PinkieTail's Curseby A Torn-Up NoteChaptersNight One: "My Name Is PinkieTail!"Night Two: She's WatchingNight Three: The Red Eyes in the DarkNight Four: Let's Play A Game!Night One: "My Name Is PinkieTail!"December 20, 1998 5 days before Hearth’s Warming The clock in the hall began to chime, signaling that the day was finally over. At this time, most ponies would be asleep in their comfortable beds inside their safe homes, dreaming wonderful dreams, courtesy of their favorite princess of night. In the particular home of our story, not all was quiet as it should have been. Tossing and turning in his bed, a little blue unicorn named Blake was having a very difficult time keeping himself asleep. All his excitement for the coming holiday brought too much energy to him, keeping him up. He let out a groan as he lied on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “How am I expected to sleep when we’re so close to Hearts Warming? It’s impossible!” He let out another groan, rubbing his face with his hooves. Sitting up in his bed, he began to think about how he could expel all this extra ‘energy’ he has. Then he remembered something. Earlier in the day, he heard his mother talk about the presents she got with a few of her friends she had brought over and how she ‘hid them in the basement.’ “Having great hearing really does pay off from time to time.” He said to himself, wearing a devious smile on his face. He quickly jumped off his bed and landed on the carpeted floor with a muffled ‘thud.’ He then turned towards the door of his room and began to walk towards it, leaving his room. As he walked down the hall, he looked around, getting a nice look of his home. It wasn’t anything fancy or special, just your average equestrian home. The walls were painted with white and several photo frames that contained pictures of him and his family (which, really, was just his mother) hung up on the wall. There were a few pictures that he wasn’t as happy to see up there, but there was nothing he could really do about it. Further down was a wood door that had a coat of brown paint that lead into the living area. It was currently closed, not that Blake wanted to go into the living room for any reason other than to see the tree. Beyond that was another set of doors, though these ones had a glass center that allowed Blake into the dining room. He wasn’t interested with what was in there. On the other side were a couple more doors that were closed. One that lead into the bathroom and the other that belonged to his mother’s room. Blake moved up to the door and looked at it for a quick couple seconds before he knocked on it. There was no answer. “I wonder if mom’s either asleep or is out with her friends again…” He quickly shook his head, returning to the task at hoof. The next room he entered, which was the second biggest on the upper level of the house. There were counters, cabinets, a sink, everything you would find in an average kitchen. There was also a fridge… Yeah, maybe the house was a little more fancy than Blake had originally thought. To the right of the fridge was a double door that led outside. To the left was the door that led to the basement, which, surprisingly, was left open. Blake arched a brow at this, slightly confused, but he didn’t worry too much. “Less trouble for me,” Blake said as he began to walk down the steps. While the upper part of the house was clean and organized, with the exception of Blake’s room, the entire basement wasn’t as pretty. Boxes and furniture was piled up against the stone walls of the hall and shelving units held cleaning supplies that were covered in dust. Not only that, but the air of the basement was stale and had small particles of dust floating about. Blake simple shooked his head. “One day… One day, mother will get this cleaned… But not today…” Blake began his little journey traveling down the hall of the basement. At the end of the hall was a doorway which led into a large, open room. There were four wooden pillars that held up the ceiling in each corner of the room. In the center of the room was a chair and an empty table. Blake walked past these has he headed towards the opening beyond them. There was no door into this room, but just a big hole in the wall, which Blake figured it was smashed down before they had moved into the house. Beyond that was a polka dotted curtin that only blocked part of the room. Blake pushed past the curtain and found a brown table on the other side. On it was a red and white box wrapped up with a red bow. “There you are, my precious.” Blake said with an evil grin. He trotted over to the table and lifted himself up with his front hooves. With his head over the edge of the table, he was able to examine the box more closely, though there wasn’t much detail to explain. He grabbed the box in his silver magic, lifting it off the table, and brought down onto the floor. “Now, to find out what’s inside.” He said, smiling. He began to remove the bow with his magic, along with the top of the box. He neatly set those down on the ground next to him, then began to lift the box inside the box (BOX-CEPTION!). Lifting it into the light, he was able to see what it was. The label on the box said ‘Talking Tattletail’ in a special looking font and the edges of the box was decorated with light patterns, but what interested Blake the most was what was inside. Inside was a small pony doll that had a pink coat. It’s sky-blue eyes were open wide and were staring in Blake’s eyes with an unbroken gaze. Its mane was a huge darker hue of pink mess, with curls everywhere. Blake only stared for a couple moments before he decided to move on. He opened the top of the box carefully, as to no damage it in any way, and slowly pulled out the pony doll. After getting it out, he lowered it into his hooves and looked more closely at it. Then he turned it over onto its stomach and took a look at its back. There, on the back of its head, was an ON/OFF switch. He flipped it up into the ON position and quickly turned the pony back over. Suddenly, the eyes began to move about inside the tiny pony’s head, looking left, then right, then back at Blake. A smile came to its face as it opened its mouth. “Hello! Me PinkieTail! Me love you!” The sudden noise from the pony doll startled Blake, who tossed the doll up into the air before quickly catching it in his hooves. “Woah! You startled me…” He said nervously to the doll. PinkieTail’s face drooped slightly. “Me sorry. Me no mean to scare you.” Blake looked at the doll in surprise. Did it really just answer him? It can actually do that? PinkieTail smiled. “Happy Birthday, Blake!” She said in a cheery voice. ‘Creepy. The doll knows my name.’ “Well, little doll, it’s not my birthday. But we are close to Hearth’s Warming, so…” “Happy Hearth’s Warming, new friend!” PinkieTail said in response. Blake smiled at his new toy. Then he heard a rumbling. “I’m hungry. Could you please get me a treat?” Blake looked at the doll in surprise. ‘It eats, too? Wow, they went all out making these things, huh?’ He smiled at the little pony in his hooves. “Of course! There may be some snacks in the fridge upstairs.” Putting PinkieTail on his back, Blake began his journey back upstairs. Digging through his fridge, Blake found a daffodil sandwich. One that his mother made for him earlier in the day, but he never ate it. He picked it up with his magic and tore off a couple of pieces. He gave a few to PinkieTail, who gulped them down rather quickly. “Wow, you really are hungry, aren’t ya?” Blake said with a mouth full of sandwich. The pony on his back smiled in response. After the two finished their snack, Blake closed the fridge and turned his attention back towards PinkieTail. The first thing he noticed was strands of loose hair poking out from her head. “My mane is a mess. Could you please brush me?” PinkieTail asked with a cute little smile and pleading eyes. Blake sighed. “I think there’s a brush in the living room.” He said aloud, moving himself from the kitchen, through the dining room into the living room. Out of all the rooms, the Living Room had to be the biggest. In the wall that was shared with the wall of the hall was a fireplace that had a singular stocking hung over it. On top of the fireplace were some more pictures, but these were of the cat that Blake used to have. “I wonder what happened to Mittens?” Blake thought to himself. Across the room was a couch and on that couch was the brush that they were looking for. “AH! Here we are!” Blake said with a smile. He grabbed the brush and sat down on the couch with PinkieTail in his lap. Then he started to brush at the mane, cleaning what he could of the curls on the pony’s head. It only took a few minutes, but soon he was finished. “There you go. All better.” PinkieTail smiled, then let out a huge yawn. “Me tired. Time for bed.” Blake nodded in response before letting out his own yawn. “Yeah. I guess it is.” When Blake walked down the stairs and turned the corner into the hall in the basement, the lights suddenly shut off, plunging the two into darkness. In his hooves, PinkieTail began to shake. “It’s dark!” Blake held the little pony close. “Don’t worry… I’m here…” He said, his own voice shaking slightly in fear. Blake had never been a fan of the darkness. He held PinkieTail close to him as they traveled through the darkened hall until they got to the large open room. With the light surrounding him, Blake let out a sigh. PinkieTail let out another yawn. Blake quickly moved into the backroom of the basement where he had found PinkieTail. Her box was laying in the same spot as he left it, on the floor next to the present wrapping. He reopened the box and carefully placed PinkieTail into the box. “Goodnight, PinkieTail.” “Goodnight, Blake…” PinkieTail said, shutting off. Blake rewrapped the present and placed it on the table, making sure it looked like it was touched. He smiled at his work before he left to retire to his own bed. As Blake stepped into the kitchen from the basement, the phone on the wall started to ring… Wait, since when was there a phone there? Blake’s confusion only grew when he pulled the device down so he can hear. All there was on the other side was the grinding of something, a loud screeching that drove holes into Blake’s soul. Then it clicked and a beeping tone came through the line. Blake quickly shook off the feeling he had, placed the device back on its stand and headed off towards his room, uncertain of what just happen. Night Two: She's WatchingDecember 21, 1998 4 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake was all nice and snuggled in his bed, but he couldn’t sleep. The thought of his little friend, PinkieTail, kept him up. ‘What is with that toy?’ He thought to himself. ‘How could it…’ His thoughts were interrupted by a strange thumping sound that ran through the house. He quickly sat up in his bed and quickly looked around. “What the… What is that?” He got out of bed and, using his ears, traveled out of his room and down the hall in attempt to discover the source of that sound. Blake had followed the sound down to the bottom of the stairs. “Well, it’s definitely coming from somewhere down here.” He said out loud to himself as he wandered down the hall of the basement. The light was still out from the night before, and chills went down Blake’s spine as he trudged through the dark towards the light at the other side. When he entered the large room, he was able to place the sound of the thumping to the front of him, slightly to the left. He moved in that direction, passing one of the columns as he approached the back of the room. There he found a little cave section that held the washing machine and all the cleaning supplies that went with it. Why they had a washing machine, Blake didn’t know. But what he did know is that the sound was coming from the washing machine, which had been turned on. He reached up with a hoof and turned of the machine. The thumping stopped and Blake sighed. “Woah. That was fun!” Blake jumped on the spot. He looked around for who might have said that. Eventually his eyes came back to the washing machine and on top of it was little PinkieTail, smiling and laughing. “What the? How did you get out of your box?” He asked the little pony. Her only reply was a smile. He sighed and picked her up with his hooves. “Woah! Me feeling dizzy!” She said, her eyes rolling around in her head. Blake chuckled. “Oh you silly toy.” He said, returning the friendly smile. Then PinkieTail began to sing, but it was off-tune. “La la LA la lA la La LA La lA la La LA! UH-ohhhhhhh...:” Her voice became bumpy and rough as she spoke. “UH-ohhhhhhh…. UH-ohhhhhh.” Blake knew what was wrong. “You need a charge, don’t you?” He asked the doll, who nodded in response. Blake walked back into the large room and headed towards the chair and table, where a little stand sat. When he got close, he was able to read the text: “To charge your Tattletail, place it on the recharge station and let sit for one minute. Tattletail’s battery will be fully charged afterwards. Warning: Do not overcharge Tattletail. Doing so will cause malfunctions in the programing.” Blake shrugged at the last part and placed PinkieTail on the station. She sat there on the base, continuing to say “Uh-oh” in a broken voice as her battery charged. After about a minute, PinkieTail’s ears perked up. “All done!” She said, smiling. Blake picked her up from the stand and smiled. “Feeling better?” He asked. She nodded. “Let’s play!” She said. Blake nodded in response, placed her on his back and started into the basement, looking for a source of entertainment. To the left of the basement, past the little cave that housed the washing machine was another hall that was connected to another small room and a door that led outside to the front yard. Coming to the entrance of this hall, Blake turned left and headed towards the small room. The door was open and a light shined from the overhead in the room. He entered the room and in front of his was a large object covered in a tarp. On top of it was what he was looking for: a small, green and yellow vase. “Here we are!” He said with a smile. He grabbed the vase with his magic and looked at it. Then he lifted PinkieTail from his back and placed her inside. “OH! It’s dark in here!” She exclaimed, her voice echoing inside the vase. “Oh, there’s an echo! ECHO!” Blake laughed at the little toy who was screaming from the inside of the vase. Then her head came slowly out of the vase at the top. “Peekaboo!” She said before slipping back inside. The two continued to do this for a little longer before they grew bored of it. “Alright, let’s find something else.” Blake said, pulling PinkieTail from the vase. She squeed in excitement as Blake levitated the vase back to where it was. However, he failed to noticed how close to the edge he placed it and as soon as he let go of it with his magic, the vase fell and shattered on the ground. Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered off, leaving the two in darkness… Almost darkness. Across the room, on the bottom of a wire shelving unit was the green light of a shakeable flashlight. Seeing it, Blake quickly grabbed it in his silver magic and shook it, generating light at the end with a bulb. He quickly found the door and left the room. “Oh… It’s very spooky!” PinkieTail said with a slight Italian accent… Blake simply shook his head AND the flashlight at the same time before finding the doorway that led into the big room. As he looked inside, his flashlight suddenly went out and across the room, he saw a pair of red, glowing eyes staring back at him. He held his breath as he stared at the red light, too scared to move. Then the lights came on and whatever had been sitting there was gone. Blake let out a breath that he didn’t even know that he was holding. “Mama’s watching…” PinkieTail said, not helping Blake’s uneasy feeling. Then she let out a yawn. “Me tried. Time for bed.” Blake said nothing as he walked through the big room, keeping his eyes on the spot where the red eyes had been. He rounded the curtain and found PinkieTail’s box sitting on the table. He quickly rewrapped PinkieTail, saying goodnight to her, then placed the box back on the table. As he crossed the big room, he kept his eyes on the spot. There he noticed something. It was small and green in color. Upon closer examination, Blake found out that it was an egg. He didn’t know where it came from or who left it, but he felt the urge to pick it up, so he did. He opened the egg and found inside… Flower petals… “Wha… Just what?” He asked, questioning the reason for this. He didn’t question it for long as he felt the grip of execution grabbing him, causing him to yawn. He quickly left for the staircase that led back upstairs. When he got to the top of the stairs, the phone started to ring again. Once again, Blake’s curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up again. On the other end came the sounds of grinding and screeching again, which only worsen Blake’s current state of mind. Then the beeping came, but the line didn’t cut like last time. Instead, a voice spoke. “Don’t worry… I’ll watch you… I’ll take good care of YOU…” Then the line cut. By then, Blake felt his entire body shaking. He was scared, but of what? What was that downstairs with the red eyes? Who was that on the phone saying that they’ll take care of him? And who is Mama? Night Three: The Red Eyes in the DarkDecember 22nd, 1998 3 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake had a hard time going to sleep tonight. His mind was racing with questions and issues about the things that have happened in the past couple nights. “This is just so strange. Why is this even happening to me? And for how long? How long til it’s all over? Til my own mother will actually believe what I am saying?” Blake sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hooves. “Geez, this is too much for one little foal. Though it certainly better than spending the night in the horrible pizzeria restaurant. What was it called again? Pinkie Fazpie’s Pizza Palace?” He rolled over in his bed, laying on his side, and watched the fish in his bowl swim around a miniature castle that looked like the Canterlot Castle. After watching for a few minutes, Blake felt his eyelids grow heavy and shortly after, sleep overtook him. But not for long. Shortly after having finally falling asleep, Blake was forcibly ripped from his dreams by a strange grinding sound that traveled through the house. “Oh gawd, what is that?” He asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Slowly, he got out of his bed and moved towards the door of his room. He grabbed the flashlight that sat in front of the television set in his room, shook it, and began his little investigation of the strange sound that interrupted his sleep. His investigation took him to the basement were