The Mansion (Revised Edition)

Chapters

The First Day
The Second Day
The Third Day
The Fourth Day
The Fifth Day

The First Day

There we were. Six mares, including myself, were strapped onto tables in what seemed to be a mansion. The only source of light came from the single dangling bulb from the ceiling that flickered sporadically. The tables were arranged in a ring such that we faced each other, and by the expression on the other ponies’ faces I knew that they were as clueless as I was. Who the other five ponies were, I didn’t have the slightest clue.
It was a desolate building, abandoned for the dusty cobwebs to dominate the rotted wood ceiling and the crumbled walls. Disturbingly, there were also bones scattered on the floor that matched the pictures I’ve seen in my books of pony biology.

This was no place for somepony like me to be. I am Twilight Sparkle, top student at the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns. I remember like it was yesterday: the graduation ceremony, the after-party, and the... the what? I closed my eyes, hoping that this was all some horrible nightmare; I couldn’t remember what happened afterwards, only a blinding flash of white light.

“Welcome to the Mansion!” A deep booming voice echoed throughout the room. The voice came from a small black box at the center of the circle. “You may be wondering why I have gathered everypony here.” The voice chuckled. “We’re going to play a game.”

A game? If this was one of Spike’s pranks again, it wasn’t funny at all.

“The rules are simple: survive.”

I looked into the fearful eyes of the other ponies, well except for the yellow one who was bawling over herself.

The voice continued. “There are no exits to this mansion. You may try to escape, but nopony has been successful. However, I will allow you all to return home if you manage to complete a simple task. Please direct your attention to the front of the room.”
We all turned our heads to the large metallic door in the front. Deadbolts littered every inch of the door, and I knew that it would be impossible to break the locks even with my magic.

“That door there is the only way in and out of the Mansion. It is absolutely impenetrable: magic, cannons, and even rainbooms will have no affect on it, so don’t bother trying. It will only open once you complete my challenge. The challenge is to find me. Once I am dead, the door shall open.”

I was sure that whoever these mares were, that we would work together to find this monster.
“Oh, before this recording ends, here's my only hint: I am in-fact one of the mares in this room. Good luck.” With that said the box exploded and left behind a puff of black smoke.

Then, the straps that restrained us to the tables loosened setting us free. We immediately stepped away from each other. Nopony knew who the kidnapper was, and I wasn’t about to trust some stranger with my life.

The rainbow maned pony spoke first. “Alright, which one of you freaks brought me here?” She was obviously the hot-headed one of the bunch, but a part of me respected her boldness.

The white pony gasped, “Freak? Oh, dear, don’t be so rash with petty insults.”

“And who do you think you are?”

“I am Rarity,” the white pony lifted her chin into the air and flicked her royal purple mane, “and I will not droop to your levels of such unfashionable speech.”

“Well I’m Rainbow Dash, awesomest pony in Equestria, and I’m sooooo sorry for being rude, your fancy-pancyness.”

“You should be, I am a lady and I des- wait, was that sarcasm?!”

“You sure like funny words,” cheered the pink pony who now skipped circles around the white pony, “do you want to hear some other words? Like kumquat, or pickle barrel, or, or, or maybe chimicherrychanga! I have no idea what that is!”

“Hold on there partner,” the orange pony interjected, “Ah’ think you’ve been hit a little too hard on yer noggin’ when you’ve been brought here.” She grabbed onto the pink pony’s head, as if she could stop the mysterious skipping noises that came with each hop.

The pink pony simply giggled, “Hey there! Stop hoggin’ my noggin’!”

“Ah’ should introduce myself, too, I suppose,” the orange pony held a hoof out, “Applejack’s mah’ name, applebuckin’ is what I do best.”

The pink pony stopped momentarily and wrapped herself around Applejack’s hoof. “Pinkie Pie’s the name, and partying is my game!”

Applejack winced at the last word. “Ah’ just hope that this whole shenanigan we’re in isn’t your game.”

Then something warm wrapped itself around my hindleg. My initial reaction was to scream, but I turned and saw that it was only the whimpering yellow pony. I immediately felt pity for her.

“It’s going to be fine,” I assured her, holding her closer to me, “we just need to work together and-”. Then I remembered the warning in the last chapter of Criminal Psychology: Defining a Killer. The killer is always the one least suspected. I thought against my instincts and gently pushed the yellow pony away from me. “I think we should be careful of who to trust.”

"P-Please don't leave me alone," the yellow pony pleaded, "I'm F-Fluttershy and I-I." She advanced towards me and the floorboard under her creaked. She leaped into the air and bounced off to the ceiling.

"Good job scaring her," Rainbow Dash said, laughing on the floor.

I snapped at her, “Don’t make fun of her! We’re all afraid, even you!”
Ha. I'm never afraid of anything!" She hovered to the center of the room and obnoxiously puffed her chest out. "I'm the bravest pony you'll ever know!"

“I never knew that mules could be brave,” said Rarity, chuckling softly behind her hoof.

“Care to say that louder?”
I ignored the two as they bickered, again. Instead, I trotted to the pile of broken furniture where Fluttershy landed. "Are you alright, Fluttershy?" I saw that a bleeding tear across her flank.

“Y-Yes,” she said as she rubbed her wound. “I think I am.”

If I'd know any healing spells, I'd help the poor mare for sure. Then I hoofed myself on my face for not realizing the obvious fail-safe spell: teleportation. I gathered the magical energy from my horn and attempted to warp out of this madhouse. But nothing happened. This was the first time a fail-safe spell... failed! Whoever brought us here must have blocked magical powers. But that magic is far beyond my own expertise.

“Great job there, egghead!”

I rolled my eyes. Rainbow Dash’s boldness was beginning to become an annoyance.

“Don’t worry sugarcube,” Applejack said, “don’t let that pony get to ya’.”

It was nice that somepony was decent enough to be honest. “Thank you, Applejack.”

“As for you, miss Rainbow Dash,” Applejack shouted, “back where I come from in Ponyville we don’t tolera-”

“You’re from Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.

I too was excited. I was from Ponyville, but I couldn’t recognize either of them. My heart skipped a beat. Why did I think I was from Ponyville? I’ve never even heard of the place. I’ve lived in Canterlot ever since I was a filly.

Rarity spoke up, “I don’t think I’ve seen that ruffian in Ponyville before.” She pointed in Rainbow’s direction. “Trust me.”

Pinkie Pie leapt up into the air, “I know everypony in Ponyville. In fact, I made a song about all my friends in Ponyville!” She then broke out into song.

“Not now, Pinkie.” I said, holding a hoof to her mouth.

She bounded away and continued to make circles around us. “Oki-Doki-Loki!”

This was strange. Ponyville was a small village where everypony knew or at least heard about everypony else, but I don’t even remember stepping a hoof outside of Canterlot. Still, that name was too familiar. “Now, girls, we all happen to live in Ponyville but we don’t remember each other.”

“Yea,” exclaimed all the ponies, except for Fluttershy who said something inaudible and nodded. What does this all mean?

Rainbow Dash jolted back down to the floor, “Well, I’ve got a perfect explanation.”

“Oh, please do tell us all,” said Rarity.

“I’ve seen everypony in Ponyville when on flight duty, and I’ve never seen any of you. You all are lying, simple as that.”

“What? Are you accusing me of stooping to the level of a... scoundrel? I would never lie to anypony.”

“Well, what do you think could have happened? Magic?” Rainbow Dash continued to laugh, but everypony turned to face me.

