Truth or Dare? 2: Mysteries Unlocked

Chapters

Round 1: A Sudden Start
Round 2: The Meeting With the Survivor
Round 3: Help From a Friend
Round 5: Confronting the Enemy
Aftermath: Closing the Door
Prologue
Round 4: Uniting Together At All Costs
Epilogue: Moving On

Round 1: A Sudden Start

Despite of Sandbar’s and Ocellus’s pleas, all six creatures split up to search for clues. Sandbar and Yona looked in the kitchen; Gallus and Smolder looked in the living room; and Ocellus and Silverstream looked upstairs. After a while of looking upstairs, Ocellus and Silverstream found a card on the floor.

“What is that?” Ocellus asked.

“I don’t know,” Silverstream responded. “Maybe it’s a clue. Oh, maybe it’s for a scavenger hunt. I love scavenger hunts!” She picked up the card and upon seeing what it read, she looked disappointed. “Oh man. It’s just a message that looks like a command.” She paused for a moment, then something struck her. “Wait a minute, this reminds of the game of truth or dare.”

“What does it say?” Ocellus asked.

“Make out with Ocellus,” Silverstream read.

“Oh,” Ocellus muttered.

“Well, let’s do it,” Silverstream said.

“What, no!” Ocellus exclaimed. “Didn’t you read what the letter said? It said that the game is dangerous.”

“It said that the dares were dangerous,” Silverstream said. “This is harmless.”

“Uh, okay,” Ocellus said worriedly. “If you say so.”

Silverstream went up to Ocellus and made a three-second long kiss while hugging her. Afterwards, they walked downstairs.

“We should probably tell the others what we found,” Ocellus said worriedly.

“I’m sure that the card might amaze them,” Silverstream said excitedly.

The two girls walked downstairs and met up with Gallus, Sandbar, and Smolder.

“Hey guys,” Silverstream called out. “I think I found some card that you may all find interesting.”

The rest of the group looked at the card Silverstream presented.

“Make out with Ocellus?” Sandbar responded. “Gallus, did you write that card as a joke?”

“No,” Gallus responded. “I never even went upstairs.”

“Then how did that card get there?” Sandbar responded.

“I don’t know,” Silverstream responded. “I just picked it up and then the two of us made out because we thought that it was harmless.”

“Uh…” Smolder responded in disbelief.

“Hey guys!” Yona called out while holding out a card. “Yona found something.”

“What is it?” Sandbar asked.

“Yona not showing,” she responded.

“Let me see,” Gallus said as he snatched the card from her.

“Hey!” Yona shouted. “Give that back to Yona!”

“Are you cheating on Sandbar?” Gallus read.

“Yona didn’t cheat on Sandbar!” Yona responded angrily.

Out of nowhere, the lights began to flicker a bit. During the flickering, the word ‘liar’ flashed on the floor.

“Uh, that was creepy,” Ocellus said worried.

Yona sighed in defeat.

“Yona can’t take this anymore,” she said. “Yona got a bit drunk on hard cider and met a yellow stallion and we hooked up. But it didn’t mean anything. Sandbar, Yona sorry!”

“Yona, how could you?” Sandbar responded as he walked to the sofa and sat down crying.

“That was strange,” Gallus said in confusion.

“We need to get out of here,” Ocellus said worriedly.

Just as the Young Six were about to leave, a stack of cards fell to the floor.

“Okay, that was weird,” Gallus said as he picked up one of the cards. “Place your talons on the hot stove?” As the grandfather clock struck twice, he picked up more of the cards, all of which stated ‘You have two minutes’. “Two minutes? Who wrote this?”

"Not me," Smolder said.

The rest of the group shook their heads.

Gallus then saw a card that read, ‘Do the dare or the dare does you’.

“I don't know what this is, but I'm not doing that," he said. "I’m going to go search around the house to see why these cards are appearing all over us.”

He walked to the kitchen and checked several of the drawers. As he was doing this, one of the burners on the stove turned red. After checking each drawer and finding nothing, he got off the counter and saw the lights flickering. A few seconds afterwards, a chair parted from the table, confusing Gallus. The chair then ran into him, causing him to trip and get his left talon slammed onto the burner.

“AAAHHHH!” Gallus screamed as he tried to pry his talon off the burner. “HELP!”

The other five creatures heard him and ran to the kitchen to see their friend prying his talon off the burner. By the time he was able to, he ended up ripping bits of his skin on his talon off.

“What happened?!” Silverstream exclaimed

“A chair,” Gallus began as he turned on the faucet and doused his talon on the pouring water. “It moved and slammed onto me. We got to get out of here! It’s real! We started the game!”

The Young Six tried to run to the front door only to find the door boarded. They then looked at the windows but found that they were boarded too. The six of them tried to pry the boards off, but to no avail.

“We’re trapped,” Sandbar said worriedly.

“HELP!” Yona shouted.

“What do we do?” Ocellus responded worriedly.

Out of nowhere, the TV turned on and revealed static. Afterwards, an ominous voice sounds.

“Five rounds…Forty-eight hours…or you’ll all be forever cursed,” it said.

Right after that, a card flew to Ocellus’s back hooves. Upon feeling it hit them, she turned around and picked it up.

“Eat Gallus’s burnt flesh,” she read.

The TV then changed. The number “9” appeared with a circle surrounding it and a line spinning clockwise around it, which caused to decrease the number to “8”. The process continued until the number “4” appeared. Then the grandfather clock struck four times.

“Four?” Sandbar said confusedly. “As in ‘four minutes’?”

“No…” Ocellus muttered. “I won’t do that.”

“I don’t think you have a choice,” Gallus said. “I think you have to do it. I had two minutes and because I didn’t do it, the dare did me.”

“But…” Ocellus began.

“There’s no time,” Sandbar said.

The Young Six walked back into the kitchen where by now, the burner on the stove had completely cooled off. As they walked to the stove, it moved a bit, causing a loud noise to screech and the six creatures to jump back.

“Hurry!” Smolder called out.

Under high pressure, Ocellus took one of the skin pieces off of the burner, chewed on it a bit, and then swallowed it.

“It’s over,” Silverstream said in relief.

All of a sudden, the phone on the wall rang despite of the fact that the wire connecting to the wall was broken. Sandbar answered and then dropped the phone to the floor afterwards.

“What?” Ocellus asked worriedly.

“All of it,” Sandbar whimpered.

“No, I can’t,” Ocellus cried.

The lights began to flicker.

“You don’t have a choice!” Gallus exclaimed.

“Hurry!” Yona shouted.

“Okay!” Ocellus cried. “I’ll do it!”

She quickly scooped up a large amount of the burnt flesh and ate it. After three more scoops, and two of the members of the Young Six holding in their bile, Ocellus finished off the burnt flesh. The lights then stopped flickering.

“It’s okay,” Silverstream said as she hugged her now crying friend.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ocellus sobbed.

The Young Six tried once more to open the door, but to no avail.

“Yona smash the door!” Yona shouted.

She rammed into the door several times to try to knock the door down, but it still didn’t budge. The lights began to flicker once more, this time revealing a message that said, ‘Finish the round’.

“Oh come on!” Sandbar exclaimed. “We still have to finish this round?!”

“Five rounds,” Silverstream corrected. “We have to play five rounds!”

“I’m not playing,” Smolder responded. “I’m done here!”

“None of us wants to play,” Gallus said. “But we have no choice.”

“Who hasn’t gone yet?” Yona asked.

“Sandbar and Smolder,” Ocellus answered.

“I don’t think I can handle this,” Sandbar said.

“Uh, hello?” Gallus responded. “Didn’t you see what had just happened, you have to do the dare…” All of a sudden, a paint bucket fell to the floorboard and spilled out a message, ‘Knock one tooth out of you’. “…or the dare does you.”

The clock then struck twice.

“Two minutes,” Ocellus said worriedly.

“Oh no,” Sandbar whimpered. “Not my teeth. I don’t even have any baby teeth left.”

“You have to do it, Sandbar,” Gallus said. “If you don’t do the dare, you might not have any teeth left.”

“But that’s ridiculous,” Sandbar responded. “I can’t just lose a tooth. It won’t—”

Before he could finish what he was about to say, Gallus punched him in the mouth.

“OW!” Sandbar shouted as he covered his mouth. “What was that for?!”

As he spat a few drops of blood out of his mouth, a tooth fell out of his mouth.

“I just helped do your dare,” Gallus said. “Thank you very much.”

“You knocked one of my front teeth out!” Sandbar yelled.

“What choice did I have?” Gallus responded. “Your back teeth would’ve been too hard to knock out.”

“Your right about that,” Sandbar said as he wiped the blood off of his muzzle. “But you punched me in the face!”

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” Gallus said.

“I understand,” Sandbar responded. “But you could’ve told me what you were about to do.”

“Point taken,” Gallus responded.

“Ugh!” Smolder shouted. “I want to get out of here! I can’t take this anymore!”

Suddenly, several cards fell from the rooftop. Silverstream picked up one of them and read it.

“Do you think that Cozy Glow’s punishment was too harsh?” she read.

“What, no!” Smolder responded.

All of a sudden, a door slammed shut with the word ‘liar’ carved on it.

“You really feel bad for Cozy Glow?” Sandbar asked in surprise.

“Seriously, I don’t care about her,” Smolder responded angrily. “She deserved to be turned to stone.”

“You have to tell the truth,” Silverstream pointed out.

“No, I don’t,” Smolder said angrily. “Seriously, do I have to say this? Listening to a card? A door? A clock? A talking TV? A telephone? All of that is insane! I bet someone is just pulling a prank on us upstairs.” She looked upstairs. “If you can hear me, you’re not fooling me! I’m done here.”

As she walked to the front door however, a message carved on the wall next to it saying, ‘If you lie, you’re cursed’.

“Wait, stop!” Gallus shouted.

“Have fun!” Smolder responded as she opened the front door, which for some reason was now unlocked. “You can tell me all about what you experience when you come—”

All of a sudden, Smolder grabbed her chest and groaned in pain.

“Smolder!” Sandbar called out.

Smolder fell to the floor and saw her body starting to change. She screamed as her horns softened and shrank into triangular ears.

“I can’t feel my horns!” she screamed as she grew whiskers.

“Do something!” Sandbar called out to his friends. “Ocellus, can you cast a spell to stop what’s happening to Smolder?”

“I’ll try,” Ocellus responded worriedly as Smolder’s tail softened and grew purple fur. She tried to cast a reverse spell on Smolder, but to no avail. “It’s not working!”

Soft orange fur spread through Smolder’s body. Before long, her back snapped and her wings cracked and shattered, causing her to scream.

“MAKE IT STOP!” she yelled out.

“I can’t,” Ocellus responded worriedly. “Nothing’s working.”

Smolder felt her claws soften, fuse together, and form into paws, with the same thing happening to her feet soon after. Her quills on her head began to soften into a purple mane. Then her four limbs painfully snapped and reshaped into that of what a cat has.

“Okay, okay!” Smolder shouted. “I do care about Cozy Glow! I don’t think that turning a filly into stone is right, no matter how evil they are! Now please stop this! I just said it! Now change me back!”

“Too late,” the eerie voice sounded.

