Truth or Dare?by Super SpikeChaptersPrologueRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5AftermathEpiloguePrologueNightmare Night was always a fun holiday for foals to celebrate. Some go trick-or-treating and attend parties. Others like to enter into scary places to be thrilled. On this Nightmare Night, eight foals decide to go to someplace that would change their lives forever. * * * * While trick-or-treating, four colts walked all over the streets of Ponyville, looking for something to do. Their bags of candy were full of sweets. "Where do you want to go next?" Pipsqueak asked. He was a small white earth pony colt with brown patches all over him, as well as having a dark brown mane and tail, and was wearing another pirate costume. This time with a feather on his hat, a hook on his hoof, and a fake parrot on his back. He loved princesses and had dedicated his life to become a great leader. "I'm not sure," Button Mash said. He was a brown earth pony colt with an orange mane and tail and was dressed in a Joy Boy box. He was a big fan on video games. "I heard of a haunted house that we can go," Rumble said. He was a gray pegasus colt with a black mane and tail and was dressed up as a batpony. He was very daring and dedicated his life to become a Wonderbolt just like his older brother, Thunderlane. "It's a block away from where we are." "Are you sure about that?" Gold Watch responded. He was a pink earth pony colt with a purple and white striped mane and tail and was wearing an astronaut suit. He was a very nervous colt who was very protective toward his sister and his friends. "It's eight o'clock. I have to be home in a hour. Mom and Dad are expecting me." "Relax," Rumble said. "It's just a haunted house. We'll only be in there for a few minutes. I've been to many of those throughout my life. It's just full of ponies that wear "scary" costumes and decorate the house full of "scary" things. So, are you all in?" "I'll go," Pipsqueak answered. "Me too," Button answered. "I...guess I'll give it a try," Gold Watch said nervously. The four colts walked over a distance to see what the haunted house look like. At the same time, four fillies were passing by. "Man, my bag is getting very full," Dinky Hooves said. She was a purple unicorn filly with a yellow mane and tail and was dressed up as Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was very colt crazy and had a huge crush on Pipsqueak. "I think we've been to evewy housth," Twist said. She was a vanilla earth pony filly with a red curly mane and tail, as well as wearing purple eye glasses. She was dressed up as Princess Celestia. She had a huge interest on candy and had a lisp due to missing a few teeth. "Shall we head home?" Silver Spoon asked. She was a gray earth pony filly with a silver braided mane and tail, as well as wearing red eye glasses and a light blue beaded necklace, and was dressed up as Princess Luna. She was a sweet filly who used to bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but turned a new leaf after the class election. "My parents are expecting me to be home in a half hour." "Not yet," Diamond Tiara said. She was pink earth pony filly with a purple and white striped mane and tail, similar to her twin brother, Gold Watch, as well as wearing a silver tiara on her mane. She was dressed up as Princess Cadence. She was a sweet filly who used to bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders until she turned a new leaf when she stood up to her abusive mother, Spoiled Rich. "I heard about a haunted house that we can try out. It's a block away from where we are. Besides, I don't have to be home for another hour. What do you say?" "I'm in," Silver answered. "Me too," Twist answered. "Uh, I'm not sure," Dinky answered nervously. "Oh come on, Dinky," Diamond said. "We'll only be in there for a few minutes." "Um, okay," Dinky said nervously. The four fillies then walked toward the haunted house. Upon arriving, they saw four colts staring at the haunted house. "Wow," Button said. "That's one big house." "But where are all of the pumpkins, ghosts, and scary lights?" Pipsqueak said confusedly. "Are you sure that it's the right house?" "I think so," Rumble said as he pulled something out of his candy bag. "Here, I have an article about it. It looks kind of silly, but it sounds cool." The colts looked at the article that stated what the haunted house was about. The Haunted House This house may appear to be any home, but don't let that fool you. It has been known to claim many ponies' lives. Fifteen years ago, seven foals walked inside and decided to play truth or dare, with only one of them escaping. The other six foals were never seen again. Visitors must take caution upon entering because one you go inside, you may end up playing a game in which may never be able to exit the house. "Wow, that's scary," Gold Watch said. "I know, right?" Rumble responded. "Anyway, want to check it out?" "What?" Gold Watch answered. "No way! Didn't you read the article? It says that the house is dangerous." "Oh come on," Rumble said. "I found the article yesterday when I was heading home from school. I'm pretty sure whoever wrote it was just pulling a prank." "Hey guys," Diamond said as she and her friends walked towards the group. "Are you guys going into the haunted house, too?" "We sure are," Rumble responded. "Are you?" "Yep," Diamond responded. "Before we go in, how about you read the article about the haunted house?" Rumble asked. "Okay," Diamond said. She and her friends read the article and then looked at Rumble in shock. "Is it true?" Dinky asked worriedly. "I doubt it," Rumble said. "It's just an article." "Well then, let's go inside," Diamond said excitedly. The eight foals walked past the gate and Rumble turned the knob to try opening the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. "Are you sure about this?" Gold Watch nervously asked the group. "Are you sure we're not breaking into someone's actual house?" "I'm pretty sure," Rumble responded. "I think." The eight foals walked inside and saw the layout of the house. It was big with two stories. A grandfather clock was present in the living room, an old TV was present, a kitchen with a refrigerator and a stove was next to it, and the wallpaper seemed to look like any normal house would have. "This is weirding me out," Silver said. "Hello!" Rumble shouted, but got no response. "Maybe we should all just leave," Gold Watch said nervously. "No way," Rumble said. "I'm sure that whomever set this up was meant to scare us in order to fool us and then pop up in surprise." "Yeah, come on, big brother," Diamond said. "You should man up. You're older than me." "By only a minute," Gold Watch said. "Besides, something doesn't seem right here. It's just too quiet here." As Button closed the door, the group saw some arrows on the ground that were pointing toward the living room. "I think we're supposed to walk there," Pipsqueak said. The eight foals saw the arrows lead to the sofa. "The arrows end here," Button said. "Maybe we're supposed to sit here," Pipsqueak said. The foals all sat on the couch. "So, what now?" Diamond pondered. "Are we supposed to wait until somepony walks up to us?" "I don't know," Button said. "This sofa is pretty comfortable." "I know," Rumble said. "Let's play a game of truth or dare while we're waiting?" "Are you crazy?" Gold Watch responded frantically. "What if the article is actually real?" "Oh come on," Rumble said. "Unless Discord is here pulling a prank on us, I'm pretty darn sure that nothing will happen." "Um, okay," Gold Watch said nervously. "Alright then, let's take some cards out and write down a few truths and dares on them," Rumble announced. "Then we'll shuffle the deck and take turns." With that said, the eight foals took some quills, dipped them into ink, and began to write on the cards to begin the game of truth or dare. Author's Note Note: Gold Watch is Diamond Tiara's twin brother in this story. In previous stories, he has been known to be Diamond Tiara's male counterpart. But here, I decided to make them siblings. Keep in mind, this story has the "Alternate Universe" tag on it. Round 1A few minutes had passed by the time the group was done writing each of the cards down and placed the cards into a deck. Diamond Tiara shuffled the deck and then turned her head towards the group. "Okay, who's first?" she asked. After a short pause, Rumble stood up. "I'll go first," he said as he took a card from the deck and read it. "What is your greatest fear?" He sighed. "Well, my greatest fear is about being unable to become a Wonderbolt." At that point, he felt sad. "Initially, I thought that if I got the wrong cutie mark, I wouldn't be qualified to be one. So, I started a movement called 'Blank Flanks Forever' at the Cutie Mark Day Camp. But then, my older brother, Thunderlane showed me the cutie marks won't effect my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt and I decided to just go along with the day camp. Even so, I'm still afraid because it's a long ways away and I want to be up for the challenge. I'm so sorry, Pipsqueak." "It's okay, Rumble," Pipsqueak said. "You didn't really do anything wrong. You expressed your belief about a tough topic." "Still," Rumble said. "I found what I did was wrong." He sighed. "Okay, who's next?" "I'll go," Diamond said as she took a card from the deck. "Stand on your hind legs for thirty seconds. What? How's that even possible?" She sighed. "Okay, I'll try." Rumble pulled out a stopwatch as Diamond got up on her hind legs and began standing on them alone. The moment she got into that position, Rumble started the timer on his stopwatch. "Ow, my legs," Diamond groaned after standing on them for a few seconds. "You got twenty seconds left," Rumble announced. "Twenty seconds?!" Diamond shouted. "I'm going to break my back if I don't stand on all fours soon!" "Come on, Diamond," Silver Spoon said with encouragement. "You can do it!" "Ten more seconds," Rumble announced. "My muscles are really going to hurt tomorrow!" Diamond shouted as her hind legs began to quiver. "Only five more seconds left," Rumble announced. "WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD DO THIS?!" Diamond screamed as her legs were about to give out. "Time's up," Rumble announced. Diamond quickly got back on all fours and sat next to her brother. "Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone. "I think so," Diamond answered. "My hind legs really hurt though." "I'll go get some ice," Gold Watch said. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Diamond said happily. "You're a great brother." "You're welcome, Diamond Tiara," Gold Watch said. "You're a great sister." As Gold Watch went into the kitchen to find some ice in the freezer, Button Mash got up from the sofa. "I'll go next," he said as he picked up a card from the deck. "Did you lose a very important video game? What? No, I didn't." All of a sudden, something carved onto the floorboard right in front of him. The carving said, 'Liar'. This caused him to freak out. "Liar?!" He began to hyperventilate. "Am I tripping?" "Calm down, Button," Pipsqueak said. "It's just a video game." "It's not what you think," Button said nervously. "I spent six hours on it in the arcade. It was on Hearts and Hooves Day and I was facing the final boss and I was about to fight against it when Sweetie Belle sang something behind me. I turned around and then lost against the final boss while I was distracted. All of that time went to waste. I had to start all over, but I only played for five more minutes and then I decided to get Mom a bouquet of flowers for Hearts and Hooves Day." He then sighed. "Phew. It feels great to get that out of me." "It's no problem, Button," Pipsqueak said. "We're friends. We'll keep it a secret." "Thanks, Pip," Button said. "I did beat the game a week later, so it does make me feel a bit better." "That's great, Button," Diamond said. "Alright, who's next?" "I'll go," Dinky said as she pulled a card out of the deck. "What is the truth about your mother's cross-eyes? Who wrote this?" "Not me," Diamond said. "Not me," Rumble said. "I don't think anyone wrote that one," Pipsqueak said. Gold Watch walked back into the living room, carrying two plastic bags full of ice. "Here you go, Diamond," he said as he gave the bags of ice to her. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Diamond said as she placed one of the bags onto her hind legs and the other on her back. "I think we need to get out of here," Gold Watch said, who was now shaking nervously. "Something tells me that this house is no ordinary one." "I think your right," Button said. "How did that house know I was lying?" "The house?" Silver responded. "That's ridiculous! There has to be somepony stalking us." "We got to call the police," Diamond said. "Let's go," Gold Watch said. The eight foals got off the sofa and headed towards the front door. When Gold Watch tried to turn the knob, however, the door wouldn't open. "I can't open it," Gold Watch said nervously as he looked at the window next to the door. "We got to climb out the window." He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. "We got to break the window," Rumble said. "He ran back into the living room, took a chair, and then slammed it at the window several times, but it didn't break. "Now what?" Diamond responded worriedly. "I think Dinky needs to take her turn," Button Mash said nervously. Dinky sighed. "My mom told me about that story last year," she stated. "She was hit in the head by a bowling ball while bowling with her friends back when she was my age. As a result, she had a concussion and had to go to the hospital. They were able to stop the concussion, but she suffered from permanent damage on her eyesight. Over time, her eyes became more crosseyed and she had to leave summer flight camp after participating in seven races." All of the other foals looked at Dinky concerned. "I'm sorry to hear about that," Gold Watch said as he placed his hoof on Dinky's shoulder. "It's okay, Gold Watch," Dinky said. "I hope you can all understand." "We all do," Diamond said. "Okay, now that that's over, how about we get out of here now?" Gold Watch responded. The group tried to find a way, but found the doors remaining locked and the windows being covered by wooden boards. "We can't get out," Silver said frantically. All of a sudden, the TV in the living room turned on. Static appeared and some strange noise was sounding all over the house. The group ran into the living room and heard an eerie voice coming from the TV. "Five rounds...forty-eight hours...or suffer the consequences," it hissed. Upon hearing that sound, Gold Watch fainted. "Gold Watch, are you okay?" Diamond asked concerned as she ran up to him. All of a sudden, the number, nine, appeared on the TV screen surrounded by a circle. A line then began spinning around and the number decreased by one for each full stop. It soon stopped at the number, two. Then the grandfather clock chimed twice. "Two?" Pipsqueak responded confusedly. "Jump off of the staircase from top to bottom," the voice said. "Two minutes." "What?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "That's insane!" "You have to do it," Button Mash said as he put his hoof over Pipsqueak's shoulder. "We need to do what the voice tells us to do if we want to get out of here." Pipsqueak sighed. "Okay," he said nervously. As Pipsqueak walked up the stairs, Diamond was tapping Gold Watch's cheeks to try to wake him up. "Come on, Gold Watch!" Diamond called out to her brother. Within a few seconds, Gold Watch woke up. He groaned a bit. "What happened?" he asked Diamond groggily. "You fainted," Diamond answered. "You gave me a great scare there." "I didn't mean to. It's just that voice coming from the TV. It scared me big time." "It's okay, Gold Watch." "What happened?" "Pip is climbing up the stairs to jump from the top." "What?!" "He has less than two minutes to do that." "What?! He'll hurt himself. He needs someone to catch him. I'm coming!" Gold Watch got up and raced to the bottom of the stairs. "I'll catch you," he called out to Pipsqueak, who was now at the top of the staircase. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Pipsqueak said. He breathed heavily for a few seconds and then calmed himself down and walked a distance away from the staircase. "Okay, one...two...three!" Pipsqueak charged to the staircase and jumped from the top. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, Gold Watch caught him and then got knocked to the ground. "Ow!" Gold Watch shouted. "Sorry," Pipsqueak said in a concerned tone as he got off of Gold Watch. "It's okay," Gold Watch said as he got up. "No serious damage. Now, let's get out of here." As the group made another attempt to open the front door, they saw something carved on it. It said, 'Finish the round'. "Finish the round?!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "Well, it's official: we have to play five rounds." "We got to do this," Rumble said. "All of us have to have a turn before we can leave." "Oh, like you're to talk," Silver snarked. "Hey, I didn't know any of this was real!" Rumble exclaimed. "I was just curious to take a look at this place. I never even went in here until I brought you guys here." "That's enough!" Diamond called out. "Enough of the blame game! Nopony knew about this before we got here! Therefore, we're all equal in this!" "Then who will go?" Button asked. "I'll go next," Twist said as she walked back to the living room and picked a card up from the deck. "Did you eat a candy cane on the ground?" She sighed as she looked at the group. "I did. But I was hungry. I was on a camping trip with the Cutie Mark Crusaders one day and I accidentally dropped my candy cane on the ground. I didn't want to starve, so I picked it up and ate it while it was covered in dirt." "It's not too big of a deal," Rumble said. "I eat food on the ground all the time." "Gross!" Gold Watch exclaimed. He then sighed. "I'll go next." He picked up a card from the deck and read it. "Is your favorite color pink and do you like to wear dresses while in your bedroom?" "What?!" the entire group shouted. Gold Watch blushed for a few seconds. "I...I..." he began. Then he took a few deep breaths and then regained his posture. "I like pink. So what? It's a color. Besides, I am pink. I was born pink!" "What about wearing dresses?" Diamond asked. Gold Watch began hyperventilating and then started sobbing. "I want to be a ballerina!" he cried. "I've been snatching some of your dresses so that I can practice dancing while listening to classical music! I'm sorry, Diamond! I should've told you. I just didn't want you to be embarrassed to find out that your brother likes girly things, okay? I don't like sports, video games, getting dirty, or rough housing! I like dancing while listening to classical music! I like tea parties! I like stylizing my mane and tail! I like spa treatments! What's wrong with all of that?! I just want to be me! I'm sorry!" Diamond looked at her brother in shock. "I...didn't know," she said in concern. "You could've told me. I'm sure I could help you take dance lessons." "I didn't want our parents to find out," Gold Watch continued. "I was worried that they would disown me or send me to a straight camp." "No they wouldn't. Father would never do that and he would make sure that Mother would never do that to you either." "Are you certain?" "I'm one hundred percent certain." "Thanks, Diamond." "You're welcome, Gold Watch." "Okay, let's get back to the game," Rumble said. "It's Silver Spoon's turn." "Right," Silver said as she picked up a card from the deck and read it. "Kiss Diamond Tiara. What?!" "One minute..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed once. "Okay, that's just gross!" Silver exclaimed. "I won't do that!" "You have to," Diamond said. "If you don't do it, you'll suffer the consequences." "What consequences?" Silver responded. "There's obviously somepony that's watching us. I don't think anything will happen if I don't do the dare." "Pleath," Twist said. "I'm not attracted to fillies!" Silver exclaimed. "I like colts!" "But this is serious," Button said. "If you don't do the dare, something bad is going to happen. Didn't you see the doors lock, the windows being boarded up, the TV turning on without anyone using a remote, and a strange voice coming from nowhere?" All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker. "For the last time, I'm not kissing Diamond Tiara," Silver shouted. "I'm not playing this game anymore! I'm going home!" "Time's up..." the voice said. "Whatever," Silver said. "Told you nothing would happen." "Now suffer the consequences," the voice said. "Seriously?" Silver responded. "Whoever is up there doing this, I'm calling the police and you're going to go to jai--" All of a sudden, the lights stopped flickering and Silver stopped mid-sentence and grabbed her chest. "Silver Spoon?" Diamond called out to her friend. "Silver Spoon?! Are you okay?!" Silver fell to the ground and felt strange. Her ears began to reshape and become triangular. "What's happening to me?" she responded. She then felt something growing on your cheeks. "Silver, you're growing whiskers!" Diamond called out. "What?!" Silver shouted. She then groaned in her pain as her teeth began to sharpen. Then she screamed in pain as her muzzle began to reshape and her nose became triangular. Then her nose and mouth fused together. Rumble ran into the bathroom and pulled a mirror out. He ran back to Silver and show her face with the mirror, causing her to scream further. "I'M TURNING INTO A CAT!" she screamed out of the top of her lungs. Her four hooves soon began to crack and form into paws. Then her paws grew pads and five claws grew on each paw. "We need to help her!" Gold Watch shouted. "Dinky, can you cast a counter-spell to reverse the transformation?" "I'll try," Dinky responded. Dinky powered her horn and zapped Silver Spoon to try to stop the transformation, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, she stopped zapping her. "I can't," Dinky said worriedly. "It's not working." Silver's back snapped and her legs reshaped a bit, causing her to scream in agony. "Silver Spoon!" Diamond shouted. Before long, Silver saw her surroundings growing. "Diamond Tiara, you're growing," she said in shock. "No, Silver Spoon, you're shrinking," Diamond responded in horror. "What?!" Silver exclaimed and then sighed in discomfort as her costume, glasses, and necklace fell off of her and she stopped shrinking once she was the size of a small kitten. "I was wrong." Silver then gasped lightly. "Silver Spoon!" Diamond called out to her. "Meow?" Silver answered. "No!" Diamond shouted. "This can't be happening!" "The article..." Rumble said in horror as he pulled it out of his candy bag. "It's real!" "Never mind that," Gold Watch said. "We got to get out of here." Gold Watch turned the knob and opened the front door. Diamond picked up the now kitten-transformed-Silver and the entire group ran out of the house and kept running until they couldn't see the house at all. "Where to?" Button asked. "To Princess Twilight's castle," Gold Watch said. "I'm sure she can help." "Meow?" Silver responded. "It's okay, Silver Spoon," Diamond told her. "You'll be back to normal in no time. I promise." The seven foals ran as quick as they could to get to Twilight's castle for help. Within a few minutes, they arrived. Gold Watch knocked on the door and within a few seconds, Twilight answered it. "Wow, I didn't think anypony would arrive this late for trick-or-treating," she said. "We're not," Gold Watch responded. "We need help." "What happened?" Twilight asked in concern. "It's my friend, Silver Spoon," Diamond answered. "What about her?" Twilight asked. "You might want to have a look at her," Diamond answered as she picked her up and showed her to Twilight. "That's just a kitten," Twilight responded. "Not just a kitten," Diamond said. "Look at her mane, tail, and cutie mark!" "What?!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked at them. "How did this happen?" "We were playing a game of truth or dare in a haunted house," Gold Watch explained. "At first, it seemed like any normal game, but then we ended up being force to tell stuff that nopony knew about and then Pipsqueak had to jump down the staircase. Then Silver Spoon had to kiss Diamond Tiara, but refused to and as a result, she turned into a kitten. We don't know what to do." "Here, let me try to cast a spell on her," Twilight said as she powered up her horn. She then zapped her for a seconds, but stopped when she saw that nothing was happening. "I can't." All of a sudden, Discord appeared out of nowhere. "Maybe I can," he said. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He snapped his fingers six more times, but none of the snapping worked. "What? Why is my magic not working? I pretended to be hurt to have the Mane Six stop King Sombra, but this time this is for real." All of a sudden, a tall white alicorn mare walked outside of the castle. "Maybe I can help," Princess Celestia said. "Princess Celestia," Diamond said in amazement. "What are you doing here?" "The three of us were in a meeting involving the future of Equestria," Princess Celestia answered. "Here, let me cast a spell." The sun princess powered up her horn and shot a spell at Silver. When the smoke cleared, however, Silver was still a kitten. "Wait, what about the alicorn amulet?" Pipsqueak asked. "Meow?" Silver responded. "It had recently been destroyed," Princess Luna said as she walked to the front door of the castle. "Somepony tried to steal it, so we decided that would be best to destroy it to prevent anymore disasters from happening. Zecora had the amulet locked away in her hut previously, but agreed with us that it should be destroyed." Gold Watch sighed. "Well, thanks for helping anyway," he said. "Sorry to interrupt your meeting." "It's okay, Gold Watch," Twilight said. "It was an emergency. Why don't you kids go home and get some rest. Hopefully, we'll be able to find a solution by tomorrow morning." "Okay, thanks, Princess Twilight," Diamond said. "You're welcome all of you," Twilight responded as she closed the door. "So, what do we do now?" Rumble asked the group. "We do what Twilight told us to do: we got to go home and get some rest," Button said. "I'm sure she can fix this," Diamond said. "Don't worried, Silver Spoon. You'll be okay." "Meow," Silver responded as she rubbed her head on Diamond's foreleg. "Aw, you're so cute," Diamond said as she picked up Silver. "Let's take you home." Having no other options, the group headed home, hoping that everything would be back to normal tomorrow. Round 2All of the remaining foals had trouble sleeping. Most of them only slept for an hour or two. They couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Silver Spoon. Eventually, morning came. Rumble opened his eyes and got out of his bed. He walked toward the door, only to find that it was locked. "What the?" he said in panic. "I can't open it! Can somepony let me out?" All of a sudden, he heard a voice hissing behind him. He turned around and saw the words, 'Round 2', carved on his bedroom wall. "Round 2?" Rumble responded in horror. "This doesn't make sense. We made it out! How can this game still be going on?!" "Jump out of your bedroom window..." the voice said. "One minute..." "Ha!" Rumble responded. "I can just fly after falling a few feet." He opened the window and prepare to make the jump when all of a sudden, the voice came back. "Uh-uh-uh!" it responded. "You can't use your wings to save yourself!" "What?!" Rumble shouted. "You can get out of this," the voice said. "Just jump." Rumble looked down and saw that there were bushes below him. He sighed. "One...two...three!" Rumble shouted. He jumped out of the window and landed in the bushes. After a few seconds, Rumble emerged out of the bushes, spat out a few leaves, and freed himself from the bushes. "I got to find my friends," he said to himself as he flew off. * * * * Diamond Tiara and Gold Watch had just finished their breakfast and walked outside. "Where are we going?" Gold Watch asked. "We're going to go visit Silver Spoon," Diamond answered. "We need to keep her company. She needs us." "I really hope that we can change her back," Gold Watch said. "Agreed," Diamond responded. As the twins walked past the gate of their mansion, Diamond and Gold Watch saw something written on their fence. "Tell Sweetie Belle about your crush on Button Mash," Diamond read. "Five minutes." "Wait, what?" Gold Watch responded. "It's true. I do have a crush on him. I never wanted to tell Sweetie Belle because I didn't wanter her to hate me. I'm not dating him and I never plan to do that." "You got to tell her. If you don't, you might end up just like Silver Spoon or some other animal." Diamond sighed. "Okay," she said nervously. The two ran as fast as they could and managed to get there within two minutes. Once they arrived, Gold Watch knocked on the door. Within five seconds, Rarity answered. "Hello, you two," she said. "What brings you both here?" "I need to speak to Sweetie Belle," Diamond answered. "It's very urgent." "I understand," Rarity responded. "Oh, Sweetie Belle! You got friends that need to talk to you." "Coming!" Sweetie Belle called out from upstairs. She quickly ran downstairs and saw her friends as Rarity walked back inside to resume her work. "What's up?" she asked them. "I...have a confession to tell you," Diamond said. "I don't think you're going to like it." "I'm sure that it's not a big deal," Sweetie Belle responded. "Well..." Diamond began. She winced for a second, but Gold Watch nudged her. "I...have a crush on Button Mash! He's just looks so handsome! I'm not dating him and I don't plan to do that! He doesn't know that I have a crush on him! I wouldn't ever have him cheat on you!" Sweetie Belle was left speechless and shocked. But after a few seconds, she calmed down. "It's okay, Diamond Tiara," she said. "A lot of fillies have told me that. Last week, Sunny Daze said the same thing, but she never had an affair with him." "I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle," Diamond responded. "You have nothing to apologize," Sweetie Belle responded. "Thanks for understanding," Diamond said. "We got to go now." "Okay," Sweetie Belle said as she closed the door. The twins resumed walking to Silver's house. As they continued walking, Diamond began to hyperventilate. "Are you okay?" Gold Watch asked. "No," Diamond answered. "I feel ashamed." "But Sweetie Belle said that all was okay." "Still." "We got to go find our friends. If you were just told to tell a truth, then Rumble must have had a turn." "Oh no! What if he transformed too?!" "We got to find everypony and put a stop to this game." "Agreed." * * * * Button Mash was feeling depressed. He couldn't stop thinking about Silver Spoon. Even while he was playing on his Joy Boy, he couldn't put the thought away, so he decided to turn off his video game and lie down on his bed. As he looked up at the ceiling, however, he saw something carved on it. It said, 'Hit your mother in the head with a hammer'. "What?!" Button shouted. "Two minutes..." the voice said. Button saw a hammer on his nightstand. He picked it up and walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where his mother was cooking breakfast. After staring at what was going on for a few seconds, he looked at the hammer and then sighed. "I won't do it," he said to himself. "Button, what are you talking about?" his mother, Cream Heart, asked. "Time's up!" the voice rang out. "What was that sound?" Cream Heart asked. She turned around and saw Button Mash grabbing his chest. He dropped the hammer and fell to the ground. "Button Mash!" Cream Heart called out. "What's wrong?" "The game is still happening," Button groaned as his ears began to reshape into cat ears. "You mean that truth or dare game?" Cream Heart asked. "Yes!" Button shouted in pain as he began to grow whiskers. "I thought that you were just making up that story," Cream Heart said as she began sobbing. "I'm sorry for not believing you." "It's okay, Mom," Button said as he grew fangs. "I should be the one to apologize. I was dared to hit you in the head with a hammer. I would never do such a thing, so I decided to not do it. I knew that something like this would happen, but I didn't want you to die." Button then felt his nose and muzzle reshape into what a cat would have. "Hang in there, I'm getting help!" Cream Heart cried. Button's hooves reshaped into paws and became padded. Then his legs and back snapped, causing him to scream in agony. Cream Heart picked up her son and held him as he began to shrink. Before long, his beanie fell off of his head. He eventually stopped shrinking once he was the size of a small kitten. "It's okay, Mom," Button said. "You're a great mother and I would never hurt you." He then gasped a few times. "Button Mash!" Cream Heart cried out. "Meow?" Button responded. "No, NO!" Cream Heart screamed. * * * * Diamond and Gold Watch quickly gathered up their friends. They managed to find Rumble, Dinky Hooves, Pipsqueak, and Twist. "Did we get everypony?" Diamond asked. "Not quite," Gold Watch answered. "We haven't found Button Mash yet." "Then let's go," Pipsqueak said. The group dashed to Button's house. Once they arrived, Gold Watch knocked on the door. Within three seconds, Cream Heart, who was still wiping her tears, answered the door. "Hello?" she sobbed. "Hi Cream Heart," Gold Watch said worriedly. "We need to see Button Mash. It's urgent." "Well..." Cream Heart began. "He's...Button, please come here." Within a few seconds, Button walked to the front door. The foals looked at him in shocked when they saw that he was now a kitten. "We're too late," Diamond said in horror. As she stared at the now transformed Button Mash, Dinky heard the voice. "Turn Cream Heart into a cat and Spike into a pony," it said. "Eight minutes." All of a sudden, an amulet appeared on the ground in front of Dinky. She picked it up and placed it on her horn. "I'm sorry, Cream Heart," she said. "But I have to turn you into a cat or I'll turn into one." "Do it!" Cream Heart cried. "I want to be with my son!" "Okay," Dinky said nervously. She powered up her horn and zapped Cream Heart. Within just seconds, Cream Heart's ears reshaped into cat ears. Then she grew whiskers and fangs. Afterwards, her muzzle and nose reshaped into that of a cat's and her nose fused with her mouth. "I'm sorry," Dinky said. "I don't know if you'll ever be able to change back." "That's okay, Dinky," Cream Heart said as her hooves became cat paws. "I would do anything just to be back with my son!" Cream Heart screamed as her back and legs snapped and reshaped into that of a cat's. Afterwards, she started to shrink until she was smaller than the foals, but bigger than her son. "Are you okay?" Dinky asked Cream Heart. "Meow," Cream Heart answered. She then pawed on her hairbands, trying to get them off. Dinky walked up to her and removed them. "I'm sorry," Dinky sobbed. "We got to go," Rumble said. "You're not done yet. You need to change Spike into a pony and you only have five minutes to do that." "Oh, right," Dinky responded. The six remaining foals quickly left Button and Cream Heart, who lay down and allowed Button to climb onto her back. As the left, they saw Button and Cream Heart saying some stuff and then Cream Heart carried Button to the streets now that no one could take care of their house. The foals managed to make it to Twilight's castle in just two minutes. Gold Watch knocked on the door and Twilight answered it almost instantly. "Everything okay?" she asked. "It happened again!" Gold Watch exclaimed in horror. "Button Mash turned into a kitten, too!" "I also have been dared to turn Spike into a pony and I need to do that in three minutes," Dinky said worriedly. "I'm sorry." "I understand," Twilight said. She then sighed. "Spike!" Spike quickly flew to the front door. "What is it?" he asked. "How do I say this?" Twilight answered. "These foals have been playing a game of truth or dare that turned out to have serious consequences. If they didn't do as they were told, they would turn into kittens. Last night, it happened to Silver Spoon. I tried to change her back, but nothing worked. Then Button Mash turned into a kitten. Now Dinky Hooves has been dared to turn you into a pony or she'll suffer the same fate." "But I..." Spike began. "I got my wings three months ago." He sighed. "I understand. Can you turn me into a pegasus?" "Of course, Spike," Dinky answered. She powered up her horn and zapped Spike. Within seconds, his lime dragon ears become purple pony ears. Then his tail became that of a pony's. Afterwards, his quills became a mane, his nose stretched into a muzzle, his teeth dulled out, his eyes changed from slit to round, but remained green, his claws and feet became hooves, and his back and legs snapped and caused Spike to be trapped on all fours. Lastly, his dragon wings changed into feathery pegasus wings. Within one minute, the transformation was complete. Dinky powered her horn down and Spike looked at himself. "Wow, look at what I have become," he said excitedly. "I don't think this is too bad to spend the rest of my life as one." "I'm sorry, Spike," Dinky said. "There's nothing to be sorry about," Spike responded as he flapped his now feathery wings. "There's a lot that I don't have to worry about. I never have to ever leave Ponyville. I don't have to ever be near Garble ever again. Although I will miss being able to breath fire." "Sorry again," Dinky said. "We got to go now." The six remaining foals walked back to Ponyville and decided to stop at Rumble's house to get the article that he found. Once they arrived, Rumble pulled the article out of his desk drawer. While rereading it, he saw something that was too small to read, so he pulled a magnifying glass out to see what was written. The only foal to make it out was Cheerilee. "What?!" Rumble shouted. "Our teacher?!" "I can't believe it," Diamond said. "We got to go find her," Gold Watch said. The foals quickly rushed to Cheerilee's house. Gold Watch knocked on the door and Cheerilee answered almost immediately. "What is it?" Cheerilee asked. "This is urgent," Diamond said. "We went to a haunted house and played truth or dare," Gold Watch said. "At first, it seemed like any normal game, but then the truths became suspicious and the dares became dangerous. While playing, Silver Spoon and Button Mash refused to take their dares and turned into kittens as a result." "Here's an article about it," Rumble said as he handed it over to his teacher. "Wait, that haunted house?!" Cheerilee shouted in horror upon seeing the article. "That's the same one I was in when I played that game with my friends back when I was your age." "We need to know how we can get out of the game," Gold Watch said. "You have to play the whole game," Cheerilee answered. "You have to play five rounds within forty-eight hours or all of you will turn into kittens." "Is there a way to change back?" Diamond asked. "Unfortunately, no," Cheerilee said. "Once you fail, you pony form dies. Your heart stops and then starts again once it becomes a cat's. That's why the transformation is irreversible. You can't revive your pony form. You have to spend the rest of your life as a cat. In fact, your lifespan as a cat will remain equal to that of a pony's." "You mean that if we fail to beat the game, we'll have to live for the next seventy or something years as cats?" Rumble asked. "That's right," Cheerilee answered. "But you can outsmart the game. You can share the dares. I had to punch a window with my hoof five times. I knew that if I did that, I would likely inflict too many cuts and bleed to death, so me and my friends each did it once." "Well then, let's finish this game," Pipsqueak said. "What do you mean finish the game?" Gold Watch responded in worry. "Why can't we just get rid of the haunted house?. "It doesn't work that way," Cheerilee said. "The game will follow you no matter what." "I guess we don't have a choice," Gold Watch sad sadly and then turned to his friends. "Let's go." "Wait, before you go, you must know this," Cheerilee said. "You have to finish the game in the haunted house. In fact, I think it's best to stay in their for the rest of the game anyway. It will save you from having to do anything around Ponyville." Gold Watch sighed. "Thanks for the advice, Miss Cheerilee," Gold Watch said nervously. "You're welcome, Gold Watch," Cheerilee responded worriedly. The six foals walked back to the haunted house. Once they arrived, they walked back into the living room and sat on the sofa. "Okay, now we have to wait," Rumble said. Within just seconds, the voice hissed. "Drink the hard cider..." it said. "Three minutes..." The grandfather clocked then chimed three times. The group then saw an arrow on the wall pointing to the kitchen. They walked in there and saw the hard cider bottle. "What?!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "I have to drink this whole bottle? But I'm too young! I have to be twenty-one to drink that!" "You have to drink that," Rumble said. "No, we will help him," Gold Watch said. "We all need to take a glass and drink one-sixth of the bottle each." He opened one of the kitchen cabinets and took out six small glasses. He then poured the bottle into each glass. By the time he filled up the last glass, the entire bottle of hard cider was empty. "Okay, on the count of three, we all drink," Gold Watch said as he and his friends picked up their glasses. "One...two...three!" All six foals quickly downed their glasses and then they began gagging. "Bleh!" Rumble responded. "That tasted disgusting! I'm never drinking ever again!" "Agreed," Gold Watch responded. "I'm going to go wash my mouth," Twist said. She walked to the sink, turned it on, poured some water into her mouth, gurgled for a few seconds, and then spat it out. Afterwards, she picked up a clean glass, poured some water in it, turned off the sink, and then drank the water. Once she was done, she put the glass into the sink and then looked at the mirror. She saw a messaged painted on it. It said, 'Eat the dog food in the bowl'. "Two minutes..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed twice. Twist turned to her friends and saw a dog bowl full of dog food on the table. "Oh no," Twist said. "That's justh nasthy!" Twist took a piece of the dog food and ate it. Afterwards, she began gagging. "Agh!" she responded. "I'm going to throw up!" "You have to do it, Twist," Gold Watch said. "Here, I'll help you." Gold Watch grabbed a glass of water and placed it on the table. Then he grabbed the dog bowl and ate half of it in five bites. Afterwards, he coughed several times. "Gold Watch!" Twist called out. "I'm okay," Gold Watch responded. "I just need to drink some water." Once he drank half of the glass, he quickly stuffed his hooves with the dog food and downed it as quickly as possible. Within five more bites, he finished it off. "Done." He then ran to the sink and threw up. Once he was done, he cleaned up his mouth and then the sink. He then turned to his friends and saw a gramophone, a pink dress with laced hoofies, a pink bow, and a carved message that read, 'Put on the dress and dance to the classical music'. "What?!" Gold Watch shouted. "Not in front of my friends!" "Three minutes..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed three times. "Come on, Gold Watch," Rumble said. "You already said that you love to crossdress and do girly things." Gold Watch sighed. "Okay, I'll do it," he said. Gold Watch tied the bow onto his head. Then he put the dress on. Finally, he got the hoofies on. As soon as he was finished, Rumble pulled out a camera and took a photo of him. "What--hey!" Gold Watch responded as his cheeks turned red. "What was that for?" "Nothing really," Rumble answered. "I just wanted to cherish that memory. Don't worry, I won't show it to anypony, Goldie Watch." "I mean it!" Gold Watch responded angrily. "I Pinkie Promise," Rumble said. "I just need to find three bears." "Stop it!" Gold Watch shouted. The gramophone then played for a few minutes. While it was playing, Gold Watch danced like a ballerina and his friends looked at him in amazement. Once he was done, his friends clapped. "Thank you, thank you," Gold Watch said. He then looked at his dress. "Now to get this dress off of me." As he was about to get rid of it, the voice rung out. "You must wear the dress for the rest of the game..." it hissed. "Oh come on," Gold Watch said. "That's not fair!" "You have to wear it until you lose or complete the game, whichever comes first," the voice said. Gold Watch sighed. "Fine," he said. "At least that this round is over." "I really want to go home," Dinky said. "I'll keep you safe," Pipsqueak said. "We made it through two rounds and we're both still here." "I have a feeling that the next round is going to be worse," Gold Watch said. "But we all need to stick together no matter what." All of his friends nodded in agreement. Round 3Author's Note Warning: This round will involve diarrhea and other gross content! Reader discretion is advised! Round 3 Worried that if the hoofies fell off of his hooves he would turn into a kitten, Gold Watch tightened the laces on them. At the same time, Rumble was walking in circles. "I can't believe we still have three rounds left and we already lost two of our friends," he said. "We also had to turn Button's mother into a cat to save Dinky and to reunite her with her son." "A lot of lives are being ruined," Diamond said. "But we can't let the rest of us go down." "Button's dare was to smash his mother's head with a hammer," Rumble responded. "He didn't do the dare, so he had to pay the price. He's living on the streets with his mother for the rest of his life! This game is only going to get worse." All of a sudden, the front door ended up being carved a message done by an invisible force. It read, 'Round 3'. The fireplace then lit up, the grandfather clock chimed once, and a message above the fireplace read, 'Stand on the fire for five seconds'. "See what I mean?!" Rumble exclaimed. "I have to get burned for five seconds and I have less than a minute to do that." He walked to the fireplace and prepared to step into the fire. The other colts and fillies looked at him frantically. Gold Watch ran to the kitchen, pulled out a bucket that he found in one of the cabinets, and filled it up with water. "Don't worry, Rumble," he said. "The moment you finish, I'll pour water water all over you to douse the flames. Rumble looked up to him and smiled. "Thanks, Gold Watch," he responded. "You're a great friend to me." "Thanks, Rumble," Gold Watch responded. Rumble walked into the lit fireplace. The moment his hooves touched the flames, he screamed. At the same time, the TV showed the number five and decreased by one as each second passed. "Rumble!" Dinky called out. Four... "Ah, my fur!" Rumble shouted. Three... "My tail!" Two... "My mane!" One... "How much longer?!" Dare complete! The fireplace instantly shut off and Rumble ran out of it covered in flames. Gold Watch poured the bucket of water all over Rumble, instantly putting out the flames. "Thanks," Rumble gasped. He walked to a mirror and saw that most of his mane and tail were burned off and his fur had bald spots. "Thunderlane is going to kill me when I get home!" "No, he won't," Gold Watch said. "He'll understand. We'll take Miss Cheerilee and your article and it'll sort things out." "O-okay..." Rumble said worriedly. The rest of the foals made a sigh of relief. But the relief didn't last long, as the voice sounded a few seconds afterwards. "Hit yourself in the head with a plate..." the voice hissed. All of a sudden, a porcelain plate appeared on the coffee table. "One minute..." the voice continued. Diamond picked up the plate, held it above her head, and sighed. "This is going to hurt real bad," she said. With one quick swing, she smashed the plate onto her head, causing the plate to shatter to pieces. Diamond screamed in agony as some of the plate shards had impaled her face. "Diamond!" Pipsqueak called out. "You're bleeding!" "Here," Gold Watch said frantically as he pulled out a wet washcloth in the bathroom and used it to carefully remove the plate shards. "Ow!" Diamond yelped as her brother pulled one of the shards out of her cheek. "Sorry!" Gold Watch cried. It took about five minutes to get all of the shards off of her and to bandage each wound. "I'm so sorry!" Gold Watch cried. "It's okay," Diamond groaned. "I'll be fine." "Why do we have to do this?" Rumble asked himself. "What did we do to deserve this?!" "I don't think we did anything wrong," Pipsqueak answered. "We walked into this haunted house and now we have to play the game to get out of it." "But we already lost two of our friends and I don't want to lose you," Dinky cried as she hugged Pipsqueak. "There, there," Pipsqueak responded. "We'll get out of this one way or another." Without warning, the ceiling began to ooze moss. Within a few seconds one of the floorboards fell off. When it hit the ground, the group saw a message that read, 'Push Pipsqueak down the staircase'. "WHAT?!" Dinky screamed. "I can't do that!" The grandfather clock chimed twice. "You have to," Pipsqueak said as he walked upstairs. "You only have two minutes." Dinky stood on the floor paralyzed in fear. "I can't do it!" she cried. "Please, you have to do it!" Pipsqueak called out. "But you could break your neck from falling down the stairs!" Dinky cried. "Just push me lightly," Pipsqueak responded. "I'll only fall a few steps." All of a sudden, something was supernaturally carved on the floorboard. Rumble picked the board up and showed it to Dinky. The message said, 'Pipsqueak must fall all the way downstairs'. "What?!" Dinky shouted. "Please," Pipsqueak said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you." "O-okay..." Dinky said nervously. She walked upstairs and then went behind Pipsqueak. "Hurry!" Pipsqueak cried. "You're running out of time!" Dinky looked at Pipsqueak and then at the staircase. She took a few breaths and then approached towards Pipsqueak. Before she could push him though, she stopped. "I won't do it," Dinky said. "I will never hurt Pipsqueak!" "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Dinky closed her eyes and then grabbed her chest. Within just a few seconds, she reopened her eyes and then screamed as she collapsed to the ground. Pipsqueak picked her up and watched as Dinky was turning into a cat, while the rest of the foals ran upstairs to see what was happening. "Dinky, why?" Pipsqueak cried as Dinky's ears became cat ears. "I would never let anything happen to you," Dinky groaned as whiskers began to grow on her cheeks and her muzzle and nose reshaped into that of a cat's. "I'm sorry." "It's okay," Pipsqueak sobbed as Dinky's nose and mouth fused together and she grew fangs. "I'll take care of you no matter what." "Oh thanks, Pip," Dinky sobbed as her hooves turned into paws. She then screamed as her back and legs snapped and her legs reshaped into what a cat's look like. "Dinky!" Pipsqueak screamed. Dinky then shrank until she was the size of a kitten. "I'll love you no matter what," she gasped. She then coughed a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow." "Dinky, please change back!" Pipsqueak sobbed. "I love you! NO!" Rumble walked up to him and placed his hoof on Pipsqueak's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Pip," he told him sadly. "I'm very, very, sorry!" "Why, WHY?!" Pipsqueak cried. "She's my fillyfriend!" As he was crying, Twist walked up to him and brought some device to him. "What is it?" Pipsqueak asked as he was still sobbing. "It's an animal-translating device," Twist responded. "It will help you understand other animals. Fluttershy gave it to me." "Thanks, Twist," Pipsqueak said happily as he accepted the device. He then placed it near Dinky. "Dinky, can you hear me?" "Meow, meow, meow," Dinky answered. "Meow, meow, meow!" Pipsqueak listened to what Dinky had just told him using the device. "Pip, don't give up," she said. "I'll always be there for you!" Pipsqueak wiped his tears off of his face and looked at Dinky with determination. "You're right, Dinky," he said as he handed the animal-translating device back to Twist. "I must stay strong! No, we must stay strong!" "That's the spirit, Pip!" Rumble said excitedly. Out of nowhere, the voice returned. "Be pushed down the staircase..." it hissed. "One minute..." The grandfather then chimed once. "WHAT?