Author's Note

(This is a notice for those who have already read the first two chapters and are returning to the story to read the updates. If this your first time reading the available chapters, please dismiss this).

IMPORTANT!: A minor but important revision has been made in Chapter 1: Welcome to Hell for better understanding in this chapter. Apologies for the inconvenience, but you will need to go back and re-read that specific part of the first chapter. This revision can be found after the part that Morning Glory introduces herself to Lemongrass.

Chapter 3: Unfortunate Souls

Eugh, my head... What in the hell happened? There was an earthquake and... Did I get knocked out? More importantly, is Yieng okay?

I groan as I sit up and hold my head. It throbs hard against my skull. I open my eyes and look around. To my left, three beds are lined side by side and seem to be neatly made. At the end of the beds is a room divider, and next to that is a trash can, then the door. To my right is another room divider with a stool in front of it. In front of me stands an old desk with a lamp, book and pencil holder sitting on top. There are three cabinets to the right of the desk. Looking behind me I can see more cabinets, some posters about being healthy, an eye and height measurement chart as well as four windows.

The floor beneath me is wooden and there are holes in some places as if this place is old and has been rotting for a while.

As I stand, something sharp pokes me in the neck. I feel my neck for the object poking me. It was my half of the Yin-Yang necklace set Yieng got us for our fifth birthday, just before we started kindergarten. Yieng has the Yang half while I have the Yin.

I fix my necklace and walk up to the desk. The book on top of it is open to a random page. The page is stained with dark blotches in some places, making some of the writing illegible. I try to make out what I can the best I can;

"Ap… 26… 933…

I'm not.... It was Sun...... She.................... I don't know... Her............. , Compass Rose... hired a.............. be impossible... -cer died... 1923... but she...... student..... Riverpine...................... -n my class. No doubt....... -er....... -s my best........ -'nt mist..... appeara...... -utie mark................ -ny els... I.............. bott......... thi..."

I try to flip the page but it seems affixed to the others, like something for display in a museum. I try to pick up the book, but it, too, seems to be affixed to the desk. I move on from the book and try opening the desk drawers. To my dismay, much like the book, they would not budge an inch.

Sighing, I move on to the cabinets. The first cabinet is filled with various medicines, medical tools and books. The next cabinet is filled with more medical books and tools. There are even a couple of still-packaged medical posters neatly stacked on the side. The last of the three cabinets is nearly empty. The top and bottom shelves hold nothing but dust. The middle shelf, however, has various kids' drawings piled up haphazardly, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, a strange winged eyeball necklace and a lighter crammed on it.

Looking further, the topmost drawing depicts six blood-covered foals surrounding a mutilated adult. Beneath the disturbing image, another page has a frightening looking child with a creepy smile and red eyes on it. The words 'DIE' and 'SINS' are scribbled in black and red crayon. The other drawings I can see seem to get only more disturbing.

A cold chill runs over my body. I shiver and look behind me to see if a window had opened. While I had been looking at the kids' drawings, the room seems to have changed. The room dividers are on the floor in pieces now, the beds are stained with splotches of brown and red, the windows and door are covered in something thick and black, the cabinets on the back wall seemed to be crammed to the point of overflowing with the same thick black substance as on the door and windows, the wallpaper has changed from faded flowers to creepy, red-stained smiles and the floor even seems to have more holes in it. I look back in front of me and gasp. Red hoof prints now cover the glass and emanate a foul-smelling odor. As I back away, I see that the other cabinets are close to overflowing with what looks like thick, black hair with creepy looking insects skittering about.

The room grows significantly colder as a red, putrid smelling substance leaks from every inch of the tops of the walls and slowly dribbles down to the floor. My heart begins to beat faster and faster as everything in the room, except for the floor, shakes and rattles violently. In front of me, a strange, dark purple gas leaks from the floor and slowly forms vaguely into the shape of a pony. The creature’s eyes are a sharp, piercing white. Despite the lack of irises, the creature’s eyes are filled with the desire and intention to harm me, or worse. An ear piercing scream escapes my lips as I bolt for the door. I desperately pull on the hair-like substance covering the door hoping to escape. I pull chunk after chunk of the hair-like stuff off and drop it onto the floor. No matter how much I pull off, however, I’m unable to even see the door, much less open it. It seems the only way to remove this stuff on the door is to either cut it or burn it, but I don’t have the tools necessary to do either.

Behind me, I can sense the creature closing in. To be made of a gaseous yet goopy looking substance, the creature is surprisingly slow. I nimbly dodge it’s grasp and canter away. I have to think of something quickly. If I don’t get out of here soon, that thing is going to kill me. I can only run away for so long before I can’t anymore. I didn’t get a chance to see what was in the cabinets in the back of the room, however, the cabinets I did look at had a few pairs of bandage scissors. But those cabinets were now filled to the brim with thick, hair-like stuff and creepy crawlies. That removes the ‘cutting that fucking stuff off the door’ option, which is probably for the better. It would have more than likely took a while to cut it to the point where I could open the door, which would leave me more vulnerable to that creature. So, that leaves the ‘burn that shit off’ option, but where.... Aha! The rubbing alcohol in the last cabinet is flammable and that lighter will surely set it ablaze! That’s assuming, at least, that the lighter still works.

I trot up to the only normal cabinet that’s left and yank open the metal and glass doors. As I grab up the lighter and rubbing alcohol, I accidentally knock the necklace off the shelf. I start to leave it there, but a small voice whispers ‘take it’ in my ears. I look around to find the source of the voice, but only find the creature slowly making its way over to me silently. I quickly grab the necklace and put it around my neck, then grab the lighter and rubbing alcohol and book it for the door.

