The BOXby Lighttone GryphonStarChaptersChapter 1: Thorn's POV 1: Coffee and DebrisChapter 2: Rynax's POV 1: Wake Me UpChapter 3: Thunderlane's POV 1: IntroductionChapter 4: Hard Stack's POV 1: MemoriesChapter 5: Carrot Top's POV 1: ReasoningPrologue: Unknown POV (Updated Version)Chapter 1: Thorn's POV 1: Coffee and DebrisAuthor's Note Well, well, this is the new chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it, I'm sorry that I posted this so late. I had a rough day over here. Next chapter will come out on Valentines Day. I hope to see you all there. Also don't forget to comment, any words helps greatly. Chapter 1: Thorn's POV 1: Coffee and Debris A strange crawling brushed against the back of my neck. My head jumped up from my desk and knocked the lamp to the side. “Ouch.” I grabbed my head, scratching it lightly. “What happened?” “You fell asleep again, Thorn?” a voice to the left of me tore through the blurriness clouding my eyes. I turned my head left and right and rubbed my eyes until the blurriness went away. My eyes slowly wandered over the room. It had a circle shape to it, covered in black and gray machinery with green lights. There were two doors on opposite ends of the walls; each door far from the spot I was sitting. In the center of the room were four chairs surrounding a dark blue, maybe navy, table. Above it was screens of some sort; I couldn’t quite figure out what they were, only that I seemed to know how to work them. “Hey, are you done messing over there? We have work to do.” My eyes traced over to a green stallion of medium build in clean white clothes. “Did you hear me?” he spoke again, this time with a bit more grizzle in his voice, almost like he was chewing something. He bobbed his head gently, the short locks of his blond mane dancing across his forehead. “Yeah, I heard you…” I stopped for a moment. His name didn’t come to me right away. This was strange. He wasn’t a stranger to me, was he? Suddenly, I felt the crawling again. My hand raised and rubbed at my neck. My pupils widened for a short moment before shrinking back. “Oh, sorry, Sunstone. I’ll get up and turn them on.” My legs got up on their own and before I knew it, I had moved over to the machines on the left wall and started pulling levers. My body was purely moving on instinct, yet I didn’t know why. Maybe I was still too tired, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. My hand raised up and I wiped some sweat off of my head, though I didn’t feel hot. I kept pulling the levers until I heard a loud sound. Instantly, I reacted by grabbing my head and falling to my knees. “Are you okay, Thorn? It’s just the TV.” My ears pitched up at the sound. I felt no pain, yet why was I even afraid at that moment? I put my hands back down and took in a deep breath. Feeling the cool, calming air move through my body, I stood back up. “Sorry, I think the lack of sleep is getting to me.” “Don’t be like that. You can't really take a day off like Dark and Swindle.” My eyes narrowed, the names didn’t come to me right away. “Wait, Dark? Swindle?” He stopped himself that time, gulping his remark back down. He looked at me strangely, taking the longest time before answering back. “Yeah, Dark and Swindle. Those two were so tired from last night shift that they had to take today off, remember?” My hand raised up to my neck again. There wasn’t an itch this time, at least I didn’t feel one, yet I could feel my eyes widening again on their own. “Right, right. Now I remember.” It was too strange. Why was I forgetting stuff so easily? I decided to stretch, maybe that would wake me up. As I stretched, I noticed the noise of the TV had dulled. I turned my eyes to the TVs above the table and a picture was coming in very clear. I walked back over, deciding to ignore the confusion swimming through my head. It would go away eventually. “Looks like they will wake up on their own soon.” “Yeah, looks like it. Hey, maybe we should do one more blood test.” Sunstone's voice seemed off at first, but it quickly adjusted itself. “What would be the point? We already took two blood samples from all when we put them in there.” “Well, can’t be too sure.” He stopped for the moment as his eyes wandered left and right. He reached over to a board covered in buttons with letters on them. He went to typing before finishing, “The boss always wants to know if the ponies are in peak condition.” “Right?” I sat down and went to typing as well. On the screen in front of me, I could see six ponies lying about in a square room. The sight left an uneasy feeling at the back of my head. It wasn’t really the ponies themselves, but the room in its square form. I squinted my eyes, watching as six wire-like tentacles with needles on the end rose up from the floor. Each needle stabbed one pony in the arm at an exact spot and sucked out some blood. Once finished, the needles pulled out, retracted back in and the wires again descended into the floor. The sight of those needles made my skin crawl. I didn’t know why. My hand raised to my head and rubbed it. “I-I think I need some coffee.” I tried to stop typing, but for some reason, my fingers felt heavy and refused to move from their spots. Eventually, though, it stopped and I lifted my hands away from the buttons rather forcibly. My hand wandered over to a cup nearby as I got up. Gripping it rather too tightly, I walked over to another table by a blank wall. I pulled out the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. “Hey, Sunstone, do you want me to leave you some coffee?” “Yeah, don't worry, I'll get some later,” he said without even looking at me. I looked to his cup and noticed it was still full, yet it was no longer hot. “Okay.” I thought it was strange, but when I went to drink my own cup, I pulled back in disgust. “Ew, this is too cold.” “Of course, it’s always cold.” He picked up his coffee and drunk it down with little to almost no resistance. Was he used to it? Was I used to it too? I waved my head back and forth before stopping to take another sip. It started to taste better. Hopefully it would wake me up better too; this day just felt too weird. I walked back over to my chair and sat back down. “So, are they awake already?” “Yeah, just about. The green one just jolted his arm.” My eyes drifted onto the screen and over to the green unicorn stallion with blue hair. “What does the file say on his name?” “Hmm, Rynax. That’s a strange pony name...” I could hear Sunstone's voice stop before finishing, followed by the buttons in front of him beating back and forth upon the touch of his fingers. “Let’s see... another criminal on death row. This one was a rapist.” “Rape, huh? I would never have considered that from the look of him.” I took a sip of my drink and leaned back in my chair. “Hey, don’t go falling back asleep on me. You have to check the traps too.” “Ye-ah,” I nearly spat out my drink, “you’re right. I'll get to that.” I put down the cup and before I even realized, my other hand was already typing. The hand that had been holding the cup quickly joined the other hand. My screen flipped to a different picture and I could feel my stomach sink for some reason. The new image was a map with several green squares. “Let’s see… all the rooms seem to be in working order.” “All of them clean of debris?” “Hold on.” I pressed a new button and my screen flipped through several images. Each image was of another square room. All of them were the same shape, yet each one had their own color to it. “Hmm, I don’t see any debris yet.” Nearly all the rooms were spotless: not even a speck of dust. However, I stopped, pressing the button on one room as my eyes went wide. The room seemed almost clean, aside from a single spot. Written… in what looked like blood was… ‘MAKE THE NOISE STOP!!’ I was totally shocked by this. I didn’t know what it meant at all. What was this noise that would make somepony write this? And why was I so afraid to know what it was myself? “Do you see any debris?” Sunstone questioned. I turned toward him and didn't say a single word; I just stood there with my mouth ajar. He looked at me strangely. “Are you okay? You look like you have seen a ghost. Thorn?” “It's nothing.” Hearing my name made me answer even faster than I wanted to. I turned back to my screen, almost purely to hide my face. I took in a deep breath as my eyes slowly wandered back to the monitor. My breath stopped midway. The message was completely gone, not a single trace of it remaining. Was it even there? I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my coffee again; I really needed to wake up. This was getting almost annoying. I finished my cup without even realizing it at first and went back to work. I would probably get another cup later. I certainly needed it. I pressed the button again and again, only found clean rooms over and over. There was nothing wrong as far as I saw. Debris? What was he talking about? These rooms were so clean that they barely had any dust in them, let alone any debris. Finally, I came to the final room; it wasn’t noticeable at first, but each room had a number of the images. The number arrangement made no sense to me, they