Alone in the Dark

by Silent Bob

Rating: teen
Tags: Sad, Other, Original Character, Pinkie Pie, Crossover, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Pie Sisters
Length: 5201

On the night before Nightmare Night, Pinkie's week long visit to her sisters, Inkie and Blinkie, outside of Nowhere, Equestria, is nearing a close. Now, if only she can make it through Nightmare Night... Nowhere's uninvited premium holiday.

On the night before Nightmare Night, Pinkie's week long visit to her sisters, Inkie and Blinkie, outside of Nowhere, Equestria is nearing a close. With their parents out of town, they have the farmhouse all to themselves, and Pinkie is ready for an epic farewell party. Yet at this time every year, spooky things tend to happen in Nowhere... when the fog rolls high in the eventide.

And is this the only reason Pinkie's sisters wish her to leave early?

~Meant to be spooky, not gross and gore-filled. No, you don't need to know anything about Courage the Cowardly Dog to enjoy this. Come yonder! Any 'crossover' characters are ponified - as in - having existed in Equestria since birth.

Recommended Listening: Dear Esther - The Whole God Damned Soundtrack

Error checked by mah numbah one hombre, -TGM-.

Published 2013-10-02 22:10:03 UTC
Last updated 2013-10-02 22:10:03 UTC

Chapter I - Nowhere

Alone in the Dark

By Silent Bob

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...

CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP! CO-CLOP....

Under a high moon and within a light fog, Pinkie Pie trotted merrily down a darkened forest path - as jubilant as if it were a sunny day. Attached to her sides were two saddle bags - filled with groceries and various small, party-related accessories. Eventually, she came to a fork in the path, with two, ancient-looking wooden signs marking the ways.

Ponyville to the left.

Pie Mineral Farms to the right. The path not taken.

For once, she chose the path to the right - and felt all the better for it.

She continued to trot, not even unnerved by the forest's unusual dead silence. All that could be heard came from a stretch of willow trees bordering her family farm's - a ghostly wind that blew through them. This time, she paused, her ear perking in curiosity.

"Hmmm..."

A memory triggered - her mind briefly flashed to the past.

"But father - I could have sworn I had sworn I had heard someone..." she had once said.

Her father merely chuckled. "It's just the wind, Pinkie - nothing more..."

Yet still - it seemed that every year around this time, the night before Nightmare Night, the 'wind' grew a voice through those trees.

"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

She paused, continuing to listen.

...

"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

...

Eventually, Pinkie shrugged at this, before giggling. "Hiiii there, willow trees! Is that your own language? Oooo - can you teach me tree-talk! What's your word for hello?!"

"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus..."

"Huh..." Pinkie blinked. "I guess you're busy." She then beamed at them. "That's alright! I'll come back later! Try not to have too much tree fun without me, ok!? Doo di doo di doo... I'm a tree and that's good enough for me..."

And so she trotted through the thicket and onto the barren fields of her family's farm.

...

"...Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

Weaving through scattered cracked and broken rocks, Pinkie neared a small, two-story farm-house in the distance. There was an organization to the chaos of her farm, however, as Inkie seemed set on labeling every single rock with one note or another.

Bloodstone - very valuable! A splintering potion would work well on this... we'll need to soften it slightly before harvest.

Mithrill - yes, that's right! Mithrill! I guess there were additional deposits, after all. Found in the lower mines. Do not add any growth catalyst - it will cause it to become too stiff for any blacksmith to work with.

Gold. Straight gold. Magical lay-lines should help with the purification and growth of this without any intervention. Coagulating multiple stones together should help produce further growth.

Pinkie cocked her head at the word 'Coagulating.'

'I should ask her what that means later! Coagulate! Why is that word so fun to say - er, think? Coagulate! Coagulate! Coagulemananate! Hehehe!'

At the end of that thought, she had reached the front door to the farm house, grinning as she flung it open.

"SURPRISE!.!.!" she shouted.

The darkness failed to answer her.

"H-Huh?" Pinkie blinked, glancing the darkened lobby area. "Inkie? Blinkie? Where are you two?!"

At that, she thought for a second, before her eyes widened.

