The sudden booming sound of distant thunder awoke Neon Streak from her slumber. As the green mare sat up in bed, she could see light fading from the window, indicating some far off crackle of lightning. A constant clamoring sound of rainfall was showering down onto the roof and window, creating a sea of noise.

The rain sounded a little too severe to warrant a comfortable ambient noise, it was more like a torrential downpour was happening outside. Still, the presence of thunder and lightning along with a sudden rainstorm confused and puzzled the earth pony.

“What the hay…? It was clear when I went to sleep.” Neon Streak stated in a groggy tone while glancing at the window. She could barely see the droplets of water covering the glass amid the darkness of the room.

Another flash of lightning appeared in the window, serving as a precursor to the booming thunder that soon approached. The storm seemed to be developed well enough to warrant a lot of work from pegasi, so Neon wondered why it was here.

The curious mare got up from her bed and walked over to the window to look outside. As more flashes of lightning illuminated the landscape, she could see that trees and other objects were blowing around with a ferocious amount of wind. Now that she was closer to the window, the green pony could even hear the whistling wind as it pushed on the frame of the house.

“Hmm… something doesn’t seem right about this.” Neon Streak muttered in a suspicious tone while eyeing over to the bed where her vest sat. She wondered if her evil detector would give an insight to the origin of the storm.

Suddenly, and without warning, a deafening wave of thunder sounded out as a bolt of lightning appeared closer to the house. Judging from how instant the flash of light and the sound of thunder was, the green mare gathered that it was extremely close by. The entire house practically shook from the intensity of the wave of thunder. Neon Streak felt her heart jump in her chest as the rest of her body tensed up from severe shock. Even after the bolt died down, she could still feel a discomforting and tense sensation in her body. Before she could formulate any other thoughts on the matter, and before she could even recover from the jolt of the thunder, the green mare heard a barely audible shriek of fright coming from the next room over.

“Applebloom?” She stated in a mildly concerned tone. Although she was certain that the young filly had been frightened by the thunder, Neon decided that she would go and check on her. Besides, she could use some comfort herself from the sudden jolt to her system.

The green mare left her room and exited into the hall. As she took a quick look around the darkened house, she deduced that Applejack and her brother were most likely still trying to sleep. Deciding to not keep the terrified filly waiting any longer, Neon walked down the hall to the next room beside hers and opened the door quietly.

She was greeted with the sight of a yellow filly sitting up in her bed while nervously looking around with wide eyes. She looked like she had just been awakened from a horrible nightmare, or at least jolted from her sleep by the loud display of thunder and lightning.

“Are you ok, Applebloom?” Neon Streak asked while slowly walking further into the room. Once she realized who was speaking, Applebloom calmed down slightly.

“Neon… sorry, did Ah wake you up?” The filly asked with a sad tone.

“No, you didn’t. This storm probably woke both of us up.” The green mare explained while walking up to the bed. Applebloom was relieved that she didn’t disturb anyone from their sleep.

“Why is it raining this hard? Ah don’t think that we’re supposed to even get storms this severe…” The filly stated with a nervous tone while glancing out the window.

“I don’t know… I just woke up to the sound of thunder… and then that loud one happened and scared both of us.” Neon Streak explained with a slight chuckle. The yellow filly seemed to be surprised by the fact that she wasn’t the only one scared.

“You got scared by it too?” Applebloom asked timidly, still unsure if her frightened outburst was necessary considering the circumstances. The young filly made it a point to try and get braver after everything that had happened recently.

“Oh yeah… I didn’t really scream, but I’m pretty sure that’s only because I jumped out of my skin before I could.” Neon said in a reassuring way. She could tell that the filly was a little ashamed by the fact that she was frightened so easily.

“Ah woke up to it… so it was really startling to me. Ah never liked thunder in the first place, even when it was scheduled to happen.” Applebloom stated uneasily while looking out the window at the raging tempest outside. Neon Streak shared in the filly’s unease. She wasn’t too big of a fan of storms either, and this storm seemed to be supernaturally created, making it even worse in her books.

“I’m going to go back to my room to get my gear. You just sit tight and try to get back to sleep.” The green mare said in a reassuring tone while moving back towards the door.