didn’t seem to be in any particular order anyway. The only reason I even knew it was the final room was that the word ‘final’ was written at the bottom. Another thing was the color of this room; pale pink. All the other rooms were random in their color choices, never one exactly the same; some even close to pale pink, but not exactly. But this one was pure pink. I didn’t know why. But what was even stranger was the reason why. All the other rooms were different, why not this one? Why was the fact it was this version of pink that bugged me so much? I decided to press the button one final time; this time it took me back to the room the six ponies were in. They were all awake now. Some of them even seemed just as annoyed or confused as I was. “They look angry, don’t they?” Sunstone nearly snarked as he grabbed his coffee and sipped it. “Yeah, it’s no surprise. They have no idea what is waiting for them out there.” My words jumped ahead of me again. They didn’t know what was out there, but in truth neither did I; or at least I couldn’t seem to possibly remember. Maybe I was still a little tired. I decided to get up and grab some more coffee. It was very clearly going to be a long day. ****** Chapter 2: Rynax's POV 1: Wake Me UpSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.Chapter 3: Thunderlane's POV 1: IntroductionA loud crisp, popping sound filled the air and slowly faded to a soft hum. My muscles tensed and my heart pulsed. My eyes opened and went wide upon the sight of the metal walls and doors. I rose up with little grogginess almost like I had a perfect nap. I thought this was very strange as I didn't remember falling asleep, especially when I found myself on such a... hard metal surface. I jumped up, but not too fast as to not stress my wings. Popping my bones as I stretched, my eyes wandered around the room. How did I even get into this room was the first question on my mind, but I quickly moved the thought aside upon seeing four other ponies in the room as well. They were still unconscious, though from the smell of them and me, I could tell we haven't been here that long. I walked over to the nearest one to me, the turquoise mare looked vaguely familiar to me. She was slightly beautiful with her wavy pure white mane, or maybe it was the lighting. I leaned over, rubbing her shoulders and she slowly awoke. Her eyes timidly opened before going wide. Fear poured over her face and her hands went to flailing. My back hit the ground pretty hard, though I doubt I would openly admit the pain especially in my wings, too much pride. I simply shrugged it off. "Who are you? Where am I?" The mare’s voice sounded hysterical at first as she rose, but once her back was to the wall, it became more equable and the fear upon her face faded to fury. "Where am I?!" "I don't know," I answered back with a slight growl as I stood up. After rubbing my back and wings, I looked at her with concern as she searched herself for... "Are you looking for pockets?" "Yeah, I have some pepper spray on me at all times in case of creeps like y--" "Look," I gladly interrupted her, "first of all, you have no pockets, in fact," I searched myself to show my point, "I don't have pockets either. Secondly, all I did was wake you... Fleetfoot." Her name came to me before I could even think of it. "How do you know my name? Where am I?!" She jumped and moved away from me and toward another mare before stopping to catch her breath. "Calm down, just calm down. I don't know where we are." I held up my hands in a defensive gesture. "Look, please listen." She gave little sign if any that she was even listening to me, but I had to get this out; maybe it would calm her down. "I'm Thunderlane, I was student under you at flight academy for four years." "You are?" She looked at me strangely, like the name didn't seem to phase her at all. She took two steps back and adjusted her stance. "Impossible, I just started teaching at the academy today, I haven't even met my students." "Look..." I stopped, her words made no sense. Did she lose her memory? "Yes, I am your student. We are old friends. You even saw me graduate with flying colors." These memories flew into my head faster than I could even process, but I hoped these words were enough to get through to her, maybe help her remember. My hand slowly reached over to her and she pulled away more. Fear grew back over her face and she let out a scream as she jumped back and crouched down. The scream bounced off the wall and echoed through the room very fast. My eyes wandered around as other ponies began to move. I knew if she kept screaming the others would panic as well upon awakening. I had to do something, anything to calm her or else everypony would be too wild up to think straight. I decided on impulse and rushed at her, grabbing her by the mouth to silence her screams. "Please stop screaming, we need to keep calm." She struggled and hit me to make me let go, but I refused. "Please, just stop and I will stop." Her eyes filled with tears, and she hit me harder. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Her screams stopped at that word. Promise... it was such a strong word. Her calm breath followed and I released my grip once she stopped flailing. "Thank you." I slowly pulled away and knocked the sweat off my face. "Now we need to figure out what is going on--" My words were cut off as my feet flew off the floor. I looked with my now blurring vision to see a donkey with anger covering his face. "Where... did... you... come... from...? ****** "Did he hurt you?" "Yes... I mean no. He acted as if he knew me." "Do you know him?" "No, I don't know who any of you are?... Where are we? Where am I?" ****** Author's Note Before you ask, the shortness if this chapter has nothing to do with April Fools day, I just ran out of things to do for this. And yes the first few chapters will be going over nearly everypony's moment of waking up before they can start with the maze. I know that seems rather slow, but hey this is the path I'm taking it. I want every single character to be fully fleshed out. This doesn't mean so many chapters of just that, I've slipped some hints in them too that will lead into bigger stuff. Chapter 4: Hard Stack's POV 1: MemoriesThe last thing I remembered was the blur over my eyes. The smell of trees and the sound of running water. Under me was what felt like leather, I was lying on it… bare-naked. A figure in what looked like a green suit approached me. I tried to reach to the figure, yet my arms were so heavy. My body felt like iron and my breathing worsened with each second. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The figure reached over me and pressed their hand against my throat. The touch was very cold, almost painful. It felt like… rubber, a thick rubber glove. I could feel the hand move down from my neck to my chest and my stomach, feeling across all parts even under the flaps of fat. It felt like the figure was checking my… bone structure. He moved down to my lowers and lightly pressed around my sack. I winced as I felt a sharp object puncture my shaft. I knew the object was long because I could feel it move down into my inner walls and pass to my... The object was removed after a moment and the rubber glove felt around my shaft once more before moving to my rear. It was at this moment I could feel myself getting more woozy. I didn’t know why I wasn’t woozy before, only that I was now. As everything went darker, I could feel my whole body being lifted up. Everything under me was moving. The smell of the forest was fading and the sounds of running water were increasing. ****** I woke up in a strange room. The floor was metal and very hard against my old back. The place was quiet… too quiet. I slowly pushed at my body before realizing I could move properly. