Honey Pot - Chapter 6


                                            "Screw it, I'll follow her. Besides, she ALWAYS follows me, serves her right for a change!"

                                            >And so you track down Honey Drop's steps and find her sooner than you expected.

                                            >She was swaying to and fro, seemingly deeply impacted by the feelings your hug ignited in her.

                                            >This was probably a good opportunity to follow her, as she wasn't all that attentive right now.

                                            >Honey Drop keeps on walking until she reaches the limits of the city. You do recall her saying that she lived outside of the citadel, and now you have the chance to see where she exactly lived.

                                            >She turns around to look behind her. Thankfully you notice this in time and quickly scurry behind some benches, hiding your form from her view.

                                            >She continues towards the gates of Canterlot and manages, much to your surprise, to sneak past its guards. Continuing her way home without attracting any attention.

                                            "Whoa, that was quite sneaky for such a small filly. Why would she need to do that?” You ask yourself.

                                            >This is going to make it hard to return since the entrance is usually run by two guards at night. Hopefully, they don't mind a colt that was... playing outside too much?

                                            >Eh, you'll think about an excuse for them later.

                                            >That’s a problem for future Anon. Future Anon is cool, he will understand.

                                            >Since you are following her, you guess you should try to sneak past the guards as well.

                                            "Well, a good way to test this spell."

                                            >You conjure a bit of magic on your front and hind hooves, if this works, your steps should be silent.

                                            "Okay, let's see..."

                                            >You tap your hooves on the ground as hard as you can and, much to your delight, not even the quietest of sounds is heard when you do so.

                                            "Nice."

                                            >You grab a tiny rock from the ground and throw it at the main gate, in the hopes you can just run past the guards when they notice the noise.

                                            >Sadly this didn’t turn out to be enough of a diversion.

                                            >You try it again, but to no avail.

                                            "Screw it, I'm just going to start to run when he is looking away!" You say, stomping a hoof to reinforce your decision.

                                            >The guard steps away for a few seconds to a spot where you assume he can't see you, so you make a run for it. Your spell works, thank Celestia for that, and you are out of the city.

                                            "Whew... that was fun." A deep sigh escapes your lips. “Not.”

                                            >You allow yourself a short moment to regain your breath and composure, before picking up your pace again.

                                            >It doesn’t take you long to catch up to Honey Drop again. She really isn’t that fast of a filly, thankfully.

                                            >Nothing too exciting happens as you keep following her for some time.

                                            >But then, you notice how she stops, looks around her for a bit and then leaves the concrete road, heading towards the mountains. Specifically towards the waterfall you’ve seen there before.

                                            "Where does this filly even live?” You ask yourself and scratch your head. “It's way dangerous to go this far out alone... I'll have problems getting back now..."

                                            >But you made it this far, you won't walk away! She HAS to have a secret. And you're gonna discover it! Even if this is the last thing you ever do.

                                            >A few more minutes of following her pass by, and luckily you manage to keep track of the way you went so far in case you need to get back.

                                            "I should draw a map of all this later..." You mutter a bit annoyed. “Maybe somepony will be interested in buying such a map.”

                                            >Some more time passes and you notice a building in the distance, which was probably where Honey Drop was heading to.

                                            “So far out?”

                                            >When you finally arrive at the filly’s apparent destination, you quickly hide behind some bushes and see her slowly approaching the building.

                                            >She opens its ironclad door and vanishes into it.

                                            “Mmmhh.”

                                            >The building looks old and dilapidated, honestly you have no words to explain its condition.

                                            "This is where she lives?" You say and sit down on your hindquarters.

                                            >Your questions remain unanswered it seems. Did your journey out here even accomplish anything?

                                            "Well” You mutter. “At least there are some windows to peek into. I should try my luck with them."

                                            >Now you're being a tiny stalker, but by Tartarus, if she wasn't the one who started it first.

                                            >You walk to a window that is a bit high for your small frame.

                                            "Can't reach it... hmm."

                                            >You look around and spot a few bricks and a really old chair.

                                            “Mmmh…”

                                            >You start adding one and one together.

                                            "That could work." You say, a proud smile forming on your lips.

                                            >You place the chair next to the window and put some of the bricks on top of it. The resulting boost to your height when you carefully climbed on this construction of yours provided to you was barely enough to let you peek inside.

                                            >But it was still not enough.

                                            "I wish I could just levitate myself instead... Gotta train, Anon, gotta train..."

                                            >You manage to stay still enough on the chair to continue to balance yourself towards the window some more.