“Wait…!” Applebloom squeaked nervously as she watched the green pony leave. She didn’t want to be left alone in her dark room while a strange storm was raging outside. Neon Streak paused and turned around. The filly tried to think of a reason to make her stay, but her mind drew a blank.

“Uh… umm… could you stay here with me… for a little while at least?” Applebloom asked while trying to appear calmer than she felt. She didn’t want to outright say that she was frightened, but she also didn’t want to be left alone.

Neon Streak smiled understandingly and walked back up to the filly’s bed. She knew that she must have felt terrified about being in a dark place with such a violent storm being just outside, but she also knew that she had to investigate the cause of the strange storm herself.

“Don’t worry… I will be right back. I can find out everything I need to know from in here, after that I can stay for a while until you go back to sleep.” The green mare suggested in a friendly tone. The filly smiled in relief that she wouldn’t have to be alone.

“Ok.” Applebloom replied in acceptance of the green pony’s idea. Neon Streak smiled and nodded in response while walking away.

Before she made it out of the room however, an odd noise made the green mare stop in her tracks. A bizarre and unnerving howling sound was making itself known from outside of the window on the far side of the room. It almost sounded like the wind, but it could be heard alongside the wind, distinguishing the two from each other.

As the sound got slightly louder, Applebloom froze in place and stared at the window with eyes wide with fear. The nervous filly eyed between the window and Neon Streak, trying to communicate her fear through her expression.

“W-what is that?” Applebloom stammered quietly, for fear that whatever was making the noise might hear her. Neon Streak cautiously walked forward while motioning for the filly to remain still. As she got close enough to the bed to whisper, the green mare tried to remain as calm as possible in the face of the unknown.

“I don’t know… stay where you are.” Neon whispered in a serious tone while slowly walking forward. Applebloom watched the green pony anxiously as she approached the window and looked outside.

Neon cautiously peered out of the window while keeping most of her body concealed. If there was a monster outside, she didn’t want it to see her. As a few flashes of lightning illuminated the blackness outside, the green mare didn’t see anything but the wind-blown trees and the torrential downpour of rain.

The longer she listened to the eerie noise, the less sure she was that it was anything more than the wind. Perhaps Neon’s imagination had gotten the best of her. It wasn’t too far a stretch of the imagination to fathom that an odd sounding gust of wind could unnerve a strung out filly and an overly suspicious monster hunter.

“Do you see anything?” Applebloom asked nervously while watching the green mare. She couldn’t bear the nerve racking silence that was covering the room, especially not with the pounding rain and eerie noise mixing in with the wind and thunder.

“No… I don’t… maybe it was the wind?” Neon looked back to the nervous filly and tried to ease her nerves. Applebloom looked back at her with a nervously doubtful and uncertain expression, which the green mare understood perfectly as even she didn’t believe the wishful statement.

Before the pair could think about the strange noise any further, they were interrupted by the sound of the bedroom door opening slowly. They turned their heads to see Applejack walking into the room with a curious expression on her face.

“Applejack…? What are you doing up?” Neon Streak asked while stepping away from the window.

“Ah woke up when Ah heard a lot of thunder… then Ah heard a lot of weird noises coming from outside.” Applejack explained with an uneasy tone of voice. Neon Streak and Applebloom shared a concerned glance with each other at the farm pony’s explanation. There was no way that more than two people would hear the same bizarre noise outside by coincidence.

“Weird noises?” Neon asked while glancing back at the window. “Did they sound like this?” She pointed to the window and remained quiet for a moment so the orange mare could hear the odd and disturbing sound. Applejack listened for a moment before concluding that the odd howling coming from outside was the same as the noise she had heard.

“Yeah… what is that?” The orange mare asked with a troubled expression. The sound was too eerie and too far distinguished from the wind to be a part of it. And to top off the rising tensions in the room, the noise seemed to be getting louder. Before long, the noise sounded like a raspy growl. Like the wind itself was actually wailing angrily at the ponies. The increased frequency and intensity of the frightful noises almost gave the impression that something was getting closer to the house.

As the three ponies anxiously watched the window while the rain pounded into it, they suddenly noticed a dark shape flying around outside of the window. Before anyone could even react, the sound of glass shattering rang out as something crashed through the window.

