Apple Bloom's Mansion 3: The Hotel of Eternal Rest

Chapters

Prologue
Basement, Grand Lobby, and Mezzanine Part1
RIP Suites
Hotel Shops
Mezzanine Part 2
The Great Stage
Castle Gorros
Garden Suites
Paranormal Productions
Unnatural History Museum
Boilerworks
Tomb Suites
Twisted Suites
The Spectral Catch
Fitness Center
The Dance Hall
Master Suite
Rooftop

Prologue

Apple Bloom could easily argue with anypony that she had the weirdest life ever.

Her life started pretty normally despite the death of her parents while she was still very young, but then, one day, her big sister became the Bearer of the Element of Honesty, leading to a lot of stuff to happen in Ponyville, from Nightmare Moon's return to Tirek's rampage, passing by Discord, Trixie, Twilight going nut, and so on.

Then, a manor appeared not far of Ponyville, in the Everfree Forest, and she ended up becoming despite herself a ghost hunter, discovering that her special talent was helping the good ghosts and hunting the bad ones. From there, half her circle of friends was constituted of ghosts befriended either that first night in the manor, or the following months during her hunts.

And she also became the first being ever to capture a windigo, among other things.

In one night, she became billionnaire, one of, if not the richest pony of Equestria, and a huge manor was built for her, housing the ghosts she befriended as well as a laboratory to study paranormal. Before that, she was just a farm filly going on small adventures to find her Cutie Mark with her friends!

And then, she ended up having an adventure in some pocket paranormal dimension full of ghosts where she discovered that she was now targetted by Discord's little brother, Thanatos, the Spirit of Death, just because he was bored and she was his best way to have some fun. His idea of fun, however, was fun only for him, because it consisted in 'death games' where the lives of her family and her friends were at risk. And the worst was that if he decided that somepony was to die, she could do nothing to stop him, like he did with Smart Spirit and Sweetie Belle. And then, there was Applejack who may have been able to be saved, but she couldn't because she wasn't Superfilly, she was just a filly with a vacuum cleaner on her back.

Also, there was a lot of bad luck. Applejack just had to ram the wall just under the breaking statue of Celestia, resulting in her getting impaled by the horn!

Results of the adventure: two friends and one sister killed. Now, one of said friends, Sweetie Belle, was some kind of lich (an unusual one. Usually, liches have their soul bound to an object called a phylactery, while Sweetie Belle had her soul directly bound to her body), and her sister, Applejack, was now a robot (a soul bound in a robot, more exactly). The last friend, Smart Spirit, remained a ghost.

Also, she befriended all the ghosts of the pocket paranormal dimension (a good total of a couple of thousand) including a dog that she adopted, and the ghosts moved the entrance of the dimension so it was now near her manor, not far in the Everfree Forest. They even created a road between her manor and entrance where they made sure that she wouldnt be attacked by the monsters of the forest.

And so, unofficially, the dimension was given to her to do as she wanted as long as the ghosts living in it were okay with it. So the first thing she did was to make the five 'manors' in it (actually a manor, two towers, a clock factory (with an old tomb under it), a mine, and a museum) more safe for the livings, especially the museum which seemed like it would fall in a bottomless pit anytime. It was really important to make sure that it wouldn't happen because, first, it was home to a lot of ghosts, and second, there was an altar that could be used to open a portal to the spiritual world, so they could use it to go hunt Thanatos in his home when the time comes.

And as a result of having a paranormal dimension not far, Ponyville became pretty much the capital of the paranormal in the world. Apple Bloom's mansion was now haunted by at least one hundred ghosts, and one fourth of the buildings in the town were haunted by one or two ghosts. Livings and deads were living in harmony and friendship together.

The ponies couldn't wait Nightmare Night, which was soon.

In a lesser note, Twilight Sparkle, the local princess slash bookworm had now an apprentice, Starlight Glimmer. The poor mare took a lot of time to get used to the ghosts. Together, with the help of Smart Spirit, Discord, and some other scientists sent by Celestia, they studied the ghosts a lot to develop a way to better fight Thanatos and imprison him. The crystals that Smart Spirit used to imprison the ghosts weren't powerful enough for a being like him. Apple Bloom herself began to seriously work to follow in Smart Spirit's steps not just as a ghost hunter but also as a scientist, to be able to create her own Poltergusts and other technomagical paranormal wonders to hunt ghosts or help them or even to help livings and deads to better live together. It will probably take many years of studying, but she didn't mind. This is what she wanted to do with her life and, maybe, her afterlife.

Also, who knows, this may help her against Thanatos.

She already came up with an idea that interrested everypony a lot: some gadget that would make somepony shift at will between a corporeal body and an uncorporeal body. So, a gadget that could turn her into a ghost without having to die. This could be very useful against Thanatos. If Thanatos tried to kill her, then she could turn into a ghost to avoid being killed, and if, as a ghost, Thanatos tried to control her, then she could turn back into a living pony. The perfect Thanatos counter, in her opinion. Now she just had to wait for the gadget to be created.

But now, she was very nervous. Thanatos could begin another of his 'death games' anytime, and who knows who would be killed this time? Apple Bloom was getting nowhere without a Poltergust nearby. She was constantly thinking that Thanatos may be watching her, planning his next game. It almost turned her paranoiac. Thankfully, she had her many friends, alive and dead, to calm her. Polterpup, the ghost dog, was a champion in this. Good boy. The dog wasn't leaving Apple Bloom, always following her (excepted in school), adding some much needed lightness to her life.

So, yeah, the weirdest life ever.

Then, one day, a few months after the previous events, Derpy, the mailmare of Ponyville, came to the mansion. After knocking on the door, she was answered by Clean Order, the ghost butler.

"A mail for Apple Bloom!" said the mare bubbly as she gave said mail to Clean order.

"Thank you madam. I will give it to her immediately," replied the ghost with a nod. "I wish you a good day."

"Thank you, mister!" said Derpy before she flew away. The mare flew into a tree when Clean Order closed the door.

He found Apple Bloom in the laboratory, busy trying to build a Poltergust without the need of a schema along with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, watched by Smart Spirit. Surprisingly, Scootaloo was the one having the less problem with it.

"A mail for you, young miss," said Clean Order as he gave the letter to Apple Bloom.

"Thank ya, Clean Order," said Apple Bloom as she opened the mail.

"What is it?" asked Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom read the paper and smiled widely. "An invitation from Eternal Rest to pass a week in her hotel for the upcoming Nightmare Night holiday! There will be a Nightmare Night party! And Ah can bring anypony Ah want with me!" She then took a photo that was included showing the hotel, and her jaw dropped. Seeing her reaction, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at the photo too, and their jaws also dropped.

The hotel was huge! And beautiful! It was a skyscraper, the kind that slowly lose width every few floors, and the walls had a golden glow, as if they were made of gold! The hotel was just in front of a breathtaking valley, with a lake visible behind it, hills at the sides, and mountains in the background.

This hotel looked like it came out of a dream. It was the kind of hotel where a room would cost thousands of bits! And she was invited to pass a whole week here, free, with her friends and her family!

"Wowza!" shouted Smart Spirit when he saw the photo. "Aren't you a lucky one?" he said with a laugh.

"Ah must tell Applejack!" shouted Apple Bloom before she ran out of the room excitedly, followed by Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

She told Applejack, who told her friends, and they were all excited at the idea of going to spend a week in such a classious hotel, especially Rarity. They all accepted to come, Starlight included. Little Ghost and Polterpup will come too.

But first, Nightmare Night.

Apple Bloom was disguised as a ghost, and Scootaloo as a vampire. Little Ghost was with them, disguised as a wraith. Sweetie Belle, her, decided to disguise herself as a real lich. She asked Discord to use his magic to make her decompose until she was just a skeleton, then she put a dark cloak and a necklace with a gem made by Rarity to represent her phylactery. It was certainly a weird experience for the filly to be just a skeleton, but after the few months passed as a walking corpse, she quickly got used to it. The main differences, beside the obvious lack of flesh, was that her body parts could easily be separated. For exemple, when Scootaloo pulled on her leg to make her quickly go to the next house, the leg went with Scootaloo, but not the rest of the body.

That was when Scootaloo remembered that she was touching a real bone, and that she just pulled it off of the rest of Sweetie's skeleton. She was starting to turn green when Apple Bloom took the leg and gave it back to Sweetie Belle. To help Scootaloo get better about this, Sweetie Belle took her head and juggled with it a little, making her friends laugh. She quickly stopped because it was very disorienting.

In the end, it wasn't that bad to be a skeleton. Her Cutie Mark was even present on the pelvis (even if deformed). She just had to watch out to not accidentally lose her bones. However, she will not remain like this. It was too much creepy. Ponyville was now used to ghosts, but not to walking skeletons. It was just the time of Nightmare Night because it was okay to be creepy.

She will probably still use this disguise for the party at the Hotel of Eternal Rest, which meant that she will have to remain a skeleton a little longer.

As the CMC went from house to house treat-or-tricking, they could see a lot of ghosts moving around town. Many of them were participating in making Ponyville as spooky as possible while others participated in the festivities, playing games, maintaining said games, or even treat-or-tricking for the fun. Some were giving foals 'ghost rides' while others were jumpscaring them.

There were so much ghosts, and yet, Ponyville was probably the most lively town this night. So much that Princess Luna decided to return there. As she would say, "The fun has been doubled!"

Eventually, the night ended, and the next day, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Little Ghost, Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, and Polterpup started their journey to Eternal Rest's hotel. Thankfully, a map was given in the mail.

They used the caravan, the Poltermobile being too small, and Applejack was the one driving. Inside, the only pony still in disguise was Sweetie Belle. To return to 'normal', she would have to go ask Discord, and then ask him again to become a skeleton again, but the draconequus will not be in the hotel, so she had to remain a skeleton for the journey. All the others had their disguise in their luggages. Having a skeleton among them made Fluttershy and Starlight rather uneasy, but they tried to not pay attention by discussing with the other mares about what they will do in the hotel.

A few hours later.

"Girls! Ah see the hotel! Look through the windows!" shouted Applejack.

Everypony followed what she said and looked through the windows at the front, left, and right, and smiled when they saw the hotel in the distance. Already, just as the photo showed, they could see that the hotel was beautiful, and huge. But the more they approached, the more they saw how beautiful and how huge the hotel really was. The photo didn't do justice to it.

Applejack stopped the caravan in front of the entrance, and the ponies got out of the vehicle, awing at the golden-like building towering to the sky.

Excepted Spike because his arms were so full of Rarity's luggages that he couldn't see anything.

Then, they entered the hotel, and it was simply grandiose. The lobby was a huge room well decorated with swan sculptures and a huge chandelier among other things. For the Nightmare Night party, the room was also decorated fake spider webs, some fake ghosts, sculpted pumpkins, and some other stuffs, and there were tables full of candies and other sweets.

The members of the staff were all disguised as ghosts, excepted the Steward behind the bell who was wearing the mask of a skeleton and a black cloak, a fake scythe visible beside him. At the second level of the room, a maid not disguised could be briefly seen behind the railing cleaning a pillar before she abruptly went to the elevator at the right.

Apple Bloom thought she saw that the maid's eyes were glowing, but she thought she saw wrong, maybe a trick of the light.

The ponies separated to visit the lobby, Twilight Sparkle talking to the Steward to check in while the others went to look at the decorations, to talk to the staff, or to try the food, Polterpup following Apple Bloom wherever she went. Then, after one minute, Eternal Rest passed the huge double door at the second level of the room.

The beautiful purple unicorn mare spread her front hooves in the air and shouted "Welcome to my esteemed guests!" She then stepped down one of the curved staircases, approaching the ponies to talk to them as they gathered. "I expected little Apple Bloom to bring some friends and her family, but I didn't expect her to bring the heroes of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, the Elements of Harmony! Welcome to the Hotel of Eternal Rest!" She giggled. "I'm sorry for the name, but I couldn't stop myself. My name is Eternal Rest, you see."

"We understand," said Twilight with a laugh.

"Thank ya for inviting me, miss Rest," said Apple Bloom.

"Please, call me Eternal Rest. We are friends. And you are welcome. I heard what happened in the Evershade Valley..." At this, she looked at Applejack and Sweetie Belle. "and I thought that you may need this little vacation to get your head out of those events. A filly shouldn't have to go through such traumatic things, so I hope that what I prepared for you and your friends will help. Now, how about I lead you to your rooms? Don't worry about your luggages, the staff will bring them after you. Your caravan will also be driven to our parking in the basement. It's a really... unusual cart, but I'm sure that this won't be a problem."

Eternal Rest led everypony to the elevator, and they took it to the fifth level of the hotel. As they got out of the elevator, Eternal Rest said "We have eight rooms in this floor." She turned to Twilight. "As you asked to the Steward, Spike will be with you." She turned to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. "And you three will be together." She then turned to Little Ghost, giggling. "I suppose you will be with the little ones."

Little Ghost nodded, floating toward the fillies.

"Do you all have your keys?" asked Eternal Rest.

"Oh, right," said Twilight as she gave the keys to the rooms to everypony.

Facind down the hallway separating to the left and the right toward the rooms, Eternal Rest pointed at the right. "Rooms 501, 502, and 503 are in this direction." She pointed at the left. "The other rooms are in this direction." She turned back to face everypony. "The festivities will start tomorrow. Before that, I hope that you will all have a good rest." She looked at Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost. "...For the ones who can rest..." She coughed. "Now, dinner is being prepared. It will be ready in two hours. Until then, I will let you settle in your rooms." She bowed, and returned to the elevator, leaving everypony.

Then, Rarity squeeled and ran to her room, the 502, and squeeled even more when she saw it. "Oh my gosh! It's almost as luxuous as the rooms in Canterlot's castle!" she shouted.

"Woah! Mine has a balcony!" said Twilight from room 501. "With a telescope!"

Rainbow flew to her room, the 508, then came back. "Mine too! Without the telescope however."

"Come, girls! Ah want to see our room!" shouted Apple Bloom to her friends before she ran to their room, the 503, leaving the mares to explore their rooms. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Little Ghost, and Polterpup followed her.

Their room was huge, with a queen-sized bed, a table with two chairs, a desk with one chair, a wardrobe, and some other furnitures. It was as beautiful as the rest of the hotel. The room was also linked to a bathroom. After visiting it, they spent the following minutes playing around, mainly bouncing on the bed, before a member of the staff brought their luggage. They then got out of the room and explored the hotel, a member of the staff remaining in the elevator to press the buttons of the levels for them.

Apparently, they couldn't explore the floors from 6 to 15 because they were full of surprises prepared for the festivities, and the level B2 was apparently too dangerous because it was the boilerworks. However, they could fully explore the rest. Floor 2 was where they will have dinner. The kitchen was here, as well as a ballroom, an entertainment room, and some others. Floor 3 was where the shops of the hotel were (Rarity spent a lot of time here), and floor 4 led to an auditorium. B1 was mainly the parking and the laundry room. As Eternal Rest said, the caravan was now in the parking.

Scootaloo entered the caravan and quickly came out of it with her scooter. With so much space, she wanted to use it.

All the while, the ponies encountered more members of the staff, all disguised. With the chef being busy preparing dinner, they couldn't enter the kitchen to encounter him/her, but in the third floor, they encountered a guard, a rather obese purple stallion named Cruller. Really, they didn't know how he could be a guard. The poor stallion was very nervous, clumsy, easily scared, and even almost fainted when he saw Sweetie Belle. He only talked to them through the window of his office. In the fourth floor, they could hear somepony play a piano in a room beside the scene, but they couldn't enter it. Probably a musician training and preparing themself for a future concert.

Dinner came and passed, and everypony went to their room to sleep, looking forward to the party of tomorrow, and to visit more of this hotel.

Well, the ones who could sleep. Applejack and Sweetie Belle sadly couldn't. Surprisingly, ghosts could sleep, but Applejack being a robot, and Sweetie Belle being a lich, it seemed impossible for them. So they went to the caravan to play a card game to pass time.

"It's time."

"Good luck to you. Just remember to at least do what I asked. You can do whatever you want with the rest. Just try to keep some of them alive."

"Of course, my Lord."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

A sudden scream abruptly awakened Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Little Ghost, and Polterpup. they saw that something was wrong. Their room, once colorful, was now very dark and gloomy with fog covering the floor. From the windows, gargoyles that weren't there before could be seen.

"Was that Rarity?" asked Apple Bloom.

"That was her voice," said Little Ghost.

"And only her screams like that!" said Scootaloo before she groaned. "I hope she has a good reason to wake us in the middle of... Woah..."

Scootaloo looked around at the room, seeing that it was different. Once colorful and glowing, it was now very dark and gloomy with fog covering the floor. From the windows, gargoyles that weren't there before could be seen.

"What happened?" finally asked Scootaloo.

"Ah don't know..." answered Apple Bloom with a frown. "We'd go investigate."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Taking flashlights, they left the room only to see before their eyes the hotel transform from its beautiful self to a more gloomy version,. In the hallway, there were now skulls on some furnitures! And more gargoyles!

Scootaloo gulpted. "I hope it's just an illusion for Nightmare Night, for the party."

"It looked more like the glowing and nice hotel was the illusion," said Little Ghost.

"Let's go see Rarity," said Apple Bloom, starting to have a very bad feeling.

She knocked on Rarity's door, only to receive no answer. She opened it, only to find that the room was now in disorder, Rarity's belongings spread everywhere, showing that there was a struggle. No traces of the mare.

Starting to be very scared, they went to Twilight and Spike's room, only to find it in the same state, and no traces of the princess and the dragon.

"Oh, please... No..." said Apple Bloom.

"You think...?" asked Scootaloo with dread.

"It's exactly what you think," said a familiar voice behind them.

They immediately turned around, seeing Eternal Rest, now a ghost, behind them. Before they could react, she slammed a hoof against Little Ghost, placing some talisman in her. Little Ghost immediately felt weak. She was then grabbed by Eternal Rest.

"Little Ghost!" shouted Apple Bloom as Polterpup started barking. "Eternal Rest, what's going on?!"

"Oh, dear little Apple Bloom, isn't it obvious?" answered Eternal Rest before she fired some purple lightning at Polterpup to silence him. "I work for Lord Thanatos. I'm even his favorite." She chuckled. "All this time, I deceived you." She smirked. "And now, a new game has begun."

Apple Bloom's eyes widened in horror.

"Now... Time to play. Join my collection," finished Eternal Rest before she sent purple lightnings at both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. The two of them were able to roll out of the way in two different directions, and as Eternal Rest turned to Apple Bloom, Scootaloo managed to run under her and to return in the hallway. "No matter," said the ghost at this. "Her turn will come after." She fired more lightnings, and Apple Bloom began to run around the room to avoid them, Eternal Rest not moving from the entrance of the room.

Then, she heard something behind her, and as she turned to look, she was hit on the face by wheels, making her drop Little Ghost who quickly flew toward Apple Bloom. However, Eternal Rest managed to grab whatever hit her, revealing it to be Scootaloo on her scooter.

Apple Bloom looked at this in horror and turned to Little Ghost. "Do something! Please!"

Little Ghost put a hoof in her body, trying to take out the talisman in her. "I can't! This thing is weakening me! I'm just as powerful as a Green from Evershade Valley now! And I can't get it out of me!"

"Of course you can't," said Eternal Rest with a chuckle. "Lord Thanatos made it just for you. You would need to defeat him to get it out. Of course, this will never happen."

"Don't worry about me, girls!" shouted Scootaloo. "Get away from there! There are Poltergusts in the caravan, right? Then go take one and kick her ghost butt!"

"Shut up, you!" almost shouted Eternal Rest as she put a hoof inside Scootaloo, making her yell in pain.

"SCOOTALOO!!" yelled Apple Bloom and Little Ghost.

"AAARGH!!! JUST GO ALREADY!!!" yelled Scootaloo as Eternal Rest started to pull on something.

Closing her eyes, crying, Apple Bloom ran out of the room, followed by Little Ghost and Polterpup. However, as they came out, they saw blue pony-like ghosts come from the hallway to the elevator, some of them armed, leaving them no choice but to run in the other side. Eternal Rest flew after them, throwing through a window Scootaloo's corpse, now holding just her ghost and her scooter.

Eternal Rest continued to attack them with lightning, but also levitated various objects in the hallway and threw them at Apple Bloom. She also used her powers to make the doors to Rarity's room and to the fillies' room disappear so she couldn't use them to try to escape. So in the end, Apple Bloom reached the end of the hallway where there was only a laundry chute.

Little Ghost opened the laundry chute. "Jump in it!

Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo's ghost, then jumped in the chute, followed by Little Ghost and Polterpup.

Eternal laughed. "She escaped. Perfect. This means the game can continue." She then looked at Scootaloo, then at her scooter, then back at Scootaloo. "And I already know what I will do with you."

Scootaloo looked at her in rage, only for Eternal Rest's eyes to glow.

Author's Note

Well, this escalated quickly...

Basement, Grand Lobby, and Mezzanine Part1

Apple Bloom woke up, hearing somepony call her while she was licked. She felt that she was on something soft, but it wasn't a bed. Eventually, she opened her eyes and saw that the one licking her was Polterpup, and the pony who was calling her was Little Ghost. She then saw that she was sleeping on towels, in a bin. Looking around, she saw that she was in the laundry room, in the basement, seeing baskets of towels, piles of towels, washing machines, some sinks and basins, as well as shelves full of cleaning products.

For a moment, she wondered why she was there, but then, she remembered.

Eternal Rest revealing to be working for Thanatos, her capturing everypony, using some talisman to weaken Little Ghost...

Her killing Scootaloo...

Then she escaped with Little Ghost and Polterpup, jumping in the laundry chute. Even if she fell on towels, it was still quite the fall from the fifth floor to the basement. No wonder she lost consciousness for a small moment.

At the thought of Scootaloo, tears appeared in her eyes. The fear of what Eternal Rest did to the others made it worst. But she quickly calmed down and jumped from the bin. Remaining there crying won't save them.

"Are ya alright?" she asked to the ghosts.

Polterpup barked and nuzzled her in answer.

"I'm still weakened by this stupid talisman in me," said Little Ghost as she still tried to get said talisman out. "Outside of this, I'm alright. What about you?"

"Ah'm alright too..." answered Apple Bloom with a sigh.

Little Ghost put a hoof on her back. "We will save them!" she almost shouted with determination. Then, her expression became hesitant. "As for Scootaloo... Well, we will save her ghost and... find something, like we did with Sweetie Belle and Applejack.

"Wait. We?"

"Of course!" answered Little Ghost as she placed her front hooves against her sides. "We know now that Thanatos can't control me."

"That's before you're weakened."

"Erh... Maybe. But remember what Discord did. Even weakened, I should be able to resist. Beside, it's not like I'm safe anywhere. Thanatos already showed that he could get me no matter where I go, so I should as well remain there and help you! I'm a ghost hunter too, after all!" She hugged Apple Bloom. "You will not be alone this time!"

Apple Bloom hugged her back. "Thank ya, Little Ghost. Ah'm glad to not be alone, for once."

They gave each other a hoofbump. "Now let's get our Poltergusts!"

"And show Eternal Rest that she shouldn't have messed with us!"

At this, they moved to exit the room. On the way, they found some bags of bits and a few gems on the tables and shelves. Apple Bloom, when she saw the first bits, smirked and took them.

"She won't need this money once we're done with her."

Little Ghost rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Aren't you already rich enough?"

Apple Bloom laughed. "Ah'll find some use to it!"

"But where will you put it?"

"Ah still've the magic pouch Ah used in the Gem Manor. It must still be in the caravan. It's now linked to the treasure room in mah manor."

"So, we're ransacking a five stars hotel. You know what?" She pulled a shelf, making it fall with everything on it. "I always wanted to do something like that!" she shouted with a wide smile before she frowned. "If only I wasn't weakened. It would be even funnier if I had all my powers. I could go loose." She pulled another shelf. "That's for weakening me! You witch!"

Apple Bloom laughed. "Alright. Ah get the money, you go wild. Let's make her regret."

"Yay!"

By the time they exited the laundry room, not a single bit and gem remained (placed in a small basket on Apple Bloom's back) and the room was in total disorder, shelves on the floor, towels teared in pieces, and so on.

There wasn't much in the hallway linking the laundry room to the staircase to the first floor and the elevator, some creepy pictures on the walls, some trash cans, and a door at the left leading to the parking.

The parking was rather empty. A few carts under sheets, suitcases and baggages spread a little everywhere, and a small caged area to the left with a generator producing the electricity. At the extremity of the parking, at the right, was the caravan, the lights on.

"There's somepony in the caravan!" said Apple Bloom.

"Maybe we aren't the only ones who escaped!" said Little Ghost excitedly.

"Let's still be careful," warned Apple Bloom as she started to slowly approach the vehicle. "Can ya look through the window?"

"Aye!" Little Ghost silently flew to one of the windows, hid beside it, and looked before smiling. "Sweetie Belle and Applejack are in here!"

Apple Bloom gasped, and opened the door. "Applejack! Sweetie Belle!" she shouted, gaining their attention

"Apple Bloom? What're ya- Woah!" started to say Applejack before she was tackle hugged by her sister while Polterpup went to lick Sweetie Belle.

After a small giggle, Sweetie Belle asked "Is it already morning?" She then saw how relieved Apple Bloom was, to the point of almost crying. As a skeleton, she couldn't frown, but if she could, she would be now. "Something happened?"

"Eternal Rest! She's a ghost who works for Thanatos! She captured everypony!" quickly said Apple Bloom, making the robot and the lich gasp. "And she... She killed Scootaloo!"

Sweetie Belle put her hooves on her mouth in horror, and Applejack's expression became somber.

"Tell me everything that happened," said the robot.

So Apple Bloom and Little Ghost told everything that happened, from Rarity's scream that awakened them to Apple Bloom jumping in the loundry chute to escape Eternal Rest. At the end of their tale, seeing the filly on the verge of crying again, Applejack put her hooves on Apple Bloom's withers.

"Listen, Bloom. There's nothing you could've done to stop what happened to Scootaloo. Without a Poltergust, ya would've been killed too."

"Ah know... Ah... Ah've just enough of seeing ponies Ah love getting killed... Ah've enough of Thanatos... Of all this... Ah can't take it anymore!"

Applejack's eyes became red. She can't growl, but she would. "When the day comes, Thanatos'll regret everything he put ya through. Remember, we're searching for a way to capture him." She sighed, and hugged Apple Bloom. "Until then, be strong. Even if we all get killed, remain strong." She looked at her in the eyes with a soft smile. "Remember, dead or alive, we'll remain with ya. As robots, liches, ghosts, or whatever else."

Apple Bloom sighed, but gave a small smile, nodding. "Right."

"You know..." started to say Sweetie Belle hesitantly. "I now wonder what Scootaloo will be."

"A robot," answered everypony else.

"Right... It's obvious now that you tell it. So, you will go capture Eternal Rest?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Of course," answered Apple Bloom. "Little Ghost'll come with me."

Little Ghost nodded. "I may be weakened, I can still use a Poltergust."

"Then let me come too!" shouted Sweetie Belle in determined.

"What?" asked everypony.

"Even if I'm learning, three Poltergusts is better than two! And since I'm a lich, and a skeleton now too, I'm sure I can be useful in other ways! Like... Uh... Drat. What could I do that Little Ghost couldn't?"

"Nothing," answered Little Ghost smugly. "Ghosts rule."

"Excepted that ghosts're very vulnerable to magic and other ghosts," said Apple Bloom. "Sweetie Belle isn't. She'd take those lightnings Eternal Rest used without problems."

"So I can use my body as a shield."

"But remember you're very fragile now as a skeleton. A heavy blow, and your bones are scattered on the floor. And it will take time to reform."

"Right. So, just against stuff like the lightnings. Not trying to block a weapon," said Sweetie Belle with a nod.

"Unless it's an arrow. Arrows should be okay to block."

Sweetie Belle looked at her skeletal body, putting a hoof in her rib cage. "If the arrow doesn't simply passes between my ribs."

"Well, no matter what ya can do, Sweetie, you're welcome to join," said Apple Bloom. "Like ya said, three Poltergusts are better than two."

"Make it four," said Applejack. "Ah'm coming too."

"Really?!" said Apple Bloom happily, only for her smile to become sheepish. "But we only brought three Poltergusts..."

Applejack smirked, raised her frong right leg, and her hoof opened before it started sucking. "Ah've mah own fonction Poltergust. Surprise!

The fillies looked at her with jaws dropping, literally in Sweetie's case.

Applejack laughed. "Now, let's save our friends!"

The team of four ghost hunters, a filly, a filly ghost, a filly skeleton, and a robot mare, exited the parking, the fillies each now having a Poltergust on their back. Apple Bloom also had the magical pouch dangling from a belt. Polterpup also followed them, but walked around, exploring and playing. Following the hallway, they quickly reached the elevator and entered it, only to discover a really bad news: all the buttons of the elevator excepted the one to B1 were gone.

"Whaat?!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Welcome to mah world..."

"But now, where could they be?" wondered Applejack.

"Let's just explore, and we will probably find at least one," said her sister before she left the elevator, followed by the others.

Since the elevator wasn't a solution for now, they climbed the staircase to the Grand Lobby, which had changed a lot. There were still the decorations for Nightmare Night, but the room was now darker, there were now skulls, the flowers were dead, and the swan sculptures were now replaced by gargoyles and creepy pony statues that gave the ponies a bad vibe.

They then saw five blue pony ghosts at the entrance, blocking it with wooden planks.