My hooves shake as I unscrew the cap of the rubbing alcohol. I do my best to cover as much of the hair-like stuff on the door with the rubbing alcohol before pulling out the lighter. After a couple of tries, the lighter spits forth a small flame. Without hesitation, I put the lighter up to the door and watch it burst into flames. I quickly stand up and canter away from the creature intent on harming me and continue to avoid it as I wait for the shit on the door to burn away.

Three minutes later, the hair-like stuff on the door is burnt halfway off. I canter up to the door and make an attempt to open it. It opens only a small bit, but the gap isn’t large enough for me to fit through. I put all my strength into it and push more on the door. The gap widens just barely enough for me to squeeze through, and without hesitation, I flee from the room. The creature neglects to follow me into the hallway, however, I gallop away to stay on the safe side.

As I come around the corner of the hallway, I’m forced to come to a stop as I feel something clog my windpipe and esophagus.

*HACK* *WHEEZE* *HACK* *GAG* *WRETCH* *HACK* *WHEEZE* *HACK*

A black substance with the consistency of molasses splatters onto the ground as I cough. I continue to cough for several minutes as enough of the thick, black liquid to fill a bucket piles on the floor. I feel as though I’m about to pass out and die from asphyxiation when the last of the substance stopping my breathing splatters onto the floor and I feel my windpipe and esophagus clear up.

What the fuck!? What in the actual fuck?! What is this shit?! Is this the doing of the creature that attacked me?!

This place… What is it?! What in the hell is wrong with it?! If this another one of Mercy’s pranks, I swear I’m going to kill her!

No matter, I can't just stand around and be a sitting duck. Not that I'm an easy target, but this place is dangerous and unpredictable. Anything could happen, and that means Yieng could be in serious trouble.

I shake my head, sidestep the pile of black goop and trot down the hallway. The air in here is thick and heavy like some unseen force is bearing down upon me. There’s a sick smell in the air that makes me feel nauseous. The creaking of the rotting floorboards sends chills down my spine. I feel as if I’m inside of a horror movie.

I continue to walk for what feels like hours before finally coming to a large set of double doors. A plaque on the wall to the right reads, “Gymnasium”. The glass in the long, rectangular windows are busted open and what remains intact is cracked. On the floor, in the left corner, lies a pile of what appears to be bones. Thinking it’s only a broken skeletal model, I get closer and inspect it, which I instantly regret. Clumps of matted hair are barely clinging onto the skull, what appears to be dried blood stains many places on the skeleton, and even some flesh is still intact.

I screech and back away quickly. I trip over my own hooves and fall flat on my rear end.

That's… that's not a model! That's a real skeleton, a real dead pony! What in the hell is this place?!

“Riverpine Elementary School. Built in 1912, opened in 1913, and destroyed in 1956,” a voice says from behind me “victim of a series of murder-kidnappings and an unfortunate blaze that burnt it to the ground.”

I quickly snap my head around to look at the voice. Behind me stands a well-dressed unicorn mare. Her skin is a creamy white color, and her mane and tail are neatly brushed up into partial buns. Her hair is a pastel pink color with stripes of pastel blue and purple. Pastel bluish-purple eyeshadow adorns her eyelids. Her eyes are a bright teal and remind me of the eyes of a dead fish.

“Wh-who are you?” I question.

“Crescent Crowne Roseblood Valor Moon of the Everfrost Isles III,” the mare answers “a bit of mouthful, isn't it? You can just call me Valor Crowne, though, darling.”

“Why do you have such a long, and strange, name?” I ask.

“Where I used to live, the longer and more extravagant the name, the wealthier you were. As you can probably assume, my family is rather wealthy,” Valor Crowne replies.

“How come you're in a place like this?” I question.

“I do seem out of place here, don't I?” Valor chuckles “I was at a party when I was whisked away to this place. It's not surprising though, I'm pretty well known for dabbling in things regarding the occult.”

“The occult?” I question.

“You know, the supernatural and such. Perhaps you've heard of my book, ‘Charms, Spells & Stories of the Occult’?” Valor Crowne replies.

That's the name of the book Mercy is always reading. She'd read us stories from the book sometimes in class. ‘Charms’. I wonder if that charm I did with Mercy and the others came from that book.

“Is there a charm called 'Sundancer's Blessing of Eternal Friendship’ in your book?” I ask.

“So you have heard of my book, then. That charm is the fourth one mentioned,” Valor Crowne replies.

“My friends and I, we did that charm,” I say “and shortly after, there was an earthquake and then I woke up in this place.”

Valor's cheerful look fades to one of shock.

“You did?” Valor questions.

Before I can answer, she turns away from me and mumbles something incoherent. Valor turns back to me, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.

“Tell me, have you ran into a mare named Morning Glory?” Valor asks.

“N-no, I haven't. You're the only pony I've met in this place,” I reply “this pony-shaped creature attacked me, but I didn't exactly sit down and have tea with it and trade stories.”

“I see,” Valor mumbles, her face relaxing a little “I must go. Whatever you do, don't lose faith. Stay hopeful, or this place will consume your soul.”

“U-uh, okay,” I mumble.

Valor smiles before disappearing into thin air.

This place… It's an elementary school? If it was burnt down a long time ago, how is it possible I'm here?

I shake my head and stand up. My brain feels overwhelmed. I need to keep going, though. If what Valor said is true, I need to find Yieng and keep her safe. She's capable of taking care of herself, but Yieng has such a fragile heart and mind.

With a new resolution in my heart, I pull open one of the gym doors and trot inside.

The gym is in a state of total disrepair. The floor is filled with holes, gym equipment is scattered all over and more skeletons are piled in various places. The other side of the gym seems impossible to reach, but thankfully, I won't have to walk.

I spread my wings open and fly into the air. The aerial view of the gym is more disturbing than the ground view. As I fly over, I get a better picture of just how many lost their lives in this place. It's horrible… If I don't get out of here soon, I could end up like those poor ponies…

I land safely on the other side of the gym and trot up to the door. I pull on the door handle but it refuses to turn.

