Author's Note
For convenience, this story is based on the Neighbor’s House from the Alpha 3 version of the game because anything after that is absolute chaos.
So if things look different, this is why. Enjoy!
Hello, Neighbor
The Cube of Gaming- One of the latest breakthroughs in gaming technology. Being a person who had supernatural gaming powers, Nathan was the creator of the magnificent invention. It was like virtual reality- But think of it as a literally realistic environment you’re dealing with.
The usage of this plaything is simple. Just load up the game you want to play on the system of the 50 by 50 by 50 cube, and start the game to begin the adventure. This device automatically sucks you into the game itself, and you can play as any character as you wish. It was like virtual reality, but you are actually IN the game. You are the character, you make your move, and most importantly, you suffer the trouble in the game. Thankfully, it is now developed to a point where you will not feel injuries, as there will be a secret shield to protect you from your actual body.
Users customize the way they play- What game they want, how long they play it for, and for the wildest players, completing a certain objective before they can return to the actual world. It can be dangerous- But some still do it and get out alive.
The ponies have never experienced something like this before- How will they face the more advanced, more powerful and more hardcore players of the human world, or even simply the human created games themselves?
Let’s find out.
Games Ponies Play: Trespasser
The sun shines brightly in the neighborhood. Peaceful and quiet, like how all days should be. It seemed as if nothing can go wrong on a day like this.
And of course, that is wrong.
Fluttershy woke up from her bed. Looking around, she realized she’s not in her home. Her home had a completely different layout, and surely there should’ve been a window on her left that looks out to the wild. When her vision cleared, she was both confused and afraid that she’s in a place that she doesn’t know about.
“Where... Where am I?” She asked, to no one in particular.
She figured that she would try to go outside and take a look. When she opened the front door, her eyes were focused on a giant house just opposite hers. It was like a six-story house or something. The house was very oddly shaped, and there seemed to even be a few train tracks around the higher parts of the house for no particular reason. There's even a windmill, for Celestia's sake.
Then she heard some glitching sounds. She was startled.
"Flutters! can you hear me?"
Fluttershy frantically started turning her head around the room, trying to find where the sound came from. At the same time, she was terrified- Who is speaking to her? Did somepony break in her 'House'?
"It's me, Nathan. I'm not anywhere near you right now. I'm talking to you through a transmitter."
Fluttershy touched her ear- The transmitter was in it.
"Nathan! Where am I!? What have you done this time!?"
"I see you're terrified. Don't panic. And my apologies, I won't be able to hear you from here, so I have no idea what you just said," Nathan said. "Though, I can see where you are. You're trapped in my Cube of Gaming."
"What!?"
"Yes, yes, I know, Flutters. But please, believe me, it wasn't me who trapped you. I woke up this morning to find the Cube out of control. I'm still trying to stabilize it, and I found that you're trapped in the game Hello Neighbor in the process. I'm really sorry, but what happened to you is out of my control. And I couldn't help you teleport out of there."
Fluttershy was at the brink of crying. She knew the game she's in- It's a horror game where you have to get into the neighbor's basement to find out his secrets. But for a kind pony like Fluttershy, she wasn't going to trespass into some random anybody's house.
Then again, if she does nothing, she won't be able to find her way back home. She thought about all the animals back where she lives in. She was worried sick of them, and what are they going to do in her absence? Fluttershy knew- One way or another, she has to try and free herself out of the game. Conquering her fear is the only solution, and the only way she'll get back home.
"Flutters, I can't talk with you any longer. I'm really sorry. I'll try to stabilize the Cube as soon as I can. Once I'm done, I'll bring you home. Just remember, stay away from the-"
**Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep**
"*gasp* Nathan!"
Fluttershy gasped, and her heart sank. Her friend was the only possible person she could seek help with at this moment in time, and now she has lost contact with him. Alone without assistance on what to do, she’s on her own- She has to do this alone, and that thought was enough to make the shy mare cry. Fluttershy leaned against the back wall, covering her face as tears ran down her cheeks.