"There!" shouted one of them as he finished hammering a nail. "Now she won't be able to escape!"

"Where would she go anyway? asked another. "The hotel is in the middle of nowhere."

"And it's not like she would leave behind her friends," said a third.

Polterpup suddenly jumped out of the door, scaring the ghosts. The ghosts quickly recovered and glared at him as he sat between them. Polterpup then barked toward Apple Bloom, leading the ghosts to spot them.

When they saw that Apple Bloom was there, with the Poltergust, and not alone, they gulped.

"Erh... Shouldn't she be alone? Why are they four?"

"I escaped with Apple Bloom," answered Little Ghost, smirking.

"We weren't in our rooms," said Applejack and Sweetie Belle, also smirking (well, Applejack smirked. Sweetie Belle couldn't).

"Oh..." said the five ghosts.

"Why didn't the mistress warn us?" asked one of them.

"Because she probably doesn't care. It's up to us to deal with it," answered another.

"Well, we're doomed, but orders are orders,"

"Before we start, a little precision," said Apple Bloom. "Ah'd still escape by the parking."

The ghosts facehoofed.

And they were all captured in the following seconds very easily, Apple Bloom capturing two at the same time. However, during the chaos of the ghosts trying to escape the vortexes only to be slammed around, Applejack accidentally broke one of the pony statues.

Revealing that there was a skeleton inside.

When the ghosts were captured, the ponies looked at what remained of the statue, and at the skeleton. They then looked at the other statues in the room in horror.

"They're petrified corpses..." said Applejack.

"There are foals among them..." said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom growled. "Now it's not just about us. Eternal Rest must be stopped."

"So that's her collection she talked about?" wondered Little ghost. "Now I'm scared about the others..."

Everypony's expressions became somber at this, and they climbed the stairs to the second floor. However, they found out that the big double door as well as the simpler door at its right were locked. This left them no choice but to explore the Grand Lobby in search of a key, that they found in the office of the bellhop. During the exploration, Apple Bloom found more bits and gems here and there. More blue ghosts came then, probably to investigate what happened to the five they captured, and they attacked, but the hunters easily dealt with them.

The key opened the big double door, entering the ballroom.

To their surprise, they found Twilight and Spike there, at the end of the room. Twilight was standing on a pedestal, wings spread at her sides, and Spike was standing on her back. They weren't moving as a ghost different from the others, a blue earth pony stallion in an uniform, inspected them. The stallion talked in a familiar voice, revealing him to be the Steward. The black cloak, skeleton mask, and fake scythe left on a chair confirmed it.

"Perfect! Now, don't move, and wait for the cement to come. You will be the master piece of the hotel!"

"She'll be no such thing!" yelled Applejack.

The ghost yelped and abruptly turned around in panic, seeing them.

"What?! Already there? And why are there four of you? I thought there would be only Apple Bloom and the filly ghost!"

"Ya really have bad communication in this hotel," said Apple Bloom. "Applejack and Sweetie Belle weren't in their rooms. They weren't captured."

The Steward looked left and right in panic, then went to a chair, took it, and threw it at them. The ponies scattered to avoid it (excepted Little Ghost who just passed through it), and they ran toward him as he approached another chair. Yelling in panic, the Steward began to swing the chair around, to no effect because the ponies didn't need to approach that much to trap him. Before he knew it, the Steward was trapped in four vortexes at once, and he ended up captured in Little Ghost's Poltergust in record time, the ghost yelling "I knew this would happeeeee-" Pouf! His hat was almost left behind, but a hoof of the stallion came out, grabbed the hat, and disappeared back in the vacuum cleaner.

Two elevator buttons, F1 and F5, were dropped.

"If I didn't know better, I would say that ghost hunting is easy," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah. Trust me, it's only the beginning," said Apple Bloom.

While they talked, Applejack approached Twilight and Spike who still weren't moving, waving a hoof in front of them. "Twilight? Spike? Hellooooo!" She put her hooves on Twilight and shook her. "Sugarcube! Come back to yer senses! Say something! JUST BUCKING MOVE!!"

"They are hypnotized," said Little Ghost, frowning. "Probably by Eternal Rest. She must be really powerful then. And they were ordered to not move. Remember, I used the same power."

"So we must capture Eternal Rest to get them out of it?" asked Applejack.

"It's a possibility," said Apple Bloom. "Luckily, Smart Spirit developped a way to free somepony from this hypnosis. But we must return to the caravan to get it."

"I could get to the caravan by myself and come back with the Dehypnotist," said Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Too risky. Weakened as ya're, ya're too vulnerable alone. We must not separate."

"Alright, but then, how do we move them?" asked Little Ghost, pointing at Twilight and Spike. "If we try to move them, they will fight back."

"In that case..." Applejack gave a big hit on the back of Twilight's head, knocking her out. "Grab Spike, Little Ghost."

"Okay." Little Ghost grabbed Spike by the tail, the dragon starting to struggle and breathe fire, to no effect, while Applejack put Twilight on her back.

Author's Note

Name: Steward
Age when dead: 21
Time of death: 10 years ago
Cause of death: broken neck after falling from a window
Info: Yeah, his actual name is Steward. Steward the Steward. He was the Steward of a prestigious hotel in Canterlot. Steward passed his entire life following orders from ponies treating him like dirt, from his parents (both unicorns nobles) to his boss in the hotel because he was an earth pony born at the wrong place. Because of this, he developped a very submissive personality, following any orders given to him out of fear, no matter what were those orders, even when that order was to jump through a window because his boss had enough of him.

RIP Suites

The ghost hunters went to the elevator of the second floor, and placed the two buttons they received when they captured the Steward. They then pressed the button B1, returning to the basement where they brought Twilight and Spike back to the caravan where they were joined by Polterpup. Once there, while Little Ghost kept hold of Spike and Applejack watched Twilight, Apple Bloom searched around until she found a round object with a button and a spike at the top. With it, she approached Spike and pointed the spike at him.

"This may hurt a little," she warned before she pressed the button.

A beam came out of the gadget and entered Spike, and the dragon struggled for a few seconds, holding his head, before he stopped moving. He then groaned, rubbing his head.

"Ugh... What happened? Why do I feel like somepony is using my head as a drum?"

"Sorry Spike, we never used the Dehypnotist before, so we're discovering the secondary effects. But as Smart Spirit thought, it simply gives a big migraine," answered Apple Bloom. "You can drop him, Little Ghost."

"Okay." She did so.

"Give it a few minutes and it'd disappear," said Apple Bloom to Spike before she pointed the gadget to Twilight and pressed the button again. Like with Spike, a beam hit the mare and she struggled before she stopped moving.

Before long, both Twilight and Spike recovered enough that Apple Bloom was able to tell them everything that happened while she put the Dehypnotist in her belt for very possible further use. She and the others also stocked the ghosts they captured. Not sure where to place Eternal Rest's servants, they decided to put them in the yellow crystal. Since Eternal Rest was working for Thanatos, some of them may be controled, and Eternal Rest herself seemed powerful enough to force the weakest ghosts to work for her.

Once they were done, Twilight said "I will help. I can't face the ghosts, but I can do like back in Evershade Valley."

"Thanks. But..." Apple Bloom's expression became one of worry. "If ghosts come here, how will ya defend yerself? Magic works against them, but..."

"Ah'll remain with her," said Applejack before she sighed. "Ah'd have prefered remaining with ya, but Twilight and Spike would be too vulnerable. Somepony must remain there to keep guard against the ghosts."

Apple Bloom nodded, smiling. "Don't worry, sis. I went through Evershade Valley. This hotel will be nothing, especially with the help of Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost." The three fillies formed a group hug while facing applejack at this.

"Ooh yes. Alone, no ghost was able to stop you, so with two friends? Eternal Rest is doomed," said Spike with a smirk.

He was clearly worried for everypony, especially for Rarity, but he knew he could count on Apple Bloom to... Well... At least bring back their ghosts at worst. Deep down, he was hoping that they could be saved alive, but with Thanatos involved, he knew that anything was possible, and Apple Bloom couldn't do much about it excepted trying to capture the villains to make sure that they would never kill somepony again. Thanatos was still out of her reach, but she should be able to capture Eternal Rest. The Poltergusts were more powerful than when she fought Little Ghost, she shouldn't be able to escape.

Apple Bloom equiped herself with the same camera headband that she used back in Evershade Valley so everyone remaining in the caravan will be able to follow them.

"So, if I understand," started Twilight. "you will have to explore the floors one by one in search of the elevator buttons to eventually reach the floor where Eternal Rest will probably be waiting for you. Each button will probably be guarded by a guardian under Eternal Rest's orders."

"And most of them probably won't be as weak and easy to catch as that Steward guy," said Applejack. "Some of them may even be as powerful as those Shadows you fought back in the valley."

"No matter. We will defeat them," said Apple Bloom.

"Any ghost that get in our way will get SHLURP!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Make sure to not work down to the bone," said Spike.

Sweetie Belle groaned, but couldn't stop a giggle. "I should have seen the skeleton jokes coming. They're just too humerus to pass through, right?"

Spike laughed while everypony else groaned, excepted Little Ghost who laughed too.

"Anyway..." said Twilight. "Still be careful while you explore the hotel. This is Eternal Rest's hotel. Who knows what traps she prepared for you. This hotel alone may be more dangerous than any of the manors of Evershade Valley, and is much bigger than anything you explored before."

"Twilight's right," said Applejack. "Don't be reckless because it's yer third rodeo and ya've help. It goes to you too, Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost."

The three fillies nodded.

Once Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost were out of the caravan with Polterpup, the dog running ahead to the first floor, Sweetie Belle asked "Do we go to the fifth floor now that we can go here?"

"Not right now," answered Apple Bloom. "We will return first to the ballroom to see if we can explore the second floor and find anything else here."

"Right. But I wouldn't be surprised if the door between the ballroom and the rest is locked," said Little Ghost.

"Me too, but just in case, it's better to check," replied Apple Bloom.

So, using the staircase, they returned to the Grand Lobby where they found Polterpup bitting the tail of one of those blue ghosts, the ghost spinning around to try to get rid of the dog to no avail under the mockeries of five other blue ghosts. One of them was even filming the show.

Stifling some laughs, the ghost hunters approached the ghosts from behind and managed to get the five laughing ghosts in their vortexes and to rapidly capture them. The last ghost stopped spinning and tried to attack them despite Polterpup still bitting his tail, but Apple Bloom slammed the two ghosts she had on him. While this happened, Sweetie Belle discovered something: she was a light weight, making her easy to be dragged around with two ghosts trapped in her vortex, so she was forced to cling to one of the tables until the ghosts were captured. The last one quickly followed.

"Thank you, Puppy!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Bark! Bark!" Polterpup licked her before disappearing into one of the walls.

The fillies then climbed the stairs and entered the ballroom where they encountered three more blue ghosts waiting with chairs in their hooves, ready to swing them at the fillies if they came too close. The fillies didn't have to worry, though, and quickly captured them before Apple bloom went to test the door at the left.

"Locked."

"Like we thought."

"So we go to the fifth floor?"

"Eeyup!"

So they went to the elevator and used it to go to the fifth floor. On the way, a blue ghost entered it, ambushing the fillies, but Little Ghost managed to capture him before he could attack them. The elevator then reached the fifth floor, the floor where their rooms were located, and they began to explore.

They wanted to start first by their room, the 503, and finish with Rainbow Dash's room, the 508, at the opposite side of the floor. However, the doors from rooms 501 to 503 were still gone, so the fillies had to use the Dark Light Devices to make them reappear. They also had to fight a couple of maid blue ghosts armed with feather dusters at the same time. However, they discovered not much in the rooms themselves, excepted a secret room with a treasure chest full of bits under the drain of the bathroom of room 502.

«There was a treasure chest under Rarity's bathroom? When I will tell her that...» said Spike at this moment.

«She'll faint! That's sure» said Applejack laughing.

The balcony of room 503 gave a good view of the valley behind the hotel, with the lake in the middle, but the fillies didn't remain there too long to admire, finding nothing. Returning to the intersection in front of the elevator, they then went the other way, starting by exploring an area down some stairs in front of a door leading to another, smaller laundry room. However, the door revealed to be locked. One of the windows in this area was also broken and barren (which wasn't the case before, probably thanks to the illusion), and there was a hole in a wall through which they could see the laundry room, and some ghosts playing in it, including one with a key. They could also see another treasure chest through a hole in the opposite wall.

"What do you think this key will open?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I saw the number 508 on it, so it's certainly the key to the room 508," said Little Ghost.

"So room 508'll be locked. Whatever we search'll be in there," said Apple Bloom.

"But the laundry room is locked too," said Sweetie Belle.

"Then we explore the remaining rooms in search of the key," said Apple Bloom.

"You know I could simply pass the wall, capture those ghosts, and take the key, right?" asked Little Ghost.

"But again, we'd avoid separating, or who knows what Eternal Rest'll do. She'd come to capture ya while ya're alone."

"Right..."

So they followed the hallway. Contrary to before where it was a straight line, there, it turned to the left, passing beside the elevator. On the way, they approached a cleaning cart that suddenly moved, following the hallway as it turned to the right, making Sweetie Belle jump, but not Apple Bloom and Little Ghosts.

"Don't worry, Sweetie, ya'll get used to it," said Apple Bloom.

They went after the cleaning cart which exploded when they approached, three blue ghosts in maid outfits bursting out of it to attack them, only for the fillies to activate the Poltergusts, capturing them.

They then visited the rooms from 504 to 507 one by one, only to find nothing excepted some more blue maid ghosts (and some without the maid outfit), and some secret rooms under some of the bathrooms, finding more bits and some gems. But no key.

They exited the room 507 in thought. "We searched everywhere. Where could it be?" wondered Apple Bloom.

«If it's not in one of the rooms, then it must be in a secret passage,» said Twilight.

"That's what Ah thought, but we didn't find any secret passages in the rooms, excepted the secret ones under the bathrooms..." replied Apple Bloom.

"Maybe one of those gargoyles?" wondered Little Ghost as she started to touch said gargoyles present in the hallway, trying to move them, or parts of them.

Following her exemple, the two others began to look around. After some research, they discover behind a loose paperwall a secret door leading to the elevator shaft, but beside some mice and spiders (making Sweetie Belle jump on Apple Bloom), as well as some bits in a few boxes, there was no key. After more research, they went to the area in front of the laundry room, and Little Ghost thought about something. She looked through the bars of the barren window, then turned back toward Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Hey! There's a small path leading to a hole in the wall over there!"

"What?" Apple Bloom bucked the bars, destroying them, and looked through the window to see that she was right. There was a ledge forming a rather narrow path, damaged in some place, leading to a hole further to the left. This same ledge also went to the right, around the corner of the building.

Little Ghost went to the corner and looked. "There's another chest!"

"Wait for us!" shouted Apple Bloom as she carefully walked on the ledge, followed by Sweetie Belle who did the error to look down.

"Eep!"

«Ah really hoped you wouldn't have to do that kind of stuff in this hotel,» said Applejack.

"Ya should know better by now," replied Apple Bloom.

As she approached the corver, Little Ghost decided that she could open the chest without risk. So she took the pouch from her friend, opened the chest, and placed in the pouch all the bits that were in it. Once she was done, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle carefuly turned around and went toward the hole in the wale, having to walk along the wall when they reached the damaged part.

They then passed through the hole, entering a small passage leading to a ladder. Climbing it, they found the chest they saw earlier when they looked in the laundry room, and in it, they found a key.

"Finally!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

They took the key and went back down the ladder, only to discover that the passage was now absolutely filled with big, black spiders. Sweetie Belle immediately screamed in both fear and disgust, and blew air with her Poltergust at the spiders, sending them flying away. Apple Bloom helped her, and they sent the spiders beyond the ledge, making all of them fall to their death. Sweetie Belle sighed in relief.

"Ya know, Sweetie, ya'll have to get used to spiders and mice. We'll certainly see more of them in this hotel. Beside, ya're a skeleton, what could they do to ya? Ya'd be more scared of dogs."

"But... But..."

"Just, next time ya see a mouse or a spider, repeat to yerself that they can't do anything to ya, that ya're safe." She put a leg around her friend's neck. "And remember. Me and Little Ghost are with ya. Spiders and mice'll be a nuisance at worst. Same for bats, crows, and whatever other small critters we'll encounter."

"Uh... I will try..."

Then they returned to the locked door and opened it, entering the laundry room. The blue ghosts they saw earlier were still there, but this time, they were prepared to attack the fillies immediately as they entered. Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle each took a punch on the head, causing Sweetie to lose hers, while Apple Bloom simply lowered her head and countered by trapping the ghost who attacked her and by slamming him on the others. This let time for Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle to recover, and the two of them made the ghosts pay for what they did, Sweetie Belle even throwing her head to stop a ghost from attacking Little Ghost from behind. One of them eventually dropped the key to room 508.

"Nice throw!" said Little Ghost to Sweetie Belle once it was over.

"Thanks. My father loves hoofball, so when I was still searching my Cutie Mark, he made me learn how to throw balls."

«Erh... Ya don't throw balls that strongly in hoofball,» said Applejack.

"Yeah... I wasn't really good to throw balls hoofball-style... Daddy understood it when I threw the ball too hard at him for the... Uh... Hundredth time, I think."

"Well, for once, ya being bad at something'll help us," said Apple Bloom with a laugh, making Sweetie pout (not physically. Skeletons can't pout).

They then went to room 508, Rainbow Dash's room, and used the key to open it. In it, they found the ghost of a purple pegasus mare, a maid, who looked bored as she swept her feather duster again and again on the same spot on the foot of the bed. Apple Bloom immediately recognized her as the maid she saw back when she entered the hotel, in the second level of the Grand Lobby. When the mare looked toward them and understood who they were, she panicked.

"Oh no! You're there!" She looked around, wondering what to do. "I don't stand a chance against you! But I can't give you the button or the mistress would be mad at me! And I don't want to join her collection!"

Before any of the fillies could ask what she was talking about (a ghost can't be turned into a statue, right?), the mare flew away, passing through a wall. The fillies looked at each others.

"What do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom sighed. "We run after her and, if she doesn't want to give us the button, we capture her."

"But she doesn't seem... bad. She seems to be scared of Eternal Rest."

"But if we can't convince her, then we will have no choice," said Little Ghost. "Look at it this way. If she's scared of Eternal Rest doing something to her and works only by fear, then she will be safe if we capture her, and we will free her once Eternal Rest is captured."

"That's true. I still feel bad that we may have to capture her. I remember what it's like to be captured, and it's not a nice feeling."

At this, they exited the room and searched room by room the maid. They found her in the room 505, and they tried to convince her to give them the button, but they barely started to talk that the maid escaped. They sighed, exited the room, and found the maid in the room 507 (two blue ghost maids were encountered on the way). There again, the maid tried to escape, but then, Polterpup suddenly came out of the wall, scaring her. This gave the fillies the occasion to trap the maid in their three vortexes. The mare managed to sweep Apple Bloom's muzzle with her feather duster, making her sneeze and releasing her, but thanks to Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost, she wasn't able to escape.

"No! Please!" she pleaded.

"Sorry miss, but we must save our friends!" said Apple Bloom as she reactivated her Poltergust.

"Don't worry, you will be safe from Eternal Rest!"

"You will never defeat her! She will kill you and take me back and add me to her collection!"

"What collection?" asked Apple Bloom.

But before the maid could answer, she was sucked in Apple bloom's Poltergust, dropping the button to the third floor.

As she took the button, Apple bloom wondered what was that collection. "What'd Eternal Rest do to ghosts?"

"Who knows. When ghosts are powerful, they can do a lot of things, even to other ghosts," said Little Ghost in worry.

"We could ask the next ghost we encounter, if they don't run away," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yes. We'll do that."

Author's Note

Name: Feather Duster
Age when dead: 25
Time of death: 83 years ago
Cause of death: crushed under a falling chandelier
Info: Feather Duster was a chambermaid working in Canterlot Castle. She loved her job, had a lot of friends among the staff despite her small shyness, and was even dating a nice stallion among the guards. She had a happy life ahead of her, but it stopped when a chandelier she was dusting suddenly fell on her. A fellow maid beginning to date her stallion only a few days after her death made her doubt that it may not have been an accident.

Hotel Shops

With a ding, the door of the elevator opened, and the three fillies came out of it, entering the third floor of the hotel, the one with the shops. Immediately at their right was the revolving door leading to the shopping area. However, it was now locked, leaving them no choice but to take the path to their left leading to the restrooms. Already, they saw that the alcove at the left of the elevator was actually a camouflaged paper covering bars with a chest at the other side. Seeing no way to enter this small secret room, Little Ghost took the magic pouch and passed the bars before opening the chest and taking all the bits in it.

"Maybe I should keep the pouch," she said as she returned to her friends.

"Okay, but where will ya put it? Ya don't have a belt," wondered Apple Bloom.

"Maybe we will find something in the shops for her," said Sweetie Belle.

"Ah yeah, there's an accessory shop," said Apple Bloom as she was reminded of this. "Until then, ya'd give the pouch back to me."

Little Ghost nodded and gave her back the pouch.

Then, as they went toward the restrooms, Little Ghost spotted something through a hole in the ceiling and went to investigate, discovering another secret room with a chest. They could enter this small room by walking on the ledge overlooking the elevator, but...

"I found another chest in there. Should I go? Or do we wait to pass by the ledge above the elevator?""

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, then Apple Bloom answered. "Ya can go, it'd be okay! But if ya see Eternal Rest appear, then come back there immediately!"

"Okay!"

Once she was done with the chest, they advanced toward the restroom, and saw that the restroom for mares was condemned, leaving them no choice but to go to the restroom for stallions where they found the key of the revolving door in the toilet of one of the stalls.

Apple Bloom shook the key to dry it while Sweetie Belle made a disgusted sound.

"Ah know, Sweetie Belle, it's gross, but it's not the first time Ah find a key in a toilet."

"Ah yeah, it was funny how you threw the toilet at Rainbow Dash," said Little Ghost with a giggle.

«Wait. Ya threw a toilet at Rainbow?» asked Applejack.

"It's the only way Ah found to stop her from catching me," replied Apple Bloom.

This made Applejack laugh.

The fillies returned to the revolving door and used the key to open it. They then passed the door, entering the shopping area. However, they saw that the shops were closed by a sliding barred gate, so they went toward the escalator to go to the second level of the mall, only to stop when they spotted a light.

Hiding against the wall beside the escalator, they saw Cruller, the clumsy overweight security guard who revealed to be a ghost (no surprise there), doing his patrol. Hanging from his uniform, they spotted one of the buttons of the elevator.

As the purple unicorn ghost passed the stairs, the fillies silently climbed them, taking the occasion that he hadn't spotted them to try to surprise him from behind. However, by the time they climbed them, Cruller was already halfway down the hallway leading to his office. They moved after him, and hid behind the walls at both sides of the entrance of the hallway, waiting for him to turn around. Instead, he turned to enter his office.

Sweetie Belle came out from behind the wall and shouted "Mister Cruller! Wait!"

This made Cruller jump and drop his flashlight before he turned toward her. Seeing the filly skeleton, Cruller yelled in fear and flew through the door to his office in such a hurry that he dropped a key with a diamond-shaped head. He then closed the shutter of the window of his office.

This made everypony laugh.

«Oh that was perfect, Sweetie Belle!» shouted Spike.

Little Ghost bumped the skeleton. "You are a real terror!"

Sweetie Belle laughed sheepishly. "I... didn't mean to..."

«Did ya forget he fainted last time he saw ya?» asked Applejack.

"Erh... Yeah..."

Apple Bloom still laughed a little. "At least, ya made him drop a key. Come on, let's take it."

As they took it, Little Ghost said "A key with a diamond head?" in confusion.

"Mmh... Doesn't one of the shops've a diamond symbole?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Yes. I remember. It's the accessory shop, the left one at the second level," said Sweetie Belle. "But what will it open? The gate?"

"Let's find out."

The fillies went to the corresponding shop, but on the way, Little Ghost spotted and opened a chest on a path above the shops. Reaching the accessory shop, diamond symboles on the walls beside it, the fillies tried the key on the gate, but it didn't work.

Little Ghost then pointed at the cash register. "Look. It has a lock shaped like a diamond."

"But we can't enter," said Sweetie Belle.

"I can."

"Ah suppose we've no choice," said Apple Bloom. "Be careful in there."

"I will be. Don't worry."

Apple Bloom gave Little Ghost the key, and the filly ghost passed the gate and went to the cash register. The key worked and opened it, and Little Ghost found a key with a heart-shaped head in it. Because she could take it, a blue ghost came out of the cash register with the key and tried to punch her. Little Ghost quickly reacted and flew backward to avoid the punch before she activated her Poltergust and began to slam the ghost around on the glass cases and shelves, vandalizing the shop. She was having the time of her unlife doing this. More blue ghosts came to help their friend, a couple of them even tried to attack Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle from behind, but they clearly underestimated the fillies and they were all rapidly captured.

When all the ghosts were captured, Little Ghost took a belt among the accessories now spread on the floor, then took the bits in the cash registers and the dropped heart key before leaving the shop.

"I didn't know it was so fun vandalizing shops. I better understand poltergeists."

"Don't make it a habit!" warned Sweetie Belle.

"What she says," said Apple Bloom while she gave the magic pouch to Little Ghost for her to put in her new belt. "But as long as we're in this hotel, ya can do whatever ya want, like ya said in the basement. And there're still three shops to vandalize."

"Yay!"

The heart key led to the clothing stole, first level, right shop, and Little Ghost had to go alone again.

"I don't know if it's a good idea to vandalize this one. Rarity would freak out if she learns about this," said Sweetie Belle.

"It won't be a problem if she doesn't know," replied Little Ghost with a laugh.

«Ah'm sure Rainbow would agree with ya,» said Applejack, laughing too.

But before vandalizing the shop, she went to the cash register to get the key, only for the key, possessing a spade head, to float out of it and to pass through the front wall.

"Hey!" she yelled. However, rather than charging after the key without thinking, she spotted a button and pressed it, causing the same wall to move and revealing a small secret room with a lot of bits piled. Before taking the bits, Little Ghost searched around for the key, and eventually forced what looked like a foal version of the blue ghosts to come out of behind a small chest followed by a dozen others. They all charged after Little Ghost, ready to punch her, but the filly flew away, forcing all the little ghosts to fly after her. Once they were all behind her, Little Ghost turned around and caught all of them, the little ghosts revealing to be very easy to capture. A second wave of little blue ghosts helped by normal ones then came, and Little Ghost captured the little ones first before going after the big ones, used them like in the other shop to destroy this one.

By slamming a ghost on one of the mannequins, she caused a mirror to spin, revealing another secret room with a chest right under the escalators. Then, she pulled a rope, revealing the changing room with another ghost posing in front of a mirror, somehow not perturbed by what happened in the shop. Such vanity...

The ghost captured and the shop in ruin with not a bit left to take, Little Ghost exited it, and the fillies went to the next shop: the gift shop. Second level, right shop. A shop full of plushies, saddle bags, and other goodies.

However, the cash register wasn't there. Little Ghost huffed. The ghosts thought they were smart? She used the DLD, and the cash register rappeared. She then opened it and got a key with a clover head. Half a dozen blue ghosts then appeared around her with over a dozen smaller ones. The biggest ones all took a goody among the hardest ones, ready to throw them at her. Little Ghost immediately caught one of the big blues and spinned, slamming him against most of the other ghosts. She then constantly moved to avoid objects thrown and punches while capturing the ghosts by small groups, slamming the big ones on the others. In the end, despite their number and their not so surprise attack, Little Ghost got all of them without too much problems.

Once she got the key, she explored the coffee shop linked to the gift shop, finding a few more bits on a table before joining her friends. Together, they went to the last shop: the barber shop. First level, left shop. However, as they approached the escalators, the mall suddenly shook, and the escalators activated as they heard a deep laugh.

«What was that?» asked Twilight.

"Ah don't know," answered Apple Bloom. "It certainly wasn't one of those blue ghosts, or Cruller. Keep yer eyes open, girls."

"I can't close mines, I don't even have eyes," pointed out Sweetie Belle.

"I don't need to blink," also said Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom huffed.

They used the escalator moving down, and went to the barber shop, Little Ghost going alone again. And again, the cash register wasn't there, so she used the DLD,getting a key with a star head. Surprisingly, however, no ghosts came to attack her. She still explored, and vandalized the shop, finding more bits here and there before exiting it.

But as the fillies began to climb the escalator moving up, they suddenly stopped. They looked down in confusion.

"Probably that ghost who laughed earlier," said Apple Bloom.

"i think we should hurry to climb. I have a bad feeling," said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom nodded, and the two fillies clumbed the stairs only for them to restart. however, both escalators were now moving down and, worst, gaining speed. Before Little Ghost could help, both fillies fell and were sent back to the bottom very rapidly, Sweetie Belle's bones spreading on the floor as a result.

"So this is what it feels like?" she asked, annoyed, before she slowly began to reform. "I definitively don't want this to happen again. It's too weird."

As she reformed, a big red ghost looking like the red ghosts from evershade valley, but even bigger with a rectangular-like body, came out of the escalators.

"Oh oh. Watch out, girls! Even you may feel the punches of this one!" warned Apple Bloom

"He could crush my bones!" shouted Sweetie Belle in panic.