Great. It's locked. Where could the key be?

I feel something light land on my head. I reach up and pull down a small sheet of paper. Words are written on it in all uppercase letters with black marker, “MARSHY, I HID THE KEY TO THE DOOR IN THE EQUIP ROOM SO L.D. COULDN'T FOLLOW US. BUT DON'T LEAVE, IT'S NOT SAFE.”

It's not safe to leave? Well, it's certainly not safe to stay.

I drop the piece of paper and watch it glide onto the floor before turning around.

The equipment room. That must be the door over there, just across the gap in front of me.

I take a galloping start towards the gap and, just as I reach the edge, leap forward with my wings spread out and glide to the other side. The floor beneath me creaks when I land. I trot around broken gym equipment as I make my way to the equipment room.

It’s so quiet in here. I’m not sure if the silence is a good or bad thing. At least when I find Yieng, I won’t have to be alone in the silence.

Hopping over a dumbbell rack, I finally get to the equipment room door, however, various broken equipment blocks it. With a sigh, I begin to push the broken equipment out of the way. As I’m moving a broken ball rack out of the way, I hear a voice come from the other side of the door.

“Royal, do you hear that? Somepony’s out there!” The muffled voice whispers. It sounds female.

“Shh, shh. Be quiet, Aloise, it could be Lithium,” A second muffled voice whispers. This voice sounds male.

I keep quiet as I continue to push the gym equipment out of the way. The last obstacle keeping me out of the equipment room is a pair of jump ropes tied together around the door handles. Whoever tied them has some extensive knowledge in knot tying, as I struggle to get them to come undone. A few minutes later, I have them undone. I toss the jump ropes aside and open the door.

Inside, I find the owner of the voices I heard earlier. On my left is a unicorn mare about my age. Her skin is a coral red color that fades into a smokey grey at the knees then dark black at the ankles. Her stomach, chest and all the way up the front of her neck is a creamy orange color. Her wavy-slightly curly hair is a beige brown color. Her mane is adorned with two long yellow ribbons behind her chocolate brown-tipped ears. Her tale has a single matching ribbon intertwined into it. Her face and back are adorned with chocolate brown stripes that stop just above her cutiemark, which is a bouquet of fierce red flowers with yellow stripes down the center and yellow stamens. Lastly, her eyes are a bright green.

Next to the mare is a pegasus stallion about my age as well. His coat is a simple grey color and his eyes are a dark blue. His hair is a dark red color with black stripes and his cutie mark is a royal flush of playing cards.

The two of them are standing as if they’re ready to fight. After getting a good look at me, they relax a little and look at each other, then back at me.

“Who are you?” The mare asks.

“I’m Mieng,” I reply “but really, I should be asking you that, and why you’re locked in here.”

“I’m Aloise and this is Royal Flush,” The mare, Aloise, says “we locked ourselves in here because of our friend -also my sister-, Lithium, went totally insane and started chasing us and telling us she was gonna kill us and eat us up! She was persistent for a while, trying to get the door open, but I’m the best knot tyer in my school, and so those jump ropes I tied together were our only saving grace.”

“I mean, I’m starving big time, but I wouldn’t resort to cannibalizing my friends just live another day in this hellhole,” The stallion, Royal Flush, sneers “but it’s not like Lithium to just be so… dark and cruel, yanno?”

Aloise nods in response to Royal Flush’s question.

“Oh, well, have you, by any chance, seen a key in here somewhere?” I ask.

“A key?” Aloise questions as she looks Royal Flush “no, I can’t say I have. Then again, we’ve been focused on this door for a while now.”

“The door over there is locked, and a note said they key was hidden in here, so,” I say.

“Oh, uh, hold on a minute,” Aloise says “I’ll look for a key for you.”

Aloise disappears into the back of the equipment room. Her horn glows an orange-red color.

“Mind if we join you, uh, Mieng was it?” Royal Flush asks.

“Yeah, it’s Mieng,” I reply “and sure. I could use all the help I could get, I suppose.”

Royal Flush looks at my neck and raises an eyebrow.

“What's up with that necklace?” He asks.

I look down at my neck.

“Which one?” I question.

“Um, the one with the eyeball and wings,” He answers “it's creepy as hell.”

“Oh, that one. I found it in… I guess it was the nurse’s office… and a voice told me to take it.” I explain.

“Huh. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of that… what is it called again? It was some kind of plate with a strange shape in it,” Royal Flush says “and that shape looks just like the outline of that necklace. That plate was in the other wing, though.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but all I found was this,” Aloise says as she gives me one half of a key.

“Only half?” Royal Flush questions “damn, and it's not even the half that'll open the door.”

“Maybe it's somewhere else in here,” Aloise says with a shrug.

“I don't feel comfortable going back that way,” I say “that thing that attacked me is still back there. Granite, it's slow, but I still don't like it.”

“And not to mention, Lithium is somewhere out there too,” Royal Flush adds.

“Do we have any other choice? And, there’s got to be a way to snap Lithium out of it,” Aloise says “because I'm not leaving without my sister.”

“And I'm not leaving without my marefriend,” Royal Flush says.

“So that's something we all have in common, then,” I say “We’re not leaving unless we're with our loved ones.”

“How did you two get here?” I ask.

“We were out our friend’s house. Her name is Whipped Dreams, and, uh, we did this charm thing with her, my sister and our other friends,” Aloise replies “'Sundancer's something of something Friendship’.”

“'Sundancer's Blessing of Eternal Friendship’. That charm seems to be why we're here,” I say.

“You did it too?” Royal Flush questions.

“Yeah. Me, my sister Yieng and my friends,” I reply.

“Did we do something wrong? Do you think we pissed off Sundancer and that's why here? Because she sent us here?” Aloise questions “but we followed everything to a tee, though. Right, Royal?”

