows were watching her, or how closely the front doors resembled a hungry mouth. "But I never went...inside."

"Do you think maybe it's...haunted?" gulped Sweetie Belle.

"Don't be silly," scoffed Applebloom. "Ain't no such things as ghosts."

"Maybe not," said Scootaloo, a sly gleam coming into her eye. "But maybe we should, investigate, just to be sure."

"Sure to get our cutie marks!" chimed in Applebloom.

"What?" asked Dinky.

"If we go to the house with recording equipment, we could prove that Ravensmane's haunted," Scootaloo grinned.

"And when it turns out it ain't haunted," interjected Applebloom. "'Cause there's no such thing as ghosts, we could still sell the video and make a fortune."

"You're not saying..." began Sweetie Belle before her two friends cheered in unison, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS! YAY!"

"Girls," groaned Cheerilee. "What did I say about cheering in class?"

"Sorry Ms. Cheerilee," murmured Scootaloo and Applebloom amid the giggles of the rest of the children.

"Now, where were we? Oh, yes, the Silurians..."

"Say, Dinky," whispered Applebloom. "Wanna come with?"

"Who?" squeaked Dinky. "Me?"

"We could use another camera-mare," said Scootaloo.

"I-I don't..."

"Pleeeease?" begged Sweetie Belle, batting her eyelashes and pouting in a manner that would have impressed even Rarity.

"I-I-I-"

"Great," smiled Applebloom. "Now that we got that settled, meet us at our tree house tomorrow morning."

Dinky blinked and spent the rest of the day, wondering just what the hay just happened.

* * *

Express Delivery, the postmaster of the Ponyville Branch of the Post Office, glared at his pocket watch and then at his employee.

"Late again Ms. Doo," he growled.

"I know," sighed Ditzy. "I'm sorry."

"That's the second time this week," Mr. Delivery snorted and began pacing. He was a teal colored pegasus with a salt and pepper mane and, as one would expect, an envelope cutie mark. "I understand the difficulties of a mare in your situation raising a child, especially with the this morning's troubling news," sighed Ditzy's employer. "But the Post must be delivered on schedule. A schedule which is carefully planned out from week to week as well as each route assigned to each postpony for optimum efficiency. When one shows up late, the schedule is thrown into chaos and the other carriers have to make up the difference. Do you understand?"

Ditzy nodded numbly.

"Fortunately," sighed the postmaster, rubbing his temples. "Events have conspired to grant you a chance to redeem yourself. Post Haste has called in sick with the flu, you'll have to run his route today in addition to yours."

"Yes sir," said Ditzy, perking up at the prospect of being useful, and saluting smartly.

"Also," continued Mr. Delivery, who was impervious to perkiness. "I'll need you in the sorting room tonight."

Ditzy deflated. "But I thought Zippy was on sorting duty."

"He was," groaned the postmaster, opening a bottle of aspirin. "But he showed up to work without his prescription glasses. It seems they had been shattered."

Ditzy required no further explanation. Without his thick coke-bottle glasses, the aging mail stallion was as blind as a bat. This generally wouldn't be an issue, except he hated the spectacles with a passion. He said they made him look old. And when his coworkers began to insist he wear them with varying degrees of politeness, he began to "lose" them. He had been reassigned to the sorting room in light of the...incident...at Fluttershy's cottage, but even there a Zippy with impaired vision was a danger to himself and everypony around him.

"I put him on sick leave until he gets them repaired," said Mr. Delivery, gulping down several tablets.

"B-but I have to pick up Dinky from school..." protested Ditzy.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to make other arrangements."

"B-but..."

"That will be all Ms. Doo."

* * *

Ditzy rubbed her eyes as she placed the last envelope in its slot in the sorting room.

What a day!

From the moment she woke up it was just one thing going wrong after another. She embarrassed her daughter in front of her classmates, she was late again, and she couldn't even get away long enough to pick Dinky up from school. Luckily, Carrot Top was on Post Haste's route, so she was able to ask her to pick up Dinky and tell her not to wait up for her at dinner.

In a way she was rather relieved. Dinky was likely mad at her. Ditzy had just wanted to be sure her daughter had gotten to school safely and surely there was nothing wrong with that. Dinky was a bright young filly who did very well in her studies. Her mother proudly displayed her report cards on the refrigerator door, but while she maintained a cheerful and upbeat attitude at home, Ditzy was painfully away that it was just a show she put on for her benefit. Dinky was special; clever, curious, and sweet. She was also different, and had a lot of trouble relating to other foals her age which Ditzy knew from first-hoof experience, made life hard. What hurt her most was not just her inability to protect her child from the petty cruelties of the world, but that Dinky felt that she had to hide her sorrows from her, her own mother.

If only Dinky's father were still...

She paused in her musings.

Did she just hear something?

She looked around but as far as she could tell, she was the only pony in the post office. The other mailponies and Mr. Delivery had left an hour ago. Only her and the light bulb hanging from the sorting room ceiling.

"I'm just tired, that's all," Ditzy muttered to herself. "Just hearing things."

Moments later she "heard things" again. A sound like dead leaves. Ditzy looked about her frantically, a growing sense of dread clawing at her chest. The darkened corners of the mailroom seemed to be growing. The shadows behind the stacks of packages and parcels appeared to be reaching for her. Ditzy's breath fogged in the air that was growing colder by the second.

The light bulb flickered and went dead.

A black formlessness loomed over Ditzy, studying her with cold purple eyes.

The pegasus stood transfixed, unable to flee, unable to look away, unable to even scream.

The dark creature reached for her then recoiled as a buzzing whine filled the air and the sorting room was bathed in a soft blue glow.

A stallion appeared next to Ditzy, holding a strange device directed at the horror in the darkness. Their eyes met and he grinned.

"Hello," he greeted brightly. "I'm the Doctor. And you should run."