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "Dinky Hooves gave up her life as a pony for nothing?!" "Never mind that," Rumble said. "Pip, you have to do this!" "I'm going downstairs to make sure that you make it," Gold Watch said as he ran down the staircase. "Pip, I'm sorry, but..." Rumble began. He then pushed Pipsqueak down the stairs, causing him to scream as he fell. When he landed at the bottom of the stairs, Gold Watch tried to help him up, only to be rewarded with a scream. "Ow!" Pipsqueak yelp. "Don't touch my leg! It hurts!" Gold Watch looked at Pipsqueak's foreleg and saw that it was twisted. "Oh no," he said in horror. "You're foreleg's broken! You need to go to the hospital!" "I'll take him," Diamond said. "My turn comes right before Pipsqueak's. I'll be back as soon as possible." Diamond picked Pipsqueak up and placed him on his back. She then opened the front door and galloped away. The rest of the foals walked downstairs feeling very sad. "I really want to go home!" Gold Watch cried. "Me too!" Twist cried. "We have to finish the game," Rumble said. "If we don't, we'll be cats for the rest of our lives. Our futures will be ruined." "Three lives have already been ruined," Gold Watch sobbed. "Besides, you broke Pip's foreleg!" "I didn't think that would happen," Rumble said angrily. "I was just trying to prevent him from spending the rest of his life as a cat." "I don't know how much longer I can take this," Gold Watch said as he shivered. "We can't just give up," Rumble responded. "You heard what Dinky told us. We can't do that!" "I know, I know," Gold Watch responded as he breathed heavily. As the foals made it downstairs, the chandelier fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. The foals jumped in shock and then looked at the shattered chandelier. A message was made by the glass that said, 'Down the laxative bottle'. The grandfather then chimed three times. Twist walked up and saw a small bottle that read, 'Laxative'. "What?!" Twist shouted. "I have to drink all of that?!" "No, we'll help you," Rumble said. "We'll each drink a third of it," Gold Watch said. He took the bottle of laxatives, walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and pulled out a plastic milk bottle. He then poured the carton into three glasses and then poured a third of the laxatives in each glass. He then stirred the glasses until the laxatives looked like they were mixed in. Rumble and Twist walked into the kitchen. "Okay, we each have to drink our glasses," Gold Watch explained. "It'll make us have to defecate, but we'll have enough time to get to the bathroom afterwards. Each foal picked up a glass. "On the count of three, ready? One...two...three!" They all drank their glasses in just a few sips. "There, the dare is done," Gold Watch said. "Wow, that was too easy," Rumble proudly said. "See everypony, we can all get out of this. Just eleven more dares and we'll be--" All of a sudden, Rumble stopped talking and grabbed in his stomach. "Rumble, are you--" Twist began, but stopped when she felt her stomach hurting. "Guys, it's--" Gold Watch began, but stopped when he felt his stomach hurting. "I got to get to a bathroom!" The foals ran as fast as they could to get to a bathroom. Rumble managed to make it to the bathroom on the first floor, while Twist made it to the bathroom on the second floor. Gold Watch, on the other hand, couldn't find an open bathroom. "Hurry, I need to--" he began, but stopped when his bowels broke out, causing him to defecate all over the floor. Some of the feces splattered onto his dress. He screamed in horror and then started crying. "No!" he screamed. "I'm not a baby! I haven't had an accident since I was three!" Without warning, the voice sounded. "Eat your feces..." it hissed. "Four minutes..." "WHAT?!" Gold Watch screamed. "THAT'S DISGUSTING! GUYS, I NEED HELP! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! I HAVE TO EAT MY OWN POOP!" All he could hear was Rumble and Twist groaning in the bathroom. The lights in the living began to flicker. "Oh, come on!" Gold Watch shouted. "I have to eat all of it?!" He began sobbing and then looked at his waste. "I'm never going to have an appetite after I eat all of this," Gold Watch said nervously and nauseously. He then plugged his nose, scooped some of the feces using his hoof, and shoved it into his mouth. He quickly swallowed it and then gagged. After a few seconds of doing that, he continued eating the feces. The more he ate, the more pale has face became. After seven more scoops, he finished eating it and the lights stopped flickering. He gasped several times and then ran to the sink and threw up. Afterwards, Rumble opened the bathroom door and walked out. Gold Watch quickly ran into to the bathroom to get cleaned up. After closing the door, he saw another dress and saw a note on it, 'Change into this dress once you're finished cleaning up'. Gold Watch sighed in relief as he ripped off the dress, bow, and hoofies and threw them in the trash. He then wiped himself clean, flushed the toilet, washed his mouth, and then took a shower. Once he was sure that we was completely clean, he got out of the shower, dried up, and put on the dress, hoofies, and bow that he was instructed to put on afterwards. Happy that all was fixed, he walked out of the bathroom. "I feel a lot better now," he said nauseously. "Just two more rounds," Rumble said with encouragement. "We're getting close to finishing." "I hope," Gold Watch said nervously as he began hyperventilating. Despite completely cleaning himself up, he was still very pale. "But right now, I'm a little bit more worried about what is happening to Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak. What if the game gets to them first?" "I really hope that they make it," Twist said in a concerned tone. "I don't know what I'd do without them." "Me neither," Gold Watch responded. Round 4As Rumble was waving a fan on Gold Watch's face, the front door opened and Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak, whom had his foreleg wrapped in a cast, walked inside. Upon seeing her brother, Diamond ran up to him. "What happened?!" she said in shock. "Gold Watch...well...we had to drink a bottle of laxatives and he didn't make it to a bathroom because Twist and I occupied them first," Rumble said nervously. "He then had to eat his own poop." "WHAT?!" Diamond shouted. "Are you saying that my brother took laxatives, then had to eat what he let out?!" "Precisely," Rumble responded. "Well, why didn't you help him?!" Diamond exclaimed. "We were in the bathroom at that time," Rumble answered. "We weren't done." "Is he going to be okay?" Diamond asked. "I'm not sure," Rumble answered nervously. "He's in bad shape." Dinky Hooves then walked downstairs and towards Pipsqueak. She rubbed her head onto his unbroken foreleg, causing him to make a sad smile. Then out of nowhere, a piece of the ceiling fell to the floor and it read 'Round 4'. "We have to finish the game," Pipsqueak said. "My foreleg may be broken, but we can't stop until were safe from any further harm. Twist sighed. "He's right," she said. "We still have a game to beat." As if on cue, the TV turned on and static appeared. The voice then hissed. "Stab your wing..." it said. The number nine then appeared on the TV screen and decreased until it reached the number two. The grandfather clock then chimed twice. "What?!" Rumble exclaimed. "I have to stab my wing?! I can't do that! I need them to fly!" "You have to do it," Diamond stated. "I'll help you." Diamond picked up the knife and placed it near Rumble's left wing. "Hold still," Diamond said. "I'm sorry, but this is going to really hurt." Rumble began to sweat, but within just a second, Diamond stabbed his wing with the knife. He screamed at the top of his lungs as blood poured out of his wing. Diamond quickly pulled the knife out of Rumble's wing. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry!" "My wing hurts a lot!" Rumble cried. "I need to get you a bandage," Diamond sobbed as she ran into the kitchen and searched for one. Surprisingly, there were a box of them in one of the cabinets. She quickly ran back to Rumble, who was still crying and putting pressure on his bleeding wing, and wrapped the bandage all over his wing. "There you go. Again, I'm sorry." "It's okay, Diamond," Rumble said, sniffing. "I'll be fine." Without warning, the kitchen door slammed shut and a message written said, 'Stab Gold Watch'. A knife then appeared on the coffee table. "WHAT?!" Diamond screamed. "One minute..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed once. "NO!" Diamond screamed. "I WON'T DO IT!" All of a sudden, Gold Watch got up. He was still pale all over his face and body, but he managed to walk towards her. "You have to," he said in a raspy voice. "If you don't do it, you'll become a cat for the rest of your life." "I can't!" Diamond cried. "Not my brother!" "Please," Gold Watch said as he gave the knife to Diamond. "Just stab me in the foreleg." Diamond accepted the knife and then, using her hoof, moved it slowly toward Gold Watch's foreleg. However, right as the knife was an inch away from his foreleg, she dropped the knife. "I can't," she sobbed. "Never! My brother is the one that I care about more than anypony else! Even more than Daddy!" "You have to!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "There's not much time left!" Diamond Tiara closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't." "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Diamond grabbed her chest and gasped in pain. All of the color return to Gold Watch as he regained his senses. "Diamond Tiara!" he cried as Diamond fell to the ground. Gold Watch watched in horror as he saw his sister's ears become cat ears and her cheeks grew whiskers. "Why?! Why would do this to yourself?!" "Because I'm your sister," Diamond said as her muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's. Then her nose and mouth fused together as her teeth became fangs. "I would never hurt you, no matter what." "Please don't go!" Gold Watch cried. "I love you! You're the best sister that I could ever have!" "I'm not going anywhere," Diamond strained as her hooves cracked and formed into cat paws. "I'm just going to live the rest of my life as a cat." "That's serious!" Gold Watch cried as he picked up the knife and presented it to the nearly transformed Diamond, who screamed in pain as her legs and back just snapped and reshaped to change how her standing position would be. "I'll always remember you," Diamond said as she shrank into the size of a kitten. If Button Mash remembered his mother even after he transformed into a kitten, then I'm pretty sure that I'll still remember you, as well. Please, Gold Watch, for me. I want you to stay strong and show that game what you're made of." She then gasped a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow." "NO!" Gold Watch screamed. "PLEASE, DIAMOND! I KNOW THAT YOU CAN FIGHT THIS TRANSFORMATION! PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" "Meow," Diamond answered. "No," Gold Watch sobbed as Twist walked up to him and placed her hoof on his shoulder. "She'll always be with you," she told him. "I know," Gold Watch said sadly. "But I always promised to her that I would be able to protect her and I couldn't save her! Now her life has been ruined!" "But you have to keep going," Twist said. "She's counting on us. We have to get out of this game. The only way we can do that is to finish it." As if on cue, the voice sounded. "Break the window with your head," it said. "Two minutes." The grandfather clocked then chimed twice, causing Pipsqueak gasp. "This is going to hurt," he said in shock. He walked to the window next to the front and then back a few feet. "One...two...three!" he counted. He then closed his eyes and then charged right at the window. The moment he hit the window, however, the glass shattered and several of the shards cut his face, causing him to scream. "PIPSQUEAK!" Rumble, Twist, and Gold Watch shouted in unison as they ran towards him. Rumble hugged his injured friend, who was now bawling. "Hang on," Rumble said frantically. "I'm going to get those glass shards off of you!" He carefully pulled one of the shards out. The moment he did that however, Pipsqueak screamed again. "Stop!" he yelped. "It hurts there!" "Hold still," Rumble instructed. "If I don't get those shards off of your face, you could get an infection! Gold Watch, can you get some bandages?" "Sure thing," Gold Watch said as he ran to the kitchen and brought the first aid kit to the living room. As Rumble and Gold Watch were busy trying to remove the glass shards and stop the bleeding using the bandages, Twist saw Pipsqueak's blood pour onto the floor and spell a message out. Within a few seconds, the message was finished and said, 'Eat the jar of cockroaches.' The grandfather clock then chimed three times and a jar full of cockroaches appeared on the coffee table. "Groth!" Twist responded in shock. "What is it?" Gold Watch asked as he pulled a glass shard off of Pipsqueak. "Thith," Twist said nauseously a she pointed to the jar. "I have to eat that." "What?!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "I have to eat that in less than three minutes," Twist said. "I'll help," Gold Watch said. "No, I'll do it," Rumble said. "You've had enough hurting yourself, Gold Watch. Get the glass shards off Pip." "Okay," Gold Watch responded. Twist opened the lid of the jar and pulled a cockroach out. As she put it near her mouth, she saw the cockroach move a bit, causing her to drop it. "No!" Twist shouted. Rumble looked all over the place for the cockroach. After a few seconds of searching, he found it and picked it up. "Got it," he said as he gave it to Twist. Twist accepted the cockroach and tossed it into her mouth. Not wanting to chew on its contents in fear of what she might taste, she swallowed it whole. As Rumble plucked another cockroach out of the jar, Twist began to gag. He turned to her and saw that she was choking. Rumble ran to Twist and tried to give her the Heimlich. After a few tries, the cockroach flew out of Twist's mouth and landed on the table. Rumble caught the cockroach and ate it. After swallowing it, he checked on Twist, who was gasping. "One more left," Gold Watch said as he used the tweezers to pull the last glass shard off of Pipsqueak's face. "Ow!" Pipsqueak yelped. "Here you go," Gold Watch said as he bandaged the last wound. He then turned to see Twist hyperventilating. "Twist!" "I...have...to...eat...them..." she panted. Gold Watch turned to Rumble, who was coughing heavily. "Need...to...finish...it..." he panted. Gold Watch saw that the jar had four more cockroaches in it. He breathed heavily, grabbed all four cockroaches out, and threw them into his mouth. As he chewed on them, he gagged and accidentally coughed one of them out onto the floor. Immediately afterwards, the jar fell to the floor and shattered. The glass shards then scattered and spelled out the words, 'Time's Up'. "No!" Gold Watch cried as he saw the message. "We're out of time!" Twist then grabbed her chest and collapsed to the ground. "TWIST!" Gold Watch screamed as he ran to her and picked her up. "No!" Twist whimpered as her ears became that of a cat's and whiskers grew throughout her cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" Gold Watch cried as Twist's nose and muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's and her nose fused together. "It's okay, Gold Watch," Twist gasped as she grew fangs. "There's something I need to tell you," Gold Watch responded as Twist's hooves became paws. "I love you." "You do?" Twist responded. "Of course I do," Gold Watch responded. "I always did." Twist screamed in pain and her back snapped and her legs reshaped into what a cat would have. She then shrank until she was the size of a kitten. Her glasses fell off, but her eyesight improved. "I love you too, Gold Watch," she said. "Always." She then gasped a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow," she said. "NO!" Gold Watch screamed. He placed Twist on the floor and sobbed heavily. "I'm so sorry," Rumble said sadly. "This game is toying with us," Gold Watch sobbed. "What do you mean by that?" Pipsqueak asked. "It's using our weaknesses to claim us," Gold Watch answered. "Don't you see? The game used Button Mash's love for video games and family to its advantage and the latter cost him. Dinky's love for her mother and Pipsqueak; my sister's love toward me; Rumble's concern about whether or not he can become a Wonderbolt; Twist's love towards sweets; and my goal of becoming a ballerina was used." "I think you're right," Rumble said in sadness. "The game must have been making me do dares that would physically hurt me in hopes of preventing me from becoming a Wonderbolt." "Well, didn't you think about whether or not that it was a good idea to go in this house?" Gold Watch asked angrily. "I didn't know that it was real," Rumble protested angrily. "Then what was that article for?" Gold Watch asked angrily. "If we didn't go in that haunted house, our friends would still be as they are and my sister would still be with me!" Rumble then moved his head down, feeling ashamed. "You know what?" he responded. "I deserve all of this. I dragged all of you into this. But I didn't know that the article was true. I thought that it was just another haunted house that was there to scare ponies. I found articles about haunted houses before, but none of them were ever even a bit dangerous. You know: ponies wearing masks, scary decorations, fake blood, and many other scary things. But I would never hurt any of you, for any reason! I just wanted to have some fun with all of you! I didn't want any of this to happen to any of you." Gold Watch looked at him concerned. Rumble then moved his head back up. "Look, if we don't beat the game, we're all going to suffer the same fate as our friends." Gold Watch then got up with a face full of determination. "You're right," he said. "We got to fight back." "I believe that we can all get out of this," Pipsqueak said. "Let's face that demon!" Right after he said that, the voice rang out. "Gold Watch..." it hissed. "Well, I guess it's my turn now," Gold Watch said nervously. "Then we'll be on the final round." A barrel moved out of the kitchen and right next to Gold Watch. It had the message, 'Hold your breath underwater for two minutes' carved on it. The grandfather clock then chimed twice. "Oh no," Gold Watch said worriedly as he opened the barrel, revealing water in it. "This is bad," Pipsqueak said. "How can anypony hold their breath that long?" Rumble questioned. "I mean, magic could help." "But there isn't any for this challenge," Gold Watch said. "I guess I have no choice." He took a deep breath and put his head in the water. All of a sudden, he felt a strong force hold his head in the water. Rumble and Pipsqueak look at Gold Watch in horror. "Come on, Gold Watch," Rumble said nervously. "Hang in there!" Pipsqueak cried. Within about thirty seconds, Gold Watch began to struggle. As time passed, Gold Watch was trying desperately to hang in there. "No!" Rumble cried. "Come on!" Pipsqueak shouted. The two colts continued watching in horror, as they saw their poor friend struggling and drowning. After what seemed like an eternity, Gold Watch pulled his head to the surface. He gasped and coughed uncontrollably. "GOLD WATCH!" Rumble and Pipsqueak cried in unison as they ran to him and hugged him. "Guys..." Gold Watch gasped. "You did it!" Rumble cried. "Two minutes!" "It's over..." Gold Watch gasped. "This round is finally over." "Only one more round and we can all go home," Pipsqueak said as he got up. "I know that we can do it," Rumble responded. "I hope," Gold Watch said. "Because I have a feeling that the last round is going to be the hardest." Round 5Rumble looked at Gold Watch, who was sitting on the floor covering his face using his hooves and crying, in concern. "I'm sorry about what had happened to your sister," he told him. "I'm also sorry for taking a photo of you in that dress that you are wearing." He then walked to the fireplace, took a match, lit the logs, and dropped the photo of Gold Watch wearing the dress in the fireplace, causing it to burn to ashes within just seconds. "Thanks," Gold Watch said sadly. Diamond Tiara then walked up to Gold Watch and sat on his lap. Twist soon joined him. "Meow," she said. "I love my sister more than anything," Gold Watch sobbed. "I always had somepony to talk to. She really cared about me and knowing that she gave up her life to save me just hurts me. I wanted to tell Twist that I loved her for such a long time. Now I did, but not in the way I wanted it to be. It should be me, not them!" "I understand," Rumble said. "But we can't change the past. We can, however, change the future. We can still win this game, go home, and never come back here ever again." "We all only have to go through one more turn each," Pipsqueak said. The three colts then heard a door slam shut. Gold Watch got up and placed his kitten-transformed-sister onto his back to take a look at the door. The trio saw a message written on it that said 'Round 5'. "You're right," Gold Watch said as he wiped his tears off of his eyes. As if on cue, the voice sounded. "Drop Diamond Tiara off of the balcony..." it hissed. "Three minutes..." The grandfather clock then chimed three times. "WHAT?!" Gold Watch screamed. "I'm sorry, Gold Watch," Rumble said. "I have to. Besides, don't cats land on their feet when they reach the ground from falling?" "That's true," Gold Watch said angrily. "But she's my sister! I can never hurt her!" "You don't have to," Rumble said. "But I have to. If I don't, I'll end up as a cat just like her." Gold Watch sighed. "Fine," he said. "But I'm catching her from the ground." Rumble then walked upstairs while carrying Diamond, who was freaking out at that point. As he passed Dinky, who was at the top of the staircase grooming herself, Rumble soon found the balcony. At the same time, Gold Watch ran outside and right below the balcony, which was about fifteen feet above him. "Hurry!" Gold Watch called out to Rumble, who had just opened the door and walked into the balcony. "I'm sorry I have to do this," Rumble said sadly. He held Diamond up in the air. However, after a few seconds of hesitating, he put her down. "Rumble, what are you doing?" Gold Watch called out. "I can't," Rumble sobbed. "I could never throw anypony or animal off a drop." "You have to!" Gold Watch shouted. "You're going to be turned into a kitten if you don't!" "But she's your sister!" Rumble exclaimed. "I know that!" Gold Watch called out. "But I'll catch her! Please! I don't want to lose you!" "I'm sorry," Rumble said. "I'd rather be a kitten than drop your sister off a balcony." "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Rumble grabbed his chest and groaned in pain. "Rumble, no!" Gold Watch shouted. "I'm coming!" Gold Watch ran to the balcony, but by the time he made it, it was too late. Rumble was fully transformed into a kitten. "Meow," he said. "No, not you too," Gold Watch sobbed. He picked up Diamond and Rumble and placed them on his back. He then walked to the staircase, grabbed Dinky using his mouth, and carried her downstairs along with the kittens on his back. Once he got downstairs, he placed the kittens on the floor, walked back to Pipsqueak, and shook his head. "I'm sorry," Gold Watch told him sadly. "Rumble's a kitten, too." "This game is making us give up!