Pear and Velvet: Voltergeist

Pear stuck close to Twilight for the remainder of the evening; following dinner they returned to their room and spoke of anything other than the events of the traumatizing day. Twilight eventually nodded off and Pear kept an eye on her for a while before finally going to sleep herself. Come morning, Pear awoke to find Twilight missing from her bed. She quickly got dressed but before she could head out, the door opened and Twilight scooted in backwards with a pair of mugs in her hands.

“Vel?” Pear went to the door and held it so she could enter.

“I figured I should get the coffee this time.” She said with a smile.

“Oh,” Pear took one of the mugs, surprised to see her friend in such high spirits after the day prior. “I got a bit shook when I saw you had gone,” She noted. “Are… you okay?”

Twilight nodded lightly. “I don’t know about okay, but I feel determined.” She answered. “We can’t let that monster keep ruining the lives of the creatures here.” She recalled Pear’s words the night prior. “Don’t worry, this isn’t just me trying to put on a brave face. I may be rattled, but that isn’t going to slow me down.”

Pear smiled and clinked her mug against Twilight’s. “Right, let’s get to it then.”

With an hour before breakfast, they headed out onto the motel grounds; they came across Tanner during his morning routine and he was quick to stop as they approached.

“Hey, how you doing?” He asked.

“I’m alright.” Twilight answered.

“Good to hear,” He offered a light smile. “Listen, Applewood spoke to Wyndham about the plant employees; he said Wyndham has some names for you.”

“That’s great.” Pear took Twilight’s shoulder. “We’ll head over as soon as we eat.”

“Perfect.” Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Tanner.”

“Sure, see you at breakfast.” He waved as he kept on.

Pear and Twilight were quick to eat, Hibiscus asking to join them for the day during their meal; always grateful for one more, they accepted and the three of them headed over to the station to collect whatever information Wyndham had for them. The station seemed somber, no doubt due to the loss of Amber; Wyndham had remained in his office all morning and in spite of expecting company was startled by their entrance.

“Wyndham?” Twilight saw the heavy look on his face.

“Sorry,” He waved them in and bid them to sit. “Last night was a long one,” He looked to Twilight. “I’m sure you can sense it out there.”

“Yes,” Twilight nodded. “Are you doing alright?”

He laughed and nodded. “Only because I have to,” He braced his forearms on the desk. “So, I hear you’re looking to investigate the incidents at the plant.”

“That’s right,” Pear confirmed. “We got to talking last night and decided that this was the best way to get started on sorting this ghost business out.”

“I’m almost certain that the ghost was a former employee,” Hibiscus came in. “I spent last night thinking about everything and it’s the only possibility that makes sense. Knowing who this thing used to be is the key to stopping this.”

“Even if you identify it,” Wyndham began. “What good will that do other than letting us know who is trying to kill us.”

“Poltergeists are vengeful,” Hibiscus continued. “If we can find out who it is and what happened to him, we might be able to use it to our advantage when it comes time to face it.”

Wyndham slowly nodded. “Well, I have three names for you; the first is one of the two workers that opened up to me. The second is the worker that came to me before the walkout. The third is a former assistant to Alabaster; she wouldn’t talk to me before but she may open up to you.” He extended a scrap of paper across the table. “We converted a lot of the homes and business in the safe zone to support multiple residents, all those addresses are safe for you to travel to.”

“Thank you,” Twilight graciously accepted the paper. “Applewood told us about Alabaster as well, do you think we could speak to him?”

“I don’t know if that’s a great idea.” Wyndham countered. “His mansion is actually fairly close to the power plant, the only reason he’s safe is because his home had its own private power generators separate from the city grid. Once he shut those down, that thing couldn’t get to him and he considered himself protected. We offered him safety with the rest of us but he refused and swore he and his daughter would only leave when help had arrived from the outside.” He sat back in his chair. “Getting to his place from here would mean traveling through unsecured parts of the town, you saw how much prep work and care goes into our operation and even so we still fell under fatal attack.”

“Well, this is plenty to work with at the moment.” Pear noted.

“Good luck,” He offered as they stood. “And even though you’ll still be in the safe zone, don’t ever let your guard down.”

“We won’t.” Twilight promised.

With Hibiscus at their side, finding the addresses was an easy task. The first was a two-story home about two blocks from the station; this was Pear and Twilight’s first chance to really see day to day life for the townsfolk that remained after the attack. A few children were playing together in the front yard on a mini jungle gym, chasing one another and laughing in a way that seemed to stand in defiance of the situation they were in. A large Yak watched over the kids and waved as they approached.

