Rainbow Dash sneezed loudly, causing her human companion to jump in brief fright. The pegasus sniffled while trying to ignore the tickle surging through her nose to prevent another outburst. The cold atmosphere around the pair was starting to get to the cyan pony.

“Warn a guy before you do that next time.” Tom stated nervously while trying to lower his skyrocketing heart rate. Rainbow Dash offered him an apologetic expression while rubbing her hair in embarrassment.

“Sorry… I think the cold is starting to make me sick.” Rainbow said while shivering occasionally. The boy looked at the freezing pony sympathetically.

“It doesn’t feel that bad to me.” Tom stated in a poorly made attempt at getting her mind off the cold.

“No wonder… you’re wearing sweats for crying out loud.” Rainbow Dash huffed in annoyance while giving the human a forceful nudge on his side.

Deciding against making any further comments, Tom continued down the hallway in silence while looking at the passing room numbers. Noting their progress, the human nodded in satisfaction before turning to his companion.

“We’re at fifty now… shouldn’t be much longer.” Tom announced optimistically while offering the pony a hopeful smile to lift her spirits.

“I wonder how they’re doing… they must be scared out of their minds.” Rainbow Dash droned sadly while thinking about the filly and dragon being left in this eerie darkness for so long by themselves.

“Well so far we haven’t found any ravenous monster that wants to eat us… so they should just be afraid and not in danger.” Tom suggested to try and put a positive spin on the situation. Rainbow Dash could only wonder how he had the capacity to be lighthearted in this dismal and foreboding atmosphere.

“You’re just the picture of optimism aren’t you?” Rainbow asked in a jokingly sarcastic way. The boy chuckled at the cynical pony before offering her a smirk.

“I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of guy.” Tom remarked playfully. The pegasus rolled her eyes before focusing back on the darkness around them with her flashlight.

The pair walked down the string of doors in the hall while counting the numbers on them to keep track of their progress. They were starting to get used to the creepy feeling they were getting from their surroundings. It was like Rainbow Dash was starting to get the immunity to frightening situations that Tom doubtlessly had built up by that point.

The pegasus eagerly glued herself to the side of the hallway to pay attention to the doors. She stared at the passing numbers and started a mental countdown of how long she thought she would be up on the second floor.

Just as she passed by door sixty, Rainbow Dash was pulled from her thoughts by a noise coming from behind her. Her ears instinctively perked up and she froze in place. The noise sounded like someone taking a step and shuffling their feet along the ground. The cyan pony whipped the flashlight around and feverishly scanned the beam of light back and forth down the corridor.

“What’s wrong?” Tom asked curiously with mild concern. Rainbow Dash gave the hallway one last search before sighing and turning to face the human.

“Could have sworn that I just heard something behind us… but I guess not.” Rainbow said uneasily with a paranoid expression. Tom let his senses go off purposefully a few times to check their surroundings. He coughed forcefully a few times before realizing that he was still being overwhelmed by the darkness around them.

“I can’t seem to feel anything around us except for this stupid blackness… but Twilight said she heard and saw things earlier before we had an incident out in the hallway, so be on your guard.” Tom instructed in a more serious tone. The pegasus was unnerved by the slayer’s statement, but nodded solemnly. Before the two could employ their meticulous awareness of their surroundings, they found themselves in front of room sixty-two.

Rainbow Dash immediately put her ear to the door to listen for any signs of the two children inside. Unsatisfied with her findings, she opened the door and cautiously poked her head and flashlight through the opening. The light immediately caught two colorful shapes on a hospital bed. The pair were surrounded by darkness save for a small patch of light coming in from the window at the far end of the room.

“Rainbow Dash!” The orange shape on the bed squeaked in joy upon seeing the pegasus enter the room. The cyan pony needed no further confirmation that the children were in fact on the bed and rushed into the room.

“Spike! Scootaloo! I’m so glad you guys are alright!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed joyfully while rushing up to the bedside and wrapping the baby dragon and orange filly in a tight hug. They gladly accepted the hug while forgetting for a moment about their frightful predicament.

“Rainbow Dash! I’m so glad you’re here… I thought we were going to die in here!” Scootaloo exclaimed while on the verge of tears. She burrowed her head into the pegasus’s cyan coat and let out a few sobs of relief.

Rainbow Dash patted the filly on the back tenderly as she allowed her to vent her emotions for a few minutes. Spike shuddered as he dealt with his own mixture of emotions internally. He knew that everything would be alright now that the two were there to rescue him and his companion.

“Don’t worry we’re going to get you out of here.” Tom spoke reassuringly to the two as he walked forward into the room. Scootaloo suddenly pushed herself away from the cyan pegasus and adopted a more concerned expression.