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "We can't give up," Gold Watch sobbed. "We have to finish the game." Out of nowhere, loud winds began to sound loud enough for the duo to hear from inside. The wind was so strong, it knocked a tree through the window. The foals screamed the moment the glass shattered. Afterwards, several leaves fell to the floor and formed a message that said, 'Cut off seven whole living body parts in seven minutes'. The grandfather clock then chimed seven times. "This is going to hurt," Pipsqueak whimpered. "We're almost there," Gold Watch said. "We'll do this together. Just give me a second." Gold Watch ran into the kitchen and grabbed a cleaver, a knife, and a pair of scissors. He then grabbed a plastic bag and filled it up with ice in the freezer. Afterwards, he came back to the living room with the supplies and placed them on a table. The two colts then took their seats. "Do we really need all of those things?" Pipsqueak asked in worry. "We don't have a choice," Gold Watch answered. "We have seven minutes to amputate seven body parts. Let's start small. I'll pull a strand of fur off." Pipsqueak looked at Gold Watch in concern as he pulled a piece of fur off. "Okay, now what?" he asked. "Pull a strand of your mane off," Gold Watch answered. Pipsqueak did so with little effort. "Okay." He sighed. "I need to have a tooth knocked out of me. Pip, you have to do it. Knock one of my baby teeth out." "You still have baby teeth?" Pipsqueak asked confusedly. "Yeah, twelve to be exact," Gold Watch stated. "No time to talk." "I can't do that!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "I could never hurt you!" "You have to," Gold Watch said. "You don't have much time left." Pipsqueak sighed. "O-okay," he said nervously. After a few seconds of hesitating and shaking, Pipsqueak punched Gold Watch in the mouth. His punch managed to knock one of his teeth out. Gold Watch groaned in pain as he covered his now bleeding mouth with his hooves. "Sorry!" Pipsqueak shouted. "It's okay," Gold Watch said in a muffled tone. Pipsqueak picked up a pair of scissors. "My earlobe," he said as he placed the pair of scissors by his left earlobe and cut it. "No!" Gold Watch shouted. Pipsqueak screamed as blood poured out of his damaged ear. "What do we do now?!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "My tail," Gold Watch stated as he placed his tail on the table. "What?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "Just cut it off," Gold Watch cried. "We'll put it on ice! The doctors can have it sewn back on. Hurry!" "O-okay," Pipsqueak said worriedly as cold sweat fell from his face. Pipsqueak picked up a cleaver and chopped off Gold Watch's tail, causing him to scream in agony and bleed fast. "I'M SORRY!" Pipsqueak screamed. "It's okay!" Gold Watch hyperventilated as he grabbed a bandage to cover up the wound. He then dropped his now dismembered tail into a bag of ice. Afterwards, he grabbed a knife and placed it right by his flank. "What are you doing?" Pipsqueak asked in shock. "I'm cutting off my cutie mark!" Gold Watch shouted as he began sawing it off with the knife. "No!" Pipsqueak screamed. Gold Watch screamed as he cut through the flesh. He had to stop for a bit because of the excruciating pain, but then he started again. After five intervals of starting and stopping, he successfully cut his left cutie mark off. He then added it into the bag of ice and then wrapped a bandage on the wound. "Just one more body part," Pipsqueak cried. "What do we do?" Gold Watch asked. Pipsqueak got up and placed his foreleg on the table. "What, no!" Gold Watch cried. "I can't do that to you!" "You have to!" Pipsqueak cried. "There's nothing left!" "No, I can't!" Gold Watch sobbed. "Please!" Pipsqueak pleaded. "You have to!" Gold Watch hyperventilated. "Okay, okay, okay!" he cried as he grabbed a cloth and tied it around Pipsqueak's foreleg. As Pipsqueak watch what Gold Watch was doing, he saw Dinky Hooves looking at him in concern. "Meow," she said worriedly. As Gold Watch raised the cleaver above Pipsqueak's foreleg, Pipsqueak moved his head towards Gold Watch. "Wait!" he shouted. "Don't do it!" "Wait, what?!" Gold Watch responded. "Just let me turn," Pipsqueak said. "I'd rather not be living the rest of my life with three legs." "But you'll be a kitten, too!" Gold Watch cried. "If it means I can be with Dinky again, I'm willing to do it," Pipsqueak said. "Not to mention, what's the point of living on three legs anyway?" "I guess you're right," Gold Watch sobbed. "But what about your family?" "I'm sure they'll understand," Pipsqueak said. Gold Watch then put his foreleg on the table. "Then cut mine off!" he cried. "No!" Pipsqueak shouted. "I won't hurt you!" "You have to!" Gold Watch cried. "But you'll bleed to death!" Pipsqueak cried. "You've already lost your tail and your cutie mark! I can't do that!" He sobbed softly. "Please, let me go." Gold Watch sighed as a few tears fell out of his eyes. "I understand," he said sadly as he put the cleaver down. "Time's up!" the voice called out. Pipsqueak then grabbed his chest and collapsed to the ground. "PIPSQUEAK!" Gold Watch screamed as he picked him up. "It's okay," Pipsqueak sobbed as his ears reshaped into cat ears. "No!" Gold Watch cried as Pipsqueak grew whiskers and his nose and mouth fused together and became just like that of a cat's. "As long as I can be with Dinky and keep her happy, I'll be happy," Pipsqueak gasped as his teeth sharpened into fangs. He screamed in pain as his back snapped and his legs reshaped into that of a cat's. Afterwards, his hooves cracked and became paws and he shrank until he was the size of a kitten. "You're a great friend, Gold Watch," Pipsqueak said as he smiled. "We can still be friends, no matter what." He then coughed a few times and then tried to speak again. "Meow," he said. "NO!" Gold Watch shouted. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" He sobbed as he placed Pipsqueak on the floor. He then lay on the floor and bawled. "I'm all alone," he cried. "I have no friends left. I have nothing left." As he continued bawling, he felt one of the kittens nudge him with her paws. It was Diamond Tiara. "Diamond Tiara?" Gold Watch responded as he picked her up. Before long, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak walked up to him and rubbed their heads onto his dress. "Meow," all five kittens said. Gold Watch then put Diamond down and got up. He then pet them all, picked up Twist's animal-translator device, and listened to what they were saying. "Don't give up," Diamond said. "We're counting on you." "We're your friends!" Pipsqueak responded. "We'll always support you, no matter what!" "I know what you're thinking," Rumble said. "But don't do it. Don't give up and let yourself become what we've become. You've got a life ahead and we want you to succeed." "Even though our lives have been ruined," Dinky said. "We'll be fine." "Please!" Twist pleaded. "For me! For us!" Gold Watch then turned off the animal-translator device and placed it on the coffee table. "I will do it," he said in determination. "I must! For my friends and for myself!" He then turned to the kittens. "Go home all of you. I don't want any of you to be hurt." The kittens did so. Once Gold Watch let them out of the house using the front door, he walked back into the living room. "I'm ready!" he exclaimed. The TV then turned on and a message read, 'Pour a bucket of bleach on your head.' The grandfather clock then chimed three times and a bucket of bleach appeared on the coffee table. Gold Watch then breathed heavily, picked up the bucket, and ran into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found baking soda. Using a bowl and water from the sink, he mixed the baking soda with it. He then applied it all over his face, mane, and neck. Once he was done, he picked up the bucket. "This is going to hurt," Gold Watch said frantically. "One...two...three!" He poured the bucket all over his head. The moment the bleached splattered all over his head, he screamed. Even though he applied the baking soda on his head, the bleach still broke through some parts. At the same time, his bow, dress, and hoofies turned somewhat black and white and burned a bit. But after a few seconds of the bleach splattering all over him, it was over. Gold Watch then limped back to the living room. Once he sat on the sofa, he heard the voice sound. "Congratulations," it said. "You have won the game. Thanks for playing. Now, enjoy the rest of your life as yourself." The TV then turned off and all of the eerie noises stopped sounding. "It's...it's just a house now," Gold Watch said in relief. "It's just a normal house now." He got up, picked up the bag of dismembered body parts, opened the front door, and walked out of the house. The second he closed the door, he sighed in relief as he felt the breeze cool his body down, which felt good after he got burned by the bleach. "It's over," he said. "It's finally over." As he passed the gates and onto the road, he felt an excruciating amount of pain. He then collapsed onto the ground because of all of the burn wounds and blood loss that he was suffering. "Am I really going to die?" he asked himself. As his vision was fading, he saw a magenta figure walk towards him. "Miss Cheerilee?" Gold Watch gasped. Before long, he started to lose consciousness. However, he managed to hear his teacher call out to him. "You're going to be okay," she said. The voice echoed in Gold Watch's mind. Realizing that she was going to help him, he smiled and then fainted. AftermathGold Watch woke up in a dark room. There were no doors or windows. There were no lights. Just pure darkness. "Hello?!" he shouted. "Is anypony here?!" No answer came. "How did I get here?" Gold Watch asked himself. "You got here because you're not finished," a voice sounded. "What?! No! I beat the game! It's over!" "No! It's just beginning..." "You're lying! You told me that there were five rounds and I beat the whole game!" "But now you have to complete five more rounds. This time, you're on your own." "This doesn't make any sense!" "The game's not over. Time to play truth or dare." All of a sudden, Gold Watch saw six kittens approach towards him. They were his friends: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. He then saw a seventh one walk towards him in the middle of the group. It was his sister, Diamond Tiara. "Time to play truth or dare," she said. "Time to play truth or dare," the other kittens said. The seven kittens then started chanting, 'Time to play truth or dare', repeatedly. Gold Watch ran as fast as he could, only to crash into a solid wall. He then banged on it several times. "HELP!" he screamed. "SOMEPONY! I'M TRAPPED!" Cheerilee then walked through the wall. "Miss Cheerilee, I'm so glad that you're here," Gold Watch said frantically. "Please help me!" "Time to play truth or dare," Cheerilee said. "Time to play truth or dare." Cheerilee then turned into a cat and the kittens walked closer towards Gold Watch and then jumped onto him. "Time's up!" the voice rang out. "NO!" he screamed as he felt his ear change into cat ears and his cheeks growing whiskers. "SOMEPONY SAVE ME!" The transformation then accelerated. His nose and muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's. Then his nose and mouth fused together and his teeth became fangs. Finally, his hooves reshaped into paws, his back snapped, and his legs reshaped into that of a cat's. "You're now one of us," the kittens chanted as Gold Watch shrank until he was the size of a kitten. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. * * * * Gold Watch screamed as he woke up, this time for real. Upon waking up, he saw that he wasn't in a dark room. Instead, he was in a hospital room. He then looked at his hooves and saw that there were bandages wrapped all over them, as well as on many areas on his body. He then saw that he wasn't wearing a dress, hoofies, or even a bow. Instead, he was wearing a green hospital gown. He wasn't on the ground, but rather in a hospital bed. He saw an IV injected into his left foreleg and a heart rate monitor beeping. "It was all only a dream," he sighed in relief. "I'm not in a dark room. I'm not a kitten. I survived." He then felt something moving and turned around to see what it was. It was his tail. It was sewn back on and so was his cutie mark, which was sewn back on with stitches. "My tail," he said happily. "My cutie mark! I'm so glad to have them back." All of a sudden, two ponies walked inside. They were his parents, Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich. The moment they saw him, they ran up to him and hugged him hard. "You're alive, son!" Filthy Rich shouted excitedly. "I'm so glad that you're safe," Spoiled Rich said heartwarmingly as she kissed him several times on her son's cheeks. I don't know what I would do without you!" "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said in a muffled voice. Diamond Tiara then walked into the room, jumped onto the bed, and nuzzled her brother. "Thanks guys," Gold Watch said as he teared up. "But I still lost. I couldn't save Diamond Tiara and I couldn't save my friends either. It's all my fault." "Don't blame yourself," Filthy said. "You have nothing to be ashamed about. Cheerilee told us everything: the house being real, having to go back to finish it or suffering the consequences, and sharing the dares." "You mean, you're not mad?" Gold Watch asked. "Of course not," Spoiled said. "We would've been if we didn't know and all of you were just being dumb enough to go back there after learning about how dangerous it is. But after learning the truth, we understood and hoped that you would all make it out." "But only I did," Gold Watch sobbed. "Nopony else made it. I tried protecting my friends, but I failed." "No," Filthy said. "You didn't fail. You showed that you weren't a coward." "I'm not?" Gold Watch responded. "But I always get so worried about everything. I didn't even want to go into the haunted house because of what the article stated. Rumble told me that he went to a lot of haunted houses before and none of them were real. I figured that he was right. I trusted him and I was wrong. It was all real! If I had known it was, I would've never gone there in the first place!" "But you helped your friends," Filthy said. "If you didn't, your sister and your friends could've been dead. That counts as something." "But they didn't make it," Gold Watch responded. "Now they're cats for the rest of their lives. Only I made it out. I tried to save my friends, but I couldn't!" "Don't beat yourself up," Spoiled said. "You didn't know." "I know, but I should've," Gold Watch exclaimed. "I would cut off whatever is necessary to save my friends, no matter how much it could hurt." "That's what makes a good friend," Filthy stated. "Trying your best to help others." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said happily. Spoiled Rich was shocked upon hearing what her son had just said. Did he just call me, Mommy? she thought. After a few more seconds of hugging, it ended with Nurse Redheart walking into the room. "You have more visitors," she stated. "They all seem eager to see you." Cheerilee then walked inside along with seven cats: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Cream Heart, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. Twist and Rumble jumped onto the bed and nuzzled their heads onto Gold Watch. "We're so glad that you're safe," Cheerilee said happily. "We hope that you get well soon." "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee," Gold Watch said. "Thanks for saving me, too." "Of course," Cheerilee said. "No matter what happens, we all still support you." "Thanks," Gold Watch said as he smiled. "But what about the haunted house?" "The haunted house is being looked at by the officials," Cheerilee stated. "Hopefully, they'll be able to figure out why the house is enchanted and try to get rid of it to make it into a normal house. If they can't, then they'll have to tear it down and build a new one." "That's good to know," Gold Watch said happily. "Thanks again for saving me and taking me to the hospital." "No problem," Cheerilee said. "I'm glad to help you with whatever problems you're going through." She then turned to the cats. "Now then, I think that it is time to get these kitties home. See you when you get out of the hospital, Gold Watch." All of the cats followed Cheerilee out of the hospital room. Afterwards, Filthy and Spoiled turned back to their son. "The doctor said that you should rest for a while," Filthy stated. "The bleach that you poured on yourself made you suffer from third-degree burns. You were in a coma for a week." "How much longer will I need to be in the hospital for?" Gold Watch asked. "Likely for another week," Filthy stated. "The burns were terrible. So you need to rest while they heal." "I understand," Gold Watch responded. "We love you, son," Spoiled said happily. "No matter what. I may have been hard on you at times. But I love you and I want you to be safe." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch responded. "I love you both." "Meow?" Diamond responded, worried that she was being left out. "You too, Diamond Tiara," Gold Watch responded as he hugged his sister. "I could never forget you, my sister." "Meow!" Diamond responded both happily and excitingly. EpilogueGold Watch walked into the classroom. It had been one week since he had gotten out of the hospital and he was holding crutches due to the burns that were still healing limiting his mobility. He then took a seat and looked around the classroom. Out of fifteen seats, only eight seats were occupied: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Truffle Shuffle, Snips, Snails, Featherweight and, of course, Gold Watch, himself. He knew that the seven other seats would now be permanently vacant due to the game that he and his friends played three weeks ago. But he knew that he had to move on, as there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Cheerilee walked into the classroom and took a seat at her desk. She smiled as she saw that Gold Watch had returned after the incident at the haunted house. "Good morning, class," she said. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee," the class said. "I would like to announce that Gold Watch has returned to class today after being in the hospital due to burning himself," Cheerilee announced. "We heard that he was with his friends in that haunted house," Apple Bloom said. "What about the rest of his friends?" "I'm sorry, Apple Bloom," Cheerilee said. "But due to circumstances beyond our control, they're never coming back." "You mean, our classmates that are not hear today are gone forever?" Sweetie asked in concern. "Not exactly," Cheerilee stated. "They've...well...been influenced in a way that can't be fixed." She then sighed. "I guess I should tell the truth: they were playing a game of truth or dare in the haunted house and it turned out that the house was real and if anyone lied or didn't do the dare in time, they would turn into cats. Only Gold Watch didn't because he completed all five rounds. I also went there when I was a filly and played a game of truth or dare in that house. Unfortunately, I was the only one to make out as myself. All of my other friends became cats because they failed to complete their dares." "Are you saying that the haunted house was real?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Unfortunately, yes," Cheerilee answered sadly. Sweetie Belle then lay her head on her desk and cried, knowing that Button Mash was not coming back. "Okay, class," Cheerilee said. "It's time to write an essay. I want you to write about something that you learned involving friendship." She gave each foal a piece of paper. "You all have one hour to complete it." Gold Watch smiled as he knew what he wanted to write. * * * * Dear Miss Cheerilee, I have learned quite a bit about friendship throughout the past few weeks. During Nightmare Night, I was trick-or-treating with my friends and we all stumbled into a haunted house. We all thought it was just any haunted house, but then we realized that it was anything but normal. We learned that seven previous foals played truth or dare there. We initially thought it was just a joke, so we played the game. But then we learned that playing the game had severe consequences. You had to play five rounds, tell the truth, and do the dare, or your life would be severely changed forever. We had to tell some important secrets towards each other. When we did, we learned a lot about each other that we didn’t know before. We had many differences, but over time, we began to bond. As we were passing each round, we learned that friendship can conquer anything, even if we can’t do it perfectly. Even though my friends’ life have been changed and will now live differently for the rest of our lives, we are still together and we will always be friends, no matter where we are or what our futures will be. After all, we have an idol, a gamer, a mailmare, a princess, a candy-lover, a Wonderbolt, a leader, and a ballerina. We will always stand together, no matter how different we are. Signed, Gold Watch Gold Watch smiled as he got out of his seat and turned in his essay before sitting back down. Once class ended, Cheerilee smiled and turned her attention towards Gold Watch. "Gold Watch," she kindly said. "Can you please stay?" Gold Watch became nervous. "Um, yes," he responded. "Am I in trouble?" "No, of course not," Cheerilee assured. "I just need to talk about your essay." "I understand," Gold Watch responded. Once everypony left, Cheerilee walked to Gold Watch's desk with the paper. "You're paper is excellent," she told him as she placed the paper onto Gold Watch's desk. The essay had an A+ written on it in red ink. "But I want to tell you something about the haunted house." "What happened to it?" Gold Watch asked. "Well, unfortunately, the officials were unable to figure out what had happened," Cheerilee answered. "The whole house was intact. There was no blood or damages. It looked just like any normal house." "So, what's going to happen?" Gold Watch asked in shocked. "Well, they can't tear it down," Cheerilee answered sadly. "They don't have the legal rights to do so. I'm afraid it's staying there." This horrified Gold Watch. "There has to be something we can do!" he exclaimed. "What about chaining the gates so that nopony can get in?" "We can't do that," Cheerilee answered. "That would be considered vandalism. We can, however, warn others." "How?" Gold Watch responded. "We can put a sign to warn others," Cheerilee answered. "The official said that was okay. Just as long as we don't damage the gates." "I see," Gold Watch said. "I kept you after school so that we can work together on doing that," Cheerilee stated. "Since we both went through similar traumatic experiences, I thought that it would be nice that we do this together." "Oh, thank you, Miss Cheerilee!" Gold Watch responded happily as he hugged his teacher. "No problem," Cheerilee responded. "I would do anything to cheer up my students." The hug then ended. "Now then, let's not waste time. We have a lot of ponies to warn." "I'm right with you," Gold Watch said in determination. * * * * Within an hour, Gold Watch and Cheerilee finished painting the text on the wooden sign, walked to the gate of the haunted house, and nailed the sign onto the gate. "Well, I guess we finished our task," Cheerilee said. "I hope that the other ponies take great heed on our message," Gold Watch said nervously. "I'm sure they will," Cheerilee said calmly. "Say, since you did excellent on the essay and working on the warning sign, how about I take you out for ice cream at Sugarcube Corner?" "Do you really mean that?" Gold Watch asked excitingly. "Of course," Cheerilee answered happily. "My treat." "You bet!" Gold Watch responded excitingly. "Then let's go," Cheerilee responded. Gold Watch and Cheerilee then walked off to Sugarcube Corner, knowing that everything would be alright for now. However, as they left, they thought about the warning sign that they placed on the gate. They hoped that the other ponies around town would listen to their sign. After all, it did have a good message. Once you enter, there's no going back!
