The Asylumby Stale_CoffeeChaptersChapter OneChapter TwoChapter Three Chapter FourChapter OneAs the clang of the iron door echoes through the darkened room, the figure that sits in the middle lifts its head. A slight chuckle bounces off the walls, sending a chill down the nurse’s spine. She gulps loudly, triggering another chuckle from the figure in the middle. “Why did I even come down here? In fact, why did I ever take this job?” The nurse begins to fumble for the light switch nervously. She wasn’t supposed to close the door behind her, nor was she supposed to stay in the dark for too long. The chuckles have died down, now replaced by maniacal laughter. Then, silence… A scream came from the basement, alerting us all at once. I looked towards one of the nurses and nodded. We knew what happened. She had closed the door behind her and didn’t get to the light in time. “We warned her about that too. She just didn’t listen… how sad, it was her first week,” I mumbled as I resumed my work. I didn’t pick the best job in the world. Of all the many wonderful jobs out there, I decided to work at an asylum. And as if things couldn’t get worse, I, along with many other nurses and doctors, had to keep an eye on this asylum’s most dangerous resident, Rainbow Dash. When I applied for this job, they did warn me about her antics. They said that if I stayed in the dark for too long without finding the light switch, then she would more than likely end my existence. That statement had immediately struck fear into my heart. It hadn’t taken me long to find her files. Just punched the first four letters of her name into the computer’s mainframe and hit search. Her background was the first thing that I read. The page said something along these lines: Rainbow Dash, the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, or more commonly known as the most murderous thing in Equestria, was brought to this asylum in a crazed state. It was later found out that after being fired from her job as a weather pony, she found a new position in a place called the Rainbow Factory. She had told us, when she was stable, that what they did was not a normal way to make rainbows. She said that they took the young fillies and foals that failed their flight exams and ground them into rainbows. She lost it after her first week at the factory. She took all of the employees and ground them into rainbows. The amount of people in the machine caused it to malfunction, which then caused a massive explosion of the factory. She came here with a large amount of her mane and tail singed off. She refused to sit still, so we had no choice but to put her in a “natural” environment. We stained her walls with blood and slight rainbow markings. Now, all she does is sit in the center of the room in her straightjacket. But, she will move, and it is impossible to do so with the straightjacket on, so we assume that she has found a way to get it off. It isn’t safe to go into her cell with no light on and have the door shut behind you. If you do find yourself in that situation, kiss your life goodbye and make your final wishes. There will be no way out, because the door locks behind you. Take a buddy and a flashlight to see the actual light switch. Rainbow Dash, the most murderous thing in Equestria, is far more unstable than when she came here. Good luck… Apparently, all newcomers had to read that page before they began their first shift, but they must’ve stopped informing everypony who came here to work. I looked at one of the other nurses and motioned her over. I leaned over the desk and whispered into her ear, “Would you ever want to be promoted?” “No thank you. Once you’re promoted, you get to look after Butchershy.” I had forgotten about her. It was said that something horrible happened to her a few years back. Something about a wagon wheel, a hatchet, and some animals. I honestly forgot everything I had heard about her. But yeah, promotion meant Butchershy. “Right… but isn’t there a way to avoid being promoted to watching her?” The nurse shook her head. I frowned slightly… of course there wasn’t a way. I moved my eyes to the computer screen in front of me and pulled up Dash’s camera. It was pitch black, but I was finally met by her deranged eyes staring into mine. I jumped back and slammed my head against the wall in complete shock. We all heard more maniacal laughter come from the basement. Her laughter would travel through the air vents in the floor, bounce off the walls, and pierce our ear drums. Each time she laughed, chills would shoot down our spines. I looked again towards the nurse beside me as a bead of sweat fell from my nose. “So, you nervous about tonight?” Of course I was nervous. I was going to be left alone, in the darkness of the lobby, watching the cameras, whilst making sure Dash stayed in her cell. I nodded as yet another bead of sweat fell from my nose. She looked at me sadly and said, “I was terrified too. But don’t worry, she doesn’t do much. Just mumbles about some ‘Daring Do’ and