Clock Tower: The Rudella Legacy

Chapters

Welcome Home
The Bludgeoning Psychopath, Sledgehammer
Judgment! The Duty of the Rudellas

Welcome Home

Prologue: Welcome Home

Dearest Sunset,

How have you been? It seems like such a long time since you started your life at boarding school, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions about what happened that very day. I haven’t given you much of an explanation, but believe me when I say it’s for your own protection.

If you remember it as well as I do, it was right after your grandfather’s disappearance during one of his trips almost three years ago. I told you that you shouldn’t return home for at least another six years, and it was just as heartbreaking for me as it was for you. Your fifteenth birthday is approaching, and I’m afraid to say that your life may be in more danger than before. Whether or not you still harbor any ill will toward me for it, I want you to promise me one thing. Whatever you hear or see on the news, do NOT return home. Go into hiding until your fifteenth birthday has passed. I know that you will try to reach me once you’ve read this letter, but I urge you to listen to this request of mine.

I wish we could go back to the way things were. I’m sure you miss your grandfather very much. Just remember that I love you with all my heart and would do anything to keep you safe.

With much love, your mother

Sunshine

Sunset folded the letter and placed it back inside its envelope. “Just what is it that she’s protecting me from? She always avoids the subject or doesn’t want to talk when it’s brought up.” A cool autumn breeze swept through the grounds of the boarding school. The last few leaves still clinging to tree branches began to drop, falling gracefully and joining the others on the pavement.

Sunset enjoyed the breeze blowing through her hair as she sat on a nearby bench. She closed her eyes and thought about life before boarding school, how she would enjoy walks through the park with her mother and grandfather.

Before she was deep in thought, a voice called for her. It was one of the teachers. “Sunset Shimmer!”

She broke from her trance and looked toward the classroom building. “Yes?”

“Your mother is on the phone. She wishes to speak to you!”

“I’m on my way!” Sunset sprang up from the bench and ran toward the building, the sound of hooves against pavement echoed through the empty grounds as she did. Once inside, the instructor motioned in the direction of the phone, still off its hook and waiting to be picked up. Sunset approached the phone and picked up the receiver, happy to have the opportunity to speak to her mother again. “Mom?”

There was no answer. Clearly, the other end was able to hear her as there wasn’t a dial tone or busy tone when she placed it on her ear. “Mom?” she asked again.

Still no answer. Sunset began to worry, afraid that the letter she read might be more serious than she previously though. “Mom, it’s me, Sunset! Why won’t you answer?” There was a click heard on the other end of the line, followed by a dial tone. Sunset placed the receiver back on the hook, her worry only growing by the second.

Walking back to her dorm room, she was already planning on going against her mother’s wishes. “If I pack now, I should be able to get home before dusk. Mom’s in danger, I can feel it.”

Several hours later, Sunset found herself in front of her childhood home. The estate has definitely seen better days. The paint had started to peel from the paneling, some of the window shutters were broken in several places and the concrete path leading up to the door had been cracked, with small shoots of grass sprouting from them.

Still fearing the worst, she opened the wrought-iron fence and ran toward the front door. Pushing it open and heading inside, she stopped in front of the stairs in the large foyer. “Mom!?” she yelled. “Mom, are you home?” The large wooden door creaked shut

“I’m afraid that your mother has stepped out for a while, young filly.” Sunset quickly turned in the direction of the nearby dining room. A stallion in a derby hat and large overcoat sat on one of the chairs, facing away from the table and looking out of a window.

Sunset was startled for a moment, but managed to calm herself. Her mother, fearing the loss of the family home, rented out a few rooms to lodgers in hopes of generating enough income to keep it. “Oh, hello. Are you one of the lodgers?”

“Yes, that’s correct, my child.” The gentlecolt stood and slowly walked toward Sunset. “Your mother is out on an errand. That was yesterday morning.”

She sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia she’s alright. Did she mention how long she’ll be?”

The mysterious gentlecolt couldn’t help but chuckle. He raised his head and gazed directly at her, causing her discomfort to return. “She said she wouldn’t take long, but I’m afraid that that’s not the case. She won’t be coming back, ever.”

“What do you mean?” asked Sunset, taking a step back. “How can you say such a thing?”

“I’m only speaking the truth.” The stallion started walking toward her. Sunset continued to step away from him. “You’re all alone in this world now, my dearest Sunset. I’ve waited years for this moment.”

“Get away from me!” she yelled, levitating a nearby vase and throwing it at him. The object sailed over his head and hit the wall behind him.

The stallion took her advice and walked out of the dining room, laughing the entire way as he left the estate. The front door opened as he stepped out, closing with a loud bang once he was gone.

Sunset rushed upstairs to her mother’s room, hoping to find some trace of where she might have left. She used her horn to try and get the door open, but to no avail. “Come on, what is wrong with this thing?” She tried slamming her hooves against it, hoping to bust it open. After a few attempts, Sunset was knocked back by a strong repelling force.

“What in Tartarus…?” She stopped herself short when she noticed a strange glow. She stood up and looked at its source.