From the escalator, the red ghost charged toward Apple Bloom, and the filly jumped out of the way. Seeing that she avoided him, the ghost turned to the nearest filly, Little Ghost, and tried to punch her. Litthe Ghost avoided the punch and activated the Poltergust, but somehow, the ghost's big and rectangular body blocked the vortex, and the ghost wasn't sucked up. Behind him, however, Sweetie Belle activated also her Poltergust and managed to catch one of the two tails of the ghost (something very rare among ghosts!), beginning to suck him up. The ghost immediately began to move around to escape, easily dragging Sweetie Belle as if she was weighing nothing, the filly yelling in fear.

"Help!" she screamed.

Apple Bloom was able to catch the second tail, and with her help, the ghost couldn't move that much.

"At three, Sweetie Belle! One! Two! Three!" shouted Apple Bloom, and at her signal, the two fillies pulled and slammed the ghost. "Three!" They slammed him again. "Three!" Another slam! All the while, Little Ghost kept her Poltergust activated. It wasn't much, but it helped weakening the ghost. Eventually, the ghost was captured, and the escalators began to work normally again.

The three fillies bumped a hoof together with a "Yay!"

«Wowee! This one was hard!» said Applejack.

«He could even resist the Poltergust if attacked from the front!» said Twilight.

"Yeah, this one's very different of the others," said Apple Bloom. "And there're probably more ghosts like him in the spritual world, or with other unique specificities. It... worries me a little, if we end up attacking Thanatos' castle one day."

"Let's not think of what will be encountered in the castle, but what we will encounter in this hotel. If Eternal Rest has ghosts like this one, then who knows what she has else?" said Little Ghost.

"Good point," said Apple Bloom. "At least, despite their slightly different body, this red ghost we captured seems to be a cousin of the Reds from Evershade Valley and seems to act similarly like them. We aren't too much in unknown territory. And we can use our number against them. Next time we encounter one if there are more of them, one of us will gain their attention, and the two others will get them from behind. Just avoid remaining in front of them."

"Wow. A ghost that forces us to use strategy? That's a first."

"This will make things harder," said Sweetie Belle.

"But together, this won't be a problem," said Apple Bloom. "And Cruller shouldn't be one too."

"Unless he decides to run away like the maid. And with how scared he was, this could be the case."

"Right..."

They climbed the escalator and went toward Cruller's office. Back at its door, they used the star key on the star lock, and opened it.

They found Cruller curled on the chair behind his desk, and when he saw them entering, he screamed and suddenly jerked, causing his chair to topple with him.

"Alright, Mister Cruller. Don't try anything against us, and we won't do anything against ya. We're just here for the button ya possess," said Apple Bloom.

Cruller's head poked from behind the desk, looking at them. "I-I-I-I can't... I'm sorry, but the mistress told me to not give the button." Cruller then looked to his left, at the adjacent room containing the lost and found objects also locked by a barren gate like the shops, then rolled from behind the desk through the gate (getting stuck mid-roll... Poor guy...) before getting up and taking a proud pose. "Now you can't do anything to me!"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle groaned, and Little Ghost facehoofed before she passed through the gate too.

"You forgot I'm a ghost too," she said, making Cruller panic. "Come on, Cruller. Last warning. Give the button, or I will be forced to capture you."

Cruller shook in fear, but eventually, he gulped, took a big breath, and moved a shaky hoof toward the button. "I'm sorry, little one..." He suddenly grabbed some device in his belt and fired a stream of energy at Little Ghost. The energy hit her, and the filly ghost was sent on the floor screaming pain. "but the mistress is much scarier than you..."

"Little Ghost!" yelled Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle through the gate.

"What was that?" asked the skeleton.

"Oh, uh..." Cruller looked at the device, which looked like a small cannon. "I'm not sure. All I know is that it's a recent invention that came from the mistress' boss. It's some kind of portable cannon that can fire a weird energy that can hurt ghosts. Useful when we can't fire lightning bolts like the mistress can do." He looked back at Little Ghost. "I'm sorry, little one. I don't like hurting other ponies, especially foals (even if you're probably older than you look), but I don't want to join the mistress' collection."

"What is this collection?!" asked Apple Bloom. "Don't tell me she can trap ghosts in stone too!"

"In a way, she can, but not in the same way that she does with the bodies of living ponies," answered Cruller with a gulp. "She can forcefully bind a ghost to something, anything, be it a statue, a corpse, or her favorite, a doll. When you are a ghost and you end up at her mercy, there's three possibilities for you. Either you work for her freely, you work for her hypnotized, or she binds you in a doll for her to play for eternity. And by 'play', I mean 'torture'. And if I let you have the button..." He gulped again, shaking more, on the verge of crying. "She has a room with over one hundred of dolls up there in her floor... I don't want to become one of those dolls... I'm sorry..." He pointed the cannon at Little Ghost who just recovered. "Now I must capture you... But... If you run away... Maybe..."

Little Ghost looked back at him, a little weak. "We can't. We must save our friends she captured."

At her answer, Cruller's expression became determined while remaining scared, and he fired. Little Ghost flew to the side, avoiding the energy, then approached Cruller and activated her Poltergust. Cruller was trapped, but despite being sucked up, he resisted, still facing the filly, and continued to fire at her, forcing her to move. Because of this, Cruller was eventually able to escape, and while he continued to fire at her, he rolled toward a really big cardboard box. He emptied it, then placed it in front of him like a shield with his head poking from the side to look so he could continue to target her with his cannon.

If it was like with the red ghost, then the box would shield him from the Poltergust's vortex, which forced the filly ghost to find something to either destroy the box or move behind him. Continuing to fly around to avoid the streams of energy fired by the cannon, she eventually went toward a trash can in the room. She took it, then threw it at Cruller. This wasn't enough to destroy the cardboard box (too far, not strong enough), but it still destabilized Cruller, and Little Ghost quickly used it to fly behind him and catch him. Like before, the security guard resisted and fired at her, but this time, he wasn't able to escape in time, becoming too weakened.

Cruller tried to grab something, anything to avoid being sucked up, but he found nothing and he disappeared in the Poltergust with a terrified scream, and the button to the second floor dropped along with a key and the cannon. Little Ghost grabbed all of them and joined Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"What Mister Cruller said..." started Sweetie Belle.

"One more reason to stop Eternal Rest," said Apple Bloom. "Ah don't want to think what she's doing to Scootaloo now, and the others."

«This mare's the most despicable thing Ah ever heard about,» said Applejack. «No punishment'll be good enough.»

«Agreed,» said Twilight. «Oh... I hope everypony is alright...»

In the fifteenth floor of the hotel, Eternal Rest was sitting on a rocking chair, rocking back and forth. Peacefully, smiling, she was sewing a doll while singing.

"My little dolly. My little dolly.
I can't wait to play with you."

All around her, on the floor, or on shelves, some even hanging from the ceiling, were dolls. Hundreds of dolls. Mainly ponies, but also of some griffons, zebras, and other creatures. Of all sizes. Of all colors. Old and young. They were all turned toward Eternal Rest, smiling. None of them moved.

They didn't dare move.

"My little dolly. My little dolly."

Her smile became a smirk as she looked at the yellow, pink haired doll that was almost finished.

"I'll never leave you."

Author's Note

Name: Cruller
Age when dead: 29
Time of death: 1 year ago.
Cause of death: suffocated by a donut
Info: Clumsy and easily scared, everypony could wonder how he became a security guard working for a mall in Manehattan. He simply wanted to follow in the steps of his father who was also a security guard. And as surprising as it sounds, despite everything, he was good at his job! And the foals loved him! Too bad his career was cut short because of a mouse scaring him when he was in the middle of eating a donut, causing him to swallow the donut and to be suffocated by it. It was a sad day for the foals.

Mezzanine Part 2

After a quick passage to the basement to give Twilight the portable energy cannon for her to study, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost climbed the stairs to return to the Grand Lobby and go to the second floor. However, there, they encountered two blue ghosts and a red one.

"Alright. Sweetie Belle, ya deal with the blue ghosts while me and Little Ghost capture the red one," instructed Apple Bloom.

"Okay," replied Sweetie Belle went to capture the two blue ghosts who were side by side, giving her the opportunity to trap both of them at the same time.

Meanwhile, the red ghost tried to crush Apple Bloom and Little Ghost by slamming his rectangular body on them, but they quickly went out of the way and used the occasion to catch his two tails. After a few slammings, he disappeared inside Apple Bloom's Poltergust just after Sweetie Belle finished capturing the blue ghosts.

"You know," then said Little Ghost. "we should name them."

"Ya're right, but Ah don't know what to name them. Ah already used the colors for the ghosts of Evershade Valley," said Apple Bloom.

"Speaking of, you should rename them. Naming them after their colors is very... so-so," said Sweetie Belle.

"Ah couldn't think of anything better," replied Apple Bloom with a pout. "And they didn't mind."

"Well, I think I know how to name the blue ghosts. If they're as mischievous as the green ghosts of Evershade Valley, and so far, they are, then Trickster would work for them. What do you think?" proposed Sweetie Belle.

"That's great! And the Greens would be named Prankster!" said Little Ghost.

"Ah like those names. About the red ones... Mmh... Bulky and Buffy?" proposed Apple Bloom.

"Perfect! Uh... Which one is Bulky and which one is Buffy?"

"Erh... Let's go with Buffy for the rectangular ones. Now... The Blues..."

"Easy. They love to hide, so let's call them Hider," said Little Ghost.

"The Oranges..."

"Big Brain, obviously."

"Now, the Browns..."

"Uuuh... Glutton, maybe?"

"Goost!" suddenly shouted Sweetie Belle. "As in, 'ghost' and 'goo', because they're ghosts made of goo!"

"That works! And now, the Purples."

"Hugger."

"And the Pinks."

"Sneaker."

"Well, Ah think that's all of them," said Apple Bloom.

"I wonder if we will appear in history books for having named the ghosts," wondered Sweetie Belle.

«Not just for that. Trust me,» said Twilight.

The fillies climbed the stairs and tried the key they received from Cruller on the door at the right of the entrance to the ballroom, but it didn't open it, so they entered the ballroom. There, the key opened the door at the left, entering the west wing of the hallway of the floor. Apple Bloom and the others never explored the west wing because it was reserved to the staff, so she wasn't sure what to expect.

It turned out not much, the hallway turned to the right, and was only leading to two doors north of the ballroom before ending at the door connecting to the east wing. Both doors were open, the first one leading to what seemed to be a storage room while the other led to a dressing room. The fillies decided to explore the storage room first.

The room was full of draped objects, and among them, the fillies found a chest full of bits. There was also a shelf with some bits and a piggy bank full as well as a safe which theu just had to turn a crank to open it and get even more bits and a few gems. Finally, there was a small area behind the wall behind the shelf that looked empty at first (only a few spiders being present), but Polterpup was there and sniffed something invisible at the end. So Apple Bloom used the DLD, making another chest appear, this one not only full of bit and gems, but also containing a key.

However, when they were about to leave the room, they were ambushed by five Tricksters and a dozen of Little Tricksters, the Trickster all armed with iron bars excepted one who was armed with a portable energy cannon like the one Cruller used. When she saw it, Little Ghost immediately became worried.

"Hum... Girls?"

"On it!" shouted Sweetie Belle as she took her head and threw it at the Trickster before he could fire at the filly ghost.

While Sweetie recovered her head, Apple Bloom crushed the dropped cannon under her hoof, ensuring that none of the ghost could grab it and use it while she captured the Little Tricksters who approached too much. At the same time, Little Ghost trapped two Tricksters and slammed them on one about to attack Apple Bloom from behind, leaving the Apple filly to deal with him. When Sweetie Belle finally recovered her head, she immediately trapped the last two Trickster, getting dragged around but quickly pressing her back hooves against one of the drapped objects to stop this.

The ghosts captured, they left the room and entered the dressing room which possessed a large mirror on the opposite wall above three tables as well as a coat rack on the left, and some drawers. The coat rack had many uniforms while the disguises that the ghosts used were piled on the tables. Behind a purple coat at the left of the mirror, they found another safe, and with the help of the mirror, they discovered an invisible chest containing gold, gems, and a key. As soon as they took the key, three dozens Little Trickster ambushed them with two Tricksters armed with the energy cannons appearing among them, aiming at Little Ghost.

The Little Tricksters went after Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, stopping them from attacking the two Tricksters who fired at Little Ghost. So Little Ghost was forced to fly around to avoid the shoots until she managed to get the two Tricksters at once, the two ghosts stupidly getting too close from each other. When she was finished with them, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were also finished with the little ones.

"They aren't as diversified as the painted ghost from the Gem Manor, but they sure know how to diversify their strategies to attack us," said Apple Bloom.

"Too bad for them, we are a good team," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah. And in the end, their energy cannons aren't too bad. They're easy to dodge if I remain careful."

"Ya won't think the same thing when ya'll face five ghosts armed with those cannons," said Apple Bloom.

"Mmh... you're right. Maybe I should take something to protect myself, like a shield."

"Where will you find a shield in this hotel?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Not necessarily a real shield. Anything that can be used as such. Like... Hey! We're close to the restaurant and the kitchen! I could use a tray, or a lid!"

"This could work," agreed Apple Bloom with a nod.

They exited the dressing room, encountering a Trickster patroling the hallway. After capturing him quickly and easily, they went to the door leading to the east wing. They then used one of the two keys they found, the one from the dressing room, to unlock the door.

"So this is what you went through two times, Apple Bloom?"

"Eeyup. Explore rooms, capture ghosts, find keys, open doors, and repeat. Well, there're less keys in Evershade Valley, and many other things like finding objects stolen by ghosts or solving some puzzles. There's even that time where Ah'd to use dynamite."

«And Ah hope this won't be needed in this hotel,» said Applejack.

"Come on, AJ, it's a hotel. Why'd there be dynamite there?"

«Dynamites aren't the only explosives. And in a hotel, ya never know. Especially in a hotel run by evil ghosts.»

"Good point. But it's still a hotel. Beside chambers, bathrooms, restrooms, and hallways, what'll we find?"

«It's a high class hotel,» said Twilight. «There will probably be some special floors, like a gym, or others to have some leisure activities. A library, an arcade room, maybe even a movie theater. Remember, there's already a floor with a stage for music shows and plays. And don't forget the third floor with the shops.»

"Ah didn't know hotels could've so much stuff."

«Because you never went inside a hotel like this one.»

While they talked, the fillies entered the east wing, a T-shaped hallway with the first part going south to north from the still locked door leading back to the Grand Lobby to the restaurant, and the second part going to the east leading to the restrooms. They directly went to the restaurant, opening the large double door leading to it.

The fillies went silent when they entered the restaurant, seeing that the tables were full of Tricksters eating the food messily (only for the food to drop out of their body on the floor, making an even bigger mess).

"There's a lot of them..." whispered Sweetie Belle.

"Don't worry. That's nothing. Ah fought worst, and Ah's alone," whispered back Apple Bloom.

"Now, we are three," whispered Little Ghost with a giggle. She then aproached the ghosts, took the handle of her Poltergust, and as the first ghosts spotted her, shouted "Alright, guys! End of the meal! It's cleaning t-Eep!"

She was interrupted by a plate full of food suddenly thrown at her. As the plate caught her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had to jump to the side to avoid it, wincing as they heard the plate hit the wall behind them. The Tricksters, meanwhile, took the food from the table before placing them on their sides, using them as cover. Most of the Tricksters then prepared themselves to throw food while some armed themserves with forks, knifes, spoons, and even baguettes. Among them, a few even took empty plates or trays to use as shields behind which they hid. A few bowls were even used as helmets.

As the ghosts began to throw food at them, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly jumped behind the board separating the main part of the restaurant from the waiting area where they were.

"'That's nothing', uh?" said Sweetie Belle.

"That's not mah first food fight against ghosts, but that's the first one where ghosts're acting smart. But we can deal with them if we act smart too." Spotting Little Ghost coming back, now holding the empty plate, clearly not happy after what happened, she pointed at her. "Little Ghost, ya fly around and take the food throwers from behind." She turned back to Sweetie Belle. "As for ya, ya'll go after the ones using knifes and stuff. Since ya're a skeleton, ya'd be alright. As for me..." She grabbed the empty plate from Little Ghost and put it in front of her while grabbing the handle of her Poltergust, smirking. "FOR EQUESTRIAAAAAAA!!!"

Apple Bloom charged from behind the board toward the nearest ghost, a trickster armed with a knife and using a trail as a shield. Thanks to the plate, Apple bloom wasn't hit by the food thrown at her and reached the ghost without problems. She parried the knife with her plate-shield, then spinned, side-kicking the trail-shield of the ghost. With another spin, she faced the ghost again before he could replace his shield, put the end of her Poltergust just in front of his face, and activated it, catching the ghost. She then raised her shield, parrying a fork, lowered her head to avoid a watermelon, and slammed the ghost on another one who was about to attack her with a baguette. While her ghost was still face against the other, she then spinned, sweeping the floor with him until he hit the ghost with the fork she parried while she used her shield to deflect a piece of cake.

Her friends quickly acted, following the instructions they were given. Little Ghost went first, flying near the ceiling before dropping back behind the ghosts hidding behind the tables. They looked at her in horror, but most of them returned to throwing food while only four of them decided to attack her. Little Ghost didn't go after them however, deciding to target in priority the ones still throwing food. She trapped one, then used him to destroy the nearest tables, depriving the ghosts from their covers.

With less ghosts throwing food, Sweetie Belle came out next and went to help Apple Bloom by trapping a ghost with a spoon and a plate-shield from behind and slamming him on one of the ghosts now circling her friend. She quickly jumped to avoid a piece of cheese, then slammed the ghost on another ghost circling Apple Bloom. By now, she had gained the attention of some of the ghosts, and as she slammed her ghost a third time, she was stabbed from behind by a knife user.

She giggled, then made her head do a half-turn to look at her attacker, creeping him out, not helped by her skull's eternal grin. "Hey, buddy, where do you see a heart to stab?"

The ghost laughed sheepishly.

Apple Bloom finished capturing her fourth ghost, then decided to go help Little Ghost dealing with the food-throwers. However, by now, her plate had broken because of a pie thrown at her hitting it, so she replaced it by a trail, then charged toward the only table still in one piece, circling it, and trapping two of the ghosts still hidding behind it. A third one prepared himself to punch her, only to be hit in the head by a watermelon thrown by Little Ghost. Another watermelon was thrown at a shield-user trying to use said shield to bash Sweetie Belle's skull.

"You know, I could get used to this," said Sweetie Belle as she slammeda ghost on one possessing a shield.

"And ya're very good. If ya want to join our team of ghost hunters for good, ya're welcome," said Apple Bloom while she used her shield to block a punch before she trapped the ghost.

"You know what? I think I will join, yes."

"Great! And once we save her, we will ask Scootaloo to join us!" shouted happily Little Ghost as she was riding on the head of a ghost while capturing another.

"Aw yeah!" shouted Apple Bloom. "And then, we'll be the Cutie Mark Crusaders Ghost Hunters!" She grabbed a plate and threw it like a frisbee toward Little Ghost who caught it and slammed it on the ghost she was riding, stunning him.

"Can we even still call ourselves Cutie Mark Crusaders?" wondered Sweetie Belle as she lowered her head to avoid a spoon. "We all have our Cutie Marks. Well, excepted you, Little Ghost, but..."

"I know, I will never have it, no big deal. I already know my special talent, it's being a super filly ghost!" replied Little Ghost as she grabbed a spoon and beggan bashing the head of a ghost repeatedly with it. "Bad bad bad bad bad bad! BAD GHOSTY!" She finished with a big hit that made the ghost spin before he dropped on the ground with stars in his eyes and his tongue sticking out.

"Ah suppose ya're right. We'd discuss this with Scoot," said Apple Bloom. "And if, no, when she joins us, we'll find a new, cool ghost hunter name for our group!" At this instant, she returned toward Sweetie Belle and trapped one of the two last ghosts while Sweetie Belle dealt with the other.

Finally, all the ghosts in the restaurant were captured.

"I may have one! What do you think of Ghost Busters?" proposed Sweetie Belle.

"It's a good start," said Little Ghost. "Maybe the Filly Ghost Busters? Since we're all fillies."

"But Ah won't be a filly forever," countered Apple Bloom. "Ah think..." she quickly added, remembering how she could die at any moment because of Thanatos. "We'll find something once we're done with this cursed hotel. But Ah like yer proposition, Sweetie Belle." She then licked some food that had gotten on her hoof in the chaos of the battle. "Mmh! Too bad we'll probably have to capture the chef who made this food! He's really good!"

Sweetie Belle eyed a bowl of ice cream, then sighed in sadness.

The fillies then entered the kitchen, Little Ghost taking Apple Bloom's trail to use it as a shield, and there, they finally encountered the chef of the hotel. He was a light brown stallion in a chef uniform, with a dark brown unruly mane as well as a large messy moustach. When they entered, he was happily cooking while singing a song in what Sweetie Belle recognized was Prench.

However, the stallion quickly spotted them, and he was so surprised that he dropped the bowl full of dough he was blending.

"Qu'est-ce que...?! What are you doing in ma cuisine?! Don't you see I'm occupé, nom d'un chien?!" he shouted in his part-Prench speech with a Prench accent.

"We just want the button you probably possess," answered Apple Bloom. "Then we'll leave."

"That thing?" asked the chef as he showed a button with a 4 on it. "Désolé, but I can't give it. Ordres du boss. I have nothing against you, mes petites pouliches, but I don't want to end dans une poupée."

Apple Bloom didn't know Prench, but she easily understood what he talked about. "That's why we're there. Me and mah friends want to capture Eternal Rest and save everypony. But we need this button to continue."

The chef looked at them in pity. "You have no chance against her, mes petites pouliches. If you want to keep your liberté, then turn around and leave cet hôtel."

"We aren't scared of that witch!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"If you think so. But you will have to take this button from me! I can't cuisiner as une poupée!"

Without warning, the chef took a frying pan and threw it at Apple Bloom. The chef was so close, his action so sudden, and his throw so fast that Apple bloom hadn't time to dodge, and she took the frying pan on the head, and she fell on her back, stunned.

"Désolé, mes petites pouliches, I don't like to hurt you, but I have no choice!"

At this, he threw another frying pan at Sweetie Belle, but the filly skeleton jumped to the side with an "Eep!" to dodge it. Meanwhile, Little Ghost approached the chef and prepared to activate her Poltergust, but to her surprise, the chef charged at her with a bowl and a blender. He put her in the bowl, then used the blender to stir her rapidly.

"Woaaaahhh!! Heeeeeeelp!!"

Suddenly, the chef found himself trapped in two vortex coming from his left and his right, and he dropped the bowl and the blender, freeing a now dizzy Little Ghost. The chef couldn't do much against the power of two Poltergusts. He still tried to throw stuff at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, to no avail. Before long, he was sucked up in Sweetie Belle's Poltergust screaming "Nom d'un chieeeeennnn!!" leaving the filly skeleton to take the dropped button.

Only for a mouse to jump out of nowhere and to take the button in its maw before passing through a hole in the wall leading back to the restaurant.

"What? Where did this mouse came from?! And why did it take the button?!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"Ah don't know, but we must follow it," said Apple bloom before she turned to Little Ghost. "Are ya alright?"

"Yes. Yes. Don't worry. I have recovered."

They returned in the restaurant and saw the mouse enter a hole under the counter, under the windows that let the customers have a view of the valley. Little Ghost followed the mouse in the hole, only for the mouse to come out the next second, followed by the now growling filly ghost. They followed it back in the hallway all the way to the entertainment room beside the door leading back to the Grand Lobby. Like its name implied, it was a room made to pass a nice time playing some games, like billards or dart. As they entered it, they saw the mouse pass under a locker at the north.

However, as they approached it, something strongly threw a billards ball at the back of Sweetie Belle's head, causing it to fall and roll on the ground. Apple Bloom and Little Ghost quickly turned around to see who did this, and saw on the billards table a ghost looking very much like the Hiders from Evershade Valley, but yellow. Two more yellow ghosts appeared, and the three of them went to hide in the pockets of the table.

"Oh. Those guys. Watch out, girls, their throws're no joke," warned Apple Bloom.

"No kidding!" said Sweetie Belle as she put her head back in place.

As they began to approach the table, the ghosts came out of the pockets and began to throw billards balls. The fillies went in different directions to dodge them while continuing to approach. Apple Bloom reached the first ghost and trapped him, and the others returned in the pockets to hide only for Little Ghost to join one of the ghosts in his pocket. The table began to shake, and the yellow ghost came out to escape from Little Ghost only for her to follow and to trap him. The third came out to save his friends, but Sweetie Belle was prepared for him and got him.

"That was easy," said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom nodded. "By themselves, they're okay, but when they team up with other ghosts, they become the worst. They throw objects at ya from their hidding place while ya're busy with the other ghosts."

"If this happen, then one of us will go to flush them out while the others capture the other ghosts."

"This'll certainly make it easier. It's a nightmare when Ah's alone in Evershade Valley."

"So, where were we?"

"The mouse under the lockers," answered Sweetie Belle.

"Thanks. Right."

Little Ghost followed the mouse under the lockers while the other two went in front of them, readying themselves to catch the mouse if he escapes again. But then, the door of the middle locker suddenly opened, slamming on Apple Bloom's head, and the mouse jumped out of the locker and escaped.

"What?!" yelled Sweetie Belle. "How did it get inside the locker?!"

Little Ghost came out and answered "There's a hole..."

"Just our luck..." groaned Apple Bloom.

Again, they followed the mouse in the hallway until they saw it pass by a hole to the mare restroom. However, when they entered it, they saw the mouse nowhere.

"Let's look around," said Apple Bloom.

Her friends nodded, and they separated to look in the sinks and the stalls. Eventually, they discovered that one of the stalls was closed, so Apple Bloom bucked it and it opened.

The mouse was on the toilet... with a dozen others. In panic, they fled out of the stall, and Sweetie Belle jumped on Apple Bloom's back. Apple Bloom didn't let herself being distracted by this (Sweetie Belle was very light) and managed to catch the mouse with the button by the tail. Little Ghost then grabbed the button and quickly flew up to make sure that no mice could catch it. Apple Bloom let the mouse go.

"Now let's return to the elevator before we lose it again. And get off mah back Sweetie Belle! What did Ah say earlier about mice?"

Sweetie Belle laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I panicked."

Author's Note

Name: Cordon Bleu
Age when dead: 44
Time of death: 19 years ago
Cause of death: Suicide by hanging.
Info: Chef Cordon Bleu was a famed chef who came from Prance to share his cooking with Equestria. He opened the famous restaurant Le Cordon Bleu and his cooking was so good that he received a proposition to join the castle staff, but he refused. "I don't want cuisiner just for the princess and the nobles, nom d'un chien!" was his answer. But one day, a food critic too critical caused his restaurant to lose a star. He was so ashamed by this that he hanged himself. His restaurant sadly didn't survive his death, and the food critic who caused this became the most hated pony of Equestria to the point that he decided to leave to Prance, which wasn't better once the ponies here heard of what he caused, and he ended poisoned.

The Great Stage

Floor four, the one with the stage. There wasn't much there, the hallway leading to the auditorium, the restrooms, and a concession stand, without forgetting the dressing room that had always been locked.

The door of the elevator opened, and the fillies came out of it, Poltergusts ready in case any ghosts were present or appeared. Like the rest of the hotel, the floor was more gloomy than last time they visited, with now the presence of those horrible 'statues' to greet them along with the displayed tuba and the portrait of the piano.

"I bet we will finally encounter the pianist," eventually said Sweetie Belle.

"It's a given. And we will certainly end up fighting him or her for the button to the next floor."

Apple Bloom shivered, remembering bad memories of her last encounter with a pianist ghost. If this pianist also took possession of the piano, she wasn't sure how they would be able to destroy it. Maybe she would have to call Twilight so she could destroy the piano like she did previously with her magic. But now that Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost were with her, maybe they would be able to do something by themselves. If they were fast enough, they could actually capture the pianist before they could possess the piano.

After, maybe the pianist won't try to possess the piano like Opal Note did. It's not because one ghost pianist took possession of a piano that all ghost pianists will do the same. Let's avoid... What was the word? Stereotypes. Yes, there seemed to have some stereotypes among ghosts. Pony ghosts were generally the small fry with a lot of diversity, minotaur ghosts were the big muscles small brains, diamond dogs loved to hide and throw objects, and so on, but those were the ghosts native of the Spiritual World, not the ghosts of real dead beings, and the pianist was certainly the ghost of somepony dead.

But just in case... "Girls, if the pianist takes possession of the piano, we must think of a way to destroy it without having Twilight smashing it with her magic."

«I did what?!»

Little Ghost laughed. "I remember! It was funny to watch! But it wasn't as cool as you using a chainsaw to cut the second one in half in our fight."

"Yeah, but Ah don't think there'll be a chainsaw this time. And with yer powers diminished, ya can't use them to throw it at the wall."

"Meh. We will find a way. You always find a way. I wasn't there to watch them, but you were able to face a giant spider made of millions of smaller one, a possessed giant tree, a haunted clockwork that could speed up your time to make you old, an elemental golem, and your sister turned Nightmare Moon-like turned monster. A piano is nothing compared to all those things. This pianist doesn't know it, but he's already doomed." She gave Apple bloom a noogie. "This filly is a smart one!"

"Stop that!" shouted Apple Bloom as she tried to stop the filly ghost.

"Hey! I am the smart one!" said Sweetie Belle, trying to pout.

"You're a different kind of smart. You are egghead smart. Apple Bloom is resourceful smart."

"Ah have to be to survive in this job."