“Well...” I said, nervously, “memories spells are complex, and can only be casted by the top tier unicorns. It’s possible, I suppose, and I guess it’s the only explanation we’ve got so far.”

“Mystery solved!” Rainbow Dash said as she flew right in front of my face. “You’re the one who brought us here. So you’re the one we have to kill to get out of here?” She slammed her hoof against my neck, pinning me against the wall.

“What? N-No. How could you say th-”

“You thought it would be some fun game, didn’t you? You and your freaky magic? You said that memories spells require strong magic. Who’s the strongest unicorn here? Obviously not that thing over there.”

“Please, no, I didn’t d-”

She spat in my face. “Well, the joke’s on you,” she pressed harder, “once you’re dead, that door will open right up. Just watch everypony!”

I begged for her to stop, but only a gurgling sound came out of my mouth. The room began to become dim as I lost the energy to move my legs.

Then she released me, and I fell to the ground gasping for air.

“Git off her!” Applejack yelled. My vision began to come back and I saw her wrestling Rainbow Dash onto the floor.

“You want to escape, or not?” Rainbow Dash retaliated with her hoof, striking Applejack on the cheek.

The two mares took turns to strike, until Applejack turned and bucked her on the side of her head. Rainbow Dash fell and landed on the floor unconscious.

I was still on the floor, unable to move from that near death experience. I wheezed heavily, trying to breathe, but I couldn’t. I saw Fluttershy and Rarity come to my side and lift me away. And then, I fainted.

I regained consciousness, but I refused to open my eyes. I just had a terrible dream that I was trapped in a Mansion in somepony’s sick and twisted game. I remembered that the rainbow pony had tried to kill me, right before blacking out. But that was a dream; it had to be. I felt a warm blanket on top of me. I was home, and I was safe. I opened my eyes.

This was not my home. A dim lamp with a half-melted candle lit the room from my nightstand. The room was ornate, but definitely long abandoned due to years of unkempt wear. Eerie half torn portraits of ancient ponies, some missing heads, decorated the walls.

“Are you alright?” Fluttershy stood by my side and stroked my mane. “Not dizzy are you?”

I lied. “I’m fine. Thanks Fluttershy.”

“When I saw how Rainbow hurt you I just... I just...” she cried on my shoulder, “I just felt so horrible, that I couldn’t do anything.”

Was there anything that this mare didn’t cry about? “It’s fine, Fluttershy, everything is safe now.”

“Not yet, it isn’t.” Rarity stood on the other end of the room, holding an empty bottle. “No water or food, and I don’t expect our little captor to provide five-star dining.”

Pinkie Pie, strangely, lay in the corner silently. She rocked back and forth, and giggled at herself. Her mane was no longer fluffy, but perfectly straight and a slightly darker shade of pink. She turned to stare at us, and I saw that her eyes were wide in hysteria. She whispered ‘cupcakes’ repeatedly before turning back to the corner to laugh.

“What’s with her?” I asked Rarity.

Rarity leaned close to my ear and whispered. “I’m not sure. I think she might need sugar, or at least that’s what she said a while ago when she was a bit sane.”

“CUPCAKES! NOW!” bellowed Pinkie Pie.

“Alright, Pinkie, we’ll go get some cupcakes.” She turned to me with a worried expression. “We’re going to explore the Mansion to find something to eat. Nopony’s sure if this is some prank gone wrong, so we’ll need to wait it out for a little while. Stay here and rest, dear.”

“No,” I grabbed her hoof, “I’m going too.”

“You really shouldn’t, I don’t wa-”

“I’m going.” I lifted myself out of the bed and wobbled onto all fours.

“If you insist.” She turned to the other ponies, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. “Alright everypony, we need to gather food if we want to survive here for a while. We’ll split to cover more rooms. Give me just one moment.”

It was then when I noticed that Applejack and Rainbow Dash were missing. “Where are the other two?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Oh, Applejack locked Rainbow up in one of the rooms she found, so that she won’t do anything to hurt anypony.” She paused. “I don’t think she meant to do those things to you, miss.. umm.”

“Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.”

“Please forgive her, Twilight Sparkle.”

Maybe if Fluttershy trusted Rainbow I could too, to an extent. “Alright, Fluttershy, I’ll try.”

“It’s just that I have this strange feeling that I remember her, but not really. When I try to remember, everything is just clouded in my head like a fog. It makes me so angry that I can’t remember it makes me want to scream.” She inhaled and whispered something. “Does this ever happen to you?”

“Yes!” I nearly jumped out of the bed.

Fluttershy took two steps back from my excitement. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one to apologize,” I said as I rest my head back on the mossy pillow. “But about the memories. Can you remember anything at all from what you did yesterday?”

Again, her apologetic voice arose again, “No... I’m sorry. But there’s really nothing worth remembering anyways.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you see,” she rubbed her hooves across the floor nervously, “I-I live at the border of Ponyville, and it’s quite lonely. I’ve lived in my cottage ever since I was a little filly, and nopony ever passes by unless they have to go through the Everfree Forest.”

“Don’t you have any friends?”

“No. It’s just me and my critters. I’ve never had a chance to talk to many ponies either,” she paused to play with her mane, “but, I would like to have friends.”
I was surprised why would anypony avoid a kind mare like her. “Do you want to be my friend?” I held out my hoof. She was too kind to hurt anypony, and I knew that she wasn’t the one that trapped us here.

But, before she could respond, Rarity returned with a semi-fashionable bag hanging from her mouth.

“Let’s go, everypony. Meet back here in an hour, and make sure to watch your back.” Her eyes darted to Pinkie Pie, “one of us is might be a killer.”

I forgot about that. One of the five mares is lying to me. I just hope that the responsibility to end her wouldn’t fall on me: I didn’t have the will to kill anypony.

We all exited the room into a long hallway. Rarity handed us each a lantern and a saddlepack. Then, we scattered in random directions. As I ran further away from them, their lights faded away into the darkness. The Mansion was now completely silent.

I cantered down the endless hallway, passing by rusted doors. Eventually, I came to a dead-end. I turned to my left and I placed my hoof against the nearest door, and it immediately fell over. I covered my ears as the slamming noise echoed in the hallway for ages. I aimed the light into the room, finding that it was a large washroom. I entered cautiously and assured myself that there was no danger. The smooth stone tiles were cold as ice, and my hooves began to freeze in fear.

“It’s okay, Twilight, there’s nopony else here.”

I heard the dripping sound of water from somewhere in the room. I placed the lantern on the top of a counter, next to one of the rusted sinks in the row. I turned the tap, but nothing came out from the faucet. Broken. But, the steady sound continued. I ventured past the sinks and peered around a corner to find a shower curtain. The sound seemed to come from that general direction, probably from the tub. I grabbed the lantern and hastened myself, feeling overwhelmingly lucky that I managed to find something to quench my extreme thirst. I grabbed the curtain and pulled it aside.

The dripping sound was not water. Inside the tub was the flank of a pony, the other half hanging from the ceiling. The pony’s eyes were gouged out, and black blood seeped out of them. Intestines hung down like ivy and rot with the pile of organs below. I turned my head to vomit into a nearby toilet, but when I did I saw two bright blue eyes staring at me from its basin.

I dropped the lantern, and the fire sizzled out. I began screaming for help while wildly trying to find the exit. I ran into walls, and then stepped in something soft and moist. I didn’t need the light to know what it was.