The door to her mother’s room had an insignia emblazoned on it. It pulsed softly, as if reacting to Sunset’s presence. She reached out a hoof to touch it again, watching as the pulsing became faster.

ZAP!

The insignia gave her a mild shock as she made contact with it. She nursed her hoof as the charge dissipated and let her muscles relax. Not wanting to test just how strong of a current there is, she walked away from her mother’s bedroom door.

Sunset entered the next room and took a seat near the fireplace. Everything that has happened to her today didn’t make much sense. First, her mother calls her out of the blue but there’s no one on the other line. Second, a stranger claims she won’t be coming home ever again. Now she can’t even search for any hint of where her mother might’ve gone because of a strange insignia.

“Can someone, anyone, please give me a sign?”

The flame in the fireplace flickered wildly. Sunset looked up and noticed it, wondering if there was a draft coming from outside into the chimney. Once she got closer, however, she noticed something off about the fireplace.

“Wait, that looks like a…” Grabbing a nearby trowel, she scoops up some ash from underneath the log rack and smothers the fire. After a few more trowelfuls of ash, the fire is completely extinguished. Her suspicions were confirmed: the back wall of the fireplace had a large hole. She lowered herself and looked into the gap, spotting what looked like a fountain at the very end.

Sunset sighed and shook her head. “You must be crazy for even thinking this, Sunset.” She got lower and started crawling through the fireplace, making her way into the hidden room. Once she was clear, she stood upright and walked over to the fountain. The fountain held a statue of an alicorn, emblazoned with the exact same insignia as her mother’s door. The symbol started to pulse for a few seconds…

The statue’s head started oozing a red substance. “Blood!” yelled Sunset. She backed away from the statue as it continued dripping the blood-like liquid, contaminating the water in the fountain as well. There was a loud crack, the head of the statue coming loose and falling onto the floor in front of Sunset. The head is shattered into pieces, Sunset shielding her eyes from any flying shards.

On the floor where the once-intact head lay, Sunset saw an elegantly-designed bottle, decorated with a carving of the same alicorn as the statue. Using her magic, she held the bottle and uncorked it. Turning it upside down, a small paper scroll falls out and lands with a soft “pap” as it makes contact with the tile. Taking the scroll as well, she unfurls it and finds that it’s a letter. She begins to read it.

My dearest Sunset,

If you’re reading this, then it means that you’ve decided to not take my advice and came back home, only to find that I’m gone. Knowing you, you’ve probably tried to find out where I am by looking through my belongings in the master bedroom, but by now you will have realized that it’s sealed off with a magic barrier. You also had no issue finding this room hidden behind the second story fireplace. If you’re still adamant about finding me, then read this letter carefully.

The bottle from which you pulled this letter is special. If you fill it up with clean water, it shall be anointed and can be used on the barrier you saw on my bedroom door. That particular barrier will not be the only one you encounter, I’m afraid. I’ve sealed a few rooms in the estate with that same insignia, and this bottle shall act as your key. You must take care of it as you would your own life.

When the time comes, the bottle shall help you out in another way. I can’t tell you how, for fear that this letter may have fallen into the wrong hooves, but I’ve always known you were a smart filly. You will figure it out, I’m sure.

Welcome home, sweetheart.

With love

Sunshine

The Bludgeoning Psychopath, Sledgehammer

Chapter One: The Bludgeoning Psychopath, Sledgehammer

Sunset rolled up the letter and placed it into her saddlebag, staring at the alicorn bottle that housed it. She glanced over at the fountain, still red with the blood-like substance. Her mother must’ve anticipated the possibility of the bottle found by the wrong people, so she must’ve had an elaborate system to dirty the water so that the seal wouldn’t be easily undone.

“Great, that just means I have to find some other way to fill this.” Placing the bottle in her saddlebag as well, she made her way back to the hole in the fireplace and crawled back out. Dusting herself off, she made her way toward the bathroom door only to find the same insignia burned onto it. “This one isn’t glowing like the other one...Maybe…” Her horn lit up and she tried turning the knob. Much to her surprise, it was unlocked, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the door to open.

“I guess I’ll try the kitchen sink.” She walked back down the stairs and headed in the direction of the dining room. Walking past the table and chairs, she enters the kitchen and stands in front of the sink. She places the bottle underneath the faucet and turns the water on.

Much to her dismay, only a single drop falls into the container. “Now how am I supposed to fill this thing?”

Walking back out into the foyer, Sunset sits on the stairs and lets out a huge breath. Having come so far to find her mother yet unable to even begin her search, she started giving up hope. She looked around the foyer from her resting place. A book laid on a table in one corner of the foyer. It happened to be one of her mother’s favorites. Perhaps she was reading it the day she disappeared.

On the other side of the room, an intricate vase sat on top of another table. Her mother told her about the vase, about how her father spent hours picking it out and bringing it home to her. Sunset smiled as she recounted the tale in her head.

Her gaze quickly locked onto the vase again. She had remembered something about the item that she didn’t think about before. “Mom used that vase to place a flower for Dad on the anniversary of his death. Maybe…” She stood and walked over to the vase. Placing the bottle on the table, she levitated the vase and shook it. The distinct sloshing sound of water could be heard echoing from the mouth of the vase.