PrologueNightmare Night was always a fun holiday for foals to celebrate. Some go trick-or-treating and attend parties. Others like to enter into scary places to be thrilled. On this Nightmare Night, eight foals decide to go to someplace that would change their lives forever. * * * * While trick-or-treating, four colts walked all over the streets of Ponyville, looking for something to do. Their bags of candy were full of sweets. "Where do you want to go next?" Pipsqueak asked. He was a small white earth pony colt with brown patches all over him, as well as having a dark brown mane and tail, and was wearing another pirate costume. This time with a feather on his hat, a hook on his hoof, and a fake parrot on his back. He loved princesses and had dedicated his life to become a great leader. "I'm not sure," Button Mash said. He was a brown earth pony colt with an orange mane and tail and was dressed in a Joy Boy box. He was a big fan on video games. "I heard of a haunted house that we can go," Rumble said. He was a gray pegasus colt with a black mane and tail and was dressed up as a batpony. He was very daring and dedicated his life to become a Wonderbolt just like his older brother, Thunderlane. "It's a block away from where we are." "Are you sure about that?" Gold Watch responded. He was a pink earth pony colt with a purple and white striped mane and tail and was wearing an astronaut suit. He was a very nervous colt who was very protective toward his sister and his friends. "It's eight o'clock. I have to be home in a hour. Mom and Dad are expecting me." "Relax," Rumble said. "It's just a haunted house. We'll only be in there for a few minutes. I've been to many of those throughout my life. It's just full of ponies that wear "scary" costumes and decorate the house full of "scary" things. So, are you all in?" "I'll go," Pipsqueak answered. "Me too," Button answered. "I...guess I'll give it a try," Gold Watch said nervously. The four colts walked over a distance to see what the haunted house look like. At the same time, four fillies were passing by. "Man, my bag is getting very full," Dinky Hooves said. She was a purple unicorn filly with a yellow mane and tail and was dressed up as Princess Twilight Sparkle. She was very colt crazy and had a huge crush on Pipsqueak. "I think we've been to evewy housth," Twist said. She was a vanilla earth pony filly with a red curly mane and tail, as well as wearing purple eye glasses. She was dressed up as Princess Celestia. She had a huge interest on candy and had a lisp due to missing a few teeth. "Shall we head home?" Silver Spoon asked. She was a gray earth pony filly with a silver braided mane and tail, as well as wearing red eye glasses and a light blue beaded necklace, and was dressed up as Princess Luna. She was a sweet filly who used to bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but turned a new leaf after the class election. "My parents are expecting me to be home in a half hour." "Not yet," Diamond Tiara said. She was pink earth pony filly with a purple and white striped mane and tail, similar to her twin brother, Gold Watch, as well as wearing a silver tiara on her mane. She was dressed up as Princess Cadence. She was a sweet filly who used to bully the Cutie Mark Crusaders until she turned a new leaf when she stood up to her abusive mother, Spoiled Rich. "I heard about a haunted house that we can try out. It's a block away from where we are. Besides, I don't have to be home for another hour. What do you say?" "I'm in," Silver answered. "Me too," Twist answered. "Uh, I'm not sure," Dinky answered nervously. "Oh come on, Dinky," Diamond said. "We'll only be in there for a few minutes." "Um, okay," Dinky said nervously. The four fillies then walked toward the haunted house. Upon arriving, they saw four colts staring at the haunted house. "Wow," Button said. "That's one big house." "But where are all of the pumpkins, ghosts, and scary lights?" Pipsqueak said confusedly. "Are you sure that it's the right house?" "I think so," Rumble said as he pulled something out of his candy bag. "Here, I have an article about it. It looks kind of silly, but it sounds cool." The colts looked at the article that stated what the haunted house was about. The Haunted House This house may appear to be any home, but don't let that fool you. It has been known to claim many ponies' lives. Fifteen years ago, seven foals walked inside and decided to play truth or dare, with only one of them escaping. The other six foals were never seen again. Visitors must take caution upon entering because one you go inside, you may end up playing a game in which may never be able to exit the house. "Wow, that's scary," Gold Watch said. "I know, right?" Rumble responded. "Anyway, want to check it out?" "What?" Gold Watch answered. "No way! Didn't you read the article? It says that the house is dangerous." "Oh come on," Rumble said. "I found the article yesterday when I was heading home from school. I'm pretty sure whoever wrote it was just pulling a prank." "Hey guys," Diamond said as she and her friends walked towards the group. "Are you guys going into the haunted house, too?" "We sure are," Rumble responded. "Are you?" "Yep," Diamond responded. "Before we go in, how about you read the article about the haunted house?" Rumble asked. "Okay," Diamond said. She and her friends read the article and then looked at Rumble in shock. "Is it true?" Dinky asked worriedly. "I doubt it," Rumble said. "It's just an article." "Well then, let's go inside," Diamond said excitedly. The eight foals walked past the gate and Rumble turned the knob to try opening the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. "Are you sure about this?" Gold Watch nervously asked the group. "Are you sure we're not breaking into someone's actual house?" "I'm pretty sure," Rumble responded. "I think." The eight foals walked inside and saw the layout of the house. It was big with two stories. A grandfather clock was present in the living room, an old TV was present, a kitchen with a refrigerator and a stove was next to it, and the wallpaper seemed to look like any normal house would have. "This is weirding me out," Silver said. "Hello!" Rumble shouted, but got no response. "Maybe we should all just leave," Gold Watch said nervously. "No way," Rumble said. "I'm sure that whomever set this up was meant to scare us in order to fool us and then pop up in surprise." "Yeah, come on, big brother," Diamond said. "You should man up. You're older than me." "By only a minute," Gold Watch said. "Besides, something doesn't seem right here. It's just too quiet here." As Button closed the door, the group saw some arrows on the ground that were pointing toward the living room. "I think we're supposed to walk there," Pipsqueak said. The eight foals saw the arrows lead to the sofa. "The arrows end here," Button said. "Maybe we're supposed to sit here," Pipsqueak said. The foals all sat on the couch. "So, what now?" Diamond pondered. "Are we supposed to wait until somepony walks up to us?" "I don't know," Button said. "This sofa is pretty comfortable." "I know," Rumble said. "Let's play a game of truth or dare while we're waiting?" "Are you crazy?" Gold Watch responded frantically. "What if the article is actually real?" "Oh come on," Rumble said. "Unless Discord is here pulling a prank on us, I'm pretty darn sure that nothing will happen." "Um, okay," Gold Watch said nervously. "Alright then, let's take some cards out and write down a few truths and dares on them," Rumble announced. "Then we'll shuffle the deck and take turns." With that said, the eight foals took some quills, dipped them into ink, and began to write on the cards to begin the game of truth or dare. Author's Note Note: Gold Watch is Diamond Tiara's twin brother in this story. In previous stories, he has been known to be Diamond Tiara's male counterpart. But here, I decided to make them siblings. Keep in mind, this story has the "Alternate Universe" tag on it.
Round 1A few minutes had passed by the time the group was done writing each of the cards down and placed the cards into a deck. Diamond Tiara shuffled the deck and then turned her head towards the group. "Okay, who's first?" she asked. After a short pause, Rumble stood up. "I'll go first," he said as he took a card from the deck and read it. "What is your greatest fear?" He sighed. "Well, my greatest fear is about being unable to become a Wonderbolt." At that point, he felt sad. "Initially, I thought that if I got the wrong cutie mark, I wouldn't be qualified to be one. So, I started a movement called 'Blank Flanks Forever' at the Cutie Mark Day Camp. But then, my older brother, Thunderlane showed me the cutie marks won't effect my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt and I decided to just go along with the day camp. Even so, I'm still afraid because it's a long ways away and I want to be up for the challenge. I'm so sorry, Pipsqueak." "It's okay, Rumble," Pipsqueak said. "You didn't really do anything wrong. You expressed your belief about a tough topic." "Still," Rumble said. "I found what I did was wrong." He sighed. "Okay, who's next?" "I'll go," Diamond said as she took a card from the deck. "Stand on your hind legs for thirty seconds. What? How's that even possible?" She sighed. "Okay, I'll try." Rumble pulled out a stopwatch as Diamond got up on her hind legs and began standing on them alone. The moment she got into that position, Rumble started the timer on his stopwatch. "Ow, my legs," Diamond groaned after standing on them for a few seconds. "You got twenty seconds left," Rumble announced. "Twenty seconds?!" Diamond shouted. "I'm going to break my back if I don't stand on all fours soon!" "Come on, Diamond," Silver Spoon said with encouragement. "You can do it!" "Ten more seconds," Rumble announced. "My muscles are really going to hurt tomorrow!" Diamond shouted as her hind legs began to quiver. "Only five more seconds left," Rumble announced. "WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MINDS WOULD DO THIS?!" Diamond screamed as her legs were about to give out. "Time's up," Rumble announced. Diamond quickly got back on all fours and sat next to her brother. "Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone. "I think so," Diamond answered. "My hind legs really hurt though." "I'll go get some ice," Gold Watch said. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Diamond said happily. "You're a great brother." "You're welcome, Diamond Tiara," Gold Watch said. "You're a great sister." As Gold Watch went into the kitchen to find some ice in the freezer, Button Mash got up from the sofa. "I'll go next," he said as he picked up a card from the deck. "Did you lose a very important video game? What? No, I didn't." All of a sudden, something carved onto the floorboard right in front of him. The carving said, 'Liar'. This caused him to freak out. "Liar?!" He began to hyperventilate. "Am I tripping?" "Calm down, Button," Pipsqueak said. "It's just a video game." "It's not what you think," Button said nervously. "I spent six hours on it in the arcade. It was on Hearts and Hooves Day and I was facing the final boss and I was about to fight against it when Sweetie Belle sang something behind me. I turned around and then lost against the final boss while I was distracted. All of that time went to waste. I had to start all over, but I only played for five more minutes and then I decided to get Mom a bouquet of flowers for Hearts and Hooves Day." He then sighed. "Phew. It feels great to get that out of me." "It's no problem, Button," Pipsqueak said. "We're friends. We'll keep it a secret." "Thanks, Pip," Button said. "I did beat the game a week later, so it does make me feel a bit better." "That's great, Button," Diamond said. "Alright, who's next?" "I'll go," Dinky said as she pulled a card out of the deck. "What is the truth about your mother's cross-eyes? Who wrote this?" "Not me," Diamond said. "Not me," Rumble said. "I don't think anyone wrote that one," Pipsqueak said. Gold Watch walked back into the living room, carrying two plastic bags full of ice. "Here you go, Diamond," he said as he gave the bags of ice to her. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Diamond said as she placed one of the bags onto her hind legs and the other on her back. "I think we need to get out of here," Gold Watch said, who was now shaking nervously. "Something tells me that this house is no ordinary one." "I think your right," Button said. "How did that house know I was lying?" "The house?" Silver responded. "That's ridiculous! There has to be somepony stalking us." "We got to call the police," Diamond said. "Let's go," Gold Watch said. The eight foals got off the sofa and headed towards the front door. When Gold Watch tried to turn the knob, however, the door wouldn't open. "I can't open it," Gold Watch said nervously as he looked at the window next to the door. "We got to climb out the window." He tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. "We got to break the window," Rumble said. "He ran back into the living room, took a chair, and then slammed it at the window several times, but it didn't break. "Now what?" Diamond responded worriedly. "I think Dinky needs to take her turn," Button Mash said nervously. Dinky sighed. "My mom told me about that story last year," she stated. "She was hit in the head by a bowling ball while bowling with her friends back when she was my age. As a result, she had a concussion and had to go to the hospital. They were able to stop the concussion, but she suffered from permanent damage on her eyesight. Over time, her eyes became more crosseyed and she had to leave summer flight camp after participating in seven races." All of the other foals looked at Dinky concerned. "I'm sorry to hear about that," Gold Watch said as he placed his hoof on Dinky's shoulder. "It's okay, Gold Watch," Dinky said. "I hope you can all understand." "We all do," Diamond said. "Okay, now that that's over, how about we get out of here now?" Gold Watch responded. The group tried to find a way, but found the doors remaining locked and the windows being covered by wooden boards. "We can't get out," Silver said frantically. All of a sudden, the TV in the living room turned on. Static appeared and some strange noise was sounding all over the house. The group ran into the living room and heard an eerie voice coming from the TV. "Five rounds...forty-eight hours...or suffer the consequences," it hissed. Upon hearing that sound, Gold Watch fainted. "Gold Watch, are you okay?" Diamond asked concerned as she ran up to him. All of a sudden, the number, nine, appeared on the TV screen surrounded by a circle. A line then began spinning around and the number decreased by one for each full stop. It soon stopped at the number, two. Then the grandfather clock chimed twice. "Two?" Pipsqueak responded confusedly. "Jump off of the staircase from top to bottom," the voice said. "Two minutes." "What?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "That's insane!" "You have to do it," Button Mash said as he put his hoof over Pipsqueak's shoulder. "We need to do what the voice tells us to do if we want to get out of here." Pipsqueak sighed. "Okay," he said nervously. As Pipsqueak walked up the stairs, Diamond was tapping Gold Watch's cheeks to try to wake him up. "Come on, Gold Watch!" Diamond called out to her brother. Within a few seconds, Gold Watch woke up. He groaned a bit. "What happened?" he asked Diamond groggily. "You fainted," Diamond answered. "You gave me a great scare there." "I didn't mean to. It's just that voice coming from the TV. It scared me big time." "It's okay, Gold Watch." "What happened?" "Pip is climbing up the stairs to jump from the top." "What?!" "He has less than two minutes to do that." "What?! He'll hurt himself. He needs someone to catch him. I'm coming!" Gold Watch got up and raced to the bottom of the stairs. "I'll catch you," he called out to Pipsqueak, who was now at the top of the staircase. "Thanks, Gold Watch," Pipsqueak said. He breathed heavily for a few seconds and then calmed himself down and walked a distance away from the staircase. "Okay, one...two...three!" Pipsqueak charged to the staircase and jumped from the top. Once he reached the bottom of the staircase, Gold Watch caught him and then got knocked to the ground. "Ow!" Gold Watch shouted. "Sorry," Pipsqueak said in a concerned tone as he got off of Gold Watch. "It's okay," Gold Watch said as he got up. "No serious damage. Now, let's get out of here." As the group made another attempt to open the front door, they saw something carved on it. It said, 'Finish the round'. "Finish the round?!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "Well, it's official: we have to play five rounds." "We got to do this," Rumble said. "All of us have to have a turn before we can leave." "Oh, like you're to talk," Silver snarked. "Hey, I didn't know any of this was real!" Rumble exclaimed. "I was just curious to take a look at this place. I never even went in here until I brought you guys here." "That's enough!" Diamond called out. "Enough of the blame game! Nopony knew about this before we got here! Therefore, we're all equal in this!" "Then who will go?" Button asked. "I'll go next," Twist said as she walked back to the living room and picked a card up from the deck. "Did you eat a candy cane on the ground?" She sighed as she looked at the group. "I did. But I was hungry. I was on a camping trip with the Cutie Mark Crusaders one day and I accidentally dropped my candy cane on the ground. I didn't want to starve, so I picked it up and ate it while it was covered in dirt." "It's not too big of a deal," Rumble said. "I eat food on the ground all the time." "Gross!" Gold Watch exclaimed. He then sighed. "I'll go next." He picked up a card from the deck and read it. "Is your favorite color pink and do you like to wear dresses while in your bedroom?" "What?!" the entire group shouted. Gold Watch blushed for a few seconds. "I...I..." he began. Then he took a few deep breaths and then regained his posture. "I like pink. So what? It's a color. Besides, I am pink. I was born pink!" "What about wearing dresses?" Diamond asked. Gold Watch began hyperventilating and then started sobbing. "I want to be a ballerina!" he cried. "I've been snatching some of your dresses so that I can practice dancing while listening to classical music! I'm sorry, Diamond! I should've told you. I just didn't want you to be embarrassed to find out that your brother likes girly things, okay? I don't like sports, video games, getting dirty, or rough housing! I like dancing while listening to classical music! I like tea parties! I like stylizing my mane and tail! I like spa treatments! What's wrong with all of that?! I just want to be me! I'm sorry!" Diamond looked at her brother in shock. "I...didn't know," she said in concern. "You could've told me. I'm sure I could help you take dance lessons." "I didn't want our parents to find out," Gold Watch continued. "I was worried that they would disown me or send me to a straight camp." "No they wouldn't. Father would never do that and he would make sure that Mother would never do that to you either." "Are you certain?" "I'm one hundred percent certain." "Thanks, Diamond." "You're welcome, Gold Watch." "Okay, let's get back to the game," Rumble said. "It's Silver Spoon's turn." "Right," Silver said as she picked up a card from the deck and read it. "Kiss Diamond Tiara. What?!" "One minute..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed once. "Okay, that's just gross!" Silver exclaimed. "I won't do that!" "You have to," Diamond said. "If you don't do it, you'll suffer the consequences." "What consequences?" Silver responded. "There's obviously somepony that's watching us. I don't think anything will happen if I don't do the dare." "Pleath," Twist said. "I'm not attracted to fillies!" Silver exclaimed. "I like colts!" "But this is serious," Button said. "If you don't do the dare, something bad is going to happen. Didn't you see the doors lock, the windows being boarded up, the TV turning on without anyone using a remote, and a strange voice coming from nowhere?" All of a sudden, the lights began to flicker. "For the last time, I'm not kissing Diamond Tiara," Silver shouted. "I'm not playing this game anymore! I'm going home!" "Time's up..." the voice said. "Whatever," Silver said. "Told you nothing would happen." "Now suffer the consequences," the voice said. "Seriously?" Silver responded. "Whoever is up there doing this, I'm calling the police and you're going to go to jai--" All of a sudden, the lights stopped flickering and Silver stopped mid-sentence and grabbed her chest. "Silver Spoon?" Diamond called out to her friend. "Silver Spoon?! Are you okay?!" Silver fell to the ground and felt strange. Her ears began to reshape and become triangular. "What's happening to me?" she responded. She then felt something growing on your cheeks. "Silver, you're growing whiskers!" Diamond called out. "What?!" Silver shouted. She then groaned in her pain as her teeth began to sharpen. Then she screamed in pain as her muzzle began to reshape and her nose became triangular. Then her nose and mouth fused together. Rumble ran into the bathroom and pulled a mirror out. He ran back to Silver and show her face with the mirror, causing her to scream further. "I'M TURNING INTO A CAT!" she screamed out of the top of her lungs. Her four hooves soon began to crack and form into paws. Then her paws grew pads and five claws grew on each paw. "We need to help her!" Gold Watch shouted. "Dinky, can you cast a counter-spell to reverse the transformation?" "I'll try," Dinky responded. Dinky powered her horn and zapped Silver Spoon to try to stop the transformation, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, she stopped zapping her. "I can't," Dinky said worriedly. "It's not working." Silver's back snapped and her legs reshaped a bit, causing her to scream in agony. "Silver Spoon!" Diamond shouted. Before long, Silver saw her surroundings growing. "Diamond Tiara, you're growing," she said in shock. "No, Silver Spoon, you're shrinking," Diamond responded in horror. "What?!" Silver exclaimed and then sighed in discomfort as her costume, glasses, and necklace fell off of her and she stopped shrinking once she was the size of a small kitten. "I was wrong." Silver then gasped lightly. "Silver Spoon!" Diamond called out to her. "Meow?" Silver answered. "No!" Diamond shouted. "This can't be happening!" "The article..." Rumble said in horror as he pulled it out of his candy bag. "It's real!" "Never mind that," Gold Watch said. "We got to get out of here." Gold Watch turned the knob and opened the front door. Diamond picked up the now kitten-transformed-Silver and the entire group ran out of the house and kept running until they couldn't see the house at all. "Where to?" Button asked. "To Princess Twilight's castle," Gold Watch said. "I'm sure she can help." "Meow?" Silver responded. "It's okay, Silver Spoon," Diamond told her. "You'll be back to normal in no time. I promise." The seven foals ran as quick as they could to get to Twilight's castle for help. Within a few minutes, they arrived. Gold Watch knocked on the door and within a few seconds, Twilight answered it. "Wow, I didn't think anypony would arrive this late for trick-or-treating," she said. "We're not," Gold Watch responded. "We need help." "What happened?" Twilight asked in concern. "It's my friend, Silver Spoon," Diamond answered. "What about her?" Twilight asked. "You might want to have a look at her," Diamond answered as she picked her up and showed her to Twilight. "That's just a kitten," Twilight responded. "Not just a kitten," Diamond said. "Look at her mane, tail, and cutie mark!" "What?!" Twilight exclaimed as she looked at them. "How did this happen?" "We were playing a game of truth or dare in a haunted house," Gold Watch explained. "At first, it seemed like any normal game, but then we ended up being force to tell stuff that nopony knew about and then Pipsqueak had to jump down the staircase. Then Silver Spoon had to kiss Diamond Tiara, but refused to and as a result, she turned into a kitten. We don't know what to do." "Here, let me try to cast a spell on her," Twilight said as she powered up her horn. She then zapped her for a seconds, but stopped when she saw that nothing was happening. "I can't." All of a sudden, Discord appeared out of nowhere. "Maybe I can," he said. He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. He snapped his fingers six more times, but none of the snapping worked. "What? Why is my magic not working? I pretended to be hurt to have the Mane Six stop King Sombra, but this time this is for real." All of a sudden, a tall white alicorn mare walked outside of the castle. "Maybe I can help," Princess Celestia said. "Princess Celestia," Diamond said in amazement. "What are you doing here?" "The three of us were in a meeting involving the future of Equestria," Princess Celestia answered. "Here, let me cast a spell." The sun princess powered up her horn and shot a spell at Silver. When the smoke cleared, however, Silver was still a kitten. "Wait, what about the alicorn amulet?" Pipsqueak asked. "Meow?" Silver responded. "It had recently been destroyed," Princess Luna said as she walked to the front door of the castle. "Somepony tried to steal it, so we decided that would be best to destroy it to prevent anymore disasters from happening. Zecora had the amulet locked away in her hut previously, but agreed with us that it should be destroyed." Gold Watch sighed. "Well, thanks for helping anyway," he said. "Sorry to interrupt your meeting." "It's okay, Gold Watch," Twilight said. "It was an emergency. Why don't you kids go home and get some rest. Hopefully, we'll be able to find a solution by tomorrow morning." "Okay, thanks, Princess Twilight," Diamond said. "You're welcome all of you," Twilight responded as she closed the door. "So, what do we do now?" Rumble asked the group. "We do what Twilight told us to do: we got to go home and get some rest," Button said. "I'm sure she can fix this," Diamond said. "Don't worried, Silver Spoon. You'll be okay." "Meow," Silver responded as she rubbed her head on Diamond's foreleg. "Aw, you're so cute," Diamond said as she picked up Silver. "Let's take you home." Having no other options, the group headed home, hoping that everything would be back to normal tomorrow.