laughs indefinitely. Don’t let it get to you alright?” She leaned in towards me and planted a light kiss upon my cheek. “You’ll be fine. Trust me.” She got up from her chair and walked out of the lobby, locking the doors behind her. As soon as she left the parking lot, the lights in the building began to shut off, one by one. The only light that remained was the glow of my computer screen. I refused to look at it, and began to take in the silence. “Hey Mister… I have a surprise for you Mister… Come into my cell!! Party with me please!!” The unmistakable voice of Pinkamena Diane Pie, the second most dangerous pony here, echoed from the ventilation two stories above me. If she knew I was here, then the rest of them must have known too. Sure enough, more voices came from throughout the asylum, each one beckoning me to go into their cell. I nervously laughed to myself, while trying to regain my confidence. “This is a home for the insane, and you’re going insane just being here! Get a hold of yourself man!” I hadn’t checked on Dash in a while, so I moved back to her camera and found the light on. There was only one light in her cell, but it let enough light into the cell to where you could see everything in there, except for the blind spot under the camera. That must’ve been where she was sitting, because the moment I looked away, she was staring into the camera, drooling uncontrollably. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to figure out if I was looking at her. When she could tell I wasn’t, she flew to her usual spot in the center of the cell and lowered her head. She began to mumble about ‘Daring Do’ again, and finally paused. “Hey sir, can you bring me some books from Twilight’s cell? She has the ones I want; you know that as much as I do.” Her head spun to look into the camera, her eyes bloodshot. I pulled up a microphone and switched to her channel. “I am sorry Ms. Dash, but I cannot leave this spot. I have to keep an eye on you.” She could sense the fear in my voice, and she began to grin. Small chuckles arose from within her, and they quickly escalated to demonic laughter. I wasn’t about to leave that seat, so I linked up to Twilight’s cell and watched her. She, along with Rarity and Applejack, were the only non-murderous ones here. She was fumbling with her books, hurling them to the floor and putting them back into their proper shelves. She was obsessed with organization, and that was what drove her to insanity. She had tried to do something fun, but continuously failed, and finally forgot to organize her books. Spike had come from upstairs, and being hungry and tired, decided to eat her books. What she did in response was horrific. She forcefully tore the remaining books from his insides, killing him instantly. Upon seeing what she had done to her life-long friend, she brought herself here immediately. She was stable, just afraid of killing again. I threw up her communications system and said, “Twilight, can you please send Rainbow Dash some Daring Do books? She is requesting those ones specifically. Thank you.” I turned off the com and sighed as she cringed before sending the books down to Dash. I flipped Dash’s camera on and saw her flying through the books. “Holy crap! I knew she was fast, but not that fast!” She tossed at least three of them aside within three minutes, already finishing half of the books Twilight sent her. Not even three minutes later, she tossed the other three books aside and stretched her wings. “That was a good read Mister… I forgot your name, what was it again?” “It’s… Chaser… Cloud Chaser.” “Ah, another Pegasus? Brilliant… you wouldn’t mind flying outside and telling me what the scenery is like would ya?” “Actually, I would mind. Again, I’m not allowed to leave this seat, nor will I leave the seat. And that is the finally say. Now, I am turning off your com channel. Good night.” She waved a hoof at the camera before it blacked out. I flipped through every camera there was, only to find each one was down. Chapter TwoI sat there while the stillness and silence of the facility enveloped me. Even though the cameras were down, that didn’t change the fact that the cells were also equipped with audio devices. Though they were crappy ones, they did work. I flipped each audio channel on, hoping that somepony would make some kind of noise to let me know where they were. This was the worst time of night I was told. When the cameras failed you and your only way of knowing that you were still safe was by the world’s crappiest audio devices. I turned the computer’s volume up to 50 and waited. I heard the ever famous popping and crackling of the recorders, but that was it. I looked across the lobby. Though I couldn’t see much, I swore I saw shadows dancing along the walls. “You’re just hallucinating, that’s all. There’s nothing there… Nothing there… Nothing… There…” I continued to mumble to myself until I felt sleep fall upon my eyes. I awoke to the infamous chuckling of Rainbow Dash. She went silent for a