“Perfect”, she whispered in victory. Uncorking the bottle, she tipped the vase and pour its contents into the container, having just enough water to fill it. The alicorn bottle glows with a pale blue light just as she empties the last drop into it. Once it subsides, she puts the vase back down and corks the bottle, rushing back to her mother’s bedroom door. “Here goes nothing.”

Sunset unseals the alicorn bottle, splashing some of the water on the symbol on the door. It glows brightly for a few seconds before exploding into ethereal shards. Sunset covers her face to prevent any shards from harming her. The pieces, however, never seem to make contact with her. Instead, they just pass right through her, dropping to the floor before disappearing completely. Sunset tries the knob again, giving easily and allowing her access.

Letting the door swing open, she walks into the master bedroom. She closes the door behind her and locks it, in case the mad lodger decides to return. She pauses and surveys the room. Pictures of Sunset and her father adorned the various dressers around the room.

Not wasting another second, she starts her search for any hint of her mother’s whereabouts. Sifting through documents on her desk to pulling books one by one from the bookshelf reveals nothing. Sunset left no rug unturned or drawer unopened, determined to find something she could use.

Several minutes of searching turned up nothing. As she began losing hope yet again, Sunset took a seat on her mother’s bed. Just as she was about to lay down, one of her hooves hit something hard. Giving the exact same spot a couple of knocks, she pulls the sheets back to reveal a book.

“Looks like it’s bookmarked to a certain page.” She opens the book, leafing through a hoof-full of pages before coming to the bookmark. What she sees on the page causes her to jump off the mattress in fear.

The illustration showed an elderly stallion wearing a derby hat and a large overcoat. He had a frightening look in his eyes, almost as if he was driven by some ungodly force. The words underneath the image finally gave this unsettling man a name: Sombra.

Sunset was startled by a sudden noise. It sounded like someone was playing the piano. Rushing over to a small radio kept by her mother’s nightstand, she hit the stop button on it. Assuming that the button was broken, she opened the disc tray instead. The disc inside wasn’t spinning, nor was the radio turned on.

The music kept playing, louder and louder until Sunset had to cover her ears with her own hooves. Frantically searching for any other source of music in the room, she stumbled and knocked over paraphernalia, turning the once orderly room into one of chaos.

The piano grew louder still, finally forcing Sunset out into the hallway. As she opened the bedroom door, a bright light blinded her but did nothing to slow her down. Her vision impaired, she felt her way down the hall toward the stairs. She came to a sudden stop.

“What’s going on? The railing should be right…” As her sight returned, she looked at her surroundings. Instead of the hallway leading up to her mother’s room, she found herself in a hallway with walls of stone. The door behind her was old, but it definitely wasn’t the same as the one she came out of. She ran back, thinking it was some sort of parlor trick. As she turned to face the direction she came from, something knocked her away and almost made her lose her balance.

The insignia that Sunset has seen many times before glowed brightly, a magical barrier now blocking her way back. Sunset, still unsure of what’s going on, grabbed the alicorn bottle again. Just as she was about to splash the barrier, the same strong magical force sent her flying, forcing the door at the other end of the hall open.

She found herself outside in the cold evening air, landing on her side against a cobblestone path. Before she could get her bearings straight, a loud explosion shook the ground, the din of an alarm filling the atmosphere. Sunset could hear something else in the skies above. The entire night sky was dotted with large bomber airplanes, very similar to the ones found in history museums. In their wake, a series of bombs were being dropped onto the city below them.

Sunset jolted upright and ran for cover, fearing for her life. Another explosion, much closer than the last, tore a church apart just as she ducked under a broken-down bus. Her hiding spot wouldn’t last, however. Another bomb dropped on the building that the bus rested against, causing a tower to crumble under its own weight.

Sunset sprinted from under the bus and jumped down a small flight of stairs, the debris from the tower crashing down onto the sidewalk with enough force to knock the bus onto its side. As the bombs blanketed the streets above her, she could do nothing but hold back tears, afraid that she might not survive the encounter.

Just as soon as they had started, the explosions stopped. The planes sounded much further away than when she arrived, leaving the city with nothing more than the sound of the still-wailing klaxon. Sunset slowly made her way up the staircase and looked around. Fires from the aftermath of the bombing started to rage, turning the once-darkened street bright orange.

“Okay”, Sunset started. “Let me just piece together what happened. I came home, met a strange man implying something happened to my mother, I now have a bottle of holy water which I used to undo a magical seal on my mother’s room which led me back out into the streets of…” She looked around for any road signs or maps she could use. One of the still-intact buildings had a flyer stuck to it.

It looked like an announcement for a piano competition. The location printed on the flyer was all she wanted to know. “Manehattan.” She didn’t stop reading. The date under the city name only fueled her fear. “24th of December, 1942!?”

The same song as before started to echo from a nearby tunnel. Calming herself, she listened to the tune and immediately recognized the piece. “That sounds like Clopan’s Fantasie Impromptu. Who could be playing that in the middle of all of this?”