“NO!” Smolder screamed as her muzzle reshaped into that a cat’s, her nose reshaped into a triangular shape, and her nose and mouth fused together. “I meow want to be a meow!” Her body began to shrink until she was the size of an adolescent cat. “PLEARRROWWW STRRRROWWW! MEEEEEOOOOWWWW!”

The five remaining creatures looked at what had just happened to Smolder.

“The survivor was telling the truth,” Gallus said in shock.

“We got to get out of here!” Ocellus exclaimed.

Gallus picked up Smolder and placed her on his back. Then he and the rest of the group took off and dashed back to the School of Friendship.

“What are we going to tell Headmare Starlight?” Ocellus asked worriedly.

“We don’t,” Gallus responded.

“What?!” Silver stream exclaimed

“We can’t let her know,” Gallus explained. “We weren’t even supposed to go there.”

“Then why did we?” Ocellus asked.

Gallus sighed.

“Because…I wanted to see if what the survivor said was true,” Gallus said a bit sadly. “There were a lot of stories that were told that involved his friends being turned into kittens and had gone into depression. I wanted to see if I could help him by solving the mystery and possibly getting his friends back. I didn’t believe that it was real until I got physically forced to burned my talon on the burner of the stove.”

“Really?” Sandbar asked in concern.

“Of course,” Gallus responded. “I feel sorry for whomever this survivor is.”

“What about Smolder?” Ocellus asked. “Nopony can see her like that. Besides, if Starlight finds out, we’ll all be in big trouble.”

“We’ll have to keep it a secret,” Gallus answered.

“What about your talon?” Silverstream asked. “Won’t she figure it out if it’s badly burned?”

“I’ll just tell her that it was a freak accident,” Gallus answered. “Right now, let’s go back to campus.”

The rest of the way back was silent. All they could think about was how to solve the mystery and save everyone’s lives.

Round 2: The Meeting With the Survivor

The night was long. All of the five remaining creatures could think about was what had happened to Smolder. She was cursed--cursed by the game. As a result, none of them could sleep very well, as they didn't know whether they will be able to fix their friend. Eventually, after a long restless night, the sun rose and the five friends woke up.

"I'm so tired," Silverstream said groggily, still in her room.

As she got out of her bed, she heard some screeching sound on the wall. She turned toward it and saw a message on it. It said, 'Round 2'.

"Round 2?" she said to herself.

Out of nowhere, she saw Smolder looking at her.

"Smolder?" Silverstream said in confusion.

"You're not done yet," she responded. Using her claws, she began writing a message, which appeared as blood, on the wall. It read 'shave your mane and tail'. "Shave your mane and tail. You have three minutes."

All of a sudden, a razor appeared on Silverstream's nightstand.

"Wait a minute," she said to herself. "Five rounds. We're still in the game!" She picked up the razor, turned it on, causing a buzzing sound, and sighed. "I can't believe I have to do this."

Silverstream placed the razor on her mane and began to shave it off. As chunks of her mane fell off of her head, she sobbed, knowing that other students would likely call her a freak and that her mane would take a long time to grow back. Within about a minute, the deed was done and she moved to her tail. Within another minute, she managed to shave off her entire tail, leaving nothing but a hairless stump. Silverstream moved it around and then sobbed harder. Afterwards, she looked up to see Smolder, but found out that she was gone.

"Where did she go?" she asked. "My friends will never see me the same! But I guess they must know about the fact that the game is still on."

Silverstream opened the front door, believing that her friends would mock her upon seeing her. Upon opening the door, she saw her friends each holding an envelope. Realizing that there was more going on, she looked down and she saw an envelope in front of her. Curious to see what was in the envelope, she opened it and saw what looked like a letter.

Meet me at this address: 750 Saddle Road, Ponyville, Equestria. It's very important!

The Survivor

"What?" Silverstream responded. "Where's that?"

"That's about a mile away from the School of Friendship," Ocellus answered. "I went there once to--Silverstream! What happened to your mane and tail?!"

"I got a dare," she responded, still crying. "I had to shave them off."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Ocellus said sadly as she placed her hoof on her shoulder.

"If the Survivor went to the School of Friendship, then that means he or she must've watched us play the game in "The House of No Return" and followed us to deliver the envelopes," Gallus concluded.

"How do we know it's not some creepy stranger?" Yona asked.

"We won't know until we go there," Gallus said.

Yona sighed.

"You're right," she said. "Yona will go."

"We will all go," Sandbar said.

* * * *

The five creatures quickly traveled to the listed address. Upon reaching there, Gallus rang the doorbell. Within a few seconds, a magenta earth pony mare with a light purple and white-striped mane and tail and three flowers as a cutie mark answered the door.

"Hello," the mare answered. "We need to talk."

"The Survivor told us to meet here," Silverstream said. "Are you the Survivor?"

"Yes," she answered. "One of them. My name is Cheerilee."

"Wait, what?" Sandbar responded. "There's more than one?"

"Follow me," Cheerilee said as she let the five creatures into her house and led them to her living room. "My student wants to see you."

Once the five creatures made it to the living room, whom they saw shocked them. He was an earth pony colt. He had pink fur, a purple and white stripe mane and tail, a golden watch as a cutie mark, and some burn scars on part of his face.

"Hello," the colt said. "I see that you received my invitation. Please take a seat. We need to talk about something very important."

The five creatures did so.

"So, you're the other Survivor?" Gallus asked.

"Yes," the colt answered. "I'm Gold Watch and I survived the previous game of truth or dare last year and I was the one who placed that warning sign on the gate and the letter on the door."

"I survived the game before that one sixteen years ago," Cheerilee continued.

"I see," Gallus responded.

"How far have you gone in the game?" Gold Watch asked.

"One round," Sandbar answered.

Gold Watch sighed.

"What?" Silverstream asked.

"You all still have a long way to go," Gold Watch stated. "You all have to play four more rounds."

"What?!" Yona responded.

"You have two days to complete the game or the game will curse all of you," Gold Watch explained.

"Well, that's great," Gallus responded sarcastically.

"However, you can outsmart the game," Cheerilee continued.

"How?" Ocellus asked.

"You need to share the dares," Gold Watch stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Gallus asked.

"You must each do a part of the dares if you can," Gold Watch continued. "For example, one of my friends had to drink hard cider. Because he probably would die of alcohol poisoning if he drank the whole bottle, me and my friends each drank one-sixth of the bottle."

"What about the burns on your face?" Sandbar asked in concern.

"I had to pour a bucket of bleach over my head," Gold Watch answered sadly.

"Why didn't you share that dare?" Ocellus asked.

"I was the only one left," Gold Watch said. "Everyone else was turned."

"Turned?" Silverstream responded in confusion. "You mean like what had happened to Smolder?"

"Yes," Gold Watch answered. "Me and my friends played and as the game went on, the dares got harder and over time, we were unable to complete all of them. If you didn't tell the truth or do the dare, the game would...would..."

At that point, he began bawling as the question haunted him because of what had happened to his friends. Seeing her student sobbing, Cheerilee hugged him.

"All of his friends have turned into kittens," Cheerilee explained. "The same thing happened to my friends when I played the game."

"I see," Gallus said. "But when we played the game, I had to place my talons on a stove. I didn't do it, so a chair ran into me and slammed one of my talons on the burner. The game didn't turn me into a cat, the dare did me."

"Oh, that's odd," Cheerilee responded in confusion. "When I played the game, that never happened to me or my friends."

"Or mine," Gold Watch said.

"What do we do?" Ocellus asked.

"All of you have to go back to the house," Gold Watch stated as he sat up. "Since you started the game there, you have to end it there."

"Why don't we just smash down the house?" Yona asked.

"We tried to get the authorities to have it destroyed," Cheerilee explained. "But they didn't have the legal rights to do so."

"Oh, I guess we do have to go back," Gallus said.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice," Gold Watch said sadly. "You have to finish the game within two days."

"We understand," Sandbar responded worriedly.

* * * *

The five creatures were frustrated about what they were just told what to do. As they walked back to the School of Friendship, all they could think about was what they had to do to get out of the game.

"Go back there?!" Yona shouted. "That's nuts!"

"Do we have a choice?" Gallus asked. "No! We don't! You heard what those ponies said!"

"We only get two days," Ocellus said worriedly. "Now we only have a day and a half to finish the game."

"I can't believe this!" Sandbar responded.

"This totally sucks!" Yona exclaimed. "Why do we have to keep playing this crazy game?!"

"Simple reason: we opened the door," Gallus stated. "Now we have to close it."

"How do we do that?" Sandbar asked.

"We finish the game," Gallus answered.

Ocellus sighed.

"Fine, but we need to go back to school first," she said. "We need to get equipment."

"What equipment?" Gallus asked in confusion.

"Equipment to protect us while we play the game," Ocellus answered. "I brought a first aid kit with me, in case anycreature gets hurt."

"I hope it works," Sandbar said worriedly.

"Don't worry," Ocellus said. "Twilight taught me all about helping others when they're hurt, whether it be physically or mentally."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Gallus responded. "Let's do this!"

* * * *

The Young Five make it back to their dorm rooms and begin packing. Ocellus searched through her saddlebags and found some medical equipment, which included washcloths, some bandages, and alcohol disinfect bottles. Meanwhile, the other four friends got some equipment from their rooms, which included some defense gear. Within about ten minutes, every creature was ready to head back to "The House of No Return" and face the game. Each of them walked out carrying their equipment in their bags.

"Are you guys ready?" Ocellus asked.

"I'm ready when you are," Gallus responded.

"Ugh, this equipment is so heavy!" Yona panted. "Yona tired!"

Out of nowhere, she heard a screeching sound coming from her bag. Wondering what was going on with her bag, she took it off and looked at it. A message was written on it that said, "Smash Headmare Starlight Glimmer's front desk".

"Oh no," Yona yelped. "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!"

"What?" Ocellus asked.

"This isn't good," Yona answered sadly. "Yona have to smash Headmare Starlight's desk!"

"What?!" Sandbar responded in shock.

A number then appeared on the floor right in front of Yona, which said "5".

"No, Yona can't do that," Yona cried.

"You don't have a choice," Gallus responded.

"But this is our headmare!" Yona exclaimed.

"We'll explain what's going on," Ocellus said.

"Just do it," Silverstream said worriedly. "I don't want to lose you, too!"

Yona and her friends snuck into Starlight's office. As they approached towards the desk, Gallus gave a light push to Yona.

"Go on, do it," he whispered.

"You don't have much time," Silverstream whispered.

"Okay," Yona whimpered.

After a few more moments of heavy breathing, she approached the desk and climbed onto it. Right after she got on it however, she stood paralyzed in fear.

"Yona can't do it," she whimpered.

"Just do it," Gallus said. "You don't have much time."

Yona sniffled.

"Okay," she whimpered.

With all of her strength, Yona jumped onto the desk several times and smashed it to pieces after several hard jumps and stomps. Afterwards, Yona got away from the debris and cried. Her friends walked up to her and hugged her.

"There, there," Ocellus said calmly. "It's going to be alright."

All of a sudden, the front door opened and Headmare Starlight Glimmered entered.

"I heard some--" she began, but then saw the wreckage of her desk. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DESK?!"

Upon hearing Starlight Glimmer's loud question, Yona ran towards her.

"It was me, Yona did it!" she sobbed. "Yona had to do it!"