"Oooo! Did you two somehow know I wasn't leaving and you're throwing a surprise party for me!? Is that it?! Is it?! Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!?"

She took a deep breath after that.

'I really shouldn't be eating so much sugar... my lungs can barely keep up with my words. Silly lungs.'

"Well...?!" Pinkie continued.

...

"P-Pinkie?!" a voice gulped from behind her.

Pinkie twirled about, grinning in glee at the sight of her two sisters - standing behind her in the open fields.

"Ooooh! There you two are!" Pinkie squealed. "Were we playing hide and seek? Cus I didn't see you two at all!"

At that, she galloped towards them, and leaned in for a hug...

"EEP!"

Her fur nearly leaped upward at the feel of them. They were unusually cold - frozen, almost.

Still - Pinkie didn't give it another thought.

"Woah! You two are popsicle pies! Were you out in the cold for a long time?!"

The two glanced at each other oddly, before giving her two, sad smiles.

"Erm - yes," Blinkie coughed. "There were a few stray rocks on the left field we wanted to gather up!"

"To make dad happy," Inkie quickly beamed.

"But, Pinkie..." Blinkie said slowly, as the former released her from her tight hug. "What are you still doing here? I thought you were going home for Nightmare Night?"

Pinkie winked. "Well, duhhhhh - isn't it obvious?! I decided to spend some time with my family instead of mah hoes! I honestly don't spend enough with you... and since Ponyville is a half-days trot away..."

The two glanced at her oddly, Blinkie with a bemused look on her face.

"It's an expression," Pinkie said blankly, before her cheerful smile returned. "I picked it up from this mare, Vinyl Scratch! You would love her Blinkie, seriously!"

"I suppose," she said, smiling weakly again.

"B-But," Inkie gulped, glancing about in a strange, paranoid way. "Y-You've had like... twelve Nightmare Nights with us - and you've only known your friends for like two years, right? W-Why don't you want to spend time with them?"

"Cus we haven't had Nightmare Night together in like forever and a day!" Pinkie chirped, before glancing at her saddle-bags. "Come onnnn.... I know you don't want to keep me here, but I want to stay! I got all this stuff for a super-awesome Nightmare Night extravaganza!"

"Er, Pinkie," Blinkie coughed. "We don't know that many ponies around here who celebrate Nightmare Night. Most of Nowhere is filled with old people."

"THEN PARTY IN THE RETIREMENT HOME!" Pinkie roared, before giggling slightly. "Na - just kidding. But still - the three of us can still party! All we need is our best friends Twelve-Pack Hard Cider and Reckie the Record Player!"

...

Blinkie and Inkie glanced away from her.

"Um..."

"Well...

"WORK!" the two shouted in unison.

Inkie nodded rapidly. "There's a lot of work to be done tomorrow! Um - I still have a lot of labeling to do!"

"Yeah, don't want dad to get mad at us - hehe," Blinkie chuckled nervously.

Pinkie quirked her head, before gazing at the two suspiciously. "But... I helped you get all your work done this week. And I know what your work quota is..."

"Well..."

"Hmmm..."

"It wasn't... enough... work?" they said in unison.

Suddenly, to the look of Inkie and Blinkie's regret, her eyes began to shimmer with tears. "D-Do you two not want me around anymore?! W-Was it something I said?! A-Are you worried about Courage getting too scared or something? Cus - I could cut back on the shouting! Really! And-"

She took a deep breath, before nodding slowly.

"It doesn't matter... I shouldn't be a burden on you two," she sighed.

At that, she began to slowly, sorrowfully turn, then trot around them and towards the line of willow trees...

"I'll just - get out of your manes..."

...

Inkie and Blinkie glanced at each other, biting their lips in shame, before glancing back at Pinkie.

"Pinkie, wait!" Inkie called.

She paused, but did not look at them. "Huh?"

At that, Blinkie galloped to her side, nuzzling her with a bone-cold stout. "Of course we want you to stay with us! We just didn't want to feel like we were keeping you here... your friends are probably a lot more fun than us..."

At that, Pinkie turned to her, a look of utter incredulity locked on her face.

"H-How could you think that?! You're my sisters!" she cried. "You helped me learn the meaning of fun! I mean - I love my friends to death, but family is family!"

