Hours Loom 2: Electric Boogaloo

“It’s a no go,” Night Light said, tossing the headphones to the table. “Without the main power on this piece of junk is just a ninety-pound paper weight.”

Mr. Shy sighed as he continuously flipped switches, trying everything he could to get it working. Mrs. Shy stood at the doorway of the radio bay, watching for anything suspicious coming down the red tinted hallways. “Why don’t we go and find a way to restore power then? There must be some way to turn it on if it was turned off,” she suggested.

Night Light shifted in his seat. “Well, we are a level above the engine room I believe. It might be our only option. Though it may not be just turned off. It could be cut. I’m not sure I could fix something like that.”

“If there is a killer on board the ship then surely they wouldn’t break the power. They’ll want to go home after were all…” Mr. Shy’s voice trailed off as he trembled at the thought. “On the other hoof, they may have broken it in a way only they’d know how to fix. We could just be ruining their escape plans.”

As Night Light was about to speak, the red lights turned off. The normal, white lights turned on a second later. Beeps and static flooded the room as power restored to the radio bay and the rest of the ship. Mr. Shy turned a few dials and pulled the microphone towards Night Light, giving him command of the radio waves. He flicked a few more dials and gave a nod. However, just as Night Light was about to speak, the lights turned off, cutting him off again. The power that had been restored was now gone, along with the auxiliary power.

“Oh, my,” Mrs. Shy said, worriedly. She could barely make out the silhouette of her husband sitting across the room.

A light spell lit the room, shining from Night Light’s horn. “I’m already missing the burning red in my eyes,” he said, half joking and half groaning.

Mr. Shy rose from his seat and began rummaging around in the cubbies near the radio equipment. The room wasn’t very large and looked even smaller in the dim light, but it did hold spare tools like flashlights. They were the size of Night Light’s horn and just as bright. He gave one to his wife who turned it on and shoved it in her mouth, and he did the same. “I guess it’s the electrical room, then?” he said just before placing the flashlight in his mouth.

Night Light had never thought how tragic being anything other than a unicorn could be. “I suppose we shall. Maybe we’ll run into the others coming up from the medical bay.” He rose from his seat and followed the couple out the door.

The halls were dark even with the flashlights, but they drudged on. As they turned a corner of a very narrow corridor, they came across something moving at the end of the hallway. A black mass struggled near the floor, only for it to rise up slowly. A mask pitch black rose with the pony wearing it, traveling up the steps towards the trio. The three dove back around the corner, tripping and shoving each other all the way back to the intersection of hallways. Night Light turned back to see if the killer had followed, only to witness the masked pony sprinting out from around the corner towards them.

“Everypony run!” He pushed Mr. Shy down one hall and Mrs. Shy down the other, leaving the way they came for himself. In an attempt to stall, he ignited his horn with a furious spell. He couldn’t get a shot off before the masked, knife-wielding pony was upon him. Mr. Shy glimpsed back just to see Night Light get cut across the cheek by the tip of the blade.

“Hey! You get away from him!” Mr. Shy felt very brave in that instance, only for his confidence to shatter as the killer’s red-filled gaze turned to him.

Night Light held his hoof against his cheek, turning away and running past the radio bay. The killer looked back at Night Light but changed its choice of victim, galloping after the pegasus instead. The unicorn rushed as quickly as he could down the hall and up the steps. The stairs went straight up into the passenger guestrooms, but not before passing the nurse’s office. As he barged in, shutting the door behind him, he rushed to find a rag. An unused towel was in a cabinet, which he soaked in water and pressed to his wound.

“That was a close one,” he muttered through panted breath, pressing the towel against his face. He took a quick glance of the small room, noticing a desk, a few locked cabinets, and a board on the wall. There was nothing he could use to defend himself if the masked pony had decided to chase after him. I should try and find Twilight, he noted. She’ll have a plan.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Screaming and hollering echoed from the dining hall. Maud was the first one through the door with the maid following behind. Once they were inside, Maud pointed the flashlight towards the kitchen where the yelling was coming from. While the maid went around the side to the kitchen door, Maud hopped across the open wall from the dining hall to the kitchen, rushing to the aid of Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn screamed and cried but was still asleep until Maud shook her awake. Her eyes were wide from the sudden jolt, only to go blind from the flashlight’s brightness shining in her face. Maud pulled Twilight to her hooves, allowing the maid to enter the kitchen from the door she had been slumping against.