I concentrated all my remaining magic to illuminate the surroundings. My horn sparked with purple magic and I caught a glimpses of unspeakable things. Around me were the bodies of several ponies and all sliced into pieces. I turned away and the darkness returned. I backed away from the bodies and ran into a wall. My horn sparked again, and I saw that crude drawings of prancing ponies decorated the walls in blood. Something warm dripped onto my snout. My horn flashed once more as I stared upwards, where several ponies hung from the ceiling with barbed wire around their necks. I heard the panting of a creature somewhere in the darkness. That’s when I lost my mind.
“Buck, buck, buck!” I knew that the Mansion was no joke. Somepony really did want us dead.

Instinct took over as I ran frantically. I somehow found the exit to the hallway and ran out screaming. Off in the distance was a faint light. It was somepony else! Was it Rarity? Fluttershy? The only thing I could do was to gallop towards the light. Exhausted, I fell down onto the carpet in front of the light. I tilted my head, and I could clearly distinguish the pony who held the lantern: Pinkie Pie.

She grinned like a maniac and stared directly at me, inches away from my eyes. Her pink mane was now splotched with red streaks, and her body was covered in equally red splatters. She brought her hoof, dripping with something thick and red, and licked it. I became nauseous once again. She brought her hoof to my face. “Try it Twilight. It’s delicious.” I wanted to scream, but I was out of energy to do anything. Then there was a scream from the other end of the hallway. Pinkie Pie ignored the sounds and continued to lick her hooves clean.

The light from her lantern dimmed out, and everything became black.

The Second Day

"Rest, Twilight." Fluttershy stood next to me, wrapping a bandage around my head. "You've been through too much."

I lay back in my bed and closed my eyes. How did I manage to faint twice in a day? All I’ve been was was weak and vulnerable ever since I’ve been inside the Mansion. By now, I’d accepted that I have to become stronger if I don't want to be the first one dead. I rested my hooves on my chest, feeling the now calm beat of my heart. At least I have the kindness of these strangers to help me through these rough times.

I leapt out of bed when I remembered what I’d seen before passing out.

Pinkie. Where is Pinkie? She had blood on her hooves! Did Fluttershy know about this? What was that scream? We're all in grave danger. I lifted myself up out of the bed, but was forced back down by the pair of Fluttershy’s soft forelegs.

"Twilight, please rest," she tucked in the covers tightly, "you've been fainting too often."

I ignored the pain of her pressing against my sore chest and tried to brush her aside. "But, Fluttershy! We're in danger! P-Pinkie Pie had blood on her hooves; she's the killer!"

"Twilight, you've been through a lot." She leaned to the side so that I could see Pinkie in the corner gorging herself on doughnuts. Jelly doughnuts. "Please don't make me worry about you too, we've already been through a terrible ordeal."

I stared at Pinkie in disbelief. The blood was in fact nothing more than strawberry jelly. Although Pinkie was innocent, I still believed deep in my heart that she was the killer. I remember her eyes when she screamed for cupcakes. It was unlike anything I’ve heard before - it was unequestrian. "But, but, those bodies. The bathroom. The blood. Pinkie. Her blood. She-"

Fluttershy pressed her hooves against me firmly and stared down at me menacingly. "You're not going to get out of this bed. Understand?" Her stare made my throat seize as I succumbed to her will. I became lightheaded and remained on the bed paralyzed by her sternness.

Did she think I was the killer? I raised my hoof to her, and she turned away. No, it couldn’t be. This Mansion must be getting to her, like Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy paced around the room nervously, no longer bothering to attend to my head. Something was very wrong. I heard her whispering strange things to herself, then stop and look back at me. She repeated this cycle, until I realized that somepony was missing.

"Where's Rarity?"

She glared at me once again with Death's stare. "Oh, wouldn't you

She took a lantern in her mouth and brought it to the far end of the room. There, the light illuminated a white bedsheet stained crimson red, covering a pony-sized lump on the floor.

"There's Rarity."

"What? No!" Rarity, dead? How could this have happened? "You're lying. S-She can't be... No!"

Fluttershy leaped at me and slammed her body onto me. She dug her hooves in between my ribs to the point of breaking. "We can do this the easy way." She twisted her hoof. "Or the hard way."

The pain was unbearable. The side of my ribs were already on the verge of cracking, but she continued on to press even harder. My body became rigid with the white-hot pain that left me screaming for mercy.

"I know ways to make you scream even louder, Twilight. Just admit it. You killed Rarity, didn’t you?"

"No! I didn't!" Tears began to fall out of my eyes.

She responded by thrusting her hoof across the side of my face and striking my cheek. "I've been watching Pinkie ever since we left this room because I knew she was dangerous. But she didn't kill anypony. And the others, Applejack was watching Rainbow Dash. That leaves you, Twilight Sparkle, with blood on your hooves."

She raised my foreleg in front of my face so that I could see my bloodstained hooves. She dropped my legs and then pinned my neck against the pillow with her hindleg. Choking and gasping for air, I could see her lifting the other hoof ready to strike me again, but something pink caught it in midair.

"Stop it now!" Pinkie growled at her.

Fluttershy screamed back at her, becoming ferocious as a raging bull. "She bucking killed Rarity. Rainbow Dash was right, she's the sick pony that brought us here." She gnashed her teeth at me and smiled demonically as I lost the will to struggle against her any longer.

I gave up. My body became limp and I invited death over the pain of suffocation. But the pain didn’t disappear. No, It only grew stronger, but it was then that I realized that she was no longer pressed against my throat. The pain was barely endurable, but was thankful that I was still alive.

Pinkie Pie ushered her out of the room. "Get out and get some air." She slammed the door shut, and we could hear Fluttershy’s hoofsteps and heavy sobbings leading away from us.

“Deep breaths, Twilight.” She lightly placed her hooves on my chest until I breathed normally. “Do you feel alright.”

I managed to answer her. “I think I am.” Then, I winced in pain from the broken ribs.

The warmth from her body spread across my body through her hooves on my chest. I could feel the rise and fall of her body with each of her soft breaths. I was now safe once again. We sat staring at each other, until the she broke the awkward silence.
"Do you want to know why I think we're here, Twilight?"

I was too weak from the assault to nod my head

"Everypony here has a problem, and I think that's why we were gathered here."

She saw by my confused face that I didn’t comprehend. "You see, everypony here is a little loco in the coco. For example, Fluttershy there is teeny bit little bipolar. She really didn’t mean to hurt you like that, Twilight. Well, half of her at least.”

I was trying to make sense of all of this. Fluttershy was half evil? Well, she did just try to kill me. I guess that makes two attempted murders on me now.

I cleared my throat, but barely managed to speak in a hoarse whisper “what about everypony else?”

“Well from what Applejack has told me, she’s not allowed in any bar in Equestria anymore because she gets a little too riled up with those stallions, if you know what I mean. And Rainbow Dash, as you may know by now, can’t control her anger very well.”

“And I can’t handle pressure well?”

“A little. But that’s not very problematic compared to everypony else’s, Twilight! At least you don’t hurt other ponies.” Her mane deflated ever so softly as she cleared a tear away from her eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“Yea, I am.” She was still wiping away tears. “It’s just that my parents...”

I knew that she was uncomfortable, and maybe I pried a bit too far into her personal life.

“Anyways, I do, well, sugar occasionally,” Her ear twitched twice, “maybe a teeny bit more than occasionally. But I have it all under control, so I am not technically an addict. And finally, Rarity is downright a sociopath.”

