This is a non-profit fanfiction created for entertainment purposes only. This story is a continuation to Silence of Ponyville, which is a side story of Silent Ponyville and Silent Ponyville 2 by author jake-heritagu on deviantART. While it is highly suggested to read the previous stories before this one. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. Silent Ponyville concept belongs to jake-heritagu. Please support both. ---------------------------------------- Silence of Ponyville: The Shop - Chapter 2 Grey, it was more than just a color for him now. Grey seemed to be a fair description of his life since the nightmares began. His days had been a haze of washed out color, his coat had lost most of its sheen when he'd began losing sleep. Those early mornings that would bring light into his bedroom were little more than shades of grey through his drapes, closing another restless night. It had described the color and condition of his store after he'd woken up in that strange parallel version of it. The very sky and streets were grey with fog and cloud. So as his eyes slowly opened from the state between just asleep and nearly awake he swore his mind felt like a cloud of gray itself. Afraid of what could be waiting for him this time Knick closed his eyes quickly once more and listened. There was no sound that indicated to him where exactly he might be and he noticed at least he was comfortable this time while he was laying down. Sure that there were no threats lingering about his immediate area, Knick finally moved his body to look about his surroundings and was surprised to find himself in the comfort of his room. No monsters, no train, no dreary moon lit train yard. Just him on top of his sheets similar to how he had first awakened in this awful place. The first thought that ran through his head was he must have dreamed the entire experience but it was short lived from the pain in his front left leg. He looked down to see the long cut along his leg down to his hoof and recalled the creature that had given it to him. Also on his body he still wore his saddle bag and he presumed all his belongings must have been inside. Wait, if that were the case... He bolted upright remembering the lamp he'd retrieved when he'd come through the hole in the train yard. The hole had been big enough to enter with it and walk uncomfortably but if it was still in the bed it could tip and catch the whole building on fire. While he wanted out of here he didn't want to risk being burned alive to do so. As he searched frantically he found that next to his bed, sitting safely on the ground was the lamp. Still lit and not at all knocked over. Like somepony had put it there purposely. Knick was beginning to get a bit freaked out. "Who's there!?" He shouted at the room looking around himself. "Who keeps doing this to me!?" He'd fallen asleep at Dreamer Dust's and woken in a doppelganger version of his own home. He'd crawled through a hole in the wall and woken up in a train. Now he crawled through another and awoke back in the strange house? Placed comfortably on his bed with his belongings placed to his bed side with care? It didn't add up. Knick moved to get out of bed and let out a painful cry feeling his leg touch the ground. It throbbed with his cut. "I guess... I wont be getting any answers." He stated to himself dejectedly and limped over to the bathroom. That hole was still there, giving off the eerie but quiet sound of air passing through. Also it seemed as if it widened a bit. Knick looked around the hole's exterior, not noting and more extensive or fresh damage but it was certainly larger than before. Still it hadn't spread as far as his medicine cabinet and that's what mattered. Knick reached inside and found the remainder of his bandages. Through some careful work with his mouth and good hoof he managed to wrap it all the way along the length of his cut, using up what was left of the roll. It still hurt, but at least it wasn't exposed. Not wanting to rush off into danger again, if ever, Knick passed by the creepy hole and walked downstairs. He took careful steps but found with the leg bandaged up that it felt slightly better already. Weaving through his store shelves he came to the front door. "Yep... about what I expected." Still chained exactly as he'd left it. If the hole was still around he figured this would have been too. Heck there might have been more chains with the way things were progressing. He let out a sigh; no escape. "Might as well go through my spoils of war." Knick walked back through the shop to the kitchen, intent to see what he'd collected out of that freezer he'd found at the train yard. He'd called them spoils of war but really he didn't want to think along those lines. Or of anything that had happened back in that train yard. Ghost fillies and giant frightening dog creatures aside he'd done... terrible things. Killed creatures, living beings. One he could call an accident but the other he'd outright murdered. It bothered him to think of what he'd done in the heat of the moment and it being for self defense didn't make his heart settle any easier. Perhaps food would help though. Knick reached into the saddle bag and pulled out the paper wrapped food item and chocolate milk and placed them on the counter. He would have gotten some plates but he doubted that anything in this building was clean enough to eat off of. The paper alone would do just fine. "Now then, lets see what little gift was left for me. Hm? What is that?" As he pulled away the twine to unwrap the paper the smell caught his attention. It was different than what he'd expected; not fruit or vegetables or even oats. Maybe some kind of pastry? "This sure is the oddest cake I've ever..." As he looked at the item exposed it became clear what this was and why he didn't recognize it right away. Before him was a slab of red meat, in a large rectangular cut. Knick stepped back from it horrified at what he'd been carrying, nearly throwing up in his mouth but able to hold it down. "Why... why would the train... carry something like..." Omnivore special. "Oh Celestia, what was this animal?" He really didn't want to know the answer as he had a suspicion it may have been able to answer that question verbally when it was alive. There's no way they'd have the meat of... "Calm down. Lots of intelligent creatures eat meat. Griffons, Dragons, Dogs." The last one made