A Haunting Dare

Haunting Dare Ch. 2

Dusk is settling, and the three friends are nearing the schoolhouse where the bullies are impatiently waiting at the front entrance. “Well, it took you three long enough.” Diamond Tiara comments. “Let’s get going, follow us.” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon guide the three crusaders into the Everfree forest where their first challenge of fear begins. It seems like in just a second the Moon has already raised high in the black blanket sprinkled with stars. Thick dark clouds begin to roll in and rumbling with the sounds of deep thunder. They walk a dark and lonely path as the trees tower and reach over the sky. Their thin black branches intertwine with each other making it impossible to see anything past them, only blackness. The hooting of an owl or the scurrying of a squirrel is enough to make one of them jolt, but the two bullies do not mind the sounds at all as they briskly walk down the path without so much as a glance of fright. The crusaders take notice of this and try to block the fear out of their minds, but they all have the distinct feeling that somewhere beyond the trees somepony is watching them. “Well, here we are. The Old Abenine House.” They all stand before the dying yard of a tall aged building. The wooden planks’ paint has been peeling away as well as the boards themselves from the walls. Through the dusty windows is an abyss of dark, one of the windows is flaring open due to the wind. The crusaders stand and stare with their bodies frozen from fright. “Well? Why don’t you three go and step inside? Unless you’re scared.” Diamond Tiara teases. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo take a deep breath and step closer towards the foreboding house with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon following behind. They ascend up from the stone steps to the front door Scootaloo resting her hoof on the knob. A creaking sound follows as the door is slowly pushed open to reveal the cobwebbed and dusty interior. Upon the walls hang several portraits barely recognizable due to the layers of dust. Tattered furniture such as armchairs and rugs are scattered along the wooden floor. Hanging from the ceiling is a glass chandelier with strands of webs reaching down towards the floor. The door behind them slams shut jolting the three crusaders. “Now, the first pony to leave this house will be considered the loser. So go on and make yourselves comfortable. We’ll be waiting for you three to be screaming your way out of here.” Diamond Tiara mocks as she and Silver Spoon trot up a set of stairs to the second floor.

“. . . W-Well what do we do now?” Asks Applebloom.

“Why don’t we go l-look around?” Scootaloo asks, and without an answer she and her two friends remain trembling.

Upstairs Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon find a secluded room cluttered with boxes to discuss their issue: what to do about the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“I didn’t think they’d actually show up.” Says Silver Spoon.

“Neither did I, who knows? They just might make it through the night. It looks like we’ll have to take matters into our own hooves.”

“How?”

“If the house won’t scare them out, then ‘we’ will.” Diamond Tiara notices that there is a pony mannequin in the room, along with a few others clustered together behind a wall of webbing. Cardboard boxes are pushed to the sides containing all sorts of household items. The both of them glance at each other with a dubious smile.

In the main hall where the Cutie Mark Crusaders still stand frozen they can hear the sound of the pitter patter of rain droplets tapping the outside walls and windows. Suddenly a sharp flash of lighting followed by a bang of thunder startles the crusaders sending them all galloping into the next room to hide. They lean their backs against the door to keep it shut with their hearts beating crazily. For the moment they believe they have found safety, but ahead of them is a filthy kitchen that fills their minds with thoughts about the supposed killer that used to live here. The refrigerator is slightly rusted as well as the faucet loaded with food-stained dishes. Along the dusty countertop is a wooden cutting board with a cleaver resting atop it. A slight scent of a horrible odor lingers in the room forcing the crusaders to cover their snouts.

“Guh, what is that smell?” Asks Scootaloo.

“Ah don’ know, but it’s disgustin’.” Says Applebloom. They all split up making a short tour of the kitchen taking a look at all the dust and grime. Scootaloo stumbles upon the knife and is quickly frightened by it.

“Girls, do you think this was the knife the mad killer used to slice up ponies?” She asks.

“Ah thought you said she was jus’ tryin’ ta scare us with that story. . .” Says Applebloom.

“Oh, right! Yeah of course! There never was a-a butcher pony. What am I saying? Eheh. . .” Scootaloo tries to cover herself.

“Can we get out of here? This smell is killing me.” Says Sweetie Belle.

“Killing?!” Cries Scootaloo and Applebloom.

“Yeah . . . the smell is really bad.”

“Oh . . . well why don’t we go in there?” Says Scootaloo pointing to a dirty old door. With a turn of the loose knob and pull of the door it reveals an ascending staircase. Step after creaky step they find themselves eventually reaching the upper hall where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had went. They follow a rough rug down the dark hall, and the sound of an echoing droplet of water pounding repeatedly onto a surface is caught by their attentive ears. “Girls? . . . Do you hear that?”

“Yeah, where’s it comin’ from?” Applebloom asks. They find that it seems to be coming from behind a door that has been partially left open. Cautiously they push the door open, step inside, and are met with a sudden change of humidity in the air. The walls feel somewhat slimy and rigid, but it is only because they are partially covered in moss. The same goes for everything else in the room. The sink, the faucet, the bathtub are all home to a thriving city of moss. Sweetie Belle discovers that the sound is just the reverberations of the continuous droplets of water leaking from the rusty faucet along the bowl of the sink. She pulls herself up onto the counter and struggles to reach the faucet lever. Realizing her forelegs aren’t long enough to reach she instead resorts to her magic to grab hold of the lever and turn it so the water can finally stop. While in the process of turning it suddenly falls off clanking onto the stone countertop and slamming on the tiled floor startling Applebloom and Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle what’ya doin’?!”

“Yeah, that was pretty loud.”

“Sorry. . .” Says Sweetie Belle guiltily.

Back in the storage room where Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon have been hiding and trying to come up with a plan to scare the three crusaders they catch the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. They turn their attention to the doorway somewhat frightened.

“What was that?” Diamond Tiara asks.

“I-I don’t know.” Says Silver Spoon worriedly.

“. . . Well, why don’t you go and check it out?”

“Alone?!”

“What are you worried about? Just go on and see what the sound was while I try to come up with a plan.”

“O-Okay.” Silver Spoon steps out from the room and into the hall with her legs shivering and locked into place not wanting to move another inch.

The cutie mark crusaders, still in the bathroom, hear hoof steps from outside and are drawn into a panic. They glance around frantically for a place to hide as the steps draw closer and find a shower just behind them. They yank the curtain back and hurriedly climb inside the tub sliding the curtain back in place as the metal rings scratch against the rusty metal pole that holds it up. Their bodies freeze and ears rise listening to the approaching steps. Something steps inside as the crusaders glance at each other with their eyes full of fright.