“Yeah, followed the directions word for word. I don't know how we could've done something wrong and pissed off Sundancer,” Royal Flush answers.

“Unless the directions themselves were wrong,” I say.

“But that's really fucked up!” Aloise protests “who would write a well known and loved book, put the wrong directions and send innocent ponies to their deaths in a place like this?”

“Crescent Crowne Roseblood Valor Moon of the Everfrost Isles III,” I say “or just Valor Crowne. But judging by her reaction when I told her I woke up here shortly after doing the charm, I don't think she realized she put the wrong directions.”

“That's… quite a mouthful,” Aloise mumbles “but anyways, what makes you say that?”

“After I told her what happened, she looked shocked then angry and asked me if I had met a mare named Morning Glory,” I explain “and then after that, she told me she had to go and told me to stay hopeful and to not let this place consume my soul.”

“How ominous,” Aloise says “do you think that Morning Glory pony has something to do with it?”

“I don’t know, but it seems like it’s a possibility,” I say.

“Look, I’m all for figuring this shit out, but the longer we just stand here speculating, the more time we’re wasting to get out of here,” Royal Flush says.

“Right,” I agree “who should take point?”

“Not me,” Royal Flush says as he shakes his head.

“Aloise?” I question.

“Oh, sure. I’ll lead,” She answers.

I step aside and watch Aloise walk past me. Royal Flush follows her out. The three of us make our way across the gym and exit through the doors I came through earlier. We walk in silence down the halls.

I thought the silence would be easier to bare with some company, but with Aloise and Royal Flush here, the silence seems to be much worse than before. Maybe it’s because I don’t know these two very well, maybe it’s because I still feel alone.

As we start to go around the corner, a quiet goop noise replaces the silence momentarily. Following the noise, Aloise makes a noise of sudden shock and disgust.

“Ew! What in the fuck did I step in?!” Aloise exclaims.

She shakes her hoof and a black goopy substance splatters against the wall.

“Oh, that would be the shit I threw up earlier,” I say so casually, it makes me uncomfortable.

Aloise, as well as Royal Flush, turns and looks at me with a look of both shock and disgust.

“You threw this up?!” Aloise exclaims “this thick, black… goop?!”

“Yeah,” I say with a nod “I almost choked to death.”

“Damn,” Royal Flush mutters “that would’ve been an awful way to go.”

“Maybe, but I think I would rather choke on this stuff than succumb to anything in here,” Aloise says "like a spooky ghost or goopy monster."

“I think I would’ve preferred to choke on that too than be killed by that creature that attacked me beforehand,” I say.

Aloise shakes the rest of the black substance off her hoof.

“Euck,” She mumbles “anywho, let’s keep going.”

Aloise continues to lead us around the corner and down the hall. She stops in front of the door to the nurse’s office.

“Maybe the other half of the key is in here,” Aloise says.

“You two can go on and look if you’d like,” I say “I’m not going back in there.”

“Oh. That’s right, you said were attacked in there earlier,” Aloise says “that’s okay, we’ll go have a look. You can check the hall if you’d like, but don’t go too far, please. Not to be bossy or anything, but if something happens, we want to be able to help you. If you go too far, we may not make it in time.”

“Makes sense,” I say “I’ll let you know if I find the key or anything else of interest.”

Aloise gives me a small smile and heads inside the nurse’s office. Royal Flush follows her inside and closes the door behind him.

I wander aimlessly around the hall, just barely scanning for the other half of the key or anything else that’s interesting. As I walk, I trip over a raised floorboard. I would’ve have ignored and chalked it down to the place falling apart as to why the floorboard was raised, however, something poked out from underneath that grabbed my attention. I lift up the loose board to see a small, peach-colored drawstring pouch with dark, red stains on it underneath. I pull out the pouch and examine it. A foul smell, like that of a rotting animal on the side of the road, emanates from it. The contents of the bag, from the outside, feels squishy yet firm. I gently squeeze the bag and the contents make a soft squelch noise.

I wonder what it is. A stress ball maybe? But, seeing how this place has been so far, it's probably not something as innocent and normal as a stress ball.

“Mieng?” Aloise calls.

“Over here,” I call back.

Aloise and Royal Flush trot over to me.

“What's that?” Aloise questions “Eugh, it smells awful!”

“I don't know, some kind of pouch I guess, but, whatever's inside, I have a bad feeling about it,” I answer.

“Open it,” Royal Flush says.

“I'd rather not,” I say “you can though.”

“I will,” Royal Flush says, snatching the pouch from me.

He opens it, lets out a scream and drops the pouch.

“Never thought I'd see the day when Royal Flush would scream like a little filly,” Aloise chuckles.

“Shut up!” Royal Flush sneers “you pick it up and look inside if you find it so funny!”

“Or, you could tell us what's inside,” Aloise suggests.

Royal Flush picks up the pouch and thrusts it into Aloise’s chest.

“Fine, fine. I’ll look inside,” Aloise mumbles, opening the bag “GAH!! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Aloise throws the bag away from her. It lands at my hooves.

“What’s inside?” I ask.

“E-eyeballs! A-a-and a s-severed tongue!” Aloise exclaims.

My eyes widen in both fear and disbelief. Who- more importantly why- would somepony hide eyeballs and severed tongue in a bag under the floor?! Better yet, why would somepony sever another pony’s tongue and rip out their eyes?!

The three of us stand there panicking and not knowing what to do with the pouch. Do we take it? Do we leave it? Is it important?

“As I said earlier, this school was the unfortunate victim of a series of murder-kidnappings,” A familiar voice says.

I turn my head to see Valor Crowne standing behind me.

“Who-who are you?!” Aloise exclaims.

“I believe your friend here already told you,” Valor says with a smile “the mare with an unnecessarily long name and who wrote the book containing the charm that sent you all here.”

