Prologue 2: Exploring the House

Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy stood at the top of the grand staircase, observing the area around them. Each of the four walls had a door placed on it, which served to remind each of the girls of the sheer spaciousness of the house. Applejack glanced at the door facing the stairs. "Alright, y'all. Let's go our separate ways here. Ah'll take the north door."

As she walked towards the door in question, Twilight looked at her. "I'm impressed that you can tell the direction without a compass."

Applejack looked back at her and grinned. "Well, we were headin' west before we got here, and Ah can still remember which direction the road goes from here."

With that, she entered through the door and closed it behind her. Twilight sighed. "Applejack's so resourceful."

Fluttershy giggled. "Yes, she is." She looked at Twilight and thought she saw something, so she shined her light at her to get a better look. "Twilight, are you blushing?"

Twilight snapped back to her senses and whirled in Fluttershy's direction. "Uh, am I? It must be getting hot in here!"

She nervously laughed and fanned herself with her free hand. Fluttershy frowned at her. "It's under fifty degrees."

Being caught in her lie made Twilight blush even harder. "A-anyways, Applejack's right. Let's each take a different door. It'll make our search go quicker." The thought of being alone in a dark, creepy mansion made Fluttershy whimper. Sensing her friend's fear, Twilight let out a sigh of annoyance and moved closer to Fluttershy. "Relax, Fluttershy. Just because we're separated doesn't mean we're alone." She held up her walkie-talkie as proof. After a few seconds, Fluttershy managed to calm her nerves and nodded. Twilight smiled and glanced at the door they were standing next to. "I guess this would be the west door." She turned back to Fluttershy. "I'll take this one. Where will you go?"

"Ummm..." Fluttershy looked at the two remaining doors. "I guess I'll head south."

Twilight nodded. "Alright. Good luck." She walked through the doorway and closed the door behind her. Fluttershy cautiously walked over to the southern door and opened it a crack before shining her light inside. Once she was sure nothing was waiting for her on the other side, she passed through the door and closed it behind her.

***

Rainbow was currently rummaging through a room stacked from top to bottom with junk that the previous owner was likely planning on getting rid of. "Man, this stuff is ancient..." Rainbow mused to herself as she dug through one of the massive piles of junk. Suddenly, something caught her eye and she cleared away various containers and furniture pieces to get a full view of it. "Whoa! This might come in handy!"

Rainbow Dash has found the Axe! It will allow her to roll 1 extra die when performing a physical attack!

Rainbow stood up and inspected the axe in her hands. "Were they seriously going to just throw this thing out?" Just then, Rainbow heard the door behind her creak open, and instinctively turned to face the source of the noise. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the glass fixture next to her, and it slashed across her right arm as she spun around. She yelled in pain and knelt down, nursing her arm with her other hand.

Rainbow Dash has lost 1 Might!

"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?!" Rainbow recognized Rarity's voice, and looked up to see her entering the room. Rarity lightly stepped over a few glass shards, then crouched beside Rainbow to inspect her injury. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

Rainbow scoffed and stood up. "Nah, it's my fault. Guess I got a bit too tense."

Rarity put her chin in her hand. "Perfectly understandable, considering the environment we're in." She grabbed Rainbow's hand. "Come now. Let's see if Applejack's backpack has a first aid kit."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you start caring about my well-being?"

Rarity acted as if she was offended and put a hand to her chest. "Of course I care about you! I'm your girlfr-"

Before she could finish, Rainbow put a hand over her mouth and shushed her. "Are you crazy?! What if someone hears us?!"

Rarity took a step back and crossed her arms. "Rainbow...we have to tell them eventually."

Rainbow groaned. "I know...but how are we supposed to break it to them? If we just flat-out tell them, they might make fun of us."

Rarity put both of her hands on Rainbow's shoulders. "They're our friends, Rainbow. They wouldn't do that. Trust me, everything will work out fine." She gave Rainbow a quick smooch, causing Rainbow to smile at her. They took a moment to stare into each other's eyes.