“What’s going on!?” Twilight asked, rubbing her eyes and allowing them to adjust.

“The lights have gone out and a killer is on board.” Maud knew not to tell Twilight of the masked pony she had seen. She needed the alicorn to save them and she couldn’t do that if she was passed out. “Can you get the power back on to the ship?”

Twilight dried her tears and shook her head. “I hooked up the automated system to the backup power. If that’s out too then there’s no way to get the ship running. Not unless we want to head down into the engine room. Though I don’t know how to fix something like that. The captain didn’t show me before he…”

“You h-hooked it up t-to the backup power?” Gale interjected. “The ship’s system w-won’t run on the backup generators. T-They’re not powerful e-eno-enough. It – I mean – I think it only runs on the main power. If th-the backup generators go off then the main generators will power the engines only. I-It was designed so that maintenance could go fix the problem if the backup power came on or to have the ship still move if the backup was shut off. That way w-we’d never be stranded. T-Though we usually have m-more crew members for this sort of t-thing.”

“Are you sure that’s true?” Maud asked.

Gale nodded. “Well, um, I’ve been part of the cleaning crew for a while. T-This isn’t the first time power has gone out. It’s happened quite a f-few times.”

I wonder if this isn’t the first time somepony has been murdered here, too, Twilight thought. She pushed past the maid, igniting her horn and casting a radiant light from it. “Come on. If what you say is true then I need to fix my mistake.” Maud and Gale followed the alicorn, walking at a brisk pace out onto the deck. The wind of the late night sea brushed against the heavy ship, chilling the air around them.

The trio scurried towards the bow of the boat. As they drew closer to the control room, screaming echoed from somewhere close. The three startled ponies looked around and saw nothing. Eventually, Maud caught a glimpse of two pony silhouettes atop the control room’s roof, lit up by the moon’s brilliant light. The shape of the control room formed up like a spin top, bigger on the bottom and skinnier as it went up. One pony grabbed the other and shoved them off, sending them sailing down to the deck with an earth-shattering crunch. The silhouetted pony then turned the other way and vanished beyond their sight.

Twilight couldn’t believe what she had seen. It wasn’t the act of pushing off the pony that had frightened her, it was what the one pony had been wearing. “B-B-Black mask!” she shouted, repeating it over and over. She knew who was wearing the deranged black mask, the only pony to have ever worn it. “Rar-” She couldn’t finish saying the unicorn’s name before she passed out, slamming face forward onto the deck.

Maud didn’t take her eyes off of where the killer could be going, but she knew she had to move Twilight somewhere safe. Heaving the alicorn onto her back, Maud lifted Twilight and carried her to one of the guestrooms. She opened the first unlocked one and threw Twilight to the floor inside the cabin. “Gale, bar the door and keep her safe until she wakes.” Maud didn’t wait for a response. She charged off, heading to where the killer had been, hoping she could meet them head on before they disappeared into the dark bowels of the ship.

It was pitch black in the cabin after Gale shut the door. She locked both locks and pushed a dresser in front of the door, hoping it would be enough to keep out whoever. As she sat down next to the unconscious alicorn, a sound rustled from the bed. Her heart shot up into her throat and strangled her, keeping her from making any noise. She tried to tap the alicorn awake, eventually pushing and shaking as well. The rustling grew and the lamp on a nightstand switched on, brightening the room. Gale screamed, causing the other pony to scream. Their screams awoke the passed out princess, causing her to join in the screaming as well.

“What in the blazes are you two doin’ in here!?” Granny Smith yelled from the bed.

“G-Granny Smith?” Twilight rubbed her nose as she glanced around the room. “Where are we? What happened to… wait, where’s Maud?” She rose to her hooves, noticing the barred door.

“She went to chase a-after the killer,” answer the maid. “I-I was to-told to wait here until you were awake.”

Banging interrupted their conversation. The dresser shifted as some unknown pony attempted to push open the door, trying their best to bust the lock down. “That must be Maud!” Twilight said, almost sure of herself. She tossed away the dresser with her magic and undid the locks.

Twilight Velvet was a blur as she rushed in and grabbed onto her daughter, wrapping her in a hug. “Thank goodness you’re alright! I was so worried!”

“Mom!? What are you doing here?”

“Can someone explain to me what the dagnabit is goin’ on round here?” Granny Smith yelled from the bed. “I’m tryin’ to get to sleep and you all come bargin’ in here hootin’ and hollerin’ like a pack of diamond dogs.”