“Y-you’re that Crescent Rose-something-something Moon or whatever?” Aloise questions.

“Crescent Crowne Roseblood Valor Moon of the Everfrost Isles III,” Valor says with a sigh “I don’t blame you for not remembering such an abnormally long and, quite frankly, stupid sounding name. That’s why I’ve shortened it to, and prefer, Valor Crowne, but I believe my friends and acquaintances get a kick out of my full name, so that’s why I tell them.”

“Did you know that charm would send whoever does it down here?” Royal Flush questions.

“I did,” Valor answers earnestly “however, it was not I who discovered the charm, but my assistant, Morning Glory. She gave me all the information about it, except for what I believe was the most important part.”

“Let me guess, the part where if you mess up or whatever, you’ll get sent to this hell?” Aloise questions.

“Precisely,” Valor answers “she gave me the most unclear and confusing directions to start with. Of course, Morning Glory and I, along with a couple of others, tested the charm that same afternoon Glory told me about it. We followed the directions given to us by Morning Glory the best we could and, lo and behold, we found ourselves here.”

“What was it like then? Here at this school, I mean,” Aloise says.

“As it is now, only with less… death in the air,” Valor explains “I believe that before the charm was spread nationally by me, those who first discovered it kept it within the family, as I found a lot of the remains of ponies related to one another. However, there were several carcasses belonging to ponies who were not related to one another or to the ones who already were. Outsiders. I wholesomely believe those outsiders knew about the filly behind the charm, not the maker, but the one it’s named after, and spread her story, which angered said filly and she sent and trapped them all here. It’s more of a theory than anything else, but it’s the only semi-logical explanation I can think of.”

“How did you get back?” I question.

“The charm,” Valor answers “but done the right way. The actual right way.”

“If Morning Glory gave you the right directions, how did the wrong ones end up in your book?” Aloise questions.

Valor’s smile fades to a sad frown as a look of regret and sorrow spreads across her face. Her ears flatten against her head.

“I thought I could trust Morning Glory,” Valor answers “my mother became very ill and I had to return to my homeland to help take care of her and our estate. My father had passed away a couple of years prior, so he wasn’t there to pay bills and handle family relations and such, which meant I had to do so. I’m also an only child, so I had no siblings to do this for me. Our servants and I did the best we could for my mother, but sadly, she succumbed to the illness and passed away. While I was gone taking care of my mother and all of the business relating to her death afterward, I entrusted Morning Glory to finish my book and publish it.

She did as she promised she would; finish it, and then send it to the publisher. By the time I had everything straightened out at home and had returned back to Equestria, my book had been out for little over four and a half months. It had, as I was informed upon my arrival home, became a sensational hit and millions of copies had been made and sold. I was shocked but thrilled all at the same time. When I finally got the chance, I sat down and read my book. I was happy with it until I had reached the page with Sundancer’s charm. Morning Glory put the wrong directions, albeit much clearer and simpler than what she had originally said, in the book. I wanted to recall the books, but, I feared the repercussions that would follow. I kept silent and willingly let the book continue to circulate despite knowing many citizens of Equestria were going to be sent to their untimely deaths knowing they would never escape. The regret was horrible, and still is to this day. I took up drinking, partying, and sadly drugs, to forget it all, but, no amount of alcohol, coke or partying would erase what I had done, what Morning Glory had done.

Being whisked away and dying here was probably the best thing for me. I think I’d rather die here and slowly become erased from time than be alive in the real world, coping in the worse way possible and letting all my fans, loved ones and friends see me go down a horrible spiral into nothingness. But dying here isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. You still feel the pain you felt before you died, and it never goes away. You still have all your sorrows, regrets, grudges, those few unspoken words, etcetera. That’s why some who die here become vengeful spirits, rather than ones like me who help those whisked away from reality.”

The three of us look at each other, then back at Valor Crowne. That’s… awful. I’m… I have so many questions, but I’m at a loss for words.

“How... how did you end up coming back here?” Aloise asks.

“The charm yet again,” Valor replies “perhaps I worded my return to here as if I had been forced to come. Truth is, my return here was something of a suicidal action. In fact, it was suicide more than anything, and suicide is percisely how I died in this God-forsaken place. Maybe it was more of a combination of murder and suicide, or perhaps it was plain and simple suicide. Either way, I came here of my own volition, but the way I died was not how I would’ve preferred.”

“What do you mean by that last part?” I question “h-how did you… die?”

“Somewhere in here, if you look hard enough, you might find my body in one of the classrooms, split open and on display for all to see,” Valor answers “one of the vengeful spirits trapped here took their anger out on me, and, well, as I said, split me open just like a teacher would a specimen for dissection in biology. I may- or may not have- purposefully provoked said spirit, but, if you’re curious about the anatomy of a mare, you can find my body and look at it.”

“But, please, don’t touch it,” Valor adds quickly “you can look, but don’t touch me. My body for display is already enough punishment for what I've done, although I knew something of the sort was going to happen sooner or later and I was ready and willing to let it do so.”

I only stare at Valor, not knowing what to say. Again, I find myself at a loss for words and I can tell by their silence that Aloise and Royal Flush are as well. Valor stares back at us. Her frown turns into a small, awkward smile.

“I suppose that’s enough about me,” Valor says, breaking the silence and clearing her throat “perhaps you three would like to know about this place.”

“We’ve been here for four days, but we know next to nothing about this school,” Aloise says, looking at Royal Flush.

“Four days? That's the longest I believe anypony has survived,” Valor says in a surprised tone "though, I had sensed a rather resilient bunch had fallen victim to this school."

“But, I don't think we'd make it another day,” Aloise says “we got separated from our source of food and drink.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Valor questions.

“My marefriend knows spells to conjure foods and drinks,” Royal Flush explains “but we got separated from her a couple of days ago.”