“Wait, what?”

“Eeyup. She was planning to murder us all in our sleep once she earned our trust.”

“Pinkie.”

“Yes?”

“How do you know this?”

“She told me.”

Now, this was just too incredible. Rarity, the presumed killer, just told Pinkie that she was going to kill us all in her sleep. I shook my head. “Pinkie.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know how crazy that sounds?”

“Just trust me, Twilight. My Pinkie senses told me. See?” Her tail twitched rapidly. Off in the distance, Applejack’s swears echoed throughout the hallway.

Pinkie senses. I didn’t bother to pursue this conversation any longer. Science and logic were the only things I understood, which was exactly why I studied magic. Her senses were probably just coincidental events.

Pinkie Pie held out a scrap of paper “If you don’t believe me, then look at what I found in her saddlepack.”

What I read was mind-boggling. Rarity had written some twisted grimdark scenes involving our deaths. Why in Equestria would somepony write such bloody things about us?

So we all had problems. Alright. But, what did our ponynapper hope to achieve by bringing us to the Mansion? “So, what does this all mean?”

“Well, I don’t think that we were chosen at random. There must be something in common that the pony must want us to figure out together. Maybe it’s something that we’re supposed to learn from each other. But without her, I don’t know if we will ever know why we’re here.”

"Pinkie," I glanced at where Rarity lay, "where exactly did she die?"

“Down the hallway to the right, and the tenth door to the left. It's a nasty sight in there." Her mouth turned downwards in disgust.

“I'm going there." I attempted to move out from the covers, but I could feel the fatigue of the past two days return.

Pinkie Pie refused to let me leave. Instead of forcing me down, she placed a book on my lap. "Magical Spells and Magical Cures: a Guide to Medical Magic, I found it in the library. Fluttershy warned me not to show you this, but I can't stand by and watch you suffer like this."

“I don’t think I have enough magic for spells anytime soon, Pinkie. Thanks, through." I owed her my life for saving me; in fact, I owed a lot of ponies my life.

"Pinkie," I asked cautiously, "why do you trust me?"

I saw her blush immediately. She distracted herself by playing with her mane. "I-I don't know exactly. D-Do I need a reason?"

I stared at her intently, trying to look for any signs of the truth she was hiding.

But her face only became a deeper shade of pink. I blinked and didn’t see her lunge at me. I felt her soft lips press against mine. I didn’t have time to understand what she was doing, or if what was happening is in my imagination. Our snouts rubbed close enough against each other close enough so that I could smell her scent of sweet cotton candy. I opened my eyes widely and she retreated.

“Pinkie!" I said, confused and bright red. I was astonished by her openness.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but I just know that you were somepony special to me before we lost our memories." She began to cry out loudly. “It’s just when I try to remember anything about my past now, you always come to mind.”

She was like a child, and I adored her. I wrapped myself around her and held her to my heart. "It's alright, Pinkie. Thanks." I held her until she ceased sobbing. Although I could not return my feelings to her I nuzzled her ear, and made her giggle. “I guess there are things that just can’t be explained. You just have to believe in it.”

Once she was satisfied, I stood on all fours and grabbed a lantern off the table. I placed Pinkie down gently on the covers so that she would not awake. I took a moment to watch how beautiful she was when sleeping, but I quickly turned away and chased those thoughts away. “No, Twilight, you don’t swing that way!”
I let the door close silently behind me. It was time investigate the scene of Rarity's death.

The door hung from its hinges and creaked ominously. This was the room Pinkie said Rarity had ‘perished’ in. I peered inside and immediately saw horrible tools of torture spread on the floor. Notably, tens of bear-traps with rusted teeth littered the floor. One, however, was triggered near a deeply blood stained bed. Even the wooden boards underneath it were drenched in her blood, radiating from the trap like splashes of ink. The markings of the blood resembled that of animals caught in traps which die slowly from a desperate struggle. This is also how Rarity must have died. Other than the traps, strange wires hung from the ceiling like nooses and splintered medical instruments lay scattered on the floor. Was this a hospital room?

It was obvious that her death was by no means an accident. Scratches on the ground leading from the door to the spot suggested that she was forcefully brought to the impending trap. It was then that she was tossed into the trap; this only added onto my fears.

Rarity. She didn't deserve to die like this; nopony did.

Crack. The lantern's glass case exploded, scattering sharp shrapnel over the room. A sudden draft extinguished the small flame, enveloping the room in pure darkness. My heart began to race again as I heard the beating of hoofsteps banging around the floorboards around me. I broke out in a cold sweat as I tried to light up my horn, but the last spell had drained my last drops of magic. I was on the verge of losing consciousness in fear, but I forced myself to concentrate on creating light.

Then I heard the clamor of the clashing metal traps around me. They snapped around me like alligators ready to feast on another meal. I screamed for help, but nopony came and the hoofsteps only grew louder. Then, I heard the rustling of the wires above me twisting against each other like vipers. Something cold and barbed wrapped around my throat, but when I grabbed my neck nothing was there. I screamed even louder, but the noises in the room became howling. The screech of a bear-trap slowly opening its jaw sounded directly above me. At any moment, I expected the teeth to snap shut and decapitate me in a swift bloody flourish.

Purple sparks shot out of my horn at the last moment and I caught glimpses of the horrors around me. I saw little colts and fillies dancing circles around me and laughing. Gradually, their high squeals became deep and demented as they came to a stop. The room flashed every second and I could see them marching towards me with their necks twisted in unnatural positions. Their eyes then became bloodshot as they stared at me and they began to cry black blood. Somepony, anypony, help me!

I curled myself into a ball and closed my eyes. No, not this again. I promised myself that I would be stronger this time and not faint. Although I tried to drown out the noise, the foals would laugh louder. I would hear them step close enough to touch me with their cold ghostly hooves. I felt myself drowning, unable to swim in a sea of fear.

“This is not real! This is not real!” I screamed. I could only half-believe myself in those words because everything felt too real to be fake. I began to feel nauseous as I choked up gallons of blood onto the floor. I crawled away dragging myself with my bloodied hooves to where I thought was the door. Instead, I found myself in front of a wall. I hacked up another storm of blood onto the wall and I fell to the ground once again.

I have never been so afraid in my life. I tried create light once again, and this time a small purple flame spewed from my horn. The room was lit dimly in violet, but everything disappeared. There were no more traps, no more strange creatures, and no more blood. Even more strange, I was no longer in my body but watching myself in third-person while floating in a dark void. Then, I felt my body entering into free-fall as lost sense of all reality.

Off in the distance was a weak pink light. As it galloped towards me, I saw that it was none other than the pink pony.

From the eyes of another pony...

Twilight? I could have sworn that I heard Twilight. My right hind hoof tapped irregularly on the floor: a sign that somepony I loved was in distress. I immediately ran out, taking the last lantern and calling out her name. “Twilight? Where are you, Twilight?”

I ran down the hallway and my ears began to twitch. I approached the tenth door on the left, the room where Rarity had died. I knew that Twilight couldn’t have wandered very far. Then, I stopped. In the light of my lantern I saw the silhouette of a pony guarding the entrance to the room. The pony held a knife in her mouth, rusted and drenched in blood. The pony wreaked of death and sorrow. As the pony approached me, I clearly recognized her.

I was horrified to believe that it was her. “You. It was you?!"

She didn't answer.

