Author's Note
I wanted to do a somewhat ponified take on The Haunting Of Hill House. So, this is what came to pass.
Not sure how often it will be updated. But I am excited to see where it goes.
Enjoy!
The Door
Twilight Sparkle was known to be a curious individual.
Her thirst for knowledge was unmatched by any pony, and perhaps only rivaled by Sunburst’s own. It was common knowledge that wherever one went in Equestria, knowledge of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s love for learning and curious nature would follow and come up in the most unexpected of ways. Twilight’s love for knowledge and curiosity was often infectious, and this time, the citizens of Ponyville had been infected with her curiosity. The new castle that had appeared in Ponyville after the Princess’ battle with Tirek had drawn citizens like a moth to a flame. Ponies passed by constantly, examining the new structure as though they couldn’t quite figure it out. An oddity in many ways, that wasn’t unusual. Buildings did not just appear by magic every day. It made the castle a landmark and a hotspot for Ponyville residents and visitors alike. Some ponies asked for tours, but they were declined. The castle was, still, a home, and it’s residents deserved their privacy.
Twilight Sparkle was unused to the castle, with it’s high ceilings, cold floors, and ornate look. It was far different from the cozy and homey feel of the Golden Oak Library. The library’s wooden floors, it’s surroundings of books, it’s lantern lit walls, all added up to making Twilight feel comfortable there. The castle was in such stark contrast to that, and so it hadn’t become a home to her. However, the castle did have one thing the Golden Oak Library did not have: Corridors to explore.
Much of the time, Twilight felt lost in her maze of a castle, not used to having so much, well, space. She did, however, enjoy exploring them, opening doors and seeing what lie beyond them. Sometimes she had been very surprised at what she found. She found beyond one of the doors a kind of cider cellar, full of different old and expensive ciders. Rainbow Dash would love that one for sure. In another room, she had found a dumbwaiter. Spike climbing in to investigate found that it led to the kitchen. Great for getting food. Another room led to the most enormous library she had ever seen. Twilight had swayed in a near faint at seeing that. Still yet there had been a reading room, a sewing room, a parlor, and one door that led to an indoor greenhouse where plants could be housed. All of this was in addition to the map room, the kitchen, the dining room, and the other library, along with so many bedrooms. Twilight might have thought it odd to have two libraries in one castle, except that she knew exactly what book overflow looked like, and thought it was a necessity she should have thought of before.
There was, however, one door that piqued her curiosity more than any other- even the second library.
At the end of a particularly long corridor on the second floor, there lay a door. One door that was different from the others. Purple doors dotted hallways, but that particular door was red. She had been understandably curious about the door, but no matter what she tried, it would not open. She had tried picking the lock, using her magic, but nothing worked. It frustrated her, that lack of cooperation by that door, but she sighed, and ignored it for the moment, because she had more important things to worry about than one locked door.
Tonight she had stayed up late in the evening, getting lost in the many books that filled her library. When she looked at the clock, she found it was a little past two in the morning. She decided she had stayed up far too late for one night and decided to pack it in for the night. She put a bookmark in her book, shut it, and shelved it, before exiting the room. Before she went to her own bedroom, she took a peek in on Spike to make sure he was alright.
In the room near hers, Spike was curled up on the floor, clutching his Rarity doll, and murmuring things in his sleep. It wasn’t uncommon for him.
“Don’t touch my macaroni gems…” He murmured.
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Where are the macaroni gems, Spike?”
“The red room. Somepony’s dancing.”
She was stunned a moment before she giggled. “Goodnight, Spike.”
She gently closed his door, before she took in his words and went to look at The Red Room. The door was shut, locked, and as sealed as ever. She shrugged it off, and went to bed, never seeing the slight shadow underneath the door.
Twilight Sparkle performed her nightly routine- Putting on her nightcap, brushing her teeth thoroughly, and washing her face. Then, finally, she was able to nestle into her bed. She closed her eyes. Before she went to sleep, she enjoyed envisioning scenarios. Tonight, she imagined herself reshelving her two libraries with not a care in the world, her friends helping her, and then all of them finishing in record time. After that, they would share cupcakes and perhaps some of the cider from one of the other rooms, and go out to dinner as a treat. The image of her friends laughing and smiling easily carried her into sleep for the evening.
What she did not know, and could not know, was that the doorknob of the red room was turning, and somepony, or perhaps something was trying to get out. An odd pulsation came from the room, a sort of black mist erupting from the room, leaving a brief shadow before it dissipated completely. Suddenly a small black dot appeared on the wall near the door. Almost imperceptible, but to Twilight’s keen perception, it would be an annoyance. The small dot, though, was a messenger of something far worse to come.