Velvet held her daughter close, glancing between the old mare and the maid. “There’s a killer on board the ship.” She twisted the locks tight and levitated the dresser back in front of the door. “If it’s that witch coming back to finish my baby girl, then I’m going to do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.”

Twilight Sparkle pushed her mother away but her grasp was too tight. “Mother, please! We have to get to the control room. I can get us home if you get me there!”

“No!” the unicorn shouted. “I will not lose another child! Not today!” Her eyes swelled with tears as her grasp tightened, preventing the young alicorn from moving.

A flash of light and Velvet dropped forward. Twilight Sparkle teleported from her mother’s grasp and had begun removing the dresser once more. “I’m sorry mother, but for your safety, this is what I need to do. For all of our safety.” She turned back to the three mares. “I won’t sit here when I can be doing something to prevent more ponies’ deaths.”

Her mother remained stubborn, but she understood. “I’m sticking by your side until this is through. You’re not leaving my sight.”

The oldest mare in the room took her time clambering off the bed. “I suppose I’ll come too, though, I hope you don’t expect us to move quick. I ain’t as young as I used to be and this here lil’ adventure is ruinin’ my bones’ sleep.”

Twilight Sparkle grabbed Granny Smith with her magic, levitating the old earth pony onto her mother’s back. Granny Smith was as light as she was slow, but very boney. Velvet sidled for a moment, shifting her weight before nodding to her daughter to open the door. The light of the moon and the wind from the sea blew into the room, blowing the covers around the bed. It was getting windier but the sky held no clouds. The group of ponies skulked out onto the deck, close to the railing, keeping an eye out for anything that seemed suspicious.

As they crept to the control room, they got a good glance at the pony that had fallen. It was the waiter that had been pushed, his neck broken on impact and a pool of blood surrounded the now corpse. I don’t even remember his name, Twilight Sparkle thought, grimacing at the sight. They pushed past the grisly spectacle into the control room. Velvet gently set the old mare to the ground as the maid shut the door. Not that it would do much good as the cabin was surrounded by windows that a demented murderer could easily break.

Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Velvet lit their horns, lighting up the room. “Alright, let me quickly move the wiring back over.” The alicorn rushed behind the consoles and ripped the panel from the floor. Gale and Granny Smith kept lookout while Twilight Velvet stood with her daughter.

“Do you need any help?” Velvet asked.

“Just make sure no one is coming. After I can fix this then I’ll seal this place up tight,” answered the alicorn.

“I’m not leaving your side. I meant do you need me to hold a tool or move my light around.”

Twilight looked up at her mother, giving a smile. “No, thank you. I am happy that you’re here. I’ll feel a lot better once-” Granny Smith whistled at them and banging on the metal door followed. The two unicorns lifted their horns to see who it could be. They could only hope it was not the masked murderer, wanting to be let in.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Thank goodness we found you.”

Zephyr held the only flashlight as Limestone greeted her parents. They had been traveling down to the lower decks in search of the masked pony but instead had found her parents who were stumbling around in the dark. “Where is your sisters?” Igneous asked as they traveled back up to the second floor.

“I have no idea where Maud went but Marble’s stashed in one of the unused guestrooms with Big Mac. I’ll take you to them so that you can hide there and then I’ll go look for the others,” Limestone answered.

“Forget the others,” he replied. “We’re going to find Maud and then hide.” He turned to Zephyr who had been silent, only because of the flashlight held in his mouth. “We’ll find your parents too and Granny Smith. You two are the ones that need to hide with Marble.”

Limestone stomped her hoof. “No! We just found you and we’re the ones with the flashlight. We’re going with you.”

As much as he wanted to scold his daughter for talking to him with a harsh tone, he knew he would feel better if he could see her at all times. He wanted to see Marble too but knew they had to find Maud first. It had been a mistake searching for the others. Neither he nor his wife had found the Wonderbolts or the Shy’s yet, and they were now blind in the heart of the ship. “Alright. Let’s head up to the control room. Your sister said she would most likely find Twilight Sparkle there, working on a way to move the ship.”

Zephyr led the way with the flashlight still in his mouth, heading down the hall and up the steps onto the deck of the ship. It was a cautious walk, especially as he was the one leading the charge. He would be the first to see the killer and the first to take a hit. His nerves rattled but he held strong, wanting to look tough in front of Limestone. Through the flashlight and the saliva that had been coating it, he asked a question. When no one understood, simply shaking or shrugging in reply, he removed the flashlight from his mouth. “Which way?” he asked, pointing to both sides of the deck.