Rainbow Dash and Rarity have each gained 1 Sanity!

However, that moment was ruined when a bubbly voice came from the door on the other side of the room. "Awww, you guys are adorable!"

Rarity and Rainbow twirled around and saw an unmistakable silhouette standing in the doorway. "PINKIE!!"

As Rarity attempted to stammer out an explanation, Rainbow rushed over to Pinkie, almost tripping over a lamp along the way, and grabbed Pinkie by the shirt, fixing a glare at her. Pinkie's blissful smile didn't even falter.  "How long have you been standing there?!" Rainbow questioned.

Pinkie looked up and put a finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm, around the point where you mentioned someone making fun of you." She then gasped and her face turned to a frown. "Does someone not approve of you and Rarity being together?! Tell me who it is! I'll give them a piece of my-"

The rest of her rant was incoherent as Rainbow put a hand over her mouth. "Would you keep your voice down?! Nobody's making fun of us because no one else knows about it!" She narrowed her eyes. "And you're going to keep it that way until we say so, got it?"

With Rainbow's hand still covering her mouth, all Pinkie could do was nod her head and give a muffled "mm-hmm."

Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and released her hand from Pinkie's mouth. Rarity brushed aside a dusty curtain as she walked over to the pair. "Apologies, Pinkie. We just wanted to wait for the right moment to tell all of you. No hard feelings?"

Pinkie smiled and shrugged. "Eh. I try not to pry into other peoples' love lives." She reached her hands behind her back. "But enough about juicy secrets. Look what I found!"

Pinkie Pie has found the Revolver! It allows her to perform a long-distance attack to anywhere she has a direct line of sight to!

Both Rainbow and Rarity's jaws dropped when they saw what Pinkie was holding. Rainbow was the first to verbally react. "Holy cow, you found a gun?! Awesome!"

Rarity quickly glared at Rainbow, then turned back to Pinkie, who was twirling the gun with her finger. "Pinkie, darling, are you quite certain you know how to properly use that?"

"Sure." Pinkie said as she aimed the gun around her. "AJ takes me down to the shooting range every few weeks. I know how to handle a gun."

Rainbow looked down at the gun with a deadpan expression. "Did you realize that the safety's off?"

Pinkie stared at her for a second, then checked to see that the safety was indeed off. She nervously chuckled as she flipped it on. "Oops. Guess I got a little too excited." She turned back the way she came and beckoned for the two to follow her. "Come on! There's something else I wanna show you." She then skipped out of the room.

Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other before Rainbow shrugged as if to say, "It's Pinkie. Let it go." They then began to follow her through the dusty hallways.

***

Rainbow, Rarity, and Pinkie stood in a small room that was hidden off to the side of the western hallway. As they looked at the metal chute in front of them, Rainbow spoke up. "Uh, Pinkie, what's so special about an old coal chute?"

Pinkie giggled. "Don't you get it, silly? Since we're on the first floor and this chute is going down, it must mean this mansion has a basement!"

Rainbow's face lit up. "Hey, yeah! If anywhere in this place is hiding a way out, it's gotta be the basement! Now you're speakin' my language, Pinkie!"

They turned to each other and high-fived. Rarity stared at the chute and shivered. "I'll pass. It's probably even filthier down there than it is in the rest of this God-forsaken house."

Pinkie clambered into the chute feet first. "Okay, but don't blame me if you miss out on the fun." With that, she pushed off of the roof of the chute with her hands, sliding down with a resounding "Wheeeee!"

As soon as the sounds of Pinkie's trip down the chute faded, Rainbow activated her walkie-talkie. "You there, Pinkie? How's it look down there?"

After a few seconds, Pinkie's voice grunted out of the speaker. "Made a bit of a hard landing on my keister, but I'm okay."

"You girls find somethin'?" Applejack's voice sounded out of the walkie-talkie.

Rainbow was caught off-guard. "Applejack?! How'd you hear us?!"

