Out of the Light

Out of the Light

by glorg

Chapter Five

Curiosity Killed the Colt

“Oh... so this is your apartment, darling?  How... delightful.”

Rarity put on her best fake smile and nodded encouragingly at Dom, but he merely chuckled.  “It’s okay, Rarity.  I know you don’t like it.  No hurt feelings here, ‘kay?”

She exhaled in relief.  “Dom, you have no fathoming of how gracious I am for your charity, but just about nothing in here is aesthetically pleasing for my tastes.  Could I please, at the very least, organize some of this rubbish?  It would be far more comforting for me.”

Dom smiled.  “Sure.”

“And it’s ‘Robin’ now, dear.  We must keep up appearances, yes?”

“Gotcha.”

Rarity disappeared into the dark room, working furiously to clean up the various clothing and junk spread about the floor.  Categorically, we each entered into Dom’s apartment, all at least a little bit wary of what was to be found inside.

Dom, who had entered behind us, apparently had a way of igniting candles from afar; suddenly everything was bathed with light, and I could see his apartment in full.

Skulls.  Lots.  Of.  Skulls.  Images of macabre things.  Words were often displayed with these images, seemingly at random: Misfits.  The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Pixies.  The Crow.  Siouxsie and the Banshees.  Donnie Darko.  The Cure.  Edward Scissorhands.  Perhaps not all of the images were so ghastly.  Quite a few simply showed long-haired humans standing about with each other, often with more corresponding titles.  The Beatles.  The Rolling Stones.  Led Zeppelin.  Queen.  Pink Floyd.  AC/DC.  The Who.  The Doors.  The walls were a deep garnet color, the floor furry and an olive shade of green.  There seemed to be a kitchen area, a long hallway that held doors to different rooms, and a sort of large black window that stood separate from the wall.

It seemed to be fairly well-sized.  Enough for several ponies to live in, at least.

“Do you live with someone, Dom?” I asked as I sat down on a rickety chair in the kitchen area.  It complained about my weight, but thankfully didn’t break.

Dom didn’t respond.

“Dom?” I repeated, a little bit louder.  He was fiddling with the big black window.

He mumbled something under his breath and went back to work.  Noise began to fill the room as everypony else began making observations and conversations with each other.

“What?” I said resonantly.

“Huh?  Oh, uh, no.  But my best friend’s the landlord, so I get the nicer apartment.”  Whatever Dom had been fiddling with finally worked, for the black window sprung to life with brilliant light.  I almost fell back over the seat.  Sounds of talking and music fizzed into existence, silencing everypony.  “There we go.  Damn thing’s finally working.”

Something seemed a little fishy about it, like he’d been avoiding yet another question from me.  I elected to let the matter pass, but not without a mental note of remembrance.

“What... is that?” said Spike, almost levitating to the illuminated window.

“That, ‘Sean’, is a TV.  Depending on who you talk to, that’s either the greatest thing we have ever made or the worst thing to ever happen to mankind.  Just don’t watch it too much.  Gets into your head.”

“Uh huh,” said Spike absently, flopping down onto the ground in front of the “TV”.

“Don’t get too close, it’ll fry your eyes,” Dom advised.

Spike was lost.

“Uh, ‘scuse me, Dom, but... where are we sleepin’?  And does this ‘partment have windows?” inquired Applejack.  She seemed a little bit agitated.

“Take your pick,” invited Dom.  “All those rooms are just kinda guest rooms, extra beds and space.  A lot of people crash here during parties, but you can kinda claim your territory.  If you want some air, though, head to the last door on the left.  It’s got, like, four windows and really catches breezes when they come by.”

“Much obliged, sugarcube,” she said in a relieved manner, and headed off down the hallway.

“Did.  You.  Say.  PARTY?!” said Pinkie Pie as she jumped in circles around Dom.  His eyes followed her every bounce.

“...Yeah?  I’m guessing you like parties?”

“Like?  Like??  LIKE??  I LOVE parties, Mr. Dom the Alien.  Oh my good golly gosh, can we have an alien party?  Could you invite all of your alien friends so everypony could meet each other and we could watch you aliens hail the Queen Mother Evil Overlord Dictator Supreme Being for Life Alien?!”

