Another Way out

Twilight set down her book. She and her friends had set up a picnic that day. It was rather pleasant, the sun was shining with a couple clouds and a nice breeze. She noticed Pinkie Pie stuffing her face with multiple treats. She laughed slightly and looked at Rarity who was scolding Pinkie for her bad manners, although her scoldings went unheard to the mare who just stuffed her face with more of the sugar-filled goods.

Rarity gave the mare a disapproving stare before returning to her daisy sandwich. Fluttershy was just sipping tea like the calm pegasus she was. Twilight's gaze returned to her book which was the latest Daring Doo mystery.

"Hey look Silver Spoon. Its the chicken! bock bock!" Scootaloo groaned as Diamond Tiara made her terrible chicken impression. Silver spoon laughed with her. Scootaloo turned back to the scooter set she was currently building, trying to drown out the mean insults that rolled off the two trouble making fillies' tongues.

"I'm not a chicken. Just a late bloomer." Scootaloo muttered, remembering what her mother said about her flying disability.

"Well. I bet your cowardly. Like a chicken." Silver Spoon insulted and Scootaloo turned.

"I'm not cowardly!! I'm a brave filly." Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at the two.

"What about your friends? I bet they're scared of their own shadows." the two fillies laughed at their joke.

"My friends are not scared of anything! They're braver than you two combined!" Silver Spoon snorted when she laughed, reminding Scootaloo of the fat pot-bellied pigs that rolled in the mud at Sweet Apple Acres.  She laughed inside at the thought.

"Oh really? Wanna prove it?" Diamond Tiara sneered and Scootaloo glared at her.

"Sure! How about it?" Scootaloo responded without a second thought.

"Meet me and Silver Spoon at the old mansion over by the Everfree Forest tonight! We'll see whose braver."

"See you there. Pigs." Scootaloo felt a surge of pride at her accurate insult. The  two were pigs. She turned around, stuffing the half built scooter into its box. She pulled her helmet on over her bright purple mane and hopped onto her scooter, heading off to tell Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom what she got them into.

Twilight waved to her friends as they went to their homes. Hoping to retire to the comfortable beds that awaited them. She waited until they had left her line of vision before flying towards the castle. Its crystal exterior and interior was out of place among the thatch roof cottages of Ponyville.

Twilight gladly fell onto her bed, her aching limbs welcoming the folds of fabric. Twilight pulled the blankets around her and the moment her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

"Twilight! Twilight!" The lavender allicorn awoke to the sound of her name being called. Startled, she looked around before crawling out of her bed. Following the now audible banging noise coming from her door. She used her magic to open the door, a bunch of worried mares stumbling through the doorway as they had no idea she would open it.

Apple Jack was the first to get up, her face was evident with worry. Her mane hung loose around her neck and her stetson seemed forced onto her head as if she had no time to put it on like normal. Rarity was in a similar state. Her mane was a held up in curlers, some having fallen out, forming messy ringlets in their wake. She also wore her slippers and silk robe.

"What is going on!?" Twilight asked, confused and startled.

"Its Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle! They're gone!" Apple Jack and Rarity yelled in sync. It took the half awake Twilight a couple seconds to comprehend the situation.

"So is Scootaloo! I went to her house as soon as I heard but she wasn't there!" The calm and cool demeanor Rainbow normally held up  was long since.

Twilight felt fear knot up her stomach. The crusaders always got into trouble, but they had never went out at night without permission before, except for that one time with Fluttershy but they must have learned their lesson by now.

"O-Okay. Lets just go search for them. They couldn't have gotten into too much trouble right?"

Boy, were they wrong.

"Are you sure Scootaloo? I-I don't think this is such a good idea." Scootaloo groaned.

"If you want to miss a chance of getting your cutie mark, go right on back. But I don't want to be teased about being a chicken anymore!" Scootaloo retorted to the anxious Sweetie Belle. Getting her to come along had been hard enough. But Scootaloo wasn't sure she could deal with the unicorn's constant questioning of the crusaders' confidence.

"Well look. They actually showed up!" Scootaloo looked up to see the two bullies of Ponyville. They sat on the steps of the old mansion which was much bigger that Scootaloo originally thought.

"We aren't chickens! Of course we'd show up!" Apple Bloom snapped in her western accent.

"Well. I wasn't expecting you to sneak out really. But come on. Isn't this place cool?" Silver Spoon smiled, motioning to the mansion.

"Well. Yeah...If it wasn't so creepy." Sweetie Belle muttered.

"Blank Flanks first!" Diamond Tiara sneered, motioning to the ajar door.

Scootaloo swallowed, suddenly beginning to question her actions. What could be through that door? She shook off the fear that clung to her mind and entered the mansion, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo turned to see the bullies standing in the doorway.

"You coming? Or are you chicken?" Sweetie Belle asked, throwing their insults back at them. Silver Spoon looked to Diamond Tiara who seemed to be pondering whether or not to enter.

"If you don't come. I'll tell the whole school that Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are chickens." Apple Bloom threatened, causing Diamond Tiara to snap out of her daze.

"I'll show you whose the chicken around here!" she snapped, marching into the mansion.

"Sweetie Belle!? Apple Bloom?! Scootalooo!?" the crusaders jumped when they heard their names

"Its our sisters!" Sweetie Belle squeaked as she peered through the doorway, seeing the group running across the meadow towards the mansion.

"Hide!" Diamond Tiara hissed, grabbing Silver Spoon and pulling her into the mansion, closing the door halfway.

The fillies ran, fear of getting caught driving them down the first door they saw. The group found themselves in a family room, a lamp giving off a dim glow.

"The mansion has electricity?" Appple Bloom inquired, scanning the lamp which was plugged into an outlet by the empty fire place.

"Apparently." Scootaloo replied. She jumped at the sound of ponies running through the previous room.