                                            >Just enough to safely manage to look inside the house.

                                            >Eureka! It... barely works! You just need to be careful when you try to get down again.

                                            "Okay, what are you hiding in there..."

                                            >Inside there were no lights, so it was hard to see anything.

                                            >You could spot some bookshelves with books in them, various doors that were closed, and that was pretty much it.

                                            "Really? All that effort for… Wait!"

                                            >From somewhere inside the room you saw some sparks.

                                            >Something was there, but you couldn't exactly make out what it was.

                                            >Suddenly a pair of two red dots light up from where the sparks appeared a few moments ago.

                                            "Huh?"

                                            >They... were blinking.

                                            "Are those... eyes?"

                                            >You have a really bad feeling about this... Red eyes just weren’t a good sign. No matter in what context.

                                            >And now they started staring right at you!

                                            >Panicking, you fall from your self-built lookout post and fall onto the cold, hard ground, hitting your head slightly in the process.

                                            >It would have hurt, if you had no adrenaline inside your system. Which also was your signal to get out of here.

                                            >You run and keep running, looking back to confirm that nothing was chasing you.

                                            >Then you violently bump into something.

                                            "Oof!"

                                            >"We finally got you, kid."

                                            >It was a male voice, you take a look at him and it was a pegasus royal guard, besides him a female unicorn guard was with him.

                                            "Oh thank Celestia it's a guard! You're not gonna believe what I-"

                                            >But they didn't let you finish.

                                            >"Playtime is over kid, you thought sneaking your way out was fun, huh? Wait until I tell your parents." He grabs you with a hoof. "Next time you try to sneak out, remember to keep your eyes on the sky also."

                                            >"Guess you’re glad we noticed you before we lost you completely in the woods or somewhere, huh?” The female guard chimes in. ”What a dangerous place to play around in.”

                                            "Wait! I was just following somepony!” You exclaim.” A filly! She went that way! I swear!"

                                            >You point at her "home".

                                            The royal guards stare at the old building.

                                            >"What? That old place? Nopony lived in that abandoned building for ages.” He chuckles. “And I’ve been working on this post for ages now."

                                            >Abandoned? It surely looks like that, but you saw Honey walk in! And there was something spooky inside!

                                            "I don't believe it's abandoned, a filly I know is in there! She is inside! I saw her go in, she even sneaked past the main gate!” You cry, flailing your hooves around. “Please believe me! I'm telling the truth!"

                                            >"You must be seeing things, kid.” The pegasus sighs with a grin on his lips. “That place has been abandoned for decades now. Foals like you like to spin whatever myths you can come up with around it for ages. “ He giggles again. “Now come on, it's way too late for kids like you to wander outside."

                                            "B-B-But! I'm telling the truth!” You stammer. “I even saw a monster inside! Some... red eyes thing!"

                                            >The royal guard starts dragging your sorry ass back to Canterlot, ignoring your pleas.

                                            >"Yeah, yeah. Monster or whatever, you can tell me the full story once we are inside the safety of the city.”

                                            >"Wait partner.” The mare retorts, nervously adjusting her weapons hanging on her belt. “If the colt says the truth… Like… Yunno… That he saw a monster, we gotta have to check that out, don't we?"

                                            >The male guard lets out a hearty laugh.

                                            >”No we don’t. Don’t be silly now.” He wipes a tear away from his eye. “But I’m gonna check, just to humor you.”

                                            >You were shaking your head, you wanted to get out of there! That thing saw your face!

                                            >The female guard shoots a wink to her partner.

                                            >”Alright. Go for it, I will hold onto the kid while you’re gone.”

                                            "No! Don't go!" You cry.

                                            >"Oh don't worry little kid, I'm going to show you there is no danger in that old place." He says and starts walking towards the abandoned building.

                                            >You wanted to stop him but the guard’s grip on you was too strong and prevented you from doing anything.

                                            "You gotta help him! I have a bad feeling about this!” You scream, tears forming in your eyes. “Please! I'm not lying!"

                                            >"Will you please shut your trap!" She snarls at you. “He will be fine.”

                                            >You trashed around some more in a desperate attempt to break free from her grasp, but to no avail. Your small colt frame is no match for an adult mare’s.

                                            >And as you finally calmed down a bit, more or less accepting your fate… Well the other guard’s fate to be more exact, he arrives at the abandoned house.

                                            >He looks around for a bit, taking a peek through the window and duly noting the now broken chair before deciding to check the door out.