"These radios are all set to the same frequency." Rarity held up her walkie-talkie as she explained. "Everyone can hear us."

Rainbow made an "Oh" face then turned to her walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Pinkie found a basement."

Each of the three girls on the upper floor voiced their surprise. "Do you think there's something in there that can help us escape?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow smirked, even though Rarity was the only one who could see it. "I'm counting on it."

She pocketed her walkie-talkie and began climbing into the chute, to Rarity's shock. "You're seriously going down there?!"

Rainbow turned to Rarity and smiled. "Someone's gotta make sure Pinkie doesn't hurt herself. Plus, you heard her! I don't wanna miss the fun!" She then disappeared down the chute, leaving Rarity alone on the first floor.

***

Applejack stood inside a small anteroom in the northern part of the mansion. After listening to Rainbow and Pinkie's report over the radio, she went back to surveying a vault door that covered the entire back wall of the room. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door opening to her left, and turned to see Twilight entering the room. "Howdy, Twilight. Looks like your search looped ya around ta here, huh?"

Twilight seemed surprised to see Applejack. "Oh, um...yes, I suppose it makes sense that multiple rooms would loop around to each other."

Applejack chuckled before noticing Fluttershy enter the room through the southern door. "Yer search lead ya here too, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy fidgeted. "Um, not exactly. I hit a dead end, so I came looking for you guys."

Twilight nodded. "Well, this is probably a good opportunity to go over what we've found so far." She turned towards the door she had just come in through. "All I found were a few bedrooms; Nothing of interest in there." She then looked at Fluttershy. "I assume you haven't found anything either, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy winced. "Well, I did find a balcony and a path that led to the front yard, but I was too afraid of getting knocked off by the wind."

Applejack nodded and put a reassuring hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "Ain't no shame in that. Once this storm blows over, we can take that path and skedaddle. Until then, let's keep lookin' for another way out." She turned to the vault. "All Ah've found is this here vault, and Ah can't figure out how to open the dern thang."

Twilight walked closer to the vault to inspect it. "I think I've read about this. It's a Wester-brand vault." She turned to the other two girls. "State of the art back when I imagine this mansion was built, but nowadays it's no more complicated than a standard school locker." She looked back at the vault. "Should only take me a few seconds to crack this thing..." She pressed an ear against the vault door and placed her hand on the vault's rotating dial, spinning it as she listened for the internal lock mechanisms. After about twenty seconds, she heard the lock click into place and smiled. She pulled on the dial and the vault door opened effortlessly. She gestured to the inside of the vault. "Voila!"

Twilight Sparkle has gained 1 Knowledge!

Applejack gave an impressed whistle. "You really know yer antiques, huh Twilight?"

Twilight blushed at Applejack's compliment. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a trick I happened to read about in one of my history books."

Applejack chuckled. "Shucks, Twilight, Ah wish Ah knew half the stuff you do."

Twilight giggled. "Stop it! I'm nothing special! If anything, I wish I could be half as strong as you are."

Applejack flexed her arm. "Well, Ah can't argue with that."

Fluttershy called out from inside the vault. "Um, I think you two should come look at this."

Applejack and Twilight returned their attention to the vault and moved inside to get a better look. The first thing they noticed was the illegible scrawls covering the back wall. There was also what appeared to be a writing desk on the left and a small shelf on the right. Applejack looked at the writing and frowned. "Make anything of this, Twilight?"

Twilight looked over the writing for a few seconds, then shook her head. "I don't understand any of it. It's like it's written in an entirely different language, on top of the poor handwriting."

"What about this?" Fluttershy asked, pointing towards the writing desk.

Twilight shined her light on it and noticed that a journal rested next to a candle that had long since burned out. The journal was open to one of the last few pages, which was covered in more illegible writing. Twilight held the journal up to her face and squinted. "Wait a minute..." She looked back at the writing on the wall. "I think some of the patterns in here are similar..." She walked back over to the wall and held up the journal in front of her to compare the two. What she saw caused her eyes to widen. "Not just similar, they're exactly the same!"