Inkie trotted up to her as well, her eye that wasn't hidden behind her mane glancing at her shyly. "Y-You really mean it?"

Pinkie smiled down at her warmly. "Of course. I would love you even if you were the most boring boringer on the planet Borington!"

Inkie glanced away from her, closing her eyes. "B-But... what if we were something else?"

Pinkie glanced at her oddly. "Huh?"

"Nothing..." she sighed.

"Er - well - alright, alright!" Blinkie said, forcing a chuckle. "Now that we've got that settled, let's get ready to rock the house with one of your famous parties tomorrow!" She then took a deep breath, and gave her best impression of an evil laugh. "BUAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was actually quite good.

"Yeeeeeeah baby!" Pinkie grinned, and began galloping towards the farm-house.

However, Inkie and Blinkie lagged behind, glancing at each other worriedly.

"Inkie..."

"Y-Yeah?"

"How are we going to-"

She shook her head. "I-I don't know... we could barely keep it together last year... and this year... I-I just feel like... it's growing stronger. Still - we have to keep our heads - and bodies - straight. For Pinkie."

Blinkie took a deep breath. "Well - this was bound to come up, anyway, I suppose. We're just lucky mother and father aren't home. But why is it like this every Nightmare Night?! Could it have something to do with..."

Inkie opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, though she was interrupted by a gust of wind...

"...Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

The two slowly turned about, glancing at the line of willow trees with pondering eyes.

... And for a brief second, unbeknowingst to them, those same eyes flashed a pure white.

"Couuuraggge!" Pinkie called, bouncing about the farm house. "Courage?! Where are ya, silly?" she giggled, before walking towards the door to the cellar and swinging it open. "Courage - ya down there?"

Not a sound could be heard.

She furrowed her brow. "Oh come on! I'm sound if I scared you before... I know I can be a little loud. Come up here, cutie!"

...

Pinkie frowned, making a 'hmph' sound. "Well then - I guess I'll just have to eat all the cupcakes I'm about to make by myself, huh?"

There was a slight shuffling sound downstairs, causing Pinkie to smile.

"Hmmm... guess you don't want any... or do you? I'll just assume no, I guess!"

At that, she slowly began to close the door, humming a merry tune, only for the sound of paw-steps to interrupt her.

"Aha!" Pinkie squealed, swinging open the door to reveal a wide-eyed, small pink dog beaming up at her from half-way up the stairs. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" she beamed. "Awwww! Look at you! Come up here!.!.!"

Courage froze, shivering slightly at the sight of her.

"Oh, fine..." Pinkie sighed, before a mischevious smirk came to her. "Guess I'll just have to.... COME DOWN THERE!"

With that, she began to gallop down the stairs...

However, Courage was one step ahead of her. Frozen in horror for a second at the sight of manic pink pony, he quickly turned about and fled into the darkness of the cellar.

"Oh, shoot!" Pinkie grumbled. "I'm sorry, Courage - I know you don't like it when I'm loud! I just can't control myself - really!"

...

Pinkie then closed her eyes in defeat, sighing. "... Well - alright... I guess I'll leave you alone. I don't want to scare you anymore than I have already..."

And so she turned about and made her way into the kitchen.

"Pinkie?" Blinkie asked, trotting slowly into the room. "What were you doing down in the basement?"

"Ooooh... nothing," Pinkie said softly.

Inkie frowned in sympathy. "We're you trying to bond with Courage again?"

"Wah - no... nothing like that," she frowned.

"Mhmmm," Blinkie smirked.

"Alright, alright - I was," Pinkie grunted. "I just don't understand - animals usually really like me! I mean - I'm no Fluttershy, but I don't get it..."

"Don't feel bad," Inkie began. "The poor thing's frightened of everything. He's been like that since we got him."

"Speaking of which," Pinkie muttered. "How could you adopt an adorable pink doggy... WITHOUT TELLING ME?!"

Inkie and Blinkie glanced at each other, before coughing slightly. "... No reason."

"Just forgot."

"Yep."

Pinkie narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Okie-dokie-loki..." She then raised an eyebrow. "But still - you never told me where you got him from!"