Round 2All of the remaining foals had trouble sleeping. Most of them only slept for an hour or two. They couldn't stop thinking about what had happened to Silver Spoon. Eventually, morning came. Rumble opened his eyes and got out of his bed. He walked toward the door, only to find that it was locked. "What the?" he said in panic. "I can't open it! Can somepony let me out?" All of a sudden, he heard a voice hissing behind him. He turned around and saw the words, 'Round 2', carved on his bedroom wall. "Round 2?" Rumble responded in horror. "This doesn't make sense. We made it out! How can this game still be going on?!" "Jump out of your bedroom window..." the voice said. "One minute..." "Ha!" Rumble responded. "I can just fly after falling a few feet." He opened the window and prepare to make the jump when all of a sudden, the voice came back. "Uh-uh-uh!" it responded. "You can't use your wings to save yourself!" "What?!" Rumble shouted. "You can get out of this," the voice said. "Just jump." Rumble looked down and saw that there were bushes below him. He sighed. "One...two...three!" Rumble shouted. He jumped out of the window and landed in the bushes. After a few seconds, Rumble emerged out of the bushes, spat out a few leaves, and freed himself from the bushes. "I got to find my friends," he said to himself as he flew off. * * * * Diamond Tiara and Gold Watch had just finished their breakfast and walked outside. "Where are we going?" Gold Watch asked. "We're going to go visit Silver Spoon," Diamond answered. "We need to keep her company. She needs us." "I really hope that we can change her back," Gold Watch said. "Agreed," Diamond responded. As the twins walked past the gate of their mansion, Diamond and Gold Watch saw something written on their fence. "Tell Sweetie Belle about your crush on Button Mash," Diamond read. "Five minutes." "Wait, what?" Gold Watch responded. "It's true. I do have a crush on him. I never wanted to tell Sweetie Belle because I didn't wanter her to hate me. I'm not dating him and I never plan to do that." "You got to tell her. If you don't, you might end up just like Silver Spoon or some other animal." Diamond sighed. "Okay," she said nervously. The two ran as fast as they could and managed to get there within two minutes. Once they arrived, Gold Watch knocked on the door. Within five seconds, Rarity answered. "Hello, you two," she said. "What brings you both here?" "I need to speak to Sweetie Belle," Diamond answered. "It's very urgent." "I understand," Rarity responded. "Oh, Sweetie Belle! You got friends that need to talk to you." "Coming!" Sweetie Belle called out from upstairs. She quickly ran downstairs and saw her friends as Rarity walked back inside to resume her work. "What's up?" she asked them. "I...have a confession to tell you," Diamond said. "I don't think you're going to like it." "I'm sure that it's not a big deal," Sweetie Belle responded. "Well..." Diamond began. She winced for a second, but Gold Watch nudged her. "I...have a crush on Button Mash! He's just looks so handsome! I'm not dating him and I don't plan to do that! He doesn't know that I have a crush on him! I wouldn't ever have him cheat on you!" Sweetie Belle was left speechless and shocked. But after a few seconds, she calmed down. "It's okay, Diamond Tiara," she said. "A lot of fillies have told me that. Last week, Sunny Daze said the same thing, but she never had an affair with him." "I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle," Diamond responded. "You have nothing to apologize," Sweetie Belle responded. "Thanks for understanding," Diamond said. "We got to go now." "Okay," Sweetie Belle said as she closed the door. The twins resumed walking to Silver's house. As they continued walking, Diamond began to hyperventilate. "Are you okay?" Gold Watch asked. "No," Diamond answered. "I feel ashamed." "But Sweetie Belle said that all was okay." "Still." "We got to go find our friends. If you were just told to tell a truth, then Rumble must have had a turn." "Oh no! What if he transformed too?!" "We got to find everypony and put a stop to this game." "Agreed." * * * * Button Mash was feeling depressed. He couldn't stop thinking about Silver Spoon. Even while he was playing on his Joy Boy, he couldn't put the thought away, so he decided to turn off his video game and lie down on his bed. As he looked up at the ceiling, however, he saw something carved on it. It said, 'Hit your mother in the head with a hammer'. "What?!" Button shouted. "Two minutes..." the voice said. Button saw a hammer on his nightstand. He picked it up and walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where his mother was cooking breakfast. After staring at what was going on for a few seconds, he looked at the hammer and then sighed. "I won't do it," he said to himself. "Button, what are you talking about?" his mother, Cream Heart, asked. "Time's up!" the voice rang out. "What was that sound?" Cream Heart asked. She turned around and saw Button Mash grabbing his chest. He dropped the hammer and fell to the ground. "Button Mash!" Cream Heart called out. "What's wrong?" "The game is still happening," Button groaned as his ears began to reshape into cat ears. "You mean that truth or dare game?" Cream Heart asked. "Yes!" Button shouted in pain as he began to grow whiskers. "I thought that you were just making up that story," Cream Heart said as she began sobbing. "I'm sorry for not believing you." "It's okay, Mom," Button said as he grew fangs. "I should be the one to apologize. I was dared to hit you in the head with a hammer. I would never do such a thing, so I decided to not do it. I knew that something like this would happen, but I didn't want you to die." Button then felt his nose and muzzle reshape into what a cat would have. "Hang in there, I'm getting help!" Cream Heart cried. Button's hooves reshaped into paws and became padded. Then his legs and back snapped, causing him to scream in agony. Cream Heart picked up her son and held him as he began to shrink. Before long, his beanie fell off of his head. He eventually stopped shrinking once he was the size of a small kitten. "It's okay, Mom," Button said. "You're a great mother and I would never hurt you." He then gasped a few times. "Button Mash!" Cream Heart cried out. "Meow?" Button responded. "No, NO!" Cream Heart screamed. * * * * Diamond and Gold Watch quickly gathered up their friends. They managed to find Rumble, Dinky Hooves, Pipsqueak, and Twist. "Did we get everypony?" Diamond asked. "Not quite," Gold Watch answered. "We haven't found Button Mash yet." "Then let's go," Pipsqueak said. The group dashed to Button's house. Once they arrived, Gold Watch knocked on the door. Within three seconds, Cream Heart, who was still wiping her tears, answered the door. "Hello?" she sobbed. "Hi Cream Heart," Gold Watch said worriedly. "We need to see Button Mash. It's urgent." "Well..." Cream Heart began. "He's...Button, please come here." Within a few seconds, Button walked to the front door. The foals looked at him in shocked when they saw that he was now a kitten. "We're too late," Diamond said in horror. As she stared at the now transformed Button Mash, Dinky heard the voice. "Turn Cream Heart into a cat and Spike into a pony," it said. "Eight minutes." All of a sudden, an amulet appeared on the ground in front of Dinky. She picked it up and placed it on her horn. "I'm sorry, Cream Heart," she said. "But I have to turn you into a cat or I'll turn into one." "Do it!" Cream Heart cried. "I want to be with my son!" "Okay," Dinky said nervously. She powered up her horn and zapped Cream Heart. Within just seconds, Cream Heart's ears reshaped into cat ears. Then she grew whiskers and fangs. Afterwards, her muzzle and nose reshaped into that of a cat's and her nose fused with her mouth. "I'm sorry," Dinky said. "I don't know if you'll ever be able to change back." "That's okay, Dinky," Cream Heart said as her hooves became cat paws. "I would do anything just to be back with my son!" Cream Heart screamed as her back and legs snapped and reshaped into that of a cat's. Afterwards, she started to shrink until she was smaller than the foals, but bigger than her son. "Are you okay?" Dinky asked Cream Heart. "Meow," Cream Heart answered. She then pawed on her hairbands, trying to get them off. Dinky walked up to her and removed them. "I'm sorry," Dinky sobbed. "We got to go," Rumble said. "You're not done yet. You need to change Spike into a pony and you only have five minutes to do that." "Oh, right," Dinky responded. The six remaining foals quickly left Button and Cream Heart, who lay down and allowed Button to climb onto her back. As the left, they saw Button and Cream Heart saying some stuff and then Cream Heart carried Button to the streets now that no one could take care of their house. The foals managed to make it to Twilight's castle in just two minutes. Gold Watch knocked on the door and Twilight answered it almost instantly. "Everything okay?" she asked. "It happened again!" Gold Watch exclaimed in horror. "Button Mash turned into a kitten, too!" "I also have been dared to turn Spike into a pony and I need to do that in three minutes," Dinky said worriedly. "I'm sorry." "I understand," Twilight said. She then sighed. "Spike!" Spike quickly flew to the front door. "What is it?" he asked. "How do I say this?" Twilight answered. "These foals have been playing a game of truth or dare that turned out to have serious consequences. If they didn't do as they were told, they would turn into kittens. Last night, it happened to Silver Spoon. I tried to change her back, but nothing worked. Then Button Mash turned into a kitten. Now Dinky Hooves has been dared to turn you into a pony or she'll suffer the same fate." "But I..." Spike began. "I got my wings three months ago." He sighed. "I understand. Can you turn me into a pegasus?" "Of course, Spike," Dinky answered. She powered up her horn and zapped Spike. Within seconds, his lime dragon ears become purple pony ears. Then his tail became that of a pony's. Afterwards, his quills became a mane, his nose stretched into a muzzle, his teeth dulled out, his eyes changed from slit to round, but remained green, his claws and feet became hooves, and his back and legs snapped and caused Spike to be trapped on all fours. Lastly, his dragon wings changed into feathery pegasus wings. Within one minute, the transformation was complete. Dinky powered her horn down and Spike looked at himself. "Wow, look at what I have become," he said excitedly. "I don't think this is too bad to spend the rest of my life as one." "I'm sorry, Spike," Dinky said. "There's nothing to be sorry about," Spike responded as he flapped his now feathery wings. "There's a lot that I don't have to worry about. I never have to ever leave Ponyville. I don't have to ever be near Garble ever again. Although I will miss being able to breath fire." "Sorry again," Dinky said. "We got to go now." The six remaining foals walked back to Ponyville and decided to stop at Rumble's house to get the article that he found. Once they arrived, Rumble pulled the article out of his desk drawer. While rereading it, he saw something that was too small to read, so he pulled a magnifying glass out to see what was written. The only foal to make it out was Cheerilee. "What?!" Rumble shouted. "Our teacher?!" "I can't believe it," Diamond said. "We got to go find her," Gold Watch said. The foals quickly rushed to Cheerilee's house. Gold Watch knocked on the door and Cheerilee answered almost immediately. "What is it?" Cheerilee asked. "This is urgent," Diamond said. "We went to a haunted house and played truth or dare," Gold Watch said. "At first, it seemed like any normal game, but then the truths became suspicious and the dares became dangerous. While playing, Silver Spoon and Button Mash refused to take their dares and turned into kittens as a result." "Here's an article about it," Rumble said as he handed it over to his teacher. "Wait, that haunted house?!" Cheerilee shouted in horror upon seeing the article. "That's the same one I was in when I played that game with my friends back when I was your age." "We need to know how we can get out of the game," Gold Watch said. "You have to play the whole game," Cheerilee answered. "You have to play five rounds within forty-eight hours or all of you will turn into kittens." "Is there a way to change back?" Diamond asked. "Unfortunately, no," Cheerilee said. "Once you fail, you pony form dies. Your heart stops and then starts again once it becomes a cat's. That's why the transformation is irreversible. You can't revive your pony form. You have to spend the rest of your life as a cat. In fact, your lifespan as a cat will remain equal to that of a pony's." "You mean that if we fail to beat the game, we'll have to live for the next seventy or something years as cats?" Rumble asked. "That's right," Cheerilee answered. "But you can outsmart the game. You can share the dares. I had to punch a window with my hoof five times. I knew that if I did that, I would likely inflict too many cuts and bleed to death, so me and my friends each did it once." "Well then, let's finish this game," Pipsqueak said. "What do you mean finish the game?" Gold Watch responded in worry. "Why can't we just get rid of the haunted house?. "It doesn't work that way," Cheerilee said. "The game will follow you no matter what." "I guess we don't have a choice," Gold Watch sad sadly and then turned to his friends. "Let's go." "Wait, before you go, you must know this," Cheerilee said. "You have to finish the game in the haunted house. In fact, I think it's best to stay in their for the rest of the game anyway. It will save you from having to do anything around Ponyville." Gold Watch sighed. "Thanks for the advice, Miss Cheerilee," Gold Watch said nervously. "You're welcome, Gold Watch," Cheerilee responded worriedly. The six foals walked back to the haunted house. Once they arrived, they walked back into the living room and sat on the sofa. "Okay, now we have to wait," Rumble said. Within just seconds, the voice hissed. "Drink the hard cider..." it said. "Three minutes..." The grandfather clocked then chimed three times. The group then saw an arrow on the wall pointing to the kitchen. They walked in there and saw the hard cider bottle. "What?!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "I have to drink this whole bottle? But I'm too young! I have to be twenty-one to drink that!" "You have to drink that," Rumble said. "No, we will help him," Gold Watch said. "We all need to take a glass and drink one-sixth of the bottle each." He opened one of the kitchen cabinets and took out six small glasses. He then poured the bottle into each glass. By the time he filled up the last glass, the entire bottle of hard cider was empty. "Okay, on the count of three, we all drink," Gold Watch said as he and his friends picked up their glasses. "One...two...three!" All six foals quickly downed their glasses and then they began gagging. "Bleh!" Rumble responded. "That tasted disgusting! I'm never drinking ever again!" "Agreed," Gold Watch responded. "I'm going to go wash my mouth," Twist said. She walked to the sink, turned it on, poured some water into her mouth, gurgled for a few seconds, and then spat it out. Afterwards, she picked up a clean glass, poured some water in it, turned off the sink, and then drank the water. Once she was done, she put the glass into the sink and then looked at the mirror. She saw a messaged painted on it. It said, 'Eat the dog food in the bowl'. "Two minutes..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed twice. Twist turned to her friends and saw a dog bowl full of dog food on the table. "Oh no," Twist said. "That's justh nasthy!" Twist took a piece of the dog food and ate it. Afterwards, she began gagging. "Agh!" she responded. "I'm going to throw up!" "You have to do it, Twist," Gold Watch said. "Here, I'll help you." Gold Watch grabbed a glass of water and placed it on the table. Then he grabbed the dog bowl and ate half of it in five bites. Afterwards, he coughed several times. "Gold Watch!" Twist called out. "I'm okay," Gold Watch responded. "I just need to drink some water." Once he drank half of the glass, he quickly stuffed his hooves with the dog food and downed it as quickly as possible. Within five more bites, he finished it off. "Done." He then ran to the sink and threw up. Once he was done, he cleaned up his mouth and then the sink. He then turned to his friends and saw a gramophone, a pink dress with laced hoofies, a pink bow, and a carved message that read, 'Put on the dress and dance to the classical music'. "What?!" Gold Watch shouted. "Not in front of my friends!" "Three minutes..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed three times. "Come on, Gold Watch," Rumble said. "You already said that you love to crossdress and do girly things." Gold Watch sighed. "Okay, I'll do it," he said. Gold Watch tied the bow onto his head. Then he put the dress on. Finally, he got the hoofies on. As soon as he was finished, Rumble pulled out a camera and took a photo of him. "What--hey!" Gold Watch responded as his cheeks turned red. "What was that for?" "Nothing really," Rumble answered. "I just wanted to cherish that memory. Don't worry, I won't show it to anypony, Goldie Watch." "I mean it!" Gold Watch responded angrily. "I Pinkie Promise," Rumble said. "I just need to find three bears." "Stop it!" Gold Watch shouted. The gramophone then played for a few minutes. While it was playing, Gold Watch danced like a ballerina and his friends looked at him in amazement. Once he was done, his friends clapped. "Thank you, thank you," Gold Watch said. He then looked at his dress. "Now to get this dress off of me." As he was about to get rid of it, the voice rung out. "You must wear the dress for the rest of the game..." it hissed. "Oh come on," Gold Watch said. "That's not fair!" "You have to wear it until you lose or complete the game, whichever comes first," the voice said. Gold Watch sighed. "Fine," he said. "At least that this round is over." "I really want to go home," Dinky said. "I'll keep you safe," Pipsqueak said. "We made it through two rounds and we're both still here." "I have a feeling that the next round is going to be worse," Gold Watch said. "But we all need to stick together no matter what." All of his friends nodded in agreement.