Suddenly, a red-colored bird flew by the window, and the pony heard it chirping. She stopped crying.
“Huh?” She asked, her face beaming. “Oh, hello, little one!
The bird whispered to her in a series of chirps.
“Oh, it’s okay, don’t worry about me,” Fluttershy replied, “I’ll… I’ll work my way out of this one, thanks. I just need to get in that house and find the key to the basement door.”
A few chirps later, the pony gasped.
“Huh? You’ll help me find the locations of the things I need?”
The bird nodded.
“Oh, thank you!” She gave her companion a little nuzzle. “The house is just opposite mine. Will you help me?”
The bird nodded and took off. A while later, it came back and told Fluttershy everything. The pony nodded and thanked it, before setting off to the neighbor’s house.
**A While Later…**
Fluttershy stepped to the front door of the Neighbour’s house. She knocked politely on the white door.
“Hello?” She spoke softly.
No answer.
“Uhm, I-I guess I’ll come in now…?”
She tried to open the door with her front hooves. It was a bit tricky since the doorknob was round and smooth. Surprisingly, the door wasn’t locked, and she was in. The thought of trespassing into a stranger’s house made her hesitant to enter at first, but she knew if she doesn’t proceed with her mission, she won’t get anywhere.
She stood in the main hall.
“Hmmm… They said the key is near the front door…” Fluttershy said to herself, “But where…?”
Suddenly, footsteps drew near. This startled the mare.
“Wh-Huh?” She said, shivering as she turned around in different directions. “Wh-Who’s here?”
The louder they became, the more worried Fluttershy became. It must be the owner of the house, she thought. What is he going to do? Is he nice? Or is he a madman? He could be a serial killer, too- Who knows what kind of character he is? Because of this, Fluttershy didn’t know what she’s about to get into.
The figure finally appeared a minute later. He was wearing a yellow shirt, brown leggings, a blue sweater in front, and his head looked kind of weird. It’s like in the shape of a pear or some sort. He had short hair, and an intimidating mustache, at least to the pony.
“What in the world are you doing here?” The man coughed in a deep voice.
Fluttershy was too intimidated to say anything, looking at the man’s stern expression.
“H-Hi… Uhm, y-you must be Mr. neighbor, right…?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, and you’re an unwanted visitor. Get out.”
She gasped. “I-I’m Sorry… I-I just wanted-“
”Out. Now.” He demanded, pushing her out the house.
“B-But-“
**SLAM**
**Dead**
The door closed before she could ask anything. She was also teleported back to her house by the game program. Now, the time has gone forward by an hour since her first shot. But she wasn’t ready to give up.
“I’ll try again,” Fluttershy said to herself, “Maybe he’s just in a bad mood.”
She enters the house again.
Carefully, she closed the door behind her. She saw a switch on the ceiling. She flapped her wings to get to it, flicked it, which opened a panel above the door. Inside, revealed a gold key. She flew up to grab it with her mouth and dropped it into her saddlebags. At the same time, the neighbor just spotted her.
“You again!” He called.
Fluttershy gasps, and tried to open the door to escape, but was too slow as the neighbor captured her.
**Dead**
The good news was, Fluttershy kept the gold key she collected as she was teleported back. She released a sigh of relief.
“Phew. Hmmm… What do I use this for, though…?”
Another hour was skipped thanks to her attempt.
“*sigh* I guess I’ll have to go back to find out…”
She walks back out to the street. She goes to the door again, to find it was wide open. She smiles, as she could enter freely. However…
**WHAM**
“*cries*Owwww!!!” Fluttershy cried.
The poor pony looked below her right front hoof- It was stuck in a closed bear trap. Her eyes started to well with tears, and they flowed down her cheeks when her eyes were overflowing. As it was metal, it was really painful.
“Who puts a bear trap to keep people out!?”
The neighbor hurried over, and Fluttershy was teleported away again.
**Dead**
The next attempt, Fluttershy started becoming more cautious about where she walks. Every time she crosses a doorway, she would be on the lookout for bear traps. She also became a little more sneaky, using her wings, for once- to her advantage. She would stick to the ceiling as much as possible. It’s not a conventional way of playing the game, but she did not mind this exploit.
