Lauren McNeigh

Lauren approached the pillar with what looked like railings going up. She saw a platform behind it and stepped on it. It immediately turned on and took her up to higher ground.

Upon setting foot on the floor, she heard Hazel and Hester as they appeared. They were standing beside one of the shelves, a smirk on both faces.

“Steps to enlightenment brighten the way; but the steps are steep” Hester said as she and Hazel pushed the self to the side until it formed a staircase.

“Take them one at a time” Hazel said before vanishing with Hester.

Lauren looked around and found another book and tapped it before going off to face the Guards. She went up the shelf staircase that was made by the duo and tapped the next book she found. She found an elevator nearby and went it. When she got to the next floor, she was greeted by a Changeling Guard who looked like he was just waiting to kill her. Luckily, she killed it with her Croquet Mallet. Tapping the final book, she began to hop on the bridge made by the four glowing books.

She hopped off the final book, and got to the one she needed that contained the potions recipes. She tried to push on it, but it wouldn’t budge. Just then, Hazel and Hester reappeared.

“There’s no lock, but it won’t open. It’s stuck” she complained.

“Treat it like a Chinese box or stubborn lid” Hester said. “A tap in the right spot might do the trick”

Lauren tilted her head. She knew that meant she had to push it to the floor below. Although it was bigger than her, she was able to push the book off the shelf. It landed with a loud thud and broke the spine that held it closed.

“You call that a tap?!” Hester asked, wide-eyed.

“Fortunate that you didn’t suggest force or she may have pulverized it” Hazel reprimanded her Familiar.

With a groan, Hester made the pages flip to the one which had the potion’s recipe. Lauren got down to the book easily. The Familiar-Partner duo already left again, so she read aloud.

“Magic of Canon, part of OC, burst of Hidebrit, all with life

All those things are very nice

When combined the proper mixture

Creates a getting-small elixir”

“Hmm. It’s a good thing then that all three are currently alive” Lauren mused to herself.

Right then, Lauren caught a glimpse of a certain Familiar gesturing her to follow her. She did so. When she opened the door that was pointed to, she saw that Hester had once again disappeared. She looked up and saw another Siren-zombie Adagio and killed it with her Croquet Mallet by electrocution. She stepped forward and saw that there were also Changeling Guards above. She easily avoided their notice by stealth. She found another door, and killed the Guard inside it before proceeding. There were two ways: left and right. She took the left one.

There, she opened the door that it lead to. She was slightly disturbed by the sounds of children in agony. She had to ignore it to continue. Going up the stage nearby, she opened the door to find a lever inside. She pulled on it, and the wall beside the door because a flight of stairs. She had to go up, and leap on a beam nearby. She kept her balance as she went up. She jumped to another beam. There, she avoided the hanging pendulums and went up to Sunburst, who was in a corner.

When she was infront of him, he spoke up. “The Gymnasium should be safe. Those Guards and Siren-Zombies never really exercise. They are already too thin for it”

“Well, I wasn’t really that well at sports for school. Do I have to put on a uniform too?” Lauren tried to ignore the fact that she had just rhymed like Hester

Sunburst shook his head, “No, that wouldn’t suit you. I was able to remember one of the ingredients, a little of Twilight’s magic” he said while holding a vial up. His ears then perked up, “What’s that?”

They looked down to see that two Siren zombies, one Adagio and the other Aria, were already flying up towards them. Sunburst teleported away, leaving Lauren to fight. She immediately ran and kept her balance as she ran to the beams. She spotted another Rage box. As much as the pain would hurt, she had to go for it.

As she ran up to it, the Adagio zombie tried to scream at her, but it was deflected by a forcefield made by Hazel. Hester then appeared and jumped on the spray and let it hit Lauren in the eyes.

Hazel spoke up while Lauren hissed in pain. “How fine you look when dressed in Rage. Your enemies are fortunate that your condition’s not permanent. And you’re lucky too; red eyes suit so few”

Lauren growled again like before. She then jumped down from the beam as the duo disappeared. The Siren-zombies followed her. When they got to her, she killed them all with a single hit with the Croquet Mallet. She then ventured forth and began to go to the door from earlier. As she got in the hallway, she was disappointed that the effects wore off. She then just killed the Siren-zombies normally with her Croquet Mallet. She also had to kill of the Changelings who were present.

That done, she opened the other door nearby. When she did, she flinched a bit when she heard what sounded like a scream of agony. The entire area around her was terribly disfigured. There were platforms everywhere made of wood. Looking down, there were giant books all down there. She spotted on a narrow corner, a giant pip of dice. It was black with white spots. Lauren jumped to it and took it with her.

Hazel and Hester appeared. When they saw the weapon, both looked shocked at first.

“Ah, the Demon’s Dice” Hazel gaped.

“A word of caution: Never use them when you’re alone” Hester warned. “The Demons are only loyal to she would made them, Hazel’s mother. When she had it, they would harm anypony she commanded them to. Should you use the weapon when alone, the demons will attack you instead”

Both disappeared as Lauren had to face the Siren-Zombies and Changeling Guards again. She had to be quick with her reflexes as they were using teamwork to stop her. Luckily, she killed the Sirens and decided to use the Demon’s Dice on the Changeling Guards. They looked at it with curiosity, then it opened and a demonic-looking Pegasus flew out. It immediately began to attack them by spewing lightning out of its mouth. It killed two of the Guards, but the third one killed it. Lauren had to kill the last one herself.

Finishing them all off, she went up the flight of stairs to the Gym. She opened a nearby door when she heard a fight ensuing. She saw two Changeling Guards were fighting Sunburst, and he kept shooting magic at them to defend himself. Lauren killed them both just in time to save her Creation.

“You’re fortunate I heard them” Lauren said as she helped him up.

He dusted himself. “Indeed. Look, I’ve found the last ingredient: Snowdrop’s Snowy Drops” he said as she showed the ingredient.

“Whenever we meet up, I noticed that more trouble grows about and chaotic it gets”

“There’s a bit in that flask on the sideboard” he opened it to show. “We’re set. Bring back some Poppy Blooms, let Hester Hide use her Hidebrit magic on them, and we’ll mix up that potion”

He disappeared again, and Lauren began to think.

I hope we can save Wonderland before things go from bad to worse