I turned and prepared to sprint away, but a burning pain emanated from my hindleg. I fell over on the carpet and turned back to see that my leg was pinned to the ground by the knife that ran into it. Then the pony pulled the blade out and stabbed again at my other leg.

I screamed for Twilight. I screamed for anypony to help. But my pleas for help were drained out by the expansive emptiness of the Mansion.

I couldn't feel or move my legs anymore. By now, I just wanted the ordeal to end. My body was flipped over and I lay spread eagle on the carpet, helpless but unwilling to die. The pony thrust the knife across my forearm as it shred through muscle and bone. For every consecutive slash the pain gradually became more bearable. In fact, I began to not feel anything at all. I saw the pony stab and snap organs out of the cavity in my chest, but I no longer knew what pain was. My head tilted to the side and the world became black.

The door flew open and I broke free from the mysterious trance. How long I was trapped I didn’t know. Without the sun, everything seemed timeless. In the doorway was the orange pony, Applejack, with a lantern in her mouth. I was so glad to see the warm glow of the golden light again.

“Come on out now, and show me yer’ hooves.”

I obeyed without question, still in bewilderment from the vision of the pink pony. She was my only friend here, and maybe it was because of her that I was strong enough to endure the horrors once more. I knew without a doubt that it was the magic of friendship that allowed me to see her. Thank you Pinkie Pie.

I was in the same room, everything unchanged from when I entered. Those visions were just in my head, and I was glad that the nightmares were over. I approached the door, but Applejack didn’t step aside. On her face was a look of pure disgust.

“Applejack! Thank goodness you’re here. Pinkie! Where is she? We can’t leave her alon-” I stopped to see that behind her was a blood soaked sack.

“You really don’t know, do you?”

“What?” A split second later, I realised what she carried in the sack; in the midst of the overwhelming stench of death, I could faintly smell sweet cotton candy.

The Third Day

No. It couldn’t be. Pinkie couldn’t be dead. She and I just became friends, and she was the only one who trusted me in this terrible place. She was the only one that keeps me sane.

“Ah’ said come out real slow now with yer’ hooves up.”

I raised my hoof slowly. “W-What’s in there?”

“Pardon?” She hiccuped. “Oh, you mean this here bag.” Applejack carelessly tossed the sack in the center of the room. It fell to the floor and a tangled mess of bubble gum pink hair protruded from the mouth of the sack.

“No! She can’t be - no, not her.” I ran over to the remains, careful not to look into the depths of the bag and collapsed in front Applejack. “Tell me that this is all some sick joke.”

“Git’ off me.” She bucked me off and hiccuped again. “That pink mare, Pinkie Pie was it? She ain’t coming back from those wounds. She’s all butchered up like a sow in there.”

She continued to ramble, and her breath smelled strongly of hard cider and liquor.

I still didn’t want to believe that my only friend was gone. “You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re lying.”

She rustled through her saddlepack and brought out a brown glass bottle. “I don’t tell no lies and I ain’t a drunk.” She swayed side-to-side, taking swigs from the bottle. “Don’t compare mares like you to somepony like me.”

“You’re lying. You’re ly-”

She finished off the bottle and began talking to the air. “Ah’ don’t lie. And ah’ could care less with the pink nitwit dead. She’s always making a ruckus and all those loud noises while I’m jus’ trying to have a drink.”

“How can you drink at a time like this? She was innocent, and she was killed so-”. The bloody visions flashed in front of my eyes. I saw her mane dripping wet with her own lifeblood and her organs floating in the hole in her chest like a red slurry. I shook those thoughts away. “Never mind that. What about Rainbow Dash? Aren’t you looking after her?”

“That mare? That room that Flittershy told me to put er’ in was the bar! Can you believe her?”

No. Don’t tell me that she...

“So I bucked that Rainbow mare out as soon as it was quiet and had a hell’a party in there. Oh they had liquor imported from Las Pegasus and-”

“You let her out? I don’t give a flying feather about your jack.” I stomped my hoof down. “Ponies are dying and it’s all your fault!”

The pieces of the mystery began to fall together. Rainbow Dash could have escaped and killed the other two. Or it could have been Fluttershy - she definitely could have killed Pinkie after mysteriously disappearing.

“Don’t ya’ int’rrupt me when ah’m talking now. I am a fine mare and ah’ expec’ to be treated with the utmost respect.”

“Get away from me.” I tried to duck under her arm, but she slammed it against the doorframe.

“Move your arm, now!”

She completely ignored me. “Oh, well you’re a pretty mare, aren’t you?” She brushed her hooves through my hair.

I instinctively stepped away from her. “Stay away from me!” I saw her toned muscles twitch and I began to fear what she could do with her brute strength. She was an applebucker by profession after all. Hoof by hoof, I stepped away from her until I hit the corner.

She walked closer and her eyes were focused somewhere below my eyes. To her sides were the traps, impossible to maneuver around, and I was trapped against the wall. She grabbed me by my mane and licked my neck. “You your hoof at a mare before?”

“No, stop it!”

“Ah’ never tried my hoof at sweet fillies like you before,” she dragged her rough tongue to my horn, “but ah’ always wanted to try pluckin' cherries.”

She suckled the tip of my horn and waves of pleasure began to take control of me. I closed my eyes and I felt her lips wrapping around the base of my horn. I tried to remain silent, but when she began to spin her tongue in circles, moans involuntarily escaped my mouth. I didn’t want to enjoy this at all, but my body yearned for more stimulation. She kicked my legs and I fell down to the floor with a thud. When I faced upwards, I saw Applejack’s devilish smile in the dim light.

“Please don’t do this, I don’t wa-”

She smashed the bottle against the wall and held the broken neck against my face. “Ah’m not giving you a choice, sugarcube.”

“Y-You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.” She pressed the sharp edge against my neck and I felt my coat tear slightly.

I covered my eyes with my hooves and prepared for the worst. Her warm breath skimmed down until it stopped between my thighs. She teased my marehood with the tip of her tongue before entering it deep inside me. She lapped up my wetness, filling the room with the sound of her mouth slapping against me. I began to pant faster and squealed in a high-pitch voice.

Then she stopped. “Ready to have some real fun now?”

“No, stop!”

She didn’t listen. Her hoof touched the opening of my marehood and slid inwards, twisting as it dug deep into me.

The pain was unbearable. I attempted to jerk myself free, but doing so only excited her even more. I felt my marehood tear immediately at the first stroke, but the pain only intensified with the subsequent stabs. When I managed to raise my head in pain, I looked down at my marehood to see a trickle of blood pooled into a small puddle below me.

“Yee-haw!” She hollered, pleasuring herself with me.

Pain soon became a dark pleasure and I no longer resisted her sultry temptation. My eyes rolled upwards and my tongue hung loosely from my drooling mouth as I grunted in tandem with her beat.

“Stop!” I yelled out. I noticed now that the light in the room was no longer dim. Behind her, the overturned lantern had spread its flames across the dry floor, igniting everything around it. I tried to lift myself up on all fours, but she swung her weapon at me.

“We’re not finished just yet.” Applejack was too intoxicated to understand the danger we were in. She continued to pleasure herself with my body, oblivious to the flames that were licking the tips of our tails.

“Applejack, the fire. Look, at the fire! Just look at - oh - ohh.” My body stiffened as an amazing swell of bliss pulsed from my marehood.

“Do you know why ah’ drink, Twilight?” Her voice cracked. “It’s just that ever since I was a lil’ filly all I’ve known was work. Ever since mamma an’ pappy died, there has just been so much work to do on the farm.”