As she said it, Apple Bloom began to advance down the hall only to stop when she saw a cymbal roll from the hallway before stopping. The three fillies looked at it in silence for a few seconds, Poltergusts pointed at the hallway where the cymbale came from.

"They really expect to scare us with a rolling cymbal?" wondered Sweetie Belle.

"Ya know ghosts. They love atmosphere," replied Apple Bloom.

Advancing in the hallway, they spotted at the end of it a Trickster flapping the carped up and down, creating waves that threatened to trip Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Despite their surprise at such a move, both of them were able to jump to avoid the first wave, and Little Ghost flew to the Trickster to capture him and stop him. Once the hallway was clear and waves stopped coming, they gathered in the hall in front of the double door to the auditorium. They could hear somepony play a piano through it.

"Eh. This one had a great idea, too bad for him that he's alone," said Apple Bloom with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I really expected an ambush."

Apple Bloom then tried to open the door, only to find that it was locked. "Darn."

"Okay. So, what do we explore first? The stallions' restroom? The mares' restroom?" She pointed at the doors at both sides of the hall they were in.

"Let's start with the mare restroom," answered Apple Bloom. They approached the door to the left, but they then saw that Sweetie Belle wasn't coming. They turned and saw her humming the song that played through the door. "Sweetie?"

Hearing her name, Sweetie stopped humming. "Uh?"

"We're going."

"Oh, sorry. I really love the song this pianist is playing. It's the Piano Sonata number 16 made by Piano Virtuoso! Whoever is playing, this pianist is very good!"

"Who?" asked her friends.

"A prodigy from a couple centuries ago. I'm sure you heard at least one of his pieces somewhere. Well, at least you, Apple Bloom. He made a lot of songs, many with piano and violin. Too bad he died young."

Apple Bloom listened to the song a bit. "Ah admit, it's good, but not mah style."

"Uh... Maybe I should find the partitions for Opal Note."

"Ah'm sure she'll love it," said Apple Bloom before she opened the door to the mares' restroom.

They found nothing in the restrooms excepted a Trickster sitting on a toilet of the stallions' restroom reading a newspaper. Apple Bloom will never understand why some ghosts sit on toilets when they don't even need to use them. This left them with the concession stand.

The entrance door was back in the hallway just beside the window of the stand. The stand was as they remembered: jars of candies on shelves, bottles on a stand, jars of licorice behind glass, and more candies popcorn here and there along with a sink and a cash register. There was also a safe beside the stand with the bottles. For some reason, more candies and some tickets were spread on the floor.

At first sight, no trace of the key to the auditorium, but it wasn't hard to guess that it was probably in the safe. Before they could go and open it, a dozen Little Trickster came out from behind the jars and bags while three... Drat, they forgot to give them a name. Three of the yellow ghosts appeared with the little ones, and there were also a few Little Bulkies that came.

The Little Bulkies charged at them first from different directions, arms spinning, while the yellow ghosts began to throw candies. The candies wouldn't be dangerous if they weren't thrown with such strenght that it would feel like they were hit by rocks. At least, the Little Bulkies could be captured without problems compared to the normal ones. No need to snuck up behind them, their bodies were just too small to be able to resist the Poltergust. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went to deal with the yellow ghosts -Apple Bloom finally decided to name them Throwers- while Little Ghost easily covered them with the trail she took from the restaurant and now used as a shield. While covering them, Little Ghost captured the Little Tricksters.

Once the ghosts gone, Apple Bloom opened the safe and took the key in it as well as all the bits. Key in hoof, they returned to the hall and opened the double door to the auditorium, now hearing more clearly the song that was played by the pianist, another Piano Sonata of Piano Virtuoso, the eleventh, Sweetie recognized.

The auditorium was like any auditorium, with rows of chairs facing a stage, with some balconies on the level above with side doors leading to them. There were, however, many of those 'statues' beside the walls, making the room very gruesome.

On the stage, a piano was playing alone, and a certain mare was dancing to the song.

Sweetie Belle gasped and shouted "Rarity!" before she ran toward her dancing sister.

"Wait!" shouted Apple Bloom.

Understanding that there was no stopping Sweetie Belle, Little Ghost flew after her intending to protect her if... when something wrong happen. Apple Bloom ran after them. But then, as Sweetie Belle climbed the stairs to the stage, she and Little Ghost were thrown back by an invisible force, causing the skeleton filly to lose some bones that quickly return to her body.

The piano stoppped playing, and the ghost playing it revealed himself: an elegantly dressed purple unicorn stallion with a well combed mane of silver hair who looked at them with indifference.

Sweetie Belle gasped, again. "Piano Virtuoso!"

"What? That's him?" asked Apple Bloom.

Piano Virtuoso hummed, then turned to Rarity. "I'm very sorry, my dear, but it seems like we must stop this lovely dance. Go in the dressing room and wait for me to finish with those three little disruptors."

Rarity bowed to him, then walked to the dressing room. Once Rarity closed the door, Virtuoso levitated a key to it and locked the door, then put the key in a pocket of his suit. He then turned back to face the fillies.

"So. You three are finally there." He looked at Sweetie Belle with a raised eyebrow. "A fan?"

"Apparently," answered Apple Bloom, chuckling at Sweetie Belle stuck in her gasping state. "She revealed before coming there that she loves yer stuff."

Virtuoso looked at Sweetie Belle's bony flank, seeing her Cutie Mark. "Mmhmmh... A fellow pony who loves to practice the musical art. Which instrument do you play?"

Sweetie Belle recovered from her shock at his question and answered. "Uh... None. I sing."

The pianist smiled. "Yes. You do have a lovely voice."

Sweetie Belle squeaked at being appraised by Piano Virtuoso, and would blush if she could. "Th-thank you!"

Virtuoso sighed. "Maybe we could have formed a duo for some of my pieces." He shook his head, then faced his piano, readying himself. "I will make it quick."

"No! I will make it quick!" shouted Little Ghost before she charged at Virtuoso only to be thrown back by that same force than earlier.

"Do you really think I will let you approach me?" asked Virtuoso with a huff.

Little Ghost growled. "If I had all my powers..."

"How'll we approach him...?" wondered Apple Bloom thoughtfully.

«Piano Virtuoso was easy to anger when something didn't go as planned. Anger him, and I'm sure he will lower his defense,» advised Twilight.

«This reminds me of somepony,» said Applejack smugly. «Replace 'getting angry' by 'going crazy'.»

Spike laughed.

«Hardy har har...»

Before Apple Bloom could thanks Twilight, Piano Virtuoso began to play, and suddenly, all the chairs in the auditorium began to levitate and to move following the song. The fillies could barely react that some of the chairs were thrown at them, and they had to run to avoid them.

Some of the chairs thrown broke upon hitting the ground while others just sweeped it. For those last ones, Apple Bloom had the idea of trapping them with her Poltergust before slamming them either on the ground or on other chairs close enough. Her friends followed her exemple, and rapidly, all the chairs of the auditorium were destroyed.

Virtuoso stopped playing and looked at them, annoyed. "You fillies are not as easy to defeat as you look. Very well, you give me no choice. He clapped his hooves, then began to play again while Tricksters in tutu, a good dozen, came from the sides of the stage, dancing and approaching the fillies.

The Tricksters attacked them in coordination with dancing moves following the song, but despite the novelty of fighting perfectly coordinated dancing ghosts, they were still simple Trickster easy to deal with. The only thing dangerous was their number, but with the usual catching and slamming and with their teamwork, the fillies rapidly got them, each taking four ghosts.

The more ghosts were caught, the more Piano Virtuoso was visibly frustrated, and when the last ghost disappeared in Sweetie Belle's Poltergust, he stopped playing, heavily shaking.

"You just had to make it hard!" he shouted at the fillies.

"Here we go..." chuckled Apple Bloom.

"I planned for you to fall rapidly! But no! You had to resist! You little..."

"Hey! We're ghost hunters! How could you think that we would be easy victims?" asked Little Ghost smugly before she patted Apple Bloom. "Especially this one. Throwing chairs? Dancing ghosts? Please! It's almost insulting for her! Piano Virtuoso? More like Lame Virtuoso!"

"Uh... Little Ghost... You are going a little too far..." said Sweetie Belle worriedly.

"Not at all!"

Piano Virtuoso yelled in rage, mane unravelled into a mess, before he slammed his hooves on the keyboard of the piano, an aura looking like fire appearing around him. He then flew into the piano, the instrument gaining life as two glowing angry eyes appeared and as it started to play again.

"Uh oh..."

"Well, he's angry alright. You're welcome."

"Ugh! Ah wanted to avoid this!"

The piano jumped from the stage right at them.

"Dispersion!" yelled Apple Bloom.

The fillies ran or flew away just in time to avoid being crushed by the piano. As it dropped on the ground, the piano created a shockwave that forced Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to jump. The piano the charged after Apple Bloom, and she jumped on the keyboard, then jumped above the lid and bucked it mid-jump, slamming it closed, cracking it a little. Apple Bloom used the air bucking to propel herself and land behind the piano.

She than looked around, and her eyes locked on the petrified ponies still intact. Taking a big breath, she muttered "Sorry..." before she pointed at the statues. "Sweetie Belle! Little Ghost! Let's use those statues to destroy the piano!"

Her friends looked at the statues. "Are you sure?" asked Sweetie Belle hesitently. "You know that they're..."

"Ah know! But they're the only thing we can use to effectively damage the piano!"

Little Ghost nodded as she flew out of the way of the piano jumping at her. "They will be too heavy for only one of us. Two of us will be needed."

Some of the keys of the piano suddenly began to levitate and went after the fillies who dodged them. When the keys hit something (generaly a wall), they return to the piano, ready to be thrown again.

Apple Bloom then said "Me and Sweetie'll go for the statues!"

Little Ghost smirked. "Then I will bring the piano to the statues."

Little Ghost then approached the piano and slammed herself on the keyboard, giving the piano a smug look before she began to fly around it. The piano tried to to headbutt her, to slap her, to smash her, but the filly ghost was to fast. Little Ghost eventually sticked her tongue at it before flying away, the piano on her tail. She stopped beside a wall, waiting for it to approach, and at the last second, she flew up, the piano smashing where she had been. Just above, in the alcove with the statues, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, each grabbing a leg of a statue, lifted said statue and slammed it on the piano.

It was as effective as Apple Bloom thought it would be, the statue greatly damaging the piano, destroying the lid and cracking the rest. Somehow, the piano still worked, but one or two more hit and it should be destroyed. However, the statue was now in piece, so they had to use another.

So they repeated the process, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle moving to another statue while Little Ghost returned to taunt the piano. Despite it using its keys more often, forcing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to hide, Little Ghost was able to lead it to them, and they slammed a second statue on it, damaging it more, almost making it reach the breaking point.

One last hit.

But Piano Virtuoso seemingly understood what they were doing, because he suddenly sent the keys to destroy all the remaining statues.

"Buck!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Apple Bloom!" suddenly called Little Ghost. When Apple Bloom looked at her, Little Ghost was floating beside one of the candlesticks hooked to the walls, and the filly ghost teared it off. "Take that!" She threw the candlestick at Apple Bloom, and the earth pony filly caught it.

"Thanks!"

As Apple Bloom ran to the piano to attack it with the candlestick, Little Ghost took two more candlesticks for her and Sweetie Belle, and they joined their friend. The three of them surrounded the piano, hitting it from all sides with their candlesticks while constantly running and rolling (and flying in Little Ghost's case) to avoid its attacks.

Eventually, it was too much for the piano, and it collapsed, breaking in pieces.

Piano Virtuoso floated out of what remained in rage, only to find himself with three Poltergusts pointed at him. This calmed him, and understanding that he was defeated, he gave them a formal bow before he was captured, dropping the key to the dressing room and the button to the sixth floor.

As Apple Bloom took the key and the button, Applejack said «For one of those guys playing that boring music, he's epic.»

Sweetie Belle huffed. "You should listen more of that 'boring music', you will be surprised. Some of them would put to shame many rock bands. Piano Virtuoso was one of them."

«Noted.»

Sweetie Belle sighed. "I can't believe we just captured him... Let's... save Rarity."

As they climbed on the stage and approached the door to the dressing room, Apple Bloom said "Ah wonder who else we'll fight after this guy."

"After encountering Piano Virtuoso, I'm almost waiting to encounter the princesses' parents," said Sweetie Belle.

"This would be so weird..."

«If this happens, I can't imagine what would be Princess Celestia's reaction,» said Twilight. «But you are right. After Piano Virtuoso, you could encounter absolutely anypony. Even the likes of Commander Hurricane or Princess Platinium. Darn. If I had known, I would have brought sheets about historical personalities of Equestria.»

«Nopony could have seen it coming,» said Spike.

Finally reaching the door, as Apple bloom began to unlock it, they could hear someone playing a piano through. Exchanging looks, the fillies opened the door, and saw Rarity sitting on a stool while a Trickster played some love song on a piano (the kind that can play alone). Seeing them entering, the Trickster stopped and waved at them with a sheepish smile only to receive deadpan looks in return.

Sweetie Belle rapidly captured him while Apple Bloom used the Dehypnotist on Rarity. The mare struggled a few seconds before she came back to herself, confused. She was immediately hugged by her sister who shouted her name.

Rarity shook her head. "Uh...? What...?"

"Long story short, this hotel is super haunted, the owner is a ghost who works for Thanatos, she captured everypony excepted me, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost, and we have to explore the whole hotel in search of the elevator buttons to save everypony and reach Eternal Rest," resumed Apple Bloom.

"And we just had to capture Piano Virtuoso himself to save you!" said Sweetie Belle.

Rarity looked at Sweetie Belle, seeing the Poltergust on her back and sighed. "If you weren't already dead, I would be really worried at the idea of you fighting dangerous ghosts." She then returned Sweetie's hug. "Thank you, my little hero. Wait a minute, Piano Virtuoso? THE Piano Virtuoso?"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yup! And he was really hard to fight! He was powerful so we couldn't approach him, but then he got angry and he possessed his piano and we had to destroy it to capture him!"

"Why would Piano Virtuoso fight you? He wasn't a bad stallion from what I was told."

Little Ghost answered her. "Eternal Rest threatens the ghosts under her orders to forcibly bound them to dolls for eternity if they don't do as she wants, so, many good ghosts are forced to do bad things because of her."

"We already saved Twilight and Spike, they're back in the caravan with Applejack," informed Apple Bloom. "Let's bring you there. Applejack's a Poltergust, and Twilight can use her magic, they'll protect ya and tell ya everything that happened while we continue to explore the hotel."

"Very well."

So the fillies began to escort Rarity back to the elevator. When they returned to the auditorium, Rarity was shocked by the state of the room.

"It must have been a very intense fight..."

"Ya've no idea."

"Are those bones?!"

"Uh... Yeah... Uh... Let's just say that we aren't the first to come to this hotel... and never come out."

"If you see pony-shaped statues... They aren't really statues."

Rarity gulped.

Then, the backwall of the stage suddenly rose, revealing a hidden orchestra mainly made of Tricksters, but with also a Buffy at the cymbales. As much instruments ready to be used as weapons.

As Rarity screamed, the fillies readied their Poltergusts, Apple Bloom shouting "Remain close to us, Rarity!"

Before attacking the Tricksters, they went after the Buffy first, not waiting for him to charge them. Apple Bloom remained beside Rarity to protect her from the Tricksters while Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost caught the Buffy and used his huge body to attack the other ghosts, weakening a lot of them. A lot of ghosts lost their instruments/weapons thanks to it, making it easier to fight them. With the Buffy gone, the fillies then just had to finish them. Many Tricksters still remained, a little less than half of them, but the resulting fight was barely harder than the one against the Tricksters dancers, the only main difficulty there being that they had to fight while protecting Rarity (who decided to use her magic to attack the ghosts, making her a harder target).

When the fight was over and all that remained were instruments, some brokens, spread on the ground, the group left the auditorium and traversed the hallway to return to the elevator.

"You really surprised me, Sweetie Belle. If you hadn't already your Cutie Mark, I would think that your special talent would be ghost hunting, like Apple Bloom," said Rarity.

"Thank you. I'm not as good as Apple Bloom, but I try my best."

Apple Bloom nodded. "She decided to join our ghost hunting team."

"She has some tricks that are unique to her thanks to her skeletal body. She's a really good addition to the team."

"Nice to hear," said Rarity.

"One of her tricks is to throw her head."

Rarity raised an eyebrow at this before looking at Sweetie Belle. "Seems like those hoofball trainings with father weren't for nothing."

Sweetie Belle laughed sheepishly.

"So they managed to capture that good for nothing Virtuoso," said mockingly the ghost of a very buffed stallion.

"Gahahaha! That feller put up a good fight with that there piano! Ah almost though he had it!" said another stallion wearing a cap and overalls.

"Did you really expect-"

"-that idiot with his boring music-"

"-to win?" said three mares who were triplets one after another.

"Aye! That weakling was just an appetizer!" said a stallion with a heavy pirate accent before he got out a cutlass. "I can't wait to cut their throats!"

"Ooga will smash weak fillies!" yelled a huge stallion.

"Ah! They would first have to pass my floor, and I will not let them!" said a rather high pitched voice belonging to a smaller ghost. "I'm Emperor Gorros! I'm undefeated! Everyone fears my name! Those fillies won't know what will hit them!" The smaller ghost then exited the room.

"Uhuhuhuhuh! This promises to be interresting," said a tall mare with a body almost fully covered in bandage, licking her lipses.

"You got it, sister!" shouted another mare with an afro. "This will be groovy! Those fillies are strong, but they have no chance against Gorros. But this will still be an epic fight! I can tell"

An old stallion huffed. "You put too much trust into that pipsqueak king."

"Come on!" said the mare with the afro. "That's Emperor Gorros! If you opened a historic book, then you know how much the guy means business! The fillies are doomed!"

"He's just a pipsqueak who plays the big bad emperor because his ego can't put up with his size! Not my fault if everyone back then was stupid enough to take him seriously!" replied the old stallion before he chuckled. "But don't worry. In the surprising eventuality that the fillies defeat him, well... my darlings are very hungry, and I couldn't refuse them fresh meat other than stupid rodents."

"You thing your weeds are scary? Wait until they get to MY floor!" cackled the the stallion with the pirate accent. "If everyone gets scared at hearing Gorros' name, then everyone cries their mommy at hearing my name! Those fillies will know what is real terror! And then I will send them to feed the fishes!"

The bandaged mare chuckled. "That is if I don't burry them in the sands of my floor first."

"Ooga will smash weak fillies!" yelled again the huge stallion.

"Shut up you fossil-for-a-brain!" shouted the bandaged mare.

"Please, don't shout at our big teddy bear," pleaded one of the triplets as she and her sisters hugged the stallion who began to laugh stupidly at being hugged by three mares.

"Hey! I'm a big teddy bear too!" shouted the buffed stallion as he flexed his muscles.

All the while, Eternal Rest was sitting at her desk, petting her three-tailed ghost cat with a smirk, her finished yellow, pink haired doll sitting beside her, terrified. Those ghosts were her elite, the best of the best that she could gather, all a threat in their own rights. But, while there was a possibility for one of them to succeed in stopping Apple Bloom, she was almost certain that the fillies will somehow manage to pass all of them and to reach them. Apple bloom captured Bogmire, the Shadows, the Nines, without forgetting Pyrite. It would be really disappointing if she failed to reach her floor, especially now that she had two friends to help her.

"What about Director Cut?" then asked the mare wearing an afro.

The stallion in overalls, lying down in the air using his forelegs as support for his head, laughed. "Probably thinking about his next potential big cinematic hit. Like always."

The bandaged mare sighed. "I really don't know why we keep this stallion..."

"We have nothing better to take his place," said the buffed stallion with a shrug. "But knowing what the boss will do to him if he don't do his job, I'm sure we can count on him. And hey! With his movie thing, he's probably the one among us who knows the most ways to kill somepony. It will all depend of what kind of movie he will decide to do while killing them."

Author's Note

Name: Piano Virtuoso
Age when dead: 35
Time of death: Over two hundreds years ago
Cause of death: Unknown illness
Info: Piano Virtuoso was a musical prodigy who created his first pieces at a very young age (four or five years old). In his thirty years of career, he did pretty much everything, from solo with a piano to symphonies to operas, and he was renowned to the point that he played for Princess Celestia many times, and even today, over two hundreds years after his death, his compositions are still among the most famous. He sadly left too soon, dying from an unknown illness at the age of thirty five.

Castle Gorros

Back in the caravan, Rarity received a group hug from the ponies and dragon already present, grad to see her alive. While they hugged, the fillies went to put all the captured ghosts into the prison crystals (in the green and yellow ones. They hadn't encountered yet a ghost that deserved to go in the red one).

Once they were done, they rested a few minutes, Polterpup joning them as they related what happened since Rarity and the others were captured. Eventually, they exited the caravan to continue their quest.

"I'm curious to see what is awaiting us in the sixth floor," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah. Sixth floor and beyond are uncharted territory for us," said Little Ghost.

"We'll discover soon enough," said Apple Bloom.

They reached the elevator, took it, waited until the doors opened in great anticipation, and exited it only for Apple Bloom to be almost beheaded by a falling axe.

"Eep!"

«Woah! That was close!» said Spike.

«Are ya alright, Apple Bloom?» asked Applejack.

"Y-yeah yeah! Ah'm alright!" answered Apple Bloom as she exited the elevator, letting Little Ghost go first this time, just in case. Her jaw, like the one of all the others, dropped when she saw the elevator hall.

It was made of stone in a style very similar to the old castle in the Everfree Forest. There were two armors guarding the entrance of the elevator, banners, a fireplace with weapons on the wall above it, a brazier on the wall beside the exit, and even the arrow of the elevator looked like a sword.

«A floor themed after the old style castles?» wondered Twilight. «That's... special.»

"But if this is themed after a castle... then does this means there'll be a prince or a princess?" asked Apple Bloom.

«If it's Princess Platinum...» started Twilight.

«I only see her,» said Rarity. «Or Chancelor Puddinghead or Commander Hurricane. If I remember correctly, Apple Bloom captured all the others last year on the roof of the Gem Manor.»

«Not all, there were rullers before Princess Rose,» informed Twilight.

While Twilight began listing the names of rullers that preceded Rose, Apple Bloom eyed the two armors. "Twilight. Ah don't think the ghost guarding this floor will be a pony. Those armors're griffon armors."

«Uh? Oh! You are right! Well, this certainly widen the possibilities. Contrary to ponies, griffons have had a lot of kings in their history, from before the founding of Equestria to today.»

Apple Bloom nodded with a "Mmhmmh," then used the Poltergust to smash one of the armors into the other.

"What are you doing?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom kicked the pieces of armor, spreading them everywhere in the room and even sending some of them into the fireplace before she answered. "Ensuring that no ghosts will use those armors to attack us."

"They really got you paranoid," laughed Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, but still laughed. "Eeyup."

«So, a castle floor with maybe a ghost griffon king was just above our heads? Well, darn...» commented Applejack.

«This certainly explains why they didn't want us to go above the fifth floor. It would have been hard to explain that, and who knows what kind of other crazyness there must be in the floors above,» said Spike.

«Yeah, after that castle floor, we can start bets on what will be next,» said Applejack.

The fillies finally exited the elevator hall, and were awed at the 'room' they were now in. It was a room that represented the entrance of a real castle: on their left was a fence with a gate and two small towers (with two griffon statues on them...), and behind the gate was a wooden bridge above a moat leading to the actual entrance door of the castle. And the wall of the door really looked like the front wall of a castle, with windows and all! However, the castle thing was kinda ruined by the presence of a stand of popcorns at the other side of the room, with a chest full of bits at the other side!

«Oh my...» said Rarity on the verge of fainting.

"Ah know, Rarity, Ah know, that's a lot of bit," said Apple Bloom as she emptied the chest.

"And this isn't even the first one," informed Little Ghost. "There was even a chest under the bathroom of your room."

«WHAT?!»

Sweetie Belle tried to make noises with her throat to gain attention, only to be remembered that she didn't have a throat to clear to make the noise, so she made it as if. "Ahem! Little Ghost, I think we will need your help to pass the gate," said Sweetie Belle as she pointed at the rope at the other side of the fence.

"Oh, yeah, give me a second."

Passing the gate, Little Ghost pulled the rope (with a little help from Sweetie Belle's magic), raising the gate and letting the two other fillies pass. Releasing the rope, letting the gate drop, she then joined her friends to pass the double door to the castle.

They then entered a hall with four arches, two at both sides of it and each containing another armor, but those ones were different from the ones back in the elevator room. They were much bigger, reaching the size of Celestia, entirely black, and could entirely cover the user's body, not letting any skin or fur or whatever for the others to see. Whoever was their owner, certainly the king of the castle judging by the crowns on the helmets, was also very muscular, because the armors were wide, and were each equiped with a black shield with a golden griffon skull on it.

"Woah... That's some big armors..." said Apple Bloom.

«Oh buck... Oh buck buck buck... That's his armor... That's bad... That's so bucking bad...» said Twilight with clear horror in her voice.

«Please, darling, calm down,» tried to calm Rarity.

"Okay, Twilight, who are we up against?" asked Apple Bloom.

«Emperor Gorros, said the Giant, also called the Black Knight.»

«Oh... Crud...» said Spike.

«Everypony here knows about the great Griffon Empire, right?»

«Yes I do.»

«Eeyup.»

"We learned some of it in school," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, I was told by Aunt Crystal Ball that it was a big pain in the butt of Equestria back then," said Little Ghost. "I was... disappointed to learn that all that remained was a city. How the mighty has fallen."

«Well, Gorros is none other than the one who created the empire, conquering many lands on the blood of countless creatures, stealing their wealth... From the moment he got on the throne to the day of his death, thirty six years in total, he terrorized all the populations of not only what is now Equestria, but also of the other kingdoms in the East, and he was never defeated. Never. We don't know what was his real appearance, the griffons kept it hidden when he died. We only know him by this black armor he was wearing in all his battles. His presence alone was generaly enough to cause whole armies to run.»

Apple Bloom gulped. "How did he die?"

«Sickness. At the time, medical knowledge wasn't as advanced as today, so griffons, like ponies and most other creatures, had a rather low life expectancy.»

"And Eternal Rest manages to force this guy to work for her?" asked Sweetie Belle. "How powerful must she be if she's able to force such a brute into her slave!"

Apple Bloom stared at the closest armor, then smirked. "Undefeated, until today. He may use a sword, spear, axe, or whatever, but we have two much better weapons: the Poltergusts, and teamwork!" She bucked one of the legs of the armor, making it crash on the ground. She then took its shield and showed it to Little Ghost. "There. This'll be much better than yer tray."

Smiling widely, Little Ghost threw the tray she used as a shield and took the one offered by Apple Bloom, only to drop it because of its weight. Even if Apple Bloom was holding it as if it was weighing nothing, the truth was that it was really heavy, worsened by the fact that Little Ghost was the ghost of a newborn filly, so she was much smaller, and less strong than her friends (especially Apple Bloom). With her weakened ghost powers, holding that shield the normal way was impossible. But after some thinking, she got an idea.

"Twilight?"

«Yes?»

"Is it possible for you to come here and shrink this shield?"

«Uh... Yes. I can.»

Not long after, the fillies left the hall, the four armors now in pieces, a treasure chest in a secret passage behind one of the armors emptied, and Little Ghost now equiped with the smaller shield (still big enough to protect most of her body). They then entered what was an absolutely HUGE room containing no less than a whole coliseum! They were actually on a balcony overlooking the arena, a stand of watermelons, tomatoes, and bread at their right, a door blocking the path leading to the arena beside it, and another door blocked by a metal gate at their left, with two armors guarding it. On the opposite side of the arena, they could see another balcony, this one with a roof and the golden griffon skull symbole on it. There was a huge throne on a small mountain of skulls of various species, but it was actually empty.

After a quick passage to the stand to empty the chest, the fillies went to the gate to the path only to discover that it was locked. So they then went to climb on the small stone wall stopping creatures from falling over the ledge, and they looked down at the arena.

Two Tricksters came beside a huge double door at the left of the arena and began to play trumpets, announcing the arrival of someone. Heavy steps then could be heard approaching the door, and the Tricksters quickly flew away before it was kicked open, and a big, deep laugh resonated menacingly. While this happened, countless ghosts, Tricksters, Buffies, Throwers, and also purple ones looking like Sneakers, appeared on the bleachers, cheering and applauding at the arriving figure.

Finally, the figure revealed itself from the doors: Emperor Gorros. The huge black knight waved at the cheering audience, laughing again, but more cheerfully this time.

"Who is ready for a blood bath?!" he shouted with his grave voice,and the cheering doubled as an answer, making him laugh even more. Gorros then turned his head toward the watching fillies, staring at them with his glowing red eyes, the only things that could be seen through his armor.

«Emperor Gorros... Seeing him in person...» said Twilight.

«He makes me shiver,» said Rarity.

"So!" suddenly shouted Gorros. "Here are my challengers! Three little fillies! Ooooh, I'm scared!"

The audience laughed or booed at the fillies.

Gorros then took a huge red sword and pointed it at the fillies. "If you think that you can defeat me- which is impossible, of course- then pass this door..." He pointed at the blocked door at the fillies' left, and the metal gate opened. "then pass this door, survive the traps of my castle, and come to me. Your skulls will make nice trophies. MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!"

"Challenge accepted, Black Knight! Be ready to have yer first defeat!" yelled Apple Bloom, causing the audience to laugh again.. "Come, girls!"

