While everyone was eagerly marching forward to complete their assigned tasks inside the mansion, it was an entirely different story outside of the mansion. Sunspot was standing under the relatively dry overhang of the front steps with her small team of pegasi. The area in front of the front door was large, with four stone columns holding up a stone covering that was arched at the sides. Despite the large overhang, rain still managed to hit the ponies due to the wind blowing it sideways.

It was pouring water so hard that the group could hardly hear themselves think over the constant clamor of rain hitting the sides of the house and the stone steps. The air had been chilly before it started raining, but now that they were wet, Sunspot and the others shivered uncontrollably from the cold. All in all, it was fairly miserable to be the orange pegasus right now.

“Man I m-miss my s-suit.” Sunspot stated through chattering teeth as she held her arms close to her body. “At l-least it kept m-me a little w-w-warm.” She said while trying to generate as much heat as possible. As stylish as her black vest full of equipment was, it didn’t do much in terms of generating warmth.

“You know… we could huddle together to conserve body heat.” One of the guards suggested with a sly smirk. The orange mare furrowed her brow and glared at the stallion with a dirty look in her eye.

“Not if you were the last pony on earth, Casanova.” Sunspot said before turning her nose up at the stallion and ignoring him. Deciding to avoid looking at the other ponies around her, she took a moment to look at her surroundings.

It was hard to see much of anything in the torrential downpour just outside, but the orange mare could make out a few details. There was a stump with an old red colored axe stuck into it over by the side of the house to her right. There were a few of the stone statues in the dead garden visible from this distance. In the pouring rain, the statue of the winged human woman looked as if she was crying.

There appeared to be a small shed off to the side of the garden. It was made from brick and wood, so it wasn’t faring much better than the other areas of the house. A single cracked window in the side of the small structure offered a glimpse into the pitch black void inside. A subtle chill ran down Sunspot’s back as she looked at the window. She wasn’t sure if it was from the cold, or if she thought someone might be watching her from inside the eerie porthole.

“So uh… when do you think we’ll get to head inside?” One of the guards asked Sunspot in a nervous tone. He seemed to be out of his element so to speak, so he wanted to know how things were standing from an expert on situations like this.

“I don’t know… I just hope those guys get done in there before I catch my death from cold.” Sunspot shrugged before glancing down at her fur. She was already turning a slightly bluer shade of orange from being exposed to water and freezing temperatures for so long.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash followed Glitterball and the others through the upstairs hallway on their way to the library. The ponies glanced around uneasily at the flickering light of the candles placed all around them. Even though this hallway had been cleared out the first time Glitter’s group went upstairs, it felt like there could be anything lurking in the dark patches in front and behind them.

Suddenly, Glitterball paused in front of a single door. The door looked slightly different from the other doors in the mansion, with an ornate pattern set into it. Twilight felt a sense of excitement building up inside of her. She was about to enter a room full of literature from a period in time she only dreamed about researching so closely.

“Here we are.” Glitterball announced while double checking to make sure she had the right area.

“Keep in mind Twilight, we’re here on business.” Rainbow Dash said once she noticed the eager expression on her friend’s face. Twilight took a moment to shake the distractions from her mind and adopted an awkward smile.

“Umm… right.” The unicorn stated with a slight chuckle. Her friends glanced at her with doubtful expressions. They knew that she couldn’t resist the allure of reading for long. Only Glitterball seemed to put any merit in the purple mare’s abilities.

Without further delay, Glitterball opened the door and ushered the group inside. As they walked into the expansive room, Twilight and Rainbow Dash dropped their jaws in amazement. Even Rarity and Applejack, who had seen the room before, were amazed.

The room was filled with entire bookshelves full of books. The shelves covered the walls down the entire length of the room, with a few spaces in between for desks or tables. The room was longer than it was wide, with high ceilings to make it feel larger than it already was.

The red carpet that prevailed in the foyer and out in the hallways was absent from this room. There were a few ornate rugs spaced out across the room to cover up the worn and dust ridden floors. Although there were lights installed in the ceiling, the room was lit by candles placed along the ground or in stands. There were a few lamps along the tables to the sides that were lit up, but they only provided enough light to read by.

“Wow…” Twilight exclaimed in awe while looking around at the numerous bookshelves with a gleam in her eyes. There was a wide selection of books crammed into the shelves. From thick tomes full of doubtlessly horrific black magic, to smaller books of poetry or other literary works.