“There’s something under the bed!” Scootaloo exclaimed urgently while directing her attention back to the source of her problems. The pegasus seemed confused by the filly’s statement, but given their current situation and how frightened Scootaloo seemed, Rainbow Dash gave the thought consideration.

“Something under the bed…? How do you know?” The cyan pony asked with a twinge of nervousness in her voice as she looked to her feet apprehensively. Scootaloo started frantically trying to put words together to explain, when she was interrupted by Spike speaking up from beside her.

“I thought the same thing when I came in here… even checked under there to be sure, but then something tried to grab me and pull me under there.” The dragon explained fearfully as he was concerned for the pegasus being so close to the bed.

Before anybody could elaborate on their thoughts, a noise suddenly came from the underside of the bed. It sounded like something was scuffling against the floor and frame of the bed, making an eerie noise that sent chills up everyone’s spine.

Rainbow Dash gulped nervously as she hesitantly lowered her eyes to the floor. She felt her muscles tensing up defiantly to prevent her from shifting her head downward to examine the source of the noise.

“Tom… do you see anything?” Rainbow asked in a fearfully cold tone as her entire body seized up in terror. The pegasus was forced by her stiffness to keep tense eye contact with the two frightened children on the bed.

The human carefully knelt down to avoid making any sudden movements. He peered under the bed and tried to scan the darkness for any signs of movement. Failing to see anything amid the black void, Tom shrugged in frustration as he realized what he would need to do.

“No, I don’t… it’s pitch black under there. We’re going to need to use the flashlight.” Tom said apprehensively to the nervous pegasus. Rainbow Dash in turn cursed under her breath. She then looked over to the flashlight she had set down on the bed.

“Are you serious?! I don’t want to look under there!” The cyan mare yelled quietly as she tried to remain as still as possible.

“You won’t have to… I’m going to need you to jump up on the bed and throw me the flashlight.” The boy clarified in a more serious voice while steeling himself for his own task.

The noise under the bed was showing no signs of ceasing, giving the pegasus no doubt in her mind that this was a dangerous situation. She looked to her two friends on the bed for support. The children simply scooted aside to give her room and gave Rainbow Dash a frightened stare.

“Alright… I’ll do it quick like a band aid.” The cyan pony gave herself a pep talk as she rehearsed the action in her mind. Unfortunately for her, the drawbacks of rehearsing an action in one’s mind allows for one’s imagination to get in the way and also rehearse how every single detail can go wrong.

After nervously shaking her head to rid herself of all negative thoughts, Rainbow Dash quickly leapt up and onto the bed all at once. The impact of the adult pony on the mattress created a loud thud that rocked the entire frame.

Before the creature under the bed had a chance to react to the new stimulus, the pegasus quickly grabbed the flashlight and chucked it at the waiting human. Tom effortlessly caught the small object and bent down while turning it on in one swift motion.

The three on the bed anxiously watched the slayer as he rapidly scanned the flashlight under the bed, but were surprised to see that Tom was taking longer to react than they anticipated.

“What the…?” The human exclaimed in bewilderment. The others looked at him with confusion evident on their faces.

“What do you see?” Scootaloo asked in a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. The boy merely blinked his eyes a few times to ensure that they were not failing him.

“Nothing…. There’s nothing down there.” Tom stated in disbelief as he watched the beam of light from the flashlight come out of the other side of the bed. Nothing but a few dust bunnies sat on the bare floor of the opening.

“What?! But we all heard it! Spike didn’t just get grabbed by nothing!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in shock as she tried to process the situation. Spike and Scootaloo seemed just as confused as the cyan pegasus as their jaws hung open in disbelief.

Tom double checked his findings and shrugged in annoyance. He then got up and looked around the room. Taking note of the unnatural amount of darkness in the room, the boy walked over to the window and observed the amount of light coming in.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously as she watched the human look back and forth between the various dark areas of the room. He then suddenly turned to face the group with a frustrated expression.

“Maybe something about the darkness is causing hallucinations of fear… It does seem to be reacting oddly to the light.” Tom stated while pointing out the strange position of the shadows in the room. The three on the bed tilted their heads curiously as they noticed the unnaturally thick darkness at the front of the room.

Spike and Scootaloo had been too preoccupied with their frightening predicament to notice the change, but the light from the windows had been steadily decreasing its reach as the shadows crept closer to the other side of the room.

“Wh… why is it so dark in here?” Spike asked in bewilderment as he observed the now eerie far side of the room. Tom walked into the center of the room uneasily as he mulled over all of the information he had to construct his theory.

“We had some experience with this before… even before you and Applejack noticed the shadows in the lobby moving. We heard things moving around in the darkness around us, and Twilight’s light went out without her knowing why.” The boy explained while looking back to Rainbow Dash. “Whatever is going on… the shadows seem to be slowly snuffing out every source of light.” He clarified the obvious while contemplating any other theory he might have.