This allowed her to finally make some more progress. She turned into a big corridor in the house, looking like one that should fit in a mansion or a castle. It was a little messy and cluttered with objects here and there. So she stuck to flying mid-air.
The footsteps drew near again.
Fluttershy gasps, And paces around in fear, until she found a cupboard, just suit for her size to hide in. She squeezed herself into a tight spot and closed the doors. A minute later, the sounds disappeared into nothing. Letting out a relieved sigh, Fluttershy squeezed herself out.
She dusted herself off, before moving on. A few steps later she found herself near a staircase, and a path blocked by a bunch of boxes. Lightly, she nudges the boxes. Seeing that they don’t decide to move, she thought for a bit after hiding behind the stairs. She didn’t want to make a mess by knocking everything over, plus it would make noises, leading her to be caught.
Then she thought, ”Wait, I have wings!”
She giggled at her forgetfulness and flew past the boxes. She finds a switch with a wire leading upstairs and flicked it with her hoof before climbing up the stairs. Upstairs, she found some sort of gate splitting the room in half. She scratched her head, before realizing that there’s a gap she could go through near the stairs. Due to the awkward design of the room, the gate left a gap where the stairs were.
So she easily flew to the other side of the room with no problem.
“That was easy,” She chuckled.
She saw a switch beside the door on her right. With a flick, the gate opened. Then, to her absolute horror…
“Aha! I see you up there!” The neighbor shouted from downstairs.
Fluttershy let out a scream and closed the gate. She didn’t want to be caught again. By closing the gate, the neighbor wasn’t able to get close to her. Fluttershy hurried into the next corridor as he slammed against the metal bars.
“Phew...” Fluttershy sighed in relief. “That was too close... Huh, I wonder if that switch I flicked opened this door? *giggles* Good thing I flicked it earlier.”
But the pony could only gasp in worry as she looks at the several pictures of eyes in the hallway. Creepy. She opened the first door to her right.
“Huh? What is this?”
Fluttershy was literally one step away from falling straight into darkness when she opened the door. Why? The room’s floor was on the left side of the room only for some unknown reason. Thankfully, she didn’t fall for it and proceeded to fly to a safe spot. At least the neighbor couldn't catch her for now.
She figured that there might be a secret, seeing how awkwardly built this room was. When she looked behind a painting of a golden apple on the wall opposite the door, she found a hidden hole. Inside, there was a grey key on a shelf.
“Hmmm...” Fluttershy hummed, trying to lean in the hole. “*grunting* Oh, no, it’s too small for me to reach in to grab it!”
The hole was just barely bigger than the size of her hoof. She also tried using her mane to get the key, seeing how useful it sometimes can be. But, no success either.
“I wonder... If I use something for me to extend my reach...? Would it work?”
It took her a minute to realize she was talking to herself.
“Oh, *giggles* Silly me, telling my ideas to no one!”
Fluttershy flew back into the corridor she came in from. At the end of it, there was a door with a gold lock. She trotted to the door and grabbed the gold key from her saddlebag. Gently, she grabbed the key in her mouth and pushed it into the lock, and with a twist, she unlocked the door. In the next room, she found a gate after turning a corner. The gate blocked her from getting into another room. It had a shelf with some sort of card inside it.
It was then she realized something- The door to the basement has some sort of card mechanism, one that she had seen before in the human world with her human friend Nathan when they and the rest of their friends were traveling. She remembered that for it to work, she had to slide a card through it. So, she guessed that the card on that shelf was something similar.
And she knew- She had to get it.
Problem was, the room she was in didn’t really lead anywhere. Just a random room. She did find some kind of toy gun on the wall, though, that can shoot corkscrews. Problem was, she didn't have fingers like the game’s intended players do, so she couldn’t really use it.
When she left the room, however...
“GET OVER HERE!” The Neighbor yelled as he sprinted across the hallway outside the room.