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Moving my hands away, I noticed the clothes I had on. I brought them close and… there was no smell of trees or the feeling of water on them, they were completely clean. A scream filled my ears and I jumped to my feet, falling slightly forward. Though I could move better now, my legs were still a bit hesitant to do anything right away, not exactly wanting to listen to me. I heard more screams and spun around. I stopped upon spotting a black pegasus stallion holding down a turquoise mare of the same species. Both were wearing the same clothes I were. The mare looked terrified and the stallions’ eyes were filled with rage. Hearing her scream louder made me jump into action and I charged forward. With one good punch, I knocked the stallion off of the mare and pulled her up. "Did he hurt you?" I asked. "Yes... I mean no. He acted as if he knew me." She struggled for a moment before looking at me. "Do you know him?" I urged for some answers. "No, I don't know who any of you are?... Where are we? Where am I?" It was at this moment I realized there were others in the room with me. This was confusing, where we all grabbed by the same figure? And why were we even here? “Look, we need to calm down and figure out what is going on.” She struggled less the longer I looked at her. I tried to give the look of safety despite the loss and confusion I was clearly feeling just as much as her. “That’s what he was asking!” I heard another voice behind me. I saw another mare. She was an earth pony. “Please, let me.” She walked over to the mare in my arms and gently took her from me. “I’m a physician, I can calm her down.” I obeyed her words and let go. Once the pegasus was away from me, I walked over to the stallion and picked him up. He was in a bit of a daze, I didn’t think I hit him that hard. “Come on, wake up.” I shook him lightly. “Maybe the drugs that were used on us are still in his system.” The earth pony sounded like she knew what she was talking about. I guess I would have to trust her. “Sit him up against the wall and try again.” I did as I was told and tried shaking once more. After a few moments, his eyelids moved. His eyes popped open and he quickly swung at me. “Damn it, I wasn’t hurting her, you jackass!” “I’m sorry.” I dodged and tried to hold in more words at the slang he tossed with his fist. I didn’t expect to be greeted with a racist comment, but then again, I did punch him. “Enough you two. It was just a complete misunderstanding.” The earth mare stood and walked over between us. The stallion’s eyes widened and he spoke, “Wait, Carrot Top, is that you?” The earth pony mare turned toward him. “How do you know me?” “It’s me, Thunderlane, I met you when I went for check-ups as a colt. I was the one who would give Doctor Whooves so many problems.” The stallion looked very happy, almost too happy. “Wait, you know my beloved husband?” I could see the confusion growing on his face with each word she said. “Husband…?” Now his words were more confusing. Thunderlane just stared at Carrot for a few moments before finishing. “What are talking about beloved, you two have been divorced for ten years.” “What, that makes no sense…” She backed away at his words. “I… just had dinner with him yesterday.” I moved to a wall and leaned against it as the two argued. Something was clearly going on and arguing about it wasn’t going to help anypony. I started whistling a soft tune, such an activity always helped me think. My mind raced over what was going on, words that made no sense and things that just didn’t connect. However, I stopped thinking upon hearing a slamming sound. I turned to my left. On the ground, one more pony was walking up after slamming his hand on the ground. ****** Author's Note I don't have much to say in the notes, just that the next chapter will be a while. Independence Day, mark your calendar. Chapter 5: Carrot Top's POV 1: ReasoningThe twitching in my legs was the pain that woke me. I couldn’t tell where I was, only that there was the noise of… fighting in the background. My sight was too fuzzy to tell what was going on and who was fighting who, only that there was certainly anger all around me. My eyes wandered over the fuzz. The room was blue and square… no, it was box-like in form. The walls were covered in metal bars and each wall, as well as the floor and ceiling, had a door at the center of them. Six exits and yet… no way out. I jumped up and quickly fell back down. The pain rippling through my legs was the only thing that gave any sign that they weren’t completely numb. I turned around to see what happened, but my eyes were too blurry to see what was wrong. I looked over the others and screamed at them for help. Yet when my mouth opened… nothing came out. I screamed louder and yet, nothing… I tried to speak and again nothing came out. Was... was my voice gone? It was at this moment that I realized that there was this faint noise in the air. I thought it was from the fighting, but I finally realized it wasn’t. And now it was getting louder and louder. My eyes went wide and my ears ached. I grabbed at them and despite how tight I held them, the sound continued getting louder. I opened my mouth and screamed an empty voice that desperately wanted somepony, something, anything to hear me. However, things kept going, I could hear the faint sounds of banging on metal. Something was hitting metal. I looked to the source, expecting some sort of help, though my doubts told me differently. I stopped screaming at the blurry sight of somepony beating another pony’s head against the wall. Judging by the size, it was a stallion and he had a green mane. It was all I could tell with my eyesight, especially when it suddenly started getting worse. The stallion continued to beat the other pony’s head into the wall over and over until red poured out like a fountain. I struggled toward him as he stopped. He stopped and pulled back. He looked deeply into the head’s wound and placed his hand into it. He soaked so much red onto his fingers before tossing the body toward me. It landed right on top of me. I tried my best to squirm away from it, yet my legs still won’t move. It was at this point that I realized the numbness in my feet was spreading. My eyelids were following, getting heavier and heavier. The noise continued to increase in loudness as everything became darker and darker. The last thing I heard before everything stopped were several loud bangs. The sounds of flesh shredded across the ground and the noise… the noise finally stopping. ****** I jumped up once my eyes opened. The memories from before were quickly fading. I calmly arose and tried to grasp my surroundings. There was noise behind me, but I paid little care to it. I scanned my surroundings with my hands. The walls were strong, made of thick metal. Though I couldn’t figure out what kind of metal. It was clean of all paints and color, yet the room’s lighting gave its own hue to the walls. Despite how clean it was, there was something on the surface. It felt like dust, but it wouldn’t rub off as easily. It had a shine to it, though it wasn't glitter. I lifted up my nose and took in a deep whiff of air. I took it in as slowly as possible to ensure I got every smell distinctly separate from each other. The air seemed clean at first, but there was something else in it. Cleaning soaps, salt, and a small amount of ginger. These smells were often used to hide something. I couldn’t figure out what though. However, I could tell which direction to go to get a better idea. I looked to my right and saw a door in the center of the wall. “Hmp, just like before.” Before, when before? I stopped my thoughts, I couldn’t ponder on the past just yet, I had to move. I walked to the wall and took a grip of the ladder. I climbed it slowly and reached for the door. The door opened and I crawled through. On the other side was a small pathway just big enough for me to crawl through and short enough for only two ponies two enter at a time, anymore than that would be a rather tight squeeze. At the other end was another door, looking exactly like the previous one. I reached out and it opened. On the other side was another room. This one looked exactly like the previous room. Same structure and design, it even smelled the same. I was no closer to finding out the unknown smell that the soap was hiding. However, I did quickly notice a distinct difference between this and the previous room. This one had green lighting. I reached closer to enter the new room when I felt something pull my leg. I looked behind me to see a light blue unicorn. She was shivering really badly and her face was so pale. I tried to ignore her, but she gripped my leg tighter and nodded very slowly while gritting her teeth. I finally caved and moved backward. She let go but kept the fear on her face until we got back fully into the previous room. Once back in there, I extended my hand out to her. “My name is Carrot Top. What’s yours?” She didn’t answer me, instead she backed away and stood by a corner. She seemed like she didn’t want to talk. Though I did happen to take note that her eyes went over to an unconscious green stallion as soon as she turned away from me. She kept staring at him even after arriving at the wall. Did she know him? I stopped my thoughts at the echoes of a smack. It sounded like the talking had finally stopped. The talking that had been going on uninterrupted since I woke up. Originally, I haven’t paid the words much attention, listening only partially to gauge what was going on. But, if things were going to devolve into a fistfight, I had to step in. I turned to stop what was going on when a sense of familiarity went through my head. It felt like this had happened before. I grabbed my head, rubbing it. The more I thought about the memories from before waking up, the quicker they disappeared. Soon I couldn’t remember any of the previous faces, all I knew was this place, this room… and now the sounds of fighting. It felt so familiar to me. This wasn’t the first time I had been in here. In fact, in my gut I could feel that this wasn’t the first time for some of us, maybe all of us. My eyes fell on the unicorn mare. As if she was reading my mind, her nod gave me an answer that only solved so much and so little at the same time. Yes. ****** Author's Note Now I'm sorry this chapter was posted so late. I got distracted twice today and never got around to posting in now finally. I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a comment. Prologue: Unknown POV (Updated Version)I woke to loud sounds around me. My ears tattered in pain as my teeth gritted. My arms attempted to move, but could not. It was like I had no strength in them at all. My eyes moved over the area around me. I was in some sort of steel box. The top was just mere inches from my face. The inside was white in color and there seemed to be light coming from somewhere. I couldn’t tell whereas when I tried to lift my face, I found it to be just as heavy as my arms. My eyes widened and I tried to move my other parts. Indeed, my legs and tail couldn’t move either. However, I could slightly move my jaw, my ears were able to move freely, and though it was hard to tell, my facial features were movable as well. I took in a deep breath through my nose. I had to think of a way out of this. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much thought done as the loud sounds were still swarming around me; in fact, they were getting even louder by the second. It was like they were trying to torture me. I would try to scream, but I could barely move my mouth properly as it was. Suddenly, the noise stopped. It became deathly quiet. So much so that the only thing I could hear aside from my breathing was the sweat on my face dripping to the metal below me. Time passed and with the noise gone, I could finally ponder on a way out. The first thing that came to my head was; how long had I been here? Minutes, hours, days? I felt no air current, and yet no matter how big breath I took, the air would not thin, almost like there was an endless replenish, or did even ever replenish. I decided to count. ‘One, two, three.’ The numbers bounced in my head, yet the more I counted, the longer it felt in there. ‘Four, five, six.’ I tried to think of how I got to this place, yet nothing came to me. I tried to think of where I was before this. And again, nothing. I tried to think back further, but stopped when my eyes widened at another thought. What was my name? ‘Seven, eight, nine.’ I searched my mind like a detective, but found nothing. I pulled on every single thought I had and still, nothing. The earliest memory I could think of... was waking in this steel box. No, that couldn’t be right. Did I always live in this? And when did the sounds start? Were they always there? And if so, why did they stop now? ‘Ten, eleven, twelve.’ It was strange, my mind was so confused that it wanted the painful sounds to return. I needed answers, I needed reasons to exist. Who am I? Where am I? How long had I been here? And when could I leave? ‘Thirteen… fourteen… fifteen.’ I felt tears going down my face as I finally stopped counting. There was no point. Forgetting the minutes, hours and possibly days. For all I knew, I could have been in here for years. This could be my birth… or maybe it was my death. No, there was no way I could accept that. I gritted my teeth and began pushing my body to move. I wouldn’t relent, I couldn’t give up. This would not be my life, and this would not be my death. Suddenly, I felt my jaw moving, moving properly. I could stretch it and open it again. What happened? Did I pull something loose? Did I break some sort of lock on me? Did this mean I could move the rest of me? Maybe, I didn’t know, but I had to try. I pushed and pulled at my body, yet much to my fear, nothing happened. I pushed and pulled harder and still nothing. My mind raced with every possible thing that could be letting my mouth move, but keeping the rest of me completely immobile. I wondered why I didn’t think of this before. Finally, it hit me, I couldn’t move… but I could scream. My eyes winced and I took in a deep breath, pulling on every ounce of oxygen in me. Finally, I screamed. I poured everything into that scream. If this was my life, then I would defy it. I screamed and screamed, ignoring the pain in my mouth. I badly wanted to be free, I didn’t care who heard me. I wanted freedom and I wanted it now. The more I panicked, the more I realized, my body was reacting to it. Small twitches in my fingers, slight twisting in my legs. I pushed through and screamed even harder, forcing the rest of my body to move. My hands twisted from the pain, my legs jolted from the force. Soon though my screams filled with cracks and my throat began to burn. Coughs stopped my screams for only a moment. I pushed them away and tried to scream more, but they fought back. It became too painful to scream, but I didn’t care. I knew this would work, I could feel my body moving more and more, the harder I pushed. I had to keep going, there was no point in stopping. I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t give in. There was no way I would live my life in this box. So, no matter what, I would… rebel. Pressing on, I felt my body move upward. Finally, after so long, I found myself moving freely. “Finally, you rebelled.” Hearing the voice, I stopped screaming. I fell back, confused and curious about the new sound. Who did this voice belong to? Where did it come from? “Don’t worry, my child. I will set you free soon enough.” The voice was very clearly belonging to a male. It seemed cold, yet somehow kind. I jumped and tried to speak, but all that would come out now was screams. I needed answers. How long was I here? Who put me in here? And finally, why? “You can’t speak, but you can acknowledge. So, answer me a question. A simple question, one that all must answer before they can be free.” A question was what he was after. He said I’ll be free, just like the others. Were there more like me? Did they receive the same question? And did they give the right answer? “Stop pondering, all I want is an answer to a question. Do that and you will be free.” Of course, I would answer his question. I wanted freedom for so long, but… what was freedom? Was it good, or kind, would I even like freedom? It made no sense. I had been here for so long now, yet for all I knew, I could be wrong… Maybe I was-- “I said stop pondering, it’s ear grinding.” I stopped at his words. Could… could he hear my thoughts? I stopped thinking and decided to wait. Maybe his question was indeed as simple as he said, after all, it was the only way to freedom. “Finally?” I could hear him release a deep sigh of relief. “So, now onto the question… Do you still believe in the alicorn gods?” My eyes sank into my skull. What was an alicorn god? Did I know what it was at one time? Did I always know? Or did I ever knew? God would be the being that created life, so did these alicorn gods put me in here? Why would they do such a thing? No, why would I ever believe in such a being? “Good. I’m glad you think that way.” My mind came to attention at the sound of a cane hitting the ground. On that, I felt the box moving. It was lifting upward. My eye shot out as I heard the sound of the metal moving, no... the box was opening. I pulled back at a bright light swarming in from one side. It was so much more brighter than the light in the box that it was almost blinding. I tried to hide from it, but as the front of the box opened more, it left me no place to do so. Suddenly, a silhouette tore through the light. “So, your mind tells me that you have lost faith in them. Good, very good. But let’s see if you can pass the final test.” The figure lifted his hand and a loud snapping sound broke through the air. Smoke rose around me at an increasing rate. I struggled forward and found myself outside the box. However, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground. The smoke covered me as I tried to look up to the figure. I couldn’t see his face or even what species he was, but I could at least see that he had a green blazer on and a red cane in his hand. My eyes became heavier and weaker as the smoke entered my mouth and nose. I reached out with my arm and it fell to the ground before I could reach the figure. My body became heavier as well. Everything around me began to dim. The light’s brightness no longer bothered me. Finally, I felt sleep overtaking me. I tried to fight it, but it was too strong. It was too strong... ****** Author's Note Okay, here how things are going to go for this story. I'm going to be handling it very differently from other stories. I will only be releasing chapters on certain holidays. Those holidays being... Groundhog Day. Valentines Day. April Fool's Day. Cinco De Mayo. Memorial Day. Independence Day. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year's Eve. Each of these holidays you will get a single chapter. So the next chapter will come out on Groundhog Day. Now, these will be set to holiday dates set for next year. I'm not sure how long this story will get, so I might even finish it before the new year is over with. Also, each chapter will be a certain pony's POV. Now as for how this chapter ended, fans of the Cube must be somewhat confused. At least fans of Cube Zero, since the question was actually in reverse. I did it this way because each movie really had their own reasons for having the maze. My reason will make sense by the end of this story. Be aware that I won't be leaving you all somewhat lost like this series often did to it's fans by the end. This will have all the gory fun traps you know from the series, plus some new ones I thought up. Keep a tracking on this as I have got some big plans for this one.