"Wait, what?" Starlight responded in confusion. "Back up. What's going on?"

"Well you see, we were playing a game of truth or dare," Gallus said.

"And this is what Yona was dared to do?" Starlight asked in annoyance.

"Well, she--" Gallus began, but then heard a voice that rang out towards him.

"Did you go to "The House of No Return" last night?" it said.

Oh no, Gallus thought. It's my turn!

He sighed.

"We went to "The House of No Return" last night," he admitted.

"I thought that we discussed that that place is off limits," Starlight said angrily.

"We wanted to figure out whether it was real and if we could help the player that last played the game."

"I understand. But we wanted to help solve that mystery to prevent any further incidents from happening." He paused for a moment to catch his breath. "Now we're stuck in the game and we have to finish it within two days. If we don't, we're toast! We have to go back to the house to finish the game."

"Who told you that?" Starlight said in confused.

"Gold Watch," Gallus answered. "He is the previous winner of the game of truth or dare."

"Wait, him?"

"Yes. He and his teacher, Miss Cheerilee, explained about their previous experiences of the game."

"So, you're saying that this child and his teacher both went through the same problem?"

"Yes, but during different times."

"Please, Headmare Starlight!" Silverstream pleaded. "We have to finish the game! Smolder's become victim to the game!"

"She is?" Starlight asked in concerned.

"Yes, she's been turned into a cat," Sandbar said. "She's in her room if you want to check."

"Enough," Starlight demanded. "Just finish it and promise never to go back there ever again! Got it?"

"We promise," Ocellus said nervously.

* * * *

Within the next hour, the Young five found themselves back in "The House of No Return". As they walked inside, Gallus sighed in annoyance.

"When we're done here," he said angrily. "I am going to set this house on fire! I don't want anything more to happen towards others!"

"Easy, Gallus," Sandbar said worriedly. "Let's just get this over with and be done with this game."

All of a sudden, the group heard the eerie voice.

"Ocellus..." it called out.

"Oh no," Ocellus said worriedly. "It's mine turn."

One of the doors then slammed open, causing the group to jump to face it. They walked cautiously past it and saw a card and a pair of pliers. Ocellus picked up the card and read it.

"Pull two teeth out," she read.

The grandfather clock then struck twice.

"Gross!" Sandbar responded.

"How are going to do this?" Silverstream asked. "Who's going to pull the teeth out?"

"I'll do it," Gallus said.

"What?" Sandbar said in annoyance. "That's not fair. You already knocked a tooth out of me."

"Doesn't matter!" Ocellus cried. "We only have two minutes to pull this off!" She looked at Gallus. "Just do it!"

Gallus picked up the pliers and grasped it on one of Ocellus's back teeth.

"I'll pull one of your back teeth and then you pull one of mine," Gallus stated. "Got it?"

Ocellus nodded.

"Do it!" she shouted with a muffled voice.

Gallus pulled as hard as he could. As he was doing this, Ocellus screamed in agony but within seconds, Gallus painfully pulled the tooth out.

"I'm sorry," Gallus said sadly as green goo poured out of her mouth.

"It's okay," Ocellus sobbed.

"Your turn," Gallus said as he handed over the pliers to his friend.

"Okay," Ocellus said as she hyperventilated and grasped on one of Gallus's back teeth. "Hold still!"

Ocellus pulled with all of her strength. Gallus screamed as all of this was happening. Nevertheless, within the next few seconds, the deed was done and the tooth was pulled out.

"My mouth!" Gallus shouted as blood poured out of it.

"I'm sorry!" Ocellus sobbed.

"Never mind that," Gallus said as he and the group walk back to the living room. "The dare is done."

"I guess that's a relief," Ocellus said.

"Well, it's my turn," Sandbar said as he picked up a card from the deck. The moment he saw what was written, his eyes went wide.

"No, I can't," he sobbed.

"What, what does it say?" Silverstream asked.

"Set Yona's mane on fire," Sandbar stated.

"What?!" Yona shouted.

A lighter then showed up on the nightstand and the grandfather clock struck once.

"I can't do it," Sandbar sobbed.

"You have to!" Yona shouted. "Yona deserves it! Yona cheated on you!"

"No! Don't say that! I would never do such a thing to you!"

"You must! Please do it! Yona don't want to see your mane get set on fire!"

"I got a bucket of water!" Silverstream called out as she carried the bucket over.

"There's no need for that," Sandbar said. "Not until the dare does me."

"What, no!" Gallus shouted. "Don't do that! That's very dangerous!"

"I'm sorry," Sandbar said sternly. "But I won't set anyone's mane on fire!"

"Time's up," the voice sounded.

All of a sudden, Sandbar grabbed his chest and collapsed to the floor.

"What's happening to me?" he gasped as his ear began to reshape into cat ears. "This doesn't look like the dare is doing me!"

"What the?!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"Sandbar!" Yona screamed as she rushed over to Sandbar's side.

Before long, Sandbar grew whiskers all over his cheeks. Then his muzzle shrank, his nose became an upside down triangle, and it fused with his mouth.

"I'm turning into a cat!" he shouted as his teeth sharpened.

Within seconds, his hooves cracked, grew pads, and changed into paws. Then his legs snapped, causing him to writhe on the ground in agony.

"NO!" Sandbar screamed. "I drowwww want trrrowww be a carrowww!"

Sandbar then felt himself shrink until he was about three-fourths of the size of an adult cat.

"Yona is sorry," Yona sobbed.

"It's okay, Yona," Sandbar gasped. "I forgive you. MRRRROOOOWWWWW!"

"No!" Yona shouted.

"Yona, I'm so sorry," Ocellus sobbed.

"We will avenge him," Gallus stated.

All of a sudden, a knock on the door sounded.

"Oh no," Ocellus said worriedly.

"Don't answer it," Silverstream said. "It could be a trap."

"We won't know until we check," Gallus said as he walked to the front door.

"Wait!" Yona called out.

Gallus ignored her and opened the door. As he opened it, whom he saw shocked him.

Author's Note

Who's at the front door? Find out next time!

Round 3: Help From a Friend

"Gold Watch?!" Gallus exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help," he answered. "I'm going to find the source of the problem." After a short pause, he looked at the group with determination in his eyes. "No, we're going to do that."

"But how?" Silverstream asked. "We searched both upstairs and down."

"Did you check the attic?" Gold Watch asked.

"Well, no," Silverstream answered.

"We didn't know that there was one," Ocellus said.

"Let's go there," Gold Watch said. "I know where it is."

As he walked inside, the door slammed shut and revealed a carved message written reading 'Round 3' on the door. The group jumped in shock.

"Well, I see that you finished the second round," Gold Watch said worriedly. "Where's Sandbar?"

"He lost," Yona said sadly as she walked away and came back with the turned Sandbar.

"Meow," he said.

"Oh," Gold Watch said sadly. "Well, let's go upstairs."

Yona put Sandbar down and the group walked upstairs and saw a string hanging on the ceiling.

"That?" Gallus responded as he pointed to it.

"Yes," Gold Watch answered. "You need to pull it down."

Gallus flew to the ceiling and pulled the string, revealing a set of stairs.

"No way!" Silverstream responded in excitement.

"Let's go," Gold Watch said.

The group walked upstairs and took a great look at the place.

"I see a bookshelf," Ocellus pointed out.

The group quickly grabbed several books.

"New Life, Mansion Growth, Another House Awaits," Ocellus read the titles. "Rules and Records. Guys, I think I found something that might help us.'"

"Let's see," Gold Watch said.

Ocellus opened the book and the group checked out what was written in it.

The Rules of Truth or Dare

1. There are five rounds in each game.
2. Each player must tell the truth and do whatever dares they are instructed to pass the game.
3. Each dare is timed.
4. Each dare given a severity level, starting from level one and going all the way to level five.
5. If you lie, you will turn into a cat.
6. If you fail to complete the dare within the time limit, you will turn into a cat.
7. If it's the first dare that is failed, the dare will do you if the severity of the dare is level three or greater. Otherwise, you will turn into a cat.
8. The transformations are permanent. Players that are turned will have to spend the rest of their lives as cats equal to their original lifespans as they were from their previous species's.
9. Players are permitted to share the dares as long as the one that is dared takes part of it.
10. Once you start the game, you must end the game in the house.
11. Players can only play the game once. They cannot play another game.
12. Up to ten players can play in one game. If an eleventh is with the group, the first ten that take their first turns will be a part of the game. The eleventh player will not be permitted to play.
13. Non-players cannot participate in sharing dares, even if they played in previous games.
14. If a player is turned, the said player cannot participate for the rest of the game.
15. If all players are eliminated, either by turning or dying, any player that's still alive will be chained in the house and can never leave.
16. If at least one player wins, the turned players will not change back, but will be free to leave the house.

"Wait, what?" Gallus responded in shock. "If we all lose, we'll be trapped here forever?"

"I guess," Gold Watch answered as he pointed to the seventh rule. "But it's rather odd that none of my friends ever got punished by a dare for not doing it."

"What was the first dare that wasn't done?" Gallus asked.

"One of friends had to kiss my sister," Gold Watch answered. "I guess since the dare was minor, it just skipped the warning and eliminated her instead."

"Guys, check this list out," Ocellus said as she pointed to the page that she was on in the book.

Game Records

October 31, 1948

Players

Ball Back
Batter Up
Sweet Tooth
Sugar Plums
River Raft
Tin Can
Calm Mind

Eliminated

Ball Back
Batter Up
Sweet Tooth
Sugar Pluma
River Raft
Tin Can
Calm Mind

June 25, 1975 - June 27, 1975

Players

Grapefruit
Rocket Launcher
Pool Table
Sandcastle
Cream Heart

Eliminated

Grapefruit
Rocket Launcher
Pool Table
Sandcastle

October 31, 1978 - November 1, 1978

Players

Fruit Basket
Cereal Bar
Cheerilee
Mushroom
One Ball
Spot X
Torch

Eliminated

Fruit Basket
Cereal Bar
Mushroom
One Ball
Spot X
Torch

October 31, 1994 - November 1, 1994

Players

Rumble
Diamond Tiara
Button Mash
Dinky Hooves
Pipsqueak
Twist
Gold Watch
Silver Spoon

Eliminated

Rumble
Diamond Tiara
Button Mash
Dinky Hooves
Pipsqueak
Twist
Silver Spoon

October 31, 1995 - Present

Players

Silverstream
Yona
Gallus
Ocellus
Sandbar
Smolder

Eliminated

Sandbar
Smolder

"Wait, what?" Gallus responded in both confusion and worry.

"It has our names listed and those that have been eliminated," Silverstream stated in worry.

"Wait a minute," Gold Watch said. "Cream Heart? She played too?" He then realized something. "Wait a minute. That dare from last year: one of my friends had to turn her into a cat. I think I know why that dare not only affected Spike, but also her."

"How so?" Silverstream asked.

"The game was tying up loose ends," Gold Watch explained. "It was turning the one pony that didn't fall victim to the curse. It was trying to wipe clean of the previous players."

"Then why is her name not listed in the eliminated players list?" Gallus asked.

"Because she won the game," Gold Watch stated. "The game just simply turned her much later to get rid of the previous players to be certain that all previous players were cursed, even if they won the game previous game." Realization then hit him. "If that's the case, then Cheerilee and I are still in danger!"