Following the sound of the piano, she trotted down the tunnel and came to a raised platform, a magnificent view of a concert hall in the distance.. “Could that be where they are?” The mystery pianist continued playing the song, stopping suddenly after hitting a few incorrect notes. A few seconds of silence followed before they started playing the piece all over again.

“I need to get to that concert hall.” Searching for a safe way down to the streets below, she came up to a gate. However, when she tried reaching for the handle, the insignia that has plagued her since returning home glowed on the grating. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake, she instead reached for the holy water and splashed it on the door. The symbol dissipated just like the one before, but left Sunset without any water.

She glanced back at the tunnel she came from. There was a small fountain just a few feet away from the gate, water flowing from a manticore’s head onto a small man-made pond below. Walking up to it, she dipped the bottle into the pond and corked it, the bottle glowing as it purified the water within.

Sunset ran back to the gate and turned the handle, quickly making her way down the flight of stairs on the other side. Once she reached the bottom step, she realized that she entered a shopping district. With a renewed sense of panic, she ran up to each door and knocked loudly, hoping to see another soul.

“Hello? Can anyone help me?” No answer. Every door she tried left her feeling even more isolated with no hope of making sense of where and when she is.

At the end of the street, a lamp shone over a doorway to a tailor shop. It was the only one lit apart from the street lamps, drawing Sunset to the door like a moth to a flame. She knocked on it a few times before speaking. “Hello?” No reply, same as all the others. However, there was something off about this particular shop. Pushing on the door lightly, she found that it was open.

She made her way inside, the bell over the entrance ringing as the door moved. Not wanting to let the cold in, she closed it behind her. Sure enough, this was a tailor’s shop, but it looked like a struggle happened here. There were torn dresses and suits strewn about the floor, shards of glass littered among cloth scraps.

Sunset made her way to a door behind the front counter and tried to open it, looking for any occupants or perhaps even the owner. To her dismay, it was locked from the other side. She instead made her way upstairs to the second floor and walked along the railing.

Following the path of the balcony overlooking the ground floor of the shop, she made her way to the door at the end and opened it slowly. There were another flight of stairs leading down into a workshop, possibly where the owner works. Quickly walking back down to the first floor, she finds the workshop in complete disarray just like the main shop floor. She walks up to a desk, perhaps to search for any means of communication with local law enforcement. Instead she sees a slightly yellowed newspaper, a disturbing article printed on the front page. Sunset picks up the paper and reads it.

Hearthswarming Day Tragedy! “Sledgehammer” Strikes Again!

Hearthswarming Day, 1942 - Manehattan Uptown Shopping District:

Sweetie Belle, aged 10, was found murdered in Carousel Boutique. Her body was discovered by her older sister Rarity, an up-and-coming fashionista in the industry. Ms. Rarity claims to have found her sister unconscious and bleeding from a blow to the head. Paramedics arrived on the scene and concluded that the victim died instantly as a result of the blow, as a subsequent autopsy also revealed. The bludgeoning in question is said to have been caused by a large hammer, swung with enough force to throw the young girl against the wall just outside of her bedroom.

It is speculated that the method used to murder the victim falls within the same modus operandi as the serial killer known as Sledgehammer. Police have no leads as to the identity of the murderer, but is believed to be a copycat killer basing his or her work on the string of murders perpetrated by a local rock farmer.

The Manehattan Police Department urge anyone who may have information regarding this crime to call their hotline…

She couldn’t continue reading the article. The images that accompanied the news were too graphic. If the date on the flyer and on the newspaper were true, it was too much even for this time period.

Sunset heard a loud thud coming from upstairs, followed by the screams of a young filly. “No! Stay away! Someone help!” The thuds became even more frequent, followed by a gruff male voice.

“Come on! I just want to play with you, little one!”

“No, don’t come any closer!” The filly screamed again, causing Sunset to drop the newspaper and run upstairs. The door at the top of the staircase flew open, the filly being slammed against the opposite wall with tremendous force. A spatter of blood was left where she hit the surface as her body slumped over and came to a rest on the top step. She was clearly no longer breathing.

A large hulking figure walked out from the filly’s bedroom, laughing to himself as the blood pooled around the young filly. The figure was a large unicorn, easily taller than most adult stallions. Using his magic, he hoists a gigantic hammer over his head and roars triumphantly.

“Ha ha ha ha! I did it! I killed her!” This stallion was clearly out of his mind if he’s celebrating a homicide like this. Sunset slowly and quietly backed away from him, her position compromised as one of the steps creaked under her weight. The stallion looked in her direction, meeting her eyes with his own psychotic stare. “Looks like I’m on the nice list this year. TWO FILLIES FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!”

Not wasting a moment, Sunset runs toward a door and tries getting it opened. In her panic, she didn’t notice it was locked at first, but quickly realized her mistake and ran through, slamming it shut behind her. Thinking on her hooves, she ran behind one of the large velvet curtains hanging by the store windows. Thankfully, they were large enough to cover her completely with no one searching for her being the wiser.