“Well, I was supposed to head over to Ant’s place for a little bit later tonight.  I mean, if you guys wanted to come along, I wouldn’t care.”

“ABSOLUTELY,” bellowed Pinkie.  She drew Dom into a tight hug, prompting what I swore was the lightest tinge of blush on his cheeks.  “Maybe the scary aliens are okay.  Who knows.”  She peered over his shoulder to where I was seated and gasped loudly.  “AN OVEN!”  Pinkie broke away as fast as lightning and flew over to the kitchen, absorbed with the appliances.  I supposed she was afraid that the “aliens” would not have the baking capabilities of ponies.

“Anyone else...?” he announced to the room.

“Ah’m ‘fraid not, sugarcube.  Ah’m hittin’ the hay for today.  Don’t know how long it’s been since Ah’ve gotten sleep, ‘sides that lil’ nap in your... uh, ‘van’,” yelled Applejack from the room.

“Would it be a glamorous get-together?” said Rarity, pausing her arduous work for a moment to look at Dom.

“Uh... not really, no.”

“Ah.  No disregard meant on your part, Dom, but I believe I shall stay behind as well.  Your apartment is in dire need of maintenance after all, darling.”  Quickly enough, she was back to her cleaning.

“Oh, um, I’d love to, Dom, but, um, I’m actually very tired too.  I’m sorry.  I would’ve liked to go to the party...” muttered Fluttershy apologetically.

He shrugged it off coolly.  “Don’t sweat it.  I’m not offended.”

Spike remained absorbed in the “TV”.

Rainbow Dash, who had been skulking about the apartment and scrutinizing every nook and cranny, took this opportunity to swagger over in front of Dom and freeze him in place with a death stare.  I cringed.  What in Equestria was she going to say to the poor human now?

“...This place actually isn’t too lame.  I guess it’s okay that we’ll stay here.  But I don’t know how awesome you are yet, Sam, so I’m gonna have to come along with you to this... ‘party’... and evaluate your coolness.  You know.  See if you’re cool enough to hang with me.”

“...Okay,” replied Dom matter-of-factly.  “Sounds like a plan Ramona.”

“Rainbow,” Dashie practically growled, walking over to watch Pinkie Pie rummaging through the kitchen.

“What about you, Tessa?”

“Oh no, I’m fine Dom.  Thank you for being such a good host, though.  I would just... rather stay here and make sure Spike does not become too captivated with your ‘TV’.”  This was a half-truth.  Everything I had said was entirely true, but I also wished to explore the apartment without Dom’s presence.

Sneaky?  Somewhat.  But in truth, we did not know Dom.  We had made introductions and he had been very generous and very courteous, in all honesty; but it was suddenly occurring to me that perhaps being so trusting of a stranger was not a good idea.  True, we outnumbered him, if push came to shove, but I would rather that we would not be thrust into a bad situation.  No, a little detective work would be pertinent to our interests.

“S’all good.  Man, what time is it?  Five-ish?  Huh.  Ant’s is kinda out of town, just so you know.  We would have to head out, like, now.  To get a good parking spot, I mean.  So many friggin people go to his parties.”

“Okie dokie smokey!  C’mon Dashie!”  Pinkie Pie bounded out the door.  Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash followed.  Just before she exited, however, Dash turned around and pointed accusingly at Dom.

‘I’m watching you,’ she mouthed, and squinted menacingly.  Dom nodded slowly, his face blank.  She seemed satisfied her message had been conveyed and turned around with an almost haughty demeanor.  For a moment, I wondered why she was being so rude, and then remembered that Dom had, after all, run her over with the van.

Not the greatest of ways to be introduced to somepony.

“...‘Kay.  Well, there’s my daily death threat.  Um, I’m gonna lock the door on my way out.  There’s an extra set of keys to the apartment in that bowl on the counter; if anyone knocks, don’t let them in, because I have my keys with me; and, uh... make yourselves comfortable, all right?  You’re living with Dom now.  We don’t do ‘uptight’.”  With a flash of a smile, Dom shut the door tightly, and I listened as their hoofsteps became fainter and fainter down the staircase.