"Oh... um," Inkie began. "Blinkie... mind telling the story? It... kind of makes me sad. I'm not sure if..."

"Huh? What's so sad about it?" Pinkie interjected.

Blinkie swallowed hard, before taking a deep breath. "Well um... do you remember those two farmers who lived next door?"

"Who? The Bagges?" Pinkie said.

"Mhmmm," Blinke nodded. "The really nice old grandmother and the..."

"Grouchie old stick in the mud?" Pinkie giggled. "Oh yeah- I remember him. Remember that one time we did that hose prank on him?"

"Yeah! It was sooo mean!" Inkie grumbled. "He got soaked!"

"But it was pretty funny," Blinkie chuckled. "Besides - he had it coming. He was pretty rude to mother when she came to ask for sugar. Besides - even his wife got a chuckle about it."

"Well," Inkie said, trying to suppress a small smile. "I still think it was pretty mean..."

"Annnnyway," Blinkie said, clearing her throat, before granting Pinkie a serious look again. "Well... Courage was their dog who they - um - well... 'adopted' from an abusive owner. Honestly, everyone thinks they just took him from him - right out of his yard - but nobody knows for sure. But yeah - he's the reason he's so frightened of everything."

Pinkie narrowed her eyes in spite. "I can't believe anyone would abuse an adorable creature like that! Who was the original owner? I've got something to say to him! And Celestia help him if I tell Fluttershy..."

"You wouldn't know him," Inkie said, shaking her head. "Besides - the guy's a creep. It'd be best if you stayed far away from him."

"I can handle myself!" Pinkie said, her voice filled with bravado. "I don't need-"

"No, Pinkie - seriously," Blinkie said. "We're not telling you - for your own sake - end of story."

"... Hmph."

"But as I was saying," Blinkie sighed. "... Something strange happened... though the two didn't really have any enemies (besides Courage's owner, maybe) - even with the husband being a total grouch - without warning, one day, two Nightmare Nights ago, actually - the two went missing."

"Missing?" Pinkie said, raising an eyebrow. "Did they pick up and leave or something?"

Inkie shivered slightly. "N-No. M-Missing... missing. They just vanished, and nopony knew about it until we heard a noise coming from their house maybe a week or so after... dad sent us to check it out."

Nearly Two Years Earlier...

Under the Pale Moonlight

Silently, the two dredged across a barren field of decaying memories. What was once a field of corn and flower had been cast by the hoof of time into oblivion. In the distance the lonely farmhouse stood as a stoic reminder to what once was.

Their destination.

It was a silent creep: one without conversation. The only noise that could be heard was a small rasping sound - and the eerie sound of the farm's solemn windmill creaking in the wind. There was no movement save for the shadows. No signs of life.

Nothing.

"Their fields... I wonder what happened to them?" Blinkie shivered.

Inkie glanced about. "I'm not sure... I guess the cold did them in early this year."

"Maybe..."

At that, the two became silent once again. After a few more minutes, accompanied only by their shadows, they eventually reached the door of the house.

They knocked.

"Hello?" Blinkie called. "Mr. and Mrs. Bagge? Are you home...?"

"W-We just want to make sure you're alright," Inkie squeaked, rasping a foot on the wooden deck. "Sorry if we're bothering you..."

The only answer was a contradiction of sorts. The rasping stopped.

"Huh..." Blinkie blinked, before glancing inside to the house's darkened interior. All she could see were the shadowy outlines of a living room... and a long-dead candle having melted into a nearby table.

"Alright... it looks like nopony's been home for a long while," Blinkie whispered.

Inkie glanced at her worriedly. "You don't think...?"

Blinke shook her head, wincing. "I hope not... still... you know - maybe we should summon the Town Watch - just in case?"

Inkie nodded. "That may be a good idea... let's go tell father."

"Right."

So they turned about...

Rasp... rasp rasp...

"Raaaooof..."

They gasped, their eyes widening as they twirled back towards the door. The distinct sound of a weak bark could be heard.

"Oh my gosh - was that a dog?" Inkie eeped. "Oh no! What if he's been alone all this time?!"

"Only one way to find out!" Blinkie growled.