Her friends nodded hesitantly, then followed her as she passed the newly unlocked door, entering an armory with two Tricksters fighting playfully with swords. They were quickly captured, but more Tricksters appeared andarmed themselves with the swords and spears in the room, and four of them took possession of the four armors present.

The fillies each managed to trap one of two ghosts, and began to slam them on the other ghosts around, Apple Bloom slamming her two ghosts on one of the armors to destroy it. Another armor readied itself to attack her, but was stopped by Sweetie's head hitting its helmet, leaving Apple Bloom to smash this one too. The third armor tried to cut Sweetie Belle in half with its axe, but Little Ghost parried the weapon with her shield, and Sweetie Belle, with Apple Bloom's help, caught the carpet on which the armor and the other remaining one were walking and pulled, making the armors crash. They promptly captured the Tricksters coming out of the armors and made sure that no ghosts would take possession of them again.

Once the room was cleaned, Apple Bloom remarked that some breaks on a part of the wall were suspiciously protruding, and she pressed them, causing the part of the wall to rise and revealing a small secret room with a treasure chest.

After emptying the chest, they left the room by the opposite door and entered a room that was just a stairway leading to the inferior level. On the middle level of the stairway was a treasure chest,but as the fillies approached it, Apple Bloom walked on a plate that caused a row of spikes to come out of the ground just in front of her.

"Woah!"

"Okay, leave it to me."

Little Ghost took Apple Bloom's bag, flew above the spikes and emptied the chest before they continued. A similar trap was on the lower level, blocking the path to the door, and Little Ghost had to pull a rope to make the spikes go down and let her friends cross. On the other side, a hall in the wall let them enter a secret room with another treasure chest.

The next room was a cellar with barrels full of tomatoes and bigger barrels lying on their side. Out of the tomato barrels came Tricksters equiped of shields, the ghosts using them as cover to protect themselves from the Poltergusts. Throwers also appeared and hid in some of the barrels to throw tomatoes at them. The Tricksters were easy to deal with using number: one of the fillies got their attention, and the others circled them to trap them from behind, and the one not busy capturing the Tricksters went for the Throwers.

Once the room was cleaned of ghosts, they discovered that the exit was locked, forcing them to search in the barrels for the key. It turned out that the key was inside one of the big barrels (Apple Bloom had to buck them to open them). The next room had nothing interresting excepted a baner of the Black Knight and another row of spikes blocking the way. There again, Little Ghost had to pull a rope, but the rope didn't cause the spikes to go down. Instead, it caused four chained metallic balls to drop from the ceiling.

after exchanging a quick look, the fillies went to pull the balls. The one that Apple Bloom pulled caused a helmet to drop on her head.

"Ouch! Darn it!"

Little Ghost got a bit and a sword falling on her.

"Lucky I'm already dead."

Sweetie Belle got a dozen bits, and nothing hurtful.

"Yay!"

finally, Apple Bloom pulled the last ball, causing a trapdoor to open right under her, dropping her in a level directly under the floor of the room.

"Are you alright Apple Bloom?!" asked Sweetie Belle from the trapdoor.

"Yeah, just my butt that hurts a li- Woah!"

"What? What's going on?"

"I'm coming!" shouted Little Ghost before she flew down to join Apple Bloom.

"False alarm. It's just a stupid dragon costume. Ah took it for a real one for a moment there."

Sweetie Belle mimed sighing in relief before she jumped to join her friends. Looking around, they saw that the only way to continue was blocked by a huge spider web, most of the room being blocked by the mecanism causing the spikes to rise in the room above. The dragon costume was in pieces here and there in the room, the head directly beside them, mouth open to reveal a pipe linked to some machine, probably to spit fire like a real dragon. There was also a torch.

Apple Bloom got an idea and took the torch. "Sweetie Belle, press the button of the machine, please."

"Oki."

Sweetie Belle did as instructed, and a stream of fire came out of the pipe inside the mouth of the dragon head. Apple Bloom put the torch on the way of the flames, lighting it. Once the fire stopped, she then went toward the web and put it on fire, opening the way. It let them reach a stack of bits and another metallic ball, this one revealing a ladder that led them back to the room above, at the other side of the spikes.

The next room was rather small with just a walkway, a banner, a crank, and a metal cage. Behind the banner was a safe with some bits and gems. Finally, turning the crank caused an elevator to move up to their level. They could use it to go to the lower level, but one of them had to remain behind to turn the crank again and make it go down.

"Welp. Here I go again."

"Maybe I should have remained a ghost," commented Sweetie Belle.

"Told you, ghosts rule. But you're alright as a skeleton. Now, go in the elevator so I can turn this crank and join you down here."

In the lower level, Sweetie Belle had to resist jumping on Apple bloom's back at the sight of a mouse. There were more cages, another crank for the elevator, a second crank to move down one of the cages, a pillory, a basin full of water, and a rope hanging from a bucket on a shelf. From the elevator, there was a door at the right, but it revealed to be closed. Apple Bloom ent to pull the rope, but eyed the bucket suspiciously. When she pulled it, she quickly moved away to avoid whatever would fall of the bucket, which revealed to be water.

Apple Bloom huffed, then continued to look with her friends to search the key to open the door. Finding nothing, they turned on their DLD and revealed in the wall opposite to the door a coffin.

"Oh, I hope there isn't a body in there," said Sweetie Belle. "And if there's one that it will not jump at us when we open it."

"The worst's that it may happen. Ah already fought mummies and animated squeletons, so zombies're very possible," said Apple Bloom. "Especially in that there hotel where bodies're everywhere."

Sweetie Belle wanted to gulp.

Thankfully, they found nothing inside the coffin, but the door suddenly closed on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, locking them inside. The coffin then spinned, and released them inside a new room. Little Ghost quickly passed the wall to join them in panic. Seeing that they were alright, she calmed down.

"You scared me, girls."

"Sorry, we weren't expecting this coffin to close on us," replied Apple Bloom as she looked around at the new room.

It was a room with a waterwheel visible at the other side of a wall, a wooden platform with three hooded figures holding crossbows, a small staircase leading to a small pathway filled with water, a canal at the other side of the wooden platform, and a treasure chest at the end of the room. There was also a platform above the hooded figures, a rope hanging from it.

"Ah bet the key's in that chest."

"But I imagine that those figures will fire at us if we try to traverse."

"Not like arrows'll do anything to ya and Little Ghost."

"We should pull that rope. Maybe it'll cause something."

Apple Bloom nodded and did so, causing the platform above the figures to weaken. She spotted another rope on the platform and pointed at it.

"Little Ghost."

"On it!"

Little Ghost pulled the second rope, and the platform collapsed on the figures, opening the way for Apple Bloom. They then opened the chest, getting a key like they expected as well as more bits.

They used the coffin to return to the previous room, and used the key to open the locked door and continue their path after dealing with two dozens Little Buffies dropping with the elevator. The next room was a dungeon, with a cage taking half of it. A key was in the cage, and a metallic ball opened the door to it. However, to keep the door open, the ball had to be kept pulled.

Little Ghost could enter the cage by herself, but the key left in the middle of it was suspicious, so while Sweetie Belle pulled the ball, Apple Bloom entered the cage with Little Ghost. When the earth pony filly grabbed the key, a Trickster suddenly came and punch Sweetie Belle, causing her to let the ball go, and the door of the cage closed. Then, spikes came out of the left and right walls of the cage, and the walls started to close in on Apple Bloom.

"Uh oh. Open the door, Sweetie Belle!" shouted Apple Bloom in panic.

"I can't! That Trickster is stopping me!" shouted Sweetie Belle. "I have to capture him first!"

"More are coming behind you! I'm coming! While I deal with them, pull the ball! I'll protect you!"

"Okay!"

Little Ghost flew out of the cage and joined Sweetie Belle, trapping the Trickster who punched her and slamming him on the approaching ghosts while Sweetie Belle began to pull the ball again.

"Hurry up! The walls're getting close!" yelled Apple Bloom.

"Al...most..." said Sweetie Belle. A ghost almost punched her, but Little Ghost got him and swung him, hitting a lot of ghost thanks to this move. Sweetie Belle finally pulled completely the ball, and the door of the gate opened. Apple bloom bounced out of it just before the walls reached her.

"Thanks, girls," she said with a relieved sigh before she began to help Little Ghost capturing the remaining ghosts, joined by Sweetie Belle.

"You are welcome! You're lucky we came! If you were alone, you would have died!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, Ah suppose that Ah's lucky the two previous times that there wasn't that kind of traps."

«Which means that, from now, ya'll always have somepony with ya when starting an adventure,» said Applejack, clearly on the verge of a breakdown.

"Ah promise."

Apple Bloom unlocked the door, and the fillies entered a new room separated in two parts by a bridge. However, the bridge was made of two parts not connected to each other, blocking the path. Below the bridge was a lower level of the room full of spikes. Apple Bloom going down here was out of the question. On a wall was a giant head of the Black Knight, its eyes following Apple Bloom, freaking her out. On their left was another ball with a rope to be pulled.

Apple Bloom pulled it, rising a wooden wall and revealing a crank, but like in the previous room, the rope had to be kept pulled, so she had to leave the crank to Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost. Making sure that there were no traps, Sweetie Belle turned the crank, and after some back and forth, connected the two parts of the bridge. Once they were sure that there were no traps, and while Sweetie Belle connected the bridge, Little Ghost went to open a chest in the spiked level of the room.

But then, as Apple Bloom started to cross the bridge, she steps on a pressure plate, and three giant axes began swinging across the bridge.

"This castle really wants mah death..."

«Be careful, Apple Bloom,» said Applejack.

"Don't worry. Ah just have to be patient, and quick. Ya too, Sweetie Belle. That can't kill ya, but that can cut ya."

"I know."

Apple Bloom observed the axes, an waiting the good moment, began to run, passing the three axes one after another. Sweetie Bele was quick to follow, the skeleton almost getting her tailbone sliced by the last axe.

"Take note, girls. This is probably the kind of stuff we will face when we will storm Thanatos' castle," said Little Ghost as she joined them.

Her friends nodded, and they climbed the small staircase leading to the exit door at their right (beside the sculpted head of the Dark Knight). In the next room were more of those hooded figures holding crossbows, and no platforms to collapse on them. However, there was a track with a chariot full of tomatoes on it. They just had to pull it, and Apple Bloom could use it as a shield to cross the room without being turned into a pincushion.

Their progress was halted when they discovered that the track was broken in the middle, stopping the chariot from continuing, and there were still half the figures to pass! And no chariot visible in the other side of the room. Or, is there? There were four wheels on the track standing up. Little Ghost went to them and used the DLD, revealing the chariot they belonged to. Sweetie Belle then joined her, and together, pulled the chariot to the figures so Apple Bloom could cross what remained.

After an ambush of Little Tricksters quickly taken care of, they exited the room and entered a long hallway that turned to the right. Another pressure plate caused two axes to swing, but they were quickly passed. There were also many banners of the Black Knight, and another of his huge black armors at the end. After destroying it, they discovered behind one of the banners a hidden door leading to Emperor Gorros' treasure room, full of gold and gems.

"Woooh! Time to make this emperor poor!" shouted Apple Bloom.

Once the room was empty, they returned to the hallway and opened the giant double door at the end, finally entering the arena under the booing of the audience.

"Oh! Knock it off!" yelled Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle... Stop yelling at the public and pay attention to the giant buffed griffon in black armor in front of us," said Little Ghost.

Because, yes, Emperor Gorros was in front of them, at the other side of the arena, staring at them as he swung his sword in the air and laughed.

"So you reached me successfully. Not sure if you are good, or just lucky. It doesn't matter, your adventure ends there. Right, everyone?! Are you ready to see those three fillies fall before my mighty sword?!" he asked the audience who cheered loudly in return. "MWAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!"

"Are ya done?" deadpanned Apple Bloom. "Ah's told you're a terror, not a show off."

The audience booed.

«Ooooh! Burn! Apple Bloom burned the Black Knight! Respect!» shouted Spike.

Gorros growled. "Fine! If you wish to die that quickly, then have at it!"

Grabbing his shield, sword ready to swing, Gorros charged toward the fillies who moved out of the way. Targetting apple Bloom, he swung his sword at her, and she jumped above it. Little Ghost bashed his helmet with her shield, not doing anything to him excepted annoying him. In return, the Black Knight tried to bash her with his own shield, but she flew out of the way.

"Apple Bloom! How can we defeat this guy?!" asked Sweetie Belle as she avoided being stombed by one of Gorros' back legs.

"Uuuuh..." Apple Bloom lowered her head to avoid being beheaded by Gorros' sword, then said "Ah'll try something!" She then put her Poltergust into red mode, and activated it, catching the knight in the vortex.

To no effect, he was too heavy, and he made it known by swinging his sword again, forcing Apple Bloom to roll away.

"Drat!"

«Wait, it's maybe the right thing to do. What if you attack him with Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost at the same time?» advised Twilight.

Hearing her, the fillies exchanged looks and nodded before they all put their Poltergusts to red mode. Avoiding Gorros' sword, shield, and legs, they then gathered and activated their Poltergust at the same time. To their joy, Gorros was lifted from the ground.

"What?!"

Giving the evilest smirk they could give (or trying to in Sweetie's case), the fillies swung their Poltergusts at once and slammed the Black Knight violently on the ground, causing some pieces of his armor to fall and the audience to gasp. Gorros quickly recovered however and attacked the fillies with his sword, forcing them to release him and to move away as he got up.

"Impossible!"

Now that some pieces of the armor had fallen, the fillies could see some parts of the inside, revealing some transparent red, what looked like a metallic beak, and also a metallic bone-like part of the front right leg, to their confusion. Gorros growled, then as he faced the fillies, he threw his sword to his left like a frisbee. To the fillies' surprise, the sword, while spinning in the air, did an arc, forcing the fillies to dodge before it returned in Gorros' claw. Gorros then raised the sword, emitting a red light, and three crossbows came out of three windows with wooden doors on the side of the arena. The crossbows then fired at the fillies, and Little Ghost quickly used her shield to cover Apple Bloom. When they looked at Sweetie Belle to see how she was, they saw that she had an arrow in her left eye socket. Disturbed by it, Apple bloom took the arrow out of it.

"Thanks. It was... awkward."

"Watch out!"

At Little Ghost's shout, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rolled away, avoiding Gorros' swing. The griffon emperor war more violent, taking the fight more seriously. Those three fillies managed to break some of his armor! That! Was! ON! Rare were the ones who managed to do it, and they all had a special place in his collection of skulls, now a part of his very throne! He won't be able to have the ghost's skull, but the other two will be a nice addition!

He swung and swung and swung again forcing the fillies to always move backward. He was stopped by Little Ghost bashing his helmet again with her shield, but this time, she wasn't able to escape in time before being bashed in return, sending her flying above the bleashers. He then swung his sword again at Apple Bloom, and she jumped again, only to be bashed by his shield too, and she was sent right toward Sweetie Belle, causing her bones to spread everywhere because of the impact. Gorros then ordered the crossbows to fire again, but Apple Bloom rolled away immediately and was even able to use one of Sweetie Belle's bones to slap one of the arrows, making it change trajectory and making it end its course right into the right eye of Gorros. He didn't even flinch at this.

Apple Bloom dropped the bone to let it return to Sweetie Belle, then started to circle the Black Knight to get his attention away from her reconstituting friend. Again, Gorros attacked her without mercy, but this time, the filly used the Poltergust, still in red mode, to deviate the attacks, catching the arm holding the sword in the vortex and making it move so it wouldn't hit her.

"To think that this is not against a sword that I am struggling, but a machine originally made to clean!"

He swung again, and Apple Bloom caught his sword and made it hit the ground.

She smirked. "That's because this machine is mah sword! And Ah mastered it!"

Gorros laughed, then put his shield in front of him and charged. As Apple Bloom rolled out of the way, he then swung his shield at her, and she used the handle of her Poltergust to parry it. As she was clashing with his shield, Gorros attacked her with his sword only for it to be caught in another vortex from Little Ghost. The filly ghost then forced him to do a big swing that made him lost balance. Another vortex from Sweetie Belle then caught one of his back legs, and with a pull, he lost ground and fell. As he recovered, the three fillies then activated their Poltergusts at the same time and slammed him for the second time, making him lose more of his armor.

"Don't forget about us!"

"With us at her sides, we are beyond masters!"

"We're legends!" the three shouted.

Gorros recovered, and everypony gasped. The helmet was now gone, revealing a fully metallic skull-like head, the glowing eyes being actually a fire burning inside of it through the holes in the skull. With more of the armor gone, more metallic bone-like parts could be seen a little everywhere, with more of the red transparent visible in the torso area.

«Wait, WHAT?!! The Black Knight is a mecha?!» yelled Spike.

«More like a metallic endoskeleton inside an armor. That's incredible!» shouted Twilight.

«But then, where's the pilote?» asked Spike.

«The red thing we can see in the torso, Ah suppose,» said Applejack.

Gorros growled. "I am a legend too, and... I... Will... KILL YOU!!!" He violently threw his sword and his shield to the ground, then raised his right claw, emitting a red light again. Two more crossbows appeared, and the knight sent five light balls at the now five crossbows, covering them in a red aura. The five crossbows then targetted the fillies, and fired.

Little Ghost covered Apple Bloom again with her shield while Sweetie Belle just let the arrows pass between her bones. but the crossbows continued to fire, and Gorros charged at them with a shriek, metallic claws ready to tear them into shreds. Apple bloom got out of the cover offered by Little Ghost's shield and jumped toward the Black Knight, taking him by surprise as she moved between his legs and bucked the back left one, making him crash and lose a little more of his weakened armor.

With another shriek, Gorros rose and turned to attack Apple Bloom, but was bashed on the head by Little Ghost again, knocking the metallic skull away and only leaving the fire that was in it. Even without its head, the knight continued to move and swung his claws at Little Ghost who did her best to avoid them. He was stopped by Sweetie Belle catching one of his claws with her Poltergust, and Little Ghost caught the other one before they both pulled down, and Gorros slammed on the ground again, losing more armor. He was then hit by the arrows of his crossbows, Apple bloom, who was their target, moving so he was between them and her, and so, using him as a shield.

Before he could get up, the fillies caught him in their three vortexes again, but instead of directly slamming him, moved toward the crossbows, the knight struggling to escape. Once they were close enough, they then slammed him on one of the crossbows, destroying it and causing more armor pieces to fall. Another slam, another crossbow was destroyed, and more armor broke. Again, and again, and again, the knight was slammed on the crossbows, destroying all of them and destroying all his armor.

All that was left was the metallic endoskeleton (without the head), and the real Emperor Gorros in an espace in the torso area. Gorros was actually a red griffon very small, barely bigger than Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They could see that he could manipulate the skeleton and the armor thanks to a system of wires wrapped around his limbs. He even separated his ghost tail into two to reform his back legs for this. And he talked through a horn to have his deep voice.

"The legend has fallen," said Apple Bloom.

"Not yet!" growled Gorros with a higher pitched voice as he recovered. He then charged toward Apple Bloom, shrieking.

Apple Bloom advanced confidently, and Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle didn't move, leaving their friend finish the emperor. Gorros swung his right metallic claw at the apple filly, and Apple Bloom activated her Poltergust still in red mode. Now that there was just the endoskeleton, the Black Knight was light enough for her, and as it was caught in her vortex, she slammed it, causing parts of the skeleton to break.

She slammed it again, and more parts of the skeleton broke.

Another slam, more parts fell.

She then spun, spun, spun, and finally released the knight, throwing what remained of it toward the throne on the balcony. The knight, the throne, and the small mountain of skull exploded upon impact, the audience's jaws dropping. Not done yet, Apple Bloom climbed on the bleachers, not minding the ghosts, and entered the balcony as Gorros, now by himself, recovered.

The emperor took a smaller sword that he on him to defend himself, but it was no use against the Poltergust. Apple Bloom caught him, then slammed him on one of the front pillars supporting the roof of the balcony, weakening it, then slammed him on the other, also weakening it. Slowly, the two pillars began to break, and Apple Bloom jumped from it back into the bleachers, the ghosts moving away from her as she slammed again the emperor.

Feeling that he was being sucked, Gorros planted his swor on the bleacher to resist, and looked as the roof of his royal balcony collapsed on it, his golden skull emblem breaking into pieces.

Giving a big roar, he strenghtened his grip on his sword. "I am Emperor Gorros! I am undefeated! I won't... I won't..."

Then, to his horror, his sword got out of the ground.

"NOOOOOOOO-" Pouf!

And thus, the undefeated Emperor Gorros, was defeated.

But it wasn't over. As Apple Bloom took the elevator button that was dropped, the one to the seventh floor, the ghosts of the audience recovered from their shock. Thinking that the fillies were weakened after this fight, they decided to attack. Apple Bloom quickly got away from the bleachers and joined her friends. Back to back with them, they then activated their Poltergusts still in red mode, and SUCKED! Dozens of ghosts were captured in a few seconds until the fillies were forced to let the Poltergusts cooldown.

Forced to put them back to yellow mode, the fillies started to battle the normal way, catching, slamming, sucking, catching more ghosts. They used the Buffies to hammer the other ghosts, Little Ghost used her shield to protect her friends from the thrown tomatoes of the Throwers, and Sweetie Belle threw her head when she needed to. The purple ghosts revealed to be exactly like the Sneakers, turning invisible and sneaking on them, so the fillies always made sure to watch each others' back. Thankfully, not many of the purple ghosts- Creepers, Apple Bloom decided to call them- were able to sneak too close because of all the slamming. Eventually, they put the Poltergusts back to red mode, and finished the remaining ghosts.

The fillies gave a general hoof bump in victory, and Sweetie Belle began to bounce excitedly.

"That was the most intense thing ever! We captured an emperor! And it was the Black Knight! Like in the stories, but he was real! And we captured a whole coliseum!"

Apple Bloom laughed. "Calm down, Sweetie Belle. Something tells me that something more intense'll happen soon."

"Oh my gosh! You're right! We've still, like, nine floors to explores! No, wait! Ten floors! There's the second basement level too! But what could be more intense than an emperor and a whole coliseum?"

"The witch who forced said emperor to obey her?"

"That's right! That's right! Oh my gosh!"

Apple Bloom and Little Ghost laughed.

Sweetie Belle wasn't the only one excited, for a different reason.

«Wait until I tell Celestia about Gorros!» shouted Twilight.

«Yes dear, yes, we can't wait,» said Rarity with a sigh.

The mare with the afro whistled. "Well, someone pinch me, they actually did it."

"Told you!" shouted the old stallion. "That emperor was just a jester with a sword and an armor! Now that it's my turn, I will show you how to stop annoying fillies possessing machines that can capture ghosts! With time comes experience, and I had a lot of time!"

"Lad! You may look old, but you're nothing more than a colt compared to some of us!" said the stallion with the pirate accent.

The bandaged mare huffed. "And this statement is obviously wrong, or else, Ooga would be the smartest of us, which is NOT the case."

"Guh?" asked the huge stallion, Ooga.

"See what I mean?" asked the mare with a roll of her eyes.

"Just you wait, and I will show you!" shouted the old stallion. "I'm not called 'doctor' for nothing! I will get those fillies!" The stallion then passed through the floor.

The mare with the afro looked at the others. "I bet for the fillies."

Author's Note

Name: Gorros
Age when dead: 53
Time of death: Around one thousand three hundreds years ago
Cause of death: Sickness
Info: Gorros always had a complex because of his small size, so when he climbed on the throne after secretly assassinating his father and his two big brothers, he did everything to make himself look big. Genius of his time, he created a giant skeleton of metal that he could manipulate from the inside thanks to wires, and he covered it in black armor. Thus was born the Black Knight. For his greatness, he then captured lands after lands, stole countless wealthes, and made his throne on the skulls of his defeated enemies, giving birth to the feared Griffon Empire. His reign of terror stopped when he was reminded that he was just a mortal and died of sickness.

Garden Suites

Ding!

The elevator reached the seventh floor and opened, and the fillies exited it, entering a room with a lot of greenery. There were some trees, some water beds in the corners, and more flowers in hanging pots against the walls.

"Uh. Seems like a floor for ponies who like flowers," said Sweetie Belle.

«How lovely! Fluttershy would love it!» said Rarity.

Apple Bloom frowned. "This gives me bad memories of the Haunted Towers."

«I see what you mean, but I don't think there will be any carnivorous plants,» said Twilight.

«Ya seem to forget that just a few minutes ago, they're in a castle with spikes and swinging axes and a freaking coliseum!» said Applejack. «Carnivorous plants're almost a given!»

"Neat..." grumbled Apple Bloom.

"If we encounter a carnivorous plant, we will deal with it. Don't worry," reassured Little Ghost.

They went toward the hallways exiting the room they were in, discovering that there were more than beds of flowers with some trees. This hallway was absolutely covered in them, as well as in shrubs!

"Whoever's in that floor must really love plants," commented Apple Bloom. "It's like an indoor garden."

"So, after the castle floor, the garden floor. Okay. Why not. It's better than the lava floor that I had in mind," said Little Ghost.

«This would have been cool,» said Spike.

"But lava is hot, not cool," said Sweetie Belle with a giggle, gaining some groans and a few laughs.

«Sweetie, please, leave the jokes to Pinkie,» pleaded Rarity.

If she had a tongue, Sweetie Belle would have sticked it out.

However, as they advanced...

Ssssssss...

"Uh? Did ya hear that?" asked Apple Bloom, ears raised.

Then, a snake jumped at her from the shrubs, and with an "Eep!" she swatted it midair with the handle of her Poltergust.

«AAAAAAAHHHH!!!»

«Come back, Twilight! The snake is KO'd!» shouted Applejack.

«It's not even in the caravan!» shouted Spike.

While they calmed the alicorn, Apple Bloom said "That's a first..."

"Maybe you should go behind me and Sweetie Belle. We have nothing to fear from snakes," advised Little Ghost, and Apple Bloom nodded.

Sweetie Belle wasn't that sure. "Uuuuh... I don't know..."

"Hey." Little Ghost tapped Sweetie's skull. "Your bony body risks nothings. It's like with the mice and the spiders, don't fear them."

"Okay..."

Following the hallway as it turned to the left, then to the left again, they encountered a few more snakes as well as some mice and even some bats hanging upside down from the trees, and some crows on them. From the first turn, tall grass covered most of the floor, leaves covered more and more of the walls, and the ceiling was almost covered by the branches of the trees.

They eventually reached the end of the hallway, just behind the elevator, and a double door was here. When they opened it, they were awed by the huge room that was behind.

The room was like a tower! There were staircases leading to a total of seven walkways, four at the left and three at the right, each probably leading to rooms! And there were huge windows in the in front of the fillies all the way to the top! The room was as covered by plants as the hallway, and there were even crows nested in the grass who flew away when they entered.

"Woah..."

"It really reminds me of the Haunted Towers," said Apple Bloom.

"Hey! Look!" suddenly shouted Little Ghost who pointed toward the center of the room. Here, on a pedestal beside the first staircase, was the elevator button to the eighth floor!

"Already?" asked Sweetie Belle surprised.

Apple Bloom was suspicious. "Smells fishy... There's always something."

«Yeah. Be careful,» said Applejack.

Slowly, the three fillies advanced toward the pedestal without anything happening. No traps activating. No ghosts ambushing them. All the more reasons for them to keep their senses in alert. It was too good to be true.

It was only when Apple Bloom reached the pedestal and went to grab the button that something happened: a red watering-can floated out of nowhere and began to water a little plant beside the pedestal. Then, the plant suddenly grew, forming a carnivorous plant that immediately went after Apple Bloom's hoof. The filly quickly retracted her hoof, and the plant instead took the button.

The ghost responsible of this then appeared, revealing himself to be a green earth pony stallion very old. He was bald, but possessed a long bushy white beard and eyebrows, and possessed round brown glasses, a large yellow hat with a flower, and a dark brown coat with saddlebags.

Laughing at the fillies, he watered the plant again, a lot, and it grew, and grew, and grew all the way to the top of the room, causing some destruction on the way with its now giant vines.

After looking in awe at the now gargantuan carnivorous plant, the fillies stared at the old stallion in rage as he laughed again. Still, just in case, the stallion floated out of range of their Poltergusts.

"Greetings, little ladies. I'm doctor Green Hoof, and I'll be the one ending your ascension of this hotel. Please, give me some fun."

His presentation done, he disappeared.

Apple Bloom growled. "Ah already hate him." Then, she thought about something. "Wait a minute. A formula that can make plants grow suddenly..."

«Like in the Haunted Towers,» said Twilight.

Apple Bloom remembered. The Haunted Towers belonged to the Flower Sisters (nothing to do with the Flower Sisters from Ponyville, other Flower Sisters, the three ghosts that she fought in the graveyard), but there was a room belonging to a mysterious fourth being. One...

"Doctor Green Hoof, the Gardener..."

The Sisters told her about him. Doctor Green Hoof was a mad stallion with a serious fascination to plants, especially carnivorous ones. The towers actually belonged to him before the Sisters, who were his nieces, came here to live with him. He was a genius, being the one who developped this famous instant growing formula and all the other stuff that were found in the laboratories. He only tolerated the presence of his nieces however, and never let anypony else enter the towers. A real hermit.

And the guy was REALLY mad. Secretly, he foalnapped animals and ponies and fed them to his plants, and he had no mercy, not even to foals. When his nieces discovered about this, he didn't hesitate to feed them to the plants too. He only cared for his plants. He was only stopped when he finally died of old age, because nopony found out about his actions.

It was not long after his death that the towers were transported to the Valley, but strangely, his ghost never followed.