“Are you sure you guys will be ok in here?” Rarity asked in a concerned tone as she watched Glitterball setting up blessed candles at the door. She wasn’t sure if she felt comfortable letting her friends stay by themselves in a place like this.

“Don’t worry… I think the biggest obstacle we’re going to face is getting Twilight to keep herself focused.” Rainbow Dash said while glancing over to the purple unicorn. Twilight was already looking through one of the bookshelves and browsing the titles of the books.

“Have fun with that.” Applejack said with a small smirk.

A soft blue pulse of light surged through the room. The group looked over to see that Glitterball had already placed and lit the two candles at the door. She turned around and smiled at the others as they admired the blue glow of the candles.

“Ok guys, if you’re ready we should probably get going.” Glitter suggested while motioning towards the door. Rarity and Applejack took one last look at their friends before walking over to the vested unicorn. Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked over to the group as they started to leave.

“We’ll be back to check on you in half an hour. If we don’t get here in that time, stay here until someone comes for you.” Glitterball explained with a tone of friendly concern.

“We will be careful.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone while waving to her friends.

“Stay safe guys.” Rainbow Dash added while glancing at the four.

“Same goes for you.” Applejack replied.

With a brief nod, Glitterball opened the door and led her group back out into the hallway. If they were going to find Sargent Fireside and his team, they needed to hurry up and start looking so they could be back within the half hour time limit.

As the door slid closed, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were left in the quiet solitude of the library. Although the candles at the door assured them that the area was safe, the room still held an eerie quality to it. The ponies felt ever so slightly on edge as they looked around the expansive room.

“Well… I guess we should get started.” Rainbow Dash said while looking around the room. “Now, where do we start?” She muttered while trying to find a meaningful title among the shelves of books.

“I doubt it would be on one of these shelves… at least I hope not.” Twilight said while raising her eyebrows at the number of books in the room. It would take weeks to go through every single one, and as much as the thought entertained her, she didn’t have time to waste. As she looked around the room, she suddenly laid eyes on the few desks scattered around.

Most of the desks were barren of anything other than a reading lamp and a stray book, but some appeared to be better used than others. There were a few desks that had papers and notes placed on top of them, and their drawers were free of dust.

Twilight wandered over to a desk to the right of the room. She quickly sifted through the notes on the desk before opening one of the drawers. A slew of other papers on various subjects waited inside. Judging from the topics on the notes, they seemed to have been written by the hooded ponies.

“Looks like these are notes about some of their operations… maybe there is something that could help us here?” The unicorn asked with a hint of optimism.

“Well there’s only one way to find out. Let’s get to reading.” Rainbow Dash shrugged and stretched her arms before settling down beside the purple mare. Twilight levitated a few papers over to the pegasus and prepared to begin researching.

Meanwhile downstairs, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were walking along with Brimstoke and Neon Streak. The four were making their way down the hallway towards the area where Tom and Princess Luna split off from the group.

Although the two members of Spirit had a certain air of confidence about them, and Pinkie Pie was far too cheerful to mind her eerie surroundings, it was different for Fluttershy. The yellow mare lagged behind her three companions nervously as they walked through the dimly lit hallway.

For all she knew, there could have been anything behind all of the doors they were passing. And knowing her luck, any monster the hooded ponies sent at the group would probably go straight for the timid pegasus. The thoughts floating through her head only further cemented the feeling of dread in Fluttershy’s stomach as she darted her eyes around anxiously.

“Alright, here we are.” Brimstoke announced as the group came to the end of the hallway and glanced to the door on the left. “This is where Tom and the princess went when they left us.” He explained while turning to the others.

“The door is locked huh?” Pinkie asked to clarify while stepping up to the door and rubbing her hooves together in preparation.

“It was the last time we were here… how about now?” Neon asked curiously as she watched the pink mare grip the door handle. Pinkie grunted from exertion as she wrestled with the door in an attempt at forcing it open.

“Nope… still locked.” Pinkie stated while wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

“A for effort, Pinkie.” Neon Streak said with an amused smirk. Pinkie Pie huffed in annoyance before stepping away from the door.

“But if the only door that leads to that hallway is locked, how are we going to look for them?” Fluttershy asked curiously.

“We’re going to head down to the basement to see if we can find a way around to that part of the house.” Brimstoke explained while walking up to the basement door and opening it. The moment she processed what the stallion was saying, Fluttershy froze up nervously.