Applejack looked over Twilight's shoulder at the journal. "Maybe there's somethin' earlier in thar that can tell us what it means." Twilight nodded at Applejack's suggestion and turned to the previous page, but all that was there was the exact same unreadable scribbles. She continued to look through the journal, each turn of the page more frantic than the last as the same symbols appeared on every page. Eventually, more than halfway through the journal, she found something that was actually readable, but the single statement that was written in large, black letters did little to calm her nerves.

GET OUT!!!

No sooner had each of the girls read the warning than the journal crumbled to dust and blew away, mixing in with the rest of the dust populating the mansion. The three girls stared at Twilight's empty hands where the journal once was.

Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, and Fluttershy have each lost 1 Sanity!

After several seconds, Fluttershy began sobbing and crouched down. "I-I don't want to be here anymore! Why can't we just go home?!"

Applejack snapped out of her stupor and knelt down to reassure Fluttershy. "Now, calm down, sugarcube. Ya gotta be brave and stay focused, or yer nerves are gonna get the better of ya." She gave Fluttershy a comforting smile. "Just remember: no matter how hopeless it may seem, there's always somethin' you can do."

Fluttershy took a few moments to collect herself, then stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're right, Applejack. Sitting around and worrying isn't going to accomplish anything."

Applejack smiled and patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. "That's the spirit!"

Seeing that Fluttershy had calmed down, Twilight walked over to the shelf on the other side of the room and examined it. "Doesn't look like this vault's hiding an exit, but I think I've found some interesting items."

Twilight Sparkle has found the Smelling Salts! They can be used once to restore an explorer's Sanity and Knowledge to their starting values!

She held up the small vial of foul-smelling liquid that was thankfully blocked with a cork. "This is perfect! I've been looking for some of this stuff to use in my research!"

Applejack moved past Twilight and inspected the remaining contents of the vault, one particular item catching her interest. "Hoo doggy! Now this is more mah style!"

Applejack has found the Shotgun! It allows her to roll 2 extra dice when performing a physical attack, but must take one turn afterward to reload!

Applejack slung the double-barrelled gun across her back and pocketed the boxes of ammo that were lying near it. She picked up the last remaining item and held it out to Fluttershy. "Ah suppose it's only fair ta give this ta you, Fluttershy, but Ah'm not sure how useful it's gonna be."

Fluttershy has acquired the Mystic Amulet! It raises each of her traits by 1, but she will lose 3 in each trait if she loses the Amulet!

Fluttershy looked at the ornate, silver amulet and gasped. "Oh, how pretty!" She took the amulet from Applejack and hung it around her neck. "Oh my, just touching this thing makes me feel stronger!" She put on a determined grin. "Come on! Let's keep looking! I just know we'll find a way out of here!"

She proudly marched out of the vault and exited through the southern door. Applejack and Twilight bewilderedly stared at the door, and Twilight slowly pointed a finger forward. "Did Fluttershy just get a confidence boost from a piece of jewelry?!" Applejack merely shrugged and the two once again went their separate ways.

***

As Rainbow slid down the chute, she searched for any sign of the ground approaching. Eventually, she saw the light from Pinkie's flashlight and braced herself. As soon as she felt her feet touch the ground, she leaned forward into a roll and stopped herself by planting a hand on the ground. As she straightened her posture, she heard the sound of clapping and turned to see Pinkie applauding. "Nice superhero landing!"

Rainbow grinned and brushed herself off. "I try." She looked around and saw only a single door in front of them. "C'mon, let's keep moving." She walked over to the door and pulled it open, but as soon as she did, a foul stench emanated from the opposite room, causing both Rainbow and Pinkie to cover their noses. "Ugh! What is that smell?!"

Pinkie peeked into the room, and what she saw caused her eyes to widen before she turned away and squeezed them shut. "Oh, gross! It's like every food known to man's been left to rot for a thousand years."