Chapter 1: Thorn's POV 1: Coffee and DebrisAuthor's Note Well, well, this is the new chapter, I hope you enjoy reading it, I'm sorry that I posted this so late. I had a rough day over here. Next chapter will come out on Valentines Day. I hope to see you all there. Also don't forget to comment, any words helps greatly. Chapter 1: Thorn's POV 1: Coffee and Debris A strange crawling brushed against the back of my neck. My head jumped up from my desk and knocked the lamp to the side. “Ouch.” I grabbed my head, scratching it lightly. “What happened?” “You fell asleep again, Thorn?” a voice to the left of me tore through the blurriness clouding my eyes. I turned my head left and right and rubbed my eyes until the blurriness went away. My eyes slowly wandered over the room. It had a circle shape to it, covered in black and gray machinery with green lights. There were two doors on opposite ends of the walls; each door far from the spot I was sitting. In the center of the room were four chairs surrounding a dark blue, maybe navy, table. Above it was screens of some sort; I couldn’t quite figure out what they were, only that I seemed to know how to work them. “Hey, are you done messing over there? We have work to do.” My eyes traced over to a green stallion of medium build in clean white clothes. “Did you hear me?” he spoke again, this time with a bit more grizzle in his voice, almost like he was chewing something. He bobbed his head gently, the short locks of his blond mane dancing across his forehead. “Yeah, I heard you…” I stopped for a moment. His name didn’t come to me right away. This was strange. He wasn’t a stranger to me, was he? Suddenly, I felt the crawling again. My hand raised and rubbed at my neck. My pupils widened for a short moment before shrinking back. “Oh, sorry, Sunstone. I’ll get up and turn them on.” My legs got up on their own and before I knew it, I had moved over to the machines on the left wall and started pulling levers. My body was purely moving on instinct, yet I didn’t know why. Maybe I was still too tired, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. My hand raised up and I wiped some sweat off of my head, though I didn’t feel hot. I kept pulling the levers until I heard a loud sound. Instantly, I reacted by grabbing my head and falling to my knees. “Are you okay, Thorn? It’s just the TV.” My ears pitched up at the sound. I felt no pain, yet why was I even afraid at that moment? I put my hands back down and took in a deep breath. Feeling the cool, calming air move through my body, I stood back up. “Sorry, I think the lack of sleep is getting to me.” “Don’t be like that. You can't really take a day off like Dark and Swindle.” My eyes narrowed, the names didn’t come to me right away. “Wait, Dark? Swindle?” He stopped himself that time, gulping his remark back down. He looked at me strangely, taking the longest time before answering back. “Yeah, Dark and Swindle. Those two were so tired from last night shift that they had to take today off, remember?” My hand raised up to my neck again. There wasn’t an itch this time, at least I didn’t feel one, yet I could feel my eyes widening again on their own. “Right, right. Now I remember.” It was too strange. Why was I forgetting stuff so easily? I decided to stretch, maybe that would wake me up. As I stretched, I noticed the noise of the TV had dulled. I turned my eyes to the TVs above the table and a picture was coming in very clear. I walked back over, deciding to ignore the confusion swimming through my head. It would go away eventually. “Looks like they will wake up on their own soon.” “Yeah, looks like it. Hey, maybe we should do one more blood test.” Sunstone's voice seemed off at first, but it quickly adjusted itself. “What would be the point? We already took two blood samples from all when we put them in there.” “Well, can’t be too sure.” He stopped for the moment as his eyes wandered left and right. He reached over to a board covered in buttons with letters on them. He went to typing before finishing, “The boss always wants to know if the ponies are in peak condition.” “Right?” I sat down and went to typing as well. On the screen in front of me, I could see six ponies lying about in a square room. The sight left an uneasy feeling at the back of my head. It wasn’t really the ponies themselves, but the room in its square form. I squinted my eyes, watching as six wire-like tentacles with needles on the end rose up from the floor. Each needle stabbed one pony in the arm at an exact spot and sucked out some blood. Once finished, the needles pulled out, retracted back in and the wires again descended into the floor. The sight of those needles made my skin crawl. I didn’t know why. My hand raised to my head and rubbed it. “I-I think I need some coffee.” I tried to stop typing, but for some reason, my fingers felt heavy and refused to move from their spots. Eventually, though, it stopped and I lifted my hands away from the buttons rather forcibly. My hand wandered over to a cup nearby as I got up. Gripping it rather too tightly, I walked over to another table by a blank wall. I pulled out the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. “Hey, Sunstone, do you want me to leave you some coffee?” “Yeah, don't worry, I'll get some later,” he said without even looking at me. I looked to his cup and noticed it was still full, yet it was no longer hot. “Okay.” I thought it was strange, but when I went to drink my own cup, I pulled back in disgust. “Ew, this is too cold.” “Of course, it’s always cold.” He picked up his coffee and drunk it down with little to almost no resistance. Was he used to it? Was I used to it too? I waved my head back and forth before stopping to take another sip. It started to taste better. Hopefully it would wake me up better too; this day just felt too weird. I walked back over to my chair and sat back down. “So, are they awake already?” “Yeah, just about. The green one just jolted his arm.” My eyes drifted onto the screen and over to the green unicorn stallion with blue hair. “What does the file say on his name?” “Hmm, Rynax. That’s a strange pony name...” I could hear Sunstone's voice stop before finishing, followed by the buttons in front of him beating back and forth upon the touch of his fingers. “Let’s see... another criminal on death row. This one was a rapist.” “Rape, huh? I would never have considered that from the look of him.” I took a sip of my drink and leaned back in my chair. “Hey, don’t go falling back asleep on me. You have to check the traps too.” “Ye-ah,” I nearly spat out my drink, “you’re right. I'll get to that.” I put down the cup and before I even realized, my other hand was already typing. The hand that had been holding the cup quickly joined the other hand. My screen flipped to a different picture and I could feel my stomach sink for some reason. The new image was a map with several green squares. “Let’s see… all the rooms seem to be in working order.” “All of them clean of debris?” “Hold on.” I pressed a new button and my screen flipped through several images. Each image was of another square room. All of them were the same shape, yet each one had their own color to it. “Hmm, I don’t see any debris yet.” Nearly all the rooms were spotless: not even a speck of dust. However, I stopped, pressing the button on one room as my eyes went wide. The room seemed almost clean, aside from a single spot. Written… in what looked like blood was… ‘MAKE THE NOISE STOP!!’ I was totally shocked by this. I didn’t know what it meant at all. What was this noise that would make somepony write this? And why was I so afraid to know what it was myself? “Do you see any debris?” Sunstone questioned. I turned toward him and didn't say a single word; I just stood there with my mouth ajar. He looked at me strangely. “Are you okay? You look like you have seen a ghost. Thorn?” “It's nothing.” Hearing my name made me answer even faster than I wanted to. I turned back to my screen, almost purely to hide my face. I took in a deep breath as my eyes slowly wandered back to the monitor. My breath stopped midway. The message was completely gone, not a single trace of it remaining. Was it even there? I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my coffee again; I really needed to wake up. This was getting almost annoying. I finished my cup without even realizing it at first and went back to work. I would probably get another cup later. I certainly needed it. I pressed the button again and again, only found clean rooms over and over. There was nothing wrong as far as I saw. Debris? What was he talking about? These rooms were so clean that they barely had any dust in them, let alone any debris. Finally, I came to the final room; it wasn’t noticeable at first, but each room had a number of the images. The number arrangement made no sense to me, they didn’t seem to be in any particular order anyway. The only reason I even knew it was the final room was that the word ‘final’ was written at the bottom. Another thing was the color of this room; pale pink. All the other rooms were random in their color choices, never one exactly the same; some even close to pale pink, but not exactly. But this one was pure pink. I didn’t know why. But what was even stranger was the reason why. All the other rooms were different, why not this one? Why was the fact it was this version of pink that bugged me so much? I decided to press the button one final time; this time it took me back to the room the six ponies were in. They were all awake now. Some of them even seemed just as annoyed or confused as I was. “They look angry, don’t they?” Sunstone nearly snarked as he grabbed his coffee and sipped it. “Yeah, it’s no surprise. They have no idea what is waiting for them out there.” My words jumped ahead of me again. They didn’t know what was out there, but in truth neither did I; or at least I couldn’t seem to possibly remember. Maybe I was still a little tired. I decided to get up and grab some more coffee. It was very clearly going to be a long day. ******