the grinding noise was the loudest. Upon stepping on the hard, concrete floor of the basement, Blake felt a chill that ran up his little spine. His fur stood on edge as his light shined down the hall. The light had gone out and it was beyond dark in the basement, far too dark for Blake. But he had to figure out what that noise is, so he built up all the courage he could, took in a deep breath and began trotting through the darkness. When he walked into the big room in the basement, he noticed how different the atmosphere felt in the dark without his little friend. “Oh, how I wish PinkieTail was with me…” He said in a quiet voice, in case that ‘thing’ from last night was still down here with him. Using the light of the flashlight, he navigated himself around the various furniture and other things in the room while moving to the right side of the room, which was where the sound was coming from. There he found a door which, if memory served him right, was closed the past few times he was down here. He took a step forward and his hoof came down upon something. He looked down and saw another small, green egg laying on the ground, similar to the one he found the night before. “Huh…” Blake picked it up and opened it. Inside was a tuff of fur… Blue fur. “How did…” He saw another egg. And another. And another. There was an entire trail made of eggs that led into the room. “Who’s leaving these?” He asked aloud, picking up each one and opening them. Each item inside was just as strange as the last, confusing Blake more and more. By the time he collected the fifth egg, he was inside the room. His eyes followed the trail of the last few eggs, which led them to the source of the noise, upon seeing it, Blake jumped back in surprise. It was nothing like what he had expected to find. It looked similar to PinkieTail in design, but was much larger than its pink counterpart. Not only that, but it also had a set of wings and a horn on its head, making known that it’s clearly a lavender colored alicorn. “So familiar...” Blake thought out loud as he looked over the giant Tattletail toy. It was clear that the grinding noise was coming from this… ‘thing’. But why? And for what reason? Blake moved closer to investigate, but as soon as he took a step forward, the noise cut off, as if it knew he was finally there. He didn’t know what to do, but then he noticed the tape that sat inside of the mini fridge next to the alicorn TattleTail. He picked it up with his magic and gave it one quick lookover. On the front was white tape and writing that read: “Hide And Seek With Mama”. He looked back at the Tattletail Toy and noticed that there was a slot in the chest area. Wide enough for the tape he was holding. Not knowing exactly what he needed to do, Blake inserted the tape into the slot. It slid in and there was a ‘click’, then a ‘whir’, as if the tape was being rewinded, then another ‘click’, then the eyes on the Tattletail shot open as the head began to spin around, doing a full 360. The mouth opened and closed as a voice came out, telling a story with music playing in the background. “The children thought that Mama would never find them, as long as she couldn’t see them. Turn the page… But Mama could still hear the children. The pitter-patter of their little hooves led Mama right to them. Turn the page… Then Mama found them. Every last one. And put them right back to bed…” The audio died out after that and the sounds had stopped, but the Tattletail’s (Who Blake figured by now was Mama) head and eyes continued to move. In the silence, Blake sat there, watching the big Tattletail move around. He felt scared, too scared to really do anything but watch. His mind was racing with many questions. But all that was interrupted by a familiar laugh. ‘PinkieTail.’ The sound had came from above him, which meant that she was upstairs somewhere. And right now, Blake need the company of his little friend. He turned and quickly left the room, leaving Mama Tattletail behind him. However, as he ran out the room, he didn’t noticed that the head of Mama had stopped moving. Nor did he noticed that her eyes stared at him, unblinking, with a red glow. Blake traced the sounds of laughter all the way back upstairs where he found PinkieTail… Sitting on a pile of trash. “Oh, what the heck?” Blake questioned as he approached PinkieTail. Her only response was a giggle. Blake shook his head and picked up PinkieTail with his hoof. “PinkieTail, that’s me!” She said, wearing the biggest smile. Blake only sighed in response, finally happy to have some company. Then his mood changed when PinkieTail spoke again. “Show me Mama!” “What?! You.. You want to see… Mama?” He asked the little doll, who nodded in response. “Are you sure? I mean, we could, like, totally do something else… Something that doesn’t require me to go back into the basement… Or near Mama…” He said. But PinkieTail’s decision stood firm. She wanted nothing else. Sighing in defeat, Blake turned around and walked back towards the basement. He was going to have to deal with Mama one more time, then he’ll come back and clean up the mess. Blake found himself back downstairs in the large room, staring at the doorway that led into the room where Mama was. The lights still hadn’t come back on, so he had to keep the light up in his flashlight, shaking every once in awhile when it dimmed. He had to, because if he didn’t, PinkieTail would start shaking and whimpering and that’s the last thing he wants right now. Letting out another sigh, he walked into the room, holding onto both the flashlight and PinkieTail. When he entered the room and turned to the corner of the room where Mama last was, his eyes shrank and his ears drooped in fear. The corner was empty. No big alicorn tattletail sitting there, waiting to greet him and the smaller tattletail. He opened his mouth to say something, but PinkieTail beat him to it. “Where’s Mama?” She asked, her voice… Shaking? Was she scared? But it wasn’t dark. Not with the flashlight still on. But whatever it was, it was gone quickly as PinkieTail let out a yawn. “Me tired. Time for bed.” She said, her eyes halfway closed. Blake sighed, feeling his own exhaustion creeping up on him. He turned and left the room, taking PinkieTail back to where her box was. He wrapped her up inside and placed the present back on the table. Then he turned and left the small room, heading back towards the stairs. He still had one other thing to deal with before he went to bed, or else his mother would be on his back about it for the next week. As Blake climbed the stairs, he couldn’t stop thinking about Mama, about how she was missing from her spot in the basement room, how PinkieTail seemed startled about her missing, and how the air around his seemed… strange. His trail of thought was broken when he realized that the lights in the house have shut off, leaving him in the dark with the soft glow of his flashlight. He shook it a couple of times to brighten the room, which was the kitchen, and quickly found a nearby lightswitch. He flipped it down, then back up. Nothing happened. “Hmm…” Blake was pondered, wondering about the lights and what happened, when he heard a noise cut through the silence in the air. It was a grinding noise, one that sound oddly familiar… Blake moved through the kitchen and into the doorframe that led into the dining room and living room. His flashlight suddenly cut out and he saw them: a pair of red, glowing eyes staring at him through the darkness. He inhaled a deep breath at the sight, too scared to move. The eyes moved back and forth, illuminating part of the carpet in front of it, as if it was searching for something. Then the red glow crawled along the ground towards Blake as the creature’s eyes lifted up, noticing him in the darkness. The grinding sound came again and so did a voice, a very familiar voice. “No need to worry… Mama’s here for you…” ‘Oh gawd…’ Blake’s heart started to race in fear as he knew what the creature was. It was Mama, or, to be more precise, it was the big tattletail toy that was in the basement. The one the had vanished. “Oh please, no…” He said, backing away from the doorway. However, he tripped on himself and fell to the ground with a loud ‘CRASH’. Mama immediately got up from where she was sitting and started to move towards Blake, a thud coming from her hooves when they hit the ground. “Mama will look after you…” Her voice said in a cheery tone as her figure moved threatenly through the darkness. Blake quickly gathered himself and, without wasting a second, rushed for the basement door. His hooves clattered against the tile floor as he escaped the gaze of Mama, who continued to follow him. He made it to the doorway of the basement and stopped. He looked down into the pitch-black darkness that engulfed the lower portion of his house, wondering if it really was better place to go to. A thud called from behind him and when he turned around, he saw the red eyes glaring around the corner. Though it was extremely dark and very hard to see the full shape of Mama, Blake could see the faded white color of something.. Sharp. This drove Blake’s mind into making a decision. Without another thought, Blake threw himself down the stairs, with Mama on his trail. He tumbled through the dark, smacking against each step, before coming to a full stop at the bottom… Flat on his face. “Note to self: Use flashlight to find steps, BEFORE taking said step.” He said to himself, feeling