Rainbow looked into the room and found that Pinkie could not have picked a more apt description. Shelves on both sides of the room were lined with what had once been various food items, but now all they saw were discolored lumps and containers of spoiled liquids. And mold. Mold everywhere. Rainbow turned to look back at the coal chute and sighed. "Well, no turning back now. Into the graveyard of delicacies we go."

Rainbow and Pinkie filed into the abandoned larder, and the stench was even more pungent inside. Even with their hands plugging their noses, both had to fight the urge to add what they had had for lunch to the piles of decaying food. After a few moments of surveying the room, Pinkie turned to Rainbow, her eyes watering. "Dashie, can we skip this room? I really don't like being here."

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, sure. I don't think we'll find anything useful here anyway." They rushed to the exit, passed through the door, and slammed it shut before unplugging their noses and inhaling the dusty, though still breathable, air of the hallway they now found themselves in. Rainbow gagged. "Blech. I think that's the worst thing I'll ever smell in my entire life."

Pinkie leaned against a wall as she caught her breath, a shell-shocked expression on her face. "I'll never take the smell of Sugarcube Corner for granted again!"

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have each lost 1 Knowledge!

After they had both recovered, Rainbow looked down the hallway and signaled Pinkie to follow her. "C'mon, let's put that mess behind us and keep moving."

Pinkie reservedly nodded and the two continued onward. As they walked, Pinkie noticed that the hallway was quite long, so she decided to kill time by conversing with Rainbow. "So, you and Rarity, huh?"

Rainbow's body stiffened. "Yeah, what about us?"

Pinkie giggled. "Don't be like that! I think you two are adorable together."

Rainbow sighed. "Sorry. I guess I was just afraid that you and the others wouldn't approve and it would tear us apart."

Pinkie gave a confused frown. "Why wouldn't we approve? We like both of you. Besides, it's none of our business what you two do together."

Rainbow gave an annoyed grunt and attempted to change the subject. "Speaking of the others, Sunset sure lucked out, huh? If she hadn't been tied up in that research project, she'd be stuck in here with the rest of us."

Pinkie seemed to perk up at the mention of Sunset, then nervously chuckled. "Yeah...that'd be...a real shame."

Rainbow sensed Pinkie's discomfort and looked at her concernedly. "You okay, Pinkie? You sound weird all of a sudden."

Pinkie looked at Rainbow and blushed. "Weird? I don't sound weird! I'm just regular old Pinkie, see?"

She flashed a toothy grin at Rainbow, but Rainbow wasn't convinced. "What's the matter with you? Why are you acting so flustered..." Rainbow trailed off as she seemed to realize something, then burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, you have a crush on Sunset, don't you?!"

Pinkie's expression turned to panic. "I-I do not!"

Rainbow calmed her laughter. "It's cool, Pinkie. I get how you feel." She held out a hand toward Pinkie. "In fact, I'll make you a deal: You keep quiet about me and Rarity, and I'll keep quiet about your crush on Sunset. Deal?"

Pinkie put her hands on her hips as she thought it over. Finally, she grinned at Rainbow. "Not just a deal..."

After a moment, Rainbow realized what Pinkie was getting at, and they both performed the Pinkie Promise motions. As they continued walking, (or skipping in Pinkie's case) Rainbow chuckled. "Man, love can be really embarrassing, huh?"

"Yep!" Pinkie affirmed.

Eventually, the hallway ended, and Rainbow and Pinkie found themselves entering a room that seemed like a laboratory. Beakers of various sizes were spread across the tables in each corner of the room, and stacks of journals lay next to them. It was apparent that the walls and floors had once been gleaming white tiles before all the dust settled, in contrast to the wood and stone covering the rest of the house. Rainbow gave an impressed whistle. "Looks like whoever built this place liked their science-y stuff." She chuckled. "Hey, what do you think the odds are of Twilight geeking out if she saw this room?" When she didn't hear a response, she turned around. "Pinkie?"