“*gasp* Ahhhhhhhh!!!!”
*Dead*
Now Fluttershy was becoming confused. If the gold key didn't lead her anywhere, where else can she go?
She started thinking outside her house, just getting a bit of fresh air in the process. About a few minutes later, she spotted a random ladder on the second floor, right outside where she last failed her mission. Then she realized- All she had to do was break the window, step outside, and up she could go!
The pony blushed at her stupidity. But not entirely, since she made a better plan.
Since she was a pegasus, once again she “Cheats” to get to the second floor without a single property damage report done by her neighbor. She flew up higher to the top of the ladder, onto the roof of the main building, parts where she could access. To her right, there was a hole in another roof panel. It was small, but the mare was able to slide her body in pretty easily this time, albeit struggling to avoid crashing head-first into the hidden room in the roof since she inserted her head through the roof first.
Eventually, she wiggled and wiggled her legs repeatedly until she launched her entire body through the hole, and still couldn't prevent the crash she wanted to avoid. She shook her head and chuckled nervously, ignoring the pain on her face. Getting back on her hooves, she saw a truss that supported the roof. She went behind it and found something very useful.
“The crowbar!”
Fluttershy silently celebrated with a few amused claps and hopping a few times. She flew up to grab it with her mouth and plopped it into her saddlebags. She flew back out from the same hole, after trying to squeezing herself back out. Now, she only had to get into the keycard room to have everything she needs to go home! She couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Slowly, she flew back down to her safe house.
“Hmmm... I might be able to get the key with this,” Fluttershy pondered but sighed as she looked at the door. “But the neighbor is at the front door... Oh no...”
Then she remembered something.
“Wait... The room the key was in... I wonder...?”
Out of her character, she tried to stealth her way through a different way in- One that would be impossible for ordinary players. Back in the room where she found the grey key in, there was a giant section of the floor that left a hole. So, against her fears of both the neighbor and the lurking darkness as her short, failed attempts, she flew past everything to the back of the house and went from under.
(Because of what happened before,) Fluttershy was still scared that the Neighbor would somehow get over the gate again to catch her. So, her attempt to get to the grey key by using the tip of the crowbar was quite a gingery move. Typically, she used her mouth to hold onto one side of the tool, slid it through the hole, and tried to eyeball it so she could hook the tip onto the hole of the key. After a few attempts, she was able to retrieve the key, which made her very happy.
Scavenging back into the gate room, she spotted another stairway. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, as soon she takes off from the top of the gate, she dashed for the stairs to find a door. Quickly and at the brink of tearing up in fear of the neighbor’s wrath, she got the key out, after a lot of fumbling, and tried to unlock the door. By a split second, she heard the horrifying footsteps coming from the main staircase just when she the lock was picked, and she slammed the door shut as she got to the other side. She jammed her body against the door so he couldn’t open it.
**Hypervetilating**
A minute later, the door banging stopped. Still feeling unsafe, Fluttershy saw a relatively heavy mannequin to hold the door with.
“*sighs* Oh my Celestia...” She said, still gasping for air. “Nathan... Just get me out of here already!!” But then she shook her head. “No, Fluttershy, pull yourself together. You can get through this on your own, can’t you? Just stay focused, and find the card.”
Fluttershy took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, then let it out slowly. A minute later, she got back on her hooves. Looking around the room, she was very confused about the design of the room itself. The floor was littered by random large objects lying around the room with no concrete reason. There were also upside down doors on the higher edge of the walls. There were weird contraptions here and there. But perhaps the weirdest part was that there was a hole in the floor.
Going down the hole, the room was a little more normal this time, albeit holding some pretty creepy stuff. But, what wasn’t creepy was that Fluttershy managed to find the keycard in some kind of shelf. She picked the card with her mouth and tossed it into her bags.
Now, all she had to do, was get back to the basement door.
And that’s the problem.