She jiggled the handle of the door, but nothing happened.

"Oh come on!" Blinkie snapped.

"Mph - buck it!" Inkie growled.

"What?! We're not just going to-"

She shook her head. "No, I mean-"

CRAAAAAACK!.!.!

With a powerful thrust of her back hooves, she struck the door, slamming it open.

"BUCK IT!" she grinned.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

The moment they got a look inside, a pink blur rushed from the door, made a sharp left, and fled into another room.

"Oh shoot! You scared him!" Blinkie hissed.

"I-I didn't mean to," Inkie whimpered.

"Whatever. Let's just find him... and quick - this house is already giving me the creeps!"

"What about the Bagges, though?" Inkie asked.

Blinkie huffed. "Take a look around! Nopony's been here in weeks! Either they've gone on an extended vacation and are extremely neglectful or..."

Inkie closed her eyes. "Something else happened to them..."

Blinkie shivered, before patting her sister on the back. "Come on... worst case scenerio: we'll have to get them a new door."

"Heh."

Blinkie smirked. "And by we'll I mean... you."

"Hmph."

At that, they trotted through the vacant, dust-collecting living room: towards the other room. The light of the moon barely gave them any help due to a lack of windows on the side it shined upon....

Suddenly:

CLATTER!

"AAAACK!"

"Blinkie?!"

Blinkie grumbled, composing herself after nearly tripping over a strange looking object.

"What in the world..."

"...Is that?!" Inkie squeaked.

"Whatever it is - don't touch it! That could be evidence... or something later..." Blinkie said sternly.

"Seriously though, why would they keep something like this l-lying around? I didn't think they did the Nightmare Night thing..."

"Who knows," Blinkie shrugged. "Might be some foreign artifact or something..." She then raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Though it has an oddly big snout... huh."

"Hmmm..." Inkie said.

"Mph - come on, we're getting distracted. Operation Doggy Rescue is in progress!" Blinkie called, flinging a dramatic hoof towards the entrance to the adjacent room.

"Righto!"

At that, they galloped into a kitchen, glancing about the room. There was a frying pan lying face-down on the floor, the remains of some forgotten breakfast lying beneath it. A baseball ball lay on the floor as well, shattered into splinters. However - no windows were broken. No sign of any forced entry.

"O-Ok... now we definitely know they're not home!" Inkie squeaked.

"Come on - let's get the dog and book it!" Blinkie cried. "I don't know what sort of sick jerk w-would... w-would do this to an old couple, but we can't do anything about it."

Inkie continued to glance about. "But where could he have..."

Blinkie pointed to the only other open door - a flight of stairs leading downward into a dark abyss.

"B-Basement, huh?" Inkie shivered.

"It's the only place he could have gone," Blinkie proclaimed, narrowing her eyes.

With that, she led a frightened Inkie to the door, wincing herself as she glanced downward.

"Heeeeere - puppy dog! Here boy... girl... um... yeah."

...

"Come here!" Inkie yelped.

...

"Alright," Blinkie said, taking a deep breath. "It's just a basement... and there's nothing down there but the dog."

Inkie slowly nodded. "R-Right..."

"But um..." Blinkie laughed nervously. "How about you go first? Your... adorable shyness will sooth any monsters down there."

"Oh... I-I um... you're the leader though," Inkie commented.

"Well, from now on you can be the leader."

"Er... I'd rather not... too much responsibility... so little time..."

Blinkie sighed heavily. "Alright, how about on the count of three, we both squeeze down together?"

"Y-Yeah - that sounds better," Inkie nodded, before saying under her breath, "That way there's a fifty-fifty shot I won't be eaten..."

"What was that?"

"...Nothing."

Blinkie rolled her eyes. "Fine - alright... on the count of three. One. Two. Three..."

She began to descend, before glancing to her side. She furrowed her brow.

"INKIE!"

Inkie cowered at the top of the stairs, grinning sheepishly. "Um... well... does at the same time mean - exactly the same... or is there a little room for-"

"Just get down here..." Blinkie sighed. "And keep the door open - we'll need the moon light."

"R-Right..."