the cold of the concrete floor thru his fur. He got up, his head feeling very light, when a voice spoke from right behind him. “Mama’s here… Don’t worry…” Blake’s entire body froze up. The grinding of Mama’s insides was loud and Blake could do nothing but just stand there, waiting for the worst. He closed his eyes and braced himself… But nothing happened. He waited a little longer, then opened his eyes. He turned around and saw nothing behind him. Not only that, but the lights in the house had turned back on. Doing a quick scope of the area, Blake realized that Mama had vanished. But for what reason? Blake didn’t understand, but he didn’t care. As quick as he could, he, once again, threw himself up the stairs, through the kitchen and into the living room, where PinkieTail’s mess was. Picking up everything and placing it into the trash can that was next to it all, he carried it back into the kitchen with his magic and placed the trash can back where it belonged. Then he turned and started off towards his room. This has been too much of a night for him and he just wanted to get to bed and forget it all. To place himself into the safety of his dream world, which was more than likely corrupted by tonight’s events. However, as he was passing it, the phone on the wall rang. Blake knew that the past few times he had picked it up, it was only nightmare fuel on the other side. But, just like the cat that got killed, his curiosity was too much. Lifting it with his magic, he brought the speaker to his ear and listened. It was the same grinding noise from the nights before, which he know assumed belonged to Mama, but behind that was music. A jingle and a familiar one at that. Then, just like the past few times, the phone cut out and there was nothing but silence. Blake sighed and hung the phone back up. “Why? Just why?” He asked to the universe, which only responded in silence. He sighed again and headed to his room, too tired to really care right now. “Maybe tomorrow night will be better…” Author's Note Probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written and the most time I've spent writing! But it came out just how I wanted! I hope that ya'll are enjoying this story and, with a little bit of hope, the next chapter will be worked out and up within a couple of weeks! YAY! Night Four: Let's Play A Game!December 23, 1998 2 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake laid awake in his bed, chills running down his spine as he thought about the events of the night before. He had tried to say something to his mother during the day about a strange creature in their house, but she blamed it on nightmares, saying that it’s the side-effects from watching such terrifying movies. ‘It can’t be that, though. I’ve never had anything like this happen before.’ He thought to himself. ‘No… No movie could be doing something like this to me… So what’s going on?’ His thoughts continued to attempt to make sense of the situation until eventually, Blake passed out on his bed. “Don’t worry… Mama’s Here…” Blake ran through the darkness as fast as he could, trying to escape the beast in the shadows. He looked behind him and saw the glow of the red eyes staring at him as he ran. “Come to Mama.” The voice said again, this time in a much more chilling tone that almost sounded demonic. “Stay away!” Blake cried, his hooves pounding against the ground. He brought forth all his strength, but it wasn’t enough. Every passing moment, the red eyes grew closer and the screeching sound got louder. “Mama’s coming for you!” A deep voice said. Blake looked back once again to see the jaws of the monster open, revealing the rows upon rows of sharp teeth, bearing down on him. “NOOOO!” Was the last thing he yelled before the jaws closed around him, devouring him whole. “No!” Blake shot up in his bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He placed a hoof on his chest and felt his heart racing as if he had done several laps around his house. It took him several moments before he could collect himself, taking deep breaths. ‘It… it was just a dream…’ He thought to himself. ‘Oh, thank Celestia…’ He managed to finally calm himself, listening to the chatter of bugs and chirping of crickets coming from outside… “Wait, what? Bugs don’t chatter.” It’s true. Blake held his tongue and listened. There was a faint noise that sounded like voices talking to each other. But it wasn’t his mother. He would be able to tell that. No, it sounded like… “Pinkietail? But how?” Blake was confused, but also curious, so he got out of his bed, grabbed the flashlight that sat on the table next to his bed and proceeded to leave his room to investigate. Trotting through his house, Blake followed the sounds of voices to the back door of the house, which, surprisingly, was left wide open. ‘What? Why is it open?’ He wondered as he passed through the door and into the small backyard he had. If you can call it that. It was barely bigger than the front yard and that was small enough already. The green grass has grown more in certain places of the yard, causing small patches of thick grass to lay spotted across the ground. Blake started out, walking through the grass and towards the shed in the corner of the yard. The very place where the voices were coming from. The door to the shed wasn't locked like it normally and the light inside was turned on, casting a dim yellow glow through the doorway. Blake pushed open the door a bit and peered in… Then gasped. Sitting on the floor was PinkieTail, chattering away happily with another Tattletail toy! ‘Another one? Where did it come from?’ Blake asked quietly as he walked in. PinkieTail turns towards him and giggled in joy, obviously happy to see him. He picked her up and held her close, looking at her curiously. “How did you get out of your box? And where did that come from?” He looked at the other Tattletail toy, which looked up at him with shy looking eyes that peeked out from behind its long pink hair. It looked a bit scared, which made Blake feel strange. “Let’s play a game!” PinkieTail exclaimed, smiling at Blake. He looked at her, then at the other toy. “Alright, I guess…” He replied. “Yay! Tap FlutterTail to start!” PinkieTail exclaimed. Blake looked at the other toy carefully. There was something very off about her, something that just made him feel very uncomfortable. ‘I should just go back to bed. I would be safe there…’ He thought, but he looked at PinkieTail again. Her eyes looked at him, pleading for him to play. Blake sighed in defeat. “What could one little game do?” A lot. One little game could do a lot of horrible things. The instant Blake tapped on FlutterTail’s head (which she nearly cried out about), the lights began to flicker. Blake looked around, unsettled by the events because it felt so… Familiar. “No Peeking…” PinkieTail said before the lights completely blacked out, leaving Blake in complete darkness. Instantly, Blake shook his flashlight, getting the nice green glow from it as he shined it onto the spot where FlutterTail was. ‘Gone. Just great…’ Blake thought as he turned towards the door. He began to walk towards it when a sound caused him to stop in his tracks. The same screeching noise from the night before howled from outside the shed. Blake was terrified. His entire body locked up in place, unable to move as the sound began to move closer to the door. It only got louder as the sounds of thudding hoofsteps came from outside the door. Blake was uncertain of what to do. He had nowhere to go, no place to escape to like last night. He was trapped with this… Thing. This monster that was hunting him. ‘Please don’t come in. Please don’t come in. Please don’t come in!’ Blake thought to himself as his eyes closed tightly. The sounds grew louder, closer. He could hear something else: Breathing. “Momma’s coming…” The disordered voice said from right outside the door. ‘Oh, sweet Celestia, not like this!’ Blake braced himself for the worse… And it never came. Blake waited a moment before opening his eyes. It was still dark and the light of the Flashlight had begun to dim. Blake took a moment to stand there, listening. Nothing. No screeching, no thudding, nothing. Just the crickets in the grass. ‘What… What happened?’ Blake was both scared out of his mind and confused as heck. Why didn’t she get him? He was stuck right there with no place to go, no escape. Certainly, she knew he was there because of the flashlight, but… She just left. Gone without a trace. Blake shook himself, unlocking his body from the fear that enveloped him and moved towards the door very slowly, shaking the flashlight before its glow went out. He peered around the corner and looked outside. Nothing. There was no red glaring eyes, no sharp pony-killing teeth. Just the yard. “What the actual heck?” He stated, completely confused. Shortly after that, the lights came back on, flickering back to their normal glow. “Try and find her!” PinkieTail exclaimed happily. “What?” Blake looked at her, confused. Find who? Mamma? He would rather not. “No… Find friend!” PinkieTail corrected, smiling. FlutterTail? “Alright, I guess…” Blake began to walk back to the house, keeping an eye out for that monster. Author's Note This was the next chapter that I was working on. There was supposed to be more, but since I've stopped writing all MLP related stories to focus on other things, there won't be more added to this or any of my stories. I would like to thank everyone here on this site for inspiring me to continue writing for as long as I did. Thank you for reading.