Sitting right by the door, was the neighbor. So at this point, Fluttershy just perceived that the neighbor has perceived she would absolutely always have to beat the game by going through that door, so if she can’t go through it, there’s no possible way for her to beat and exit the game. And he decided the best way to prevent her from beating the game at all costs was to simply block the one and only exit of the game.
So what in the world will Fluttershy do, now that he’s not going to budge at all?
Well, she might be shy, but she was clever with how to exploit the living heck out of this game as if she hasn’t broken it already.
With a little help from her good old birdy friend, she devised a huge distraction plan for the neighbor that included a lot of other birds that took her side. After a series of coordination that the pony herself couldn’t see, since she had to stay low key, the neighbor was fortunately distracted from the bottom of the house way up to the top.
A flaw in his own plan.
By doing so, this gave Fluttershy the few minutes she absolutely needed to make up for the struggle to unlock all the obstructions to the door. As soon she saw the man up on the roof, while he wasn’t looking, she galloped right inside the house and started to act fast. She got out her keycard and slid it through the slot that unlocked the door in the first place, then used the crowbar to pry out every single nail that held the door to the wall. She had to fidget with the tool a little, because she was using her mouth to hold it, after all. This was exactly why she needed to make the distraction plan.
Once all the nails were out of their places, the boards used to hold the door shut fell to the floor with a clunk. But then, Fluttershy got yanked backward.
"HEY!"
The pony let out a short scream, turned, and threw half of the crowbar sending straight into the neighbor's face. The man immediately released his grasp, falling to the floor and grunted in pain. Fluttershy gasped, covering her mouth. She wanted to comfort him and apologize, then thought, "No! What are you doing, me? You need to get back!"
She had her hooves on the handle and twisted the door open.
"Wait!"
Fluttershy stopped herself just before entering.
"Huh?"
The neighbor got up, still a little light-headed from her unintentional attack.
"Don't go, I'm begging you."
Fluttershy was confused and closed the door. "Why?"
"I've seen it again and again," He begged. "Players came, and beat the game, and died."
"What?"
"This is why I'm trying with everything I have to stop you from beating the game, don't you see?" The neighbor protested, "If you go in this door, you won't beat my game. I've been cursed. This door will lead you nowhere- What's waiting for you is a glitchy dimension that a hacker implemented in the game. Please, don't put yourself in trouble, I'm trying to protect you..."
Fluttershy thought for a little. She slowly opened the door again, but not before the neighbor grabs her hoof.
"No, please!"
"Nathan's on my side," Fluttershy explained with a smile.
The neighbor, recognizing the name, immediately went numb. A second later he stopped grabbing her and allowed her to go in. As a game character, he knew the creator of "the Cube". He knew that she can get out with the Creator's abilities to interfere with the game, no matter how glitchy the game was.
So he nodded and stepped aside.
"Thanks," Fluttershy giggled. "Oh, and... Sorry for hitting you. I... I was scared."
"Oh, don't worry," The man chuckled. "I've had players hit me with rubber bullets again and again before. Trust me, they all think I'm scary at first sight. I'm just cursed, that's all."
The pony continued her giggling. "Well, if you were this welcoming, I wouldn't have tried to avoid you."
****************
The moment Fluttershy entered the door down into the basement, she was immediately teleported into exactly what the neighbor had expected- A dimension full of glitches. Bunches of computer garble surrounded the four-dimensional area, and Fluttershy found herself in mid-air, levitating. The surroundings were pitch black, and eerie sound effects of glitches ringed in her ears.
"Another rare catch," Someone spoke in the darkness.
The pony let out an eep.
"One of... *chuckles* Idiot Nathan's friends," The voice said. "We told all of you that this is a stupid idea from the start. And yet he won't listen... *laughs* Stupid, stupid, stupid."
Fluttershy wasn't very happy.
"Who are you to insult my friend?"
"Oh, I didn't know you talk back. Let alone talk."
She gasped at his hurtful words.
“This Cube invention... It has changed the gaming community of the human world. But alas- It’s too dangerous, fellow player,” The voice said, trying to hide his devious plan. “Trapped in a virus that his creation’s program could not defend against. A flaw in the system making people seize to exist. You could’ve persuaded him- And now it’s too late.”
