A tired sigh of relief escaped Sunny's lips as she shut the door behind her, her shoulders sagging just a little as she dropped her saddlebags on the sofa. She trudged past the kitchen, half-consciously making her way to the bathroom and climbing into the shower.

As she stood there, the downpour of hot water washing away the stresses of her day and the warmth seeping into her very bones, she allowed herself to reminisce on the sheer novelty of having a shower in her own house for once. She still felt a little guilty about bearing a grudge against Sprout after all this time, but why wouldn’t she? After all, you could only be so lenient with somepony who turned ponies against each other, became a tyrannical despot, and (partially) destroyed your home.

In the aftermath of the aforementioned impromptu demolition job on her house, the Mayor of Maretime Bay declared that Sprout was responsible for the reconstruction of her home, much to the stallion's dismay. Of course, when Sprout learned that much of the construction costs would be covered by Canterlogic, his mood improved, inversely proportional to the mood of his mother.

Still, given the sheer magnitude of the damage done, said repairs could not be completed while Sunny was in the house, lest she be at risk of random cave-ins in her own home. Thus, after a short group meeting, her friends decided that each would let Sunny live with them for a time until her home was fully repaired. Her weak protests fell on deaf ears, and after noting that she really didn't have a roof over her head at that moment, she gave in and agreed to crash at each of her friends' houses while her own was under construction.

Sunny stepped out of the shower, discarding the wet towel onto a drying rack as she headed for her newly rebuilt bedroom. The smell of freshly laminated wood filled her nostrils as she moved through the newly decorated living room; she couldn’t help but take note of each object that was out of place. It was no fault of the workponies, of course, nopony would be able to perfectly reconstruct her home after what happened, but the sight left her slightly unsettled nonetheless.

Each hoofstep echoed through the empty house with a sharp clop. By the time Sunny reached the staircase, she found herself yearning a bit for the days when she shared a home with someone else. No matter the day or the hour, no matter her generous host or their house, one thing had always stayed the same during those days: She was never alone.

Unlike now.

...she hated being alone.

As Sunny stared up the staircase and at the darkness lying beyond it, she couldn't help but feel a little on edge. She squinted, looking deep into the pitch-black patch of shadow… and flinched back when she saw something looking back at her.

A startled gasp escaped her lips as she backed away from the staircase, blinking rapidly. Her breathing quickened as she peered into the shadowy recesses once again, finding nothing but the outlines of a cardboard cutout, set up right in the middle of the hallway.

“Who put that there?” She wondered aloud to herself as she took cautious steps up the staircase, finally ascending at traversing the corridor to get a better look at the cutout. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, allowing her to take in the pony the cutout depicted.

A purple-furred mare was looking back at Sunny, a small, friendly smile on her face. Jutting from her head was a horn the same color as her coat, and a pegasi’s wings were folded up at her sides. Altogether, it resembled a cartoonish, life-sized depiction of Twilight Sparkle, one of the old Guardians of Harmony. A bead of sweat began to roll down Sunny’s brow; while the cutout wasn’t overtly threatening, she couldn’t help but take note of a few inconsistencies. Her hoofs lacked visible frogs, her eyes were slightly oversized, and her wings were too small, to give a few.

Shuddering slightly, Sunny crept around the cutout, struck with the strangest sensation that it would spring to life and do something unpleasant to her when she got close to it. But it didn’t. In a matter of moments, she was past it, heading for her room, her hoof reaching for the doorknob.

The door creaked open.

Sunny stumbled backward with a yelp of terror, knocking out the cutout propped up behind her in the process. Her terror quickly gave way to embarrassment as she caught sight of the pony who’d just opened the door. “Sweet harmony above, you scared me half to death!”

“My apologies, Sunny…” The dark red Earth Pony commented, and her raspy voice immediately left Sunny feeling just a tad justified in being scared by her. She knew she shouldn’t judge by appearances, but something about her demeanor just royally creeped Sunny out. “Didn’t mean to frighten you…”

“Umm… not trying to be rude or anything, but what are you doing in my house?” Sunny asked as she slowly climbed back to her feet.