"I really hope it doesn't come to this," Ocellus said worriedly.

"Regardless, we have to finish the game," Gold Watch said. "According to the rules, I can't participate in the game, but I can help make sure you all survive." He pulled out some equipment from his saddlebag. "I have some bandages, alcohol, and tweezers."

"What's with the tweezers?" Gallus asked.

"In case glass shards get on you," Gold Watch answered.

"Oh," Gallus responded.

"We got some equipment, too," Ocellus said.

"Then we have lots of backup in case anything more than just a few minor injures happen to any of you," Gold Watch stated in confidence.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Silverstream responded. "Let's finish this!"

As if on cue, a carving sound was heard on the floorboard. Silverstream turned to the noise and saw the message: Cut off Gallus's tail.

"What?!" she responded. "I can't do that!"

Out of nowhere, a pair of sheers fell from the ceiling and landed on the floorboard.

"One minute..." the eerie voice sounded.

"Just do it," Gallus said. "Just get it over with.

"No!" Silverstream shouted. "I can't!"

"You have to," Gallus said worriedly. "I don't want to see anything bad happen to you!"

Silverstream hyperventilated a bit, but then calmed down.

"Okay," she sobbed.

She picked up the shears and placed them between Gallus's tail.

"Ready?" she asked him.

"Do it," Gallus said sadly.

With reluctance, Silverstream pressed the handles of the shears together. As she did this, Gallus screamed in agony. Nevertheless, within a few seconds, the blades pressed together and the tail was cut off.

"AAAHHHH!" Gallus screamed as he was bleeding fast. "IT HURTS!"

Silverstream fell to the floor and sobbed.

"I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Quick!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "I got bandages! Let's stop the bleeding!"

Gold Watch grabbed an alcohol bottle and poured it all over the wound, causing Gallus to scream more and writhe on the floor.

"Sorry!" Gold Watch sobbed as he turned to the rest of the group. "Hold him down!"

Silverstream and Yona did so, while Ocellus continued looking through the book. As soon as Gold Watch bandaged the stump on Gallus, Ocellus turned to the group in shock.

"Guys, look at this," she said as she pointed to the page that she was on.

The group turned to her and looked at the page's contents.

October 31, 2002 - November 1, 2002

Players

Rumble
1. What is your greatest fear? N/A
2. Jump out of your bedroom window. 3
3. Stand on the fire for five seconds. 4
4. Stab your wing. 4
5. Drop Diamond Tiara off of the balcony. FAILED 5

Diamond Tiara
1. Stand on your hind legs for thirty seconds. 2
2. Tell Sweetie Belle about your crash on Button Mash. N/A
3. Hit yourself in the head with a plate 3
4. Stab Gold Watch. FAILED 5

Button Mash
1. Did you lose a very important video game? N/A
2. Hit your mother in the head with a hammer. FAILED 5

Dinky Hooves
1. What is the truth about your mother's cross-eyes? N/A
2. Turn Cream Heart into a cat and Spike into a pony. 4
3. Push Pipsqueak down the staircase. FAILED 4

Pipsqueak
1. Jump off the staircase from top to bottom. 3
2. Drink the hard cider. 3
3. Be pushed down the staircase. 3
4. Break the window with your head. 3
5. Cut off seven whole living body parts. FAILED 5

Twist
1. Did you eat a candy cane on the ground? N/A
2. Eat the dog food in the bowl. 2
3. Down the laxative bottle. 3
4. Eat the jar of cockroaches. FAILED 4

Gold Watch
1. Is your favorite color pink and do you like to wear dresses while in your bedroom? N/A
2. Put on the dress and dance to the classical music. 1
3. Eat your feces. 4
4. Hold your breath underwater for two minutes. 4
5. Pour a bucket of bleach on your head. 5

Silver Spoon
1. Kiss Diamond Tiara. FAILED 1

"Whoa!" Gold Watch responded.

"You and your friends had to do all of that?" Silverstream asked in shock.

"We sure did," Gold Watch answered.

"What are the numbers for?" Gallus gasped, still in excruciating pain.

"I think those are the severity levels of the dares," Ocellus theorized.

"What about our game?" Gallus asked.

Ocellus turned the page and saw the their current game record.

November 1, 2003 - Present

Players

Silverstream
1. Make out with Ocellus. 1
2. Shave your mane and tail. 2
3. Cut off Gallus's tail. 4

Yona
1. Are you cheating on Sandbar? N/A
2. Smash Headmare Starlight Glimmer's front desk. 3

Gallus
1. Place your talons on the hot stove. DARE DID HIM 3
2. Did you go to 'The House of No Return' last night? N/A

Ocellus
1. Eat Gallus's burnt flesh. 3
2. Pull two teeth out. 3

Sandbar
1. Knock one tooth out of you. 3
2. Set Yona's mane on fire. FAILED 5

Smolder
1. Do you think that Cozy Glow's punishment was too harsh? FAILED N/A

"Wait a minute," Gallus said. "How did it somehow get written down if we're the only ones in here?"

"I think that the book must automatically write it whenever a turn is taken," Gold Watch theorized.

"I guess that the ones that say N/A mean that those turns were truths instead," Gallus said. "Therefore, there wouldn't be a severity level because it involves telling a truth instead of physically harming yourself or others."

"I think so," Gold Watch responded.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Yona spoke up. "Let's finish this!"

All of a sudden, a plank fell with a message written on it.

"Chain yourself to a pipe," Yona read.

"Three minutes..." the voice sounded.

"Where's the pipe?" Yona responded in worry.

The trap door then opened.

"I think we have to go downstairs," Ocellus said as she picked up another book along with book of records.

The group walked downstairs to the ground floor and then another door opened that led to what seemed to be the basement of the house.

"Down there?" Yona responded in worry. As she walked downstairs, the door slammed shut before the rest of the group could walk downstairs, causing Yona to scream in horror. "HELP! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Gallus grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, but to no avail. He then tried to body slam the door open but that didn't work either. Ocellus then used the magic coming from her horn to try to open the door, but nothing happened.

"We can't open it!" she called out.

"Hurry!" Gold Watch shouted. "You're running out of time!"

Yona then hyperventilated. The basement had no lightbulb and it was dark to the point where she could barely see anything.

"Yona can't do it!" she shouted.

"You have to!" Silverstream called out. "If you don't, you'll be cursed too!"

"Okay," Yona gasped.

She walked downstairs and saw the pipe along with a chain and a cuff tied to it.

"Yona found it," she said. As she was about cuff one of her hind legs to the pipe, a few cockroaches crawled towards her, causing her to scream. "HELP!"

"Do it!" Gallus shouted.

Yona breathed heavily, then she calmed herself down, swept the cockroaches away from her, and cuffed herself as fast as she could. Afterwards, the cockroaches ran off and the basement door opened. Immediately after that, the group ran downstairs to help their friend.

"Are you okay?" Gold Watch asked as Ocellus used her magic to disintegrate the cuff, freeing Yona.

"Yona think so," she sobbed."

"Let get upstairs," Gold Watch responded.

As the group began walking towards the staircase, they heard a mewing sound coming from a distance.

"What the?" Gallus responded in confusion.

Ocellus used her magic to produce light in the basement and the group walked to the source of the sound. What they saw shocked them.

"Meow," an elderly-looking gray cat with a white mane and tail said.

"Oh you poor dear," Silverstream responded in worry. She picked up the cat, only to find a chain tied to his hind leg. "What the?"

"Oh no," Gold Watch said in worry.

The group looked around and saw skeletons of cats in different areas of the basement still chained up.

"This must be where the turned players go if they all lose the game," Gold Watch said nauseously. "I guess that the only reason why me and my friends aren't here is because I won the previous game."

"But which game ended up like this?" Gallus asked.

"I think it was the one from 1948," Ocellus answered. "According to the records that we read, it is the only game where no one won."

"I guess that it would make sense," Gallus said. "Since this cat looks very old."

"Guys, look!" Ocellus called out as she showed the book of records to the group.

The group turned to her to see the page that she was on.

Yona
1. Are you cheating on Sandbar? N/A
2. Smash Headmare Starlight Glimmer's front desk. 3
3. Chain yourself to a pipe. 3

"How did it do that?!" Yona exclaimed in shock.

"This book is more powerful than ever," Gold Watch said. "It must record our dares and actions on them."

"So, it records each of our moves?" Gallus asked.

"Apparently so," Ocellus answered. She then pulled another book out. "I have another book that might help us. It's called The Origin of The Wild Eye House."

"The Origin of The Wild Eye House?" Gold Watch responded. "Wait a minute. That must be the actual name of the house! But why would it be called an eye house?"

"I don't know," Ocellus answered. "Maybe the book will give us its full explanation."

"I want to know!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"Let's take a look," Ocellus said as she opened the book to the first page.

It all began in 1859, when a young mare known as Perfect Vision built the house to live as her own home. She had a big fascination with cats and always wanted to take care of them, so she found as many stray ones as she could to nurse them back to health. At times, she had her friends over and they would often play truth or dare. Unfortunately, as a game was going on, a cat scratched on the floor of the basement and accidentally unleashed an evil aura that cursed the kind mare. Upon being possessed by the demon, she went by the name, Ponelax, and enslaved her cats, chaining in the basement until they starved to death. Wanting to give her house a name, the possessed mare called it, "The Wild Eye House". As time went on, ponies found that many cats have been going missing and soon after, some ponies went inside the house, only to never return. Before long, the police investigated and arrested Ponelax. She was executed by hanging, but she vowed revenge before the trapdoor was pulled. Ever since her death, it has been rumored that her spirit had been haunting the house and cursing those that walk inside to play the game of truth or dare or they would all turn into cats and spend the rest of their lives chained in the basement. Nevertheless, they would be fed and would live a lifespan equal to that of their original species's.

"Wow!" Gallus responded upon finishing reading. "That's insane."

"I understand, but we have to finish the game," Gold Watch said. "Let's get upstairs."

The group did so and after they closed the basement door, Gallus looked at the deck of cards on the coffee table.

"I guess it's my turn," he said as he pulled the top card off of the deck. "Eat a one-inch sized shard of glass?"

All of a sudden, a rock was thrown from a window, causing glass to shatter from it. The grandfather clock then struck twice.

"Oh no," Gallus responded in worry as he picked up one of the glass shards. "I guess I have no choice."

"Just swallow it whole," Gold Watch said. "Don't chew on it. You'll seriously damage your gums."

"Okay, if you say so," Gallus responded while tearing up. He put the glass in his mouth and quickly swallowed it. Immediately afterwards, he felt pain coming from his chest. "Ugh! It hurts!"

"Oh no!" Gold Watch exclaimed worriedly. "Ocellus, can you cast a spell on him to get rid of the glass piece?"

"I'll try," she responded as she fired up her horn. Within seconds, a beam went into Gallus's chest as he was screaming and writhing on the floor. After a few seconds, Ocellus powered down her horn and Gallus stopped screaming and squirming. "Feeling better?"

"I think so," Gallus said while breathing heavily. "I...need...water."

"I'll go get some," Silverstream said as she rushed into the kitchen to get it. Within about fifteen seconds, she returned with a glass of water and quickly gave it to her friend. "Here you go."