"Rainbow! Over here!" Pinkie's voice came from behind one of the walls near the door.

Rainbow walked over to the wall and noticed that one section was made of the same stone as the walls in the hallway they had just been in. "Pinkie? How'd you get behind that wall?"

She heard Pinkie nervously chuckle. "I saw a big red button and thought it was a light switch, so I pressed it, but I guess it activated one of those rotating walls."

Rainbow scoffed. "This place was probably built before electricity was even invented. Now see if you can get that wall to put you back here."

Pinkie hummed in thought. "Maybe we should take this opportunity to split up. Is there another door in that room?"

Rainbow looked behind her and noticed that there was indeed a door in the opposite corner of the room. "Yeah."

"Perfect!" Pinkie exclaimed. "You go that way, and I'll see what's through here."

Rainbow took a moment to think it over, then replied. "Alright. Just be careful in there."

Pinkie giggled. "Don't worry, Dashie. 'Careful' is my middle name!"

Rainbow frowned. "I thought your middle name was Diane."

"I have a lot of middle names." Pinkie said. Rainbow rolled her eyes at Pinkie's goofiness, then proceeded to search the lab.

***

Applejack entered into a new room and froze when she noticed something odd about the room. Namely, that there was very little room to speak of. About ninety percent of the floor was gone, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the room. Applejack cautiously approached the hole and looked down into it. "Whut in tarnation happened to this place?" Just then, she noticed Pinkie joyfully skipping along in the room below her. "Hey! Pinkie!"

Pinkie looked up at Applejack, then smiled and waved at her. "Hi, AJ!" A surprised expression formed on her face when she realized that Applejack was currently two stories above her. "Whoa, that's a pretty big hole."

Applejack looked at the room around her. "Tell me about it." She looked back down at Pinkie. "You two find anything down thar?"

Pinkie shivered. "So far, all we've found is a food storeroom...and the food was still there."

Applejack grimaced. "Yikes."

"What about you guys? Find anything interesting?" Pinkie questioned.

Applejack scratched the back of her head. "Fluttershy thinks she might've found a way out, but it's too dangerous for now on account o' the storm."

Pinkie nodded. "What about Rarity? She's all by herself on the first floor, isn't she?"

Applejack made a face of realization. "Hey, yer right." She pulled out her walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Fluttershy, do ya think ya can head down to the first floor and see what Rarity's up to?"

"Um, okay." Fluttershy responded.

Rarity's voice sounded from the speaker. "Yes, a little company would be much appreciated, especially after Rainbow so thoughtlessly abandoned me."

"Oh, bite me, Rarity!" Rainbow retorted.

Pinkie began to giggle at this, causing Applejack to give her a confused look. "Whut's so funny?"

Pinkie's mouth hung open for a moment, but she quickly put on an innocent grin. "Oh, nothing."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged it off. She turned to exit the room through the door she had come through, but the moment she put her foot down, the floor began to give out from under her. As soon as she felt her balance shift, Applejack reacted quickly and jumped over to the door. The floorboard she had just been standing on then crumbled and crashed to the lower floor, thankfully missing Pinkie.

Applejack has gained 1 Speed!

"You alright, AJ?!" Pinkie called up to her.

Applejack took a moment to catch her breath. "Ah'm fine, but shoot, was that close. Be careful, Pinkie. Thar's no tellin' whut else in this mansion could start fallin' apart."

Pinkie giggled. "Don't worry, AJ. 'Careful' is my middle name."

Applejack looked confused. "Ah thought yer middle name was Diane."

Pinkie scoffed. "How many times do I have to tell you guys?! I have a lot of middle names!" Applejack shook her head, then exited the room.

***

Rarity entered into the foyer just as Fluttershy finished descending the grand staircase and walked over to greet her. "Ah, Fluttershy! Good to see you still in good health." Her eyes were drawn to the amulet hanging around Fluttershy's neck. "Oh, what a lovely little necklace! Wherever did you find it?"