The sound of the door creaking as it opened made for an almost poetic welcoming to the eerie shift in atmosphere that accompanied the basement stairs. Fluttershy’s pupils shrank as she stared down into the black abyss at the bottom of the steps. It seemed like any and all light was being swallowed up by a gaping maw that led into another world.

“Uh… uhh…” Fluttershy whined in fright while backing up slowly. No matter how many of her friends were with her, she could probably never bring herself to willingly descend into such a terrifying place. She could practically hear the unearthly moaning of whatever creature doubtlessly called such a place home as it waited for her to step down into the darkness so it could pounce.

Pinkie Pie noticed her friend recoiling nervously. The pegasus backpedaled until she was halted by her back hitting the wall. Even then, she stared wide eyed at the opening into the basement. The pink mare frowned with concern while walking up to the timid pony.

“Are you ok Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked while sitting down next to the yellow mare. Fluttershy broke her transfixed gaze for a moment to glance at the concerned ponies around her.

“You don’t need to go down there if you don’t want to. We could go back and drop you off if you w-” Brimstoke started to offer a reprieve from the tense atmosphere, until he was interrupted by Fluttershy speaking up.

“N-no… I can’t just leave. Tom and Princess Luna need our help right now, so I have to go… it’s just…” Fluttershy gulped nervously as her gaze shifted back to the basement door. She felt like she had to help in the efforts to find the human and the alicorn after everything they had done for her, but at the same time she wanted to curl up into a ball as far away from the basement as possible.

“Hey… don’t worry about it. I’ll stick right next to you and keep you safe.” Neon Streak stated with a confident smile.

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked while glancing over to the green mare.

“I promise… and I always keep my promises.” Neon replied while placing a hoof over her heart, as if to swear herself to her word.

Fluttershy smiled slightly from seeing the others acting so kind towards her. She couldn’t let them down by letting her fears get the better of her. As much as she wanted to run away and hide, she had to stay with her friends.

“Ok… I’ll go with you.” Fluttershy said while managing a small smile. Pinkie and the others smirked joyfully at the timid mare’s acceptance to join them.

“Alright, let’s get moving.” Brimstoke said while turning and descending the stairs. Pinkie Pie and Neon Streak hung back and escorted Fluttershy down the steps. Even if she did agree to go, her body still shivered in refusal to her actions as she descended into the darkness.

Brimstoke and Neon Streak turned on their flashlights and shined them down the corridor to get their bearings. Even though they had been here once before, they still felt lost and overwhelmed by the seemingly endless corridors.

Pinkie Pie tried her best to comfort Fluttershy as they slowly traversed the dark hallways. The timid pegasus would constantly dart her head around nervously to look into every doorway or dark passage that they passed. She felt her heart racing every time she spotted a strange shape in the darkness, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop looking at the shadows.

Taking a left turn, the group tried to make their way towards the section of the house that Tom and Luna went to. They wondered how large the house actually was. Surely the basement was only as large as the mansion was, or perhaps it ran underground for miles in an endless maze. Either way, Fluttershy and her pink friend were terrified that they would get lost.

“Wow, this place is so big!” Pinkie Pie stated in an enchanted tone. “I wonder what they did down here with all of this space?” She asked innocently while glancing to the rooms beside her. As she caught glimpses of the contents of each room, her wonder suddenly turned to silent horror.

Several of the rooms looked like something out of a horror movie. There were tables stained with dried blood in some rooms with sharp looking tools and books placed on nearby trays. When there weren’t gruesome displays like this, there were storerooms full of strange items in jars and clear boxes. Whatever the hooded ponies were doing down here, it wasn’t anything good.

Fluttershy nearly gagged and vomited on the spot as she saw a large white sheet draping off of a table at the back of a room with a body shaped object underneath it. The sheet itself was stained in deep red almost from top to bottom. The body underneath seemed to be too large to be a pony, perhaps it was one of the animals that had been taken from the forest. There were flies buzzing around the area, doubtlessly attracted to the rancid smell that was flooding the ponies’ nostrils. It was like someone just forgot that it was down here.

“I don’t feel very good…” Fluttershy stated while averting her eyes from the room and taking in a few deep breaths. Her stomach was churning and her face was pale.

“Try not to look at it.” Neon Streak suggested with a concerned frown as she watched the yellow mare trying to keep herself from vomiting.

“Let’s keep moving.” Brimstoke said while moving down the hallway. The others seemed eager to move away from the gruesome scene.