The door from the workshop crashed open, being torn completely from its hinges. The unicorn stallion stepped through, chuckling to himself the entire time. “Where are you, little filly? I just want to have some fun, don’t you?”

True to his nature, the psychopath started sniffing the air like a hound. Sunset held her breath as the stallion drew closer to her hiding spot. Fearing for her life yet again, she felt a sense of dread starting to consume her, bringing her closer and closer to a panic attack.

Just as she was about to run out, the stallion started walking away, laughing and sniffing the entire time. He broke through the front door of the shop and made his way onto the streets, leaving Sunset alone.

She finally let her breath out, her chest pounding from the scare she experienced. Her legs felt weak as she moved from behind the curtain, sitting on her haunches as she caught her breath. Tears started welling in her eyes. She found herself lucky to survive an encounter like that, yet she could do nothing to save that young filly.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” she said, sobbing loudly.

“It’s alright.”

Sunset suddenly felt cold. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she saw the young filly. On her head was a large gash left by the blow from the madman’s hammer. Blood trickled down her face and onto the floor, her dress stained in a crimson hue from earlier.

“You’re a…”

“A ghost. Yes…” The young filly had a sad expression on her face. “But please don’t blame yourself. There was nothing you could do to save me even if you wanted to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was already dead days ago. What you saw tonight has already happened, like how a song on a record can be played over and over long after the actual performance.” She took hold of Sunset’s hoof with both of her own in an effort to calm her down. “My name’s Sweetie Belle. What’s yours?”

Judgment! The Duty of the Rudellas

Chapter Two: Judgment! The Duty of the Rudellas

“My name’s Sweetie Belle. What’s yours?”

Sunset only stared at the spectral filly, unsure of whether or not she was actually there. She tried to speak, but the words kept getting caught in her throat. Sweetie noticed this and trotted over to a drawer on the front counter.

“You’re still panicking, I get it.” She pointed a hoof at the drawer. “There’s a small glass bottle of lavender water in here. If you drink it, it’ll calm your nerves.”

Sunset stood, her legs shaking from the fear. She steadily made her way toward the drawer and pulled it open. Rummaging through the items, she finds a small purple glass bottle with a lavender flower printed on the label. Uncorking the bottle, she takes a small sip before downing the entire thing.

“Better now?” asked Sweetie.

“Better.” Sunset placed the bottle on the counter and cleared her throat. “My name’s Sunset Shimmer. You may not believe me, but I think I traveled through time...and space…to get here.”

The filly giggled. “It does sound a little crazy.”

“I guess it does”, Sunset laughed nervously.

“Sunset, do you think you can help me with something?”

“I don’t know if I can do much for a spirit, but I’ll try my best. What do you need?”

“Follow me.” Sweetie Belle phased through the door leading back to the workshop, followed closely by Sunset. The filly stopped in front of a door on the far end blocked by a grid of barbed wire. “You see, there’s a very important memento behind this door, but ever since I became a ghost, I can’t do much to retrieve it.”

“Why is the door blocked with wire?” Sunset asked.

“It was that crazy hammerhead that did this! He wanted to make sure that no living person could get to it either!” She kicked her hooves as she floated through the air, her legs dangling below her. “Rarity never kept any tools other than what she uses to work, but I know where you can get something to cut through this.”

“Just tell me where I need to look.”

Sweetie left the room again, heading toward the front of the store. Sunset tailed her again and found the spectral filly outdoors pointing a hoof toward the concert hall across the bridge. “The stagehands at the concert hall always kept a toolbox near the catwalk in case one of the spotlights needed maintenance. Maybe you can find wire cutters there.”

“I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“If I get this item for you, does that mean you can finally rest?” Sweetie was surprised at her question, her eyes welling up with tears as she nodded. “Then you can count on me.”

“Please, just be careful. I don’t want to be responsible for someone else’s death at that maniac’s hooves.”

Stepping through the door of the concert hall building, Sunset found herself in the main reception area. She had made it from the tailor shop to the building itself without running into the psychotic stallion again, but she was sure that he was somewhere nearby.

The door slammed shut behind her and startled her, the sound echoing throughout the lobby. She listened carefully for the sound of heavy hoofsteps, but she didn’t hear anything other than her own short breaths.

“Good”, she whispered. “The last thing I need is that psycho tailing me.” She walked past the front desk toward one of the doors leading into the theater and pushed it open. The concert hall was unsurprisingly empty, but Sunset was grateful that no one was using it for shelter from the earlier air raids. She walked down the aisle toward the lit stage, a single grand piano at its center. Walking past the piano, she went backstage and searched for a way to get up onto the catwalk.

There was a lever at the opposite end of the backstage area. She trotted up to it, examining the lever and reading the sign above it, reading “catwalk elevator”.

“This will be easier than I thought”, she said to herself. Grabbing the lever with her magic, she pulled down and activated the machinery, smiling to herself. That smile faded when she noticed something dripping from where the elevator would arrive.