Igneous pushed past him, heading left towards the stern. “The control room would be a good place to check, however, we should find a weapon.” He came to the dining hall and looked inside the glass. He opened the door and listened for a moment, attempting to hear if anyone was already rummaging around in the kitchen. Before he took a step in, he noticed blood in his peripheral. He trotted backwards out the door and around to the pool, only to trip over his own hooves. The sight he saw forced him to call out to the others. “Stay back! You don’t need to see this!”

The arrogant pegasus thought himself better as he came closer, though, he wished he hadn’t as he saw what had happened. “Oh Celestia!” he shrieked in an octave higher than most stallions could reach.

Igneous pushed him back towards the girls, wanting to be as far away from the mutilated chef as he could be. “C’mon, forget grabbing a weapon,” he said in a stern, shaken voice.

They rushed along the deck and saw a light shining at the end of the boat, inside of the control room. Zephyr almost lost his lunch over the railing when they came upon the waiter’s fresh corpse. The older stallion shielded his wife’s eyes, preventing her from having the memory of such a broken body. Limestone had already brushed passed it and began banging on the metal door. “Hurry up Zephyr!” she said in a low tone as if to yell a whisper.

As the mint colored stallion rushed over, wiping his mouth off, the door shifted open and both the unicorns inside stared them down, ready to fire their magical spells. “Limestone?” Twilight said, surprised. She saw the group gathering around the earth mare. “Come inside, quickly.”

“Do you have Maud with you?” Igneous asked as the door shut behind them.

Twilight went back to work with her mother following close behind. “No. She was with us and then disappeared, chasing after the killer.”

“I don’t see Big Mac or your other girl with ya. Where are they?” Granny questioned, annoyed that she had yet to see her grandson. If she had not seen the grotesqueness of the body outside she would have thought the whole thing to be folly or the work of Rarity’s parents.

“She’s safe, Big Mac is with her in the guestrooms on the second floor. Room ninety-five,” answered Limestone. “Why are we all in here? What’s going on?”

As Limestone asked her questions the lights of the cabin turned on, illuminating the room. “I’ve done it!” the alicorn shouted. The boat shifted for a moment as it began to move. Granny Smith tumbled a little, barely maintaining her balance as they set sail. “Alright, I need everypony out.”

“What? Why?” Limestone growled.

“I’m going to seal this room with a spell. No pony will be able to enter and mess with the controls unless I say so.” She forced them out onto the deck. “If I die then the spell will be broken. I’ll try to stay alive long enough to keep that from happening. Maybe then we can make it home safely.” With a flash of light, the room shimmered and sealed, closing off the windows and door with a magical bubble. “I just hope I’m strong enough, otherwise…” she trailed off.

Velvet caressed the alicorn, rubbing her shoulder. “It’s been over a year, you’ve grown stronger every day. You’re powerful, and you’ve got this. I believe in you.”

Her mother’s encouraging words were all she needed to lift her spirits. “Alright, everypony. We should go and grab Marble and Big Mac, a bigger group is always better. Does anyone know where my father is? Mr. and Mrs. Shy?”

“He should be with them, down in the radio bay,” Velvet answered. “I hope.”

With no objections, the group headed for the stairs, only to stop once they saw a masked pony coming from the stairway. The pony was in a white shirt and blue overalls that covered their hooves, hiding their tail and possible wings. A black mask with red painted eyes was atop their head, glowing bright in the moonlit night. It was the same outfit right down to the misshapen size of the mask. Twilight could barely believe her eyes. That night was happening all over again, right in front of her.

With all the ponies standing around her, she felt more confident than she should have been. “Rarity! Let’s finish this! I’m gonna kill you, right here, right now!” Her horn sparked up, readying to cast a powerful spell. But her horn’s magic faded when the masked pony giggled.

“Kill… me?” the voice said. It was different from Rarity’s. The voice spoke with a cold echo as if it were a changeling’s voice speaking out. It didn’t sound natural. “No, little Twilight. I’ve worked too hard to pull this all together. My work isn’t finished because I-” The masked pony reached into their overalls and pulled out a shiny knife from the pocket “-am going to kill you.” It pointed the knife at the group and shouted in its eerie, machinelike voice, “I’m going to kill all of you.”