“I see. That's unfortunate, but I think I can help you,” Valor says with a small smile.

“You're going to give us the right directions for the charm?” I question.

“Yes, but it's not the only thing you'll need to get out of here,” Valor answers “you'd like to escape with your friends, no?”

The three of us nod in response to her question.

“Unfortunately, I do not have them on me, but if you find my body, you'll find the right directions for the charm in my notebook,” Valor says “and to find your friends, you'll need to understand the history of this place first.”

“The history? Like what you said about the school being the victim of a series of crimes?” Aloise questions.

“Yes,” Valor answers with a nod “on June 5th in 1933, a young unicorn filly in the fifth grade did not make it home after school. Her teacher politely asked to her help clean up the classroom after the bell had rung, and she did just that, so the teacher sent her on her way home. That was the last time anypony saw her. That filly was Cadenza Scordatura. She was listed as missing that night, and the police started their investigation.

Three days later, another young filly in the second grade went missing, an earth pony. The poor filly didn't even make it to school. Her name was Minty Mango. Minty’s disappearance was added to Cadenza's investigation.

Five days passed and four more children went missing. Two little third-grade pegasi colts named Lava Lamp and Salty Caramel, a fourth-grade unicorn Colt named Milky Way and a fifth-grade earth pony filly named Sundancer.

The police searched for three weeks after the those four were kidnapped before finally finding all six of them in the unfinished section of the school’s basement. The kidnapper had five of the six children hanging like meat in the butcher shop in a disturbingly neat row.

Minty Mango had been beaten and had her chest and stomach sliced open and her organs, eyes and half of her tongue removed. Cadenza had half of her head missing and only her jaw remained intact. Salty Caramel had his tongue, his wings, eyes and one of his legs removed. The same was done to his brother, Lava Lamp. And lastly, Milky Way had been essentially scooped clean of everything inside of him, bones included, which left him like an empty sac hanging from the ceiling.

The only survivor was Sundancer, who was found lying near her friends on the floor badly injured. Their murderer and kidnapper turned out to be not one pony, but two, and they were found huddled together in the corner mumbling incoherent things beneath their breaths and rocking back and forth. They were detained, charged with the murder of those five kids and the kidnapping of all six and were then sent a mental asylum while the families of the five who died arranged their funerals, held a memorial and while Sundancer was sent to therapy.

Five weeks after arriving at the asylum, named Mount Sunshine, the two murder-kidnappers were found dead. One had hung himself and the other threw herself out the window.

As if the town hadn't suffered enough sorrow and death, the day after the two criminals were found dead, Sundancer had died. She tripped down the stairs going home and then fell to her death, breaking several bones, including her neck and skull, in the process.

The school closed its doors temporarily for a year before reopening it. After that, there were no deaths or kidnappings or any sort of tragic event until 1956, when a mysterious blaze burned the school to the ground and the principal, the art teacher and the science teacher committed suicide.”

“A lot of death and tragedy occurred in this school before it became the hellish nightmare that it is now,” Valor adds.

Once more, I find myself completely speechless.

“I know it’s probably wrong of me to ask this of you, but, would the three of you put an end to this place?” Valor questions "or rather, help me end this place? I can only do so much in my current state. Living, breathing ponies like you are the key to ending this place."

“What do you mean? Like, destroy this place?” Royal Flush questions.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t call it ‘destroying’ the place,” Valor answers “it’s more like putting this place to rest, letting the spirits trapped here move on and find the peace and relief they deserved.”

“Would doing so let us escape?” I question.

“Yes, as well as prevent others from being sent to this place,” Valor answers "or, should at least. I have to be honest, this is more of a theory than anything else, but, it's better than doing nothing. I could be underestimating this place and the power within it, but, it's also always a bad idea to underestimate the power of friendship and perseverance and anything with the will to survive."

I look at Aloise and Royal Flush, who both nod at me. I look back to Valor and give her a small smile.

“Sure, we’ll try,” I say "we'll do anything to get out of here. Who's to say your theory isn't correct? If it works, it works. If it doesn't... well, that's better than doing nothing at all, right?"

“Thank you. Truly, thank you so much from the bottom of my ghostly heart,” Valor says “I feel awful asking you to correct my mistakes- for putting you in further danger, no doubt. You could’ve said no, and I would’ve been very understanding of that, but, you said yes. You’re willing to do this for me. Please know I appreciate this very much. I’ll make it worth your while and I’ll do the best I can to help you, I promise.”

“I think our first priority should be reuniting with our friends,” Aloise says “strengths in number and what not. I’m sure the others have learned something we haven’t and- when we reunite- we can all be caught up to speed, put an end to this place and get out of here together.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” I say.

“I second that,” Royal Flush says.

“You three are amazing,” Valor says “thank you so much.”

“We’d do anything for the ponies we care about,” Aloise says “including you, Valor Crowne.”

“You... still care about me? Despite it being mostly my fault you are here? That’s… Thank you. Truly, thank you so much,” Valor says “in return, let me provide you with more information.”

“The more we know, the better we can help,” Aloise says.

“Right. To start, let me explain the structure of this place,” Valor says “the school is comprised of six layers that are often referred to as ‘closed spaces’ that form a sort of sphere. Those six foals I mentioned before, they’re the creators of the closed spaces, and each one of them has their own space that they dominate. The space we’re in now belongs to Salty Caramel. Cadenza’s space comes before his, which makes her layer the first in the sphere and Salty’s the second. Milky Way’s space comes after his, then Lava Lamp, then Minty Mango. Sundancer dominates the centermost layer.”

“So, if those six are pretty much behind it all,” Aloise begins “if we lay them to rest the other spirits will follow, right? And then this school will stop existing and nopony else will die?”

“That's my theory, yes,” Valor says.