“Yeah… the sooner we get out of here, the better.” Neon stated in agreement while moving to join the stallion. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie reluctantly took one last look at the horrid object on the table before shuddering and walking away to join their two companions.

After their last experience with looking into a room, the ponies decided to keep their eyes mostly down the hallway. Brimstoke and Neon Streak quickly swept each room they passed for any signs of the hooded ponies, but even they tried to avoid looking at any contents of the rooms.

Fluttershy whined uncomfortably as she looked behind her into the darkness. Without the light from the two flashlights ahead, the pegasus was actually standing in almost pitch blackness. Looking behind her only made the feeling of fear gripping her body worse as she pictured what could be following her quietly, waiting for an opportunity to get her alone and drag her away from her friends.

Pinkie Pie gently placed a hoof on the nervous mare’s shoulder. She wanted to try her best to comfort her, but she couldn’t do much more than offer the assurance that she wasn’t alone. Fluttershy glanced over to the pink pony and smiled slightly. Pinkie smiled and giggled happily in an attempt at making some of her happiness rub off on the pegasus.

“Cheer up Fluttershy. I’m sure we’ll be out of here in no time.” Pinkie stated cheerfully.

“I hope so…” Fluttershy replied nervously while trying her best to keep her eyes on the lit up portions of the hallway.

As she followed Neon Streak’s flashlight beam into a room, Fluttershy suddenly noticed a bit of movement. Just as the light was leaving the room, the yellow mare noticed what looked like a silhouette rapidly moving across the room. The strange figure seemingly disappeared into the wall, as there were no other exits to the room.

“…!” Fluttershy gasped and started breathing rapidly. She already convinced herself that she was being watched, but now she actually felt like there was someone else nearby. The pegasus could feel her heart racing, but she couldn’t find the courage to look behind her to validate her concerns.

Pinkie Pie noticed that her friend was more afraid than usual. She looked like she had just seen a ghost, and considering their surroundings, the idea wasn’t that implausible. The timid pony was practically shaking so much that her teeth were chattering from the movement in her head alone.

“What’s wrong Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked in a concerned tone.

“I t-think I s-saw something m-move.” Fluttershy replied in a terrified manner.

“What…?” Pinkie Pie said in a shocked tone. Judging from the fear in her eyes, the pegasus was definitely being serious.

“Hold up.” Brimstoke spoke up, interrupting the yellow mare from her explanation. The group fell silent as they heard voices up ahead. Fluttershy decided to keep her experience to herself, at least until the possible danger had passed.

The ponies crept forward as quietly as they could while moving further down the hallway. As they drew closer, they started to make out the voices more clearly. It sounded like two stallions were talking amongst themselves in a room up ahead.

Brimstoke and the others slid along the wall and slowly walked up to the doorway where the noise was coming from. Sure enough, there were two ponies in hoods inside the room. One of the ponies was a blue unicorn with white hair, while the other was a teal earth pony with black hair. They seemed to be frantically searching around the room looking through various boxes and books.

“Where the hell did the tranquilizers go?” The unicorn asked while rummaging through a box on a shelf.

“I don’t know… they were right here earlier.” The earth pony replied in a bewildered tone.

“Did they fall off the table when the house shook or something?” The unicorn said while looking around in mild frustration for the items.

“I don’t know, probably… why is it so important? We need to hurry up and get out of here before they find us.” The teal stallion stated urgently.

“I’m sorry… I guess I would just like to know that a bunch of needles full of stuff that could knock out a dragon aren’t just lying around on the ground somewhere for me to step on!” The blue pony replied in an irritated tone while shoving the teal pony.

“Hey, it isn’t my fault they were put on the table like that! We didn’t even use them for crying out loud!” The earth pony replied while shoving the unicorn back.

Fluttershy and her group watched the two bickering ponies quietly. They didn’t seem like they would pose much of a threat, but it was clear that they needed to be taken care of. Brimstoke glanced to Neon Streak to come up with a plan of action.

“Think we can take these guys?” Brimstoke whispered quietly.

“You kidding me? These guys look like they couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag.” Neon Streak replied with a chuckle.

“Alright… follow my lead.” Brimstoke stated while stretching his limbs in anticipation. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stayed back while Neon Streak followed the stallion into the room.

Slowly but surely, the pair walked closer and closer to the two unaware hoods. They tried their best to sneak as close as they could before the two turned around and discovered them. Surprisingly, the two ponies seemed to be more concerned with rifling through boxes and books than with turning around to be aware of their surroundings.

