Canterlot

November 4th

Night Light pulled the van into the short gravel driveway running beside the house, parking it beneath a night lamp suspended over the barn-style door of Aaron's shop. Twilight and her family stepped out into the cool autumn air, their only light being the one over their car and the one on the concrete porch of the house. They walked across the dark yard and onto the carport, stepping onto the porch and passing a couple of rocking chairs.

Twilight looked into a window overlooking the porch, finding it blocked by many little trinkets and utensils, with only the light inside visible. Her dad opened the screen door with a springy creak and knocked on the old wooden door.

"Coming!" called a woman's voice from inside, followed by footsteps approaching the front door. The door opened to reveal a tall woman in house clothes with pale multicolored hair. "Oh, it's you," she said in a somewhat more proper voice, lacking the thick accent that her husband had. "Please, won't you come in," she moved away from the door and let the trio into the comforting warmth of the house. The inside of the house was far more open than Twilight's, the dining room and living room bled together with a matching floor, separated only by a tan couch, with a long table behind it with six chairs around it.

Inside the living room was a black fireplace surrounded by dark bricks, a mantle above sporting numerous photos of the residents. Including hunting trips, one with a deer on the ground being held by a younger Aaron, and one where several dead ducks sat on the bed of an old pickup, Celestia next to it holding a shotgun. There was also a black and white wedding photo of the two, and one with the two and a young girl at the center.

Hanging above the mantle was the mounted head of a deer, its ten imposing antlers jutting out like knives, its glassy eyes staring down at the four in the room. At the front of the living room were several large windows being blocked by an old boxy big screen TV displaying an episode of M.A.S.H, and a recliner nearby. Celestia returned to the kitchen where she stood over a tall silver pot.

"Aaron's not here yet," She began "He called and said Luke's truck was takin' a bit longer than he thought it would,"

"That's alright, we can wait," said Night Light, looking at his watch. Just then, Aaron's truck pulled up the driveway in front of the carport, his light visible through the door's window. A moment later Aaron opened the door, the chimes jingling as he did, and entered the house humming an old country song.

"Evenin'," he said, greeting the trio in his living room, his hands were turned black by grime. He continued into the house, going down the narrow hallway between the dining room and kitchen. Twilight and her family sat down at the table, her parents sharing the same side whilst she sat right across from them, facing away from the living room. Aaron came back, his hands clean of any grime. He leaned up on the end of the counter and let out a groan.

"How was Luke, hun?” Celestia asked Aaron as she clicked the gas stove off and backed away

“Oh ya know, same as usual,” he responded looking down with drowsiness.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” she said in response to which Aaron chuckled

“We did, at least we think we did, find out what was wrong with his truck,”

“What was it?”

“We think it might’ve been the starter motor, his son was there,” Aaron chuckled “he kept tryna tell us it was the carburetor, no matter how many times we told him the truck didn’t have one o’ them, he wouldn’t stop sayin’ it,” Celestia just started chuckling with him “Aaron bent backward, cracking his back on the counter “shit,” he murmured, “is supper ready?”

“Yes sir, Celestia” responded diligently “Seared wild rabbit with green beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread,”

"Aw heck yeah," He stood straight up "Aight everyone, help yourself," He gestured to the pots and trays sitting on the bar separating the living room and kitchen. Everyone got up and went over to the kitchen, grabbing a paper plate and piling it with the food, it wasn't until they were all seated that Aaron and Celestia got their plates and sat down. Aaron sat at the end closest to the sliding glass door on the east wall behind the couch, and Celestia sat at the opposite end. "Before we begin, I'd like to say grace," Aaron bowed his head, as did the others "Our father who art in heaven, thank you for the meal you have put before us, thank you for providing us the with which to make this meal. Let this meal be nourishment to our bodies, in your name we pray, Amen,"

"Amen," the rest said in unison before digging in.

"So," Began Aaron as he looked to Night, "What brings ya to our cursed part of Mississippi,"

"We were lookin' for something new, tryin' to get away from the hustle and bustle of suburban life,"

"You're workin' for Canterlot ain't ya?" Aaron asked, Night nodded at him with a mouthful of macaroni "Ah work for the county," Said Aaron before cutting a big piece of seared rabbit and eating it. He gave his wife a thumbs up from across the table and continued "I work up at the bus barn,"

"Really?" said Night

"Yes siree, I've worked there since uhh... Ninety-five, yep," he took another bite of his meal and washed it down with a glass of sweet tea "I have personally worked on every single bus this county owns. Most at least, the county's still got a few o' them ole seventy-sixes, just sittin' around all over the place,"

"Say," began Night "What types are y'all runnin'?"

"We's runnin' the ninety-ones to the fourteens, we need some new ones," he peered at his wife as if trying to elicit a response from her.