Before they could react, the killer blurred back down the steps, vanishing down the stairs. Twilight hesitated for a moment. She had not expected the killer to speak, let alone speak in a strange, ambiguous way. Her memories flooded back, the brutal scenes in the castle. She shrugged them off and rushed to the steps, only to come face to face with a strung up pony that had been hung by their neck. The green fur she recognized. It was the maintenance pony. She hadn’t even had the chance to meet him and he was already gone, just like the waiter.

Crew members were dropping like flies and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Before too long it would be the families of her dead friends, and then her. Her stub ached as if it knew. She slumped down at the edge of the steps and let out a scream of frustration and anger. The other ponies surrounded her with uncertainty, and Twilight Velvet wrapped around the alicorn, shielding her from their eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

With a flashlight in her mouth, Maud trotted up the steps into the first hall of the second-floor guestrooms. She had hoped to find her parents or the killer within the lower bowels of the level, but neither had turned up. It had been a while since she had lost sight of the killer. With the boat moving again she had assumed Twilight had reached the control room and had been working. She had hoped the others had found each other. Luckily, she was never quite alone either.

“I am hungry too, Boulder, but we have to find the others.” She held the inanimate object in her hoof, speaking with lisps as she rolled the flashlight from cheek to cheek.

A noise echoed from one of the halls she was coming towards. Maud quickly turned off her flashlight and tucked it away in her shirt, along with Boulder. The noise became clear, trotting coming from down one of the halls. In an instant, it was there and then it was gone. It was not followed up with a door closing or opening, nor the sound of talking or whispering. She peeked around the corner and saw the silhouette of the pony. Heavy breathing resonated within the mask.

“Hello, Maud,” the voice said, smooth and modulated, as if it spoke with a stolen voice.

The earth pony didn’t hesitate, sending a punch to the masked pony’s face. She was eager for a fight, that is until the killer pulled the knife from the overall’s pocket. They swung and sliced, attempting to cut Maud but she was too quick. Her form danced in the darkness as she kicked off the wall and shoved both forelegs into the killer’s torso. As they fell, the killer managed to nick her face, creating a gash across her chin. Droplets of blood hit the floor as the masked pony rose back to their feet.

Applejack and Twilight Sparkle could not kill Rarity alone. I cannot take her head on, she contemplated as she dodged the swings of the knife. If I can get her distracted, then maybe I could do something. As the killer attempted to slice and dice her, Maud turned tail and ran, rushing back down the hall she had come from and down the steps. The killer chased her, slamming into the wall and tripping down the stairs.

As she hit the fourth-floor, she rushed down to the next staircase and out into the fifth-floor storage. She hid between crates, waiting for the right moment to pop out and catch the killer by surprise. I could strangle her or snap her neck, but she may use her magic to levitate me. This is just a game of cat and mouse to her, but I refuse to be the mouse. But she wouldn’t get the chance to enact a plan as it seemed she hid too well. The killer didn’t even bother coming down into the fifth floor.

She stepped out into the open and turned on her flashlight, pointing it up the stairs and waiting. The killer never came. It was a long while before she used the flashlight to look around the room, hoping to see a name on a container filled with knives or axes. If I had a weapon I could finish this right now, she believed. Her shirt moved as she searched. “Yes, Boulder. If worse comes to it, I know you will protect me.” The shirt moved once more and she reached in, grabbing the small stone and glancing down at him. She listened for a moment and then looked in a direction, the direction that held a single open crate.

It was a small box, hidden between three larger ones that held various food. She placed the stone back into her shirt and said, “Good boy, Boulder. You deserve a treat later.” Her expression was as close to a smile as it could be as she patted her shirt where the pebble sat. She raised her flashlight, pointing it down into the open container. It wasn’t buried treasure or the find of the century, but to her, it was the most eye-opening thing she had ever discovered.

With her muzzle, she lifted out a black mask, plopping it to the floor in front of the crate. Then another. And another. Then she moved on to white shirts and blue overalls. Pairs littered the floor around her. How had the crate gotten here? How did it get past the dock workers search? It must have been brought aboard with some of the other crates or luggage. Wait. Maybe Rarity isn’t working alone, she drew her conclusion.

“Who would have brought aboard an insane, unhinged murderer bent on killing everypony?” she asked, specifically to Boulder. She understood what the rock supposedly replied with. “I have to find Twilight before Hondo and Cookie do.”

Before she left the storage room, she dropped all the clothing back into the crate and sealed it up tight. She dragged it away and hid it in the corner of the room and then brought a similar sized one back in its place. Now I know where these are and she doesn’t, maybe that will give us an edge. I hope.