Round 3Author's Note Warning: This round will involve diarrhea and other gross content! Reader discretion is advised! Round 3 Worried that if the hoofies fell off of his hooves he would turn into a kitten, Gold Watch tightened the laces on them. At the same time, Rumble was walking in circles. "I can't believe we still have three rounds left and we already lost two of our friends," he said. "We also had to turn Button's mother into a cat to save Dinky and to reunite her with her son." "A lot of lives are being ruined," Diamond said. "But we can't let the rest of us go down." "Button's dare was to smash his mother's head with a hammer," Rumble responded. "He didn't do the dare, so he had to pay the price. He's living on the streets with his mother for the rest of his life! This game is only going to get worse." All of a sudden, the front door ended up being carved a message done by an invisible force. It read, 'Round 3'. The fireplace then lit up, the grandfather clock chimed once, and a message above the fireplace read, 'Stand on the fire for five seconds'. "See what I mean?!" Rumble exclaimed. "I have to get burned for five seconds and I have less than a minute to do that." He walked to the fireplace and prepared to step into the fire. The other colts and fillies looked at him frantically. Gold Watch ran to the kitchen, pulled out a bucket that he found in one of the cabinets, and filled it up with water. "Don't worry, Rumble," he said. "The moment you finish, I'll pour water water all over you to douse the flames. Rumble looked up to him and smiled. "Thanks, Gold Watch," he responded. "You're a great friend to me." "Thanks, Rumble," Gold Watch responded. Rumble walked into the lit fireplace. The moment his hooves touched the flames, he screamed. At the same time, the TV showed the number five and decreased by one as each second passed. "Rumble!" Dinky called out. Four... "Ah, my fur!" Rumble shouted. Three... "My tail!" Two... "My mane!" One... "How much longer?!" Dare complete! The fireplace instantly shut off and Rumble ran out of it covered in flames. Gold Watch poured the bucket of water all over Rumble, instantly putting out the flames. "Thanks," Rumble gasped. He walked to a mirror and saw that most of his mane and tail were burned off and his fur had bald spots. "Thunderlane is going to kill me when I get home!" "No, he won't," Gold Watch said. "He'll understand. We'll take Miss Cheerilee and your article and it'll sort things out." "O-okay..." Rumble said worriedly. The rest of the foals made a sigh of relief. But the relief didn't last long, as the voice sounded a few seconds afterwards. "Hit yourself in the head with a plate..." the voice hissed. All of a sudden, a porcelain plate appeared on the coffee table. "One minute..." the voice continued. Diamond picked up the plate, held it above her head, and sighed. "This is going to hurt real bad," she said. With one quick swing, she smashed the plate onto her head, causing the plate to shatter to pieces. Diamond screamed in agony as some of the plate shards had impaled her face. "Diamond!" Pipsqueak called out. "You're bleeding!" "Here," Gold Watch said frantically as he pulled out a wet washcloth in the bathroom and used it to carefully remove the plate shards. "Ow!" Diamond yelped as her brother pulled one of the shards out of her cheek. "Sorry!" Gold Watch cried. It took about five minutes to get all of the shards off of her and to bandage each wound. "I'm so sorry!" Gold Watch cried. "It's okay," Diamond groaned. "I'll be fine." "Why do we have to do this?" Rumble asked himself. "What did we do to deserve this?!" "I don't think we did anything wrong," Pipsqueak answered. "We walked into this haunted house and now we have to play the game to get out of it." "But we already lost two of our friends and I don't want to lose you," Dinky cried as she hugged Pipsqueak. "There, there," Pipsqueak responded. "We'll get out of this one way or another." Without warning, the ceiling began to ooze moss. Within a few seconds one of the floorboards fell off. When it hit the ground, the group saw a message that read, 'Push Pipsqueak down the staircase'. "WHAT?!" Dinky screamed. "I can't do that!" The grandfather clock chimed twice. "You have to," Pipsqueak said as he walked upstairs. "You only have two minutes." Dinky stood on the floor paralyzed in fear. "I can't do it!" she cried. "Please, you have to do it!" Pipsqueak called out. "But you could break your neck from falling down the stairs!" Dinky cried. "Just push me lightly," Pipsqueak responded. "I'll only fall a few steps." All of a sudden, something was supernaturally carved on the floorboard. Rumble picked the board up and showed it to Dinky. The message said, 'Pipsqueak must fall all the way downstairs'. "What?!" Dinky shouted. "Please," Pipsqueak said. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you." "O-okay..." Dinky said nervously. She walked upstairs and then went behind Pipsqueak. "Hurry!" Pipsqueak cried. "You're running out of time!" Dinky looked at Pipsqueak and then at the staircase. She took a few breaths and then approached towards Pipsqueak. Before she could push him though, she stopped. "I won't do it," Dinky said. "I will never hurt Pipsqueak!" "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Dinky closed her eyes and then grabbed her chest. Within just a few seconds, she reopened her eyes and then screamed as she collapsed to the ground. Pipsqueak picked her up and watched as Dinky was turning into a cat, while the rest of the foals ran upstairs to see what was happening. "Dinky, why?" Pipsqueak cried as Dinky's ears became cat ears. "I would never let anything happen to you," Dinky groaned as whiskers began to grow on her cheeks and her muzzle and nose reshaped into that of a cat's. "I'm sorry." "It's okay," Pipsqueak sobbed as Dinky's nose and mouth fused together and she grew fangs. "I'll take care of you no matter what." "Oh thanks, Pip," Dinky sobbed as her hooves turned into paws. She then screamed as her back and legs snapped and her legs reshaped into what a cat's look like. "Dinky!" Pipsqueak screamed. Dinky then shrank until she was the size of a kitten. "I'll love you no matter what," she gasped. She then coughed a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow." "Dinky, please change back!" Pipsqueak sobbed. "I love you! NO!" Rumble walked up to him and placed his hoof on Pipsqueak's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Pip," he told him sadly. "I'm very, very, sorry!" "Why, WHY?!" Pipsqueak cried. "She's my fillyfriend!" As he was crying, Twist walked up to him and brought some device to him. "What is it?" Pipsqueak asked as he was still sobbing. "It's an animal-translating device," Twist responded. "It will help you understand other animals. Fluttershy gave it to me." "Thanks, Twist," Pipsqueak said happily as he accepted the device. He then placed it near Dinky. "Dinky, can you hear me?" "Meow, meow, meow," Dinky answered. "Meow, meow, meow!" Pipsqueak listened to what Dinky had just told him using the device. "Pip, don't give up," she said. "I'll always be there for you!" Pipsqueak wiped his tears off of his face and looked at Dinky with determination. "You're right, Dinky," he said as he handed the animal-translating device back to Twist. "I must stay strong! No, we must stay strong!" "That's the spirit, Pip!" Rumble said excitedly. Out of nowhere, the voice returned. "Be pushed down the staircase..." it hissed. "One minute..." The grandfather then chimed once. "WHAT?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "Dinky Hooves gave up her life as a pony for nothing?!" "Never mind that," Rumble said. "Pip, you have to do this!" "I'm going downstairs to make sure that you make it," Gold Watch said as he ran down the staircase. "Pip, I'm sorry, but..." Rumble began. He then pushed Pipsqueak down the stairs, causing him to scream as he fell. When he landed at the bottom of the stairs, Gold Watch tried to help him up, only to be rewarded with a scream. "Ow!" Pipsqueak yelp. "Don't touch my leg! It hurts!" Gold Watch looked at Pipsqueak's foreleg and saw that it was twisted. "Oh no," he said in horror. "You're foreleg's broken! You need to go to the hospital!" "I'll take him," Diamond said. "My turn comes right before Pipsqueak's. I'll be back as soon as possible." Diamond picked Pipsqueak up and placed him on his back. She then opened the front door and galloped away. The rest of the foals walked downstairs feeling very sad. "I really want to go home!" Gold Watch cried. "Me too!" Twist cried. "We have to finish the game," Rumble said. "If we don't, we'll be cats for the rest of our lives. Our futures will be ruined." "Three lives have already been ruined," Gold Watch sobbed. "Besides, you broke Pip's foreleg!" "I didn't think that would happen," Rumble said angrily. "I was just trying to prevent him from spending the rest of his life as a cat." "I don't know how much longer I can take this," Gold Watch said as he shivered. "We can't just give up," Rumble responded. "You heard what Dinky told us. We can't do that!" "I know, I know," Gold Watch responded as he breathed heavily. As the foals made it downstairs, the chandelier fell to the ground and shattered into a million pieces. The foals jumped in shock and then looked at the shattered chandelier. A message was made by the glass that said, 'Down the laxative bottle'. The grandfather then chimed three times. Twist walked up and saw a small bottle that read, 'Laxative'. "What?!" Twist shouted. "I have to drink all of that?!" "No, we'll help you," Rumble said. "We'll each drink a third of it," Gold Watch said. He took the bottle of laxatives, walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and pulled out a plastic milk bottle. He then poured the carton into three glasses and then poured a third of the laxatives in each glass. He then stirred the glasses until the laxatives looked like they were mixed in. Rumble and Twist walked into the kitchen. "Okay, we each have to drink our glasses," Gold Watch explained. "It'll make us have to defecate, but we'll have enough time to get to the bathroom afterwards. Each foal picked up a glass. "On the count of three, ready? One...two...three!" They all drank their glasses in just a few sips. "There, the dare is done," Gold Watch said. "Wow, that was too easy," Rumble proudly said. "See everypony, we can all get out of this. Just eleven more dares and we'll be--" All of a sudden, Rumble stopped talking and grabbed in his stomach. "Rumble, are you--" Twist began, but stopped when she felt her stomach hurting. "Guys, it's--" Gold Watch began, but stopped when he felt his stomach hurting. "I got to get to a bathroom!" The foals ran as fast as they could to get to a bathroom. Rumble managed to make it to the bathroom on the first floor, while Twist made it to the bathroom on the second floor. Gold Watch, on the other hand, couldn't find an open bathroom. "Hurry, I need to--" he began, but stopped when his bowels broke out, causing him to defecate all over the floor. Some of the feces splattered onto his dress. He screamed in horror and then started crying. "No!" he screamed. "I'm not a baby! I haven't had an accident since I was three!" Without warning, the voice sounded. "Eat your feces..." it hissed. "Four minutes..." "WHAT?!" Gold Watch screamed. "THAT'S DISGUSTING! GUYS, I NEED HELP! IT'S AN EMERGENCY! I HAVE TO EAT MY OWN POOP!" All he could hear was Rumble and Twist groaning in the bathroom. The lights in the living began to flicker. "Oh, come on!" Gold Watch shouted. "I have to eat all of it?!" He began sobbing and then looked at his waste. "I'm never going to have an appetite after I eat all of this," Gold Watch said nervously and nauseously. He then plugged his nose, scooped some of the feces using his hoof, and shoved it into his mouth. He quickly swallowed it and then gagged. After a few seconds of doing that, he continued eating the feces. The more he ate, the more pale has face became. After seven more scoops, he finished eating it and the lights stopped flickering. He gasped several times and then ran to the sink and threw up. Afterwards, Rumble opened the bathroom door and walked out. Gold Watch quickly ran into to the bathroom to get cleaned up. After closing the door, he saw another dress and saw a note on it, 'Change into this dress once you're finished cleaning up'. Gold Watch sighed in relief as he ripped off the dress, bow, and hoofies and threw them in the trash. He then wiped himself clean, flushed the toilet, washed his mouth, and then took a shower. Once he was sure that we was completely clean, he got out of the shower, dried up, and put on the dress, hoofies, and bow that he was instructed to put on afterwards. Happy that all was fixed, he walked out of the bathroom. "I feel a lot better now," he said nauseously. "Just two more rounds," Rumble said with encouragement. "We're getting close to finishing." "I hope," Gold Watch said nervously as he began hyperventilating. Despite completely cleaning himself up, he was still very pale. "But right now, I'm a little bit more worried about what is happening to Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak. What if the game gets to them first?" "I really hope that they make it," Twist said in a concerned tone. "I don't know what I'd do without them." "Me neither," Gold Watch responded.
Round 4As Rumble was waving a fan on Gold Watch's face, the front door opened and Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak, whom had his foreleg wrapped in a cast, walked inside. Upon seeing her brother, Diamond ran up to him. "What happened?!" she said in shock. "Gold Watch...well...we had to drink a bottle of laxatives and he didn't make it to a bathroom because Twist and I occupied them first," Rumble said nervously. "He then had to eat his own poop." "WHAT?!" Diamond shouted. "Are you saying that my brother took laxatives, then had to eat what he let out?!" "Precisely," Rumble responded. "Well, why didn't you help him?!" Diamond exclaimed. "We were in the bathroom at that time," Rumble answered. "We weren't done." "Is he going to be okay?" Diamond asked. "I'm not sure," Rumble answered nervously. "He's in bad shape." Dinky Hooves then walked downstairs and towards Pipsqueak. She rubbed her head onto his unbroken foreleg, causing him to make a sad smile. Then out of nowhere, a piece of the ceiling fell to the floor and it read 'Round 4'. "We have to finish the game," Pipsqueak said. "My foreleg may be broken, but we can't stop until were safe from any further harm. Twist sighed. "He's right," she said. "We still have a game to beat." As if on cue, the TV turned on and static appeared. The voice then hissed. "Stab your wing..." it said. The number nine then appeared on the TV screen and decreased until it reached the number two. The grandfather clock then chimed twice. "What?!" Rumble exclaimed. "I have to stab my wing?! I can't do that! I need them to fly!" "You have to do it," Diamond stated. "I'll help you." Diamond picked up the knife and placed it near Rumble's left wing. "Hold still," Diamond said. "I'm sorry, but this is going to really hurt." Rumble began to sweat, but within just a second, Diamond stabbed his wing with the knife. He screamed at the top of his lungs as blood poured out of his wing. Diamond quickly pulled the knife out of Rumble's wing. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry!" "My wing hurts a lot!" Rumble cried. "I need to get you a bandage," Diamond sobbed as she ran into the kitchen and searched for one. Surprisingly, there were a box of them in one of the cabinets. She quickly ran back to Rumble, who was still crying and putting pressure on his bleeding wing, and wrapped the bandage all over his wing. "There you go. Again, I'm sorry." "It's okay, Diamond," Rumble said, sniffing. "I'll be fine." Without warning, the kitchen door slammed shut and a message written said, 'Stab Gold Watch'. A knife then appeared on the coffee table. "WHAT?!" Diamond screamed. "One minute..." the voice hissed as the grandfather clock chimed once. "NO!" Diamond screamed. "I WON'T DO IT!" All of a sudden, Gold Watch got up. He was still pale all over his face and body, but he managed to walk towards her. "You have to," he said in a raspy voice. "If you don't do it, you'll become a cat for the rest of your life." "I can't!" Diamond cried. "Not my brother!" "Please," Gold Watch said as he gave the knife to Diamond. "Just stab me in the foreleg." Diamond accepted the knife and then, using her hoof, moved it slowly toward Gold Watch's foreleg. However, right as the knife was an inch away from his foreleg, she dropped the knife. "I can't," she sobbed. "Never! My brother is the one that I care about more than anypony else! Even more than Daddy!" "You have to!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "There's not much time left!" Diamond Tiara closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't." "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Diamond grabbed her chest and gasped in pain. All of the color return to Gold Watch as he regained his senses. "Diamond Tiara!" he cried as Diamond fell to the ground. Gold Watch watched in horror as he saw his sister's ears become cat ears and her cheeks grew whiskers. "Why?! Why would do this to yourself?!" "Because I'm your sister," Diamond said as her muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's. Then her nose and mouth fused together as her teeth became fangs. "I would never hurt you, no matter what." "Please don't go!" Gold Watch cried. "I love you! You're the best sister that I could ever have!" "I'm not going anywhere," Diamond strained as her hooves cracked and formed into cat paws. "I'm just going to live the rest of my life as a cat." "That's serious!" Gold Watch cried as he picked up the knife and presented it to the nearly transformed Diamond, who screamed in pain as her legs and back just snapped and reshaped to change how her standing position would be. "I'll always remember you," Diamond said as she shrank into the size of a kitten. If Button Mash remembered his mother even after he transformed into a kitten, then I'm pretty sure that I'll still remember you, as well. Please, Gold Watch, for me. I want you to stay strong and show that game what you're made of." She then gasped a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow." "NO!" Gold Watch screamed. "PLEASE, DIAMOND! I KNOW THAT YOU CAN FIGHT THIS TRANSFORMATION! PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" "Meow," Diamond answered. "No," Gold Watch sobbed as Twist walked up to him and placed her hoof on his shoulder. "She'll always be with you," she told him. "I know," Gold Watch said sadly. "But I always promised to her that I would be able to protect her and I couldn't save her! Now her life has been ruined!" "But you have to keep going," Twist said. "She's counting on us. We have to get out of this game. The only way we can do that is to finish it." As if on cue, the voice sounded. "Break the window with your head," it said. "Two minutes." The grandfather clocked then chimed twice, causing Pipsqueak gasp. "This is going to hurt," he said in shock. He walked to the window next to the front and then back a few feet. "One...two...three!" he counted. He then closed his eyes and then charged right at the window. The moment he hit the window, however, the glass shattered and several of the shards cut his face, causing him to scream. "PIPSQUEAK!" Rumble, Twist, and Gold Watch shouted in unison as they ran towards him. Rumble hugged his injured friend, who was now bawling. "Hang on," Rumble said frantically. "I'm going to get those glass shards off of you!" He carefully pulled one of the shards out. The moment he did that however, Pipsqueak screamed again. "Stop!" he yelped. "It hurts there!" "Hold still," Rumble instructed. "If I don't get those shards off of your face, you could get an infection! Gold Watch, can you get some bandages?" "Sure thing," Gold Watch said as he ran to the kitchen and brought the first aid kit to the living room. As Rumble and Gold Watch were busy trying to remove the glass shards and stop the bleeding using the bandages, Twist saw Pipsqueak's blood pour onto the floor and spell a message out. Within a few seconds, the message was finished and said, 'Eat the jar of cockroaches.' The grandfather clock then chimed three times and a jar full of cockroaches appeared on the coffee table. "Groth!" Twist responded in shock. "What is it?" Gold Watch asked as he pulled a glass shard off of Pipsqueak. "Thith," Twist said nauseously a she pointed to the jar. "I have to eat that." "What?!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "I have to eat that in less than three minutes," Twist said. "I'll help," Gold Watch said. "No, I'll do it," Rumble said. "You've had enough hurting yourself, Gold Watch. Get the glass shards off Pip." "Okay," Gold Watch responded. Twist opened the lid of the jar and pulled a cockroach out. As she put it near her mouth, she saw the cockroach move a bit, causing her to drop it. "No!" Twist shouted. Rumble looked all over the place for the cockroach. After a few seconds of searching, he found it and picked it up. "Got it," he said as he gave it to Twist. Twist accepted the cockroach and tossed it into her mouth. Not wanting to chew on its contents in fear of what she might taste, she swallowed it whole. As Rumble plucked another cockroach out of the jar, Twist began to gag. He turned to her and saw that she was choking. Rumble ran to Twist and tried to give her the Heimlich. After a few tries, the cockroach flew out of Twist's mouth and landed on the table. Rumble caught the cockroach and ate it. After swallowing it, he checked on Twist, who was gasping. "One more left," Gold Watch said as he used the tweezers to pull the last glass shard off of Pipsqueak's face. "Ow!" Pipsqueak yelped. "Here you go," Gold Watch said as he bandaged the last wound. He then turned to see Twist hyperventilating. "Twist!" "I...have...to...eat...them..." she panted. Gold Watch turned to Rumble, who was coughing heavily. "Need...to...finish...it..." he panted. Gold Watch saw that the jar had four more cockroaches in it. He breathed heavily, grabbed all four cockroaches out, and threw them into his mouth. As he chewed on them, he gagged and accidentally coughed one of them out onto the floor. Immediately afterwards, the jar fell to the floor and shattered. The glass shards then scattered and spelled out the words, 'Time's Up'. "No!" Gold Watch cried as he saw the message. "We're out of time!" Twist then grabbed her chest and collapsed to the ground. "TWIST!" Gold Watch screamed as he ran to her and picked her up. "No!" Twist whimpered as her ears became that of a cat's and whiskers grew throughout her cheeks. "I'm so sorry!" Gold Watch cried as Twist's nose and muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's and her nose fused together. "It's okay, Gold Watch," Twist gasped as she grew fangs. "There's something I need to tell you," Gold Watch responded as Twist's hooves became paws. "I love you." "You do?" Twist responded. "Of course I do," Gold Watch responded. "I always did." Twist screamed in pain and her back snapped and her legs reshaped into what a cat would have. She then shrank until she was the size of a kitten. Her glasses fell off, but her eyesight improved. "I love you too, Gold Watch," she said. "Always." She then gasped a few times and then took a deep breath. "Meow," she said. "NO!" Gold Watch screamed. He placed Twist on the floor and sobbed heavily. "I'm so sorry," Rumble said sadly. "This game is toying with us," Gold Watch sobbed. "What do you mean by that?" Pipsqueak asked. "It's using our weaknesses to claim us," Gold Watch answered. "Don't you see? The game used Button Mash's love for video games and family to its advantage and the latter cost him. Dinky's love for her mother and Pipsqueak; my sister's love toward me; Rumble's concern about whether or not he can become a Wonderbolt; Twist's love towards sweets; and my goal of becoming a ballerina was used." "I think you're right," Rumble said in sadness. "The game must have been making me do dares that would physically hurt me in hopes of preventing me from becoming a Wonderbolt." "Well, didn't you think about whether or not that it was a good idea to go in this house?" Gold Watch asked angrily. "I didn't know that it was real," Rumble protested angrily. "Then what was that article for?" Gold Watch asked angrily. "If we didn't go in that haunted house, our friends would still be as they are and my sister would still be with me!" Rumble then moved his head down, feeling ashamed. "You know what?" he responded. "I deserve all of this. I dragged all of you into this. But I didn't know that the article was true. I thought that it was just another haunted house that was there to scare ponies. I found articles about haunted houses before, but none of them were ever even a bit dangerous. You know: ponies wearing masks, scary decorations, fake blood, and many other scary things. But I would never hurt any of you, for any reason! I just wanted to have some fun with all of you! I didn't want any of this to happen to any of you." Gold Watch looked at him concerned. Rumble then moved his head back up. "Look, if we don't beat the game, we're all going to suffer the same fate as our friends." Gold Watch then got up with a face full of determination. "You're right," he said. "We got to fight back." "I believe that we can all get out of this," Pipsqueak said. "Let's face that demon!" Right after he said that, the voice rang out. "Gold Watch..." it hissed. "Well, I guess it's my turn now," Gold Watch said nervously. "Then we'll be on the final round." A barrel moved out of the kitchen and right next to Gold Watch. It had the message, 'Hold your breath underwater for two minutes' carved on it. The grandfather clock then chimed twice. "Oh no," Gold Watch said worriedly as he opened the barrel, revealing water in it. "This is bad," Pipsqueak said. "How can anypony hold their breath that long?" Rumble questioned. "I mean, magic could help." "But there isn't any for this challenge," Gold Watch said. "I guess I have no choice." He took a deep breath and put his head in the water. All of a sudden, he felt a strong force hold his head in the water. Rumble and Pipsqueak look at Gold Watch in horror. "Come on, Gold Watch," Rumble said nervously. "Hang in there!" Pipsqueak cried. Within about thirty seconds, Gold Watch began to struggle. As time passed, Gold Watch was trying desperately to hang in there. "No!" Rumble cried. "Come on!" Pipsqueak shouted. The two colts continued watching in horror, as they saw their poor friend struggling and drowning. After what seemed like an eternity, Gold Watch pulled his head to the surface. He gasped and coughed uncontrollably. "GOLD WATCH!" Rumble and Pipsqueak cried in unison as they ran to him and hugged him. "Guys..." Gold Watch gasped. "You did it!" Rumble cried. "Two minutes!" "It's over..." Gold Watch gasped. "This round is finally over." "Only one more round and we can all go home," Pipsqueak said as he got up. "I know that we can do it," Rumble responded. "I hope," Gold Watch said. "Because I have a feeling that the last round is going to be the hardest."
