Hollow Mask

"Spike," deadpanned Hunter, "We forgot Spike."

Twilight immediately ran towards the stairs only to be stopped by the wings of the pegasus, "He is already lost. I don't believe this spirit would waste a second fighting us."

"Doesn't matter! It's Spike!" exclaimed Twilight and ran up. Pinkie and Hunter followed her. When they reached the top Twilight froze. Instead of looking on the small second floor area they looked down a long lonely corridor. An old elevator had been build on the end of it. It's iron cage looked like an open mouth, ready to devour whoever was stupid enough to enter it.

"This spirit can alter reality in here. The library is it's domain now," determined Hunter. She observed Pinkie as she walked a short way in like a moth flies towards the light and opened a random door. The pink mare stared inside. The pegasus moved up and stood beside the party planer.

The room was filled to the brim with little white containers. Each had a little red warning sign with a black flame printed on it. Just behind the door was a little card on the floor. In big red letters that oozed down like blood was written: "For Pinkie. -Spike"

"What is this?" asked Pinkie, her voice shaking in fear.

"Gasoline. Enough to convert Ponyville into an ash pile. This is the weapon that was intended for you, Pinkie. I would say we close that door," said Hunter. She reached for the doorknob and carefully closed the door. Pinkie continued to stare at the specific door with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

"THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE BITCHES!" screamed a familiar voice down the hallway. Spike stood there holding a big red fire axe. His face consisted only of anger.

Twilight tried to calm Spike down, "Spike. Whatever happened, we can talk about it. You don't have to this." Her voice dropped towards the end.

"I don't think so. Because of you I never got together WITH RARITY. Because of you I had to reshelve this fucking library OVER AND OVER AGAIN! It is time that you take your medicine, you little bitch. And I will teach your friends a lesson too," the dragon exclaimed, "I will teach you how to..."

He was suddenly silenced by the blast of a shotgun. While he held his little speech, Hunter had gotten closer to him, close enough to blast his face with the gun. The shot left Spike's head as a bloody mess. Blood was spreading quickly from him and covered the floor from end to end. Without hesitation Hunter fired the shotgun again in Spike's face. She turned towards the other two mares who stood frozen on the floor, "RUN! That will not stop it!"

"Spike..." whispered Twilight. She looked absolutely terrified. Her gaze went from Spike's lifeless body to the pegasus that began running towards her, "How dare YOU! He was my friend!"

Hunter was stopped by a lavender glowing field of magic. She glared at the alicorn, "There is nothing left of him. He was dead before he even appeared in the hallway."

"We still could have saved him!" screamed Twilight. Besides her Pinkie began to cry.

The pegasus sighed, "We have no time. Believe me when I say that the spirit has ripped everything apart what you thought Spike once was. It killed him."

"HE WAS MY FRIEND!" Twilight was unable to do anything besides screaming at this point. Pinkie had curled up into a small ball by this point, short sobs emitting from her.

"Look. We have to get out of here, this thing will not stop hunting you two down. WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE. We have to hide in one of these rooms and find a way..."

It was now Hunter's point to be silenced. A big red fire axe was now stuck in the left side of her body. She looked down in a mix of curiosity and horror. Blood began streaming down on her left side. With a smacking sound the axe was pulled out again. Twilight wondered why the pegasus was still standing.

Spike appeared behind her left flank, his face still a bloody mess. The leftovers of his jaw moved in the crude attempt to speak. Despite his vocal cords and most of his mouth and jaw being obliterated by a shotgun blast his voice was clear. At the same time the mares heard the gurgling in his throat as air was pumped out from his lungs, "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

He swung the axe again, joining it with the lower part of Hunter's chest. There was no doubt her lungs and heart had been hit. When Spike removed the axe this time, the pegasus dropped almost dead to the ground. She managed to get one final word out, almost whispering by this point; "Run!" Her eyes closed and her breathing stopped.

Twilight and Pinkie looked up from the pegasus to Spike. He was admiring his gruesome piece of art for a few seconds before he redirected his attention to the two mares, "All work and no play makes Spike a dull boy... IT IS TIME TO TAKE YOUR MEDICINE, TWILIGHT!"

Hunter felt the second hit in her chest. Coldness spread from the spot. Time slowed to a crawl when Spike pulled the axe out again. All her strength left her and she fell towards the ground. She couldn't feel the pain when her head smacked on the ground. With her last strength she whispered out one last word; "Run!" and died.

Darkness embraced and surrounded her. It was comforting. Warm. She heard a distant steady beeping in the background. Then she was yanked out of it.

She found herself infront of two swingdoors. Modern swingdoors, consisting mostly of glass that was completely opaque, with a thin metal frame on the outside. She extended her cyan arms and pushed the door open with her hand. She had still her pony colors but human features. Hunter moved slowly towards the doorstep and looked inside. A library. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.

She was greeted by a clipboard that smacked right into her face.

"You moron! You weren't even there for TWO days and you already died," said a feminine voice on her right side. She couldn't do anything than be surprised and look stupid so the voice continued her rant. "Ohhh. She is the most promising candidate. But nooo, you are you moron. I doubt there had been a single candidate that was less incompetent than you. First you fuck up your name that has been carefully choosen and then you just die. You kind off deserve this, you know. I hope it was atleast a bit painful. Idiot."

The voice was obviously finished so Hunter gathered herself, "Where am I?"

The owner of the voice was not pleased, "Look around you. It's full of books. It's a library, you idiot."

Hunter looked to her side to finally see who was talking, "Who are you supposed to be? You look like a strange crossover consisting of Hermione Granger and Olivia Dunham."

The woman looked ready to smack her with the clipboard again, "It is not strange. I made it from your memories as a crossover from the two, you moron." She wore a black suit and had rather pale skin. The jacket was open and revealed the buttoned-up long-sleeved shirt underneath. She had her hair in styled as a perfect copy of Twilight, only that it was blonde. In her left breast pocket was a small blue notebook. She held her clipboard with her right hand while she pierced her through glasses with her blue eyes.

"Name?" asked Hunter.

The woman smiled slightly, "I currently have no name. The last time I showed myself I called myself the Librarian. Rather fitting don't you think?"

The dead girl scanned the Librarian from top to bottom, "I think that is a stupid name."

"Think of a better one," she deadpanned back.

"Olivia Granger," determined Hunter. The woman took her clipboard with both hands and smacked herself with it in the forehead. Hunter smiled satisfied, "Yep, that fits. Don't you think, Oliv?"

'Olivia' sighed, "I think I'm now stuck with this name, thank you very much. Now, we have to pull you back together. You are still dead."

"And how are you going to revive me after one of my lungs and my heart was pierced, not to mention the surely fatal bloodloss?"

"You still have energy left over from your arrival. We're are still within the 48 hour timeframe, so that isn't a problem," Olivia countered.

Hunter took a step back, "But?"

"It will hurt a bit."