“I-I...” I didn’t know what to say. For once, I sincerely felt sympathy for the mare.

“I’m always so alone, and there’s just too much work to do. I’ve missed out so much in life. Although ah’ don’t want to admit it, ah’ wished ah’ had some friends to help me. Every night, under the stars after a hard day, ah’ always wonder what life would have been like if ah’ just... ah’ just...”. She cried on my shoulder

“You don’t have to be alone, Applejack. I can help you, we can get through this together. I can be your friend.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight, but this cider is the only friend for me.” Her grimace sent a chill down my back. “I’ve done too much. No, I can’t let anypony know what I’ve done here.”

The flames now incinerated most of the supports, causing the whole room to collapse. The floor tilted sharply and we slid down. Below us was a fiery pit of sharp flaming splinters. Applejack and I both hung balancing for our lives on a single strand of twine from the sack of Pinkie’s remains. However, the mass could not support two ponies. I could feel myself dropping as the sack slowly slipped on blood.

Applejack, finally seemingly to be sobered up, stared into the fire in horror. The flames now devoured everything in sight and we were encased in a sea of flames. Scorched ashes floated about, and we choked on the dense black smoke.

“We have to climb!” I yelled, barely able to be heard over the roaring blaze. “Grab that-”

I was stopped when I felt a sharp pain from my flank. I began to lose my grip on the rope as I began slipping. I glanced at my flank where the cracked bottle lay embedded deep in my skin. I felt the blood drip out from the wound and heard it sizzle as it reached the flames.

“Git down!” She bucked the bottle, driving it another inch into my flesh.

I screamed and lost control of my forelegs and I fell down into the pit facing the ceiling. I turned myself in midair to see the flames only a foot away from my eyes. Time seemed to stop at that moment. I remembered every moment in my life, from birth to marehood. In all those hours I’ve spent with a book in hoof, other ponies learned about a magic which I’ve never really understood: friendship. I’ve never valued friendship before, but it was now that I truly understood just how powerful it could be. Friendship was something that can completely turn a mare’s life around. I just wondered how different my life would have been. But, this was going to be the end.

Then out of the walls of the inferno shot a rainbow which caught me on the chest. The rainbow, and the mare leading in front of it, circled around the room. We passed by Applejack in time to see her engulfed into the flames as she held onto the scorched end of the rope. I was lifted up with great speed and we rocketed through into the story above.

We ricocheted off the roof of the next floor and slid onto the carpet of the empty room. The sprinklers then activated, ending the conflagration below. The cold pure water dripped into my wounds, somewhat relieving the burning pain over my body.

On the opposite end of the room was Rainbow Dash, panting and cowering away from me. “A-Are you alright?” She asked.

I would have answered her if it weren’t for the banging pain in my head. From the dying flames, I managed to catch a glimpse of her magenta eyes clouded in fear and shame. I crawled towards her, but stopped when the shattered bits of the bottle grinded inside my wound. I rolled on the floor in pain, crying as it intensified. But through my tears, I saw her blue hooves approach me.

I felt her tear whatever was lodged from my side away. Again, I was on the verge of fainting again as I felt the blood drain profusely.

“Stay with me, Twilight,” she yelled as she pressed on the wound.

I felt her press harder to keep me alive for a little longer. I didn’t know whether I would live or not. There are some thing that aren’t written in books, and the loyalty of a friend is one of them. I smiled, for the first time in years, because I knew that somepony cared for me. I breathed heavily as the pain made me delusional. Then, everything became unbearably cold from both water and death, and my body became numb. Exhausted, my eyes were heavy with sleep as I lay vulnerably under the rainbow maned mare’s wings.

“No! I said stay with me!”

The pain began to fade away and my breaths became weaker. I saw her face in tears; she was crying for me. Before blacking out, I thanked Celestia for the angel who had come to save me.

I woke to find myself in the dark void where a violet light emanated from around my body. Other than myself, there was nothing but darkness to be seen. However, when I peered far out in the distance, I saw miniature multi-colored lights like stars on a moonless night. As they came closer I could see that they were jewels. The nearest ones to me glowed pink, yellow, orange, blue, and white. I stared in awe at their beauty as they spun around me like planets in orbit. That was until the lights began to disappear. They exploded, leaving trails behind them like fireworks which eventually evaporated. One by one, the lights faded away to nothingness. Soon, I found myself alone again in the dark.

Then a radiant white light exploded above me, blinding my eyes. It was so intense that it threatened to burn me alive. Even with my forelegs covering my face, the brilliance shone through my body brighter than the sun. I, too, was rubbed away from existence as the light dominated all.

I opened my eyes to face the light, but I woke to Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

“You’re awake.” She wrapped her hooves around me.

I didn’t know what to think. Was that vision only a dream? But it was surreal enough that I could have mistaken it for reality.

“You’ve been out for nearly a day.” She cried on my shoulder. “I thought that I was too late.”

“A day?” I touched the spot where Applejack had stabbed me. It was now crudely wrapped in a makeshift bandage, and I cringed as I pressed against it. It could feel that it was a deep wound, healable with only strong magic.

“Rainbow. Why did you save me?”

She released me. “I saw what she did to you.” She faced the floor, unable to look directly at my eyes. “It was a terrible thing, and I just couldn’t let you die after that.”

I knew that she wasn’t telling me the whole truth. I remembered that guilty face when she rescued me from the flames. I stared at her intently, wondering if there was a hidden reason as to why she had spared my life.

She quivered. “You reminded me of when I was a little filly. Some stallions who I thought were my only friends took advantage of me. It was horrible, humiliating, and painful. I was scarred both physically and emotionally.”

“Rainbow...”

“That day changed me. And ever since that day, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let anypony be hurt like that anymore.”

I began to understand who this mare was and the painful life she was forced to live in.

“Ever since that day, I’ve always been afraid to trust anypony. I was hurting on the inside, more than anypony could understand. I was angry and scared, but I knew that nopony was there for me. I was always alone. I didn’t want you to be alone either. I don’t want anypony to feel like that.”

“You’re strong, Rainbow.”

“But, I wonder what type of pony I could have become if I had just one friend to understand me.” I saw a tear drop from her eye. “Maybe I could have been a good pony like you, Twilight. I was always jealous of all those ‘good’ ponies, because they all had such wonderful friends. You must have good friends, right? All I remember of Ponyville was always flying solo, because that’s the only life I’ve known.”

“But you don’t have to. I’m sure that other ponies would listen if you told them. I’m listening to you, Rainbow, I am.”

She sighed. “Whenever I try to make friends, those memories come to haunt me and I always end up hurting them with my anger. It’s terrible to suffer, but even worse when I hurt the ones I love. You would never hurt anypony, I know you wouldn’t. And I was so wrong to accuse you like that when we first met. Could you ever forgive me.”

“You are a good pony, Rainbow.” I smiled at her, and she smiled back. “And I would love to be your friend.” I held out my hoof.

With tears in her eyes, she grabbed my hooves with both legs. “Thank you, Twilight.”

Blood trickled down from her snout. I looked down in horror at the rusted metal rod that split through her chest. She slowly looked down and touched the tip in disbelief, then looked back at me with dilated eyes. She hacked blood, spilling the deep red liquid over her coat, and fell over where she stopped moving.

“Rainbow!”

“Oh how sweet.” I stared past where Rainbow stood, and from the darkness a pink maned demon fluttered into the light. “But only weak Fluttershy would have felt sorry for killing her.”