Fluttershy held back the tears. She knew- Nathan was coming. He’s got to be near. She trusted him with all her heart. Her friend would not let her glitch out of existence by his own plaything. It was then she heard some very interesting dialogue from the man behind the voice. In fact, it was multiple people having a discussion. And she was both furious and frightened by their words.
”How’s the prey?”
“Doing fine. We shall end her painlessly.”
“Good. Another piece of evidence to mark proof.”
“Yes indeed. The Cube is a threat to everyone in gaming. It shall be destroyed.”
“Oh, quit the act. You know why we’re doing this.”
“Right, right. We’re trying to embarrass Nathan.”
“Exactly. We’re going to make him caught in so much controversy he won’t be respected ever again.”
“Serves him right for killing our leader in the war.”
“Very much. He embarrassed us back then. It’s our turn to torture him the same way he did to us.”
“Agreed- He freaking forced us to prison, for god’s sake. Uncool. It’s him that betrayed the humans first.”
“A coward and a snitch. Why is he still so popular among us?”
“True. Which is why we’re trying to plague him, is it not?”
“It was Winston’s goal from the start.”
The moment they said the name, Fluttershy’s ear perked up. She recognized it. She knew who it was. When Equestria was at war with the humans some time ago, a group of terrorists known as “The Black Hand” plagued Nathan’s hometown. He defeated them the following day after the country surrendered, in an attempt for vengeance of their once mass bullying of him and genocide of his pony comrades even after the country swore allegiance.
Now, they’re planning to strike back. And Fluttershy heard everything.
It was right on cue, too.
”Fluttershy!”
The pony let out a quiet gasp as she heard the whisper.
“I’m in. I decrypted the game and got the virus out. Hang in there.”
She nodded. She wished she could tell him to hurry up- But the communication on her side was still terminated.
”Wait a minute, why is the microphone on?”
**Giant gasp**
The moment they found out, everyone blurted out swear words and scrambled to the system to kill Fluttershy before she could spill the beans to anyone if she could somehow get free.
Which she did.
Finally, Nathan decrypted the file that gave him access to the dimension she was trapped in due to the virus. Immediately, he initiated a teleportation protocol to get her out. Fluttershy even jokingly teased the hackers that Nathan broke in to get her out.
And a barrage of inappropriate language followed as the virus was disengaged.
***************
**SPARK**
The Cube sparkled with flares as Fluttershy was sent out of the program, and back to the real world. Coughing from the dust of the unstable teleportation command as it was made in a hurry, Fluttershy gave a sigh of relief.
And an exhausted Nathan turns away from his computer for the first time in 3 hours to see who he has saved.
“*cries* Nathan!!”
Fluttershy stumbles over to hug her friend as the latter did the same thing. Resting herself completely against Nathan, she gave another sigh, feeling safe.
“You have no idea,” Nathan chuckled, “How long I spent trying to get you out.”
Fluttershy nuzzled him with a smile. “Thank you...”
“Haha, my pleasure. Why do you think I’ll make you stay trapped, am I right?”
They both let go.
“Sorry, Flutters. My bad for not upgrading anti-virus security. So... What happened in there?”
(...)
“Say what now? The Black Hand?”
“That’s what I heard,” Fluttershy said nervously. “They wanted to... Humiliate you...”
“What in the world? I arrested them once, for Celestia’s sake.”
“Yeah, I don’t understand...”
“Well, spare the explanation. I might as well fix the system and upgrade some security. Haha, I guess you did help me realize how bad I am at planning ahead for these hacker attacks, huh?”
Fluttershy nudged his arm. “*giggles* Don’t say that. I... I guess I’ll be on my way?”
“Yeah, go have a rest and hang out with your animal friends, hm? You must’ve had a long day.”
The pony gave him a hug before leaving. Nathan returned in front of his computer, sat down, and sighed. A new, yet familiar threat has risen before his creation- And he hoped it would be a worry for another day.
”You really hate me huh, Winston?”