Suddenly, the unicorn turned around. Before he could notice the intruders in the room, a pair of hoof cuffs was suddenly placed on his wrists.

“What the hell?!” The blue pony exclaimed as he was yanked closer by Brimstoke so he could finish putting the cuffs on. As soon as he heard his companion in distress, the teal pony turned around and spotted Neon Streak right behind him.

“Ack!” He yelped in fright while turning to run. The earth pony barely managed to get a few feet before he was tackled by the green mare.

“Not so fast buddy. You aren’t going anywhere.” Neon stated while struggling to put the hooded pony in cuffs.

“Gah! Let me go!” The unicorn exclaimed while struggling against his bonds. Frustrated at his lack of success, he strained as he attempted to use magic.

“What the…? Why isn’t my horn working?!” The blue stallion yelled in a panic.

“Relax… those cuffs prevent you from using magic. We’ll take them off once we get you guys back to Ponyville.” Brimstoke explained.

“Aww man… I told you we should have left!” The teal pony stated fearfully to his partner. The blue pony didn’t seem to be impressed with his only friend in this situation.

“I would rather take my chances in here than piss off Raven Feather by leaving without doing what she said and gathering up the research!” The unicorn replied with an annoyed expression.

“So, Raven Feather told you to gather up the research eh?” Neon Streak asked with a small smirk. The two ponies instantly became very nervous as they realized that they were divulging information.

“We aren’t telling you anything. You can beat it out of us as much as you want, we won’t break.” The unicorn stated with a false sense of bravery.

“Hey… I remember you. You were those two cowardly ponies helping out that meanie Dust Kicker out in the Everfree Forest.” Pinkie stated curiously as she recalled the last time she had seen the pair. Fluttershy looked closer to the two and came to the same conclusion as her pink friend. These were the underlings that were helping Dust Kicker with his experiments on the animals of the forest.

“You have got to be kidding me… I thought we were done with you when your human friend messed up our experiments!” The unicorn groaned in annoyance as he recognized the two mares.

“He isn’t here with you is he?” The teal pony asked nervously.

“Yeah actually… he is… and so is Princess Luna, so you better cooperate with us when we ask you a question.” Neon Streak said while leering at the two captives in a threatening manner. Whatever bravery the unicorn was trying to put on, wasn’t being matched by his fearful partner.

“Where are Raven Feather and the others?” Brimstoke asked while glancing between the two.

“You can’t be serious can you? Do you really think that we would answer that question just like t-” The blue unicorn started to speak in a snarky tone, until he was interrupted by his teal friend speaking up out of fear.

“They left the mansion before you got here. They told us to stay behind and gather up some important research before we left.” The earth pony explained, much to the dismay of his partner.

“What?! But that’s not possible! We just saw Shadow Mist down here not ten minutes ago!” Neon Streak said in a shocked tone.

“He stayed behind for some reason… we don’t know why.” The teal pony explained.

“What the hell man?! You can’t just tell them things like that! Raven Feather will kill us if she finds out!” The unicorn said angrily while glaring at his partner.

“Actually… she would probably get Raincloud to kill us for her.” The earth pony shrugged uncomfortably.

Brimstoke glanced to his companions with a thoughtful expression. The fact that Raven Feather and her colleagues had left the mansion was troubling, but what was more troubling was the reason why Shadow Mist had stayed behind.

“You think Shadow Mist stayed behind as a scapegoat to trap us here while the others ran?” Brimstoke asked while looking at Neon Streak to get her input to the subject.

“If I were a betting mare… I would put all of my bits on that idea. I’m just a little concerned with what else he might have done. If the past few days have taught me anything, it’s that these guys don’t just stop at trapping people in a mansion and running away.” Neon Streak said uneasily while thinking back to the symbol that Shadow Mist activated.

“Well… we won’t know what we’re dealing with until we find Tom and the princess. Let’s get moving.” Brimstoke stated while starting to move towards the door.

Before the group could move on, Pinkie Pie paused suddenly as a strange feeling washed over her body and settled in her knee. Before long, her knee was feeling stiff and uncomfortable. The pink mare was barely able to stand on the leg from how much it was shaking.

“Uh oh… my knee is pinchy! That means something scary is about to happen!” Pinkie exclaimed while darting her head around anxiously.

“Wait… what?” Brimstoke asked with a confused expression.