Chapter 2: Rynax's POV 1: Wake Me UpSomething has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.
Chapter 3: Thunderlane's POV 1: IntroductionA loud crisp, popping sound filled the air and slowly faded to a soft hum. My muscles tensed and my heart pulsed. My eyes opened and went wide upon the sight of the metal walls and doors. I rose up with little grogginess almost like I had a perfect nap. I thought this was very strange as I didn't remember falling asleep, especially when I found myself on such a... hard metal surface. I jumped up, but not too fast as to not stress my wings. Popping my bones as I stretched, my eyes wandered around the room. How did I even get into this room was the first question on my mind, but I quickly moved the thought aside upon seeing four other ponies in the room as well. They were still unconscious, though from the smell of them and me, I could tell we haven't been here that long. I walked over to the nearest one to me, the turquoise mare looked vaguely familiar to me. She was slightly beautiful with her wavy pure white mane, or maybe it was the lighting. I leaned over, rubbing her shoulders and she slowly awoke. Her eyes timidly opened before going wide. Fear poured over her face and her hands went to flailing. My back hit the ground pretty hard, though I doubt I would openly admit the pain especially in my wings, too much pride. I simply shrugged it off. "Who are you? Where am I?" The mare’s voice sounded hysterical at first as she rose, but once her back was to the wall, it became more equable and the fear upon her face faded to fury. "Where am I?!" "I don't know," I answered back with a slight growl as I stood up. After rubbing my back and wings, I looked at her with concern as she searched herself for... "Are you looking for pockets?" "Yeah, I have some pepper spray on me at all times in case of creeps like y--" "Look," I gladly interrupted her, "first of all, you have no pockets, in fact," I searched myself to show my point, "I don't have pockets either. Secondly, all I did was wake you... Fleetfoot." Her name came to me before I could even think of it. "How do you know my name? Where am I?!" She jumped and moved away from me and toward another mare before stopping to catch her breath. "Calm down, just calm down. I don't know where we are." I held up my hands in a defensive gesture. "Look, please listen." She gave little sign if any that she was even listening to me, but I had to get this out; maybe it would calm her down. "I'm Thunderlane, I was student under you at flight academy for four years." "You are?" She looked at me strangely, like the name didn't seem to phase her at all. She took two steps back and adjusted her stance. "Impossible, I just started teaching at the academy today, I haven't even met my students." "Look..." I stopped, her words made no sense. Did she lose her memory? "Yes, I am your student. We are old friends. You even saw me graduate with flying colors." These memories flew into my head faster than I could even process, but I hoped these words were enough to get through to her, maybe help her remember. My hand slowly reached over to her and she pulled away more. Fear grew back over her face and she let out a scream as she jumped back and crouched down. The scream bounced off the wall and echoed through the room very fast. My eyes wandered around as other ponies began to move. I knew if she kept screaming the others would panic as well upon awakening. I had to do something, anything to calm her or else everypony would be too wild up to think straight. I decided on impulse and rushed at her, grabbing her by the mouth to silence her screams. "Please stop screaming, we need to keep calm." She struggled and hit me to make me let go, but I refused. "Please, just stop and I will stop." Her eyes filled with tears, and she hit me harder. "Please, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Her screams stopped at that word. Promise... it was such a strong word. Her calm breath followed and I released my grip once she stopped flailing. "Thank you." I slowly pulled away and knocked the sweat off my face. "Now we need to figure out what is going on--" My words were cut off as my feet flew off the floor. I looked with my now blurring vision to see a donkey with anger covering his face. "Where... did... you... come... from...? ****** "Did he hurt you?" "Yes... I mean no. He acted as if he knew me." "Do you know him?" "No, I don't know who any of you are?... Where are we? Where am I?" ****** Author's Note Before you ask, the shortness if this chapter has nothing to do with April Fools day, I just ran out of things to do for this. And yes the first few chapters will be going over nearly everypony's moment of waking up before they can start with the maze. I know that seems rather slow, but hey this is the path I'm taking it. I want every single character to be fully fleshed out. This doesn't mean so many chapters of just that, I've slipped some hints in them too that will lead into bigger stuff.
Chapter 4: Hard Stack's POV 1: MemoriesThe last thing I remembered was the blur over my eyes. The smell of trees and the sound of running water. Under me was what felt like leather, I was lying on it… bare-naked. A figure in what looked like a green suit approached me. I tried to reach to the figure, yet my arms were so heavy. My body felt like iron and my breathing worsened with each second. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The figure reached over me and pressed their hand against my throat. The touch was very cold, almost painful. It felt like… rubber, a thick rubber glove. I could feel the hand move down from my neck to my chest and my stomach, feeling across all parts even under the flaps of fat. It felt like the figure was checking my… bone structure. He moved down to my lowers and lightly pressed around my sack. I winced as I felt a sharp object puncture my shaft. I knew the object was long because I could feel it move down into my inner walls and pass to my... The object was removed after a moment and the rubber glove felt around my shaft once more before moving to my rear. It was at this moment I could feel myself getting more woozy. I didn’t know why I wasn’t woozy before, only that I was now. As everything went darker, I could feel my whole body being lifted up. Everything under me was moving. The smell of the forest was fading and the sounds of running water were increasing. ****** I woke up in a strange room. The floor was metal and very hard against my old back. The place was quiet… too quiet. I slowly pushed at my body before realizing I could move properly. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Moving my hands away, I noticed the clothes I had on. I brought them close and… there was no smell of trees or the feeling of water on them, they were completely clean. A scream filled my ears and I jumped to my feet, falling slightly forward. Though I could move better now, my legs were still a bit hesitant to do anything right away, not exactly wanting to listen to me. I heard more screams and spun around. I stopped upon spotting a black pegasus stallion holding down a turquoise mare of the same species. Both were wearing the same clothes I were. The mare looked terrified and the stallions’ eyes were filled with rage. Hearing her scream louder made me jump into action and I charged forward. With one good punch, I knocked the stallion off of the mare and pulled her up. "Did he hurt you?" I asked. "Yes... I mean no. He acted as if he knew me." She struggled for a moment before looking at me. "Do you know him?" I urged for some answers. "No, I don't know who any of you are?... Where are we? Where am I?" It was at this moment I realized there were others in the room with me. This was confusing, where we all grabbed by the same figure? And why were we even here? “Look, we need to calm down and figure out what is going on.” She struggled less the longer I looked at her. I tried to give the look of safety despite the loss and confusion I was clearly feeling just as much as her. “That’s what he was asking!” I heard