"Thank you," Gallus responded as he accepted the drink and quickly drank it. "That feels better."

Ocellus stared at the deck of cards in worry.

"Well, I guess it's my turn now," she said as she picked up the card. What she saw written on it made her stare at it in horror. "Do you have species identity problems?"

"Wait, what?" Gallus responded.

"It's true!" Ocellus sobbed. "I don't know who I am lately! Sometimes, I don't feel like a changeling, but rather a pony, dragon, or bug-bear!"

"It's okay," Gold Watch said as he hugged her. "I wouldn't ever judge you for being whatever you want to be."

"I can't do this anymore!" Ocellus cried as she accepted the hug. "I want to get out of here!"

"I know, Ocellus," Gold Watch said calmly. "I want to get out of here, too. But we have to get out of the game first."

"There has to be another way out of it!" Ocellus wailed.

"I know, I know," Gold Watch responded. "But we have to do this, there's no other way. But I'll make sure that you're okay. No, we're all okay!"

"You will?" Ocellus asked.

"Of course," Gold Watch answered. "Friends always stay together and look out for each other and that's what I've been trying to do with others. You have me."

Gold Watch placed his hoof on Ocellus's shoulder and then the other creatures walked up to her and did the same thing.

"And me," Silverstream said.

"And me," Gallus said.

"And Yona," Yona said.

"That's right," Gold Watch said. "You have all of us."

"Oh thanks, Gold Watch," Ocellus said, now feeling a bit more calm.

"No problem," Gold Watch responded. "Now, let's finish this game!"

"Yeah!" the four remaining players responded.

Round 5: Confronting the Enemy

As the group walked downstairs, their surroundings darkened. Once everyone passed the basement door, it slammed shut, startling all four creatures. Gold Watch ran upstairs to try to open the door, but to no avail.

"We're trapped!" he shouted.

"What do we do?" Cozy Glow asked worriedly. "I can't see anything!"

"Does anyone have a flashlight or something?" Gold Watch asked.

"I still have that lighter that Sandbar had when he had to set Yona's mane on fire," Gallus answered as he pulled it and lit it. As soon as he did so, the group was able to see better. "Is that better?"

"Yes," Gold Watch said as he saw a carving on the door that said, 'Round 5'. "Let's go."

Once the group made it downstairs and made their way to the aged cat, they put their stuff down and prepared for the ritual.

"What the?" Cozy Glow responded. "Why does that cat have a mane?"

"It's because he was once a pony," Gold Watch answered. "Are you guys ready?"

Gallus and Silverstream pulled a feather and a strand of fur off of themselves respectively and placed them on the chain.

"Yep," they both said.

"Let's do this," Gold Watch said.

Gallus used his lighter to burn the pieces and the chain. All of a sudden, the group her screaming as the feather and strand of mane quickly burned to ashes and the chain turned orange.

"Where is that screaming coming from?" Silverstream shouted as she and everyone else covered their ears.

"I think that's Ponelax," Gold Watch answered. "I think that its power might be weakening.

Within seconds, the screaming stopped and the chain shattered, leaving embers on the floor. Immediately afterwards, the cat ran upstairs where the door suddenly opened for him and then closed once he left. The group sighed in relief.

"That was close," Silverstream said.

However, their celebration was cut short when the embers on the floor began moving and producing a message. The entire group looked in shock as they saw them spell out something.

"Slice your eye open?" Silverstream read.

The message then moved around until it was changed to say the number, '2'.

"Two minutes..." Silverstream responded in horror as a razor blade appeared right next to her front claws. "No, I can't do that."

"You have to," Gallus said worriedly. "Otherwise you'll be turned."

"But I won't be able to ever see from one of my eyes!" Silverstream cried.

"I'll do it then," Gallus responded. "I'll slice the eye, then we can have Twilight fix it."

All of a sudden, a plank fell from the ceiling. The entire group looked at the plank. It turned out to have a message on it that read, 'Silverstream must slice her own eye open'.

"No..." Silverstream whimpered. "I can't do that!"

"You have to," Gold Watch said. "You don't have much time!"

"O-okay," Silverstream sniffled as she placed the razor right at her left eye. As the place started shaking, indicating that she was running out of time, she cried. "NO!"

"Do it!" Gallus shouted. "I don't want to lose you, too! You only have ten seconds!"

Silverstream cried for a few more seconds and then, as fast as she could, slit her eye open with the razor blade, causing blood to fly out of her now destroyed eye. She screamed in pain and the others walked up to her and hugged her.

"We're almost done," Gallus said as he shed a tear.

Feeling bad for Silverstream, Cozy Glow removed the ribbon tied to her mane and gave it to her.

"Here, take it," Cozy Glow said sadly. "You need it."

"Thanks, Cozy Glow," Silverstream sobbed as she accepted the ribbon and used it to cover her bleeding eye. "Let's finish this! Let's head down to the bottom of the house!"

"Right," Gold Watch said sadly as he placed a bandage over Silverstream's destroyed eye.

He opened the trapdoor and the group walked downstairs. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they walked to where they found the Ponelax Exorcism book and placed it right where it was.

"Alright, let's do this," Gold Watch said with determination in his eyes as he turned to Gallus and Silverstream. "One of you has to do this."

"W-why's that?" Silverstream stuttered.

"Because you two are the only ones left in the game," Gold Watch stated as he ripped the page of the book that had the instructions on it. "You must place a piece of yourself on the book and then say the chant seven times. Then one of you must burn the book."

The two of them did as they were told and pulled another feather and strand of fur off of them and dropped it onto the book. Gallus then read the chant.

"Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone," Gallus read. "Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone."

At that point, the whole house began to shake, scaring everyone. Dust flew out of the walls and ceiling. Nevertheless, Gallus continued the chant.

"Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone," Gallus continued as he started to chant louder. "Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone! Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone!"

"I want to get out of here!" Cozy Glow cried.

"We're almost done," Gold Watch said.

"Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone!" Gallus shouted. "PONELAX FREE, PONELAX DONE, PONELAX BE GONE!"

At that point, a small purple phantom appeared from the book.

"W-what is that?" Gallus asked in horror.

"I think that's Ponelax!" Gold Watch answered worriedly. "Quick, burn the book!"

"O-okay," Gallus responded while stuttering in fear.

Not wanting to touch Ponelax out of fear that he might be possessed if he did, he dropped the lighter onto the book. Within seconds, the book began to burn and Ponelax made an ear-piercing scream as it was consumed in flames.

"It's working!" Silverstream cheered.

As both were burning however, a message began to carve on one of the burning pages. The group looked in horror as they saw what was written.

Cut off your tongue.

"What?!" Gallus responded in horror.

A knife then appeared in front of his talons.

"This...no!" he cried. "I just beat this demon!"

"But you haven't done your dare," Gold Watch responded in horror. "I think that Ponelax is using all of its strength to make one last attack."

Gallus felt sweat all over his face as he began to hyperventilate. He picked up the knife and placed it next to his tongue.

"I guess I have no choice," he said.

As quick as he could, Gallus began to saw through his tongue using the knife. As he did so, blood poured out of his tongue and he made muffled screams. Gold Watch and Cozy Glow turned their heads away from the scene and faced Silverstream, who shut her one eye and hugged the two foals to keep them from seeing the horrible scene. As Gallus continued sawing through his tongue, Ponelax screamed further and the flames rose all over its body. Eventually, Gallus finished cutting off his tongue and Ponelax began to thrash all over the book. Out of fear of what might happened if they stay close to the demon, the group backed away from it. Within a few seconds, what the group saw shocked them. Ponelax exploded!

The book then burned to ashes and all of the screaming and shaking had stopped. Silence then replaced all of the mayhem. After spending a few seconds waiting to see if anything else would happen, the entire group sighed in relief when nothing occurred.

"It's...it's over," Silverstream said. "We did it!"

"Ponelax is gone!" Cozy Glow responded excitedly.

"Now we can get out of here!" Gold Watch responded happily.

As the group began to head towards the staircase however, a spirit rose from the ashes of the book, shocking every creature.

"Thank you," it said with a feminine voice as it vanished.

"Could that be?" Silverstream responded.

"It's Perfect Vision," Gold Watch said with a smile on his face. "She's been avenged. Now she can finally rest in peace."

Now that all was back to normal, the group walked upstairs, opened the trapdoor, went up the stairs from the basement, and approached to the door that they were locked inside.

"I hope we can get out," Gold Watch said nervously.

He turned the knob and, to his surprise, the door opened. The group picked up Sandbar, Yona, and Ocellus, ran to the living room, opened the front door, and got outside. As they got outside, they saw the cat that they saved run away to a safe place. Once the group got a distance away from 'The Wild Eye House', they took a glance at it and thought about what they had just accomplished.

"It's over," Gold Watch said. "It's finally over."

"Let's go back to campus," Silverstream said.

As the group began to walk back to the School of Friendship, Gold Watch realized something.

"Wait a minute," he said as he looked at Gallus and Silverstream, both of whom were carrying their turned friends.

"What is it?" Silverstream asked.

"You two need to go to the hospital," Gold Watch answered. "Silverstream, you need to get your eye checked. Maybe the doctors can magically fix it. Gallus, we need to get your tongue reattached."

"Oh, right," Silverstream responded.

Gallus gave Gold Watch a thumbs up as he covered his bleeding mouth and carrying his tongue.

"What about me?" Cozy Glow asked worriedly. "If somepony sees me, we'll all be in trouble."

"I'm sure we can convince the princesses that you changed," Gold Watch answered as he hugged Cozy Glow. "As well as tell them what had happened to you prior to that situation."

"Oh thanks, Gold Watch," Cozy Glow responded happily as she returned the hug.

"You're...welcome..." Gold Watch responded nervously as he began to blush. He then regained his composure. "But right now, we need to just focus on what is happening now and what we need to do."

The group agreed and everyone walked to the hospital wondering what will happen afterwards.

Aftermath: Closing the Door

In the hospital, Gold Watch and Cozy Glow waited in the waiting room hoping that Gallus and Silverstream would recover.

"I really hope that they feel better soon," Cozy Glow said sadly.

"Me too," Gold Watch responded.

All of a sudden, the hospital door opened and two ponies walked inside.

"Mom! Dad!" Gold Watch responded.

"Son, you're okay!" Filthy Rich responded happily.

"We're glad that you made it--" Spoiled Rich began, but then stopped when she saw one of Equestria's biggest enemies. "WHAT IS SHE DOING HERE?!"

"Mom, stop," Gold Watch said. "She's on our side now. You must understand about her story."

"Story?" Spoiled Rich responded. "Oh please, a pony that had tried to drain Equestria's magic, twice no less, clearly can't have any such reason to do that. I bet her parents had disowned her after what she had done to the School of Friendship."

"My parents are dead," Cozy Glow responded angrily. "They died two years ago.

Spoiled Rich sighed.

"Let me guess," she muttered. "You killed them?"

"What, no!" Cozy Glow shouted. "I loved my parents! They really cared for me! But they were killed by some thugs that broke in my house! Then Lord Tirek tricked me into thinking that the princesses had them murdered! Do you know how much grief I'm going through now that I know that he lied to me? I did all of that stuff for revenge and now I know that it was all for nothing!"