The residents of the Castle of Friendship slept on, dreaming without care, and had no way of knowing that something was coming, something that could tear them apart forever.
Author's Note
Another chapter because I am enjoying this too much.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Solace
“What’s that spot on the wall?”
The question, innocently posed by Spike the following morning, made Twilight raise her head from the book she had been reading. She looked to her number one assistant.
“What spot, Spike?”
“The one on the wall by the red room.”
She shut her book. “I don’t know. Let’s check it out.” She said.
Twilight and Spike made their way over to the infamous door. Twilight saw the small black spot there. Her brain immediately zig zagged around, trying to formulate answers. The castle walls were made of crystal, so they couldn’t get mold like other homes. But if it wasn’t mold, what was it? Remnants of a squashed fly? A dot made of permanent marker? Spike wouldn’t have put it there. Rainbow Dash maybe? No… If she were going to do something like that she wouldn’t have stopped at a dot. She would have made an entire piece of artwork. Twilight sighed.
“I don’t know what it is, Spike. Don’t worry about it for now, okay?” She asked.
“It’s cleaning day, Twilight. I’m supposed to worry about it.”
She smiled. “I know. But it’s okay.”
He nodded. “Anything else you want me to clean for now?”
“The library?"
“I already did that, Twilight.”
“Both of them?”
“Yes.” He said, patiently. Twilight had enough books to make two libraries, so the ones in her bedroom could certainly be termed another one.
“Then no, that’s all for now.” She said. “I’ll be in my reading room if you need me.”
“In your what?” Spike puzzled.
Twilight pointed to another door. “In there.”
“Oh.” Spike blinked. “Okay.” He said, before he scampered off.
Twilight smiled at the sight of him racing away before she could change her mind, and shook her head. Then, sighing, she went and made herself a cup of cinnamon tea, and then grabbed the book she had been reading and went to the reading room.
The room was quiet, and cozier compared to the other rooms in the castle. The floor and walls were the same as the rest of the castle, but that was about it. There were dark blue damask curtains made of velvet to block out the hot summer sun when needed. There was a small sofa there, with a table nearby for a drink or a book to rest upon. Opposite that, there was a large bookshelf filled with even more books. There were lanterns in this room instead of overhead fixtures like in the rest of the castle to give it a more ambient setting, and it made the light dance on the crystal walls with a gleam. A desk was opposite the windows, stocked with paper, quills, ink, and a chair to sit on if one wished to take notes, along with a cup filled with different colored highlighters. There was a small pad of sticky notes on the desk, and the two drawers on both sides were stacked with flashcards. The piece de resistance was a mahogany table, round and medium sized, to hold many books at once when one wanted to read many things.
It was a quiet place. The perfect place for Twilight to turn her books without pressure of a work frenzy. It was a place that she could be still and enjoy her books. Where she could enjoy the smell of old books, well worn and aged, cared for with love, and the new ones, fresh and ready to be opened. It was a little slice of paradise. Here, she didn’t have to be a princess. She could just be.
Twilight sipped her tea, turning the pages of her book in time with whatever reading rhythm she held. In the midst of Magical Menagerie: The History Of Enchanted Animals Twilight felt a small twinge in her head. It was painful, but merely momentary. Though it passed momentarily, it was enough to make her close her book. She had gotten those before. They were usually a precursor to intense headaches that only occurred when she read too much at once and did not give herself enough time to process it all, when she overworked herself, or when she did not get enough sleep. Normally, it was a combination of all three. This certainly might have been the case today. This was the third book she’d read today, and other than the short interlude of investigating the mysterious spot with Spike and making her tea, she hadn’t taken much of a break. Add that to not sleeping enough and staying up until two in the morning the evening before, and that was a recipe for a headache.
She leaned back, her eyes closing as she took a precious moment to stop, rest, and just be. She imagined a blackboard eraser going across her brain, erasing her worries, her troubles, her sense of overworking. There was nothing but a blank slate there, ready to be filled with anything. The endless potential never ceased to bring her joy.
A subtle pressure made her eyes open. She was still in the room, alone, but there had been some odd pressure, like something pressing ever so slightly against her body. She wasn’t too sure of what that might have been. She considered it a moment, before she simply dismissed it as her imagination.
Little did she know, it was not her imagination. It was real. The ever so subtle pressure was an assurance that she would be still, and remain that way. Other than her eyes opening, that had worked. Twilight suddenly felt the pain come back, and sighed at the intense headache, rubbing one of her temples. She really hoped it wouldn’t last. Mercifully, it only stayed a few minutes before departing. She leaned back in her chair, and sighed. Maybe it was just her imagination.
Unfortunately, her imagination was about to begin running wild without her consent. And the door to the red room in the castle, unbeknownst to it’s occupants, pulsated again, and the dot grew just a little larger.