him a little upset but he wasn't sure why. Possibly due to the monsters he'd recently faced. "They wouldn't serve... they wouldn't serve that! It's got to be something else." He didn't know what kind of animal ponies would be okay with butchering and keeping for a few random guests but he was certain it wouldn't be other ponies... right? "Not eating this now, that's for sure." Knick prepared to toss it into the trash when it occurred to him that if he left it in the trash in the kitchen eventually it would rot and the smell would intensify throughout the house. He didn't know how much time had passed between his leaving the house the first time and coming back through that insane hole. He didn't want to risk it. Folding the paper back up while trying to avoid touching the meat as best he could Knick retied the twine and decided the best place to keep the disgusting thing would be his refrigerator. It was still working as evident of his milk and it was at least sealed if it did stop running, so the smell wouldn't drift through the whole house either way. Opening up the fridge he noticed the rice wine that he'd left behind and decided to take it out. "Might as well have something to dull the pain." Setting the bottle on the counter Knick put the slab of meat in the fridge and closed it, happy to have it out of his sight. Looking at the bottle Knick pondered where he'd be lucky enough to find a corkscrew to get the thing open. He was about to go rooting through the drawers when he heard the crinkling sound. Like somepony crushing a wad of paper under their hoof, only much louder and more dreadful. Knick slowly turned around to see the wall paper around his fridge which was previously just dirty was now peeling away at a rapid pace, as if it had been exposed to an intense fire. The refrigerator itself grew dreary and dingy, rust suddenly caking it's surface and growing yellow with age. The corruption spreading through his refrigerator covered the appliance entirely and seeped into the wall and ground it was attached to before finally stopping. "What... the hay..." It didn't make any sense, not that anything had so far but this was just insane. His refrigerator had gone... evil? He didn't know what. As he turned to face the fridge and inspect it there was a sudden loud thump and Knick leaped up off his hooves and against the counter. The sound had startled him pretty good but he didn't see anything else happening. "That sounded like it came from the freezer." That didn't mean he had to open it! That was an idiot trap right there. Then again Knick hadn't checked the freezer previously, he had no idea what had been in it before the appliance had gone all rusty on him. Gulping down a lump in his throat Knick reached up and pulled at the freezer door, backing up quickly against the counter and bracing himself for something horrible to pop out. What he found was certainly illogical, but it didn't attack him. "A book?" After gathering his courage to peek inside he found the freezer had been empty except for a single book. The title on the cover read "The Kindness of a Mare." The words were written in a colorful pink and the cover itself was a buttery yellow. Knick looked it over confused endlessly by it's presence, wondering why in all of Equestria a book would have ended up inside the freezer? He flipped through the pages but there didn't appear to be anything special inside. "Why... why would a book... forget it. I don't care anymore." He shut the freezer door and gathered his wine and chocolate milk into his saddle bag, along with the book. He was already done with this, leaving the creepy fridge behind in his kitchen and heading into the main part of the store again. Knick took a quick glance around the store before slowly walking upstairs, being mindful of everything around him now. He wasn't sure what had happened in the kitchen but it occurred after he put the meat in there. Maybe the meat itself was evil in some way? It certainly bothered him when he first got a whiff of it. Walking into his room he shut the door behind himself and sat on the bed. Knick pulled out the bottle of wine, not so interested in the chocolate milk anymore after what he'd seen downstairs. Seeing the cork was out enough to get a grip he clasped around it with his teeth and pulled until there was a satisfying pop. "Sorry Annie... I need this now for myself." He regretted not sharing the wine with his marefriend like he originally intended but he needed something to take the edge off. Drinking a bit of it directly from the bottle there was a burn as it went down his throat but it was satisfying. As if to inform him he was still alive. Maybe if he drank more regularly this would be relaxing but really it felt like something he was forcing himself into. Like numbing his senses would make this all feel better and easier. He was half way through the bottle before deciding he didn't want to be totally drunk, not to mention he didn't really feel like it was working anyway. There was a better use for the liquid and he'd been ignoring it till now. Holding the bottle with his mouth he tilted it over his wounded leg, letting it pour onto the bandages and seep through. After the wine covered his leg well enough he spit the bottle out and grit his teeth, wincing hard from the pain. He hoped it would work as a disinfectant, not sure what he may have been exposed to while in that train yard. "That reminds me." Sliding off his bed and grunting with the pressure to his leg he stared at the hole in his bathroom once more. Going through it the first time lead him into the caboose of a train in some foggy field. Going through another hole brought him here, presumably through this entrance again. Although it didn't account for him ending up on the bed asleep. Perhaps he was sleep walking or in a trance? "Doesn't really matter does it?" He sighed looking at the hole. "You're still my only way out." Using logic over fear Knick trotted carefully back into his bedroom and picked up the lantern with his mouth. He'd have to figure out a better way to carry it at some point. Walking to the hole he put the lantern inside and pushed it with his nose to give him enough room to crawl in as well. It would be slow going with the lantern but the careful pace and the light may actually help him see where he would end up this time. Or so he hoped. He was hoping for a lot of things right now.