while, but I could hear her heavy breathing. It sounded as if it was extremely close. “Where am I, and where are you?” Another still silence floated in the air, when her laughter picked up again. Finally, she whispered into my ear, “Well let’s just say you’re not in that seat of yours anymore.” “What do you mean you psychotic horse?” “What I mean is that you are somewhere in the depths of this asylum. Now, as you may have realized before your nap, all the power was cut, except for your computer. That was my doing, along with Twilight’s help of course. You may also be asking how I got out. It was simple. Befriend a unicorn that has brains, and she’ll do anything for you. She may even cut the power to the entire facility.” My eyes widened in horror. Why hadn’t I seen that coming? Twilight and Dash had been close friends long before insanity struck them, so why shouldn’t they “help” each other out in times of need? “But yes, since the power was cut, I was able to get out of my cell. So did everypony else in this asylum. They may be wandering around a bit, but who knows? Not me, that’s for sure!” She began to laugh maniacally before her voice dropped to a flat and serious tone. “You’re not dead, but only because I’ve spared you. I figured that we could play a game.” Having nothing to say in response to this, I let her continue. “The rules are simple. I untie you from this ceiling and let you get out of this room. But once you are out, you will be hunted. If any of the residents here find you, yes that includes me, then we get to tear you limb from limb. Now, as you may know, there are at least 3,000 of us here in the asylum, so we can be around any and I mean ANY corner.” “What else?” “Well, you are not going to have any light source, that’s for one. But yes, in order to ‘win’ this game, you must survive the night while we hunt for you. I’ve already explained the rules to the others, so they know what to do when you’re found. Oh, and if you happen to get spotted, run. It may be your only chance of survival. Good luck.” With that, she cut me down from the roof like she said she would, and I walked out of the room. Wait, isn’t she allowed to just get me now? I looked back towards the room, but found it empty. Laughter echoed throughout the building with each step I took. “What kind of game is this? I mean, I’m being hunted, and my only way of survival is to avoid being found? This is just magnificent… and to top it off, I get to be in the dark, with 3,000 psychotic ponies looking for me!” I was finally having regrets on taking this job, but it paid well. 300 bits a week didn’t seem all that bad and of course I knew that this was an asylum. In the midst of my thought, I rounded a corner and looked ahead. I could see the silhouette of somepony, but I wasn’t too sure who. I slowly backed away, trying to be as quite as possible. I was not about to die, not because of some stupid little game that Dash wanted to play. I bumped my flank into the wall before once again rounding the corner. Apparently, the simple vibration of the bump was enough to alert the pony ahead of me. They turned in my direction, and I was met by glowing red eyes. “The hell happened to you?” The pony just stared at me, as if trying to figure out whether I was an employee or a resident. Within seconds, they began to run in my direction, a scream escaping their mouth. “Oh hell no. Not today you little bugger.” I turned and galloped around the corner. I didn’t care what was further down the hall so I kept running. At one point, I finally came to a hall that was illuminated partially by moonlight. The walls there were crumbling, and cell doors were opened. It looked as if they had been opened by blunt force and nothing else. I had completely forgotten about the pony chasing me until their scream echoed from close behind. I turned to see them not even ten feet from me. I finally had a good view of them. A mare, with a fuchsia coat with patches of skin spotting everywhere along her body, and a mane that was a magenta color. She was missing large chunks of hair from her mane and tail. Her mouth was foaming uncontrollably and she had an indefinite scream. Once I had gotten my fair share of her looks, I took off running down the halls again. Finally, I had lost her amongst a pile of loose bricks that I had kicked onto her. Her screaming died down, telling me she was either dead or she had lost track of me. I hoped for the first option to be true. “If it is, that means I’m only being hunted by another 2,999 ponies. At least my chances of survival have boosted right?” I shook my head in frustration and cautiously walked down another moonlit hall. I came across a cell that had a single window. I looked in out of curiosity and saw a lone wheelchair facing the window. Nopony was occupying it, but there were streaks of blood on the floor. I looked on the front side of the door and read the sign. Lyra Heartstrings: Do not open this door under ANY circumstances! “I wonder why…” I moved on through the