At that, the two slowly descended down the flight of stairs, before stepping on a simple, dirt-made floor, a cloud of dust kicking up then setting from it almost instantly.

"See... that wasn't so bad," Blinkie smiled.

Inkie gulped, nervously glancing about. "Define 'so-bad', then redefine it from my perspective..."

Blinkie glanced at her with a sarcastic smirk. "The only way to beat fear is with courage, you know."

"Or I could just stay away from scary things..."

Blinkie raised an eyebrow. "But that could turn you into a shut-in!"

Inkie gazed at her blankly. "I am a shut-in! And I like it. Just little ole introvert me and my introverted pet rocks..."

"Whatever you say," Blinkie chuckled, before glancing about again. Suddenly, she grinned. "Aha!"

"Huh?"

Slowly, Blinkie began to creep towards the far corner of the basement - a clear outline of a shivering, pink dog making itself apparent.

"Ooooh," Inkie followed, giving a warm smile.

However, as they grew closer, the little pink dog began to whimper, forcing her into a wince.

"Hey... hey - easy," Inkie said soothingly. "It's alright... we're friendly!"

"Yeah - we don't want to hurt you..." Blinkie said.

At that, the dog seemed to get control of his senses... for the most part - he began to shiver a bit less....

"Ah, there we go! See - we're just here to help!" Inkie beamed.

"Mhmmm..."

The dog then actually shook his head, rapidly, and before Inkie and Blinkie could react to this unusual display, he began to desperately point behind them.

"Woah- what's wrong, boy?" Blinkie called, bending down towards him. "Did I do something to-"

He shook his head again, this time beginning to yelp, and pointing as he did so.

The two turned about, expecting the worst...

...Yet nothing was there.

They were alone in the dark.

Sighing in relief, they began to turn back towards the strange, pink dog.

"H-Heh..."

"See... there's nothing there," Blinkie smiled at him.

"Come on, boy..." Inkie said soothingly, slowly gripping him into a hug. He seemed to relax at this, his little doggy heart pounding less and less. "There we go... easy now. Believe me - I know what it's like to jump at shadows."

"Boy?" Blinkie asked.

"I can just tell," Inkie shrugged.

She began to pet him on the head, which relaxed him further.

"I wonder what his name is...?" Blinkie whispered.

"Courage," Inkie smiled.

Blinkie raised an eyebrow. "Er... yeah. Maybe we should go with another-"

"Nonono, look at his tag," Inkie spoke.

Blinkie then bent a little closer towards him. Sure enough - dangling from the dog's neck was a small, golden dogtag. On it was one, simple word:

Courage.

"T-That's horrible!" Pinkie squeaked. "And that's all that happened?! Did the Watch ever figure out what went down?!"

The two stood silent at that, before glancing at each other for a brief second - an odd look of knowing in their eyes - before they turned back to Pinkie.

"Well... yes," Blinkie spoke slowly.

"That's all that happened... in the farm at least..."

...

A beat.

Pinkie glanced at them oddly, before asking, "Well, what about the Town Watch?"

"Oh um," Blinkie coughed. "Well... we alerted them but - well... they never really did find out what happened. There was no evidence of a break-in anywhere in the house. They just... disappeared."

"It's like this every Nightmare Night..." Inkie whispered. "There's always weird things going on... must be the full moon, I guess."

Pinkie then narrowed her eyes in determination. "Well... I remember the Bagges, and I know the nice old mare at least wouldn't want us moping about what happened! Let's go watch a movie or something, and then tomorrow, PARTY!"

Inkie and Blinkie forced a smile. "Heh... sounds good, big sis."

"Darn right it does!" Pinkie beamed. "Now... how's about Night of the Somewhat But Not Quite Dead!? That's perfect for here!"

"Sounds good to me!" Inkie grinned, out of character as could be.

The other two glanced at her oddly.

"What?" she shrugged. "I like zombie movies! Did I ever tell you guys my full zombie-survival plan of action?!"

"Ooooo - does it involve feeding them cupcakes instead of flesh to satisfy their insatiable, diabolical need to feast?!" Pinkie beamed.

"No - it involves pummeling them with rocks!" Inkie proudly proclaimed.