“No offense taken, dear. If anyone’s being rude, it’s me, for sneaking into your house without your permission.” The earth pony admitted as she stepped forward, her politeness standing in stark contrast to her unnerving tone of voice. “An unfortunate offense on my part, but a necessary one. My name is Melani Cloverleaf, and I need a little help with something. Something that can’t wait until tomorrow, I’m afraid.”

Cloverleaf? As in, part of Hitch's family? Why haven't I heard of her until now? “Umm… yeah? What do you need help with?” Sunny asked, putting aside her questions regarding Melani's heritage for the moment.

“You’ll see what I’m talking about soon enough. Come along now; there is something I want to show you.” The earth pony declared ominously as she stepped past Sunny, reaching down and propping the Twilight Sparkle cutout back up. When Sunny didn’t immediately follow, she glanced back at her expectantly, her mismatched eyes—one green, the other an odd shade of yellow—flashing in the low light.

“Aren’t you coming? Pretty mares like ourselves shouldn't be wandering around all alone, after all."

“So… It's been really nice this past week,” Sunny offered, in a floundering attempt to make conversation.

“Just beautiful,” Melani commented, smiling at her, “Gorgeous,” They’d been walking together for a few minutes now, and Sunny’s opinion of this earth pony was not improving. She almost seemed like she was talking down to her, though not necessarily in a dismissive way; she seemed to think of Sunny more like a treasured possession in need of protection than somepony worthy of disdain.

A small chill ran down Sunny’s spine, but she kept her reservations to herself. Sure, this pony’s voice and mannerisms made her come off as really bucking creepy, but other than that she was perfectly amicable. Besides, she still had her cell phone on her; help was just a phone call away.

“Ah. here we are!” The pegasus declared, stepping down a staircase carved into the pavement and opening the door at the bottom of it. Any thoughts as to how creepy Melani was being promptly slipped from her mind. In front of her was a short entryway with three pillars on either side, ending in a four-way intersection, the entryway to the intersection marked by a banner that said “Guardians of Harmony Memorial Museum”. And in the roughly cylindrical chamber on the other end of that intersection was some kind of device.

It was about one and a half times the size of a pony, largely blocky in shape save for the huge flanges and pipes that spread from it like spider’s legs. Eight cylindrical, clear glass tubes were affixed to the machine's sides, each one filled to the brim with an onyx-black, inky liquid shot through with iridescent streaks. On its front was a large, pronounced faucet. Next to the strange device was a double-sided yellow sign that decreed “CAUTION: floor may be slippery when wet”, the mundanity of the thing standing in stark contrast to the almost whimsical-looking machine it was placed next to.

“Looks like somepony’s been messing with the exhibits,” Melani declared, her gaze sweeping over the empty podiums. “There should be something on each of these pedestals. Sunny, would you mind doing me a favor and finding them for me?”

“Umm… okay?” Sunny said. “How will I know what goes on each pedestal?”

In response, Melani simply gestured to the podiums and the plaques attached to each. “Those plaques will tell you. You’ll know the objects when you find them.”

Sunny nodded, turning to the pedestals and studying each of the plaques.

A pair of flight goggles with sky-blue lenses, the adjustable clasps that held the straps in place fashioned in the shape of red lightning bolts.

A long, wooden spoon with a pink smiley face drawn on its head, the scruff marks on its handle a testament to the many meals it was used to make.

A sewing needle, a gleaming, glossy white in color, a short length of purple string it's owner once used still threaded through its eye.

A pink butterfly floof, a little worn from countless generations’ worth of cuddling and snuggling from countless different foals.

A stetson, a little dirty-looking and torn in some places, reeking faintly of apples, wheat and all the usual olfactory hallmarks of a long day of solid work.

A tome relating to all darkness-loving creatures, a key asset to the Guardians of Harmony in their battles against a resurgent foe.

Hmm… these things all seem connected to the guardians of harmony. Wonder why that is? Sunny wondered to herself, turning away from the pedestals and setting out to look for the items they described.

Sunny lifted up the book with her magic, running her hooves over its cover. It was a hardback tome, fairly large and thick but not so much so it couldn’t be carried in one hoof. Its cover and back were a dark shade of purple. Emblazoned on the front of it were the words “Shadows given Life”; apparently this tome was penned by someone named “Nyx Sparkle”. Sunny couldn’t help but wonder if they were related to Twilight Sparkle.