Directing her gaze above, she spotted the body of a pony wedged between the elevator and the rest of the catwalk above. Sunset screamed and jumped back as the body fell with a loud thud to the floor below, leaving a large spatter of red all over the backstage floor that flowed out onto the stage proper.

A second later, the distinct plink of metal was heard as a key dropped down after the body. Calming herself after her surprise, Sunset approached the body and picked up the key near it. She noticed that it had a tag on it as well, the number “103” printed on the plastic.

“A locker key?” Just as she put the item away, she heard someone approaching the piano on the other side of the curtain. She peeked out from her hiding place and noticed the young filly from the tailor shop sitting on the small bench in front of the instrument.

Sweetie Belle picked up her front hooves and began playing Fantasie-Impromptu. Sunset walked onto the stage and smiled warmly as the filly continued. Her hooves slowed to a halt as she reached the next verse, hitting incorrect notes one after another. She began to play it again, but came to a stop as she continued getting the next part wrong, tears starting to form in her eyes and eventually sobbing and ceasing her performance after a few tries.

“Don’t cry, Sweetie” Sunset said after a few silent seconds. “I still think it’s a beautiful song.”

“Thanks”, replied the filly, wiping her own tears. “But I have to get it right. Mom and Rarity were going to be there on the night of the performance, but I….I…..” The filly’s voice trailed off as she began sobbing again.

Sunset joined her on the bench and placed a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be fine. You just keep practicing and you’ll get it right.”

The filly sniffled and smiled at Sunset, nodding to show her that she understood. “But…” she continued. “My dad had this old watch that played this tune every time he opened it. I was going to play it at the recital in honor of his memory.”

“The watch. Is it what’s locked behind the door at your sister’s shop?” The filly nodded. “In that case, all the more reason to get it back. I just need to find a way onto the--”

The doors at the end of the aisle burst open from a tremendous force, Sledgehammer galloping into the theater not a moment later. “I FOUND YOU!”

“AAAH!” screamed the filly. “HE’S BACK!”

Sledgehammer laughed maniacally as he galloped toward the stage, hammer at the ready. Sweetie Belle ran off and phased through the wall, leaving her companion behind. Sunset ducked under the grand piano just as the hammer came crashing down onto the bench, breaking it into tiny splinters. She darted out from under the instrument and toward the exit, the madman only a few feet behind her.

“Sunset, come back!” he yelled. “I just want to absolutely crush you under my hammer!”

Rushing past the remains of the door, she found herself in the lobby again. Sunset attempted to open the doors leading out onto the courtyard, but found them to be locked. Sledgehammer came to a halt just behind her, hammer already raised in the air.

Sunset grabbed the bottle in her saddlebag without thinking, uncorking it and splashing the murderer with a dose of holy water. “AAARGH!” Sledgehammer yelled in pain as the water made contact, temporarily blinding the stallion and making him lower his hammer. Sunset quickly jumped behind the reception desk, spotting a set of small lockers with numbers written on plaques.

While her pursuer was incapacitated, she hastily grabbed the key from her saddlebag and inserted it into the locker labeled “103”. Inside she found another key labeled “Master”. As Sledgehammer wiped the burning holy water off himself, Sunset ran through another door, finding herself in a hallway lined with offices.

Once his sight returned, the stallion found himself alone in the main lobby. Sniffing the air again, he began searching for the filly. “Sunset, where are you?” he asked over and over as he continued looking. A few minutes of fruitless searching later, he chuckled to himself. “Slippery little mare.” Slamming the hammer down onto the tile, he made his way back to the stage, the opposite direction of where she headed.

Sunset, relieved that the assailant was gone, quietly cantered toward the end of the hallway past the empty rooms toward a staircase. Following the stairs upward for several flights, she came to a locked door. She slid the key into the lock and turned it, the tumblers inside giving way and unlocking the door.

Sunset found herself on the catwalk overlooking the stage where she had just been. She slowly walked onto the metal grating, attempting to stay silent lest Sledgehammer notices where she is.

“Oh, I’m going to find you, Sunset…” said Sledgehammer, looking through the rows of seats below. “And when I do, I’ll find that little ghost filly and make her watch as I crush you underneath my hammer…”

“How does he know my name?” the student asked herself.

There was a loud crash that came from the lobby, causing Sledgehammer to snap his head toward it and galloped off. Sunset, now alone in the stage area, looked around for the toolbox Sweetie mentioned earlier. At the end of the catwalk on the other side of a large gap, she spotted a red metallic container, the latch undone.

“There it is.” Sunset took notice of the gap and looked down, the elevator still settled on the floor below. “Oh horsefeathers. I forgot to raise the platform again.” As she returned her gaze to the catwalk, she noticed a small switch on the railing. Flicking it, the machinery sputtered to life once more, bringing the platform up to the second level. Sunset made her way across, minding the blood in the grating, then walked up to the toolbox and opened it up. Inside was a single pair of wire cutters, which she quickly snatched up and stuffed into her saddlebag. “Alright, time to help a poor little filly find some rest.”

“HA HA HA HA!!” Sledgehammer, back from his wild goose chase, found himself back in the concert hall and spotted Sunset above the stage. “That’s where you’ve been, I see! Come down here so I can give you a well-deserved bludgeoning!”