Lightning violently flashed outside, bathing the frightening creature in light, and giving the terrified ponies a snapshot of its appearance. It looked like a floating mass of black swirling clouds had formed into a terrifying monster. The beast didn’t have legs, instead having just a floating torso that tapered off at the end with its head and arms poking out at the top and sides. Its limbs and head were uncovered, but it appeared to have tattered black clothing on that somewhat looked like it was made from the same smoke that was pouring from its body.

The monster had a black void that served as a mouth, with several rows of sharp teeth. The teeth appeared to be narrow, like jagged thorns that overlapped the monster’s mouth. The creature had milky white eyes and dirty yellow skin, giving it a more sinister and monstrous appearance. It also had two long and reaching arms, topped with gnarled hands with long and sharp claws.

“AHHHH!” Applebloom screamed in terror at the sight of the monster floating in place. As the filly cried out in terror, the monster opened its mouth and let out a deep roar that filled the room and shook the three ponies to their core.

Applebloom leapt off of her bed and recoiled backwards as fast as she could to get away from the horrid creature. The monster hovered further into the room while staring at the three ponies menacingly. Neon Streak rushed forward and grabbed the yellow filly to hasten her escape.

With the terrified filly in her arms, the green mare turned around and ran as fast as she could towards the door. Meanwhile, Applejack was frantically waiting for the two to get out of the room with her. Once the two were past the door, the orange mare slammed it shut and held onto the handle tightly.

A loud bang sounded out as the monster slammed into the door to try and force it open. Applejack and Neon Streak held the door closed while the specter tried to get out of the room. The ponies could hear the horrific sound of the monster growling while clawing at the door violently to escape.

“What the hay is going on?!” The group heard Big Mac as he frantically ran up to them, curious as to what was happening. One look at the situation in front of him told the stallion that something alarming was taking place.

Neon Streak tried to calm herself down long enough to think rationally. Her mind was racing with what actions she had to take to combat the monster in the other room. Her thoughts suddenly turned to her vest full of gear in the other room.

“Hold the door!” The green mare announced while getting up and running down the hall to the other room. Big Mac was unsure of what was going on, but he immediately rushed next to his sister to hold the door closed against the constant assaults against it.

Neon Streak quickly ran to her room and threw open the door. She spotted her vest in the same position that it was in when she left it. Not wanting to waste any time, the green pony rushed over and grabbed her vest to put it on. She hadn’t moved so fast since her drills back at the academy, even with her relatively new gear. Neon buckled the clips on her vest while simultaneously running back out of the room. Needless to say, the evil detector was abuzz with blue light and magical hums. Neon Streak paid no attention to this as she reached for her strobe and readied it. By the time she reached the three standing around the door, the green mare was ready for a battle.

Applejack and her brother were nervously holding their weight against the door while listening to the wailing monster inside. Meanwhile, Applebloom was backed away as far as she could get from the door while fearfully hoping for the monster to go away.

“What is that thing?!” Applejack asked frantically while observing the suited mare. All sense of authority in the situation had since left the farm pony, and although she wasn’t sure if the green mare knew anything more than she did, she had to at least try to learn more about their crisis to rationalize it.

“I don’t know! And I don’t think I want to go ask it!” Neon replied anxiously while keeping her weapon drawn in the event that the two ponies couldn’t hold the door.

Suddenly the group heard windows shattering downstairs, along with the loud roaring of wind and the buzzing of electricity. As they averted their attention downstairs, the ponies saw two more of the black shapes moving towards them, only these were slightly different.

The two monsters currently chasing them had sparks flying off of them, as well as a seemingly fluid aura of electrical arcs around their bodies. The light cast by the brilliantly terrifying display only made the already horrific features of the creatures all the more frightening.

“AHHH!” Applebloom and her two siblings screamed at the top of their lungs as they watched the two specters fly towards them with their teeth and claws at the ready. They were already picturing how much it would hurt to touch the electrified creatures.

Neon Streak bravely stepped in front of the family and opened fire with her strobe. Although her aim was a little lackluster due to her shot nerves, the green pony managed to land several hits on the advancing monsters.

The creatures screamed out as each bolt hit them, but it sounded more like angry outbursts rather than cries of pain as they were slowly but surely repelled by the attacks. The monsters gnashed their teeth and swiped at the air with their claws as they tried in vain to move forward through the barrage of light blasts.