Pinkie grinned at that. "So I guess you can say you're..." She suddenly whipped out a fake nose and mustache out of nowhere, slipping it on. "Going to teach them to ROCK?!"

"Hehehehe! YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!.!.!" She then cleared her throat, leading Pinkie into the nearby living room, explaining on the way, "So basically, there's three things ya gotta plan for when it comes to zombies. Those are: where to hold up? What supplies and people to take? And where's a good retreat location? So yeah, number one is: right here! Dad's a pretty good shot with a hoof-rifle, and I know a few things myself..."

And they were gone.

"Sweet Celestia," Blinkie muttered. "Get me through this night... please?"

...

Tap tap tap...

Suddenly, there was a small tapping on the window.

Blinkie froze in horror.

"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

Blinkie closed her eyes, slowly turning about.. And at that same instance, a ghostly wind blew through the kitchen - out of nowhere... whispering again:

"Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus... Palpitat venis quod in corde tuo: Ego sum. Vestrum est spei meæ. Tuum meum est satus...."

"N-No..." Blinkie gulped. "Not you... not again..."

The candles within the kitchen blew out - though nopony else seemed to notice aside from her.

Then... as she opened her eyes... something peaked through the window at her... grinning.

"G-Go away! Just go away!"

It quirked its head. "Tu nosti quod vere est effectus sum tibi est a parte..." the wind spoke, the creature's apparent voice.

"Shut up!" Blinkie roared, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Nulla fugae ratio a me, quod non liberat, sicut et tu Quia sunt. [There is no escape from me, just as there is no escape from what you are...]" It licked his lips, smirking afterward. "Indica mihi: Soror mea hostem ... foris stas pannum proteget te in domum hanc drafty. Non vos frigus? [Tell me, sister of my enemy... you stand without cloth to shield you in this drafty home. Aren't you cold?]"

With that, her eyes began to glow a hot white. "I said, shut it!" she growled behind gritted teeth. "Leave now - go back to the mines where you belong, you son of a bitch!"

The origin of the voice seemed amused. "Vos scitis quod gustaverim ego: tu quae genuisti, multis temporibus in praeteritum ... ita delectamentum ... ita purus. [You know, I've tasted what you bear many times in the past... so delicious... so pure]. Numquam tamen expectatur a talibus, quales te. Numquam tamen expectatur a talibus, quales te. Quid excipiant tantum? Quid timeas reliquerunt ... nisi pro eo quod est extra portas. [Yet I never expected it from one such as yourself. Why do you seep it so much? What do you have left to be afraid of... save for what's beyond the gates.] "

"I'm not listening!" Blinkie said, plugging her ears. "Nope... not listening to you!"

"Ego fateor: cur suus coepi parte mea dilecta modicum quaestum immortalitatem. Tu es qui es et amitti potest, quod numquam retro ... non sine auxilio est. [I'll admit: it's partially why I began my own lovely little quest for immortality. You are who you are, and you can never get what you lost back... not without help, that is.] Solus ego ex hoc contingit? Fortasse non. Ego autem solus voluntatem. Veni mecum, et maxime ex ... veni mecum ... et revelaverit secretum secretorum omnis et simul...[Am I the only one who could provide it? Perhaps not. But I am the only one who will. Come with me and make the most out of it... come with me... and we will discover the secret to end all secrets together.]

Blinkie narrowed her eyes. "Go to hell."

And for once, he actually began to speak Equestrian: be it a fractured, heavily accented version of it.

"Ooooh, but I thought that was your dream, though? Not mine. A dream I can easily sense, mind you. Because I ask again... aren't you cold, kin of my enemy? Aren't you cold?!"

To her horror, she actually shivered.

"I thought so," the voice mused. "The time for action nears. All manner of darkness will soon be drawn to my beacon. Be ready, and be prepared for anything: things are set in motion I have no control over. This will make for a very interesting game of chess." He then winked. "I'll be seeing you, you and your sister, my little children of the void. You won't be alone for long..."

It began to dissipate into thin air...

"And perhaps - warmth will once again be your companion as well..."

...

At that, it was gone, leaving a gasping Blinkie on the floor, a haunted look in her now-normal eyes.

"... Gotta... keep fighting it..."