another voice behind me. I saw another mare. She was an earth pony. “Please, let me.” She walked over to the mare in my arms and gently took her from me. “I’m a physician, I can calm her down.” I obeyed her words and let go. Once the pegasus was away from me, I walked over to the stallion and picked him up. He was in a bit of a daze, I didn’t think I hit him that hard. “Come on, wake up.” I shook him lightly. “Maybe the drugs that were used on us are still in his system.” The earth pony sounded like she knew what she was talking about. I guess I would have to trust her. “Sit him up against the wall and try again.” I did as I was told and tried shaking once more. After a few moments, his eyelids moved. His eyes popped open and he quickly swung at me. “Damn it, I wasn’t hurting her, you jackass!” “I’m sorry.” I dodged and tried to hold in more words at the slang he tossed with his fist. I didn’t expect to be greeted with a racist comment, but then again, I did punch him. “Enough you two. It was just a complete misunderstanding.” The earth mare stood and walked over between us. The stallion’s eyes widened and he spoke, “Wait, Carrot Top, is that you?” The earth pony mare turned toward him. “How do you know me?” “It’s me, Thunderlane, I met you when I went for check-ups as a colt. I was the one who would give Doctor Whooves so many problems.” The stallion looked very happy, almost too happy. “Wait, you know my beloved husband?” I could see the confusion growing on his face with each word she said. “Husband…?” Now his words were more confusing. Thunderlane just stared at Carrot for a few moments before finishing. “What are talking about beloved, you two have been divorced for ten years.” “What, that makes no sense…” She backed away at his words. “I… just had dinner with him yesterday.” I moved to a wall and leaned against it as the two argued. Something was clearly going on and arguing about it wasn’t going to help anypony. I started whistling a soft tune, such an activity always helped me think. My mind raced over what was going on, words that made no sense and things that just didn’t connect. However, I stopped thinking upon hearing a slamming sound. I turned to my left. On the ground, one more pony was walking up after slamming his hand on the ground. ****** Author's Note I don't have much to say in the notes, just that the next chapter will be a while. Independence Day, mark your calendar.
Chapter 5: Carrot Top's POV 1: ReasoningThe twitching in my legs was the pain that woke me. I couldn’t tell where I was, only that there was the noise of… fighting in the background. My sight was too fuzzy to tell what was going on and who was fighting who, only that there was certainly anger all around me. My eyes wandered over the fuzz. The room was blue and square… no, it was box-like in form. The walls were covered in metal bars and each wall, as well as the floor and ceiling, had a door at the center of them. Six exits and yet… no way out. I jumped up and quickly fell back down. The pain rippling through my legs was the only thing that gave any sign that they weren’t completely numb. I turned around to see what happened, but my eyes were too blurry to see what was wrong. I looked over the others and screamed at them for help. Yet when my mouth opened… nothing came out. I screamed louder and yet, nothing… I tried to speak and again nothing came out. Was... was my voice gone? It was at this moment that I realized that there was this faint noise in the air. I thought it was from the fighting, but I finally realized it wasn’t. And now it was getting louder and louder. My eyes went wide and my ears ached. I grabbed at them and despite how tight I held them, the sound continued getting louder. I opened my mouth and screamed an empty voice that desperately wanted somepony, something, anything to hear me. However, things kept going, I could hear the faint sounds of banging on metal. Something was hitting metal. I looked to the source, expecting some sort of help, though my doubts told me differently. I stopped screaming at the blurry sight of somepony beating another pony’s head against the wall. Judging by the size, it was a stallion and he had a green mane. It was all I could tell with my eyesight, especially when it suddenly started getting worse. The stallion continued to beat the other pony’s head into the wall over and over until red poured out like a fountain. I struggled toward him as he stopped. He stopped and pulled back. He looked deeply into the head’s wound and placed his hand into it. He soaked so much red onto his fingers before tossing the body toward me. It landed right on top of me. I tried my best to squirm away from it, yet my legs still won’t move. It was at this point that I realized the numbness in my feet was spreading. My eyelids were following, getting heavier and heavier. The noise continued to increase in loudness as everything became darker and darker. The last thing I heard before everything stopped were several loud bangs. The sounds of flesh shredded across the ground and the noise… the noise finally stopping. ****** I jumped up once my eyes opened. The memories from before were quickly fading. I calmly arose and tried to grasp my surroundings. There was noise behind me, but I paid little care to it. I scanned my surroundings with my hands. The walls were strong, made of thick metal. Though I couldn’t figure out what kind of metal. It was clean of all paints and color, yet the room’s lighting gave its own hue to the walls. Despite how clean it was, there was something on the surface. It felt like dust, but it wouldn’t rub off as easily. It had a shine to it, though it wasn't glitter. I lifted up my nose and took in a deep whiff of air. I took it in as slowly as possible to ensure I got every smell distinctly separate from each other. The air seemed clean at first, but there was something else in it. Cleaning soaps, salt, and a small amount of ginger. These smells were often used to hide something. I couldn’t figure out what though. However, I could tell which direction to go to get a better idea. I looked to my right and saw a door in the center of the wall. “Hmp, just like before.” Before, when before? I stopped my thoughts, I couldn’t ponder on the past just yet, I had to move. I walked to the wall and took a grip of the ladder. I climbed it slowly and reached for the door. The door opened and I crawled through. On the other side was a small pathway just big enough for me to crawl through and short enough for only two ponies two enter at a time, anymore than that would be a rather tight squeeze. At the other end was another door, looking exactly like the previous one. I reached out and it opened. On the other side was another room. This one looked exactly like the previous room. Same structure and design, it even smelled the same. I was no closer to finding out the unknown smell that the soap was hiding. However, I did quickly notice a distinct difference between this and the previous room. This one had green lighting. I reached closer to enter the new room when I felt something pull my leg. I looked behind me to see a light blue unicorn. She was shivering really badly and her face was so pale. I tried to ignore her, but she gripped my leg tighter and nodded very slowly while gritting her teeth. I finally caved and moved backward. She let go but kept the fear on her face until we got back fully into the previous room. Once back in there, I extended my hand out to her. “My name is Carrot Top. What’s yours?” She didn’t answer me, instead she backed away and stood by a corner. She seemed like she didn’t want to talk. Though I did happen to take note that her eyes went over to an unconscious green stallion as soon as she turned away from me. She kept staring at him even after arriving at the wall. Did she know him? I stopped my thoughts at the echoes of a smack. It sounded like the talking had finally stopped. The talking that had been going on uninterrupted since I woke up. Originally, I haven’t paid the words much attention, listening only partially to gauge what was going on. But, if things were going to devolve into a fistfight, I had to step in. I turned to stop what was going on when a sense of familiarity went through my head. It felt like this had happened before. I grabbed my head, rubbing it. The more I thought about the memories from before waking up, the quicker they disappeared. Soon I couldn’t remember any of the previous faces, all I knew was this place, this room… and now the sounds of fighting. It felt so familiar to me. This wasn’t the first time I had been in here. In fact, in my gut I could feel that this wasn’t the first time for some of us, maybe all of us. My eyes fell on the unicorn mare. As if she was reading my mind, her nod gave me an answer that only solved so much and so little at the same time. Yes. ****** Author's Note Now I'm sorry this chapter was posted so late. I got distracted twice today and never got around to posting in now finally. I hope you enjoy this chapter and leave a comment.