“You’re going to have to come up here first!” she yelled at him in return. “Come up through the other door in the main lobby! I want to take you on hoof-to-hoof!” The madman complied with her request and ran back out into the lobby. Once he was gone, she hopped onto the moving platform and flicked the switch again. The platform lowered onto the stage below, Sunset jumping off once it was low enough just as Sledgehammer burst through the door up on the catwalk.

“You cheating filly!”

“Sorry hammerhead, not tonight!” Sunset returned mockingly. Running out of the stage area and out to the lobby yet again, she tried the master key on the door and ran out into the cold. Galloping as fast as her hooves could carry her, she made it to the tailor shop once again. Rushing past the counter and into the workshop, she found herself in front of the door with the razor wire.

She pulled the tool out of her saddlebag and snipped the wires blocking the door. After cutting through the last one, she pushed the door open and found herself in a small den. Sweetie Belle’s ghost walked into the room behind her, then floated to a box resting on the mantle of the fireplace.

“It’s in here. I want to grab it and take it with me, but I’m afraid of dropping it or losing it somehow.” She faced Sunset with a weary look on her face. “Could you please bring it to the concert hall?”

“Of course”, she replied. Opening the box, there was a photo of a mustached stallion sitting with a big smile on his face while holding a foal. The pocket watch rested right next to the photo.

“He always carried it with him, even after he was called to the front lines.” Sweetie stared at the photo in the box, her weary look showing a hint of sadness. “The recital was also a contest to see who was the best piano player in the city. The winner was allowed to play a song of their choosing and have it broadcast over the radio.”

“What happened to your father, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“An artillery shell struck near his platoon’s location. The explosion launched him onto a barrier of razor wire. He didn’t make it.” She pointed to the wire hanging from the doorframe of the entrance. “That’s probably why that murderer used it to block the door. Not just to keep the living away, but to scare me as well.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Sweetie Belle.” She comforted the spectral filly as she placed the watch in her saddlebag. “I’ll get it over to the concert hall as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you”, Sweetie said. “And be careful.” The filly disappeared as before, leaving Sunset in the room by herself. She turned and made her way out the door and out of the shop, galloping at full speed toward the concert hall.

After a minute or so of running, she found herself in the empty courtyard, making a beeline toward the door. Just as she was about to reach it…

“Ow!” She was knocked back by a formidable force but managed to stay on her hooves. Shaking her head, she looked at the door of the concert hall. The door, no, the entire building was blocked by the same magical barrier that she saw in that strange hallway before she was left on the streets of Manehattan. “No, no, NO! Let me through!”

“The only way you’ll be getting through is as a ghost!” Sunset snapped her head upwards. Waiting for her on top of the building was none other than Sledgehammer. The murderer jumped, causing Sunset to run away from his landing point. The stallion slammed onto the pavement with impressive force, breaking the concrete under his feet.

“Leave me alone already! Isn’t taking the life of a filly enough for you!?”

The stallion shook his head, all the while muttering what seemed to be nonsense. “Not enough, not enough. Must feed, feed, feed, FEED! The Entity hungers for more!”

At the stallion’s words, the bottle in Sunset’s bag started to shine brightly, the light powerful enough to attract the attention of both ponies. The filly levitated the bottle out of her bag, the glow only becoming more intense. Holding it out in front of her, the bottle shone with a blinding light for a second before being completely extinguished.

What she held within her magic was no longer a bottle, but more of a handle. Pulling it closer to her to examine it, a bright shaft of light emerged from both the top and bottom of the handle, turning the handle into a bow.

Sunset heard a familiar voice in her mind. It was that of her mother, Sunshine.

“Sunset, listen to me very carefully. As I’ve said before, this bottle should never fall into the wrong hands, for without it, you shall become completely defenseless. However, before you help the poor filly find her place in the afterlife, you must confront her murderer. The bottle has become a weapon used by Rudellas for centuries, and now that weapon is yours. Listen to my words carefully and repeat them to this monstrosity, for you are the only one able to defeat him for good.”

Sunset closed her eyes as she listened to her mother’s voice. Once she opened them again, the fire of determination raged in her pupils. She was ready to complete the task that had befallen her.

“Sledgehammer!” Sunset yelled. “Or should I call you Quarry Edge? You have committed the crime of murdering 26 innocents including a young filly. By order of the Rudellas, I sentence you to 486 years in the deepest pits of Tartarus!” She pointed the bow at Sledgehammer, an arrow of pure light drawn on a string of the same material. “It’s time to face judgment!”

“RAAAHH!!!” Sledgehammer rushed Sunset in an attempt to knock her down, but the young mare was too quick for the hulking maniac. She jumped out of the path of his rampage, causing him to crash right into the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

Sunset let out a large breath, feeling more confident with each passing second. “I can do this.” As Sledgehammer stood on his hooves once more shaking the debris off his coat, Sunset aimed straight at him. The longer she held the arrow, the more it shone with the light of good. Just as the stallion spotted her and raised his hammer, she let the arrow loose and landed a direct hit.