“Morning, Ashford,” Hibiscus waved back. “Been awhile.”

“Sure has,” He nodded his heavy head. “How are things at the motel?”

“Busy as ever,” She stepped across the porch and gestured behind her. “Speaking of which, this is Pear and Twilight, we came here to speak with a…” She double checked the paper. “Sander, is he here now?”

Ashford thumbed back into the home. “Yeah, his room is upstairs on the left.”

“Thanks.” Hibiscus patted his shoulder as they went inside.

Pear saw a trio of residents playing cards at the dining room table and snacking on pretzels. “You know, ain’t too different from when we visit Granny’s friends back south.”

“This is a real tight-knit community.” Twilight watched them as well. “It’s good to see, in spite of the circumstances.”

As they headed upstairs and to the left, they saw a door slightly ajar and Hibiscus offered a light knock as she peeked inside. “Sander?” She called.

“Huh?” The Stallion was startled at the unfamiliar voice. “Who are you?”

“I’m Hibiscus, I work at the motel.” She introduced. “These are my friends, Pear and Twilight; we actually came to speak with you if you don’t mind?”

“With me?” He eyed the strangers. “Are you from out of town?”

“Yes, we are.” Twilight nodded. “We’re trying to do what we can to help and we’re interested in speaking with you about the power plant.”

His face belied a distinct resistance to the idea. “I already told the Sheriff everything I know about the accidents.”

“We know,” Pear stepped in. “We were more interested in before those accidents happened?”

“Before?” He grew confused.

“Yes,” Twilight slowly sat in the chair across from him, her motherly voice coming out. “We know a lot has happened to you and we want to make sure nothing else does. Anything you can tell us will be helpful."

Sander was calmed by her smooth voice and kind eyes. “A… alright, but I still don’t know what you mean by ‘before’.”

“We have a theory,” Hibiscus explained. “We believe that thing is the manifested spirit of a former employee. Do you know of any accidents or missing personnel from before the attacks?”

“Wait, you really believe it’s a ghost?” He asked.

“We do,” Twilight nodded. “I… saw it for myself and heard it speak; it was clearly once a Stallion.”

Sander’s eyes grew wide for a moment and he let out a disturbed grumble. “Shit… I guess Lavender and Quill were right after all.”

“Who?” Pear asked.

“Oh… they were the ones who were really spreading the talk of something supernatural at the plant; they got a lot of the workers stirred up but it looks like they weren’t the crazy ones in the end.” He paused. “They… they’re dead now.”

“I’m sorry,” Pear offered in consolation. “Do you remember anything they might have said as to what made them believe in the first place?”

“They said it was a Stallion too, said they saw it themselves… like you.” He looked to Twilight. “I don’t recall anything weird happening before it all started. I can say there were three employees that had quit in the year prior… but word was that they moved away.”

“Any of them Stallions?” Hibiscus asked.

“Two of them… I can’t remember their names.” Sander struggled with the question. “One of them wasn’t from around here though, came to town looking for work and wound up at the plant. The other was local, but we we’re told he left for family reasons.”

“We need to find out more about them.” Hibiscus eagerly noted.

“Hopefully the others will know something.” Twilight looked to Sander with a warm smile. “Thank you.”

“Yeah,” He actually smiled back. “I hope you really can help… I just want this to end, we all do.”

“We’ll do everything we can.” Pear vowed.

As they left the house, Hibiscus waved back to Ashford with a heavy sigh. “Even if we find some way to end this, I don’t think anyone in this town will ever be the same again.” She noted sorrowfully. “I’ll probably be too afraid to even use a toaster.”

“Well, my dad told me once that you can either use pain to grow stronger or let pain use you to grow stronger.” Pear stated. “May not mean much from someone who hasn’t been living this for as long as y’all have, but if you start thinking like that then this thing has already won.”

Hibiscus smiled at the country wisdom. “No… you’re right, I’ve still got a lot in life I want to do and most of it revolves around electricity.” She laughed. “Can’t let myself develop a phobia.”

The second destination was actually the bank, which like other properties had been converted to house the displaced townsfolk. It was an odd sight to see a bank lobby filled with mismatched furnishings with even the vault made into a sleeping quarters. Hibiscus began asking around for the name they were given until finally finding a response from an old Mare.

“Winchester?” The mare repeated the name. "I'm afraid he’s not here anymore.”