“It isn’t hurting them?!” Applebloom asked in a shocked panic as she observed the difficulty the green mare was having in driving off the monsters.

Neon Streak looked behind her at the nervous family while also firing her strobe as fast as possible. She could see that they were counting on her to defend them, but that they were also as scared and anxious as she was, they were just expressing it more on the outside. The green mare had to keep her fear internalized, if the family knew she was panicking like them, they might be overcome by fear and make irrational decisions.

“We need help! Is there a room without windows anywhere in the house?!” Neon asked frantically. She knew that this was above her skillset to deal with. She needed the assistance of either her team or her human friend, but in order to call for help, she needed to get the three farm ponies and herself to safety.

“Umm… uh…” Applejack’s mind raced as she tried to think of a room without windows. It was astonishing how one could forget their own home’s layout in a stressful situation.

“What about the bathroom?!” Applebloom chimed in from the back of the group eagerly. Although the room was relatively small, it did have a prominent lack of windows, and it even had a lock on the door.

“That’s a great idea Applebloom!” Applejack stated in an excited manner while congratulating her sister for her quick thinking. Applebloom was happy to be able to help in such a dangerous situation.

Now that the group had decided on their escape plan, they immediately looked over to where the bathroom actually was and froze with dreadful expressions on their faces. The door to their salvation was right next to the staircase, where two angry monsters were trying to get at them from.

“What are we going to do? Those things will rip us to pieces if we get too close.” Big Mac shared his thoughts with the rest of the group, although the grim reminder to them was unnecessary to understand the severity of their crisis.

Neon Streak frantically tried thinking of a possible solution to their problem. If she failed to think of something, they would be essentially screwed. Her arms would get tired eventually, the door to Applebloom’s bedroom might break eventually, and more of the monsters might decide to break into the house eventually.

“Ok… I have a plan, but you guys are going to have to listen to me and do exactly as I say. Everyone with me?” The green mare asked while looking around at the three ponies. She would need all of them to cooperate if they were going to survive.

Applejack looked between her two siblings for a moment to see how they were faring. Big Mac seemed to be holding up well, but the orange mare could tell he was just as terrified as she was. One look at the yellow filly was enough to tell that she was scared out of her wits. Applejack hated seeing her sister in situations like these.

“We’ll help in any way we can Neon… what do you have in mind?” Applejack asked in a serious tone while somehow mustering up some confidence. Neon Streak was pleased to hear that the orange mare would help her.

“We’re going to make a break for the bathroom. When we do, this guy in here is probably going to be right on our tails, so we need to be quick.” The green pony explained as calm and clearly as she could manage.

“How are we going to get over there? Those two aren’t moving very far.” Applejack asked with an anxious expression while looking over to the two monsters at the end of the hall. Even with Neon firing her strobe as fast as she could, the two creatures were just barely kept at bay.

“That’s where you come in.” Neon Streak replied while carefully moving closer to the orange mare. “Reach into the pocket on my front left. There should be another strobe in there.” She instructed while keeping her attention on the two monsters.

Catching on to what the green mare had in mind, Applejack nodded and carefully reached into her vest while also keeping her back to the door. It took a brief moment to move her arm without moving the rest of her body, but the orange mare finally managed to reach the pocket in question. After undoing the button on the pocket’s clasp, she reached inside and felt around until her hoof came across a small vial shaped object.

“Got it.” Applejack announced while pulling the vial out and checking it to ensure that it was a strobe. Sure enough, the vial was filled with a blue liquid, and it had a small button on one of the caps.

“Ok good… now try firing at those two. I want to make sure we can push them back before we charge headlong at them.” Neon Streak explained while looking ahead. Applejack would have commended the green pony for her rational thinking in the face of danger, but she decided to instead obey her instructions.

Taking aim at the pair of monsters, the farm pony rapidly pressed the trigger on the vial. Several bursts of energy flew out of the tip of the bottle, joining with the blasts fired by the green mare as they traveled towards the two monsters.

With the force of two strobes being fired at them constantly, the two creatures were pushed back at a faster rate than before, once the beasts were at such a distance that they started going down the stairs to find cover from the constant onslaught, the ponies smiled triumphantly at their small victory.