She was tempted to leaf through the thing, but decided to set it down on the pedestal without taking a look through any of its yellowing pages; Melani probably had an extra copy she could borrow. As her magical aura vanished, the pedestal let loose a soft, barely audible click. “Found them!” She called out.

“Good,” Melani responded as Sunny turned toward the sound of her voice. The Earth pony was standing next to a lever, just a few feet away from the large, bulky device. She reached up, and pulled it down.

Almost immediately, the device let loose a loud, audible groan, prompting Sunny to jump. Gears churned, pumps creaked, and motors purred, the large, boxy piece of machinery stirring from its long slumber.

“Umm… Melani, is that thing supposed to be making so much-” The words died on Sunny’s tongue as a spurt of ink erupted from the machine’s nozzle. And then another. And then a third. The third time, the spurt quickly became a stream, the iridescent, ink-like fluid flooding the chamber at a truly frightening pace.

“Oh, Sunny. The things you’ve set in motion.” Melani crooned, turning toward Sunny and stepping forward, heedless of the rapidly spreading ink. Behind the earth pony, the “Caution: Floor Slippery When Wet” sign began to sink into the shallow pool of ink, like the floor beneath had abruptly gained the same consistency as the fluid that now covered it.

“Melani?” Sunny whimpered fearfully, stepping back from the spreading ink. “Melani?! The ink-”

“Yes, I can see.” Melani declared, briefly glancing back at the sign, still sinking into the puddle of ink as if the ground beneath it had ceased to exist. And then her mismatched eyes returned to Sunny, glinting with unrestrained madness in the memorial's dim, flickering lights. “It’s calling to us, my dear. Can you hear it?”

All the color drained from Sunny’s face, her ears going flat as she scrambled backward, her flank brushing the closed door. She spun around, grabbing frantically for the handle to open it, but it was locked. Nevermind the fact that it had been wide open just a few minutes ago. “HELP! SOMEPONY, ANYPONY! HELP ME, PLEASE!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, yanking on the door with all her not-inconsiderable strength, frantically banging her hoof on it. She had to get out, she had to-

A hoof grabbed her back leg, its owner pulling her close. “Shh…” Melani whispered, shushing Sunny with another hoof, ignoring the way she struggled against her hold. A few seconds later, the pool of ink reached Sunny’s hooves, soaking into her fur and starting to slowly but surely drag her under alongside her captor. “No need to fret, my dear.”

“Let me go… please…” Sunny whimpered softly, still trying to pull away from the madmare who was holding her, even as the ink clung to her hooves and started to drag her down. “You don’t have to do this… I won’t tell-”

“Oh, Sunny, but I do,” Melani murmured, still speaking to Sunny with that impossibly calm intonation. Never mind that they were now up to their fetlocks in the impossibly deep puddle of ink. “When you awaken, come find me. When you do, I will show you why I had to do this, why I had to take you with me this time. But first… we die.”

And then, Melani allowed herself to pitch to the side, toppling over into the ink and dragging Sunny down with her.

Sunny tried to move, but her hooves were enveloped in the ink’s suffocating weight, held immobile in its icy-cold grasp. She tried to summon her magic, but the ink sucked it away faster than she could bring it forth and shape it into a spell, somehow lapping the energies up like it ate magic for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She tried to scream, but not even the faintest sound came out of her mouth.

And the ink took that opportunity to come in.

The onyx-black substance she was suspended in forced its way into her throat, chilling her right down to the bone as it filled her windpipe, her stomach, her lungs. Slowly, her frantic, desperate twitches weakened, her silent screams trailing off as the ink laid claim to her, the whispers she’d heard earlier rising in volume and intensity, rapidly getting so loud she could barely hear herself think.

No… I can’t die like this… Please no… She silently pleaded as consciousness slipped away from her, but not for the last time. Her pleas would soon be answered… much as she’d come to wish they hadn’t been.

Author's Note

So... noticed that there are next-to-no BATDR crossovers so far. And I also noticed that MLP-G5 is also a little lacking in good horror works. So why not combine the two, and put Sunny through yet another horrific body-horror-laden transformation while I'm at it?