The arrow pierced him, leaving a scorching wound where it struck. It shot out from the opposite side of the hit, turning the shaft into a tether that stuck to the fountain with a large ZAP! The stallion tried to tackle Sunset again, but the tether of light wouldn’t let him get far. Just as he put some distance between himself and the fountain, he was suddenly yanked back as the line became rigid, keeping him in place.

“What...what is this!?” yelled Sledgehammer. The stallion struggled to move, all the while showing fear for the first time. “Let go, LET GO!”

Sunset took the opportunity to set up another shot, Sledgehammer too distracted with his new shackle to notice. After charging it sufficiently, the young mare shot at him again, adding another tether to his existing one.

Noticing the two ropes of light keeping him in place, he turned his burning gaze toward Sunset. “YOU!” Sledgehammer raised his weapon in the air and slammed it on the ground with tremendous force, knocking Sunset off her feet with the resulting shockwave. Sledgehammer pulled against the tethers with all he had, breaking them both before glaring at the young mare.

Raising his hammer again, he charged toward her and brought it down on her. Sunset managed to push herself away in time with a small burst of magical energy, propelling her a few feet away. She quickly stood and put some distance between herself and her assailant, nocking another arrow before he could pull his weapon from the ground.

“Your little arrows might’ve worked before, but they won’t this time, Sunset!” The murderer tossed his hammer at her, which she ducked to avoid. Letting another tether loose, Sledgehammer found himself pinned again, this time completely defenseless. Sunset struck him with two more shots, keeping Sledgehammer completely immobile.

“Just like mom said. Three shots, and then…” Sunset held an arrow in the bow for as long as possible, the light radiating brightly as it reached its full charge. She aimed the arrow to the skies above Sledgehammer and let it fly.

The smoke gathered in the sky broke apart, a shaft of light shone upon Sledgehammer. For a brief moment, the seal of the Rudellas was seen before the light faded and condensed itself into a large bolt aimed straight at the madman. The bolt crackled as it made contact with Sledgehammer, exploding and incinerating the now-helpless psychopath.

He screamed in pain as the searing light purified his soul, stripping it of the darkness that fueled his murderous tendencies. After the light dissipated, all that was left was his hammer laying where he tossed it.

Sunset entered the concert hall one last time, trotting past the ruined door and walked toward the stage. Standing in front of the grand piano was Sweetie Belle, silent as she stared at the keys. The young mare walked up to the stage and stood next to Sweetie, opening the pocket watch and laying it on the instrument.

The song that played when she did so put a little smile on the filly’s face. She walked up to the piano and began playing the song along with the watch. As the next part in the piece came, she played it flawlessly, her father’s watch guiding her as she hit the correct notes. The filly, now confident in her own ability, closed the watch and continued playing.

As Sweetie Belle concluded the song, she stood there and held her hands behind her back, humming the same tune. Sunset giggled at the spectral filly’s joy, which was returned with another smile from Sweetie.

“Thank you for helping me, Sunset. I don’t think I could ever repay you for everything you’ve done.”

“What are you going to do now?” asked the young mare. “I don’t think you’ll want to stay here.”

“That’s just it. I find the whole “passing on” thing scary. What if I don’t like it on the other side?”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that, pumpkin.”

Sunset and Sweetie looked out to the seats. In the front row sat a familiar stallion, dressed in a soldier’s uniform. He began stomping his hooves in applause for Sweetie Belle. “That was beautiful, Sweetie Belle. I always knew you had a knack for the piano.”

“Dad!” The filly jumped off the stage and into her father’s hooves, both father and daughter embracing each other with tears in their eyes. “Dad, you came! I didn’t think you’d be here!”

“How could I miss my daughter’s recital? You’ve worked so hard to get this far. It’s only fair I should be here to see it.” The stallion turned toward the stage, Sunset still standing there with tears of her own. “Thank you, young miss. I think we’ll be able to move on now.”

“Take care, Sunset! I’ll never forget you!” The filly and her father walked toward the exit, a bright light at the end of the aisle.

Sunset waved goodbye as she watched them go, leaving her alone on the stage. After they were gone, she started feeling drowsy, her eyes and body growing heavy as she fell to the floor unconscious. Before she blacked out, she heard a familiar voice.

“Well done, my daughter.”

Sunset awoke in her bedroom to the sound of chirping birds. As she lifted her head and rubbed her eyes, she tried to make sense of what happened to her in the last few hours.

“Was it just a dream?” she asked herself. Leaving the bed and checking her saddlebags, she found the stone handle by itself. As soon as she touched it, however, the handle shone and reverted to the form of a bottle, holy water and all. “Guess it wasn’t.”

As she stowed the bottle, a sharp tap was heard from her bedroom window. Sunset snapped her head in the direction of the sound just in time to see a small pebble strike her window. A voice from outside called to her. “Sunset!”

The young mare rushed to the window and opened it, the cool breeze of winter hitting her face. Looking down, she spotted a pony that she hasn’t seen since leaving for boarding school. “It’s you!”