hall, stepping over any loose rubble. Whatever had busted these doors open was obviously something big. The walls had been smashed in slightly, which I found quite disturbing, but it wasn’t as bad as the blood streaks along the floor. Lyra must’ve drug herself from the cell after it was blown open. “But, where is she exactly?” I had no clue why exactly I was asking myself these questions. The only thoughts that ran through my mind within those moments were questions, stupid questions if that. A moan came from down the hall. Sounded like I was about to find out what happened to Lyra. Chapter Three Chapter Three Following the streaks of blood, I rounded a corner and saw a deformed mare that was missing the lower half of her hind legs. The wounds were still fresh seeing as to there was still blood slowly dripping from the gaping holes. “Um… he-hello?” I had to call out to her, even if she were to be there in order to kill me. She stopped moving and slowly turned her head towards me. She didn’t look at all like somepony that belonged at the asylum. That was, until she shifted her body to where she was crawling towards me. On her hooves were these appendages that looked like carrots, except they matched her coat color. She crawled along the floor towards me, the appendages groping at the ground for leverage. It was a sickening sight to be honest. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at all. She continued to move in my direction before stopping a few feet from me. A small whisper came from her mouth. I couldn’t make out what she had said, and upon noticing that, she spoke up more to where I could hear her clearly. “Why… Do… You not… Run?” I stared at her, awestruck by her will to live though she was bleeding to death, awestruck by the appendages that grasped on to her very existence itself, awestruck as to how she was… different. “I… said… why do… you… not run?” Shaking my head in frustration, I slowly responded with, “You can’t hurt me… I’d outrun you before you move a hoof or… appendage thing.” She glanced down towards the tentacle-like things that were clasping onto the ground and muttered, “They’re called fingers.” Confused, I asked, “Fingers? What in the world are fingers?” “Fingers… are… the things… you call appendages… There are… these creatures called humans… that have them attached… to things called hands… Don’t… you know anything?” “Um, apparently not I assume. And you seem to be the only one who believes in this ‘human’ mumbo-jumbo.” She groaned; a sign that she was severely injured. “Look um…” “Lyra… the name’s… Lyra.” That was when it hit me. Lyra Heartstrings: Do not open this door under ANY circumstances! But, if she was Lyra, then what made her so bad to where they had a sign NOT to open her door? Seeing my curiosity peaking, she laughed slightly before saying something that sent shivers down my spine. The worst part was how she wasn’t pausing to catch her breath or cringe. “You know, you’re quite the stallion. Makes me remember of one I used to know long ago. Yeah, before I was sent here, he offered me an opportunity that I would never have gotten if we never met. He told me this, ‘I’ve been working on something that could change the fate of Equestria forever. And you, Lyra, get to be my first test-subject.’ Turns out that he had found a way to send us ponies to a world full of humans and knowing how much I loved humans, he sent me into their world. I found one that looked exactly like me, same coat color, same mane color, same eye color. She even wore a skirt that had my cutie mark on it. And out of curiosity, I went up to her and just like that, her fingers were gone. I had wanted fingers for so long!! It felt so wonderful to have those blood covered, boney fingers in my mouth as I as far as I possibly could. I fell asleep soon later only to wake up back at my stallion friend’s home, but with fingers on my hooves. He was freaking out to be honest. He began scolding me about how that was not why he had sent me there. ‘The reason I sent you there,’ he said, ‘was so you could be up close and personal with humans, not so you could go and chomp off their fingers!!’ And you know what I did after he said that? I snapped his neck, kind of like what I’m going to do to you. Because, you see, these fingers were made for killing, they just never felt the love of slitting a throat or snapping a neck, so the human version of me would’ve never known that. But, I’ll spare you for the next time you venture down these halls. It’s time for you to go back to the reality you know Mr. Cloud Chaser.” With that, she heaved out what seemed to be a final breath and collapsed to the floor. Just as she did, the world around me began to dissipate, a burning sensation beginning to flood over my body. I awoke in my lobby chair, drool hanging from the corner of my lip. I looked at the clock on the wall that read 7:00 AM. Had I been asleep the whole time? No, that couldn’t have been true because Lyra said, “It’s time for you to go back to the reality