“So… there are no monsters?” Scootaloo asked nervously while trying to convince herself that she would be safe. Tom turned around to face the group while standing at the other side of the room.

“I don’t think so… I’m pretty sure all of this strange darkness is causing us to see and hear things. We just need to reverse whatever spell is causing this before these hallucinations get worse.” The human said confidently while giving the three a reassuring smile.

Rainbow Dash was relieved to see the two children loosening up and regaining their calm demeanor. Suddenly, she remembered something that made her even more confused at the human’s explanation.

“Wait… if there are no monsters, then where did Applebloom and that other pony go?” Rainbow asked with a puzzled expression. Scootaloo seemed confused to hear that her friend had returned to the hospital.

“Applebloom is here? I thought she was home resting…” The filly turned to Rainbow Dash and waited for an explanation as to why her friend would be in the building. The cyan pony turned to the curious filly and sighed.

“She tripped at home and hurt her leg again… she was getting it checked out, but we couldn’t find her or the pony she was with.” Rainbow Dash explained with worry in her voice as she decided to be truthful to the young pegasus.

Tom furrowed his brow in frustration as he thought about the complication to his explanation. He was starting to get concerned for the safety of the filly and the pony that was with her.

“That is odd… I don’t think hallucinations can make anyone disappear… but I don’t sense any-” The human paused suddenly as he noticed the three on the bed suddenly became very pale and frightened. They were staring at the boy fearfully as they stammered while trying to say something.

“What’s with you guys?” Tom asked anxiously as he noted the petrified trio on the bed. Rainbow Dash managed to point her hoof behind the slayer as she tried desperately to form words.

“B-behind you!” The cyan mare choked on her own voice as she fought through her fear to warn the human. Standing behind Tom was a large black shape in the dark corner of the room. It was hard to make out any features, but the figure was clearly visible as it loomed towards the human with its body arched.

Before the boy could turn around, the figure shot forward in a blur and clamped a gnarled hand down on his shoulder. In one swift motion, the creature shot backwards towards the wall, sending Tom reeling backwards as his legs flew out in front of his body from being flung off balance.

“AHH!” Tom yelped in surprise as he was forced to the floor in the corner of the room. The human’s head slammed into the intersection of the two walls, sending him into a daze. The ponies watched fearfully as the figure suddenly reappeared in the darkness in front of the slayer.

The dark silhouette glided forward and loomed over the human menacingly. It suddenly bent down and grabbed the boy by his throat. Tom coughed and sputtered as the creature lifted him up and constricted its bony fingers tighter around his neck.

“Leave him alone!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a burst of bravery as she hopped down from the bed to assist the human. The shadowy figure turned its blurry body around and seemingly gave the pegasus a stern expression with its obscured face.

Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to reach the two struggling in the corner, the creature suddenly jerked sideways as it seemingly disappeared into a blur while moving through the shadows. It took Tom with it as it rushed to the other side of the room.

The shadow flung the human against the wall, causing a large hole to be made in the plaster as the boy’s body crashed into it. Tom struggled against the beast while throwing a few punches at it. The shadow seemed to ignore each attack the human managed to send its way.

Rainbow Dash was shocked to see the slayer in such distress. The mere sight of the boy being choked against the wall made her bubble up with a severe rage that overrode any sense of fear she felt from the terrifying monster.

She leapt forward and jumped onto the creature in an attempt to distract it. The shadow seemed to pay no attention to the pony on its back as it continued to strangle its prey. Frustrated at her lack of success, the pegasus wrapped her arms around what she could loosely identify as the silhouette’s neck and pulled back as hard as she could.

Scootaloo and Spike cheered on the brave pegasus as she wrestled with the beast to get it away from Tom. Much to their dismay, the shadow bucked its head backwards to hit the pony, sending her sliding on her back as she flew towards the floor.

Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead as she tried to regain her senses. She looked up in a daze to see how bad she had been knocked around, only to see the shadowy beast had turned around to face her while holding Tom in its other hand.

“…!” The pegasus felt her body tense up in fear as she felt the creature staring at her with its unseen eyes. The ghostly shadow stepped forward towards the hapless pony while watching her menacingly. The two children on the bed watched in horror as Rainbow Dash was caught in a petrified trance that left her shivering in fear while staring at her attacker.

Before the monster got close enough to touch the cyan pony, Tom lifted his hand in front of him weakly and steadied himself. A ray of bright light suddenly shot out into the shadow’s back, causing it to stumble forward as it recoiled from the pain of the light.