I rushed to Rainbow. Her hooves were already cold as stone. “It’s alright, Rainbow. You’re fine, you’re fine!”

“F-Friend?” She smiled at me weakly.

“Yes, Rainbow, I’m your friend and I’m going to make sure you’re alright.”

She slowly tilted her head back and ceased to breathe.

“Stay with me! You’re alright! Stay with me!”

I held onto her lifeless body and cried over it. I shouted at her to open her eyes, but I knew that she was no longer with me. I was her only friend, and it was my responsibility to care for her - yet I was powerless as she died in my hooves. I placed her body down and saw that she was at rest with a smile on her face.

“Oh boo-hoo,” she said mockingly, “it looks like she wasn’t the killer; the door hasn’t budged one bit. But it doesn’t matter because the world is a better place without freaks like her.”

“Freak? Don’t call her that.”

“Freak! Freak! Freak!”

“You’re the sick one that’s killing everypony!”

“I wouldn’t be talking,” she bolted to my face and poked my snout, “miss killer.”

“Me? There’s only two of us, and you have to be the killer. You just have to.”

“Rainbow Dash is the only one I’ve had the pleasure of killing. Pushover Fluttershy would have believed you. But she’s dead. Just like kind Fluttershy and caring Fluttershy. And just like you will be.”

“This isn’t you Fluttershy. Snap out of it!”

I saw her eyes were filled with rage and pure hatred. I knew that I had to return her to her senses, but the fear and deaths permanently corrupted her psyche beyond repair. She retrieved the sharpened weapon from Rainbow’s corpse and stabbed at my chest.

I barely dodged her strike, evading by only a hair’s width. I heard the rod strike the floorboard behind me as she screamed out in fury.

She struck at me again, this time grazing my cheek. I stumbled over my hooves and fell through a hole, dropping down several feet.

From above, Fluttershy whispered in a twisted singsong voice: “You can run, and you can hide! But Fluttershy won’t rest until you’ve died!”

The Fourth Day

I fell three stories, expecting for the sudden impact to kill me. But, I never hit the floor. Instead, I splashed into the water which nearly submerged the entire first floor. The fires that were once ablaze here had completely died out, but the ashes still hovered in the thick air. I swam blindly in the darkness away from the maniac, and searched for somewhere to hide.

“Where are you my dear?” She fluttered down with a blazing torch in hoof, and from the surface of the water I could clearly see her blood striped face in homicidal fury. “Come out and play.”

Where do I go? Only broken fragments of wood remained floating in the great dark expanse. I waded through the rooms, one by one, but Fluttershy quickly followed me through the maze of a mansion. There was no purpose of running; I would have to risk hiding from her if I wanted to bide my time.

“Come out, Twilight. I can’t wait to tear you apart limb by limb!”

I spotted a small crevice in between the boards of the wall far in the distance. I paddled through the water, careful not to alert her with the sounds I made, and wedged myself inside a dark hole.

“Are you here?” She pointed the torch in my direction and squealed. “Oh, did I spy a little pony here?” She skimmed over the water towards my hiding place, swinging her torch around. “If you come out, I promise to kill you quickly!”

She must have found me. She approached me with hysterical laughter, swinging the fire wildly. Fear began to arise again as my legs cramped and my head dipped deeper into the water. I grabbed ahold of a post, but even with the support I knew that I could not hold on for long.

Then a miracle happened. She passed over me and continued into the next room. But as she did, the light illuminated my surroundings. I realized that the water I swam in was not at all pure. It was colored rose with the blood of all the murdered ponies. I lifted my hoof slowly out of the water to find that I was now covered in a layer of thick red slime of coagulated blood.

“If you’re not going to come out and play,” shouted Fluttershy from the adjacent room, “burn like Applejack.”

At first, I was confused at what she meant. But it soon became clear as flames swept across the ceiling. She was going to burn down the entire building! Smoke soon began to fill the room and rubble came crumbling down.

My hindleg nudged against something deep in the tainted water. It was too soft to be wood, and it was quite massive. I was gripped by curiosity so I reached my hooves down, instantly grasping a round object. I lifted it slowly, unknowing of what to expect, but when I realized what I had discovered I dropped it and held my hooves to my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. It was the festering head of Pinkie Pie that stared at me, eyes imploded and mouth still in a smile. I saw the head descend under the water once again and become nothing more than a dark shadow among the crimson floor. I retreated further into the back of the crevice and I found myself wading in the muck hoping for another miracle.

“Are you there, Twilight?” Fluttershy turned and flew straight towards me. “I thought I heard you, dear.”

I ducked my head under, allowing only my snout to surface for air. The light grew brighter, and she leaned against the entrance to my spot. With the light now shimmering only inches away, I saw that Pinkie’s organs had not floated far from her head. Chunks of organs and every part of her internal mechanism hovered freely in the water in a grainy slurry. I realized that my tongue was caked in the same fleshy and stringy debris.

I vomited. Even though I hadn’t eaten in days, I managed to produce a large quantity of sick gastric goo. I brought myself back into composure immediately, but it was too late. Fluttershy found me.

“Oh, there you are, Twilight.” She stared directly into my eyes. “You shouldn’t have run off like that - we weren’t done talking.”

I was a dead pony. There was no possibility of escaping as she stood by the only exit with the sharpened metal rod in hoof. “Fluttershy, you don’t have to do this. I’m your friend! I’m your-”

“Friend?” Her eye twitched. “You really think that I have friends? Oh no, dear Twilight, all my friends abandoned me long ago and left me to die. All my friends didn’t give a flying feather whether I lived or died. So do you know what I did?”

I clung onto the back wall, away from the point of her metal spear.

“I left them. I hid myself away in the forest, away from the eyes and mouths of those ponies, and instead I found my friends, the animals. Unlike ponies, animals can’t hurt you. So I lived in that forest my entire life, away from everypony forever.” The veins in her eyes began to bulge. “Do you know what it feels like to be so alone? The animals talked to me, occasionally, but they couldn’t satisfy the desire for a friend. Do you know what it’s like for nopony to ever show you kindness? No. Of course not! The weak Fluttershy died a little every single day in that cottage. She wished for anypony, just one pony to reach out for her, but she never saw anypony. So, do you know what I happened? The last remnant of her died crying and struggling to stay alive until the end.”

“Fluttershy, no, don’t say those things!”

“Then I was born; from the ashes of her heart I rose up like a phoenix, revived. Strong Fluttershy. Assertive Fluttershy. Bucking-won’t-take-no-for-an-answer Fluttershy.” She thrusted the rod and struck me on the shoulder. “I learned that kindness only makes your heart bleed. And so, the one who is before you now is the real Fluttershy, the only Fluttershy So you ask me to be your friend? Ha! I don’t bucking need your friendship, and I’m bucking going to kill you!”

She retracted and then hurled the weapon for a second strike, this time drilling through my arm.

The pain was instantaneous. I flailed in the water, and it began to turn into a pure red soup of death. I attempted to pull my arm away, but found that I was pinned to the back wall. I saw the blood spurt out in torrents as I was unable to do anything.

Then I heard something whiz through the air, followed by the sound of metal on wood. I slowly turned my head to the other arm, which I saw was now pinned to the other side of the wall by a silver dagger.

“Rarity wanted me to give you that,” she said while smiling. “I knew about her plans, so we made a promise to kill off the others first.”

Only a weak croak came out of my throat, but was then followed by an explosive gush of blood. I screamed.