"I can't control when the county gets buses," she said annoyed.

"I know, ah just wanna know if ya have any info on when we might be gettin' some,"

"So far there's nothing,"

"Figures, the damn county can't spare a dime towards anythin' 'cept the bossman's pocket," Aaron looked at Night "The newest ones we got are four o' them flat nose buses, an' they ain't worth a shit. Hell, I'd push them over to the far side of the lot with the others if that place didn't creep me out," The statement got the attention of Twilight, who had just been quietly eating away.

"Why?" Questioned Twilight curiously.

"Well, it’s cause o’ the fire back in ninety-eight, it was one o' them seventy-sixes that caught fire. They say it was on account of it havin' a gasoline engine. Gas engines weren't allowed in buses, but the county couldn't get new ones, then when they did they still didn't get rid o' those clunkers. It wasn't till that bus caught fire and killed everyone on board that they got rid of 'em. Hell, they got rid o' all of the ones between seventy-six and ninety, and a couple o' weeks later we got a shiny fleet of brand new ninety-eight model buses," Aaron laughed "They ended up puttin' the remains o' the bus out in the woods behind the barn, old folks say it cursed the place. Hell, the whole town's cursed,"

"What do you mean," Twilight interjected

"Well..." Aaron began "There're the big stories, like the ole Sanders' Glass Factory,"

"What's that?"

"The ole Sanders' Glass Factory, it sits just outside o' Wallaceville on Highway six goin' t' Tennessee," He had returned to eating his food now and everyone else had seemingly moved away from the previous discussion "All yer gonna see is part of the wall with an old window on it if you can spot it, it's so overgrown with vines and trees it's near invisible. The only thing that'll really give it away is if they got some boxcars or somethin' parked in the spur, it's right by the railroad ya see," Aaron leaned back in his chair "It was built back around nineteen-o-somethin', I think when Vardaman was governor," He rubbed his bearded chin "It went fine for about fifty odd years, until October 5th, 1958. Two o' the old furnaces inside blew up and took out a good chunk o' the buildin' and killed about a hundred workers,"

"How is that cursed?" Twilight asked

"I ain't finished yet," Said Aaron annoyed "They kept the place shut down for near about two years, then some fella bought the place and rebuilt it with all new furnaces and such," He took a bite of his now cold macaroni "They hired back a bunch o' the ole workers and a bunch o' new ones too. But, then they started reportin' things ya see," Aaron leaned forward and toward Twilight. "At first it was small, things movin' by themself, voices in the dark. It wasn't till the night guards started reportin' the ghosts o' the ole workers that things really started happenin'. They said they was goin' about their day like a worker usually would, but they was all sorts o' messed up. There was folks charred black, missin' limbs, missin' heads, missin' chunks o' their body and they was walkin' 'round like nothin'," Aaron paused for suspense as he looked into her nervous eyes "Then it began t' happen in the day too, it got so bad that folks was quittin'. An' then it gets even crazier too, ya see that factory sent glass all the way to Nashville and down to Biloxi, and folks started reportin' they was seein' ghosts in their homes when they got glass from Sanders. Things got so bad, folks was quittin' and refusin' to buy from 'em, they ended up shuttin' down in seventy-somethin',"

"W-what happened after that,"

"The place sat abandoned," Said Aaron leaning back in his seat "Every now an' then there'd be a kid or two goin' in there, and every now and then a kid would go missin' in there. Eventually, ten kids went missing' in there, and all the deputies and cops refused to go in there, so they sealed the place off in eighty-somethin'. But, that's enough o' those ole ghost stories," he turned to look at Night "I hear you're a social studies teacher, ain't that kinda like history or somethin'," Twilight ignored the ensuing conversation, as she dwelled upon the previous story.

It's nothing more than a ghost story to scare me. she thought to herself, Twilight preferred to think logically, she didn't resign herself to believing things were just paranormal without evidence. But, she still felt uneasy, perhaps it was the way he spoke that made the stories more unnerving, the seriousness he displayed in his voice. Twilight was jolted from her thoughts by her mother tapping on her arm from across the table. She gestured to Mrs. Celestia.

"I don't think I'll be able to give you a tour tomorrow," She began "But, I do know someone who can, her name's Sunset Shimmer, I'll be getting her to meet you in the foyer tomorrow morning after you get to school,"

"That sounds great," Twilight said before standing up "Where's the bathroom?"

"Down the hall, hang a left when you get to the old door at the end of the hall," Twilight left the room, going down the hallway. It was cramped, to her right were hooks lined with coats and hats. To her left were photos lining the wood panel wall, many were of the same young girl, there were softball pictures, cheerleader pictures, and one of her with four others wearing olive drab flight suits in front of a large gray aircraft. Past this tight squeeze were two doors, the one to her left was closed, decorated with tanks and planes and guns, a metal plate reading Amber Rose Thatcher at the top.

