The Applewood Tower Hotel
Here you stand in front of a wooden door.
You’re inside a strange hotel, located just outside of Canterlot's city limits. You don’t exactly remember how you got there, but one thing is quite clear; You needed a place to get out of the storm raging outside. You needed a place to warm up, after being completely soaked to the bone by the rain, to dry off your coat and mane, and to, eventually, rest for the night.
Through the downpour, you saw the words “Applewood Tower Hotel” in the distance and thought to yourself that you’d found a safe haven for the night. Odd, wasn’t it? Why is there a hotel on the outskirts of Canterlot? Wouldn’t you think it would gain more business if it was within the city limits?
Oh, well! You didn’t seem to care about that anyway. It’s a hotel! It’s a place to stay while getting out of the rain and thunder. At that moment, if this place provided you a room and a comfy bed, then it’s a perfect place to crash.
Ok, and maybe some customer service as well.
You thought it was strange at first, when you walked into the hotel, only find the entire place abandoned. However, it wasn’t like this place was forgotten a long time ago, instead it looked like every single pony just recently left this place and forgot their bags and luggage. You could also see on a table next to you what resembled a game of poker being played before the cards and chips were dropped and left behind.
Odd? Why did every pony suddenly leave this place behind? Was there a crime here? Was there a gas leak? Did something happen here that you didn’t know about?
You shake your head, thinking your exhaustion from running has your mind clearly playing tricks on you. You seriously can’t be standing inside an abandoned hotel, right?
You look around. Nothing seemed to change. All the luggage and bags remained where they were in the lobby, untouched and collecting dust.
The nerves within you start to grow as you wonder about what kind of place you stepped into. Is there somepony here? you ask yourself, looking around to find anypony. To your unfortunate luck, after searching around the lobby and through a couple hallways, you didn’t seem to find another soul within the building. At this point, you really begin to assume this place was left behind by pony folk.
You call out, hoping to hear some sort of response. Your voice echoes around the empty halls for a second, but the hotel is otherwise silent. You call out again, but get the same result. Nothing. If you didn’t have any doubts that something strange was going on before, you do now.
In a last attempt to find some sort of employee, pony, or whatever else, you stroll up to the front desk and find a bell sitting on the countertop. You know, by universal law, that if you don’t see anypony behind the desk and they have a bell, you must ring it at least twice. The first ring is to catch the attention of the receptionist. The second ring, you admit, is out of guilty pleasure.
You ring it twice, yet no pony comes to answer the bell. You scratch your chin and ring it two more times, and yet, you experience the same result. No pony comes to the desk. At this point, you’re certain this place is, without a shadow of a doubt, abandoned.
Or so you think.
Out of the corner of an eye, something caught your attention. Resting on top of the counter, you find an envelope with your name written on it. You don’t know where it came from, since you’re sure the envelope wasn’t there until you noticed it, but it still had your full name on it. Also, it was waxed sealed, with the “Applewood Tower Hotel” logo stamped into it.
Curious, yet slightly unnerved by the fact you found an envelope with your name written on it, you pick up the piece of parchment and break the wax seal. Within it, you find two things; A room key, with a dangling tag that reads “Room 22,” and a letter addressed to you.
Yes! It’s a letter directly addressed to you. Maybe this could finally provide some insight into what’s going on here...
Hello, my fellow guest.
Welcome to the Applewood Tower Hotel!
I’ve already checked you in for an extended stay. Yes! We are grateful that you have chosen to stay with us for quite an extended period of time, especially on such a short notice. However, we at the Applewood Tower Hotel completely understand.
It’s raining outside, so you want to stay with us for as long as the rain is pouring. We get it. We really do get it. In fact, we strive to provide the best customer service we can offer. To which, your stay with us will be completely free of charge! This one is on us!
However, since most of our rooms are booked at this moment, the only place we have left that we could put you in is Room 22. But let me say, it’s one of our best rooms we can offer because you never know what you’re going to get out of that room!
Yes! Room 22! It can be completely unpredictable and illogical. You could walk into it and find yourself trapped in paradise! You could see the most amazing sights you’ve ever witnessed. To you, it’s your heaven! It’s your absolute fantasyland!
Or…
You could walk into Room 22 and find your personal Tartarus. You could walk in and suddenly be trapped in an abyss of horror and torture. You would see and experience unthinkable terrors beyond that of your imagination. In the end, after you’ve been exposed to it for a certain amount of time, you would be begging for mercy, but never given relief.
So, the choice is yours, my fellow guest. You could get a couple of free night’s stay in paradise, a couple nights in Tartarus, or walk out, leaving us behind and returning to misery and depressing aspects known as life. However, you do need the room to stay out of the rain.
Right?
Sincerely,
Miss Devlin
It’s right, you do need a room.
Taking the letter and room key in hoof, you begin to tread the halls of the Applewood Tower hotel. Passing through a small seating area, you make your way up a flight of stairs and into the hotel proper. Despite the letter saying that all the rooms are booked, you see no indication of is the case, as all the rooms seem to be just as abandoned as the rest of this place. No lights were on beneath the doors, luggage sat in the hall, and some rooms even have their doors left open, letting you glance into some of the rooms. Empty, just like the rest of this place.
Counting down the room numbers, you begin to feel uneasy.
“7, 8, 9,”
You never minded being alone, but now it just feels… wrong.
“13, 14,15,”
This place should be full of ponies right now, but where could they have gone?
19, 20, 21,
Room 22.
Your room.
However, as you now stand outside the door to Room 22, you think to yourself, Is it really worth the trouble? Is it worth finding out what’s on the other side? I mean, it could be paradise, or it could be Tartarus. Who knows? The thing is…
Do I really need that room anyways?
I could walk out, leave this place behind and never find out what’s behind the door to Room 22. It’d be simple to do, yet I’ll never know what’s behind that door. However, if I do enter Room 22, I’ll be out of the rain for the night, but I could also be trapped in Tartarus or paradise. It’s my choice, but can I do it? I could just sleep in the lobby, but I don’t think it'd be very comfortable, and the mystery would kill me...
You stand there with a hoof to your chin as a nervous smile grew on your face,
Are you willing to enter Room 22?
You wake up the next morning in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Shaking your head, you had no idea how you got there in the first place. The last memory you could recall was opening the door to Room 22.
You’re all alone. The only thing you can see is the vegetation, vines, trees, and bark scattered all over the forest. Looking down at your body, you notice you don’t have any cuts, slashes, or bruises. You assumed somepony must have carried you out of that room and dumped you off in the middle of nowhere.
Seems nice of them, right? You were once lost before you found the Applewood Tower Hotel and now you're lost again, but in the Everfree Forest. Of all the places you could have been taken to, why did something drop you off here? This is the last place you want to be left stranded!
The monsters and other-worldly creatures within his place could do things beyond just harming you. They could make you suffer, scream out in agony, and then straight up end your life without mercy. That’s how ruthless and careless they are. To them, all you are is nothing except prey.
You began to panic, worrying about anything and everything that could happen to you. You then cryed out in desperation, hoping to find or hear something that could answer your call for help. Unfortunately, there was no response.
You then looked down to find a note on the ground. Wasting no time, you picked it up, wiped the dust off the card, and read through each word. Just as fast as you picked it up, you threw it down on the ground and backed away from it, not believing anything that was said on the card. You couldn't handle the reality of your situation anymore. All it took was four simple words;
“Welcome to your Tartarus.”