you know Mr. Cloud Chaser.” Chapter FourSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter OneAs the clang of the iron door echoes through the darkened room, the figure that sits in the middle lifts its head. A slight chuckle bounces off the walls, sending a chill down the nurse’s spine. She gulps loudly, triggering another chuckle from the figure in the middle. “Why did I even come down here? In fact, why did I ever take this job?” The nurse begins to fumble for the light switch nervously. She wasn’t supposed to close the door behind her, nor was she supposed to stay in the dark for too long. The chuckles have died down, now replaced by maniacal laughter. Then, silence… A scream came from the basement, alerting us all at once. I looked towards one of the nurses and nodded. We knew what happened. She had closed the door behind her and didn’t get to the light in time. “We warned her about that too. She just didn’t listen… how sad, it was her first week,” I mumbled as I resumed my work. I didn’t pick the best job in the world. Of all the many wonderful jobs out there, I decided to work at an asylum. And as if things couldn’t get worse, I, along with many other nurses and doctors, had to keep an eye on this asylum’s most dangerous resident, Rainbow Dash. When I applied for this job, they did warn me about her antics. They said that if I stayed in the dark for too long without finding the light switch, then she would more than likely end my existence. That statement had immediately struck fear into my heart. It hadn’t taken me long to find her files. Just punched the first four letters of her name into the computer’s mainframe and hit search. Her background was the first thing that I read. The page said something along these lines: Rainbow Dash, the fastest Pegasus in Equestria, or more commonly known as the most murderous thing in Equestria, was brought to this asylum in a crazed state. It was later found out that after being fired from her job as a weather pony, she found a new position in a place called the Rainbow Factory. She had told us, when she was stable, that what they did was not a normal way to make rainbows. She said that they took the young fillies and foals that failed their flight exams and ground them into rainbows. She lost it after her first week at the factory. She took all of the employees and ground them into rainbows. The amount of people in the machine caused it to malfunction, which then caused a massive explosion of the factory. She came here with a large amount of her mane and tail singed off. She refused to sit still, so we had no choice but to put her in a “natural” environment. We stained her walls with blood and slight rainbow markings. Now, all she does is sit in the center of the room in her straightjacket. But, she will move, and it is impossible to do so with the straightjacket on, so we assume that she has found a way to get it off. It isn’t safe to go into her cell with no light on and have the door shut behind you. If you do find yourself in that situation, kiss your life goodbye and make your final wishes. There will be no way out, because the door locks behind you. Take a buddy and a flashlight to see the actual light switch. Rainbow Dash, the most murderous thing in Equestria, is far more unstable than when she came here. Good luck… Apparently, all newcomers had to read that page before they began their first shift, but they must’ve stopped informing everypony who came here to work. I looked at one of the other nurses and motioned her over. I leaned over the desk and whispered into her ear, “Would you ever want to be promoted?” “No thank you. Once you’re promoted, you get to look after Butchershy.” I had forgotten about her. It was said that something horrible happened to her a few years back. Something about a wagon wheel, a hatchet, and some animals. I honestly forgot everything I had heard about her. But yeah, promotion meant Butchershy. “Right… but isn’t there a way to avoid being promoted to watching her?” The nurse shook her head. I frowned slightly… of course there wasn’t a way. I moved my eyes to the computer screen in front of me and pulled up Dash’s camera. It was pitch black, but I was finally met by her deranged eyes staring into mine. I jumped back and slammed my head against the wall in complete shock. We all heard more maniacal laughter come from the basement. Her laughter would travel through the air vents in the floor, bounce off the walls, and pierce our ear drums. Each time she laughed, chills would shoot down our spines. I looked again towards the nurse beside me as a bead of sweat fell from my nose. “So, you nervous about tonight?” Of course I was nervous. I was going to be left alone, in the darkness of the lobby, watching the cameras, whilst making sure Dash stayed in her cell. I nodded as yet another bead of sweat fell from my nose. She looked at me sadly and said, “I was terrified too. But don’t worry, she doesn’t do much. Just mumbles about some ‘Daring Do’ and laughs