Fluttershy looked down at the amulet. "Inside a vault on the second floor. There was some other stuff in there that was pretty scary, but just touching this amulet makes me feel like I can take on anything." She looked back up at Rarity. "Maybe it's magic."

Rarity hummed. "I doubt it. As far as we know, magic's only been a thing in this world for a few weeks, and you said yourself that no one's set foot in this house for hundreds of years."

Fluttershy wilted. "Then this courage I'm feeling is...?"

Rarity shrugged. "Likely some form of placebo effect." She put a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder. "But if that's the case, then that courage is coming from inside you. You don't need some trinket to find your inner strength."

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. Just then, they heard a sound come from behind the grand staircase. They slowly walked over to investigate, and a trapdoor hidden under the staircase suddenly flew open, causing both girls to yelp in surprise and jump back. Rainbow peeked her head out from underneath and noticed the others. "Hey guys! How's it hanging?" She observed her surroundings. "Looks like I found a way back up to the ground floor."

Rarity crossed her arms in annoyance. "Rainbow! You startled us! Do be more careful when you're opening unfamiliar doors!"

Rainbow frowned. "Well, excuse me, princess. Anyways, I'm gonna head back down and check out the rest of the basement. See ya!"

With that, she disappeared back down the hidden passage and closed the trapdoor behind her. Rarity took a deep breath. "That girl can be a real pain sometimes."

Fluttershy giggled, but then noticed a door that had been obscured by the staircase. "Hey, I think that door over there leads outside."

Rarity followed Fluttershy's gaze to the door and smiled. "Good idea! We might find something worthwhile there!"

They passed through the door and found themselves in an outdoor conservatory. Rows of glass cases with various plants inside them lined the room, and high stone walls completely surrounded it. However, the storm was still raging, and a downpour of rain assaulted the open-air room. Fluttershy and Rarity looked at each other and groaned before stepping out into the rain and searching the room. Unfortunately, despite a thorough search of the area, they found nothing of interest. Rarity stared at the eastern wall and thought to herself, "If only we could see what's over these walls..." Just then, an idea struck her and she turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy! Come over here, darling!" Fluttershy obliged, and Rarity crouched down. "I'll give you a boost. See if you can look over the wall and find something that can help us."

Fluttershy nodded and climbed onto Rarity's shoulders. Rarity then stood up, giving Fluttershy just enough height to peek over the wall. As soon as she raised her head above the wall, she was blasted by the strong winds that the storm had created, which threatened to knock her off her perch. Fortunately, she managed to push against them and glance at what was beyond the wall. However, what she saw surprised her, causing her to lose her balance and topple over backwards, taking Rarity down with her. Both girls picked themselves up as Rarity questioned Fluttershy. "So what did you see?"

Fluttershy stared at her with a shocked expression. "Nothing. I couldn't even see the ground." She turned to face the wall. "Guess we're not getting out that way." She then hung her head. "Sorry..."

"It's not your fault, darling." Rarity assured. "I'm sure there's a way out of here somewhere."

Fluttershy looked up. "Well, there was that path I found on the balcony upstairs, but it's too dangerous to use in the storm."

Rarity stared at Fluttershy for a moment before her face broke into a wide smile. "Well, why didn't you say so earlier?!"

She hugged Fluttershy, which confused her. "But...I said we can't use it."

Rarity looked at Fluttershy. "For now, at least. But once this storm blows over, we're as good as free! Oh Fluttershy, don't you realize what an amazing contribution you've made?!"

Fluttershy blushed. "Um, I guess I didn't."

Rarity put her hands on her hips. "You really ought to have more confidence in yourself, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy giggled. "You're the tenth person to tell me that this week." She thought for a moment. "In fact, I think three of those times were also you."