Night One: "My Name Is PinkieTail!"December 20, 1998 5 days before Hearth’s Warming The clock in the hall began to chime, signaling that the day was finally over. At this time, most ponies would be asleep in their comfortable beds inside their safe homes, dreaming wonderful dreams, courtesy of their favorite princess of night. In the particular home of our story, not all was quiet as it should have been. Tossing and turning in his bed, a little blue unicorn named Blake was having a very difficult time keeping himself asleep. All his excitement for the coming holiday brought too much energy to him, keeping him up. He let out a groan as he lied on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “How am I expected to sleep when we’re so close to Hearts Warming? It’s impossible!” He let out another groan, rubbing his face with his hooves. Sitting up in his bed, he began to think about how he could expel all this extra ‘energy’ he has. Then he remembered something. Earlier in the day, he heard his mother talk about the presents she got with a few of her friends she had brought over and how she ‘hid them in the basement.’ “Having great hearing really does pay off from time to time.” He said to himself, wearing a devious smile on his face. He quickly jumped off his bed and landed on the carpeted floor with a muffled ‘thud.’ He then turned towards the door of his room and began to walk towards it, leaving his room. As he walked down the hall, he looked around, getting a nice look of his home. It wasn’t anything fancy or special, just your average equestrian home. The walls were painted with white and several photo frames that contained pictures of him and his family (which, really, was just his mother) hung up on the wall. There were a few pictures that he wasn’t as happy to see up there, but there was nothing he could really do about it. Further down was a wood door that had a coat of brown paint that lead into the living area. It was currently closed, not that Blake wanted to go into the living room for any reason other than to see the tree. Beyond that was another set of doors, though these ones had a glass center that allowed Blake into the dining room. He wasn’t interested with what was in there. On the other side were a couple more doors that were closed. One that lead into the bathroom and the other that belonged to his mother’s room. Blake moved up to the door and looked at it for a quick couple seconds before he knocked on it. There was no answer. “I wonder if mom’s either asleep or is out with her friends again…” He quickly shook his head, returning to the task at hoof. The next room he entered, which was the second biggest on the upper level of the house. There were counters, cabinets, a sink, everything you would find in an average kitchen. There was also a fridge… Yeah, maybe the house was a little more fancy than Blake had originally thought. To the right of the fridge was a double door that led outside. To the left was the door that led to the basement, which, surprisingly, was left open. Blake arched a brow at this, slightly confused, but he didn’t worry too much. “Less trouble for me,” Blake said as he began to walk down the steps. While the upper part of the house was clean and organized, with the exception of Blake’s room, the entire basement wasn’t as pretty. Boxes and furniture was piled up against the stone walls of the hall and shelving units held cleaning supplies that were covered in dust. Not only that, but the air of the basement was stale and had small particles of dust floating about. Blake simple shooked his head. “One day… One day, mother will get this cleaned… But not today…” Blake began his little journey traveling down the hall of the basement. At the end of the hall was a doorway which led into a large, open room. There were four wooden pillars that held up the ceiling in each corner of the room. In the center of the room was a chair and an empty table. Blake walked past these has he headed towards the opening beyond them. There was no door into this room, but just a big hole in the wall, which Blake figured it was smashed down before they had moved into the house. Beyond that was a polka dotted curtin that only blocked part of the room. Blake pushed past the curtain and found a brown table on the other side. On it was a red and white box wrapped up with a red bow. “There you are, my precious.” Blake said with an evil grin. He trotted over to the table and lifted himself up with his front hooves. With his head over the edge of the table, he was able to examine the box more closely, though there wasn’t much detail to explain. He grabbed the box in his silver magic, lifting it off the table, and brought down onto the floor. “Now, to find out what’s inside.” He said, smiling. He began to remove the bow with his magic, along with the top of the box. He neatly set those down on the ground next to him, then began to lift the box inside the box (BOX-CEPTION!). Lifting it into the light, he was able to see what it was. The label on the box said ‘Talking Tattletail’ in a special looking font and the edges of the box was decorated with light patterns, but what interested Blake the most was what was inside. Inside was a small pony doll that had a pink coat. It’s sky-blue eyes were open wide and were staring in Blake’s eyes with an unbroken gaze. Its mane was a huge darker hue of pink mess, with curls everywhere. Blake only stared for a couple moments before he decided to move on. He opened the top of the box carefully, as to no damage it in any way, and slowly pulled out the pony doll. After getting it out, he lowered it into his hooves and looked more closely at it. Then he turned it over onto its stomach and took a look at its back. There, on the back of its head, was an ON/OFF switch. He flipped it up into the ON position and quickly turned the pony back over. Suddenly, the eyes began to move about inside the tiny pony’s head, looking left, then right, then back at Blake. A smile came to its face as it opened its mouth. “Hello! Me PinkieTail! Me love you!” The sudden noise from the pony doll startled Blake, who tossed the doll up into the air before quickly catching it in his hooves. “Woah! You startled me…” He said nervously to the doll. PinkieTail’s face drooped slightly. “Me sorry. Me no mean to scare you.” Blake looked at the doll in surprise. Did it really just answer him? It can actually do that? PinkieTail smiled. “Happy Birthday, Blake!” She said in a cheery voice. ‘Creepy. The doll knows my name.’ “Well, little doll, it’s not my birthday. But we are close to Hearth’s Warming, so…” “Happy Hearth’s Warming, new friend!” PinkieTail said in response. Blake smiled at his new toy. Then he heard a rumbling. “I’m hungry. Could you please get me a treat?” Blake looked at the doll in surprise. ‘It eats, too? Wow, they went all out making these things, huh?’ He smiled at the little pony in his hooves. “Of course! There may be some snacks in the fridge upstairs.” Putting PinkieTail on his back, Blake began his journey back upstairs. Digging through his fridge, Blake found a daffodil sandwich. One that his mother made for him earlier in the day, but he never ate it. He picked it up with his magic and tore off a couple of pieces. He gave a few to PinkieTail, who gulped them down rather quickly. “Wow, you really are hungry, aren’t ya?” Blake said with a mouth full of sandwich. The pony on his back smiled in response. After the two finished their snack, Blake closed the fridge and turned his attention back towards PinkieTail. The first thing he noticed was strands of loose hair poking out from her head. “My mane is a mess. Could you please brush me?” PinkieTail asked with a cute little smile and pleading eyes. Blake sighed. “I think there’s a brush in the living room.” He said aloud, moving himself from the kitchen, through the dining room into the living room. Out of all the rooms, the Living Room had to be the biggest. In the wall that was shared with the wall of the hall was a fireplace that had a singular stocking hung over it. On top of the fireplace were some more pictures, but these were of the cat that Blake used to have. “I wonder what happened to Mittens?” Blake thought to himself. Across the room was a couch and on that couch was the brush that they were looking for. “AH! Here we are!” Blake said with a smile. He grabbed the brush and sat down on the couch with PinkieTail in his lap. Then he started to brush at the mane, cleaning what he could of the curls on the pony’s head. It only took a few minutes, but soon he was finished. “There you go. All better.” PinkieTail smiled, then let out a huge yawn. “Me tired. Time for bed.” Blake nodded in response before letting out his own yawn. “Yeah. I guess it is.” When Blake walked down the stairs and turned the corner into the hall in the basement, the lights suddenly shut off, plunging the two into darkness. In his hooves, PinkieTail began to shake. “It’s dark!” Blake held the little pony close. “Don’t worry… I’m here…” He said, his own voice shaking slightly in fear. Blake had never been a fan of the darkness. He held PinkieTail close to him as they traveled through the darkened hall until they got to the large open room. With the light surrounding him, Blake let out a sigh. PinkieTail let out another yawn. Blake quickly moved into the backroom of the basement where he had found PinkieTail. Her box was laying in the same spot as he left it, on the floor next to the present wrapping. He reopened the box and carefully placed PinkieTail into the box. “Goodnight, PinkieTail.” “Goodnight, Blake…” PinkieTail said, shutting off. Blake rewrapped the present and placed it on the table, making sure it looked like it was touched. He smiled at his work before he left to retire to his own bed. As Blake stepped into the kitchen from the basement, the phone on the wall started to ring… Wait, since when was there a phone there? Blake’s confusion only grew when he pulled the device down so he can hear. All there was on the other side was the grinding of something, a loud screeching that drove holes into Blake’s soul. Then it clicked and a beeping tone came through the line. Blake quickly shook off the feeling he had, placed the device back on its stand and headed off towards his room, uncertain of what just happen.