Cozy Glow then sobbed onto Gold Watch's shoulder. Feeling bad for how much pain in her heart she was going through, the pink colt hugged her.

"Please, Mom," Gold Watch pleaded. "She needs help!"

Spoiled Rich made another sigh.

"Fine," Spoiled Rich responded in annoyance. "But don't come crying to us if the princesses decide to turn you to stone for helping a fugitive."

"Hun, please," Filthy Rich said. "Let him help her."

"Fine," Spoiled Rich muttered.

Gallus and Silverstream then walked out. Gallus's tongue and tail were back on, but his talon and back were still bandaged, while Silverstream's eye was all fixed.

"Please don't turn her back to stone!" Gallus exclaimed. "She helped us!"

"She helped hold off the bleeding on my eye before the doctors fixed it," Silverstream explained.

Just then, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Celestia, and Luna walked inside. They each glared at the group.

"Gallus, Silverstream, Gold Watch," Princess Luna said angrily. "You're all under arrest for treason!"

"As for you, Cozy Glow," Princess Celestia continued. "You will sent back to your stone imprisonment immediately!"

"Please don't!" Gold Watch pleaded. "We had to free her because the game of truth or dare "The Wild Eye House" forced Gallus to do so! If he didn't do it, he would've been imprisoned by the game! Not to mention, she's just a filly! Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis are one thing, but not her!"

"Do you know how evil she is?" Twilight exclaimed.

"She may have done a lot of bad things," Gold Watch explained. "But there's more to it than just that. She had gone through a lot of tragedy prior to what she had done."

"Prove it," Spike said.

"She told us everything," Gold Watch said. "Being bullied in school prior to going to the School of Friendship, her parents being murdered, Lord Tirek tricking her into thinking that your guards were responsible for that, everything!"

The princess looked at Gold Watch in aghast.

"That's the truth," Gold Watch said. "We put her under a truth spell to make sure that she was being honest. If you don't believe me, then try it yourself."

Spike and the princesses looked at each other in confusion.

"Fine," Twilight muttered. "But if you're lying, you will be sentenced to life in prison, Gold Watch."

"That's fine with me," Gold Watch said.

This shocked his parents.

"What, no!" Spoiled Rich shouted. "He may have freed a criminal, but he's still our baby!"

"We'll see about that," Spike responded angrily.

Twilight fired her horn at Cozy Glow and saw everything about her past: being bullied, finding out that her parents were murdered, being tricked by Lord Tirek, everything. Once she was done, Twilight, Spike, and the other princesses were driven to tears.

"I'm so sorry," Twilight responded sadly as she powered down her horn.

"We didn't know," Princess Celestia responded sadly.

"She needs to be rehabilitated," Gold Watch said. "I know what she did was terrible, but no matter what, turning a child to stone as punishment is not the answer!"

Spike and the princesses looked at each other and then turned back to Cozy Glow.

"We understand," Princess Celestia responded. "All charges will be dropped, but Cozy Glow will have to undergo rehabilitation in order to prove that she can change."

"We understand," Gold Watch responded happily.

"Oh thanks, princess!" Spoiled Rich responded happily.

"With pleasure," Princess Celestia responded calmly. "Now then, we shall head back."

Spike and the three princesses walked out of the hospital hoping that things will change for the troubled filly.

"Alright," Filthy Rich said. "I think we should all head home now. We all need rest after all that had happened."

"I understand," Gold Watch responded. "But first, we have one more loose end to tie up."

"What's that?" Filthy Rich asked confusedly.

"Follow us," Gold Watch answered.

* * * *

Everyone walked to 'The Wild Eye House' in curiosity. As soon as they made it there, Gold Watch pointed them to where they needed to go.

"This way," he said as they walked inside.

The group walked down to the basement. Once they arrived, Gallus pulled out his lighter and lit the place up. Filthy and Spoiled Rich looked in shock upon seeing the skeletons of many cats chained to the wall.

"What the?" Filthy Rich responded in horror.

"How did all of this happen?" Spoiled Rich asked.

"This house has been around for decades, trapping those that play the game of truth or dare and fail to win," Gold Watch explained. "If no one won the game, everyone would be turned into cats and have to spend the rest of their lives chained in the basement."

"Wait," Filthy Rich began. "Is that why these four cats that have been following us have manes?"

"Yes," Gold Watch answered. "Luckily, the game is over and we managed to exorcise the demon in the house, Ponelax, from haunting the place."

The group then walked through the trapdoor and saw the second basement.

"This is where we put a stop to all of this madness," Gallus explained.

"I see," Filthy Rich responded.

The group then walked back upstairs and outside, now calm about the fact that they can leave.

"So, what now?" Gold Watch asked.

"I think we all know what has to happen," Gallus answered.

Gallus pulled out his lighter and began walking towards 'The Wild Eye House'.

"What are you doing?" Gold Watch asked in concern.

"Something that I should've done the moment we first laid eyes on that dangerous house," Gallus answered.

He walked back inside and lit a curtain on fire. He then walked outside and before long, the house was set ablaze. Everyone else looked in shock to see what Gallus had just done.

"Did you just set the house on fire?" Gold Watch asked in horror.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Gallus responded. "This house has to go. It has been a threat towards others."

"But didn't we exorcise it?" Silverstream asked.

"Yes," Gallus answered. "But I decided to burn it down anyway just in case that Ponelax demon were to come back."

"Good point," Gold Watch said.

"Alright, I've seen enough," Spoiled Rich said. "Come on, Gold Watch. Let's go home."

"Okay, Mom," Gold Watch responded as he followed his parents home.

As Gallus, Silverstream, and Cozy Glow watched Gold Watch leave, the three of them pondered about what to do next.

"So, shall we head back?" Gallus asked.

"You bet," Silverstream answered happily.

"What about me?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Well, how about you stay with us?" Silverstream answered. "I'm sure we can reason with Headmare Starlight to try to get you back in school."

"After all that I've done?" Cozy Glow responded as she looked down on the ground. "Nah. There's no way that she would welcome me back."

"Really?" Silverstream responded. "What about when she tried to mess with the timelines to get her revenge on Princess Twilight?" Cozy Glow then lifted her head, feeling a bit of encouragement. "If she can reform, you can too."

"Okay," Cozy Glow responded nervously.

"Come on, let's go," Gallus said.

"Alright," Cozy Glow responded, still feeling doubt.

With the situation now resolved, the group walked back to the School of Friendship hoping that Starlight would be forgiving enough to let Cozy Glow have a second chance.

Prologue

It was Nightmare Night once again. Foals were going trick-or-treating, while teens and adults were going to parties. Six creatures learned about a haunted house that had to change eight foals’ lives forever. Wanting to know about how it all happened, they decided to investigate.

* * * *

The six creatures, Sandbar (who’s an earth pony that had three sea turtles as a cutie mark and had an interest in making friends), Smolder (who’s a teenage dragon that loved pulling pranks but secretly liked wearing dresses and attending tea parties), Gallus (who’s a griffon that that had a bad attitude but nevertheless, had a heart towards his friends), Ocellus (who’s a nervous reformed changeling that had a great interest in books), Yona (who’s a yak that loved to smash things and is Sandbar’s girlfriend), and Silverstream (who’s a happy-go-lucky hippogriff that loved adventures), walked outside of the School of Friendship grounds. They had just come out of a party there and decided to go someplace for an after-party.

“You know,” Sandbar said. “I had a lot of fun at the party. Did you, Yona?”

“Yona sure did!” Yona exclaimed. “Yona want to have more fun!”

“Anyone have any ideas?” Ocellus asked.

“I got one,” Gallus said. “How about that haunted house a lot of creatures have been talking about? I heard that it’s called, ‘The House of No Return’.”

“You mean that place where eight foals played a game of truth or dare and only one managed to make it out as himself?” Ocellus asked. “Are you crazy? I heard that those that had lost never came back as ponies.”

“I heard that they all turned into kittens,” Silverstream asked.

“Which is why it would be interesting to see if we can try to figure out what caused it all,” Gallus continued. “We should try to see if we can figure out a way to put a stop to it.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea?” Sandbar asked. “What if we end up just like them?”

“Oh come on,” Smolder said. “It would be fun to go on Nightmare Night. I’m in.”

“Ditto,” Silverstream said. “It should be an interesting experience.”

“Yona want to see if we can save the foals,” Yona said.

“I guess we’re outnumbered,” Sandbar said disappointedly.

With that said, the Young Six walked to “The House of No Return”. Upon arriving the gate of the house, they saw a sign that said, “Once you enter, there is no turning back”, pinned on the door of the gate.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Ocellus said worriedly. “Look at the sign.”

“Seriously?” Gallus responded. “Are you really going to just listen to what a sign says?”

“That sign just makes me want to go in much more,” Smolder said.

“Uh, okay,” Ocellus said worriedly.

As the six creatures walked to the front door, the saw a letter taped on it. Smolder pulled the letter off the door and read it.

“To those that that have made it to the front door, please be aware that the game is real,” she read. “If you choose to play the game, you have to complete it. If you don’t, the game will curse you! If you don’t tell the truth or do the dare, you will turn into a cat. My friends have suffered that fate and they have never changed back! The game will end either when all of the players are turned or when five rounds are completed. If you don’t want to end up like my friends, please leave now! This game is dangerous and you may end up seriously hurt! Signed, The Survivor.

“Wow, that’s a lot of details,” Sandbar said.

“Oh please,” Gallus said skeptically. “I doubt it’s true. The writer of the card could be exaggerating to scare us.”

The six creatures walked inside and saw the layout of the house. It looked exactly how it looked like last year, including the chiming grandfather clock, the old-fashioned TV, and the kitchen including the refrigerator and the stove. Upon seeing what the house looked like, the creatures became perplexed.

“This house doesn’t look anything out of the ordinary,” Smolder said disappointedly.

“I thought that the house looked scary,” Gallus said.

“I’m sure that there’s more to it,” Sandbar said.

“Maybe there’s some books inside that might help us,” Ocellus said worriedly.

“Then let’s search,” Silverstream said excitedly.

The six creatures split up and searched for books and papers that may help them solve the mystery. While looking, Silverstream had an idea and regrouped with her friends.

“Hey guys, I got an idea!” Silverstream said excitedly. “Let’s play the game! Let’s see if it’s real!”

“Are you crazy?!” Ocellus shouted. “Didn’t you just read the letter?”

“Yeah man,” Sandbar chimed in. “I think that it’s real.”

“Oh please,” Smolder said. “It’s obviously a prank. The ‘Once you enter, there’s no turning back’ sign; the letter? Seriously, this guy is obviously mentally insane. I bet he’s just writing a story and may have killed his friends to look innocent.”

“Yona don’t think so,” Yona said. “Yona thinks survivor is telling the truth.”

“I believe it is too,” Ocellus said.

Out of nowhere, the clock chimed once.

“Okay, that was weird,” Ocellus said worriedly. “It’s not even the start of the next hour and it just chimed.”

“Never mind that,” Sandbar said. “There has to be some reason that there was that warning sign and letter. Otherwise, why would there be any of this here. Besides, with monsters and evil ponies trying to harm Equestria every now and then, I’m sure that the survivor might be telling the truth. How about we head back to school? It’s almost curfew.”