“Do you know what closed spaces are friends are in?” I question.

“I can't tell you who exactly is in which closed space, but I can tell you what closed spaces there are living souls in,” Valor answers “but give me a moment.”

Valor Crowne disappears into thin air again. I look down at my hooves and at the pouch still on the ground. Eyeballs and a severed tongue. Salty Caramel had his eyes and tongue removed, but so did Lava Lamp. Maybe they belong to one of them? From what Valor told us, all five of them lost their tongues and eyes in some way or another.

“I wonder who’s tongue and eyes we’ve got,” I ponder aloud.

“Maybe this is a bit farfetched, but do you think there might a name on it?” Aloise questions.

“I didn’t see one when I first picked it up,” I answer, looking up at Aloise “so I guess there’s no telling who’s body parts we got.”

“If putting those six to rest is the way to put an end to all of this, maybe returning their missing body parts will help,” Aloise says.

“Maybe,” Royal Flush says “but didn’t she say one of them was completely emptied of all their organs and whatnot, and one was missing most of theirs?”

“Yeah, she did,” Aloise says “but maybe, not all of them want their body parts to be appeased. I know that probably sounds nuts, I mean if I had my body parts separated from me and haunted a school that kills others, I’d want my organs back. But assuming they want different things in order to be appeased, that isn’t too farfetched, right?”

“Your assumption is not, by any means, farfetched,” Valor says.

I turn my head to see Valor Crowne standing in front of us again.

“Cadenza could very well want something different from Minty,” Valor says “but, on the hoof, they could very well want the same thing.”

“Right,” Aloise says “did you find out how what you were going to tell us?”

“About how many in each closed space? Yes, I did,” Valor answers “In Cadenza’s closed space, there are three alive. In our closed space, there are three and in Milky Way’s there are three. Lava Lamp’s closed space was a bit odd. There were two separate souls, so two alive, but there was two that were intertwined together, like a mixed soul. I’m not sure whether to classify it as one soul or two.”

“Two souls mixed together?” Aloise questions “Ah, you’re talking about Candelabra and Flare Blitz. They’re conjoined twins.”

“So they’re alive then? That’s good to know,” Royal Flush says.

“Conjoined twins, huh? Makes sense,” Valor says “anyways, in Minty’s closed space there are three souls but only two are in Sundancer’s.”

“That makes nineteen altogether,” I say.

“Nineteen,” Aloise says quietly “something isn’t adding up. There were thirteen of us to start with.”

“Then my friends and I came here,” I say “and there were ten of us.”

“Ten and thirteen,” Royal Flush says “together that makes twenty-three.”

“Twenty-three, but only nineteen are currently alive,” Aloise says, tearing up “th-that means…”

“Four died,” I say, finishing Aloise’s sentence.

“Wait, wait,” Valor says “twenty. A soul seems to be flickering in and out of life somehow.”

“It doesn’t really change the fact any of our friends are dead,” Royal Flush snaps.

“The soul that came back, it’s in our closed space,” Valor says “but it’s fading out again, like it wants to give up but, at the same time, it doesn’t.”

“It could be one of our friends!” I exclaim “let’s go.”

“Right, follow me,” Valor says as she turns around and canters away.

The three of us canter down the hallway after her. We turn the corner and go up a flight of stairs and onto the next floor. Classroom doors can be seen all the way down the hall, which looks just as dilapidated as the rest of the school. Skeletons and half-rotted bodies are strewn about haphazardly. A foul, rotting smell lingers in the air. The four of us canter pass the skeletons, bodies and classrooms until we reach the restrooms.

“The soul’s light is coming from the filly’s room,” Valor says.

“I’ll, uh, wait out here,” Royal Flush says “haunted school or not, I don’t want to be seen in the filly’s room.”

“Me too,” I say.

Aloise and Valor nod their heads and begin to trot inside. There’s a blinding flash when Valor Crowne starts to walk through the doorway. A visible, blue-ish wave of energy sends Valor Crowne flying backward and through the wall. Moments later, Valor walks back through the wall squinting one eye and rubbing her head.

“Ow, that hurt,” Valor says “looks like he’s there.”

“He? Who’s he?” Aloise questions.

“Salty Caramel,” Valor answers “whoever’s in there, Salty Caramel is there influencing what they’re doing, but they’re a fighter. One who’s slowly giving up it seems. You’d better hurry.”

Aloise nods and trots inside the bathroom. A few moments of silence pass by before Aloise calls out for help. Without hesitation, I trot into the filly’s room. The bathroom mirror is cracked and caked so badly with dirt that it no longer reflects anything. The ceramic sinks are cracked and look no longer functional. The stalls seem to be intact with very few holes on the doors, unlike the floor.

“The other stalls are empty, but this one’s locked,” Aloise says “and come here and listen.”

I trot up to Aloise and listen. Behind the stall are the vague sounds of somepony choking. Without saying another word, the two of us begin to pull hard on the door, which creaks and moans in response. After two failed attempts, Aloise and I force the door open. My eyes widen in a mixture of fear and disbelief at the sight before us.

“YIENG!” I scream as I canter up to her.

Drool drips from her mouth and dribbles down her neck. Her eyes are bloodshot and threatening to roll into the back of her head. The noose around her neck is tight and I can see the burns it’s causing beneath it. Without thinking, I stand on my back legs and hoist Yieng into the air. My actions seem to help Yieng, as she goes from choking to gasping for air. Aloise canters into the stall and uses her magic and knowledge of knots to undo the noose. As the rope comes undone from around her neck, Yieng collapses onto me, which causes me to lose my balance and fall over onto my stomach. Thankfully, Yieng remains on my back and isn’t hurt further from the fall.

“Are you alright?!” Aloise exclaims.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say “I can’t say the same for my sister.”

“This is your sister?” Aloise questions “I’m glad we were able to get to her in time. She’s struggling to breathe, but that’s better than being dead.”