                                            >The same ironclad door that Honey walked through just a few minutes ago.

                                            >He places a hoof on its handle and it just opens… As if somepony used magic on it.

                                            >A bit perplexed, he takes a peep inside before turning around to look at his partner.

                                            >“And?” The mare yells.

                                            >”Nothing. It’s just an old house.” He screams back at her, shrugging and beginning to make his way back.

                                            "Oh thank Celestia that-"

                                            >Just as he turns his back on the door, you see a black, shadowy mist creeping out of the doorway and quickly engulfing the guard’s body.

                                            >Your eyes open wide in surprise and shock.

                                            "I TOLD YOU THERE WAS SOMETHING INSIDE! YOU GOTTA HELP HIM! YOU GOTT-”

                                            >A bloodcurdling scream interrupts you and the guard suddenly vanishes, presumably into whatever hell dwells inside this house.

                                            >Your mind went to mush as your primal instincts kicked in, fighting a fierce internal war over the decision to either fight or flight.

                                            >But the mare didn't let you go, if anything her grip on you got even tighter than it was before.

                                            "AH! HE'S GONE! GONE!" You cry out and close your eyes, tears now flowing freely from them.

                                            >Why didn’t she help him?! Why doesn’t she say anything?

                                            >...

                                            >"Alright, White Shot, you can stop now." She chirps, trying hard to stifle a laugh but ultimately failing to do so.

                                            “W-What?”

                                            >You feel someone putting a hoof on your head.

                                            >"Scared ya a bit more than I thought, did I? Sorry kiddo." He chuckles, ruffling your mane.

                                            >You open your eyes, and sure enough the male guard is standing before you. Safe and sound and not totally torn into pieces.

                                            "H-huh? Y-You're okay?" You sniff.

                                            >"Maybe I overdid it? Heh, I used to be a prankster when I was younger so I couldn't pass scaring an unruly colt who thinks playing outside at night time is fun. Let that be a lesson."

                                            >You didn't have any words for that.

                                            "I… But…"

                                            >"Hm?"

                                            “The m-mist! I saw it grab you and p-pull you inside!” You exclaim, your hooves flailing around wildly.

                                            >”Oh this…” The mare giggles and finally frees you from her grasp. “Look at me, kid.”

                                            >You do as you were told and look up to her.

                                            “What the…”

                                            >Her horn is engulfed in the same shadowy mist you saw before, giving it a rather eerie look.

                                            >”Magic. Shadow magic to be exact.” She says and cancels her spell with a flick of her head. “My pay as a guard might be shite, but you do get to learn a lot of stuff a normal pony will never have the chance to. Especially if you’re a unicorn.”

                                            >You would be impressed if you wouldn’t still be so angry that they pranked and scared the living tartarus out of you.

                                            >She beams you smile.

                                            >”Hope we didn’t scare you too much.”

                                            "I wasn't scared! Totally not at all!" You whine, a tiny hiccup escaping you as you finish talking.

                                            >The male guard chuckles and starts walking, pushing you along with him with one hoof.

                                            >”Now come. Let’s make a deal.”

                                            “A deal?”

                                            >”Yes. How about this? We won’t tell your parents anything about your little adventure out here and in exchange…”

                                            “I’m listening?”

                                            >”You.” He points a hoof at you. “Keep your cute little trap shut about the prank my partner and I pulled on ya. Okay?”

                                            >Did he just call you cute? What the heck…

                                            >...But sure.

                                            "Okay, that’s fair."

                                            >”Wonderful!” His face visibly lights up. “Because we don’t need any more chewing outs this month.”

                                            >”Yeah…” The female guard sighs. “Twice has been more than enough already.”

                                            “I’m getting the impression you two are not the be-”

                                            >”Shut it.” She gnarls. “We know kiddo, we know.”

                                            >You three begin walking in the direction of the citadel.

                                            >"You know, when I was a colt myself, my grandma used to tell me scary stories about that old place. Told me a witch and her twelve servant demons lived there. Maybe that's what you saw?"

                                            "I don't believe anything you say at this point, sir..."

                                            >”Oh please.”

                                            "But sir?"

                                            >"Yeah? What is it, kiddo?"

                                            "Did you see anything... out of the ordinary inside?"

                                            >With a smile, he shakes his head.

                                            >"No kid, don't worry. Only a bunch of old bookshelves and a rotten ponyquin." He says and waves you off. “That place probably used to be a tailor shop or something similar.”