“Yeah,” Ocellus said worriedly. “I’m scared.”

“Oh come on,” Gallus said. “Let’s explore. It’ll be fun.”

“But—”

“Don’t be a wimp!”

“I’m not! I’m just being smart!”

“A smart guy would search for clues!”

“A smart guy would be extra cautious and leave if there’s real danger!”

“Oh, stop it you two,” Smolder interrupted. “Let’s just search already!”

“Fine,” Sandbar said in defeat.

Round 4: Uniting Together At All Costs

As the group sat down waiting for the next round to begin, Sandbar walked to Yona. Yona, feeling saddened about what had happened to him, picked him up and hugged him.

"Yona sorry," she sobbed. "Yona sorry for cheating on you!"

"Meow," Sandbar responded as he purred.

"We'll get through this," Gold Watch said. "We just need to stay together and do whatever we can to outsmart the game so we can get out of it."

"You're right about that," Silverstream responded. "But what about the cat?"

"We're going to have to do whatever we can to save him," Gold Watch answered.

"But how?" Ocellus asked. "We can't break the chain."

"Maybe not," Gold Watch answered. "But maybe there's another way."

"What way?" Gallus asked.

"I don't know," Gold Watch answered. "But maybe there's something we can find around the house. We need to keep searching."

As the group got up, a plank fell from the ceiling with a message carved on it, saying 'Round 4'.

"Maybe we might have to put a hold on it," Silverstream said as she picked up the plank. What she saw made her tear up. "Strike Gallus in the back three times?"

Out of nowhere, a set of chains linked together fell from the ceiling.

"What is that?" Silverstream asked.

"Looks like a chain whip," Gallus answered.

The grandfather clock then struck once.

"One minute..." the eerie voice sounded.

"Oh no," Silverstream sobbed. "No, I can't do that."

"Just do it," Gallus said. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"But I've already cut your tail off!" Silverstream cried as she pointed to the whip. "Hitting you with that will really damage your back!"

Gallus walked up to Silverstream and hugged her.

"It's okay," he told her. "I'll make it."

Silverstream sighed

"Okay," she said as she took a deep breath and picked up the chain whip. "I'll just hit you lightly with it."

All of a sudden, a message carved on the wall that read, 'No tapping, strike hard'.

"Great," Gallus said disappointingly. "Just do it."

"O-okay," Silverstream said as she shed a tear.

With reluctance, Silverstream swung the chain whip hard onto Gallus's back, causing him to scream in agony. Silverstream sobbed as she saw a large bloody mark on Gallus's back and heard him shout out in pain. She then hit him again and was rewarded with a louder scream from Gallus. Finally, she made the third lash, causing Gallus to make an ear-piercing scream, and then dropped the chain whip, which disintegrated the moment it hit the floor.

"I'm sorry," Silverstream wailed.

Gallus grunted in pain and then got up and hugged his crying friend.

"It's okay," he gasped while trying to produce a weak smile.

"Here, I got some bandages," Gold Watch said as he and Silverstream wrapped them on Gallus's wounds.

"Thanks guys," Gallus said as they finished covering his wounds.

"No problem, Gallus," Gold Watch responded.

"Let's just finish this up," Gallus said.

"Right," Yona said as she picked up one of the cards from the deck and read it. "No, no, no! Yona can't do that!"

"Do what?" Silverstream asked.

"Throw Sandbar down the basement!" Yona cried as she hugged her turned lover.

The grandfather clock then struck three minutes.

"Yona won't do it!" Yona screamed.

"You have to," Gallus said. "You don't have much time!"

"One of us can catch him," Ocellus said. "I'll do it."

Yona picked up Sandbar and then she and the group walked towards the basement door and opened it. Ocellus walked down the stairs and turned towards Yona.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Yona sobbed.

She took Sandbar off of her back and proceeded to throw him downstairs. However, tension rose in Yona's head and before long, she trembled in fear. Finally, she stood up with a stern look on her face.

"No!" she shouted. "Yona don't care! Yona won't do it!"

"Please, Yona!" Ocellus called out. "We don't want to lose you, too!"

"Yona won't hurt him!" she cried. "Yona say that's final!"

"Time's up..." the voice sounded.

Yona felt excruciating pain build up on her chest. Before long, she dropped Sandbar and fell to the floor. Her ears flattened and rose to the top of her head.

"No!" Silverstream shouted. "Yona!"

As Yona writhed on the floor, her cheeks grew whiskers, her teeth became fangs, her muzzle painfully reshaped into that of a cat's, and her nose became triangular and fused to her mouth.

"Yona sorry!" Yona cried. "Yona deserve this!"

"No, you don't!" Gold Watch exclaimed. "No creature does!"

"But Yona cheated on Sandbar," she cried as her hooves cracked, grew pads, and reshaped into paws. "Yona not worry to be a cat!"

"Sure you are," Gallus said as Yona's legs snapped and reshaped.

"You admitted that you made a mistake and apologized," Ocellus said. "We know that you didn't mean to do that to Sandbar."

As her horns broke apart and chunks of her fur fell off to reveal much shorter fur, Yona smiled.

"You really mean it?" she responded.

"Of course," Ocellus answered. "No matter what happens, there are always ways to fix things."

As her body, mane, and tail began to rapidly shrink into the size of an adolescent cat and the bows on her head and the cloth on her back fell off of her, Yona smiled as she realized that her friends were still there to support her.

"Yona free," she said. "Yona can now move on."

She gasped and then took a deep breath.

"Meow," she said.

Silverstream picked up her turned friend, hugged her, and cried.

"No!" she sobbed.

Gold Watch, Gallus, and Ocellus walked up to her and hugged their crying friend.

"There, there," Gold Watch said calmly.

"We're going to put an end to this," Ocellus said.

"We're going to avenge our friends," Gallus said with determination.

"Thanks, guys," Silverstream said, still crying. "But I think I would like to be alone right now."

"We understand," Gold Watch said.

"Guys, I think I found something that might help us downstairs," Ocellus said.

"What is it?" Gold Watch asked.

"It's a trapdoor," Ocellus answered. "Remember when we read that a cat scratched the floor in the basement?"

"Yes," Gold Watch answered.

"I think it might have unlocked something under the basement," Ocellus continued.

"Wait, what?" Gallus responded. "Are you saying that there might be a floor below the basement?"

"I think so," Ocellus answered.

"In other words: there are two basements in this house?" Gallus asked in confusion.

"Yes," Ocellus answered.

"Then I think we might have found our trump card," Gold Watch responded. "We got to go down there. We might be able to find the core of the house and be able to shut it down."

"Uh, okay," Ocellus said worriedly. "I don't know if I can go down that low. Going that low below ground is awfully scary."

"I'm scared, too," Gold Watch responded. "But I don't think we have a choice. If we want to save our friends, I think we have to go down there and find the mystery."

"Uh, okay," Ocellus said as she quivered.

As she, Gold Watch, and Gallus walked downstairs, Silverstream put Yona down and got up.

"I'm coming, too," she said angrily. "I'm going to make Ponelax pay for all of this!"

The rest of the group looked at her in amazement.

"Are you sure?" Gold Watch asked. "We understand if you need time to yourself."

"I'm sure," Silverstream said as he joined the group downstairs. "Let's do this!"

Ocellus powered up her horn and lit the basement up with light. Soon after, the group found the trapdoor and Silverstream opened it, revealing another set of stairs. As they walked downstairs, their surroundings grew darker despite of the light that was lit on Ocellus's horn. Once they reached the bottom of the staircase, they saw that the second basement was surrounded with nothing but walls, spiderwebs, and moss.

"I have a feeling that no one's ever been down here before," Gallus said.

As the group looked around the place, Gold Watch found something on the floor.

"Guys, I think I found something," he called out.

The other creatures darted towards him.

"What is it?" Silverstream asked.

Gold Watch picked up what looked like a book and rubbed the dust off of it. What he found on the cover of the book amazed him.

"'Ponelax Exorcism'?" he read. "Wait a minute."

"What is it?" Silverstream asked.

"The authorities, keeping the house, the cat in the basement, the book here, it's making all sense," Gold Watch said. "Now I know why the authorities didn't destroy the house."

"Why's that?" Gallus asked.

"They investigated the house," Gold Watch explained. "If they went inside, odds are that they had found the basement and heard meowing noises, but couldn't find the cat anywhere."

"Why wouldn't they?" Ocellus asked.

"I have a theory," Gold Watch answered. "The house wouldn't show the cat, unless a game was in effect. Since there wasn't, they must've only heard the sounds. That must've why they left the house intact. They wanted to find the cat, so they said they it can't be destroyed due to legal reasons because they heard something living inside."

"What about the second basement?" Silverstream asked. "What about the book?"

"I don't think that they could find it," Gold Watch said. "Maybe it was also only permitted to be visible while a game was in effect."

"Could it be possible that Perfect Vision was trying to help those that were playing the game?" Gallus asked.

"I think you're right," Gold Watch answered. "She must've been able to take slight control of the house before she was possessed. That's why she wrote the book! She wanted to get anyone that finds to put an end to Ponelax."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Silverstream responded. "Let's do this!"

The group ran upstairs and back to the first basement. Once they all got upstairs, the trapdoor slammed shut, causing the group to jump in startle. Gallus turned around and saw something carved on it.

"Free Cozy Glow?" he read in confusion. "Oh no."

Out of nowhere an amulet appeared on the floor right next to his talon. Afterwards, a spiderweb began reshaping into the number nine. The entire group looked at the number in horror, then Gallus picked up the amulet.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Ocellus asked worriedly.

"I have to teleport us to Canterlot and do this," Gallus answered.

"You can't do that!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"I don't have a choice," Gallus muttered. "It's a dare. We'll turn her back to stone as soon as I'm done."

"We're all going to be in so much trouble," Gold Watch said in disbelief.

Gallus studied the amulet and saw that it could teleport him to the location of the statue.

"Come on guys," he said. "We got to go."

Gold Watch held the book tight as he, Ocellus, and Silverstream held onto Gallus, who then pressed one of the two buttons on the amulet and then teleported the group. As soon as they arrived, they saw the statues of Lord Tirek, Queen Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.

"We are so going to be turned to stone after we do this," Gold Watch said.

"I know, I know," Gallus said. "But we need to fight the curse first. I'm sure that the princesses will understand."

"Besides, I do think that it was a bit too harsh of a punishment for her," Gold Watch said as the group looked at him. "What? She's a kid just like me. I don't think that I child deserves that punishment."

"I understand how you feel," Ocellus said as she put her hoof on Gold Watch's shoulder.

"Let's just get this over with," Gallus said.

"Remember: only Cozy Glow," Gold Watch said. "Do not let the other two out."

"Got it," Gallus said as he powered up the amulet and pointed it at Cozy Glow from about one foot away. Once the amulet was warmed up, he pressed the second button and zapped Cozy Glow's body. Within a few seconds, the stone cracked and gradually freed Cozy Glow. "It worked."

As Cozy Glow regained her senses, Gallus prepared to turn her back into stone only to find that the amulet was disintegrating.

"Oh great," he responded as he dropped the device that was now nothing but dust.

"What the?" Cozy Glow reacted upon seeing that she could move. "I'm...I'm...I'm free!" She looked at Gallus, then at the rest of the group. "Ha! Big mistake for all of you! Now you'll all bow down to me when I--"

Ocellus interrupted Cozy Glow's rant by zapping her with her horn and keeping her in place.