Night Two: She's WatchingDecember 21, 1998 4 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake was all nice and snuggled in his bed, but he couldn’t sleep. The thought of his little friend, PinkieTail, kept him up. ‘What is with that toy?’ He thought to himself. ‘How could it…’ His thoughts were interrupted by a strange thumping sound that ran through the house. He quickly sat up in his bed and quickly looked around. “What the… What is that?” He got out of bed and, using his ears, traveled out of his room and down the hall in attempt to discover the source of that sound. Blake had followed the sound down to the bottom of the stairs. “Well, it’s definitely coming from somewhere down here.” He said out loud to himself as he wandered down the hall of the basement. The light was still out from the night before, and chills went down Blake’s spine as he trudged through the dark towards the light at the other side. When he entered the large room, he was able to place the sound of the thumping to the front of him, slightly to the left. He moved in that direction, passing one of the columns as he approached the back of the room. There he found a little cave section that held the washing machine and all the cleaning supplies that went with it. Why they had a washing machine, Blake didn’t know. But what he did know is that the sound was coming from the washing machine, which had been turned on. He reached up with a hoof and turned of the machine. The thumping stopped and Blake sighed. “Woah. That was fun!” Blake jumped on the spot. He looked around for who might have said that. Eventually his eyes came back to the washing machine and on top of it was little PinkieTail, smiling and laughing. “What the? How did you get out of your box?” He asked the little pony. Her only reply was a smile. He sighed and picked her up with his hooves. “Woah! Me feeling dizzy!” She said, her eyes rolling around in her head. Blake chuckled. “Oh you silly toy.” He said, returning the friendly smile. Then PinkieTail began to sing, but it was off-tune. “La la LA la lA la La LA La lA la La LA! UH-ohhhhhhh...:” Her voice became bumpy and rough as she spoke. “UH-ohhhhhhh…. UH-ohhhhhh.” Blake knew what was wrong. “You need a charge, don’t you?” He asked the doll, who nodded in response. Blake walked back into the large room and headed towards the chair and table, where a little stand sat. When he got close, he was able to read the text: “To charge your Tattletail, place it on the recharge station and let sit for one minute. Tattletail’s battery will be fully charged afterwards. Warning: Do not overcharge Tattletail. Doing so will cause malfunctions in the programing.” Blake shrugged at the last part and placed PinkieTail on the station. She sat there on the base, continuing to say “Uh-oh” in a broken voice as her battery charged. After about a minute, PinkieTail’s ears perked up. “All done!” She said, smiling. Blake picked her up from the stand and smiled. “Feeling better?” He asked. She nodded. “Let’s play!” She said. Blake nodded in response, placed her on his back and started into the basement, looking for a source of entertainment. To the left of the basement, past the little cave that housed the washing machine was another hall that was connected to another small room and a door that led outside to the front yard. Coming to the entrance of this hall, Blake turned left and headed towards the small room. The door was open and a light shined from the overhead in the room. He entered the room and in front of his was a large object covered in a tarp. On top of it was what he was looking for: a small, green and yellow vase. “Here we are!” He said with a smile. He grabbed the vase with his magic and looked at it. Then he lifted PinkieTail from his back and placed her inside. “OH! It’s dark in here!” She exclaimed, her voice echoing inside the vase. “Oh, there’s an echo! ECHO!” Blake laughed at the little toy who was screaming from the inside of the vase. Then her head came slowly out of the vase at the top. “Peekaboo!” She said before slipping back inside. The two continued to do this for a little longer before they grew bored of it. “Alright, let’s find something else.” Blake said, pulling PinkieTail from the vase. She squeed in excitement as Blake levitated the vase back to where it was. However, he failed to noticed how close to the edge he placed it and as soon as he let go of it with his magic, the vase fell and shattered on the ground. Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered off, leaving the two in darkness… Almost darkness. Across the room, on the bottom of a wire shelving unit was the green light of a shakeable flashlight. Seeing it, Blake quickly grabbed it in his silver magic and shook it, generating light at the end with a bulb. He quickly found the door and left the room. “Oh… It’s very spooky!” PinkieTail said with a slight Italian accent… Blake simply shook his head AND the flashlight at the same time before finding the doorway that led into the big room. As he looked inside, his flashlight suddenly went out and across the room, he saw a pair of red, glowing eyes staring back at him. He held his breath as he stared at the red light, too scared to move. Then the lights came on and whatever had been sitting there was gone. Blake let out a breath that he didn’t even know that he was holding. “Mama’s watching…” PinkieTail said, not helping Blake’s uneasy feeling. Then she let out a yawn. “Me tried. Time for bed.” Blake said nothing as he walked through the big room, keeping his eyes on the spot where the red eyes had been. He rounded the curtain and found PinkieTail’s box sitting on the table. He quickly rewrapped PinkieTail, saying goodnight to her, then placed the box back on the table. As he crossed the big room, he kept his eyes on the spot. There he noticed something. It was small and green in color. Upon closer examination, Blake found out that it was an egg. He didn’t know where it came from or who left it, but he felt the urge to pick it up, so he did. He opened the egg and found inside… Flower petals… “Wha… Just what?” He asked, questioning the reason for this. He didn’t question it for long as he felt the grip of execution grabbing him, causing him to yawn. He quickly left for the staircase that led back upstairs. When he got to the top of the stairs, the phone started to ring again. Once again, Blake’s curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up again. On the other end came the sounds of grinding and screeching again, which only worsen Blake’s current state of mind. Then the beeping came, but the line didn’t cut like last time. Instead, a voice spoke. “Don’t worry… I’ll watch you… I’ll take good care of YOU…” Then the line cut. By then, Blake felt his entire body shaking. He was scared, but of what? What was that downstairs with the red eyes? Who was that on the phone saying that they’ll take care of him? And who is Mama?
Night Three: The Red Eyes in the DarkDecember 22nd, 1998 3 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake had a hard time going to sleep tonight. His mind was racing with questions and issues about the things that have happened in the past couple nights. “This is just so strange. Why is this even happening to me? And for how long? How long til it’s all over? Til my own mother will actually believe what I am saying?” Blake sighed, rubbing his eyes with his hooves. “Geez, this is too much for one little foal. Though it certainly better than spending the night in the horrible pizzeria restaurant. What was it called again? Pinkie Fazpie’s Pizza Palace?” He rolled over in his bed, laying on his side, and watched the fish in his bowl swim around a miniature castle that looked like the Canterlot Castle. After watching for a few minutes, Blake felt his eyelids grow heavy and shortly after, sleep overtook him. But not for long. Shortly after having finally falling asleep, Blake was forcibly ripped from his dreams by a strange grinding sound that traveled through the house. “Oh gawd, what is that?” He asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Slowly, he got out of his bed and moved towards the door of his room. He grabbed the flashlight that sat in front of the television set in his room, shook it, and began his little investigation of the strange sound that interrupted his sleep. His investigation took him to the basement were the grinding noise was the loudest. Upon stepping on the hard, concrete floor of