“He isn’t?” Hibiscus glanced back at her companions. “Where in the world did he go?”

“Said he didn’t like how crowded it was getting, said it made him nervous.” She shrugged. “Wanted to move into a quieter building but not exactly sure where he settled himself.”

“Well, he must be in town somewhere.” Twilight surmised. “We’ll have to track him down later; if you or anyone else here sees him, would you mind letting him know we’re at the motel and looking to speak with him?”

“Alright.” The old Mare nodded.

“Thank you.” Twilight offered as they headed back outside.

“Well, one to go.” Pear put her hands in her pockets. “Hope the third time is the charm.”

“It’ll be interesting to hear what Mr. Pollack’s assistant has to say.” Hibiscus considered. “Wyndham said she didn’t say much to him, but maybe she’ll feel more comfortable if it’s girl talk.”

“Heh, never been one for hen sessions.” Pear chortled.

“You don’t miss all the gossip we shared with Windy, Evershy, Stellar and Cloudy?” Twilight asked with a smirk.

“Well that’s different, we’re all close… and mostly we just spilled on each other.” Pear recalled with a laugh. “Jeez, been a while since we’ve had a chance to talk.”

“I know, I was thinking about that last night.” Twilight confessed. “Situations like this really make you realize how much time we take for granted; I’d really love to see them right now.”

“They sure as heck won’t believe this.” Pear shook her head at the idea of explaining any of this to anyone else.”

Their third and final destination was a older ranch house, looking to be run down even before the town went to hell. Giving the front door a knock, a Griffon answered and smiled when he saw Hibiscus.

“Hey Biscuit.” He grinned. “Long time no see.”

“Galen, hey.” She smiled back. “Yeah, sorry… taking care of all the newcomers at the motel is a full time thing now.”

“Come on in.” He waved for them to enter.

“Biscuit?” Twilight repeated with a giggle.

“It’s a childhood nickname,” She embarrassingly admitted. “When we were young he couldn’t pronounce my name so he kept calling me Biscuit.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Pear chuckled.

“So, who are these charming ladies.” Galen asked as they stepped into the living room.

“Twilight and Pear,” Hibiscus introduced. “They’re the newest additions to the town.”

“Sorry to hear.” He said, half jokingly. “What brings you by?”

“We’re looking for a Ms. Poplar.” Twilight explained.

“Oh, yeah… she’s probably in the den.” He glanced back to the rear hallway entrance. “She’s been a godsend around here, so organized and straightforward; kind of strict but… more in a sexy librarian kind of way.” He said with an honest smile.

“For a Griffon you sure act like a dog sometimes.” Hibiscus poked his chest as they headed down the hall.

“Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve gotten my feathers ruffled.” He admitted.

“Thank you, Galen.” Hibiscus waved with a roll of her eyes.

“Sure thing, Biscuit.” He laughed as he made his way into the kitchen.

Poplar sat in the quiet den, the square lenses of her glasses aimed down at a book. She glanced up at the sound of multiple steps and observed her guests. “Hello,” She plainly greeted. “May I help you?”

“We hope,” Twilight answered as they entered fully. “My name is Twilight, this is Pear and Hibiscus. Pear and I were recently stranded here.”

“My condolences.” She folded the book closed. “We’re gathering quite the collection of lost souls.”

“Well, we don’t intend to stay lost.” Pear took over. “We came to ask you about the plant, more specifically about the possibility of some kind of accident or missing creature that came before the attacks on the staff.”

Poplar eyed them curiously. “Is this some kind of investigation?”

“We’re only looking to learn what we can.” Twilight assured. “This isn’t about placing blame; we think the town's monster might have been an employee of the plant. We spoke with a former worker earlier and he said that there were two Stallions that were said to have left before the attacks started. Since you were Mr. Pollack’s assistant, we were hoping that you’d be able to tell us more.”

“And who told you I was his assistant?” She asked in return.

“Wyndham.” Hibiscus answered.

“That stands to reason.” Poplar hummed.

“Can you help us?” Twilight asked.

“The two stallions you’re referring to are Lockhart and Meadow,” She said after a long pause. “One worked in generator maintenance and the other in janitorial.”

“Sander said one was an out-of-towner.” Pear recalled.

“Meadow,” Poplar responded. “He was young and didn’t have any experience in the required fields; but we gave him a job as a janitor.” She cocked her head in consideration. “To my knowledge, both left of their own volition.”

“To your knowledge,” Hibiscus repeated. “That means you don’t know all the details.”