"You're not going anywhere," Gallus said angrily. "We freed you only because we had to."

"Why would you have to do that?" Cozy Glow asked angrily.

"Because we're stuck in a dangerous game," Gold Watch answered. "A game that we must beat in order to survive. It's called truth or dare."

"Truth or dare?" Cozy Glow responded. "Hey, I know that game! I used to play it with my parents."

"Well, I'm pretty sure that your parents are not happy about what you had tried to do to Equestria!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"My parents..." Cozy Glow responded as she began to shutter.

"Well, what do you think they would say?" Gallus asked.

"My parents..." Cozy Glow responded with a bit of grief. "...are dead."

"Wait, what?" Gold Watch responded worriedly.

"Ocellus, use a truth spell," Gallus said. "We want to make sure that she's being sincere."

"Uh, okay," Ocellus said worriedly.

"Be careful," Gold Watch warned.

Ocellus powered up her horn and shot right at Cozy Glow.

"What had happened to your parents?" Gold Watch asked her.

"My parents died," Cozy Glow answered.

"How?" Gold Watch asked.

"They were robbed and stabbed," Cozy Glow answered. "I was heading home and found a police tape placed all over the gates of my house that said, "Do Not Cross". I wanted to go inside because I wanted to find my parents, but the police wouldn't let me. They were placed in bags and at that point, I was begging for them, but the police told me everything: a couple of crooks broke in, stole some stuff, and killed my parents when they tried to stop them." She then shed a tear. "They meant a lot to me. They loved me! They supported me! I didn't see them much because they had busy jobs. But when they were around, they would always spend lots of time with me. There were times when I was bullied back when I went to Fillydelphia Elementary School before we moved to Ponyville. But they were there to support me and do whatever they could to make sure that I was happy."

"Bullied?" Gallus responded.

"Yes," Cozy Glow responded sadly. "I got great grades and a rook as a cutie mark because of my love for chess. Colts and fillies got jealous and called me a freak all the time. I eventually told my teacher, but that only got one of my classmates to punch my nose and have a couple of other classmates hold me down and pull feathers off of my wings." At that point, Cozy Glow was about ready to sob and Gold Watch looked at her in shock. "When that happened, I rushed back home to see my parents, only to find out that they were murdered. I wanted to know who did it, but they wouldn't tell me. So, I lived in an orphanage for the next several months and continued to get ridiculed by others all because of my hobbies."

"How did you meet Lord Tirek?" Gold Watch asked.

"I saw him when he was draining magic out of ponies two years ago," Cozy Glow answered. "When he saw me, he initially wanted to drain me. But when he saw who I was, he said that he knew me and that he could help avenge my parents and get back at those that were responsible for killing my parents. He told me that some guards that worked with the princesses were the ones that were responsible. I believed him." Unable to hold her tears back any longer, she wailed. "I BELIEVED HIM! I didn't know what to do! All I could think about was my family at that time, so I did what I thought was good. I wanted to drain the magic out of Equestria to get revenge on the princesses."

At that point, Gold Watch was driven to tears. Upon seeing the state that he and Cozy Glow were in, Ocellus powered her horn down. She looked at him concerned as she saw him walk up and hug one of the biggest enemies of Equestria.

"Gold Watch, wait," Gallus said. "She's one of the biggest enemies of Equestria."

"I know that," Gold Watch responded softly. "But no child is truly evil and she needs help."

"I hope that you know what you're doing," Gallus said in annoyance.

"Let's go back," Gold Watch said. "Back to 'The Wild Eye House'."

"What's 'The Wild Eye House'?" Cozy Glow asked, still sobbing softly.

"It's where we're playing the game of truth or dare," Gold Watch answered. "We started the game there and now we have to finish it." He turned to Ocellus. "Can you teleport all of us back to the house?"

"I guess so," Ocellus answered.

The group huddled together and Ocellus, using the magic from her horn, teleported the group back to the house. Upon arriving, Gold Watch opened the book that he got from the second basement. The group took a look at what was written on the first page.

To those who find this book, by the time you read this, I will be long gone. I have been possessed by the demon, Ponelax, and it has turned my home into a threat to Equestria. However, I did find a way to defeat the being and free those that have been trapped in the house, but I wasn't able to perform the action in time. The only way to take down Ponelax is to remove a part of each player's body, place it on each chain that is holding on the victims, and burn the pieces. Doing this will cause the chain's effect to weaken and shatter. You must gather each player in the current game and have them do this in order to free the imprisoned victims. As soon as all of the victims are free, you must then go down to the lowest floor of the house, remove another part on each player's body, place the parts on top of this book's first page, say the phrase, "Ponelax free, Ponelax done, Ponelax be gone" seven times, and then burn this book face-up and closed.

"Wow," Gallus said in surprise. "That's a lot of details."

"Golly," Cozy Glow responded.

"Wait, why is she here?" Gallus asked angrily.

"Because she needs help, too," Gold Watch said as he walked towards her to defend her. "No child should ever be left behind regardless of any circumstances. She can be rehabilitated. I know what she's going through. She had suffered lots of grief over the loss of her family and now she's feeling more of it now that she knows that the princesses had nothing to do with her parents' deaths."

Gallus sighed.

"Fine," he muttered. "But I'm watching you."

"Enough," Gold Watch said. "There are a lot more important things to worry about than just fighting with each other. We need to finish this game and take down Ponelax once and for all."

"Uh, guys," Ocellus said worriedly. "I think that we might need to put a hold on that."

She pointed the group to a message written in blood saying, 'Turn Gold Watch into a cat'. The grandfather clock then chimed once. Gold Watch then sighed in worry.

"Just do it," he told Ocellus.

"What, no!" Ocellus exclaimed as she saw an amulet appear right in front of your front hooves. "I can't do that to you!"

"You have to," Gold Watch responded.

"But what about your life?" Ocellus asked in worry. "What about your family? What would they think about you spending the rest of your life as a cat?"

"I know, but what about your life and family?" Gold Watch asked.

Ocellus sighed.

"Okay, you're right," she said as she picked it up and powered it up by using the magic coming on her horn. As soon as it was running on full power, she placed it onto her horn. However, right as she was about to zap Gold Watch, she stopped. "No! I won't do it!"

"Please!" Gold Watch shouted. "If you don't do that dare, the dare will do you."

"No means no," Ocellus responded sternly. "I won't throw your life away!"

"Time's up!" the house's voice sounded.

Ocellus then grabbed her chest and fell to the floor. The rest of the group ran up to her.

"No!" Silverstream shouted.

"Ocellus!" Cozy Glow cried as she hugged her.

As her ears rose to the top of her head and reshaped into what a cat's ears looked like, Ocellus looked surprise to see that one of Equestria's biggest enemies was sobbing and comforting her.

"Cozy Glow?" she responded as her bug-tail grew bone and red fur.

"Yes?" Cozy Glow answered.

"Why?" Ocellus asked as her bug-like mane grew furry. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"Because you supported me when I was freed," Cozy Glow said as she looked at Gold Watch. "Just like he did."

Ocellus smiled as light fur grew all over body and whiskers grew out of her cheeks.

"Please don't go!" Gold Watch shouted as he picked up the amulet and pointed it right at himself.

"Gold Watch, no!" Ocellus shouted as her teeth grew into fangs.

Gold Watch refused to listened to Ocellus, shut his eyes, and pressed the button on the amulet. A second later, he opened his eyes only to find that nothing had happened to him. Immediately afterwards, he pressed it several more times, but it didn't work. As Ocellus's muzzle reshaped into that of a cat's and her nose became triangular and fused to her mouth, the amulet disintegrated.

"I'm sorry, Gold Watch," Ocellus said. "But I didn't want your life to be thrown away."

She then screamed in pain as she writhed on the floor. Her horn and wings disintegrated and her legs snapped and reshaped. Afterwards, her hooves cracked, grew pads, and reshaped into paws. Her eyes then grew white color and black irises, but the teal-colored part of her eyes remained, but shrank somewhat. Her body then shrank until she was about three-fourths the size of an adult cat.

"Gold Watch, listen to me," Ocellus continued. "Please don't give up on your life. You must live. All of you must live. For me and for yourselves, too."

Ocellus then gasped and took a deep breath.

"Meow," she said.

Gold Watch then cried and Cozy Glow walked up to him.

"There, there," she told him. "I'll make sure that we avenge her."

"Wait, what?" Gallus responded in annoyance. "Why are you being so nice all of a sudden?"

"Because he was nice to me," Cozy Glow answered angrily. "Gold Watch defended me and it's my goal to repay the favor."

"Ugh!" Gallus responded angrily.

"Gallus, that's enough!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"She will stay!" Gold Watch cried. "We're all going to finish this!" He put Ocellus down, picked up the book, and got up. "We have only one more round to go, a victim to save, and a demon to defeat! Let's go downstairs!"

Gold Watch then walked towards the basement door and Silverstream and Cozy Glow immediately followed him, while Gallus rolled his eyes and then joined the rest of the group.

"Fine," he muttered as he glared at Cozy Glow. "But I'm keeping a watchful eye on you. If you try anything against us, it's back to stone you go."

"Don't worry," Cozy Glow said as she glared back at Gallus. "That won't happen."

"Enough," Gold Watch responded as he opened the basement door.

Epilogue: Moving On

One week had passed since the encounter and destruction of "The Wild Eye House" and everypony and creature had moved on. Many wondered what would happen now that the haunted house was gone but nevertheless, they have continued on with their lives. Starlight Glimmer was initially peeved to find that Cozy Glow was freed from her stone imprisonment, but nevertheless decided to let her back in the School of Friendship to atone for her mistakes after learning about her past. Gold Watch had frequently visited Gallus and Silverstream to make sure that all was okay and that Cozy Glow wasn't going rogue. Smolder, Sandbar, Yona, and Ocellus were returned to their homes to be taken care of now that they were cats and thus, could no longer care for themselves.

One day, however, Gold Watch, Cozy Glow, Gallus, and Silverstream decided to pay a visit to what was one "The Wild Eye House", which was now literally burned to the ground. All that was left was some charred wood and broken glass. The four creatures smiled, knowing that it was finally over.

"We sure did it," Gallus said. "It's gone and it's never coming back."

"I just hope we don't have to go through this ever again," Gold Watch responded worriedly. "Two deadly games of truth or dare was more than enough for me to handle."

"Agreed," Silverstream responded in relief.

"I can't help but miss the others," Cozy Glow said with her head down. "I really wanted to apologize to them for my actions."

"I know," Gold Watch responded sadly. "At least they're safe back in their homes."

"I guess that's a plus," Gallus responded.

Gold Watch thought for a few seconds, then looked at his friends with an idea.

"How about we go to Sugarcube Corner?" Gold Watch answered. "That might cheer us up. The Cakes have the best milkshakes there and I bet Pinkie Pie will be there to serve us."

"Really?" Silverstream responded excitedly. "Cool!"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Gold Watch responded happily. "Let's go and have some fun."

The four of them ran off in excitement now that the ordeal was finally over. However, unbeknownst to them, right on the ground, a cackling noise sounded and a purple phantom rose.