Prologue: Unknown POV (Updated Version)I woke to loud sounds around me. My ears tattered in pain as my teeth gritted. My arms attempted to move, but could not. It was like I had no strength in them at all. My eyes moved over the area around me. I was in some sort of steel box. The top was just mere inches from my face. The inside was white in color and there seemed to be light coming from somewhere. I couldn’t tell whereas when I tried to lift my face, I found it to be just as heavy as my arms. My eyes widened and I tried to move my other parts. Indeed, my legs and tail couldn’t move either. However, I could slightly move my jaw, my ears were able to move freely, and though it was hard to tell, my facial features were movable as well. I took in a deep breath through my nose. I had to think of a way out of this. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much thought done as the loud sounds were still swarming around me; in fact, they were getting even louder by the second. It was like they were trying to torture me. I would try to scream, but I could barely move my mouth properly as it was. Suddenly, the noise stopped. It became deathly quiet. So much so that the only thing I could hear aside from my breathing was the sweat on my face dripping to the metal below me. Time passed and with the noise gone, I could finally ponder on a way out. The first thing that came to my head was; how long had I been here? Minutes, hours, days? I felt no air current, and yet no matter how big breath I took, the air would not thin, almost like there was an endless replenish, or did even ever replenish. I decided to count. ‘One, two, three.’ The numbers bounced in my head, yet the more I counted, the longer it felt in there. ‘Four, five, six.’ I tried to think of how I got to this place, yet nothing came to me. I tried to think of where I was before this. And again, nothing. I tried to think back further, but stopped when my eyes widened at another thought. What was my name? ‘Seven, eight, nine.’ I searched my mind like a detective, but found nothing. I pulled on every single thought I had and still, nothing. The earliest memory I could think of... was waking in this steel box. No, that couldn’t be right. Did I always live in this? And when did the sounds start? Were they always there? And if so, why did they stop now? ‘Ten, eleven, twelve.’ It was strange, my mind was so confused that it wanted the painful sounds to return. I needed answers, I needed reasons to exist. Who am I? Where am I? How long had I been here? And when could I leave? ‘Thirteen… fourteen… fifteen.’ I felt tears going down my face as I finally stopped counting. There was no point. Forgetting the minutes, hours and possibly days. For all I knew, I could have been in here for years. This could be my birth… or maybe it was my death. No, there was no way I could accept that. I gritted my teeth and began pushing my body to move. I wouldn’t relent, I couldn’t give up. This would not be my life, and this would not be my death. Suddenly, I felt my jaw moving, moving properly. I could stretch it and open it again. What happened? Did I pull something loose? Did I break some sort of lock on me? Did this mean I could move the rest of me? Maybe, I didn’t know, but I had to try. I pushed and pulled at my body, yet much to my fear, nothing happened. I pushed and pulled harder and still nothing. My mind raced with every possible thing that could be letting my mouth move, but keeping the rest of me completely immobile. I wondered why I didn’t think of this before. Finally, it hit me, I couldn’t move… but I could scream. My eyes winced and I took in a deep breath, pulling on every ounce of oxygen in me. Finally, I screamed. I poured everything into that scream. If this was my life, then I would defy it. I screamed and screamed, ignoring the pain in my mouth. I badly wanted to be free, I didn’t care who heard me. I wanted freedom and I wanted it now. The more I panicked, the more I realized, my body was reacting to it. Small twitches in my fingers, slight twisting in my legs. I pushed through and screamed even harder, forcing the rest of my body to move. My hands twisted from the pain, my legs jolted from the force. Soon though my screams filled with cracks and my throat began to burn. Coughs stopped my screams for only a moment. I pushed them away and tried to scream more, but they fought back. It became too painful to scream, but I didn’t care. I knew this would work, I could feel my body moving more and more, the harder I pushed. I had to keep going, there was no point in stopping. I couldn’t stop, I couldn’t give in. There was no way I would live my life in this box. So, no matter what, I would… rebel. Pressing on, I felt my body move upward. Finally, after so long, I found myself moving freely. “Finally, you rebelled.” Hearing the voice, I stopped screaming. I fell back, confused and curious about the new sound. Who did this voice belong to? Where did it come from? “Don’t worry, my child. I will set you free soon enough.” The voice was very clearly belonging to a male. It seemed cold, yet somehow kind. I jumped and tried to speak, but all that would come out now was screams. I needed answers. How long was I here? Who put me in here? And finally, why? “You can’t speak, but you can acknowledge. So, answer me a question. A simple question, one that all must answer before they can be free.” A question was what he was after. He said I’ll be free, just like the others. Were there more like me? Did they receive the same question? And did they give the right answer? “Stop pondering, all I want is an answer to a question. Do that and you will be free.” Of course, I would answer his question. I wanted freedom for so long, but… what was freedom? Was it good, or kind, would I even like freedom? It made no sense. I had been here for so long now, yet for all I knew, I could be wrong… Maybe I was-- “I said stop pondering, it’s ear grinding.” I stopped at his words. Could… could he hear my thoughts? I stopped thinking and decided to wait. Maybe his question was indeed as simple as he said, after all, it was the only way to freedom. “Finally?” I could hear him release a deep sigh of relief. “So, now onto the question… Do you still believe in the alicorn gods?” My eyes sank into my skull. What was an alicorn god? Did I know what it was at one time? Did I always know? Or did I ever knew? God would be the being that created life, so did these alicorn gods put me in here? Why would they do such a thing? No, why would I ever believe in such a being? “Good. I’m glad you think that way.” My mind came to attention at the sound of a cane hitting the ground. On that, I felt the box moving. It was lifting upward. My eye shot out as I heard the sound of the metal moving, no... the box was opening. I pulled back at a bright light swarming in from one side. It was so much more brighter than the light in the box that it was almost blinding. I tried to hide from it, but as the front of the box opened more, it left me no place to do so. Suddenly, a silhouette tore through the light. “So, your mind tells me that you have lost faith in them. Good, very good. But let’s see if you can pass the final test.” The figure lifted his hand and a loud snapping sound broke through the air. Smoke rose around me at an increasing rate. I struggled forward and found myself outside the box. However, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground. The smoke covered me as I tried to look up to the figure. I couldn’t see his face or even what species he was, but I could at least see that he had a green blazer on and a red cane in his hand. My eyes became heavier and weaker as the smoke entered my mouth and nose. I reached out with my arm and it fell to the ground before I could reach the figure. My body became heavier as well. Everything around me began to dim. The light’s brightness no longer bothered me. Finally, I felt sleep overtaking me. I tried to fight it, but it was too strong. It was too strong... ****** Author's Note Okay, here how things are going to go for this story. I'm going to be handling it very differently from other stories. I will only be releasing chapters on certain holidays. Those holidays being... Groundhog Day. Valentines Day. April Fool's Day. Cinco De Mayo. Memorial Day. Independence Day. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Year's Eve. Each of these holidays you will get a single chapter. So the next chapter will come out on Groundhog Day. Now, these will be set to holiday dates set for next year. I'm not sure how long this story will get, so I might even finish it before the new year is over with. Also, each chapter will be a certain pony's POV. Now as for how this chapter ended, fans of the Cube must be somewhat confused. At least fans of Cube Zero, since the question was actually in reverse. I did it this way because each movie really had their own reasons for having the maze. My reason will make sense by the end of this story. Be aware that I won't be leaving you all somewhat lost like this series often did to it's fans by the end. This will have all the gory fun traps you know from the series, plus some new ones I thought up. Keep a tracking on this as I have got some big plans for this one.