Across the hall was an open door with light spilling into the dimly lit hallway, the voices of her father and Mister Thatcher could be heard inside. She continued on for a couple more feet until she reached what looked like a doorframe that seemed to separate the hallway from an older section of the house. The walls were wood instead of panel, painted white, there were two doors, both were white and looked a similar age, one having holes drilled at the base.

Twilight turned and entered the bathroom, it was all white, made with the same wood as the exterior with a white counter and countertop where a white sink sat across from a seldom used white shower. The only thing that stuck out was the brown wood light board above the long rectangular mirror and the rolls of pink toilet paper on the countertop. Twilight quickly did her business before washing her hands with a bottle of fancy red soap on the counter.

She left the bathroom and was greeted with a dark hallway, she paid this no attention, assuming someone had just turned it off. She stepped up to the doorframe and looked down the dark hallway, she was horrified to find that the hallway had seemingly grown in length, being far longer than it was before. The walls were no longer the brown paneling she had seen walking up, they were instead the same wood that made up the old end of the house, there were no photos, no coats, and no doors, just an endless tunnel of splintering wood.

Anxiety racked the teenage girl as she stood frozen in fear, the only thing jolting her from this state being the heavy thud from behind her. Slowly she turned her head to see the door behind her. It was no longer painted white, it was now a dull brown color with paint that seemed to split away from the body. The door began to shake as if someone were pulling it from behind. Twilight began to run, dashing down the ancient hallway as fast as her skinny legs could carry her.

She ran and ran, her chest burning with every breath she took, her legs aching with every step, yet she was no closer to the end. Still, she kept on, she ran for what felt like hours until she finally found a small light ahead of her. She charge forward, running faster than she had been running, no matter how her legs burned, she dashed into the light and fell to the dark hardwood floor. She had tripped at the end of the hallway, out of breath and in pain she curled up on the floor.

"TWILIGHT!" her mother shouted running over and kneeling next to her daughter. Mrs. Celestia stood over her as well, and soon her father came, Mr. Thatcher close behind with a gun in his hand. Twilight sat up, holding her head as she did.

"T-the hallway, i-its... Th-there's," she stammered out

"It's okay," Her mother said, rubbing her back

"The hallway, it... it..." she looked down the hallway, it was back to normal, the dimmed light of the bathroom and the light of the master bedroom giving it light. "It went d-dark, a-and it..."

"It's okay," her mother reassured her yet again.

"There was knocking, a-and the light was out,"

"It was probably just the heater," interjected Aaron, the old rifle he held resting on the ground, he picked it up and walked back to the bedroom, pounding the light switch by the bedroom door, causing the light to flicker on. Aaron returned a moment later empty-handed, the light turning off yet again, he pounded it again and it flickered for a moment before turning off again. "I'm gonna have to call Bobby tomorrow," he said looking at the small chandelier, he returned to the group "Well," he began, hands in his pockets "It was a pleasure meetin' ya," he shook Night's hand, and the Twilight Velvet's hand, Celestia did so as well "It's a shame it ended this way,"

"Yeah we're sorry," Night said, helping his daughter off the floor.

"Oh don't be," Aaron said swatting his hand "And let's get you a container of food to go, or Tia can carry y'all some tomorrow," Night looked to his still shaking daughter.

"I think it's best she brings it, we need to be gettin' home," Responded Night. Aaron checked his watch

"Yeah, I gotta get to work tomorrow," He looked back at the two "Well, I'll be seein' ya," the trio left with a couple of waves and got back into their van headed home.

Later That Night...

"I just don't understand," Twilight's mother said, she listened to her muffled voice intently "Why now? It's been six years since she's had those attacks.

"It's probably just the anxiety of moving," Her father began "It's only once, so it's probably not a big deal,"

"But, it's just been so long," The concerned voice of her mother said in response "I mean... Should we send her to school tomorrow? I mean if just meeting the new neighbors caused one of these hallucinations, what could happen at school,"

"Well, Mr. Thatcher's story didn't exactly help,"

"I know... He seems alright, but that's besides the point. Even if we don't send her to school tomorrow, where will she go? We have to go to work tomorrow, so we can't stay with her,"

Twilight tuned out the rest of the conversation, lying in her bed, glasses off and hair pulled back, Spike lying on the floor next to her. She stared at the ceiling, the horror of the night's events still fresh on her mind, as the full moonlight filtered itself through her blinds, she rolled over facing the door, clenching the covers tight, and finally closed her eyes, drifting into slumber.