Well, now she knew why.

As for his victims, they continued to haunt the Towers. They were among the ghosts who attacked her on the terrace of the Treacherous Mansion. Now, they were all her friends. And they all told her about how the old stallion was cruel.

Well isn't that great? She will not only get to send another jerk to Tartarus, but she will also give justice to those poor ponies!

"So, girls, we're up against a mad doctor who loves to feed ponies to his plants. There'll certainly be a lot of carnivorous plants, and poisonous plants, and whatever else this guy created."

"Mmh... Maybe we should return to the castle floor and get some swords," proposed Sweetie Belle.

"No need. When we'll encounter the plants, we'll tear them off with our Poltergusts in red mode, or throw any furnitures available at them."

«If only Zecora was with us. She could have warned you about which plants to avoid approaching,» said Twilight.

"We'll have to do without her. We'll make sure to remain on the grass. Or at least, we'll avoid going near any unknown plants."

Sweetie Belle looked up toward the top of the giant plant. "That's quite the climbing... Probably with a lot of traps."

"And we will pass them like we passed the traps of the castle floor," assured Little Ghost. "And this guy will be in Tartarus before he knows it."

"Darn right!" said Apple Bloom. "Let's go, girls."

Following Apple Bloom, the group climbed the first staircase leading to the first walkway. There, the door to the room was covered with ivy, not like it mattered. They continued to the secod staircase, only for Green Hoof's red watering can to suddenly appear and to water a vine of the giant plant, causing another huge vine to grow and to destroy the stairs while Green Hoof's laugh resonated.

While Apple Bloom growled, Sweetie Belle shouted "Great! What now?!"

"I can transport you," proposed Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom pointed at a liana hanging from a liana further up. "We can use it to go to the other side. Look." She pointed at the vine that just grew, then at another vine going to what remained of the stairs at the other side of the hole. "We walk on this vine, use this liana, then walk on that other vine."

Balancing on a liana made Sweetie rather excited, but also scared. At least, it wasn't too far of the floor, so the fall would be short if she failed.

Apple Bloom was the first to go. After walking on the vine and reaching the point nearest of the liana, on a giant leaf, she used the Poltergust to bring the liana to her. Once she could reach it, she caught it, then let herself go. She reached the other vine with just one swing.

"I'm with you," assured Little Ghost to Sweetie Belle.

The skeleton smiled to her, then, after some hesitation, did like Apple Bloom and caught the liana. Again, she hesitated a few seconds before she let go, and she couldn't stop a shriek from escaping her as she was swinging. Contrary to Apple Bloom, it took her a few swings before she convinced herself to release the liana, prompted by Apple Bloom assuring her that she will catch her if she missed the vine. In the end, she didn't need to worry and she landed on the vine.

"Good job, Sweetie Belle," congratulated Apple Bloom.

"I-i-if I had a heart, it would be beating as rapidly as Scootaloo's wings when she tries to fly."

Apple Bloom giggled. "If it can reassure ya, Ah'd to learn that kind of stuff alone. And ya don't risk to die, ya're already dead."

"It was still scary."

"Hey!" then shouted Little Ghost as she joined them. "At least you have a backbone." She winked. Some ponies groaned again. Sweetie Belle giggled. "You will need it now that you're part of the team."

They continued, returning on what remained of the staircase. At the top, they had to move around what looked like giant pinapple plant. Judging by the more normal-sized pinapples present around it, it really was a giant pinapple plant.

Some ponies would question why there were pinapples. The fillies just passed it as a quirk of Green Hoof.

However, the walkway was destroyed, and this time, no vines or liana could be used to pass the hole. However, they could see a hole in the wall the other side, meaning that there was maybe a way by the room which, lucky enough, wasn't blocked.

The room was almost entirely covered in grass, vines, and other overgrown plants, to the point that the door leading to the next room, at the left, was covered by a wall of leaves.

Aaaand there was a couple of carnivorous plants there, the same kind than back in the Haunted Towers.

"Welp, we knew it's bound to happen," said Apple Bloom.

"Couch at our right, ready for launch!" said Little Ghost.

One of the plants tried to eat Apple Bloom who quickly rolled out of the way, then she went toward the couch with the others.

"Launching the couch in 3..."

They passed their Poltergusts to red mode.

"2..."

They pointed the Poltergusts toward the couch.

"1..."

They activated the Poltergusts.

"GO!"

They threw the couch at the plants, crushing them.

"Launch successful! Good job, girls!" said Apple Bloom, giving hoofbumps to her friends.

But then, Sweetie Belle saw something behind Apple Bloom. "Watch out, Apple Bloom!"

Apple Bloom immediately reacted and bounced away, barely avoiding being impaled by a garden fork. The Trickster holding the fork cursed, and a second Trickster holding a shovel attacked Sweetie Belle. The skeleton parried it with the handre of her Poltergust, and Little Ghost trapped both ghosts with hers back in yellow mode. After a couple of slamming, they were captured.

"Thanks, Sweetie."

No ghosts came after those two, and the fillies used the Poltergusts to tear off the leaves from the door. After emptying the machines, and opening a chest beside the bed to get some more bits, they passed it, entering a bathroom.

The Bathroom had, among the leaved and vines, a lot of pink flowers covering the walls and the ceiling, and there were piles of petals covering the ground. Like in the previous room, two carnivorous plants were present, and a wall of leaves covered the hole in the wall leading back to the walkway.

This time, there was nothing they could throw to crush the carnivorous plants, so they had to carefully approach them before using the Poltergusts in red mode to tear them off the ground one by one. Three Tricksters also came armed with forks and shovels also came while they dealed with the plants, so while Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost finished the last plant, Apple Bloom captured the ghosts. During the action, the petals were scattered everywhere in the room, revealing a drain, but also a snake hidden in them that tried to bite Apple Bloom, but she simply slammed a ghost on it to knock it out. Once they were done, Little Ghost went to see if there was nothing under the drain, and found a small secret room with a treasure chest that she emptied.

After tearing off the leaves covering the hole, they returned on the walkway. But, as they climbed the staircase to the next walkway, Green Hoof appeared again and watered a small pinapple, turning it huge! The pinapple was then launched toward the stairs by its plant, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle quickly moved to avoid it as it bounced on the stairs and passed above them. The pinapple plant immediately grew a new pinapple and launched it too. Green Hoof laughed as the fillies tried to avoid being crushed by the giant pinapples, but then saw Little Ghost approaching and quickly flew.

Little Ghost tried to destroy the plant, but it was too big for her. "I can't tear it off alone!"

"We're coming!" shouted Apple Bloom as she avoided another pinapple before finally reaching the plant with Sweetie Belle. The three of them then used their Poltergusts in red mode to tear the leaves of the plant one by one.

"Crushing me with giant pinapples is probably the weirdest attempt to kill me that Ah got," commented Apple Bloom.

"The weirdest would have been trying to crush you with giant apples," said Sweetie Belle.

"It was almost that. You just remove the 'pin' and you had it."

"It would've been ironic," finished Apple Bloom with a giggles.

They discovered that the walkway was blocked by a thorny vine, but again, a hole in the wall led to another bathroom, this one also covered in thorny vines as well as brown leaves forming piles. However, the door to the room linked to this bathroom was also fully blocked. No way to pass this one.

"Ok, what now?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked around in search of a solution, but not finding anything. "Ah don't know..."

«Hey, you see that vine ending in the toilet?» said Twilight. «I think it's the one blocking the walkway outside.»

"Uh." Apple Bloom walked back and forth between the bathroom and the walkwat to verify, and confirmed what Twilight said. "Ya're right. So if we pull the vine from there, it'd unblock the walkway."

"But how do we do it? It's stuck in the toilet," wondered Little Ghost.

"Look, the toilet is all crackled," remarked Sweetie Belle. "We could destroy it, somehow..."

«A good buck should be enough,» said Applejack.

Apple Bloom nodded and bucked the toilet, effectively destroying it and freeing the end of the vine. She then caught the freed end of the vine with her Poltergust and began to pull. "Girls..."

Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost understood what she wanted, and they each grabbed the handle of Apple Bloom's Poltergust before they began to pull with her. Little by little, they managed to bring the vine into the room, starting to unblock the walkway.

But then, three Tricksters armed with forks suddenly came out of the piles of leaves and attacked the fillies while they were still pulling. Apple Bloom quickly stopped and rolled away, avoiding one of the forks, and her friends did the same before they captured the ghosts, each trapping one at the same time. Once the ghosts were gone, they finished pulling the vine.

But then, Apple Bloom remarked some leaves moving alone as if something invisible was moving, and immediately activated her Poltergust at the exact position where they moved, catching a Creeper. More leaves moving revealed the presence of at least two more Creepers in the room, and one of them creeped behind Little Ghost and tried to grab her, but she quickly flew away before she turned around and caught the Creeper. The last one was caught by Sweetie Belle as it tried to creep behind her, following the moving leaves. But then, a Buffy came out of the pile of leaves in the bathtube and blindly charged toward Apple Bloom, leaves covering his head. As Apple Bloom was just finishing capturing her Creeper, she couldn't avoid being tackled. With a roll, she quickly recovered and circled the Buffy who began to blindly swing his arms around in hope of hitting her, and when she managed to creep behind him, she trapped him. She was quickly joined by Little Ghost when she finished her own Creeper, and together, they quickly captured the Buffy.

With a nod, Apple Bloom assured her friends that she was alright, then the three of them returned on the walkway now unblocked. As they advanced, they saw that the door to the room here was blocked by a giant vine, but didn't mind, instead beginning to climb the stairs to the next walkway.

Again, Green Hoof appeared and watered a pinapple. This time, the plant was able to launch two giant pinapples directly one after another, making it even harder for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to climb the stairs without being crushed. Once they managed to reach the top, they destroyed the plant, then continued only for the walkway to be destroyed by a newly growing giant vine.

The fillies groaned before they entered the room there, having seen a hole in the wall the other side like below.

The room was even more covered in grass than the others, and there were also many vines wrapped around the furnitures and blocking the door to the bathroom. Also present were no less than five carnivorous plants, and because of the vines, they couldn't hope to throw something like the couch to crush them.

As the fillies prepared themselves to fight the plants, Apple Bloom then saw something among the vines, under the table, and with a gasp followed by a big smile, she quickly ran to it.

"What are you doing, Apple Bloom?" asked Sweetie Belle as her friend began to pull apart the vines around the table.

"Getting a precious object that'll help us a lot!" answered Apple Bloom.

«Is that?» asked Rarity.

«Yep. It is,» answered Twilight.

«Apple bloom, are ya sure? It's dangerous!» said Applejack.

"It's okay, AJ!" replied the filly as she took the object with a big smirk: a buzzsaw. "Ah can totally use that thing! No problem! Not the first time using something like that!" She pulled the wire, activating the machine which began a big racket.

She then charged toward the nearest carnivorous plant, and said plant attacked her only for Apple Bloom to use the buzzsaw to cut the head verticaly, killing it. Another plant tried to eat her, and she dove under its head before she cut its stem. One by one, the plants were destroyed, and her friends stomped the ground to aplaud the show.

"That was amazing, Apple Bloom, even if the way you were miling was a little scary," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah. You reminded me of that cook with the chainsaw you captured."

"Sorry, it's just very satisfying to cut stuff with that thing," said Apple Bloom. "But Ah'm not done yet. Ah spotted a chest on top of the bed." As she said it, she approached the bed, then began to cut the supports, eventally causing the top to collapse and the chest to fall. "Ah'm keeping it!" she finished before stopping the saw.

«It will be hard to move around with that thing while also capturing ghosts,» said Twilight.

"But we'll certainly need it again," countered Apple Bloom. Getting an idea, she took the handle of the buzzsaw with her mouth, then emptied the chest before they went toward the door to the bathroom, mouthing "Let's go," as best as she could. However, as they approached the door, a vine suddenly came out of the wall and wrapped itself around Apple Bloom before tightening. Almost yelling in pain, she threw the saw toward Sweetie Belle, Little Ghost not able to use it because of her shield.

Quickly, Sweetie Belle took the saw, activated it, and used it to cut the vine and free Apple Bloom. Another vine came out of the wall, and the fillies quickly escaped to the bathroom, only to discover that it was full of giant watermelon, and there were too some weird bulbous plants that were suspicious. The vine followed them in the bathroom and accidentally touched one of the bulbs, causing it to expulse a cloud of spores that was certainly toxic. The fillies quickly went away from it, and Apple Bloom used the saw to cut the vine as it went for her.

But then, some Tricksters appeared, and two more vines came from the wall.

"Okay. Little Ghost, ya destroy those bulb things! Sweetie Belle, ya deal with the Tricksters! Ah'll deal with the vines!"

Following what they were told, Little Ghost went toward the nearest bulb. Thinking of how to destroy it, she grabbed it, teared it off the ground, then quickly threw it through the window. She repeated this action for all the bulbs. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle, not hesitating to walk in the toxic clouds, not risking to be poisoned, went after the Tricksters. She trapped one, and slammed him on the others. However, this caused some of the bulbs to expulse spores. Apple Bloom quickly returned to the previous room to avoid the spores, and cut the vines from there. One of the vines, however, went after Sweetie Belle and stopped her from catching the Tricksters. Having no choice, Apple Bloom holded her breath and returned in the bathroom to cut it and free her friend. No more vines coming, Sweetie Belle finished the ghosts while Little Ghost threw the last bulb. She then turned her back to the window and sucked the spores that her Poltergust then expulsed out, cleaning the air for Apple Bloom.

"Good idea Little Ghost, thank ya."

"That's crazy. This gardener is giving us more troubles than all the other ghosts," said Little Ghost.

"With how he's controling plants, it's not surprising," said Sweetie Belle. "Plants are very effective." She then looked toward a giant watermelon blocking the hole back to the walkway. "Apple Bloom, we will need your saw."

"On it."

With her saw, Apple Bloom cut the giant watermelon into piece, freeing the way. Once she was done, they passed the hole, only to see that the staircase to the next walkway was destroyed.

Little Ghost sighed. "Again and again, our path is blocked."

Apple Bloom eyed a vine starting from the walkway that was rolled up. "And again and again, we find alternate paths." She used her Poltergust to expulse air on the vine, unrolling it. Walking on it, she quickly passed the saw to Sweetie Belle when more vines attacked them, and she continued to unroll it while Sweetie Belle used the saw to cut the attacking vines. The vine eventually finished just as it reached another vine that led to another rolled up vine. She unrolled it too, and it reached all the way to a giant leaf just above the walkway they were on earlier, and all the way, more vines attacked them. Then they carefully walked on another vine against the wall until reaching a liana that they had to use to reach another giant leaf. A final vine led them to the walkway they couldn't reach earlier where a last vine attacked them.

There, they could enter the room, but having no reason to, they continued their path to the next staircase, that one intact, and no giant pinapples trying to crush them this time. They were almost at the top! But then, Green Hoof appeared again and watered the giant plant, causing more vines to grow. A first one came through the floor almost directly under the Apple Bloom, and she barely avoided the fall thanks to a last second jump. The fillies were forced to escape back on the staircases as more vines destroyed the walkway, then the staircase itself. A vine still manage to send Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle toward a weakened wall beside the door beside which they passed earlier, and a small part of the wall collapsed on them.

Apple Bloom popped out of the pile of debris and yelled "BUCK YA GREEN HOOF!!"

«Ah'd say language, but he's really starting to irritate me, too,» said Applejack.

«And this time, there is no way to continue!» complained Rarity.

"I don't think so," said Little Ghost as she pointed at the room that was behind the now destroyed wall.

This room was covered in vines to the point that a big part of the ceiling had collapsed, revealing the small space that was generally between the room and the one above, with the rafters, and another small in its ceiling certainly led to the room above. Another particularity of this room was that there were some giant mushrooms: one just in front of the bed, and one in a small chariot. Also, they certainly couldn't have entered the room earlier because a vine was blocking the entrance, and another was blocking the door to the bathroom.

"Okay, but how do we climb?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Well, those mushrooms look like the kind that you could bounce on."

"Ah'm not sure we can bounce on them..."

"We can try!" shouted Sweetie Belle before she ran toward the mushroom near the bed. She jumped on it, and she bounced high in the air to the point that she could land on the top of the bed where there was a treasure chest. "It worked! And it was so fun! Oh! There's a chest!"

"Really?! Give the bag, Bloom!"

"There," said the apple filly as she gave the bag. She then pointed at the other mushroom in the small chariot. "Meanwhile, Ah'll move it so we can reach that vine here." She pointed at a vine against the wall just above the entrance. The vine went to the rafters.

"Ok!"

So while Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle emptied the chest, Apple Bloom moved the chariot near the vine blocking the entrance. Once her friends came back, she then jumped on the mushroom, and was able to bounce all the way to the targetted vine. Sweetie Belle quickly folowed her. Now on the roof of the room, they walked on what little past was left until reaching another mushroom under the hole to the room above. They jumped on the mushroom, and landed in the room, finally reaching the last level of this floor.

It seemed like this room was Green Hoof's room. There were a lot of pots piled, a hammock made of ropes, and even a board with leaves pinned on it. A giant leaf was covering the entrance door. With a big evil smirk, Apple Bloom activated the buzzsaw.

Room destroyed, Green Hoof's personal chest hidden on the top of the bed emptied of all its gold, the fillies passed the door and reached the last walkway.

Or what remained of it... That is to say, not much. All that remained were two platforms, the one on which they were, and another from which a rolled up vine started. To continue, they had to suck another rolled up vine starting from a vine facing their platform to unroll it and be able to walk on it. However, as soon as they put a hoof on the vine, another vine attacked them. Apple Bloom quickly cut it, and the ones that followed it while they continued until they had to use another liana.

With a huff, Little Ghost dropped her shield on the vine, then took the saw from Apple Bloom. With their ghost friend dealing with the vines, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could use the liana without risk, and they landed on another vine. It wasn't long before they had to use yet another liana to reach another vine against the opposite wall which they then had to unroll to continue. The vine led them to a giant leaf on a beam against that same wall, and they had to use yet another liana, this one letting them finally reach the flower of the giant plant.

There was quite the number of crows flying around it, and vines continued to attack them. Little Ghost quickly gave the buzzsaw back to Apple Bloom and went to retrieve her shield while Apple Bloom used the saw to cut the vines, and when she had the occasion, she cut the mouth of the plant to free the elevator button. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle kept an eyesocket for Green Hoof, looking around for a floating red watering can.

Eventually, Apple Bloom managed to cut the mouth enough to free the button and grab it, but because of another attacking vine, she dropped it, and the button began to roll to the edge of the flower. Seeing this, Sweetie Belle quickly went after it shouting "Nonononono!" Little Ghost also went after the button and was about to reach it before it could fall only for it to be snatched before her eyes by a carnivorous plant in a pot held by Green Hoof.

"Uhuhuhuh! Congratulation! You reached the top! For nothing!" he said before he flew down back to the base of the plant.

"OH, COME ON!!!" yelled Sweetie Belle.

"Welcome to mah world... Again..." said Apple Bloom as she finished the last vine.

"Don't tell me we will have to retake the path all the way back!"

"No need. Do you love toboggans? There's one wrapped around the stem all the way down," said Little Ghost as she pointed at something under the flower from beyond the edge. "Come first, Sweetie Belle. We will see if it can be reached."

"Yeah, and if we can't, I will fall."

"And at least, you won't die, contrary to Apple Bloom. That's why you are first to go."

"Great..."

It turned out that she could reach the toboggan, which was actually a vine, but she first had to go to one of the smaller petals of the flower, then let her weight make it bend down. After clinging to the petal for dear life, she eventually let herself go when she saw that she was just above the vine, and she slipped all the way down, quickly followed by Apple Bloom. During the descent, the fear quickly let place to the fun, and by the time they were back at the base of the plant, they were laughing like any fillies having fun doing toboggan.

But the laughter didn't last long once they saw Green Hoof who was waiting for them with a small army of carnivorous plants that the old stallion grew while they were climbing.

"Uhuhuhuhuh! You are just in time for dinner, my little darlings are really hungry. They're dying for some fresh meat."

Apple Bloom huffed, then activated her buzzsaw. "They sure are dying..." She then suddenly jumped to the nearest carnivorous plant and cut its stem. "but not for the same reason."

Green Hoof huffed. "It won't change your fate. My darlings are too many just for you. Eat at your pleasure my darlings! In the menu tonight: a filly!"

At his words, all the plants began to attack Apple Bloom, the ones too far growing their stem to reach her. Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost quickly join her to help her, Sweetie Belle bonking any plants approaching too much from behind with the handle of her Poltergust while Little Ghost bashed them with her shield. Some of the plant decided to try to eat Sweetie Belle. Yes, she was just a skeleton, but a skeleton in a stomach could still be digested even if it wasn't as nutritive as a filly made of bones AND flesh. However, none of the plants attacked Little Ghost. It was impossible to eat a ghost, after all.

But Green Hoof didn't mind. He knew that the instant Apple Bloom died, the game would be over, and Thanatos himself would come to take his new slaves, and they could do nothing against him. All it would take was one of his plants to devour her, and it would be over.

But she was still annoying with her shield. He didn't want to do this, it was really improper, but heck, to assure his victory...

Green Hoof took a portable cannon from his brown coat exactly like the one Cruller possessed, and fired at Little Ghost. The filly ghost really wasn't expecting this, and took the energy beam in the back. She gave a loud shriek of pain, then fell on the floor among the plant corpses.

Despite this, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle continued to fight, Sweetie Belle even grabbing one of the plants that had been cut at the stem and spinning it around her, hitting many of the plants this way and even damaging some, which greatly helped Apple Bloom. Eventually, Little Ghost recovered and gave Green Hoof the stink eyes as she restarted bashing the plants. Seeing this, Green Hoof fired again with the cannon, only for her to deflect the beam with her shield right back at the old stallion. Taken off guard, Green Hoof took the beam on the face and fell in pain.

When he recovered and got up, it was with shock that he saw the last of his darlings get cut in half. The only one who remained was the one in the pot beside him, the one that he used to take the elevator button.

"What? How...? You shouldn't have been able to kill all of them!"

"Teamwork!" simply answered Apple Bloom as she began to approach the old stallion. "Ya folks working for Eternal Rest always seem to underestimate it."

Green Hoof quickly grabbed the pot, and faced it to her, the plant snapping its jaw at the filly. "Stay back! Or you will be fertilizer for my dear little..."

Apple Bloom beheaded the plant.

"Flora..."

Apple Bloom dropped the saw, then grabbed the handle of her Poltergust and pointed it at him, her friends doing the same. Then, they activated them, and they trapped Green Hoof without giving him any hope to escape.

"AAAAAAHHHH!!! PLEASE ! HAVE MERCY OF AN OLD STALLION!!!" he pleaded.

"Like hay we'll give ya mercy when ya'd none to the ponies ya fed to yer plants! Not even yer nieces! They'll be happy to hear that ya finally got what ya deserved! An eternity in Tartarus!"

With a final scream, Green Hoof disappeared inside Apple Bloom's Poltergust, dropping the elevator button to floor eight.

Sweetie Belle sighed in relief. "Glad this is over."

Apple Bloom took the button. "He really was annoying. Ah hope the next one won't be as problematic."

"Please, don't jinx us."

"Welp, the old fool failed. So much for showing us," said the stallion in overalls with a laugh.

"Uhuhuh. He showed us that he was incompetent," said the bandaged mare.

"So, the next one is Director Cut, right?" asked the muscled stallion. "Who has the popcorn? I can't wait to see what movie he will come up with against those fillies."

"A horror movie!" shouted one of the triplets.

"No! An adventure movie!" shouted another of the triplets.

"Nonono! This will be an action movie!" shouted the last triplet.

"Horror movie!"

"Adventure movie!"

"Action movie!"

As the triplets started bickering, some of the ghosts groaned.

"Look what you have done..." said the mare with the afro to the muscled stallion.

Author's Note

I moved the first scene of the chapter "Castle Gorros" at the end of "Mezzanine Part 2". I judged that it had a better place here.

Name: Green Hoof
Age when dead: 107
Time of death: 46 years ago
Cause of death: Heart attack (old age)
Info: Doctor Green Hoof was a genius who loved the plants, and worked all his life for them, researching them, creating them. Older brother of a fraternity of two, he inherited the familial mansion (which were actually two towers, but that's beyond the point), and he turned it into a real heaven for plants as well as his laboratory where he did many ground breaking researches that he sadly never shared with the scientist comunity. However, while he had all the love for his plants, he had none for all other beings including other ponies, and didn't even hesitate to use them as plant food. The only ones that he cared a minimum were his little brother and his nieces... for a time...

Paranormal Productions

Ding!

"So, a castle, an indoor garden, and now we haaaaave..." The doors opened. "Uh?"

Little Ghost looked at the room that the elevator led them into, and was confused. The room was a hall similar to the one from the previous floor, but instead of being full of plants, this one had a red carped from the elevator to the exit of the room, stage lights, a set containing a miniature forest and miniature mountains with an airship hanging from the ceiling at the right, and an elevated platform with a camera turned toward the set at the left. There were even audio boxes on the walls, in the corners.

"What is this place?" asked Little Ghost.

Rarity gasped. «Oh my stars! It looks like a movie studio!»

«Say what? What the heck's a movie studio doing in a hotel?» asked Applejack.

«It's not as weird as the castle,» said Twilight. «But I really wasn't expecting a movie studio. Cinema is still a very recent invention.»

"So we'll fight... what? An actor? A camerastallion?" wondered Apple Bloom.

«That's a possibility,» answered Twilight.

As they talked, Little Ghost flew to the camera and turned it toward Sweetie Belle. "Hey! Sweetie Belle! Give me a smile!"

Sweetie Belle gave a sarcastic laugh. "I can't not smile."

"I know," said Little Ghost with a big grin.

"Ugh!"

"Come on, Sweetie, this means ya put a smile in everything ya do, and that's nice," said Apple Bloom with a laugh.

"You shouldn't laugh at the disabled."

"Ya consider yerself as a disabled?"

"Yes. I miss everything excepted my bones. I'm disabled."

Little Ghost giggled. "I miss my body, so I suppose I'm disabled too. And between disabled, we can joke."

"And Ah'm yer friend. Friends've the right to joke about yer disability if they know ya don't mind, and Ah know ya don't mind. Ya even joke about yer own disability."

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Alright, you got me... Mmh... Imagine I'm sticking out my tongue while winking."

This got a laugh from everypony before they exited the room, entering a hallway going to the left with movie posters at both sides.

"Knock out... Planets Conflict... The Day of the Living Dead... The NeverFinishing Story..." read Apple Bloom.

«Oh! There's even an adaptation of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone! I didn't know that! It's Dash who will be happy!» said Twilight.

«You didn't know?» asked Rarity, surprised.

«I wasn't paying attention to what movies were made. I wasn't interrested.»

«Well, I haven't seen the movie, but I heard from friends from Manehattan that it was a rather good adaptation, but that they left out a lot of parts. They couldn't adapt the whole book, and it annoyed a lot of fans of them.»

While the mares talked about the Daring Do movie, the fillies traversed the hallway, climbed a small staircase where another red carpet began, and entered a room with a big double door beside a front desk that a metal gate blockaded. More audio boxes were present, as well as posters, and different objects related to cinema like statuettes and representations of cameras

The double door was locked hoever, but thankfully, they didn't have to search long to find the key: it was in the front desk. Little Ghost easily got it, and they opened the door.

They entered a huge room possessing a lot of boxes, elements for movies, and other materials in a more or less organised chaos. There was also a table full of food, and a door directly at the right when entering. A huge invisible door with a big 5 could be seen across from the entrance, and there were four other doors, two at the left, and two at the right, with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 on them.

And sitting on a chair in the center of the room was the ghost of a blue furred, blond maned pegasus stallion who looked depressed. The stallion was holding a camera as well as a red megaphone.

«Well, that's not an actor, but a movie director,» said Twilight.

«It should've been obvious,» said Applejack.

«Yeah. A movie studio, it's only natural to encounter a movie director,» said Spike.

"But he seems sad," said Sweetie Belle. "Maybe we should talk to him."

Apple Bloom sighed. "He's probably another guy forced to work for Eternal Rest, and he doesn't like it. But it doesn't mean we must let our guard down. Remember Cruller."

The stallion seemingly heard them, because he raised his head and looked at them, surprised.

"Oh! It's you! You managed to reach my floor! I was told you would come, but I wasn't sure if you would be able to pass Piano Virtuoso, Gorros and Green Hoof. That's impressive!"

"And Ah suppose you're the next in the list," said Apple Bloom.

The stallion took something from his chair, and showed it to be the elevator button to the ninth floor. "Alas, yes! I was given the terrible task to deal with you if you reached my floor! Me! Director Cut! Forced to kill an innocent filly! What a world! Oh, what a world!"

"And that's why you were sad?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"No, little skeleton. Well, yes, I'm saddened about this! But what is killing me is that I have five scenes ready to be shot for the movie of my dream, but I don't have any living actor at hoof! What a tragedy!"

«Wow. This guy is as bad as Rarity,» said Applejack, making Rarity harumph.

But then, Director Cut looked at Apple Bloom with a big smile. "But there you are! A still living pony! Let's make a deal. You become the hero of my movie and help me shoot the five scenes, and I give you the elevator button. What do you think?"

"Me? In a movie?"

"Yes! Who knows, you could actually become a superstar thanks to it! And finally, my name will be known!"

"Well... Ah suppose Ah can try... But Ah never acted..."