Poplar seemed to take umbrage at the idea. “You think one of them to be this… thing that keeps us here?”

“It’s a possibility.” Twilight nodded. “From what we’ve gathered, Mr. Pollack began acting much differently than usual when all the talk of supernatural goings on started. Can you verify that at all?”

Poplar reflected on past events. “Yes, everyone could see that plainly.”

“How close to him were you?” Hibiscus asked. “I mean, did he share any of his personal thoughts on the matter?”

“No,” She shook her head. “He only ordered that I do whatever was necessary to keep the employee base in line.”

“Are you the one that threatened the firings and disciplinary action for talking about it?” Pear inquired.

“I was only doing as he asked.” She explained. “This is a small town, things like superstition and urban legend spread like wildfire.”

“And what do you believe?” Twilight asked.

Poplar paused again. “I…didn’t know what was going on; I knew something was off and the workers weren’t all imagining things. I like to think I don’t believe in such nonsense as the supernatural but when the town was struck… well, dozens of dead bodies don’t just pile up due to something that doesn’t exist.” She sighed. “You think Mr. Pollack had a hand in creating that monster?”

“Maybe,” Pear said honestly. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

She sighed. “Fine, then I admit I don’t know the full circumstances of why those two employees left. He fired them personally and without my knowledge which was his right as plant manager… but it wasn’t standard procedure.”

“Were they poor workers at all?” Pear asked.

“No, Lockhart was competent and Meadow, despite being given such a low position, was happy for the work. Both were on good terms with the others, particularly Meadow since his work took him to all areas of the plant.” She looked them over. “I don’t know much more than that I’m afraid. If something untoward did happen, I have no knowledge of it and many of those who might have known are already dead… save Mr. Pollack himself.”

“Looks like we really will have to find some way to talk to him.” Hibiscus grumbled.

“We’ll do what we have to.” Twilight offered Poplar a thankful smile. “We appreciate this, Poplar.”

Poplar nodded lightly. “I hope you’re wrong though; I don’t relish the idea of having been complicit in lighting the match that burned this town to the ground.”

Poplar seemed to drift into troubled thought and they left her be, saying goodbye to Galen on the way out. With no more they could do at the moment, they headed back to the motel for some water and a snack. Applewood was at the front desk to greet them as they entered and quickly stopped what he was doing.

“How’d it go?” He asked.

“We learned a bit more,” Twilight rested on the counter. “But not everything we need.”

“While you were out I got to thinking,” He began. “You said you came here to see a property that was left to you?”

“That’s right,” Pear nodded. “Something left to my mother in law.”

“This has been going on for almost a year, when did you get notification?” He questioned.

“Well.. we planned this trip about two months in advance,” Pear thought back. “Granny Smith got a letter from the lawyer about a month before that.”

“That’s strange, don’t you think?” He looked across them.

“Now that you mention it…” Twilight looked to Pear. “The town was well into shut down, how in the world did you even get word?”

“I… don’t know.” Pear confessed.

“Do you know the address?” He inquired further.

“Yeah, I’ve got the letter in my luggage.” Pear started for the hall. “Let me get it.”

“That is weird.” Hibiscus agreed as Pear left. “Whoever contacted the law office must have had to use email or something. And if the person died, who would have sent the notice in the first place.”

“Like we need more mystery.” Twilight said as Pear came hurrying back out.

“Four, three, five, Cliffview.” Pear recited.

“Cliffview,” Applewood sighed. “That’s outside the safe zone, not far outside but anything beyond what we’ve secured is dangerous.”

“What do y’all think?” Pear asked the group. “I don’t know what is has to do with anything, but we could find something useful.”

“We should get protective gear from Wyndham.” Twilight suggested. “He said we could have free run of the town if we needed; it won’t hurt to investigate.” She looked to Hibiscus. “You should stay here.”

“No way,” She retorted. “You don’t know the town at all, I can get you in and out fast.”

“She’s got a point.” Applewood concurred. “Just be careful; and as soon as you get to the house make sure you find the fuse box and shut the power off.”

“Will do,” Pear promised. “Let’s get a move on.”

Traveling back to the station and receiving a similar warning of caution from Wyndham, they were supplied with protective equipment and Hibiscus started leading them to the house. Their nerves tensed as they officially passed beyond the safe zone boundary and all eyes and ears were tuned in on their surroundings. There was no more life to be found on their route and abandoned homes and businesses stood like looming tombstones. Twilight and Pear were unnerved to see random corpses just lying about or sitting in vehicles, left to rot wherever they met their tragic end. The only animal life around was the rats and birds who sated themselves on the tattered flesh of the dead townsfolk and the lingering smell of decay filled the still air.