Both girls shared a laugh over this, before a flash of lightning brought them back to reality. Rarity cleared her throat. "Well, I do believe that's all we'll find out here. Let's get back inside where it's dry." Fluttershy nodded and they turned to head back inside. However, Rarity seemed to notice something out of the corner of her eye, as she knelt down and picked up a smooth stone the size of an eyeball. "Did this rock just...glow?"

Rarity has found the Lucky Stone! It allows her to reroll one die per turn!

Fluttershy bent down and inspected the stone. "Looks like just an ordinary rock to me."

Rarity hummed as she turned the rock over in her hand, examining it from every side. "Perhaps you're right. Although touching this thing does make me feel a bit luckier."

Fluttershy gave a blank look. "Are you sure that's not just a placebo effect?"

Rarity frowned. "Very funny. Let's just get inside." She pocketed the stone as they reentered the interior of the mansion.

Fluttershy looked around the foyer. "So what now? Do we just wait here for the others?"

Rarity looked at the door on the eastern side of the room. "I don't believe anyone has searched this side of the ground floor. Shall we?"

Fluttershy looked away. "Um, actually Rarity, I think I'll just stay here."

Rarity looked at Fluttershy for a moment, then shrugged. "Suit yourself."

A few seconds after Rarity had exited the room, Fluttershy leaned against the wall next to the door, flipping a switch that blended in with the wall and opening a secret compartment. Looking inside, she found a wooden board with the alphabet carved into it and a round marker at the top. The moment she touched the marker, it began sliding across the board of its own accord, stopping at certain letters to spell out warnings from beyond the grave. "Oh my..." was all she could say.

Fluttershy has found the Spirit Board! It allows her to contact the spirits for information about the mansion, at the cost of drawing the attention of any monsters!

***

Applejack entered into a room that was quite clearly a library, with shelves full of books stretching as far as she could see. "Maybe Ah can catch up ta Twilight in th' brains department here." She chuckled to herself. Her attention was drawn to one particular book that lay open on a writing desk directly in front of her. Her curiosity outweighing her caution, she picked up the book and began to read it.

Applejack has found the Book! It grants her 2 extra Knowledge for as long as she possesses it!

***

Pinkie entered into a small room with a furnace in the far right corner and a table in the center. On the table was a clear, round crystal that seemed to glow with an otherworldly radiance. Pinkie picked it up and giggled. "I bet I could totally become a gypsy with this thing!"

Pinkie Pie has found the Crystal Ball! It allows her to predict future events! The accuracy of these predictions depends on her Knowledge stat!

***

Rainbow entered into a storage room filled with various entertainment items, such as dartboards and board games. Seemingly out of place amongst all of these items was a skull, which sat atop a pool table. Its left eye socket was decorated with a red jewel, while its right eye socket held a blue jewel. Rainbow picked up the skull, turned it to face her, and smirked. "What are you looking at?"

The skull almost immediately shot back, "What are you looking at?!"

Rainbow Dash has found the Skull! It allows her to convert any physical damage she takes into mental damage, and vice versa!

***

Rarity entered into a room covered in dried blood, and the sight of it made her gag. She would have immediately turned away, but something in the center of the room caught her attention. It was a silver ring, spotless in contrast to the gruesome mess surrounding it. Rarity picked it up and examined it. "Oh, what a beautiful ring!" She looked around her. "Well, I'd certainly hate for it to go to waste..." She then slipped the ring onto her right ring finger.

Rarity has found the Ring! It allows her to make mental attacks in addition to physical attacks!

***

Twilight entered into a room that was totally empty and unremarkable aside from one detail: the large pentagram painted on the floor. The sight of it made her shiver, but a glint of light in the center of the symbol caught her attention. A mysterious force compelling her, she walked inside the pentagram and knelt down to pick up the object. It was a small medallion with a blue gem in the center, and Twilight swore she could feel it rhythmically pulsing...almost like a heartbeat.

Twilight Sparkle has found the Medallion! It grants her 2 extra Sanity for as long as she possesses it!

***

The Haunt is about to begin! Choose your story!

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