indefinitely. Don’t let it get to you alright?” She leaned in towards me and planted a light kiss upon my cheek. “You’ll be fine. Trust me.” She got up from her chair and walked out of the lobby, locking the doors behind her. As soon as she left the parking lot, the lights in the building began to shut off, one by one. The only light that remained was the glow of my computer screen. I refused to look at it, and began to take in the silence. “Hey Mister… I have a surprise for you Mister… Come into my cell!! Party with me please!!” The unmistakable voice of Pinkamena Diane Pie, the second most dangerous pony here, echoed from the ventilation two stories above me. If she knew I was here, then the rest of them must have known too. Sure enough, more voices came from throughout the asylum, each one beckoning me to go into their cell. I nervously laughed to myself, while trying to regain my confidence. “This is a home for the insane, and you’re going insane just being here! Get a hold of yourself man!” I hadn’t checked on Dash in a while, so I moved back to her camera and found the light on. There was only one light in her cell, but it let enough light into the cell to where you could see everything in there, except for the blind spot under the camera. That must’ve been where she was sitting, because the moment I looked away, she was staring into the camera, drooling uncontrollably. Her eyes darted back and forth, trying to figure out if I was looking at her. When she could tell I wasn’t, she flew to her usual spot in the center of the cell and lowered her head. She began to mumble about ‘Daring Do’ again, and finally paused. “Hey sir, can you bring me some books from Twilight’s cell? She has the ones I want; you know that as much as I do.” Her head spun to look into the camera, her eyes bloodshot. I pulled up a microphone and switched to her channel. “I am sorry Ms. Dash, but I cannot leave this spot. I have to keep an eye on you.” She could sense the fear in my voice, and she began to grin. Small chuckles arose from within her, and they quickly escalated to demonic laughter. I wasn’t about to leave that seat, so I linked up to Twilight’s cell and watched her. She, along with Rarity and Applejack, were the only non-murderous ones here. She was fumbling with her books, hurling them to the floor and putting them back into their proper shelves. She was obsessed with organization, and that was what drove her to insanity. She had tried to do something fun, but continuously failed, and finally forgot to organize her books. Spike had come from upstairs, and being hungry and tired, decided to eat her books. What she did in response was horrific. She forcefully tore the remaining books from his insides, killing him instantly. Upon seeing what she had done to her life-long friend, she brought herself here immediately. She was stable, just afraid of killing again. I threw up her communications system and said, “Twilight, can you please send Rainbow Dash some Daring Do books? She is requesting those ones specifically. Thank you.” I turned off the com and sighed as she cringed before sending the books down to Dash. I flipped Dash’s camera on and saw her flying through the books. “Holy crap! I knew she was fast, but not that fast!” She tossed at least three of them aside within three minutes, already finishing half of the books Twilight sent her. Not even three minutes later, she tossed the other three books aside and stretched her wings. “That was a good read Mister… I forgot your name, what was it again?” “It’s… Chaser… Cloud Chaser.” “Ah, another Pegasus? Brilliant… you wouldn’t mind flying outside and telling me what the scenery is like would ya?” “Actually, I would mind. Again, I’m not allowed to leave this seat, nor will I leave the seat. And that is the finally say. Now, I am turning off your com channel. Good night.” She waved a hoof at the camera before it blacked out. I flipped through every camera there was, only to find each one was down.
Chapter TwoI sat there while the stillness and silence of the facility enveloped me. Even though the cameras were down, that didn’t change the fact that the cells were also equipped with audio devices. Though they were crappy ones, they did work. I flipped each audio channel on, hoping that somepony would make some kind of noise to let me know where they were. This was the worst time of night I was told. When the cameras failed you and your only way of knowing that you were still safe was by the world’s crappiest audio devices. I turned the computer’s volume up to 50 and waited. I heard the ever famous popping and crackling of the recorders, but that was it. I looked across the lobby. Though I couldn’t see much, I swore I saw shadows dancing along the walls. “You’re just hallucinating, that’s all. There’s nothing there… Nothing there… Nothing… There…” I continued to mumble to myself until I felt sleep fall upon my eyes. I awoke to the infamous chuckling of Rainbow Dash. She went silent for a while, but I could hear her heavy