the basement, Blake felt a chill that ran up his little spine. His fur stood on edge as his light shined down the hall. The light had gone out and it was beyond dark in the basement, far too dark for Blake. But he had to figure out what that noise is, so he built up all the courage he could, took in a deep breath and began trotting through the darkness. When he walked into the big room in the basement, he noticed how different the atmosphere felt in the dark without his little friend. “Oh, how I wish PinkieTail was with me…” He said in a quiet voice, in case that ‘thing’ from last night was still down here with him. Using the light of the flashlight, he navigated himself around the various furniture and other things in the room while moving to the right side of the room, which was where the sound was coming from. There he found a door which, if memory served him right, was closed the past few times he was down here. He took a step forward and his hoof came down upon something. He looked down and saw another small, green egg laying on the ground, similar to the one he found the night before. “Huh…” Blake picked it up and opened it. Inside was a tuff of fur… Blue fur. “How did…” He saw another egg. And another. And another. There was an entire trail made of eggs that led into the room. “Who’s leaving these?” He asked aloud, picking up each one and opening them. Each item inside was just as strange as the last, confusing Blake more and more. By the time he collected the fifth egg, he was inside the room. His eyes followed the trail of the last few eggs, which led them to the source of the noise, upon seeing it, Blake jumped back in surprise. It was nothing like what he had expected to find. It looked similar to PinkieTail in design, but was much larger than its pink counterpart. Not only that, but it also had a set of wings and a horn on its head, making known that it’s clearly a lavender colored alicorn. “So familiar...” Blake thought out loud as he looked over the giant Tattletail toy. It was clear that the grinding noise was coming from this… ‘thing’. But why? And for what reason? Blake moved closer to investigate, but as soon as he took a step forward, the noise cut off, as if it knew he was finally there. He didn’t know what to do, but then he noticed the tape that sat inside of the mini fridge next to the alicorn TattleTail. He picked it up with his magic and gave it one quick lookover. On the front was white tape and writing that read: “Hide And Seek With Mama”. He looked back at the Tattletail Toy and noticed that there was a slot in the chest area. Wide enough for the tape he was holding. Not knowing exactly what he needed to do, Blake inserted the tape into the slot. It slid in and there was a ‘click’, then a ‘whir’, as if the tape was being rewinded, then another ‘click’, then the eyes on the Tattletail shot open as the head began to spin around, doing a full 360. The mouth opened and closed as a voice came out, telling a story with music playing in the background. “The children thought that Mama would never find them, as long as she couldn’t see them. Turn the page… But Mama could still hear the children. The pitter-patter of their little hooves led Mama right to them. Turn the page… Then Mama found them. Every last one. And put them right back to bed…” The audio died out after that and the sounds had stopped, but the Tattletail’s (Who Blake figured by now was Mama) head and eyes continued to move. In the silence, Blake sat there, watching the big Tattletail move around. He felt scared, too scared to really do anything but watch. His mind was racing with many questions. But all that was interrupted by a familiar laugh. ‘PinkieTail.’ The sound had came from above him, which meant that she was upstairs somewhere. And right now, Blake need the company of his little friend. He turned and quickly left the room, leaving Mama Tattletail behind him. However, as he ran out the room, he didn’t noticed that the head of Mama had stopped moving. Nor did he noticed that her eyes stared at him, unblinking, with a red glow. Blake traced the sounds of laughter all the way back upstairs where he found PinkieTail… Sitting on a pile of trash. “Oh, what the heck?” Blake questioned as he approached PinkieTail. Her only response was a giggle. Blake shook his head and picked up PinkieTail with his hoof. “PinkieTail, that’s me!” She said, wearing the biggest smile. Blake only sighed in response, finally happy to have some company. Then his mood changed when PinkieTail spoke again. “Show me Mama!” “What?! You.. You want to see… Mama?” He asked the little doll, who nodded in response. “Are you sure? I mean, we could, like, totally do something else… Something that doesn’t require me to go back into the basement… Or near Mama…” He said. But PinkieTail’s decision stood firm. She wanted nothing else. Sighing in defeat, Blake turned around and walked back towards the basement. He was going to have to deal with Mama one more time, then he’ll come back and clean up the mess. Blake found himself back downstairs in the large room, staring at the doorway that led into the room where Mama was. The lights still hadn’t come back on, so he had to keep the light up in his flashlight, shaking every once in awhile when it dimmed. He had to, because if he didn’t, PinkieTail would start shaking and whimpering and that’s the last thing he wants right now. Letting out another sigh, he walked into the room, holding onto both the flashlight and PinkieTail. When he entered the room and turned to the corner of the room where Mama last was, his eyes shrank and his ears drooped in fear. The corner was empty. No big alicorn tattletail sitting there, waiting to greet him and the smaller tattletail. He opened his mouth to say something, but PinkieTail beat him to it. “Where’s Mama?” She asked, her voice… Shaking? Was she scared? But it wasn’t dark. Not with the flashlight still on. But whatever it was, it was gone quickly as PinkieTail let out a yawn. “Me tired. Time for bed.” She said, her eyes halfway closed. Blake sighed, feeling his own exhaustion creeping up on him. He turned and left the room, taking PinkieTail back to where her box was. He wrapped her up inside and placed the present back on the table. Then he turned and left the small room, heading back towards the stairs. He still had one other thing to deal with before he went to bed, or else his mother would be on his back about it for the next week. As Blake climbed the stairs, he couldn’t stop thinking about Mama, about how she was missing from her spot in the basement room, how PinkieTail seemed startled about her missing, and how the air around his seemed… strange. His trail of thought was broken when he realized that the lights in the house have shut off, leaving him in the dark with the soft glow of his flashlight. He shook it a couple of times to brighten the room, which was the kitchen, and quickly found a nearby lightswitch. He flipped it down, then back up. Nothing happened. “Hmm…” Blake was pondered, wondering about the lights and what happened, when he heard a noise cut through the silence in the air. It was a grinding noise, one that sound oddly familiar… Blake moved through the kitchen and into the doorframe that led into the dining room and living room. His flashlight suddenly cut out and he saw them: a pair of red, glowing eyes staring at him through the darkness. He inhaled a deep breath at the sight, too scared to move. The eyes moved back and forth, illuminating part of the carpet in front of it, as if it was searching for something. Then the red glow crawled along the ground towards Blake as the creature’s eyes lifted up, noticing him in the darkness. The grinding sound came again and so did a voice, a very familiar voice. “No need to worry… Mama’s here for you…” ‘Oh gawd…’ Blake’s heart started to race in fear as he knew what the creature was. It was Mama, or, to be more precise, it was the big tattletail toy that was in the basement. The one the had vanished. “Oh please, no…” He said, backing away from the doorway. However, he tripped on himself and fell to the ground with a loud ‘CRASH’. Mama immediately got up from where she was sitting and started to move towards Blake, a thud coming from her hooves when they hit the ground. “Mama will look after you…” Her voice said in a cheery tone as her figure moved threatenly through the darkness. Blake quickly gathered himself and, without wasting a second, rushed for the basement door. His hooves clattered against the tile floor as he escaped the gaze of Mama, who continued to follow him. He made it to the doorway of the basement and stopped. He looked down into the pitch-black darkness that engulfed the lower portion of his house, wondering if it really was better place to go to. A thud called from behind him and when he turned around, he saw the red eyes glaring around the corner. Though it was extremely dark and very hard to see the full shape of Mama, Blake could see the faded white color of something.. Sharp. This drove Blake’s mind into making a decision. Without another thought, Blake threw himself down the stairs, with Mama on his trail. He tumbled through the dark, smacking against each step, before coming to a full stop at the bottom… Flat on his face. “Note to self: Use flashlight to find steps, BEFORE taking said step.” He said to himself, feeling the cold of the concrete floor thru his fur. He got up, his head feeling very