“It’s my Pinkie sense. Different things happen to let me know that something is about to happen, and pinchy knee means that something scary is about to happen! Right, Fluttershy?” Pinkie asked while turning to her pegasus friend to help her explain. Fluttershy nodded in response. Almost everyone in Ponyville was well acquainted with the party pony’s strange ability to seemingly predict the future.

“No offense Pinkie… but that sounds ridiculous.” Neon Streak said while shaking her head doubtfully.

“Oh no, trust us on this one. Pinkie’s Pinkie senses have never been wrong before. Even Twilight believes in them.” Fluttershy said with a confident tone.

“So that means, something scary is about to happen?” Brimstoke said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what it is until it happens!” Pinkie stated while looking around the room defensively.

“That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard…” The blue unicorn groaned in utter disbelief. “Do you really think that just because you get a case of restless leg syndrome that something scary is going to-” Before the hooded pony could finish his statement, a large breeze blew through the room.

All of the candles in the room were snuffed out at once. As the ponies directed their attention to the candles, they caught a brief glimpse of something darting into the hallway outside. The sight of the odd silhouette vanishing around the corner made Fluttershy and the teal earth pony jump in fright.

“Ack! What was that?!” The unicorn asked frantically.

“I saw something like that just before we came in here.” Fluttershy stated nervously while cowering behind Pinkie Pie.

“It’s the ghosts!” The teal pony exclaimed in a terrified manner while slinking to the floor.

“Don’t be ridiculous… you know good and well that they aren’t real.” The unicorn stated while glaring at his companion uncomfortably. Even though he was trying to make the teal pony see reason, he seemed to be unnerved by his statement all the same.

“What is he talking about? What ghosts?” Brimstoke asked with a serious expression.

“There’s a myth circulating among the hoods that the mansion is haunted by the ghosts of the humans that lived here. There were three owners of the house, two brothers and a sister that all died on the property. Raven Feather must have found the rumors amusing, because she likes to tease us by saying that the ghosts are real and that the only thing keeping them at bay is the protective charms around the house.” The captive unicorn explained with a slight hint of apprehension in his voice.

“Protective charms…? You mean like a symbol?” Neon Streak asked while glancing at her friends suspiciously. They had come to the same conclusion that she had.

“It’s not supposed to be real… it’s just a story to keep most of us in our rooms after dark so we don’t bother Raven Feather and the others.” The unicorn said uncomfortably while glancing over to his companion. The earth pony still had a genuinely terrified look in his eyes.

“Well… I suppose those candles just blew themselves out… and that thing we saw was just a big rat.” Neon Streak pondered sarcastically.

“Or it could have been Shadow Mist… I wouldn’t doubt that he is still sneaking around here.” Brimstoke suggested.

“Well whatever it is… I don’t want to be down here anymore. C-can we go?” Fluttershy asked nervously while darting her eyes around to search for any signs of danger in the darkness around her. Brimstoke and Neon Streak looked at the timid mare sympathetically. Even they were starting to be creeped out by the basement atmosphere, so she must have been terrified.

“Yeah… let’s go. I’m sure we can find a stairway up soon enough.” Neon Streak said while giving the yellow mare a reassuring pat on the back.

Fluttershy smiled a little bit at the thought of leaving the eerie basement. Without further delay, the group started moving back out into the hallway.

“H-hey! You can’t just leave us down here! What if the ghosts show up?!” The teal earth pony called after the group fearfully.

“Well if they do, be sure to say hi for us.” Neon Streak said while turning her head to look at the captive pair. Her remark didn’t exactly comfort the earth pony, and even the unicorn was against the idea of being left alone, but probably for different reasons.

Brimstoke glanced back at the pair and shrugged as he realized that leaving them in the dark with their hooves bound together and the unicorn’s magic suppressed would be cruel. He quickly fished a blessed candle out of his vest and lit it before tossing it on the ground near the two ponies.

“Don’t worry guys, we’ll be back for you… eventually.” Brimstoke added with a slight chuckle.

“You sure you want to use up a blessed candle on these guys?” Neon Streak asked curiously.

“Well, if these ghosts are real, then that should keep them safe. If they aren’t real, then it should give them some light. Come on, let’s go.” Brimstoke said while continuing down the hall.

Without another word, the four ponies walked back out into the dark hallway. The interaction with other living creatures was a nice reprieve from the silent atmosphere, but they had a job to do, a job that required them to delve deeper into the basement.