breathing. It sounded as if it was extremely close. “Where am I, and where are you?” Another still silence floated in the air, when her laughter picked up again. Finally, she whispered into my ear, “Well let’s just say you’re not in that seat of yours anymore.” “What do you mean you psychotic horse?” “What I mean is that you are somewhere in the depths of this asylum. Now, as you may have realized before your nap, all the power was cut, except for your computer. That was my doing, along with Twilight’s help of course. You may also be asking how I got out. It was simple. Befriend a unicorn that has brains, and she’ll do anything for you. She may even cut the power to the entire facility.” My eyes widened in horror. Why hadn’t I seen that coming? Twilight and Dash had been close friends long before insanity struck them, so why shouldn’t they “help” each other out in times of need? “But yes, since the power was cut, I was able to get out of my cell. So did everypony else in this asylum. They may be wandering around a bit, but who knows? Not me, that’s for sure!” She began to laugh maniacally before her voice dropped to a flat and serious tone. “You’re not dead, but only because I’ve spared you. I figured that we could play a game.” Having nothing to say in response to this, I let her continue. “The rules are simple. I untie you from this ceiling and let you get out of this room. But once you are out, you will be hunted. If any of the residents here find you, yes that includes me, then we get to tear you limb from limb. Now, as you may know, there are at least 3,000 of us here in the asylum, so we can be around any and I mean ANY corner.” “What else?” “Well, you are not going to have any light source, that’s for one. But yes, in order to ‘win’ this game, you must survive the night while we hunt for you. I’ve already explained the rules to the others, so they know what to do when you’re found. Oh, and if you happen to get spotted, run. It may be your only chance of survival. Good luck.” With that, she cut me down from the roof like she said she would, and I walked out of the room. Wait, isn’t she allowed to just get me now? I looked back towards the room, but found it empty. Laughter echoed throughout the building with each step I took. “What kind of game is this? I mean, I’m being hunted, and my only way of survival is to avoid being found? This is just magnificent… and to top it off, I get to be in the dark, with 3,000 psychotic ponies looking for me!” I was finally having regrets on taking this job, but it paid well. 300 bits a week didn’t seem all that bad and of course I knew that this was an asylum. In the midst of my thought, I rounded a corner and looked ahead. I could see the silhouette of somepony, but I wasn’t too sure who. I slowly backed away, trying to be as quite as possible. I was not about to die, not because of some stupid little game that Dash wanted to play. I bumped my flank into the wall before once again rounding the corner. Apparently, the simple vibration of the bump was enough to alert the pony ahead of me. They turned in my direction, and I was met by glowing red eyes. “The hell happened to you?” The pony just stared at me, as if trying to figure out whether I was an employee or a resident. Within seconds, they began to run in my direction, a scream escaping their mouth. “Oh hell no. Not today you little bugger.” I turned and galloped around the corner. I didn’t care what was further down the hall so I kept running. At one point, I finally came to a hall that was illuminated partially by moonlight. The walls there were crumbling, and cell doors were opened. It looked as if they had been opened by blunt force and nothing else. I had completely forgotten about the pony chasing me until their scream echoed from close behind. I turned to see them not even ten feet from me. I finally had a good view of them. A mare, with a fuchsia coat with patches of skin spotting everywhere along her body, and a mane that was a magenta color. She was missing large chunks of hair from her mane and tail. Her mouth was foaming uncontrollably and she had an indefinite scream. Once I had gotten my fair share of her looks, I took off running down the halls again. Finally, I had lost her amongst a pile of loose bricks that I had kicked onto her. Her screaming died down, telling me she was either dead or she had lost track of me. I hoped for the first option to be true. “If it is, that means I’m only being hunted by another 2,999 ponies. At least my chances of survival have boosted right?” I shook my head in frustration and cautiously walked down another moonlit hall. I came across a cell that had a single window. I looked in out of curiosity and saw a lone wheelchair facing the window. Nopony was occupying it, but there were streaks of blood on the floor. I looked on the front side of the door and read the sign. Lyra Heartstrings: Do not open this door under ANY circumstances! “I wonder why…” I moved on through the hall, stepping over any loose rubble. Whatever had busted these doors open was obviously something big. The walls had been smashed in slightly, which I found quite disturbing, but it wasn’t as bad as the blood streaks along the floor. Lyra must’ve drug herself from the cell after it was blown open. “But, where is she exactly?” I had no clue why exactly I was asking myself these questions. The only thoughts that ran through my mind within those moments were questions, stupid questions if that. A moan came from down the hall. Sounded like I was about to find out what happened to Lyra.