light, when a voice spoke from right behind him. “Mama’s here… Don’t worry…” Blake’s entire body froze up. The grinding of Mama’s insides was loud and Blake could do nothing but just stand there, waiting for the worst. He closed his eyes and braced himself… But nothing happened. He waited a little longer, then opened his eyes. He turned around and saw nothing behind him. Not only that, but the lights in the house had turned back on. Doing a quick scope of the area, Blake realized that Mama had vanished. But for what reason? Blake didn’t understand, but he didn’t care. As quick as he could, he, once again, threw himself up the stairs, through the kitchen and into the living room, where PinkieTail’s mess was. Picking up everything and placing it into the trash can that was next to it all, he carried it back into the kitchen with his magic and placed the trash can back where it belonged. Then he turned and started off towards his room. This has been too much of a night for him and he just wanted to get to bed and forget it all. To place himself into the safety of his dream world, which was more than likely corrupted by tonight’s events. However, as he was passing it, the phone on the wall rang. Blake knew that the past few times he had picked it up, it was only nightmare fuel on the other side. But, just like the cat that got killed, his curiosity was too much. Lifting it with his magic, he brought the speaker to his ear and listened. It was the same grinding noise from the nights before, which he know assumed belonged to Mama, but behind that was music. A jingle and a familiar one at that. Then, just like the past few times, the phone cut out and there was nothing but silence. Blake sighed and hung the phone back up. “Why? Just why?” He asked to the universe, which only responded in silence. He sighed again and headed to his room, too tired to really care right now. “Maybe tomorrow night will be better…” Author's Note Probably one of the longest chapters I've ever written and the most time I've spent writing! But it came out just how I wanted! I hope that ya'll are enjoying this story and, with a little bit of hope, the next chapter will be worked out and up within a couple of weeks! YAY!
Night Four: Let's Play A Game!December 23, 1998 2 days before Hearth’s Warming Blake laid awake in his bed, chills running down his spine as he thought about the events of the night before. He had tried to say something to his mother during the day about a strange creature in their house, but she blamed it on nightmares, saying that it’s the side-effects from watching such terrifying movies. ‘It can’t be that, though. I’ve never had anything like this happen before.’ He thought to himself. ‘No… No movie could be doing something like this to me… So what’s going on?’ His thoughts continued to attempt to make sense of the situation until eventually, Blake passed out on his bed. “Don’t worry… Mama’s Here…” Blake ran through the darkness as fast as he could, trying to escape the beast in the shadows. He looked behind him and saw the glow of the red eyes staring at him as he ran. “Come to Mama.” The voice said again, this time in a much more chilling tone that almost sounded demonic. “Stay away!” Blake cried, his hooves pounding against the ground. He brought forth all his strength, but it wasn’t enough. Every passing moment, the red eyes grew closer and the screeching sound got louder. “Mama’s coming for you!” A deep voice said. Blake looked back once again to see the jaws of the monster open, revealing the rows upon rows of sharp teeth, bearing down on him. “NOOOO!” Was the last thing he yelled before the jaws closed around him, devouring him whole. “No!” Blake shot up in his bed in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He placed a hoof on his chest and felt his heart racing as if he had done several laps around his house. It took him several moments before he could collect himself, taking deep breaths. ‘It… it was just a dream…’ He thought to himself. ‘Oh, thank Celestia…’ He managed to finally calm himself, listening to the chatter of bugs and chirping of crickets coming from outside… “Wait, what? Bugs don’t chatter.” It’s true. Blake held his tongue and listened. There was a faint noise that sounded like voices talking to each other. But it wasn’t his mother. He would be able to tell that. No, it sounded like… “Pinkietail? But how?” Blake was confused, but also curious, so he got out of his bed, grabbed the flashlight that sat on the table next to his bed and proceeded to leave his room to investigate. Trotting through his house, Blake followed the sounds of voices to the back door of the house, which, surprisingly, was left wide open. ‘What? Why is it open?’ He wondered as he passed through the door and into the small backyard he had. If you can call it that. It was barely bigger than the front yard and that was small enough already. The green grass has grown more in certain places of the yard, causing small patches of thick grass to lay spotted across the ground. Blake started out, walking through the grass and towards the shed in the corner of the yard. The very place where the voices were coming from. The door to the shed wasn't locked like it normally and the light inside was turned on, casting a dim yellow glow through the doorway. Blake pushed open the door a bit and peered in… Then gasped. Sitting on the floor was PinkieTail, chattering away happily with another Tattletail toy! ‘Another one? Where did it come from?’ Blake asked quietly as he walked in. PinkieTail turns towards him and giggled in joy, obviously happy to see him. He picked her up and held her close, looking at her curiously. “How did you get out of your box? And where did that come from?” He looked at the other Tattletail toy, which looked up at him with shy looking eyes that peeked out from behind its long pink hair. It looked a bit scared, which made Blake feel strange. “Let’s play a game!” PinkieTail exclaimed, smiling at Blake. He looked at her, then at the other toy. “Alright, I guess…” He replied. “Yay! Tap FlutterTail to start!” PinkieTail exclaimed. Blake looked at the other toy carefully. There was something very off about her, something that just made him feel very uncomfortable. ‘I should just go back to bed. I would be safe there…’ He thought, but he looked at PinkieTail again. Her eyes looked at him, pleading for him to play. Blake sighed in defeat. “What could one little game do?” A lot. One little game could do a lot of horrible things. The instant Blake tapped on FlutterTail’s head (which she nearly cried out about), the lights began to flicker. Blake looked around, unsettled by the events because it felt so… Familiar. “No Peeking…” PinkieTail said before the lights completely blacked out, leaving Blake in complete darkness. Instantly, Blake shook his flashlight, getting the nice green glow from it as he shined it onto the spot where FlutterTail was. ‘Gone. Just great…’ Blake thought as he turned towards the door. He began to walk towards it when a sound caused him to stop in his tracks. The same screeching noise from the night before howled from outside the shed. Blake was terrified. His entire body locked up in place, unable to move as the sound began to move closer to the door. It only got louder as the sounds of thudding hoofsteps came from outside the door. Blake was uncertain of what to do. He had nowhere to go, no place to escape to like last night. He was trapped with this… Thing. This monster that was hunting him. ‘Please don’t come in. Please don’t come in. Please don’t come in!’ Blake thought to himself as his eyes closed tightly. The sounds grew louder, closer. He could hear something else: Breathing. “Momma’s coming…” The disordered voice said from right outside the door. ‘Oh, sweet Celestia, not like this!’ Blake braced himself for the worse… And it never came. Blake waited a moment before opening his eyes. It was still dark and the light of the Flashlight had begun to dim. Blake took a moment to stand there, listening. Nothing. No screeching, no thudding, nothing. Just the crickets in the grass. ‘What… What happened?’ Blake was both scared out of his mind and confused as heck. Why didn’t she get him? He was stuck right there with no place to go, no escape. Certainly, she knew he was there because of the flashlight, but… She just left. Gone without a trace. Blake shook himself, unlocking his body from the fear that enveloped him and moved towards the door very slowly, shaking the flashlight before its glow went out. He peered around the corner and looked outside. Nothing. There was no red glaring eyes, no sharp pony-killing teeth. Just the yard. “What the actual heck?” He stated, completely confused. Shortly after that, the lights came back on, flickering back to their normal glow. “Try and find her!” PinkieTail exclaimed happily. “What?” Blake looked at her, confused. Find who? Mamma? He would rather not. “No… Find friend!” PinkieTail corrected, smiling. FlutterTail? “Alright, I guess…” Blake began to walk back to the house, keeping an eye out for that monster. Author's Note This was the next chapter that I was working on. There was supposed to be more, but since I've stopped writing all MLP related stories to focus on other things, there won't be more added to this or any of my stories. I would like to thank everyone here on this site for inspiring me to continue writing for as long as I did. Thank you for reading.