“Rarity?” I said, tracing my finger (such a soft little thing, compared to a hoof) along one of the words on Dom’s walls.

“Yes, Twilight?”  Certainly Dom’s apartment still had its morbid decor, but it was absolutely much tidier, thanks to Rarity’s somewhat obsessive maintenance.

“I thought perhaps some research into Dom’s apartment would be appropriate...?”

“Way ahead of you, darling.  I’ve been devising the same plan of inspection since the moment we stepped hoof into this building.”

“They are called ‘feet’, Rarity.”

“Oh, is that what they are?  Hm.  Peculiar things.  Nonetheless, let us investigate, shall we?  You can join in if you would like, Fluttershy.”

“Oh my, but wouldn’t that be... sneaky?” Fluttershy replied pensively.

“Indubitably,” I grinned.

I slammed the table angrily.

Rarity sighed exasperatedly.

Even Fluttershy appeared to be chagrined.

We had searched Dom’s apartment and had found next-to-nothing incriminating or deceitful.  This was not the issue.  In fact, just about everypony was relieved.  Well, I vouched for Spike and Applejack; Spike was mesmerized by the “TV” and Applejack had slipped into a deep sleep, so much so that we could not stir either of them.

No, that was not what was wrong.  What was wrong was the mini-“TV”.

We had found it in Dom’s room, seemingly turned off.  It sat on a table, and it was Fluttershy who had bumped into the mini-“TV” accidentally, retreating in reproach from a picture of a staring skull, emblazoned with the caption “Evil Dead II”.  It lit immediately, casting a blue glow over the room.

“My word.  What is that?” gasped Rarity.

“It’s scary,” whispered Fluttershy.

“It’s intriguing,” I said, and sat down on the chair by the desk.  It seemed to have a sort of typewriter, and a round orb attached that clicked when I put my hand on it.

On the mini-“TV”, I noticed a little arrow scurry across my sight.  I moved the orb again.  It scurried as well.  I moved the orb one more time.  So did the little arrow.

“They’re connected,” I said in awe.  Did this world have magic too?

“Look, Twilight, it’s asking for a password!”

Rarity gestured to the mini-“TV” for emphasis.  She was right.  Two little boxes, one titled “Username” and the other “Password”, sat below a small picture of (wouldn’t you believe it) yet another skull.  The “Username” was apparently groundcontroltomajordom90, whatever that meant.  But the password line was sadly blank.

“What do you think it is, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy, edging carefully closer to me.

“I have no idea, Fluttershy.  ...Darn.  If only we knew Dom more, maybe we could figure it out.”

“Perhaps we should guess?  I would think that Dom would have some sort of personal touch to the password... maybe it would be one of the words he has spread out through the apartment?”

“Excellent idea, Rarity!  You and Fluttershy should find all the different phrases so I can try them out.  Hopefully one will work.”

...Thus was why I slammed the table angrily.  Thus was why Rarity sighed exasperatedly.  Thus was why even Fluttershy appeared to be chagrined.  Typing with fingers had been easy enough to do, once I had figured it out, but no combination of words we tried would unlock the mini-“TV”.  We could think of nothing to do, no secret to use.  Surely, if it was so protected, Dom was hiding something in the mini-“TV”, and yet there was no way to get to that information.

“The juiciest thing in the apartment and we cannot even attempt to infiltrate it... what a pity.  I do so wonder what our Dom does not want us to find.”

“...More skulls?” suggested Fluttershy, shuttering at the notion.

“Maybe,” I admitted, leaning back in the seat.  What in the world could the password be?

I don’t know how my eye caught it, but suddenly a glint in the corner of the room became of the utmost interest.  Curious, I sauntered over, and pulled a heavy book off from the floor.  It was dusty.

“Is that a...?” trailed off Rarity, leaning over my shoulder.

“...Photo album?” finished Fluttershy, hovering over the other.

“Why don’t we find out?” I suggested a tad bit mischievously, and pried open the cover.