“This is terrible.” Twilight whispered.

“I guess I’m used to it by now.” Hibiscus whispered back. “Not something I’m happy about.” She motioned for them to follow her off the main road. “This way, we can skip the rest of the block if we go through this service easement.” Going through a chain link fence they trekked through an overgrown easement that ran across an entire row of homes; on the other end of the path they crossed the next street and rounded the corner onto Cliffview. Counting the addresses, they found their destination; Pear was quick to seek out the fuse box and shut down the electricity to the property. Feeling a tad more safe, they assembled on the porch before the front door. “Don’t suppose you have the key?” Hibiscus asked.

“I’ve got it.” Pear braced her shoulder against the door and thrust her body forward, the door protested for only a second before forcing open.

Hibiscus looked up and down Pear’s body. “How the hell are you so strong?”

“A daily dose of honest farm work every day since I was seven.” She said proudly.

“You should meet our friend Cloudy.” Twilight noted as they headed inside.

Their improved mood was brought to an abrupt halt as the overwhelming smell of rot assaulted their noses. Hibiscus and Twilight gagged as they pulled their shirts up over their noses.

“Oh my god.” Hibiscus choked. “Smells like something died in here.”

“Pretty sure that’s exactly what happened.” Pear pointed over to a desk against the living room wall, seated before a desktop computer was the half decomposed remains of a pony.

“I’ll open the windows.” Twilight said as she began hurrying around the home, sliding open as many as she could.

Pear approached the corpse and looked it over, noticing the clothing and lengths of hair that remained. “I’d hate to say it, but I think this is Maple… damn.” She felt a somber chill run through her.

“It looks like it got to her through the computer.” Hibiscus noticed the charred and blown out monitor.

Twilight returned and joined them. “Her body isn’t as far along as the ones we passed, she died after the attack.”

“Well, not all the residents joined us in the safe zone.” Hibiscus noted. “But why would she try and use the computer? That’s basically suicide.”

“Smith?” Twilight toned.

“Huh?” Pear glanced over at her.

“Look,” Twilight took up an envelope that was sitting on the edge of the desk. “It says, Smith.” She opened it and pulled out a hand written letter.

“Like Granny?” Pear asked.

“What does it say?” Hibiscus moved to her opposite side.

“Smith, you old apple core,” Twilight began. “If you’re reading this, then the first thing I need to say is I’m sorry; I didn’t want to drag you into this but you were the only one I could think of with a good enough head on her shoulder’s to sort this mess out. It must have been a shock to get a notice that I left this place to you, now more than ever I wish we stayed in touch; I went ahead and contacted the lawyer under my granddaughter's name to notify him of my death, but it won’t be a lie for much longer. By now you know what’s going on in this town but not so much as to why; well, I’m all but certain that thing is the boy that was staying with me. Came in from out of town and got himself a job at the power plant, didn’t have a place to stay though and since I was here all alone I offered my home to him. He helped this old mare out a lot and was a sweet stallion, honest and hard working like your Bright Mac; but I think he got himself in some kind of trouble. One day he didn’t come home and after I called the power plant I was told he quit and left town. I knew that was a lie, all his worldly possessions were here with me and I know he wouldn’t just abandon them. Not long after is when all the mess at the plant started and when the town was in a panic I saw the thing that everyone was running from. I don’t know how I knew, it barely looked like a Stallion at all, but I recognized something in that thing’s eyes. His name is Meadow, his things are in the bag on the floor; please tell the town and get in their behinds the way only you can and help them put an end to this. I hope you can forgive me for getting you involved, but I know you can handle this you tough old bag. Love Maple.”

“Meadow…” Hibiscus repeated the name. “So we were right.”

“Something happened to him at that plant,” Pear took the letter and looked it over. “Now we just need to find out what.”

“We need to tell Wyndham all of this.” Twilight added.

Hibiscus looked around the nearby floor and found the bag noted in the letter. “Here’s his stuff.” She took the bag up. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Right.” Twilight agreed.

They headed back to the door and Pear stopped at the threshold, shoving her arm back and stopping the procession. “Hold it.”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

Without word, Pear pointed across the street; Twilight and Hibiscus letting slip a collective gasp of horror as they saw the electric Stallion standing atop a power line looking down at them with fierce eyes.