“So where did she head first? The medical room of course, where all the knives and drugs would be. But it was a good thing that somepony killed her off first. It was you Twilight - I could see through that soft marshmallow act you’ve been playing ever since the beginning.

“No!” She was wrong. I could never harm anypony.

She laughed like a maniac at my suffering. “Can you feel it, Twilight? I know the truth, I’ve always known that truth that you’re the killer. I saw you kill Rarity and Pinkie Pie after you ‘blacked out’.” She twisted the knife and stared at me menacingly. “Don’t tell me. Don’t tell me that you seriously didn’t know you killed them! It’s true, isn’t it? You don’t know! Ha!”

She had to be lying to me. She wanted to humiliate me through guilt. There’s no possibility that I could have hurt my friends. There’s just no-

“Did you ever wonder why you faint so often? Let me tell you, dear Twilight. When you faint, you lose control and become like me, a monster. It feeds from the the darkness within, Twilight. Deep inside you know that there’s a lust for blood, and you need to just hear that beautiful symphony of screams in terror. Just like Rarity. You laughed at her when she begged for you to end it quick. But you didn’t.”

No. I didn’t kill her.

“Of course, you immediately galloped away, after disposing of her body in lavatory. I fished her body out and let everypony think that you were an innocent victim. I even supported your ridiculous story as an alibi so that you could continue killing everypony.”

Stop it. I don’t want to hear these lies anymore.

“Then came Pinkie’s turn. She smiled at you even until the end. At one point, I even thought that mare was some sick sadistic mule. But then I learned that she smiled because - wait for this, can you believe it- because she loved you! Even when her lover was tearing her apart, she smiled because of love. ‘Oh Twilight, this isn’t you, stop it. I love you, Twilight, no matter what’. Ha! Of course, you had to ruin everything by breaking her heart.”

I must be delirious. I was hearing these terrible things because I lost too much blood. It was those nightmares from before. All I have to do is close my eyes and endu-

“Applejack. Yes, even Applejack. I never thought that you would try and poison her liquor. Nevertheless, she drank up everything you gave her without a question. Of course, she was too intoxicated to warn anypony about what you did.”

Now, I knew that she wasn’t lying. All the pieces fit together so perfectly in my head. I remembered everything: Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack. I remembered the void, the darkness within my mind. I was trapped and too afraid to escape that place alone. Beyond the shadowy veils was the painful reality of killing everypony I loved so dearly. If only I were brave enough to walk through the darkness alone, maybe everypony would still be alive.

I realized what lead to this doom. It was friendship, or the lack of friendship. Everypony here needs somepony, a friend to help them through the darkest moments in their life. Fluttershy stood before me as proof of my failure to realize what could have been done to save us all. Moreover, I failed myself. I was never the one to reach out for a friend. Yes, I had feared for years the deep dark desire and deadly consequences - but I didn’t even try to seek help.

I looked around myself at the floating butchered bodies of the Mansion’s previous guests, covered in black grime. They too must have fallen into chaos by the same folly.

The true victim was friendship.

Now, as I gave my last breath, I wondered what friendship could have been. If only, somepony would have shared its magic with me. We could have had big adventures, Rainbow Dash. Tons of fun, right Pinkie? I could have learned from your beautiful heart, Rarity. Always faithful and strong, Applejack. “...sharing and kindness, Fluttershy?”

“What?”

The beams supporting the story snapped and the Mansion collapsed upon itself. The framework of the grand building fell like dominos. Ashes roared about the entire room, clouding the amazing scene unfolding before me like a sandstorm.

The chaos eventually settled, leaving me on top of a mountain of rubble, still pinned to a large portion of the wall. Blood stopped flowing throughout my body, and I knew my time on this world was coming to an end. The blood and water drained into the seemingly never-ending abyss below, but everything around me was still moist with fresh blood. To my left was a pile of rubble, which a crushed wing of the yellow pegasus protruded.

Off in the distance was the grand door, still locked and to the end refused to open like our hearts. There was no one killer, as we had killed ourselves. My eyes slowly closed, and I too joined the other mares in death.

The Fifth Day

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“Yes, Princess Celestia?”

“How would you like to become a princess?”

“Really? Truly, Princess? It’s always been my dream ever since I was a little filly, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“But...”

“But?”

“There is a test you must pass.”

“Don’t worry Princess, I’m prepared.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely.”

“Are you absolutely certain that you want to leave Ponyville and come to Canterlot with me? You may never see them again.”

She hesitated. “Princess, I love my friends very much and they love me. No matter how far we are in space or time, I know we’ll always be together. That’s the magic of friendship.”

“You have learned much, Twilight Sparkle. Very well.”

A great light shot out of the Solar Princess’ horn and Twilight fell to the ground unconscious.

The memory played through the pony’s head like a broken record. The tall white pony stood on the remains of the Mansion. She wasn’t a normal pony, having been gifted with both magic and flight. She was an alicorn and also the monarch of the land. In the public eye she was gazed upon her by her pure brilliance. Yet, none of them knew about the secret burden which carried out within the depths of her castle. Only in these dark depths would she be free to become a true monster.

“Sister, why do you continue to torture these ponies like this?” The princess of the night stood behind her as her subordinate.

“Tradition,” the princess of the day exclaimed. She raised a hoof in the air, silencing her sister. “Tradition, my dear Luna. Blood and tears have run down the walls of the Mansion for generations. It is the royal way.” Her eyes glimmered off of the red stains on her hooves. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Luna retreated. “No it isn’t.”

“What? You dare speak against tradition?”

“I remember when I was sent into the Mansion. My friends, all the friends that I’ve grown to love were slaughtered. How could you do this to them, to me, to anypony? How could you lie to all of us, Celestia?”

“It is a test of power and wits. I knew that you, Luna, were a very powerful mare. As proof, you escaped the Mansion alone. You discovered that power is an ever consuming desire that corrupts every individual. Friendship saved you, Luna. It’s unfortunate that the others did not learn the same.” She pointed her hoof at the purple mare, crucified in the center of the rubbish. “Twilight Sparkle, with powers that rivaled mine, was too young. You were once like her, unable to accept her weaknesses, and so she could never have lead this wonderful land in that condition. Only with an unwavering heart without flaw can anypony lead us all to the bright future.”

“That doesn’t mean that you had to do this. Nopony has to die to prove anything. This is wr-”

“And you learned not to speak against me while exiled to the moon,” She shot a venomous look at her sister, “correct?”

“Yes, sister.”

“You know what will happen if you speak out of line again, correct?”

“Yes, sister.”

“The games shall continue. Do you see Luna?” Celestia stared at her sister hysterically. “This is the one and only way that anypony will realize the truth. We have to gather more ponies - bring them in from all over Equestria - and we’ll watch them - yes, sister, we’ll watch them soak in the blood of their beloved.”

“You, no. This is evil. This is wrong. This is-”

“I’ve had enough of this.” Celestia thrusted her sister through the doorway which lead to the surface. “You are excused from my presence. Leave now, or to the moon with you.”

Luna gaited out, tears in her eyes for the poor souls that rested in the Mansion. She passed through the chambers and up the spiraling steps into the light of the surface world. She was tired of watching all the ponies fail the demented task for centuries. She was tired of remembering the faces of her friends which she slaughtered like animals.

She paused just once at the gates, finally understanding the ominous inscription on the wall:

“The Mansion feeds the monster inside us all.”

End?