Rainbow Dash managed to catch a brief glimpse of what the monster actually looked like amid the short flash of light. The beast appeared very humanoid in nature, being dressed in what seemed to be a very worn and faded looking grey hoodie that covered the top half of its face. Its skin seemed unnaturally pale as it clung tightly to its gaunt body. The creature didn’t appear to have a visible nose, having instead a smooth patch of pale skin above its equally pale mouth which sat in a dull straight line to form a blank expression.

The sight of the creature made the pony yelp in fear as she backed up to desperately gain distance from the monster while it adjusted to the darkness once more. The shadow had dropped the human to the floor in its attempt at getting away. Tom lifted his hand up in preparation to attack again.

Before the slayer could fire off another beam of light, the creature jerked downwards rapidly as its form disappeared into the thin veil of shadows that covered the front of the room. Tom and Rainbow Dash were left staring at each other in shock through the newly open space between them.

Coming to her senses, the cyan pony decided to check up on the human’s health. He appeared to be very short of breath, with a red mark where the creature had clamped down onto his throat.

“Are you alright?” Rainbow Dash asked with concern as she looked around the room feverishly to find where the beast had gone.

“I’m fine… but where did it go?!” Tom replied in a slight panic as he scanned around them while arching his body in preparation to fight from any angle. The darkness in the room now filled the group with a newfound sense of dread as they had a glimpse of what lurked inside of it.

“I don’t know…” Rainbow Dash stated nervously as she darted her eyes around fearfully. She had a nervous knot developing in her stomach. She didn’t feel safe, and by extension she didn’t feel like Spike and Scootaloo were safe, and that was unacceptable to the cyan pony. She steeled her nerves for venturing back out into the dark hallways of the hospital. The pegasus was fed up with waiting for something bad to happen.

“Come on… we’re getting out of here!” Rainbow exclaimed urgently to the two children on the bed. They darted their eyes around the room nervously in an attempt to find where the creature would pop out next.

Rainbow Dash got up from the floor and walked over to the door before turning and offering a reassuring expression to the two shivering kids.

“I know you’re scared… I am too, but it’s ok. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here.” The cyan mare stated in the most comforting tone she could muster while looking to the two earnestly. Spike and Scootaloo gave each other a frightened glance before settling their eyes back on the pegasus. They slowly nodded before getting up and walking over to the edge of the bed.

Spike cautiously made his way down the side of the bed and hopped onto the ground. Taking little time to reflect on his anxiety, the dragon rushed away from the dark void of the bed’s underside and joined the two on the other side of the room.

The three watched as Scootaloo nervously stared at the ground beneath her. The dark opening to the small space under the bed sent the small filly’s imagination into overdrive as she pictured herself being grabbed and pulled away into the shadows.

Steeling herself for the task at hand, the filly slowly climbed over the side of the bed and dangled for a moment while plotting her next move. After regaining her bravery, Scootaloo finally dropped to the floor and cushioned herself from the impact to prevent any injuries. She quickly turned around and made a dash towards the group on the other side of the room.

Just before the filly could make it away from the bed, a grimly familiar dark blur shot out from the black void behind her and grabbed her back leg. The orange pegasus yelped in surprise as she felt her body being pulled off balance from the sudden jolt of the creature dragging her backwards.

“Ahhhh!” Scootaloo screamed fearfully as she was pulled along the ground towards the underside of the bed. The trio on the far side of the room watched in a horrified state of shock as the filly was knocked against one of the bed posts. Despite her head spinning from the harsh impact, Scootaloo managed to wrap her arms around the post and cling to it as tight as her childish muscles could allow.

Not taking a moment to spare, Tom sprang into action and jumped forward to grab the frightened filly. He grabbed onto her hoof just as she was pulled off her tiny stronghold and held on for dear life to prevent the creature from having its way.

“Rainbow Dash! Get the flashlight!” The human yelled in a panic as he started to lose the battle with the monster. The pegasus looked slightly confused, but decided not to waste time with her own doubts on the boy’s logic. She dove for the flashlight on the ground and flipped it around to face towards the bed. In a blur of sheer instinct driven motion, Rainbow Dash turned the light on and shone the beam frantically under the bed at an angle to hit behind the two.

Scootaloo suddenly felt the tight grip of the creature disappear as the light illuminated the area behind her. The sudden change in balance between forces caused Tom to pull the filly forward rapidly, knocking her head against his.

The two grunted from the pain of the impact while taking a brief moment to rub their tender craniums. Tom quickly refrained from comforting his own injury to pull the filly out from under the bed and dragged her to her feet while rushing to the other side of the room.

“Come on! We’re getting out of here!” The human exclaimed to the two shocked observers as he rushed passed them with Scootaloo in tow. Rainbow Dash and Spike managed to curtail their sense of fear and shock and rushed forward to join him as he rushed out of the door. The cyan pegasus fumbled with the flashlight as she held it in a way that kept most of the group inside its cone of effect.