Director Cut put a leg around her. "Don't worry my young aspiring superstar, those scenes are only action scenes. And I heard that you were a filly of action. You will be in your element."

"What about us?" asked Little Ghost.

"You... Well, I sadly have nothing for a skeleton, but a ghost... You could be one of the antagonists. No, wait! You could be the mascot! Ah... But none of the prepared scenes can have a mascot appear in... I know!" He gave the camera to Little Ghost. "You will be the camerafilly! I'm sure you will take the best plans! As for you, little skeleton... You can be my assistant! Is it okay with you?"

Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost exchanged a look, then nodded and both said "We agree."

"Great! Now, come closer you three, I have something else to say." Curious, the fillies approached, and Director whispered to them "I'm sorry to say that I will have to make it look like I'm putting an effort to kill you, so I'm warning you, anything you will fight, any trap you will face, will be real. But I am sure that you won't mind too much. If you were able to reach this floor, then this will be nothing."

Apple Bloom nodded in understanding before they separated.

Director Cut did a small clap. "Now, let's go to the first scene! Little skeleton..."

"My name is Sweetie Belle."

"Sweetie Belle, could you go fetch my clapboard and the script of my movie, please? They must not be far in this room. Once you have them, join us in the room with the 4, over here." He pointed at the door with the 4, the first door at the left of the room.

"Ok. Give me a minute."

So while Sweetie Belle went to search the objects Director Cut asked, the group entered the room, discovering a set consisting of a giant cardboard box and some giant bits and other objects. While they waited, Director Cut did some minor adjustements to the placement of the objects, showing that there was a giant fake spider inside the box.

When Sweetie Belle came back with the clapboard and the script and gave them to Director Cut, the stallion thanked her, wrote some stuff in the script, then began to explain.

"So, this movie is about a group of ghost hunters named Parahunters! And more exactly about their recent recrue, a young filly named... Mmh... Good Will. At the beginning of the movie, Good Will helped the hunters catch a ghost. When they saw how promising she was, and after discovering that she was an orphan living in the streets of Manehattan, the hunters decided to let her enter their team and to let her live in their HQ, an old reconverted fire station. Oh, this makes me think, I will have to cover your Cutie Mark. In the movie, Good Will hasn't her Cutie Mark yet, and she will get it only at the end."

"How will ya cover it? By making me wear an uniform?"

"This would be a good idea, but while I prepared uniforms for the Parahunters, I have none at your size. I will have to cover it with patches of fake fur. I must have some yellow somewhere in the backstage..."

"I will fetch them!" shouted Sweetie Belle before she exited the room. She came back almost immediately with two patches of yellow fur that she gave to Director Cut.

"Thank you, Sweetie Belle." Once Director Cut placed the patches of fur on Apple Bloom's Cutie Mark on both flanks, he continued. "Alright. The scene we're about to shoot happens not long after. Curious about her new environment, Good Will explored the HQ and eventually found an invention from one of her new colleagues, Doctor Grey Matter. This invention turned out to be some cannon to shrink things, and Good Will accidentaly shrunk herself to the size of a bug."

"How could she shoot herself with a cannon?" asked Little Ghost.

"Easy. The cannon had a minutor, and Good Will accidentally activated it. Once the minutor reached 0, Good Will was on a table in front of the cannon, examining another invention."

«This reminds me of a certain filly and her friends,» said Applejack with a smile that Apple Bloom could almost see.

"So, now the size of a bug, Good Will ends up fighting a spider before Doctor Grey Matter finally enters the room and sees what happened. We will shoot the fight against the spider. Once I say 'action', you will walk in front of the cardboard box. When the spider will jump out of it, you will have to fight it. The way you fight it will be up to you, I'm leaving you the liberty," instructed Director Cut. "Oh! And you don't have your hunting equipment during this scene, so you will have to remove that thing from your back."

"What? But how will Ah fight a giant spider without mah Poltergust?"

"The spider is a fake one," said Sweetie Belle. "Just buck its legs, or whatever."

"What about Director Cut said to us earlier?" asked Little Ghost.

"But this spider is not a real one! It's clearly fake!"

"Well, this spider is fake now but... You will see," said Director Cut. Then, he began to speak through his megaphone. "Ok everypony! Let's get ready! Everypony move! I want the heroine in place! Camera! I want you to take a good angle of the spider jumping out of the box!"

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

Director Cut flew to Little Ghost. "Don't forget to press this button to start filming."

"Right." Little Ghost pressed the button, and immediately, something happened with the set.

Now, it looked like everything was real! Apple Bloom was now a shrunken filly walking on a giant table in the middle of a giant room beside a giant cardboard box and among giant objects.

"WHAAAAT?!!" she yelled.

«WHAAAAT?!!» yelled the mares too.

"See what I meant?" asked smugly Director Cut. "That's a nice power that I got when I became a ghost. The set takes life when the camera is turned on. it's really as if we were in the movie!" He took his megaphone again. "Okay everypony! Silence on the set! Good Will and the spider, take one! Aaaand... ACTION!" He clapped the clapboard in front of the camera and flew away.

Immediately, Apple Bloom pushed the crazyness of the situation out of her mind and began to walk in front of the cardboard box. Then, the giant spider, now very eal, jumped out of it and tried to bite Apple Bloom. The filly quickly acted and rolled away, avoiding the bite, before she bucked the head of the spider. The spider gave a screech of pain, then tried to impale Apple Bloom with its legs, but the filly moved under it, then ran from the spider toward a giant nail that she spotted beside a giant empty bottle. The spider followed her and attacked her again with its legs, only for Apple Bloom to grab the nail and use it to deflect the legs like a sword. When she got an opening, she approached the head and impaled it with the nail. With a loud screech, the spider fell, squirmed for a few seconds, and stopped moving, dead.

"CUT!" shouted Director Cut, and Little Ghost turned the camera off, turning everything back to normal. The cardboard box was closed again, the spider back in it, fake again. The nail had disappeared from Apple Bloom's hooves and was back beside the bottle. "Well done! Well done! As I expected! Giant spiders don't scare you! And yet I know a lot of grown stallions that would have run to their mommy at this!"

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah saw much scarrier than a giant spider."

"I don't doubt. Now let's go to the next set."

Exiting the room, they moved to the door across from it, at the right side of the backstage, the one possessing the number 1. This door led to a room with a set that was clearly meant to represent the inside of a library with shelves full of books and some tables to read.

"Ok. After the incident with the shrinking cannon, the team had to intervene to a library that fell prey to an invasion of ghosts. The Parahunters had to disperse to cover more ground, leaving little Good Will to capture some of the ghosts by herself. What? I have to find excuses to explain why the heroine is alone. I don't have anypony to play the others Parahunters. Anyway. This scene is just a fight against some ghosts. Nothing problematic."

"Okay."

Once everypony was in place, Apple bloom possessing her Poltergust again, Little Ghost began filming, and the library set turned into a real library. When Director Cut shouted "ACTION!" all the books in the shelves suddenly flew out, and Apple Bloom had to cover under a table to avoid being hit by one of them. Half a dozen Tricksters then came out of the shelves, one of them flipping the table to get to Apple Bloom.

The filly immediately activated the Poltergust on him and used him to force the other ghosts away. A seventh Trickster, disguised as an old mare, then came and shouted "Silence in the library!" before throwing a book that Apple Bloom avoided by lowering her head. She then used the flipped table as a cover while she continued to capture the other ghosts. One by one, the ghosts were captured, but when the last one disappeared, the ghost disguised came to her shouting "I said silence!" with books levitating around him. As the ghosts threw books at her, Apple Bloom used the Poltergust to blow air at them, throwing them back at the ghost. After three hit on the head, the ghost was stunned and the books he levitated fell to the ground. Apple Bloom used the occasion to approach him and capture him.

"CUT!"

When the camera stopped filming, the library returned to the set, books back in the shelves and table back in its position.

"You are very talented! Hunting ghosts really is your thing! And you just got a fan!"

"Thanks."

"Now let's go to the third set. If you like Daring Do, you will love the next one. Also, sorry in advance."

Following Director Cut, they went to the room just beside this one, with the door with the number 2. As expected after what Director Cut said, this room had a set depicting what seemed to be the inside of an old temple. And already, Apple Bloom wasn't liking what she was seeing: a big slope at the end of the room leading to a closed trapdoor in the ceiling. There were also a lot of suspicious holes in the walls.

"After the invasion of the library, the Parahunters found a suspicious symbole that they had also seen in the street where they encountered Good Will which had also been attacked by ghosts. Doing some researches, they discovered that the island on which Manehattan was built was previously home to a civilization. When the Pony Tribes came and founded Equestria, that civilization attacked them, and the ponies were forced to destroy it. And it turned out that the street and the library were previously the emplacement of places of worshiping. What they worshiped, however, they didn't know. So the Parahunters separated into two groups and went to explore the underground of the two places, thinking that there may be remains of the civilization. Good Will went to explore under the street. What they found was even better, and very worrying. The places of worshiping, real temples, were rebuilt deep underground. Exploring them, they found remains of rituals. With the help of a specialist they recruited, they found out that these rituals, including the symboles found at the surface, were a mean to bring the God of the civilization into our world, a being named Zegor, known as the Destructor. Why now? Because a group of stars reached the right position, something that would only happen once in millenia. But then, one of the hunters walked on a pressure plate, activating a trape that separated the small group. Good Will found herself alone in a hallway full of traps, followed by a giant boulder."

"Ah knew it..." muttered Apple Bloom.

"So, go place yourself in front of this slope, and be ready to run. And again, sorry."

Apple Bloom sighed, and went to the indicated position. Like before, when Little Ghost started filming, the set turned into a real looking temple, and when Director Cut shouted "ACTION!" the trapdoor opened, and a giant spherical boulder as large as the hallway she was in dropped on the slope and began to roll.

She ran, keeping an eye on the holes in the walls. As she thought, arrows came out of them, and she avoided them, not stopping running. Small holes also formed in the floor, threatening to make her fall, and there were parts of the hallway where spikes came out regularly of the ground, forcing her to stop and wait for them to retract. Eventually, she reached a big gap, and she had to use the Poltergust to suck a liana to her before using it to reach the other side as the boulder fell.

As she landed and retook her breath, Director Cut shouted "CUT!" and the temple turned back into the temple set. Her friends immediately went to her.

"Are you alright, Apple Bloom?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Y-yeah... Just give me a minute."

Director Cut seemed to hesitate as he approached, not looking at Apple Bloom. "S-so... Shall we go to the next set?"

"Hey. Don't worry. Ah'm not angry at ya, ya warned me. But... maybe ya could've used less traps?"

"Sorry, but I had to make it realist..."

"And what is the next scene?"

"Another battle against ghosts. More ghosts."

Apple Bloom sighed in relief. "Much better. Ah prefer a good battle against ghosts than passing a room full of traps. Ah leave them to Daring Do. Now let's go."

Director Cut nodded and led them out of the room and toward the one across the backstage, the one with the number 3. Meanwhile, he began telling what happens in the movie after the previous scene.

"After escaping the temple in one piece, Good Will's group found the other ground in the Parahunters' HQ and gathered what they found. To invoke Zegor, the ritual needed to happen three times, one time in each temples from the old civilization. Thanks to their researches, they knew that the last temple was situated in what is now the city hall, so they went to warn the mayor and ask him if they could explore the underground under the city hall in search of the ones doing the rituals. But then, it turned out that the mayor was the leader of the ones doing the rituals, descendants of the civilization who wished to gain power that Zegor would offer to them in exchange of invoking it to our world. Many of the leaders of Manehattan were accomplices. The mayor then sent the Parahunters to prison, and Good Will was sent into an awful orphanage. The filly however escaped easily after trapping the headmistress, and late the next night, she infiltrated the prison where the Parahunters were kept. With her help, they escaped, and they returned to the city hall to stop the mayor. But they were too late. The last ritual had already begun, and the area around the city hall was already full of ghosts. Again, they had to disperse to deal with them and save the innocents ponies caught in the invasion."

As he told the story, they entered the room, revealing a set with buildings. Without needing to be told, Apple Bloom took position, and when Little Ghost began filming, the buildings turned real and began to burn.

"ACTION!"

Immediately, dozens of ghosts appeared. Tricksters, Buffies, Throwers, and Creepers.

Ah yeah. MORE ghosts, thought Apple Bloom before she put her Poltergust to red mode.

Thanks to it, she easily caught over half the ghosts before she was forced to return to yellow mode. Then, she had to slam a Trickster on a Buffy to be able to get behind him and trap him. She then used him to hammer the other ghosts, weakening a lot of them that she just had to collect after. One last Buffy remained, but she decided before to deal with the remaining Throwers who were arrassing her with the objects they were constantly throwing. Already, she had a couple of bumps because of them. One by one, she captured them, using a lot of debris and bigger objects on the street as cover. When she trapped the last one, she slammed him on the buffy to trap him and use him to hammer the remaining ghosts.

Not long after the last one was captured, Director Cut shouted "CUT!" and the set returned back to normal, the flames disappearing. "You really are a prodigy! Once this movie comes out, it will be a huge success! I can see it! Now, let's go to the last set! The final battle!"

He led the fillies back to the backstage, then opened the huge metal door with the number 5, revealing the last set: a miniature model of Manehattan.

"Woah..." said the three fillies at this, making Director Cut smile.

"While the Parahunters protected Manehattan from the ghosts unleashed by the ritual, the mayor and his accomplices finished it, bringing Zegor to our world. As it promised, Zegor gave great powers to the mayor and the others before materializing as a giant entity that began to destroy everything. As the Parahunters thought of what to do to stop Zegor, the mayor and his accomplices, turned into powerful ghosts, attacked them. But then, Good Will got an idea, and since the others were busy, she had to act alone. She returned to the HQ, and with the help of Misty, the filly ghost mascot of the team..."

"That's me!" shouted Little Ghost.

"Good Will used the shrinking cannon, not to shrink herself, but to make herself grow until reaching the same size than Zegor! And so, the now giant filly was ready to fight the Destructor! Now, prepare yourself! And camerafilly, be ready! Don't leave anything!"

Controlling her excitement, Apple bloom began walking between the buildings while Little Ghost turned the camera on, turning the model into a real miniature Manehattan. Fire appeared, columns of smokes rising to the sky! Screams could be heard from everywhere, coming from invisible miniature ponies running in panic! Each time that she took a step, the earth shook as if she really was a giant! And more steps could be heard from a different street! Apple Bloom approached the street where those steps were coming from until she could see it.

Zegor the Destructor.

The God had taken the appearance of a giant ram made of burning ash, fire coming out of its eyes and its mouth. When it spotted her, it opened its mouth, gathering a huge quantity of energy into a ball. When it fired, Apple Bloom lowered herself to avoid it, then ran to it. She punched it in the face, sending some of the ash forming it in the air as the God was sent into a building that crumbled on it.

Zegor got up, the ash returning in his body, and it punched Apple Bloom in return, and despite the filly parrying, she was sent sliding several meters back down the street. Zegor then used the ash forming its body to create small ghost-like ash golems that went after Apple Bloom, but Apple bloom easily sucked them with the Poltergust. However, she couldn't suck the ash directly from Zegor's body.

Understanding what she had to do, she ran back to Zegor and punched it, but Zegor dodged and punched her in return. She lowered her head to avoid it and punched Zegor in the gut before turning around and bucking its head, expulsing a lot of ash from its body. She immediately sucked it with the Poltergust. Zegor sent several energy balls in return, and Apple Bloom ran down a different street to avoid them, hidding behind the buildings. Zegor followed her as a torrent of ash, only to be bucked again when it entered the same street than Apple Bloom. As the ram of ash reformed, she then grabbed its head by the horns, lifted it, and violently slammed it on the street, making the city shake and expulsing a lot of ash from Zegor's body that she immediately sucked. Zegor, however, fired an energy ball at her, and she was hit in the chest, sending her flying far down the street.

She quickly got up, and by reflex, she used the handle of her Poltergust as a bat, successfully sending a second energy ball back at Zegor. the God clearly wasn't expecting it, and the ball hit its head, destroying a part of it. Apple bloom quickly approached it to suck the expulsed ash before it could return in its body, which was now full of holes as it was losing its consistency, more fire coming out of the holes.

As she finished sucking the ash, she was punched in the face. She retaliated by grabbing the leg that punched her before pulling, forcing the ram closer to her. She then punched it in the gut one, two, three times before she was slapped by a tentacle of ash forming from Zegor's body. She then gave an uppercut that sent the ram back a few steps, took off her Poltergust, and slammed it on its head. She quickly put the Poltergust back before sucking the ash, only for more tentacles of ash to form and to wrap around her legs. She was then lifted and violently slammed against a building. Despite this, she grabbed one of the tentacles and spinned, slamming the God into another building. This sectioned the tentacles from the main body, causing Zegor to lose a lot of ash that Apple Bloom sucked. As Zegor recovered, she then tackled it, and after rolled together a little, she grabbed its tail and used the momentum of the roll to violently slam it on the street. Its body of ash exploded into a cloud, and she sucked everything with her Poltergust.

But Zegor wasn't defeated yet. It turned out that the ash was only a shell hidding its real form: a ghostly mass of fire with a face without any real shape.

The being of fire sent flames to burn Apple Bloom, but she sucked them, and she also began to suck it, its immaterial form making it vulnerable to the Poltergust. Zegor then charged a lot of energy for a huge attack in hope of avoiding being captured, and it fired a powerful beam of destruction, only for Apple Bloom to slam it, causing its beam to go haywire without even hitting her. However, it caused a lot of destruction to the buildings around them before it stopped. Apple Bloom then continued to slam Zegor again and again until it was captured.

As Apple Bloom sat down, sighing in relief, Director Cut shouted "Aaaaaand CUT! That was beyond my expectations! You were absolutely spectacular! You really are a superstar!"

As he talked, Little Ghost stopped filming, and the city returned to be a normal model, and all destruction caused to it disappeared.

"Mister Cut! What was that?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"A simple ghost that, thanks to my great powers, turned into that powerful being of fire and ash named Zegor!"

"Wait! It's a Trickster?" asked Apple Bloom in awe.

"A Trickster?"

"It's how we call the blue ghosts," informed Little Ghost.

"Oh. Smart. Well, yes, it was just a Trickster."

The fillies looked at him in stupefaction. "Ya can turn a ghost as easy to defeat as a Trickster into a powerful monster like that thing?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Only while filming for my movies while following the script I have in mind, or else, trust me, I wouldn't be there following Eternal Rest."

Not long after, they were in the editing room, the room at the right of the entrance of the backstage. Director Cut had assembled the film reels that were used, but looked saddened against.

"What a tragedy that I won't be able to see my masterpiece finished..."

"What do you mean?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I 'failed' to kill you. Eternal Rest will come to send me to her collection, and I won't even have time to edit what we made. And i'm not sure that you will be able to defeat her. She will be much more powerful than Zegor."

Apple Bloom looked at him in determination. "Mister Cut. Ah swear Ah'll capture her. And then, we'll come out of that stupid hotel and ya'll be able to finish yer film."

Director Cut smiled at her. "Then, at least, take those film reels, and put them somewhere where they will risk nothing, please."

"Ah already know where. Princess Twilight?"

Twilight teleported in the room, and levitated the film reels, smiling at Director Cut. "They will be safe in the caravan. Don't worry." Then, she teleported back to the caravan.

Director Cut sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"Now... Ah fear that Ah'll have to capture ya. It'll be better than finishing in Eternal Rest's collection. Once we capture her, we'll release ya."

Director Cut nodded. "Well, before that..." He gave to her the elevator button. "As promised."

"Thank ya."

"Now, be careful. Piano Virtuoso, Gorros, and Green Hoof were only the beginning. There are other powerful ghosts in this hotel, and they won't be as nice as me. The one that you should encounter in the next floor is even one of the most powerfuls under Eternal Rest."

"Thanks for the warning." She readied her Poltergust. "Ready?"

Director Cut nodded, and Apple Bloom turned her Poltergust on, capturing him.

«You should return in the caravan,» then said Twilight. «If the next ghost is as powerful as he says, then you should rest a little before going to the next floor.»

"Yeah..." replied Apple Bloom with a sigh.

She really hated Eternal Rest.

So the fillies returned to the elevator. Before returning to the basement, Apple Bloom decided to place the button.

But then, as she placed it, something purple jumped out of the wall and grabbed the button from the hoof of Apple Bloom who jumped back in surprise. The something revealed to be the ghost of a three-tailed purple cat who looked female with a beautiful golden collar with a small gem who smiled smugly at the fillies with the button in her mouth. Then she ate it, and quickly ran out of the elevator.

"What? Not again!" shouted Apple Bloom before she groaned, putting her hooves on her head. "Girls... If this is what Ah think it's... Be ready to know the joy of chasing a ghost animal around."

"You mean... Like you told us about Polterpup?" asked Sweetie Belle worriedly.

"Eeyup..."

«Be careful, girls. I read legends talking about two-tailed cats, and they weren't pretty. This one possesses three tails, so she must be very nasty,» warned Twilight.

"How nasty are we talking about?" asked Sweetie Belle.

«Apparently, they eat ponies.»

«What? A cat that eat ponies?» asked Rarity in horror.

«It's what said the legends, but I understand your incomprehension. This cat looks like a normal cat, excepted for the facts that she's a ghost and that she possesses three tails. How could she eat ponies?»

"Something tells me we'll quickly discover how," said Apple Bloom before she activated the DLD and pointed it at the ground, revealing the cat's trail.

Following the trail, they saw that she jumped on the camera and through the wall to the hallway, so they followed her there. In the hallway, they saw her running on the wall, and she was fast! Rapidly, she reached the entrance room and passed the door to the backstage.

"It will be hard to catch her," said Sweetie Belle.

"Ah know..." replied Apple Bloom with a sigh before she opened the door.

In the backstage, they followed the trail to the room with the burning buildings set where some Tricksters with brooms had begun to clean. The fillies quickly dealt with them, then continued to follow the cat's trail. But then, they heard a commotion inside one of the buildings with barking followed by a yowl. The cat then came out of the building followed by Polterpup who wanted to play with her.

"Good boy, Puppy! Ya found her!" shouted Apple Bloom as she prepared her Poltergust.

But suddenly, seeing that she was cornered, the cat transformed into a huge feral cat monster with long sharp claws and very sharp teeth, to everypony's shock and horror. Then, with a fast swing of a claw, she sent Polterpup flying several meters away, the ghost dog yelping in pain before giving a small whine as he got up.

Apple Blom quickly went to him to see if he was alright, then turned to the cat in rage.

"Well, now we have the answer of how those cats can eat ponies..." said Little Ghost.

The fillies activated the Poltergusts, but the cat easily resisted thanks to her claws, and she attacked Sweetie Belle who was just in front of her. The skeleton filly jumped to the side to avoid the claw, then took a few steps back.

"How can we capture her?" she asked.

"Like with the Buffies. Let's attack her by the tails," answered Apple Bloom. "We'll use our number against her."

So the fillies ircled the cat in the hope tht one of them will be able to reach one of the tails. The cat, however, didn't stop attacking, swinging her claws left and right while spinning, making it very hard. But eventually, Little Ghost managed to catch one of the tails. The cat used again her claws to resist, so Little Ghost had to slam her again and again to weaken her until the tail was teared off. Seeing her tail now missing, the cat returned to her previous form and ran away, passing the wall and returning to the backstage.

After petting Polterpup to reassure him and being licked in return, Apple Bloom shouted "After her!" and ran to the door, followed by her friends. In the backstage, the cat had taken refuge on the grated support near the ceiling, but it wasn't a problem for Little Ghost who flew to her, forcing the cat to jump down, only for her to pass through the floor!

"What?"

"That's what Ah feared she'd do... Let's go to the previous floor."

"If they think that I will let them capture my Polterkitty like that!"

As the fillies, still in the movie studio, passed by the entrance hall, a lightning bolt suddenly came out of nowhere and hit a bin in the room, to their surprise. Then, the bin took life as if it was possessed by a ghost, the object gaining a face like the piano, before it began to move toward the fillies to attack them by body slamming them. The fillies quickly moved to avoid it, and Apple Bloom bucked it, sending it crashing into a wall where it exploded.

"What was that?" shouted Sweetie Belle.

«Seems like somepony isn't happy that ya're trying to capture her cat,» said Applejack.

"Giving life to objects without possessing them, that's powerful, very powerful," commented Apple Bloom. "Eternal Rest really's in her own league. We'll have to be more careful."

In the hallway, another bin took life and was promptly destroyed. In the elevator hall, it was the camera that took life, the object sending its film to strangle Apple Bloom, but Little Ghost slammed it against the wall. When they opened the elevator, Tricksters came out of it, taking the fillies by surprise, but they were quickly captured.

Back in the garden floor, nothing happened at first. They found the cat's trail where they fought Green Hoof and began to follow it, but then, a hive above the stairs fell and broke apart, and two dozens Little Tricksters came out of it, ambushing the fillies. Despite this, they were captured in a few seconds, and the fillies continued to chase the cat all the way to the room where they first fought carnivorous plants.

In this room, the trail was very chaotic, the trails going everywhere on the floor and the walls, but they still managed to see that it finished in front of a closet, in the corner. The two chairs and the table in the room then took life and attacked the fillies, but they trapped their Poltergusts to slam the table on the chairs, destroying the objects. The bed then took life and charged at them, but the fillies quickly moved out of the way, and the bed slammed itself against the wall, badly damaging itself to the point that its top crumbled on it. The bed was still moving however, and charged again. This time, the fillies made sure that the bed charged at the closet, taking the cat by surprise as her hidding place was destroyed. The cat then transformed into her feral form and landed on the bed, destroying it, before attacking the fillies.

They used the same method than earlier, circling the cat until one of them could get a grip on one of the two remaining tails while avoiding the claws. When Apple Bloom managed to catch one of the tails, she slammed the back like Little Ghost did before until the tail was teared off, leaving only one tail.

Again, the cat took her previous form and ran away, passing the door to the bathroom. The fillies followed her there only for the cat to pass through a window and climb the wall from outside.

"She probably went to the room above. Let's go!" shouted Apple Bloom.

So they left by the hole in the wall and climbed until reaching the room in question, the one where they found the buzzsaw. Not finding the cat's trail there, they went to enter the bathroom, only for something to wrap around Apple Bloom's leg and to lift her in the air, revealing a previously invisible ghost in front of the door.

This ghost was a new one. It was orange and pony-like, like the Tricksters, but they reminded more of the Goosts, but not as big. They possessed, however, a really big mouth from which came two blue tongues, one of which was lifting Apple Bloom. The ghost then attacked her by slapping her with his other tongue.

"Hey!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Don't worry Apple Bloom! We have him!" shouted Little Ghost before she and Sweetie Belle turned their Poltergust on.

To their surprise, the ghost resisted, but Sweetie Belle managed to catch the tongue slapping Apple Bloom. The ghost then tried to slam Apple Bloom on her, but Little Ghost caught her and pulled, freeing her. Apple Bloom immediately caught the other tongue from which she was freed, and with Sweetie Belle, she slammed the ghost, stopping it from resisting being sucked.

"A ghost that uses a tongue to catch ponies and another tongue to slap them?" wondered Apple Bloom.

"Let's call him Slappy!" proposed Sweetie Belle.

"Approved," said Little Ghost. "But I join you, Apple bloom, he was a weird one, even for a ghost from the paranormal dimension."

"It really shows their diversity," said Apple Bloom.

After this, they entered in the bathroom where they had to deal with the bulbs previously. There, they found the cat in the bathtub, but instead of entering the bathtub to force her out, they used their Poltergusts to turn the faucet.

Cats hate water, it was wall known.

And as planned, the cat yowled as the bathtub was being filled with water, and she instead of running away again, she took her feral form and destroyed the bathtub before jumping at the fillies in rage. Quickly, the fillies dispersed and circled the cat like before. However, the cat was more erratic, and she managed to claw Little Ghost while almost crushing Sweetie Belle's skull with her back leg. The skeleton filly made her regret this by catching the last tail. Again, the cat was slammed, and slammed, until the tail was teared off.

Panicking, the cat climbed on a vine and spat the elevator button before disappearing through the ceiling, probably returning to her mistress.

"And don't come back if ya know what's good for ya, ya fleabag!" yelled Apple Bloom before she took the button. "At least, it wasn't as bad as those times against Polterpup," she commented.

«But Polterpup wasn't attacking back,» said Applejack. «And he wasn't helped by an angry mistress.»

Apple Bloom shrugged. "It was still worst. Now let's return to the caravan, girls. Ah need a rest before the big fight of the next floor."

"There. There. The bad fillies won't get you there," cooed Eternal Rest to her cat as she petted her. "Don't try to play with them again. you made mommy very worried."

"So, next is Ooga, right?" asked the mare with the afro.

At this, the triplets hugged the huge stallion.

"Please, be careful, our big Oogy Boogy."

"Those fillies are really mean."

"They almost captured the boss' poor kitty."

"Pretty mares no worry! Ooga strong! Ooga will smash fillies!" shouted the stallion.

The cat gave a small hiss. She wanted to get her revenge on the fillies.

Author's Note

Name: Director Cut
Age when dead: 37
Time of death: 10 months ago
Cause of death: A stage light falling on his head
Info: Director Cut was a photograph before cinema was developped, and he was so amazed by all the possibilities it could give that he decided to make his own movies. Despite the difficulties, his determination led him to successfully start shooting his first movie. But because of amateurism, one of the stage lights fell on him, ending his career before it could even start.

Unnatural History Museum

In the caravan.