"Scootaloo? Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle!? Were are you guys!?"

Before the fillies could hide, Apple Jack bolted into the room they had ran to.

"Apple Bloom!" She cried, scooping the filly up in a happy embrace.

After several stretched out moments Apple Bloom set her down.

'What in tarnation is the matter with you fillies!? Do you know how dangerous it is here!?" Apple Jack scolded

"I-Its not our fault! They dared us!" Sweetie Belle pointed at Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara in a attempt to throw off the blame.

"Well. It doesn't matter. What matters is that we get y'all home. Come on." Apple Bloom led the fillies from the room and back into the entryway. Rarity sat there alone.

"Hey Rarity! I found 'em! They were hiding!" Rarity looked up at the sound of Apple Jack's voice. Her eyes filled with tears and she ran over to Sweetie Belle, pulling the small unicorn into a hug.

"Oh Sweetie Belle! I was so worried! Are you all right?" Sweetie Belle squirmed in Rarity's hooves, trying to escape the suffocating hug.

"Hey Rarity. Watch them will ya? I gotta find the others and let them know I found the fillies." Rarity gave a brisk nod and Apple Jack ran off to find the rest of the mane six.

"What will my parents do when they find out!?" Diamond Tiara fretted, pacing back and forth.

"Its your fault for daring us to come here."  Scootaloo snapped and Diamond Tiara glared at her.

Minutes passed before the mane six returned. When they saw the fillies they were overjoyed.

"Lets go home now." Twilight tried to open the door but the knob stayed still, a faint clicking noise was heard.

It was locked.

"I-It won't budge!" she stammered.

"Well bust it down if ya have to!" Rainbow snapped from the back. "Its not like anyone lives here anyway."

Twilight groaned and her horn lit up as she tried to open the door. "I-Its not opening! My magic isn't working on it!"

Rarity trotted up to the door, adding her magical aura to the magenta one of Twilight's.

The door stood still, barely being affected by the magic.

"Lemme take a hit at it!" AppleJack ran up to the door, rearing back and sending her muscular back legs into the door, only to flinch back in surprise pain.

"Ow! It burnt me!" Twilight turned to her friend, looking at her back hooves which were singed black.

"The door must be enchanted darling." Rarity replied.

"What do we do now!? Are we trapped!?" Sweetie belle's voice filled with panic and Rarity pulled her close.

"For a little sweetie. Don't worry we'll find a way out. Right Twilight?"

Before the allicorn could reply the dim light coming from a light on the wall vanished, leaving the group in pitch black darkness. The fillies squealed in panic and fear. Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs and a thud was heard.

Twilight lit the room with a dim magenta glow from her horn. Everyone was hugging each other tightly. Except for one thing. Scootaloo and Pinkie had vanished.

"Pinkie!? Scootaloo!?" Rainbow yelled but nothing was heard. They heard a thump and they spun around to see a hallway, lights flickering in it, giving off a ominous vibe. Rainbow bolted down the hallway before anyone could do anything.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, chasing after the cyan pegasus. The sound of ponies running bounced off the walls of the corridor. It sounded as if a stampede of ponies were running down that corridor.

"Scoots!" Rainbow shouted and stopped.

The orange pegasus was on the ground, flat on her stomach. There was a large purple bruise on the side of her face. Her mane was filled with blood although no injuries were visible.

"Huh?" Scootaloo groaned, struggling up, only to be scooped up by the cyan pegasus whom was holding back tears.

"Oh my Celestia Scootaloo! What happened to you!"

Scootaloo stared at Rainbow. "I-I'm not sure what happened..."

Twilight ran over to the pegasus, using her magic to heal the bruise. "Do you have any clue what happened?"

Scootaloo went silent as she tried to recall the events that had led to her current state.

"Well when the lights went out I kinda panicked. I grabbed Pinkie Pie's hoof but then I heard something and saw a shine of something metal. Then Pinkie fell down. I tried to get her back up but something began to drag her. I chased after it and grabbed onto it. I could feel something red and sticky and I tried to scream. Then something hit me and I blacked out for a couple minutes."

the group stared in horror and Scootaloo's description. "G-Guys! We have to find Pinkie! She's probably hurt!" Fluttershy squealed in fear.

The group turned and ran down the corridor, Rainbow holding Scootaloo.

The group eventually found themselves in a spacious room, it appeared to be a study due to the bookshelves and an oak desk in the corner.

"Are you sure they came in here?" Rainbow asked Twilight who turned to the pegasus.

"The hallway led to here. Its weird that this is the only room the hallway led to." She scanned the dust covered shelves.

Scootaloo walked around, her gaze catching on a red liquid on the carpet, illuminated with a faint magenta from Twilight's light

. She trotted over to it and stooped down when something dripped down her face. She froze, startled. She  wiped the liquid from her face and stared at it. She froze when she saw the scarlet drop, easily visible against her orange hide. She looked up and a scream filled the room and Twilight shined her magical light on the ceiling only to gasp.

There was Pinkie Pie. Hanging from a fan. It wasn't the blood dripping down the mare's sides that had startled Scootaloo. It was the intestines which had tied her to the fan that startled her. The mare's once fluffy pink mane was now flat and stained scarlet by her own blood. Her face was stretched in a horrified expression and her cheeks were stained with blood and tears. The inside of her mouth was horrific. Her teeth stained crimson and it pooled out of her mouth and down her chin like a waterfall, a very red waterfall.

Pinkamena Diane Pie was dead.

"Oh my Celestia..." Applejack stammered, unable to speak much more .

"Uh guys..." Everyone turned to Rarity who was staring at a dark corner of the room, illuminating it with her horn.

There on the flower decorated wallpaper, in bright red letters was a grotesque message.

Welcome to Hell