“Yeah,” I mumble.

A wave of guilt crashes over me. I made a promise to Yieng the same day she gave us our Yin-Yang necklaces. I told her I’d always be her side, that I’d be there to protect her. I know I had no control over whether or not I was by Yieng’s side, but I still can’t help feeling guilty over not being there with her and protecting her from this place and it’s twisted sense of humor. If only I had gotten here sooner, the damage to Yieng wouldn’t be so bad. At least, with Aloise’s help, I managed to save her before it was too late. She’s safe now and alive. That’s what matters the most, right?

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Aloise questions “you’re crying.”

I’m… crying? I feel my face and, sure enough, it’s wet with tears.

“I’m… I-I promised Yieng that, no matter what, I’d always be by her side and protect her, but…” I trail off and stare at the floor.

“It’s okay, I understand,” Aloise says in a comforting voice “here, let me help you up.”

With Aloise’s help, I manage to stand up and keep Yieng on my back.

“Thanks,” I say “I was glad I met you before, but, now I’m even gladder. I may have hoisted her up, but, if it wasn’t for you, that noose probably wouldn’t have come off. I’m terrible at tying and untying knots.”

“You're welcome,” Aloise says with a warm smile “c’mon, Royal Flush and Valor Crowne are waiting for us.”

With Yieng on my back, I exit the stall and trot to the door with Aloise in tow. As I start to exit the bathroom, the door suddenly slams shut in my face.

“Gah!!” I exclaim as I stumble backward.

Aloise canters up to the door and attempts to force it open.

“Erg!! It won't budge!” Aloise exclaims “Royal Flush! Valor Crowne! Can you hear me?!”

“Yeah, we can hear you.” Royal Flush calls from the other side.

“See if you can force the door open!” Aloise calls “I can't get it to budge!”

Out the corner of my eye, I notice something glowing a faint blue. I turn my head and find a mostly transparent colt staring at us. His eyes are gone, leaving black, empty sockets in their place. Small, bloody stumps of flesh and bone jutted from either side of his back. He’s missing his left back leg, but there’s the faintest outline of where it used to be.

“Uhm, Aloise,” I say nervously.

She looks back at me with a small smile.

“Yeah?” Aloise questions.

“We've got otherworldly company with us,” I answer.

Aloise raises an eyebrow and looks in the direction I'm staring. She lets out a yelp of surprise when her eyes land on the colt.

“Mine,” the colt mumbles “mine, mine, mine, mine.”

I try to call out to Aloise but find that I can't speak or move my body. I'm frozen in place as the colt moves closer and closer while chanting 'mine, mine’ under his breath. Aloise seems to be in the same predicament as she watches the colt approach me.

An intense heat begins to wash over my body. As the colt continues to chant, the intensity of the heat begins to increase. My heart pounds in my chest and it throbs hard in my ears. The throbbing grows so loud, it drowns out the colt’s chanting. The intensity of the heat starts to become unbearable as my vision begins to turn red. My body feels as if it's going to explode.

Out the corner of my eye, I see Aloise pull something off her back. She calls out but the throbbing in my ears drowns whatever she says.

Whatever she says grabs the colt's attention. The pain and throbbing stop suddenly when the colt looks at Aloise. I find myself able to move again.

“Salty Caramel,” Aloise says “here, I think these belong to you.”

Aloise holds out the pouch I found earlier. Salty Caramel stares at Aloise for a moment before walking up to her and taking the pouch. He backs away and opens the pouch. A happy smile spreads across his face.

“My tuhng. My eyes,” he mumbles “tank you.”

Salty Caramel sits down on the ground and removes the eyes from the pouch, then pops them into his head. He then pulls the tongue from the bag and shoves it into his mouth. Salty Caramel looks at me with an apologetic look in his eyes and smiles. He then looks at Aloise and gives her a small grin as he slowly fades away.

“Thank you,” he whispers as he completely fades away.

Aloise and I look at each other and smile. The door suddenly swings open and Royal Flush gallops inside with a look of worry and terror on his face.

“Are you okay, Aloise??” Royal Flush questions.

Aloise simply nods her head with a proud smile on her face.

“Oh shit, who’s that? Are they okay?” Royal Flush questions.

“This is my sister, Yieng,” I answer “I can’t really say she’s okay, but she’s alive and hopefully will recover from this.”

Royal Flush nods his head at me.

“What happened in here?” Royal Flush asks “I heard Aloise yelp, then there was silence and I couldn’t open the door.”

“Aloise appeased Salty Caramel,” I reply.

“It was just a random guess, but, I think if I hadn’t tried, something bad would’ve happened to Mieng,” Aloise says.

“I couldn’t move, there was an intense heat throughout my body and my heart was pounding so hard, the throbbing in my eyes drowned everything out,” I explain “I felt like I was gonna explode until Aloise held out the pouch.”

“Damn,” Royal Flush mumbles.

“Thanks, by the way,” I say to Aloise.

“You’re welcome,” Aloise says.

“Do you feel that?” Royal Flush asks.

“Feel what?” I question.

Before Royal Flush has a chance to answer, everything begins to shake violently. The floors and walls creak and moan as the shaking intensifies. There’s a loud crack, followed by three more. The floor beneath begins to disappear and fall into the depths of the school. Above us, the ceiling cracks and splits as pieces fall to what remains of the floor. A large piece of the ceiling falls and lands on Royal’s head, which knocks him onto the floor and unconscious. The floor beneath him breaks, which sends him falling. Aloise screams his name just as the floor beneath her groans and breaks. Aloise screams loudly as she falls and disappears into the darkness below.

I try to fly into the air, but with Yieng on my back, I’m unable to. The floor around me is completely go-

*CRACK* *THUMP*

A searing pain spreads throughout my head as everything fades to black.