Chapter Three Chapter Three Following the streaks of blood, I rounded a corner and saw a deformed mare that was missing the lower half of her hind legs. The wounds were still fresh seeing as to there was still blood slowly dripping from the gaping holes. “Um… he-hello?” I had to call out to her, even if she were to be there in order to kill me. She stopped moving and slowly turned her head towards me. She didn’t look at all like somepony that belonged at the asylum. That was, until she shifted her body to where she was crawling towards me. On her hooves were these appendages that looked like carrots, except they matched her coat color. She crawled along the floor towards me, the appendages groping at the ground for leverage. It was a sickening sight to be honest. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing at all. She continued to move in my direction before stopping a few feet from me. A small whisper came from her mouth. I couldn’t make out what she had said, and upon noticing that, she spoke up more to where I could hear her clearly. “Why… Do… You not… Run?” I stared at her, awestruck by her will to live though she was bleeding to death, awestruck by the appendages that grasped on to her very existence itself, awestruck as to how she was… different. “I… said… why do… you… not run?” Shaking my head in frustration, I slowly responded with, “You can’t hurt me… I’d outrun you before you move a hoof or… appendage thing.” She glanced down towards the tentacle-like things that were clasping onto the ground and muttered, “They’re called fingers.” Confused, I asked, “Fingers? What in the world are fingers?” “Fingers… are… the things… you call appendages… There are… these creatures called humans… that have them attached… to things called hands… Don’t… you know anything?” “Um, apparently not I assume. And you seem to be the only one who believes in this ‘human’ mumbo-jumbo.” She groaned; a sign that she was severely injured. “Look um…” “Lyra… the name’s… Lyra.” That was when it hit me. Lyra Heartstrings: Do not open this door under ANY circumstances! But, if she was Lyra, then what made her so bad to where they had a sign NOT to open her door? Seeing my curiosity peaking, she laughed slightly before saying something that sent shivers down my spine. The worst part was how she wasn’t pausing to catch her breath or cringe. “You know, you’re quite the stallion. Makes me remember of one I used to know long ago. Yeah, before I was sent here, he offered me an opportunity that I would never have gotten if we never met. He told me this, ‘I’ve been working on something that could change the fate of Equestria forever. And you, Lyra, get to be my first test-subject.’ Turns out that he had found a way to send us ponies to a world full of humans and knowing how much I loved humans, he sent me into their world. I found one that looked exactly like me, same coat color, same mane color, same eye color. She even wore a skirt that had my cutie mark on it. And out of curiosity, I went up to her and just like that, her fingers were gone. I had wanted fingers for so long!! It felt so wonderful to have those blood covered, boney fingers in my mouth as I as far as I possibly could. I fell asleep soon later only to wake up back at my stallion friend’s home, but with fingers on my hooves. He was freaking out to be honest. He began scolding me about how that was not why he had sent me there. ‘The reason I sent you there,’ he said, ‘was so you could be up close and personal with humans, not so you could go and chomp off their fingers!!’ And you know what I did after he said that? I snapped his neck, kind of like what I’m going to do to you. Because, you see, these fingers were made for killing, they just never felt the love of slitting a throat or snapping a neck, so the human version of me would’ve never known that. But, I’ll spare you for the next time you venture down these halls. It’s time for you to go back to the reality you know Mr. Cloud Chaser.” With that, she heaved out what seemed to be a final breath and collapsed to the floor. Just as she did, the world around me began to dissipate, a burning sensation beginning to flood over my body. I awoke in my lobby chair, drool hanging from the corner of my lip. I looked at the clock on the wall that read 7:00 AM. Had I been asleep the whole time? No, that couldn’t have been true because Lyra said, “It’s time for you to go back to the reality you know Mr. Cloud Chaser.”