                                            “Okay… There is something else I wanna ask you though.”

                                            >”Go ahead. We still have some walking to do before we’re home again anyway.”

                                            "Did you guys ever see a filly that looks like a panda lurking around by the gates?”

                                            >He scratches his head.

                                            >”Lemme think for a bit. Why do you ask, though?”

                                            “Because I saw her sneak past you two tonight and that’s kinda the whole reason you found me out there.”

                                            >”She must be a whole lot better at sneaking than you then.” The unicorn guard chimes in. “Because we totally noticed your clumsy ass.”

                                            “H-Hey!”

                                            >”Practice makes perfect, kiddo.” She laughs and nudges your shoulder. “Seriously though, stop practicing sneaking out or we will have to arrest you some day.”

                                            “Yeah, yeah.”

                                            >”Good! And to answer your question… No, not that I can remember at least. Maybe it was the ghost you saw in the house?”

                                            >She nudges you again.

                                            “Stop that!”

                                            >"Okay Storm Quiver, you had your fun, stop nudging him."

                                            >”Fiiiiiiiiiine.”

                                            >White Shot briefly shoots his partner a stern look before turning his gaze on you.

                                            >"I have seen her around before, pretty lively filly, has very distinctive look, but…”

                                            “But?”

                                            >”I’ve never seen her trying to sneak out of the city.” He shrugs. “Or just hanging around near the gates in general.”

                                            “Hmm… I see.”

                                            >”Sorry I couldn’t help ya, kid.”

                                            “It’s okay. Thanks anyway.”

                                            >Maybe Honey has different ways of getting out of Canterlot? Through the sewers perhaps? Or over the walls?

                                            >But how would such a small filly climb over them… They’re quite high and all the walkways are guarded.

                                            >Quite the mystery…

                                            >And you are afraid that the solution to it will have to wait until you have the chance to meet up with her again.

                                            >Then again, that was her house, wasn't it? Unless she had some strange reason to just visit such a run down place.

                                            >Perhaps it's an old laboratory and she makes drugs there?

                                            >You shake your head.

                                            >You’re getting ahead of yourself and jumping to wild conclusions won’t help anyone. Especially not you.

                                            >It could be a good idea to visit this place when it’s daylight, maybe you could bring Snake Eyes or even some adult with you. Yunno… For extra security.

                                            >That wouldn’t hurt.

                                            >You should also start reading books about self-defense, especially of the magical kind, you never know when this could come in handy.

                                            >A long yawn escapes you.

                                            >Today was long and tough. You can’t wait to get home.

                                            >And luckily, the rest of the journey turns out to be quiet and uneventful.

                                            >The two guards escorted you back home, had a quick talk with Colgate, who looked pale as a ghost when she saw you accompanied by them, but quickly relaxed when they told her that you just got lost in the dark and were not in any serious trouble.

                                            >A lie which you quickly reinforced with one of your own, telling pretty much the same story but adding that you spent the time at the library.

                                            >White Shot and Storm Quiver bid their farewells to you with a wink and a very unappreciated nudge to your shoulder.

                                            “Geez…”

                                            >You were so tired and hungry that you didn't realize it was nearly midnight when Colgate was finally finished with scolding you.

                                            >Eh… Nothing that you didn’t hear before, so it went in through one ear and out through the other.

                                            >To finish up the day, you had cereal for dinner, took a quick bath and then jumped into the comfy confines of your bed.

                                            "I'll write tomorrow... I'm so tired..."

                                            >You didn't have time to study for tomorrow's test, but you are sure it won't be that hard.

                                            >Time sure flies fast when you have to fear for your life, huh?

                                            >You close your eyes and the sweet embrace of sleep quickly overtakes you.


                                            Diary of Anon

                                            Today was weird, my life keeps getting more and more bizarre. Snake Eyes wasn't even in his house when I called him. But …Who actually answered the phone call? Besides the call being oddly distorted, I don’t have a single clue.

                                            I chased down Honey Drop a bit later in the day after spending the afternoon with her. She seems to live far away from the citadel, in an abandoned house.

                                            I saw her going into the house, but then… She vanished? I tried to take a peek inside through a window, only to find two glowing red eyes staring back at me! I totally didn’t run away screaming though. Fear? Never heard of her! I even managed to save two guards from their doom before triumphantly returning home.

                                            ...I may be overreacting a bit there.

                                            Anyway… I probably shouldn’t return alone to this place though or at night time for that matter.

                                            When Snake comes back home I will ask him if he wants to join me.