Round 5Rumble looked at Gold Watch, who was sitting on the floor covering his face using his hooves and crying, in concern. "I'm sorry about what had happened to your sister," he told him. "I'm also sorry for taking a photo of you in that dress that you are wearing." He then walked to the fireplace, took a match, lit the logs, and dropped the photo of Gold Watch wearing the dress in the fireplace, causing it to burn to ashes within just seconds. "Thanks," Gold Watch said sadly. Diamond Tiara then walked up to Gold Watch and sat on his lap. Twist soon joined him. "Meow," she said. "I love my sister more than anything," Gold Watch sobbed. "I always had somepony to talk to. She really cared about me and knowing that she gave up her life to save me just hurts me. I wanted to tell Twist that I loved her for such a long time. Now I did, but not in the way I wanted it to be. It should be me, not them!" "I understand," Rumble said. "But we can't change the past. We can, however, change the future. We can still win this game, go home, and never come back here ever again." "We all only have to go through one more turn each," Pipsqueak said. The three colts then heard a door slam shut. Gold Watch got up and placed his kitten-transformed-sister onto his back to take a look at the door. The trio saw a message written on it that said 'Round 5'. "You're right," Gold Watch said as he wiped his tears off of his eyes. As if on cue, the voice sounded. "Drop Diamond Tiara off of the balcony..." it hissed. "Three minutes..." The grandfather clock then chimed three times. "WHAT?!" Gold Watch screamed. "I'm sorry, Gold Watch," Rumble said. "I have to. Besides, don't cats land on their feet when they reach the ground from falling?" "That's true," Gold Watch said angrily. "But she's my sister! I can never hurt her!" "You don't have to," Rumble said. "But I have to. If I don't, I'll end up as a cat just like her." Gold Watch sighed. "Fine," he said. "But I'm catching her from the ground." Rumble then walked upstairs while carrying Diamond, who was freaking out at that point. As he passed Dinky, who was at the top of the staircase grooming herself, Rumble soon found the balcony. At the same time, Gold Watch ran outside and right below the balcony, which was about fifteen feet above him. "Hurry!" Gold Watch called out to Rumble, who had just opened the door and walked into the balcony. "I'm sorry I have to do this," Rumble said sadly. He held Diamond up in the air. However, after a few seconds of hesitating, he put her down. "Rumble, what are you doing?" Gold Watch called out. "I can't," Rumble sobbed. "I could never throw anypony or animal off a drop." "You have to!" Gold Watch shouted. "You're going to be turned into a kitten if you don't!" "But she's your sister!" Rumble exclaimed. "I know that!" Gold Watch called out. "But I'll catch her! Please! I don't want to lose you!" "I'm sorry," Rumble said. "I'd rather be a kitten than drop your sister off a balcony." "Time's up..." the voice hissed. Rumble grabbed his chest and groaned in pain. "Rumble, no!" Gold Watch shouted. "I'm coming!" Gold Watch ran to the balcony, but by the time he made it, it was too late. Rumble was fully transformed into a kitten. "Meow," he said. "No, not you too," Gold Watch sobbed. He picked up Diamond and Rumble and placed them on his back. He then walked to the staircase, grabbed Dinky using his mouth, and carried her downstairs along with the kittens on his back. Once he got downstairs, he placed the kittens on the floor, walked back to Pipsqueak, and shook his head. "I'm sorry," Gold Watch told him sadly. "Rumble's a kitten, too." "This game is making us give up!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "We can't give up," Gold Watch sobbed. "We have to finish the game." Out of nowhere, loud winds began to sound loud enough for the duo to hear from inside. The wind was so strong, it knocked a tree through the window. The foals screamed the moment the glass shattered. Afterwards, several leaves fell to the floor and formed a message that said, 'Cut off seven whole living body parts in seven minutes'. The grandfather clock then chimed seven times. "This is going to hurt," Pipsqueak whimpered. "We're almost there," Gold Watch said. "We'll do this together. Just give me a second." Gold Watch ran into the kitchen and grabbed a cleaver, a knife, and a pair of scissors. He then grabbed a plastic bag and filled it up with ice in the freezer. Afterwards, he came back to the living room with the supplies and placed them on a table. The two colts then took their seats. "Do we really need all of those things?" Pipsqueak asked in worry. "We don't have a choice," Gold Watch answered. "We have seven minutes to amputate seven body parts. Let's start small. I'll pull a strand of fur off." Pipsqueak looked at Gold Watch in concern as he pulled a piece of fur off. "Okay, now what?" he asked. "Pull a strand of your mane off," Gold Watch answered. Pipsqueak did so with little effort. "Okay." He sighed. "I need to have a tooth knocked out of me. Pip, you have to do it. Knock one of my baby teeth out." "You still have baby teeth?" Pipsqueak asked confusedly. "Yeah, twelve to be exact," Gold Watch stated. "No time to talk." "I can't do that!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "I could never hurt you!" "You have to," Gold Watch said. "You don't have much time left." Pipsqueak sighed. "O-okay," he said nervously. After a few seconds of hesitating and shaking, Pipsqueak punched Gold Watch in the mouth. His punch managed to knock one of his teeth out. Gold Watch groaned in pain as he covered his now bleeding mouth with his hooves. "Sorry!" Pipsqueak shouted. "It's okay," Gold Watch said in a muffled tone. Pipsqueak picked up a pair of scissors. "My earlobe," he said as he placed the pair of scissors by his left earlobe and cut it. "No!" Gold Watch shouted. Pipsqueak screamed as blood poured out of his damaged ear. "What do we do now?!" Pipsqueak exclaimed. "My tail," Gold Watch stated as he placed his tail on the table. "What?!" Pipsqueak shouted. "Just cut it off," Gold Watch cried. "We'll put it on ice! The doctors can have it sewn back on. Hurry!" "O-okay," Pipsqueak said worriedly as cold sweat fell from his face. Pipsqueak picked up a cleaver and chopped off Gold Watch's tail, causing him to scream in agony and bleed fast. "I'M SORRY!" Pipsqueak screamed. "It's okay!" Gold Watch hyperventilated as he grabbed a bandage to cover up the wound. He then dropped his now dismembered tail into a bag of ice. Afterwards, he grabbed a knife and placed it right by his flank. "What are you doing?" Pipsqueak asked in shock. "I'm cutting off my cutie mark!" Gold Watch shouted as he began sawing it off with the knife. "No!" Pipsqueak screamed. Gold Watch screamed as he cut through the flesh. He had to stop for a bit because of the excruciating pain, but then he started again. After five intervals of starting and stopping, he successfully cut his left cutie mark off. He then added it into the bag of ice and then wrapped a bandage on the wound. "Just one more body part," Pipsqueak cried. "What do we do?" Gold Watch asked. Pipsqueak got up and placed his foreleg on the table. "What, no!" Gold Watch cried. "I can't do that to you!" "You have to!" Pipsqueak cried. "There's nothing left!" "No, I can't!" Gold Watch sobbed. "Please!" Pipsqueak pleaded. "You have to!" Gold Watch hyperventilated. "Okay, okay, okay!" he cried as he grabbed a cloth and tied it around Pipsqueak's foreleg. As Pipsqueak watch what Gold Watch was doing, he saw Dinky Hooves looking at him in concern. "Meow," she said worriedly. As Gold Watch raised the cleaver above Pipsqueak's foreleg, Pipsqueak moved his head towards Gold Watch. "Wait!" he shouted. "Don't do it!" "Wait, what?!" Gold Watch responded. "Just let me turn," Pipsqueak said. "I'd rather not be living the rest of my life with three legs." "But you'll be a kitten, too!" Gold Watch cried. "If it means I can be with Dinky again, I'm willing to do it," Pipsqueak said. "Not to mention, what's the point of living on three legs anyway?" "I guess you're right," Gold Watch sobbed. "But what about your family?" "I'm sure they'll understand," Pipsqueak said. Gold Watch then put his foreleg on the table. "Then cut mine off!" he cried. "No!" Pipsqueak shouted. "I won't hurt you!" "You have to!" Gold Watch cried. "But you'll bleed to death!" Pipsqueak cried. "You've already lost your tail and your cutie mark! I can't do that!" He sobbed softly. "Please, let me go." Gold Watch sighed as a few tears fell out of his eyes. "I understand," he said sadly as he put the cleaver down. "Time's up!" the voice called out. Pipsqueak then grabbed his chest and collapsed to the ground. "PIPSQUEAK!" Gold Watch screamed as he picked him up. "It's okay," Pipsqueak sobbed as his ears reshaped into cat ears. "No!" Gold Watch cried as Pipsqueak grew whiskers and his nose and mouth fused together and became just like that of a cat's. "As long as I can be with Dinky and keep her happy, I'll be happy," Pipsqueak gasped as his teeth sharpened into fangs. He screamed in pain as his back snapped and his legs reshaped into that of a cat's. Afterwards, his hooves cracked and became paws and he shrank until he was the size of a kitten. "You're a great friend, Gold Watch," Pipsqueak said as he smiled. "We can still be friends, no matter what." He then coughed a few times and then tried to speak again. "Meow," he said. "NO!" Gold Watch shouted. "PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" He sobbed as he placed Pipsqueak on the floor. He then lay on the floor and bawled. "I'm all alone," he cried. "I have no friends left. I have nothing left." As he continued bawling, he felt one of the kittens nudge him with her paws. It was Diamond Tiara. "Diamond Tiara?" Gold Watch responded as he picked her up. Before long, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak walked up to him and rubbed their heads onto his dress. "Meow," all five kittens said. Gold Watch then put Diamond down and got up. He then pet them all, picked up Twist's animal-translator device, and listened to what they were saying. "Don't give up," Diamond said. "We're counting on you." "We're your friends!" Pipsqueak responded. "We'll always support you, no matter what!" "I know what you're thinking," Rumble said. "But don't do it. Don't give up and let yourself become what we've become. You've got a life ahead and we want you to succeed." "Even though our lives have been ruined," Dinky said. "We'll be fine." "Please!" Twist pleaded. "For me! For us!" Gold Watch then turned off the animal-translator device and placed it on the coffee table. "I will do it," he said in determination. "I must! For my friends and for myself!" He then turned to the kittens. "Go home all of you. I don't want any of you to be hurt." The kittens did so. Once Gold Watch let them out of the house using the front door, he walked back into the living room. "I'm ready!" he exclaimed. The TV then turned on and a message read, 'Pour a bucket of bleach on your head.' The grandfather clock then chimed three times and a bucket of bleach appeared on the coffee table. Gold Watch then breathed heavily, picked up the bucket, and ran into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and found baking soda. Using a bowl and water from the sink, he mixed the baking soda with it. He then applied it all over his face, mane, and neck. Once he was done, he picked up the bucket. "This is going to hurt," Gold Watch said frantically. "One...two...three!" He poured the bucket all over his head. The moment the bleached splattered all over his head, he screamed. Even though he applied the baking soda on his head, the bleach still broke through some parts. At the same time, his bow, dress, and hoofies turned somewhat black and white and burned a bit. But after a few seconds of the bleach splattering all over him, it was over. Gold Watch then limped back to the living room. Once he sat on the sofa, he heard the voice sound. "Congratulations," it said. "You have won the game. Thanks for playing. Now, enjoy the rest of your life as yourself." The TV then turned off and all of the eerie noises stopped sounding. "It's...it's just a house now," Gold Watch said in relief. "It's just a normal house now." He got up, picked up the bag of dismembered body parts, opened the front door, and walked out of the house. The second he closed the door, he sighed in relief as he felt the breeze cool his body down, which felt good after he got burned by the bleach. "It's over," he said. "It's finally over." As he passed the gates and onto the road, he felt an excruciating amount of pain. He then collapsed onto the ground because of all of the burn wounds and blood loss that he was suffering. "Am I really going to die?" he asked himself. As his vision was fading, he saw a magenta figure walk towards him. "Miss Cheerilee?" Gold Watch gasped. Before long, he started to lose consciousness. However, he managed to hear his teacher call out to him. "You're going to be okay," she said. The voice echoed in Gold Watch's mind. Realizing that she was going to help him, he smiled and then fainted.
AftermathGold Watch woke up in a dark room. There were no doors or windows. There were no lights. Just pure darkness. "Hello?!" he shouted. "Is anypony here?!" No answer came. "How did I get here?" Gold Watch asked himself. "You got here because you're not finished," a voice sounded. "What?! No! I beat the game! It's over!" "No! It's just beginning..." "You're lying! You told me that there were five rounds and I beat the whole game!" "But now you have to complete five more rounds. This time, you're on your own." "This doesn't make any sense!" "The game's not over. Time to play truth or dare." All of a sudden, Gold Watch saw six kittens approach towards him. They were his friends: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. He then saw a seventh one walk towards him in the middle of the group. It was his sister, Diamond Tiara. "Time to play truth or dare," she said. "Time to play truth or dare," the other kittens said. The seven kittens then started chanting, 'Time to play truth or dare', repeatedly. Gold Watch ran as fast as he could, only to crash into a solid wall. He then banged on it several times. "HELP!" he screamed. "SOMEPONY! I'M TRAPPED!" Cheerilee then walked through the wall. "Miss Cheerilee, I'm so glad that you're here," Gold Watch said frantically. "Please help me!" "Time to play truth or dare," Cheerilee said. "Time to play truth or dare." Cheerilee then turned into a cat and the kittens walked closer towards Gold Watch and then jumped onto him. "Time's up!" the voice rang out. "NO!" he screamed as he felt his ear change into cat ears and his cheeks growing whiskers. "SOMEPONY SAVE ME!" The transformation then accelerated. His nose and muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's. Then his nose and mouth fused together and his teeth became fangs. Finally, his hooves reshaped into paws, his back snapped, and his legs reshaped into that of a cat's. "You're now one of us," the kittens chanted as Gold Watch shrank until he was the size of a kitten. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed. * * * * Gold Watch screamed as he woke up, this time for real. Upon waking up, he saw that he wasn't in a dark room. Instead, he was in a hospital room. He then looked at his hooves and saw that there were bandages wrapped all over them, as well as on many areas on his body. He then saw that he wasn't wearing a dress, hoofies, or even a bow. Instead, he was wearing a green hospital gown. He wasn't on the ground, but rather in a hospital bed. He saw an IV injected into his left foreleg and a heart rate monitor beeping. "It was all only a dream," he sighed in relief. "I'm not in a dark room. I'm not a kitten. I survived." He then felt something moving and turned around to see what it was. It was his tail. It was sewn back on and so was his cutie mark, which was sewn back on with stitches. "My tail," he said happily. "My cutie mark! I'm so glad to have them back." All of a sudden, two ponies walked inside. They were his parents, Filthy Rich and Spoiled Rich. The moment they saw him, they ran up to him and hugged him hard. "You're alive, son!" Filthy Rich shouted excitedly. "I'm so glad that you're safe," Spoiled Rich said heartwarmingly as she kissed him several times on her son's cheeks. I don't know what I would do without you!" "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said in a muffled voice. Diamond Tiara then walked into the room, jumped onto the bed, and nuzzled her brother. "Thanks guys," Gold Watch said as he teared up. "But I still lost. I couldn't save Diamond Tiara and I couldn't save my friends either. It's all my fault." "Don't blame yourself," Filthy said. "You have nothing to be ashamed about. Cheerilee told us everything: the house being real, having to go back to finish it or suffering the consequences, and sharing the dares." "You mean, you're not mad?" Gold Watch asked. "Of course not," Spoiled said. "We would've been if we didn't know and all of you were just being dumb enough to go back there after learning about how dangerous it is. But after learning the truth, we understood and hoped that you would all make it out." "But only I did," Gold Watch sobbed. "Nopony else made it. I tried protecting my friends, but I failed." "No," Filthy said. "You didn't fail. You showed that you weren't a coward." "I'm not?" Gold Watch responded. "But I always get so worried about everything. I didn't even want to go into the haunted house because of what the article stated. Rumble told me that he went to a lot of haunted houses before and none of them were real. I figured that he was right. I trusted him and I was wrong. It was all real! If I had known it was, I would've never gone there in the first place!" "But you helped your friends," Filthy said. "If you didn't, your sister and your friends could've been dead. That counts as something." "But they didn't make it," Gold Watch responded. "Now they're cats for the rest of their lives. Only I made it out. I tried to save my friends, but I couldn't!" "Don't beat yourself up," Spoiled said. "You didn't know." "I know, but I should've," Gold Watch exclaimed. "I would cut off whatever is necessary to save my friends, no matter how much it could hurt." "That's what makes a good friend," Filthy stated. "Trying your best to help others." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch said happily. Spoiled Rich was shocked upon hearing what her son had just said. Did he just call me, Mommy? she thought. After a few more seconds of hugging, it ended with Nurse Redheart walking into the room. "You have more visitors," she stated. "They all seem eager to see you." Cheerilee then walked inside along with seven cats: Silver Spoon, Button Mash, Cream Heart, Dinky Hooves, Twist, Rumble, and Pipsqueak. Twist and Rumble jumped onto the bed and nuzzled their heads onto Gold Watch. "We're so glad that you're safe," Cheerilee said happily. "We hope that you get well soon." "Thanks, Miss Cheerilee," Gold Watch said. "Thanks for saving me, too." "Of course," Cheerilee said. "No matter what happens, we all still support you." "Thanks," Gold Watch said as he smiled. "But what about the haunted house?" "The haunted house is being looked at by the officials," Cheerilee stated. "Hopefully, they'll be able to figure out why the house is enchanted and try to get rid of it to make it into a normal house. If they can't, then they'll have to tear it down and build a new one." "That's good to know," Gold Watch said happily. "Thanks again for saving me and taking me to the hospital." "No problem," Cheerilee said. "I'm glad to help you with whatever problems you're going through." She then turned to the cats. "Now then, I think that it is time to get these kitties home. See you when you get out of the hospital, Gold Watch." All of the cats followed Cheerilee out of the hospital room. Afterwards, Filthy and Spoiled turned back to their son. "The doctor said that you should rest for a while," Filthy stated. "The bleach that you poured on yourself made you suffer from third-degree burns. You were in a coma for a week." "How much longer will I need to be in the hospital for?" Gold Watch asked. "Likely for another week," Filthy stated. "The burns were terrible. So you need to rest while they heal." "I understand," Gold Watch responded. "We love you, son," Spoiled said happily. "No matter what. I may have been hard on you at times. But I love you and I want you to be safe." "Thanks, Mommy and Daddy," Gold Watch responded. "I love you both." "Meow?" Diamond responded, worried that she was being left out. "You too, Diamond Tiara," Gold Watch responded as he hugged his sister. "I could never forget you, my sister." "Meow!" Diamond responded both happily and excitingly.
EpilogueGold Watch walked into the classroom. It had been one week since he had gotten out of the hospital and he was holding crutches due to the burns that were still healing limiting his mobility. He then took a seat and looked around the classroom. Out of fifteen seats, only eight seats were occupied: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Truffle Shuffle, Snips, Snails, Featherweight and, of course, Gold Watch, himself. He knew that the seven other seats would now be permanently vacant due to the game that he and his friends played three weeks ago. But he knew that he had to move on, as there was nothing that he could do to fix that. Cheerilee walked into the classroom and took a seat at her desk. She smiled as she saw that Gold Watch had returned after the incident at the haunted house. "Good morning, class," she said. "Good morning, Miss Cheerilee," the class said. "I would like to announce that Gold Watch has returned to class today after being in the hospital due to burning himself," Cheerilee announced. "We heard that he was with his friends in that haunted house," Apple Bloom said. "What about the rest of his friends?" "I'm sorry, Apple Bloom," Cheerilee said. "But due to circumstances beyond our control, they're never coming back." "You mean, our classmates that are not hear today are gone forever?" Sweetie asked in concern. "Not exactly," Cheerilee stated. "They've...well...been influenced in a way that can't be fixed." She then sighed. "I guess I should tell the truth: they were playing a game of truth or dare in the haunted house and it turned out that the house was real and if anyone lied or didn't do the dare in time, they would turn into cats. Only Gold Watch didn't because he completed all five rounds. I also went there when I was a filly and played a game of truth or dare in that house. Unfortunately, I was the only one to make out as myself. All of my other friends became cats because they failed to complete their dares." "Are you saying that the haunted house was real?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Unfortunately, yes," Cheerilee answered sadly. Sweetie Belle then lay her head on her desk and cried, knowing that Button Mash was not coming back. "Okay, class," Cheerilee said. "It's time to write an essay. I want you to write about something that you learned involving friendship." She gave each foal a piece of paper. "You all have one hour to complete it." Gold Watch smiled as he knew what he wanted to write. * * * * Dear Miss Cheerilee, I have learned quite a bit about friendship throughout the past few weeks. During Nightmare Night, I was trick-or-treating with my friends and we all stumbled into a haunted house. We all thought it was just any haunted house, but then we realized that it was anything but normal. We learned that seven previous foals played truth or dare there. We initially thought it was just a joke, so we played the game. But then we learned that playing the game had severe consequences. You had to play five rounds, tell the truth, and do the dare, or your life would be severely changed forever. We had to tell some important secrets towards each other. When we did, we learned a lot about each other that we didn’t know before. We had many differences, but over time, we began to bond. As we were passing each round, we learned that friendship can conquer anything, even if we can’t do it perfectly. Even though my friends’ life have been changed and will now live differently for the rest of our lives, we are still together and we will always be friends, no matter where we are or what our futures will be. After all, we have an idol, a gamer, a mailmare, a princess, a candy-lover, a Wonderbolt, a leader, and a ballerina. We will always stand together, no matter how different we are. Signed, Gold Watch Gold Watch smiled as he got out of his seat and turned in his essay before sitting back down. Once class ended, Cheerilee smiled and turned her attention towards Gold Watch. "Gold Watch," she kindly said. "Can you please stay?" Gold Watch became nervous. "Um, yes," he responded. "Am I in trouble?" "No, of course not," Cheerilee assured. "I just need to talk about your essay." "I understand," Gold Watch responded. Once everypony left, Cheerilee walked to Gold Watch's desk with the paper. "You're paper is excellent," she told him as she placed the paper onto Gold Watch's desk. The essay had an A+ written on it in red ink. "But I want to tell you something about the haunted house." "What happened to it?" Gold Watch asked. "Well, unfortunately, the officials were unable to figure out what had happened," Cheerilee answered. "The whole house was intact. There was no blood or damages. It looked just like any normal house." "So, what's going to happen?" Gold Watch asked in shocked. "Well, they can't tear it down," Cheerilee answered sadly. "They don't have the legal rights to do so. I'm afraid it's staying there." This horrified Gold Watch. "There has to be something we can do!" he exclaimed. "What about chaining the gates so that nopony can get in?" "We can't do that," Cheerilee answered. "That would be considered vandalism. We can, however, warn others." "How?" Gold Watch responded. "We can put a sign to warn others," Cheerilee answered. "The official said that was okay. Just as long as we don't damage the gates." "I see," Gold Watch said. "I kept you after school so that we can work together on doing that," Cheerilee stated. "Since we both went through similar traumatic experiences, I thought that it would be nice that we do this together." "Oh, thank you, Miss Cheerilee!" Gold Watch responded happily as he hugged his teacher. "No problem," Cheerilee responded. "I would do anything to cheer up my students." The hug then ended. "Now then, let's not waste time. We have a lot of ponies to warn." "I'm right with you," Gold Watch said in determination. * * * * Within an hour, Gold Watch and Cheerilee finished painting the text on the wooden sign, walked to the gate of the haunted house, and nailed the sign onto the gate. "Well, I guess we finished our task," Cheerilee said. "I hope that the other ponies take great heed on our message," Gold Watch said nervously. "I'm sure they will," Cheerilee said calmly. "Say, since you did excellent on the essay and working on the warning sign, how about I take you out for ice cream at Sugarcube Corner?" "Do you really mean that?" Gold Watch asked excitingly. "Of course," Cheerilee answered happily. "My treat." "You bet!" Gold Watch responded excitingly. "Then let's go," Cheerilee responded. Gold Watch and Cheerilee then walked off to Sugarcube Corner, knowing that everything would be alright for now. However, as they left, they thought about the warning sign that they placed on the gate. They hoped that the other ponies around town would listen to their sign. After all, it did have a good message. Once you enter, there's no going back!