“Alright! Now we’re in business.” Neon Streak cheered while turning around to face the frightened filly. “Applebloom, you still with us? Are you going to be able to run with us?” She asked in a softer tone while addressing the nervous young pony. Neon wanted to make sure that everyone was capable of running to the bathroom before they started. She wanted to ensure that nothing could go wrong with her plan.

Applebloom looked at the green mare with a fearful expression. She nodded slowly as she mustered up the willpower needed to get moving again. The last thing she wanted was to be left behind while the others escaped.

“Yes… Ah can do it.” Applebloom said with a slight tremble in her voice while putting on a confident expression. Neon Streak smiled as she watched the filly trying to be brave.

“Ok good, now let’s get ready. On the count of three, we’re going to run for the bathroom. Big Mac, I need you to open the door and get inside. Once we’re all in, I need you to close it and lock it.” The green mare explained her plan to her companions.

“Ok.” The red stallion replied while nodding confidently.

“Alright… Applejack, you and I will be firing these strobes off as fast as we can. We need to be quick, and we need to be careful.” Neon explained while giving the orange mare a sincere expression. Everyone’s survival depended on them working together, so she wanted to be sure that everyone was on the same page.

“Ah’m ready when you are.” Applejack replied confidently. She gulped nervously while looking ahead at the barely visible electrical flashes coming from just down the stairs.

“Alright… everyone get ready. One…” Neon started counting up, alerting everyone to her plan. The three farm ponies readied themselves for the task at hand. They could feel their tense nerves jittering as fear and stress fought against their concentration.

“Two…” The green mare steeled herself as she drew nearer to her plan being executed. She hoped that everyone would make it through the night alive.

Applejack and her two siblings shared one last concerned glance with each other before settling their eyes forward. They knew full well that they were about to charge straight into danger. All they could do was perform their part of the plan as efficiently as possible in the hopes that everyone else would be safe.

“Three!” As Neon Streak yelled the final number, everyone rushed forward. The two mares in front blasted their strobes rapidly in the hopes that the two creatures ahead of them would be kept at bay.

Perhaps in response to the ponies’ charge, the two creatures flew up the stairs again in an attempt at getting at their prey. The monsters howled angrily as they fought against the blasts of energy to make any progress forward they could.

About halfway through their sprint, the ponies heard the loud and distinct sound of the bedroom door behind them bursting open. They didn’t dare turn their heads around, but judging from the third growling noise behind them, they knew that the third creature was chasing after them.

With tense nerves and gritted teeth, the ponies reached the bathroom door. Big Mac threw open the door and ushered Applebloom inside. Once the two were safely inside, Applejack and Neon Streak moved sideways to get inside. Applejack made it inside and turned around to cover her friend as she rushed forward. Before the green mare could make it through the door however, she suddenly yelled in pain as her hair stood on end.

“Neon!” Everyone yelled in a fearful panic as they watched the mare convulse violently. As Applejack rushed forward to assist her, she noticed that one of the electrified creatures was touching her on the leg.

“Let her go!” The orange mare yelled angrily while blasting her strobe at the monster. The creature growled and let go as it was driven backwards. Neon Streak immediately collapsed to the floor and remained motionless.

Big Mac rushed forward and grabbed the unconscious mare. He quickly pulled her inside while Applejack closed the door and locked it. Once they were safe from the beasts outside, the ponies fully turned their attention to their injured comrade.

“Neon!” Applejack called her name frantically while gently shaking her. The green mare offered no response as she remained limp and motionless.

“Oh no… please don’t be dead.” The farm pony muttered in a frantic panic while checking the suited pony for a pulse. Thankfully, the unconscious mare seemed to be breathing.

“Oh thank Celestia… she’s just knocked out.” The orange mare breathed a sigh of relief. Although her friend was still in danger, she was at least still alive at the moment. As she heard the sounds of the creatures trying to break in, another grim thought occurred to the farm pony.

“What are we going to do now? Neon is the only one who can call for help.” Applejack stated uneasily. Her two siblings shared an uneasy glance with her before settling their eyes on the unresponsive mare on the floor. With the strange beasts outside clawing at the door trying to get in, and with their only line to the outside world laying on the floor out cold, they were trapped like rats in a cage.