"So, how was it to be an actor, Bloom?" asked Applejack.

"It's special, and fun, but Ah'd have prefered without all the dangers. Especially the traps."

"I'm curious to see the end result," said Spike.

"Well, first, we've to capture Eternal Rest so Director Cut could finish the movie without risks," said Apple Bloom.

"Eight floors left," said Sweetie Belle. "We are halfway."

Apple Bloom sighed. "Ah'm worried about Scootaloo. Who knows what that witch did to her."

"And the others," said Twilight. "Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Starlight Glimmer. We got lucky with Rarity, I don't know if we will have that luck with them... After Gorros and Green Hoof, I'm really fearing the worse."

"And Director Cut told us that the ghost of the next floor will be a powerful one," said Little Ghost. "What will we be up against?"

"With our luck, we'd be up against the ghost of that old bearded stallion. Uh... Ah forgot his name," said Apple Bloom.

"Starswirl the Bearded?" proposed Twilight.

"Yeah, hi-"

"Oh my gosh! If you fight his ghost, then please, could you ask him his autograph?"

"Darling. If they fight Starswirl the Bearded, then if he is like you described him, he will certainly be hypnotized. I don't think he will be disposed to give an autograph. At least, not before we defeat Eternal Rest," said Rarity.

"You are right. Starswirl would never lower himself to work for somepony as evil, not willingly," agreed Twilight. "Well then, once Eternal Rest is defeated, I will ask him myself!"

"That's if that Starswirl guy is there, which we ain't sure. It's just a guess," said Applejack.

"We'll see soon enough," said Apple Bloom as she got up. "Ah'm ready to continue."

Ding!

The doors of the elevator opened, and the fillies immediately understood where they were when they saw a skeleton of a pterosaur hanging from the ceiling above: a museum.

A museum inside a hotel. After the castle and the movie studio, they weren't that surprised. What took them by surprise, however, was Twilight's high-pitched squeal that suddenly came from their communication devices.

«Oh my gosh! A museum!» she shouted.

«With dinosaurs!» shouted Spike as excitedly.

«Calm down, ya two, ya'll turn Apple Bloom deaf,» said Applejack.

Not minding the mares, the fillies advanced to the front desk where the hall separated into two hallways that turned so they passed beside the elevator, at both sides. There were what you would expect in that kind of museum: skeletons and fossiles of extinct animals including dinosaurs, lonely bones, some ancient eggs, old tools and artefacts, and even ancients flowers.

Through the window, they could see that a storm was beginning, lightning flashing sometimes which gave the museum a very gloomy atmosphere among all those remains of dead animals.

"Do you think we will fight the ghost of a dinosaur?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Maybe?" answered Apple Bloom.

"Bah. You already fought the ghost of a dragon. It's not a dinosaur that will scare you," assured Little Ghost.

"Ah never said that Ah's scared."

Taking a direction in random, they passed by the right, traversing a hallway with a lot of giant bones against the walls, and some ancient flowers. As it turned to the right, joining with the other hallway behind the elevator, they passed beside a giant fossile before they ended in front of a curtain which was hidding another hallway.

Passing the curtain, they discovered that the hallway led to a big room with the skeleton of a T-Rex, the skeleton in a roaring pose.

"Oooooh!" said the fillies in awe.

The infamous Tyrannosaurus Rex. There were so much stories about them. Seeing the skeleton of one of them sure left an impression, especially with that pose.

Then, lightning flashed through the windows.

The skeleton had changed pose, looking as if it was curiously staring at them with its left eye!

The fillies became as still as statues.

"You saw like me, right? It moved?" whispered Sweetie Belle .

"Yes, it moved, ya ain't crazy," answered Apple Bloom, also whispering.

"What do we do?" asked Little Ghost.

"We've no choice. We continue," answered Apple Bloom.

"But we fight ghosts, not skeletons of dinosaurs," said Little Ghost worriedly.

"We'll find something, like against the piano," replied Apple Bloom.

"Why are we whispering?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Because we're scared. That ghost knows how to do their job correctly," answered Little Ghost. "So, we go?"

The others nodded, and they advanced.

Then, just before they entered the room with the T-Rex, lightning flashed again, and the skeleton was now looking down at them threateningly, mouth open, as if it was about to attack.

The fillies had to use all their courage to not turn tail. Seeing that the skeleton was attached to a pole helped.

"I note this ghost ten out of ten. A real fear master," whispered Little Ghost to lighten the atmosphere.

Lightning flashed again. The skeleton didn't move, but on its head, a certain pink pony suddenly appeared, to everypony's surprise.

Pinkie Pie was now there, sitting on the head, not moving. Her mane was straight, hidding her face as she looked down.

«Uh oh... Straight-maned Pinkie Pie's never good...» said Applejack.

As if to confirm her, Pinkie Pie slowly began to move a hoof into her mane and pulled out a crossbow while a mysterious pink light appeared in the skeleton' s rib cage. Then, the skeleton began to move, slowly rising to its full height while looking down at the fillies.

Then, Pinkie Pie pointed her crossbow at Apple Bloom, and the skeleton roared.

Pinkie then fired a bolt at Apple Bloom while the T-Rex stomped violently the ground to make two pterosaures drop their eggs and parts of the ceiling fall, not able to reach the fillies since he was stuck because of the pole. Apple Bloom quickly jumped to the side to avoid the bolt, then jumped again to avoid a piece of the ceiling. Then, the T-Rex roared, firing a a wave of sonic energy at her!

Sweetie Belle quickly pushed her out of the way before shouting "What can we do to destroy it?!"

Apple Bloom recovered from the push and quickly rolled to avoid another bolt from Pinkie Pie before she looked at the T-Rex. She then looked around and stared at the eggs and at the pieces of ceiling that fell.

"Ah'm sure we can fire those at it with our Poltergusts!" she said as she pointed at the elements in question.

Little Ghost nodded. "Yes! Good idea! And the pink light must be its weak point! It's certainly the point from which the ghost is controling it!"

"Then let's fire at it!" said Sweetie Belle. "At least, it can't move. It will be easy."

Little Ghost was the first to reach one of the pieces of ceiling, Apple Bloom being too busy dodging the sonic waves and the bolts from Pinkie Pie. Using her Poltergust, she grabbed the piece of ceiling, waited the right moment, and fired at the pink light. The T-Rex, however, caught the piece in its jaw and began to crush it. Then, Sweetie Belle fired one of the two eggs at the light, and this time, the T-Rex could do nothing to stop it.

It worked. As soon as the egg hit the light, the T-Rex was destabilized. Losing its mind for a moment, it fired sonic waves randomly, destroying one of the pterosaures, while trashing around the pole, destroying the columns at both sides with its tail before it recovered its senses and faced the skeleton filly, Pinkie Pie still on its head targetting Apple Bloom.

The T-Rex fired a sonic wave at Sweetie Belle. Then, seeing Little Ghost approaching a piece of ceiling, it fired a continuous sonic wave at her, forcing her to constantly move and not be able to pick up the piece of ceiling. Meanwhile, Pinkie took a second crossbow from her mane and used them alternatively at Apple Bloom, not leaving the filly any respite.

Seeing this, Little Ghost flew toward Pinkie Pie while still avoiding the sonic waves. When she came too close, the T-Rex tried to bite her, and she dodged before she began to circle the pink mare. Again and again, the T-Rex tried to bite her, moving its head erratically to get her, and because of it, Pinkie had a harder time targetting Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle then fired a piece of ceiling at the pink light, but again, the dinosaure caught it in its jaw only to be hit by the second egg that Apple Bloom could fire now that she didn't have to constantly dodge Pinkie's bolts.

Again, the T-Rex was destabilized and it violently trashed. Roaring, it violently moved its head, causing Pinkie Pie to lose balance. Then, with a sudden jerk of the head, it sent the pink ponie in the air above it. It then opened its mouth, ready to bit her as she was starting to drop back toward it. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could only look in horror, but thankfully, Little Ghost was able to catch her. All that dropped were the crossbows that the T-Rex crushed in its mouth.

Apple Bloom quickly took the Dehypnotist as Little Ghost dropped Pinkie in front of her, and she used the small device to free the pink mare.

Pinkie rubbed her head with a small groan. "Wow... Last night's party must have been very hard..."

Before the fillies could say anything in return, the T-Rex roared again, then pulled, pulled, and pulled!

The pole broke, causing the T-Rex to slam itself against the wall at its right.

"Oh... Horseapple..." said Apple Bloom.

The T-Rex turned toward her, then roared.

"Oh! A dinosaur! Hello Mr Dinosaur! Unless, you prefer Mr Rex? Rexou? Rexy?" said Pinkie as she waved at the dinosaur.

The T-Rex charged, mouth open.

"Move, Pinkie!" yelled Apple Bloom in panic as she took Pinkie's hoof and pulled. Little Ghost helped her by pushing Pinkie, and they moved just in time to avoid the mouth of the T-Rex snapping shut where Pinkie's head was just the previous second. In its momuntum, the T-Rex slipped as it tried to turn to follow the ponies, and it slammed itself into the two raptor skeletons at the right side of the room, destroying them.

The T-Rex recovered and ran after Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie. As it passed beside Sweetie Belle who was about to fire another piece of ceiling, the T-rex gave a sudden swipe of its tail. taken by surprise, the skeleton filly was destroyed, her bones sent flying in a mess.

"What a meanie!" shouted Pinkie as she and Apple Bloom ran down the hallway back to the one surrounding the elevator.

"It's possessed by a ghost that wants us dead!" shouted Apple Bloom at her.

"It's not very nice."

They turned to the left, the t-Rex just behind them. Again, the T-Rex slipped as it tried to turn, and it slammed itself against the back wall of the elevator.

"Eternal Rest, the headmistress of this hotel, works for Thanatos! And all the ghosts there work for her!"

"Oh, I see! So Eternal Rest attracted us to her hotel to trap us! Then, when we slept, she captured all of us and is forcing you to climb the hotel floor by floor to save us in another of Thanatos' 'Death Games'! And the T-Rex was guarding me!"

"Eeyup! That's exactly what happened! We already saved Twilight, Spike, and Rarity! Applejack wasn't captured! And Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost're helping me!"

"What about Scootaloo?"

After a small moment of silence as they passed in front of the doors of the elevator, Apple bloom answered. "Eternal Rest killed her. Her ghost's now in her hooves. She probably added her to her 'collection'."

Pinkie was scared to ask, but she asked anyway. "What collection?"

"She forcefully bounds ghosts to dolls for her to torture for eternity."

Pinkie looked at her in horror just as they returned at the intersection leading to the exposition room. There, Little Ghost and a reconstituted Sweetie Belle where waiting, each armed with a piece of the destroyed raptors. As Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie passed them, the skeleton and ghost fillies fired. Again, the t-Rex caught the first piece in its mouth, but got hit by the second, causing it to trip and fall.

Apple Bloom quickly turned around and used the occasion to climb on the T-Rex' skull before moving on its backbone, strongly clinging to it as the dinosaur got back up.

«What are ya doing, Apple Bloom?!» yelled Applejack as the T-Rex began to trash to get the filly off of it.

"Keeping it distracted! Come on, girls! Fire something at the light! Quick!"

Her friends nodded. "Wait for us! We've to get something first!" shouted Little Ghost.

"No need!" shouted Pinkie Pie from behind them as they heard rather heavy stuff being dropped. Looking back, the fillies saw a small pile of eggs, pieces of skeletons, and other things at her hooves. "Ammunitions ready!" she shouted with a salute.

"Good job, Pinkie!" shouted Sweetie Belle in thanks before the two fillies each grabbed something with their Poltergusts and fired at the dinosaure. It wasn't easy because of the dinosaur constantly moving to get itself rid of Apple Bloom, but every now and then, they managed to hit the pink light, damaging the T-Rex as it was losing its ribs.

After a few hits, the skeleton stopped trashing and fired a sonic wave at the fillies and at Pinkie Pie who had to run away to avoid it. But then Apple Bloom grabbed one of the remaining ribs, teared it off, and used it to stab the pink light from the skeleton's back. the T-Rex restarted trashing around, forcing Apple Bloom to cling again, then slammed itself against a wall in the hope of getting itself rid of her. But she held on and stabbed the light again.

She stabbed, and stabbed, and stabbed!

The T-Rex lost control and ran down the hallway back to the exposition room, slamming itself against the walls at the left and the right, but Apple Bloom continued to cling and to stab. But when the t-Rex slammed itself into a skeleton of a stegosaurus, the shock was finally too much for Apple Bloom who was sent flying.

When she landed, she quickly recovered and faced the T-Rex who got up, terribly weakened. She was still holding the rib. Then, with a roar, the t-Rex charged at her, and she charged at it. As they approached each other, the T-Rex opened its mouth wide, ready to bite, but then, Apple Bloom jumped right into it! The T-Rex was so surprised that it closed the mouth too late, and she was in it in one piece, unharmed. She then moved down what was once the throat and entered the rib cage, or what remained of it, and she stabbed the pink light.

The light disappeared, and the skeleton stopped moving before it crumbled into piece.

As Sweetie Belle, Little Ghost, and Pinkie Pie ran to the remains, Apple Bloom got up and shook her head. "Ah ain't doing this again anytime soon!"

"Apple Bloom!" shouted Sweetie Belle. "That was the craziest, stupidest thing ever!"

"The coolest too!" said Little Ghost.

"Mmh... I'm split," said Pinkie Pie. "Well, I will just say that I agree with both. It was crazy, stupid, cool, reckless, awesome, risky, scary, jaw-dropping, fooli-"

"Alright. Ah understand. Worst idea ever but totally worth it. It's the best way Ah found to finish that T-Rex."

«Ya'd have waited yer friends! What were ya thinking?! Don't become like Rainbow Dash!» yelled Applejack.

"Come on! Ah did crazier stuff. I fought a whole possessed manor by myself, remember. Jumping in the mouth of a T-Rex skeleton's nothing compar-Uh?" Hearing something, Apple Bloom interrupted herself and looked back at the remains of the T-Rex.

From them rose the ghost of a huge yellow earth pony stallion with brown mane and tail. His fur and hair were very disheveled, and it looked like it never went to a dentist seeing the state of his teeth. One of them was even sticking out. The pony really looked wild... and dumb too.

They could hear Twilight gasp. «A cavepony!»

Everypony's jaws dropped. What were the chance of encountering a ghost so old? This hotel was one surprise after another!

The cavepony grabbed a huge bone from the remains of the skeleton and held it like a club before turning to them. He was clearly angry, but they could also see some respect from him when he looked at Apple Bloom. Her stunt certainly impressed him.

"You not so weak filly! You brave and strong! Ooga wants smash you even more! Will be great fight! Me Ooga! Ancient chief of great Hard Head Tribe! Now chief of Ooga order Ooga to smash filly! Filly and friends prove great adversaries! Now, Ooga fights yellow and red filly like in old tribe tradition!"

"Uh... What tradition?," asked Apple Bloom.

Ooga pointed his bone club at her. Then, suddenly, Sweetie Belle, Little Ghost, and Pinkie Pie were thrown out of the room by an invisible force. Ooga then raised his bone club and a wave of ghostly energy spread to the room. Everything darkened, and torches suddenly appeared on the walls while ghostly spears appeared to block the exit, stopping everypony that was thrown out from coming back, even Little Ghost. Silhouettes of caveponies then appeared on the walls, between the torches, and began to play on drums.

Ooga pointed the bone club back at Apple Bloom. "You greatest warrior! You fight Ooga alone! To death! Will determine greatest warrior between filly and Ooga!"

Apple Bloom exchanged a look with her friends through the spears blocking the exit, nodded, and looked back at Ooga, pointing the handle of her Poltergust at him. "Very well, Ooga! Ah'll show ya what we, Apples, are made of!"

Ooga grinned, then raised his bone club that began to glow red before he slammed it on the floor. This created a great shockwave that spread to the whole room, destroying every remains of skeletons and pieces of ceiling. Apple Bloom jumped to avoid it, then immediately ran toward Ooga. She jumped to the side to avoid a smash of his club, then activated her Poltergust on him, trapping him in its vortex. Despite this, Ooga managed to resist and attacked Apple Bloom again, first smashing again with his club that Apple Bloom avoided with another side jump, then doing a spin at ground level that the filly dodged with another jump.

Growling, Ooga did something unexpected. He grabbed the Poltergust by the handle, then used it to slam Apple Bloom on the ground.

"Arg!"

Ooga quickly readied his club to smash her while she was down, but Apple Bloom rolled out of the way, got up, and reactivated her Poltergust on Ooga. The cavepony tried to grab the handle again to do like earlier, and Apple Bloom had to stop sucking him and jumped back. Ooga also flew back, then threw the bone club at Apple Bloom, the club spinning in the air. She lowered her head to let it pass, then went to attack Ooga again, only to be hit on the back of her head by the club as it flew back at the cavepony. As she rubbed her bump, Ooga tried to attempted to smash her again, and she plunged under him, ending up behind him.

All the while, her friends cheered from behind the spears, Pinkie Pie having even gotten a cheerleader uniform from somewhere.

Apple Bloom was forced again to move back to prevent Ooga from grabbing her Poltergust, and again, Ooga threw his club at her. This time, she got an idea and caught the club in the vortex of her Poltergust before she spun to throw it back at Ooga, hitting him on the head and stunning him, giving her the perfect occasion to greatly weaken him.

After a few seconds, however, Ooga recovered his senses and grabbed his club that began glowing red before he attacked Apple Bloom. The filly quickly jumped back to avoid being smashed, then jumped again to avoid the created shockwave, only to be punched on the face by Ooga. She was sent rolling with her muzzle starting to bleed, but she was able to recover mid-roll and quickly lowered her head to avoid another punch. She then moved under him and immediately reactivated her Poltergust, actually managing to catch Ooga's ghost tail, trapping it in the hole.

Still resisting despite this, Ooga actually used this to slam Apple Bloom again with his ghost tail, but Apple Bloom didn't let go this time, gritting her teeth. Used all her strenght, Apple Bloom pulled and slammed Ooga despite his size, then slammed him again. In turn, Ooga attempted to slam Apple Bloom another time, but the filly let go of the tail, simply causing her to be sent a few meters away where she did a roll before getting on her hooves.

Ooga's bone club then glowed red again, and he smashed it, creating a shockwave. This time, he immediately followed it with another smash, creating another shockwave, then did a third smash, and a fourth, and a fifth... In the end, Ooga did about a dozen shockwave, and Apple Bloom managed to jump above all of them. Seeing this, Ooga went absolutely berserk and rapidly smashed the ground in blind rage, and the resulting shockwaves were too close from each other for Apple bloom to be able to jump above them. So she ran to a wall and jumped at one of the torches that appeared at the beginning, grabbing it and using it to hang above the shockwaves, out of harm's way.

When Ooga saw this, he stopped smashing the ground and charged at her, spinning with his bone club still glowing red.

"OOGAAAAA SMAAAAAASH!!!"

Just before Ooga hit, Apple Bloom used the torch to jump above the ghost, and Ooga smashed the wall, blowing a huge hole to the exterior of the hotel in it. Apple Bloom landed behind him, then caught his ghost tail in her Poltergust again before she slammed him. Taken off guard, Ooga accidentaly threw his club in the air, and it fell back right on his head. Stunned because of it, he couldn't resist being slammed again and again.

After a few slammings, Ooga managed to recover enough to feel that he was losing strenght and being sucked into the Poltergust. He tried to cling at something on the ground, anything to stop being sucked, but there was nothing to help him excepted his bone club that he managed to grab. He then turned around to face Apple Bloom and smash her, but it was too late and he disappeared in the Poltergust, dropping the bone.

The room immediately returned to normal, the torches and silhouettes of ponies playing drums disappearing while its normal brightness returned. The ghostly spears also disappeared, letting her friends enter the room.

Apple Bloom looked at the handle of her Poltergust, proud of herself. "Eh. Guess Ah'm the greatest warrior."

She was then tackle hugged by Sweetie Belle, Little Ghost, and Pinkie Pie, the four of them ending in a pile on the floor. They all congratulated her, including the ponies back in the caravan.

Sweetie Belle then looked at her bleeding muzzle and shouted "Oh my gosh! You're bleeding! We must return in the caravan right now! You need some heal!"

"Wait. What about the elevator button? Ooga didn't drop it."

"Oh! I have it!" said Pinkie as she took the button out of her mane and showed it to Apple Bloom. "Tadaaa! I found it in my mane while you were fighting!"

Apple Bloom read what was written on it. "'B2'... Wait, it's the button to the second basement? The boilerworks?"

Pinkie looked at the button. "Yeperonie! Seems like it!" She put the button back in her mane. "But first, to the caravan!"

"Well, there go Dumby," said the pirate.

"Not our Oogy Boogyyyyy!" cried the triplets.

"Good riddance. He was really annoying me," said the bandaged mare.

"You're mean!" shouted the triplets at her.

"Welp. Guess it's mah turn," said the stallion with the overalls. "Goodbye ev'rypony. It's fun while it lasted."

"Uhuhuh. Are you really that pessimist?" asked the bandaged mare.

"Haven't ya seen what we all just saw? The Apple filly defeated Ooga in duel. Ah ain't giving much of mah chances against them. Not that Ah won't try. Ah'm workin' in the boilerworks after all. Maybe Ah'll be lucky."

At this, the stallion left.

The mare with the afro then turned to the pirate. "You heard him. You're pretty much our last hope. So don't lose. I don't want to face those fillies."

The pirate guffawed. "Good one! As if I'd lose to mere fillies, as strong as they're!"

The bandaged mare crossed her hooves in annoyance. "You seem to forget about me. I am not a pushover."

The mare with the afro shrugged. "We'll see soon enough if you're right. You're next after Ducky."

"I'm cheering for you, Queeny!" shouted the buffed stallion, making the bandaged mare roll her eyes.

Author's Note

Name: Ooga
Age when dead: 47
Time of death: At least 100 000 years ago
Cause of death: Devoured alive by a hydra
Info: Ooga was born in the Hard Head Tribe and revealed to be a great warrior before even reaching maturity. Confident in his strenght, he challenged the chief in a Death Duel and won, becoming the chief of the tribe at only 15 years old. Under his rule, the tribe prospered, and the chiefs of the other tribes knew to not try anything against them. Many fools tried their chances against him in Death Duels, but lost. What cost him his life was his overconfidence in his strenght, leading to him trying to fight a full grown hydra. It ended as anypony would expect.

Boilerworks

"Aaaand... there. Thankfully, your injuries weren't bad. Earth pony resistance will always surprise me," said Twilight as she finished healing Apple Bloom. "An unicorn or a pegasus would have certainly gotten something broken out of this fight."

"Thanks," said the filly as she rubbed her muzzle. "Yeah, this guy knew how to fight."

"No wonder he was chief of his own tribe," said Sweetie Belle.

"That and the T-Rex. He really was one of Eternal Rest's best minions," commented Little Ghost.

"And since he's just 'one of the best', then who knows what's awaiting y'all in the remaining floors," said Applejack with worry.

"Nothing that we can't handle, sis," replied Apple Bloom confidently.

Pinkie laughed. "I'm sure they know this now after seeing you defeat Captain Cavepony!"

"Yeah!" shouted Little Ghost. "Wait. Captain Cavepony? Is this a reference I missed?"

"Don't ask," said Applejack.

"But now, if I remember correctly, the next floor, the second basement, is the boilerworks," said Twilight. "It's very dangerous. You will have to be careful. More than in the other floors."

"Ah will," assured Apple Bloom.

Ding!

The doors of the elevator opened and hot air invaded it. It was so hot that it became hard to breath for Apple Bloom. It was like being in an oven. Already, as they got out of the elevator, the fillies spoted a treasure chest on a beam, and Little Ghost emptied it with the bag while Sweetie Belle resisted screaming when seeing some mice moving around. Not minding the few boxes, they then entered the hallway exiting the elevator hall by the left only to end face to face with the ghost of a purple earth pony stallion with a blond mane. The stallion was wearing overalls and a cap currently covering his eyes as he was sleeping against a table beside the exit door.

For some reason, there were a couple of rubber ducks beside him.

The stallion clearly heard them walking on the metallic floor, because his hears moved at the sound of their hooves, and he stopped snoring. He then moved his cap up to uncover his eyes, and when he saw the fillies, he smiled at them.

"There ya're. Ya sure took yer darn time. Ah dozed off while waiting for ya. Name's Rusty Wrench, the mec of this place, but friends call me Ducky if ya prefer. Ah wonder why," he finished with a chuckle as he made a rubber duck squeak. "As ya probably guessed, Ah'm the next in the list. Ah'll try to stop ya, ya'll try to survive and capture me. Easy as pie."He flew to a crank on a pipe just above and turned it. "Now let the fun begin!"

The crank activated the pipe, causing water to come out of it and spray Apple Bloom right on the face. Rusty guffawed before flying through the exit door. Apple Bloom rapidly moved out of the way of the stream, not amused at all by his prank, mane and fur dripping. Her friends, however, couldn't suppress a small giggle.

"We'll see who'll have the last laugh... Ah've the feeling he'll be like Green Hoof."

"You mean he'll do anything to annoy us and have some fun?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah."

"I had the same feeling. But he doesn't seem as bad. He seems more lay back," said Little Ghost.

"Well, it doesn't matter," said Apple Bloom. "In the end, we still've to capture him, like all the others."

At this, Apple Bloom tried to open the door only to discover that it was locked, and no sign of the key.

"Drat. Time to search the room."

The search didn't last long. Little Ghost found the key on a platform made of wooden planks on metal bars in a hole in the wall beside the door. Using it, they opened the door and entered a room with a lot of pipe, a boiler, and three cranks. There was a part without floor at the left by which some of the pipes passed, showing that there was probably a lower level.

Also, there was a very bad smell that almost forced Apple Bloom to put a hoof on her muzzle to block it. Seeing her, Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost were glad that they didn't need to breath.

Three Tricksters were present. One of them had a bucket on the head, and the two others were hitting it with spanners, having a good laugh at the first ghost's depend.

«Ahahah! A classic!» said Pinkie.

Before the ghosts could acknowledge their presence, the fillies immediately went into action and captured them. However, this alerted two more Tricksters and nine Mini-Tricksters who suddenly came. Apple Bloom was able to trap the two Tricksters at the same time while her friends dealt with the small ones.

Room cleaned of ghosts, the fillies went to the door at the opposite side only to find out that it was barred by a mechanism. There was a small console beside it with a screen, but no button of whatever that could be used to activate it. However, it had a red power cable going through the floor. Understanding that the cable probably led to something that will help, Little Ghost followed it through the floor to the lower level of the room where some of the pipes ended, dumping unclean water.

Because this place also served as a sewer, of course! This explained the bad smell.

Following the cable, Little Ghost discovered the button activating the mechanism on the wall just under the door. She just had to push it and done! The bars retracted, freeing the door! Little Ghost joined her friends and, together, they passed the door.

The next room had two levels and was huge. The level the fillies were actually in consisted of a circular path surrounding a hole in which huge quantity of water were poured from two big pipes on the ceiling. However, a metallic wall supporting one of the pathways of the upperlevel blocked the circular path near the opposite left corner, and a big pipe with a grid on it blocked another part near the opposite right corner, so there was a section of the path the fillies couldn't access this way. On the path were also some boxes, tools, and other objects like a traffic cone. A treasure chest could even be seen on the inaccessible section of the path. A red L-shaped pathway was however present in the central hole, actually linking a ladder leading to the previously mentioned upperlevel pathway at the left and the inaccessible section of the circular path. This pathway was linked by a power cable to a trapdoor at the right, and said trapdoor was linked to what seemed to be two pressure plate interruptors beside it.

The upperlevel only had two pathways. The one already mentioned at the left was accessible only by the ladder on the red pathway, and the second one was at the opposite right corner of the room, above the blocking pipe. This one also could only be accessed by a ladder from the circular path, but this ladder was currently retracted so somepony had to go up there and get it down. Or they could try to throw something at it.

On the upperlevel left pathway, the fillies spotted Rusty Wrench lying on the guardrail, looking down at them.

"Mister Wrench! Don't try to stop us! Ya mst know by now that ya've no chance!" shouted Apple Bloom.

Ducky chuckled. "Ya're right, young miss. Ya clearly showed it against that big idiot Ooga. But at least, Ah can still try, right? At least, Ah can have some fun before going down. Ya know, messing with ya before the end. So try to catch me!" he shouted before he flew through a glass window in the wall behind him.

"So he knows he's doomed, but he still continues?" wondered Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom huffed. "Yeah, to have some fun like he said. He probably intends to prank us like he did to me. Get on our nerves."

Sweetie Belle groaned. "And now, we have to find how to reach this ladder and climb up there."

"Easy," said Apple Bloom as she pointed at the red pathway in the central hole, then at the trapdoor linked to it. "That pathway probably can be turned with some machine in that there trapdoor."

"Alright, but how about we explore first?" proposed Little Ghost as she pointed at a door just at the right of the one they came from.

"Okay. that's if it's not locked."

It turned out that the door wasn't locked, but just led to a small room that was separated in two parts by a wall so only Little Ghost could reach the second part. The second part was larger than the first part and seemed to be Duckt's chamber. There was a bed with a turtle pillow, a banjo, some rubber ducks, some other stuff, and a treasure chest that Little Ghost didn't wait to empty.

They returned to the previous room and went to the trapdoor. At first, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had to step on the pressure plates to open the trapdoor and make a machine come out. The machine had two levers that could be pulled down. Apple Bloom pulled the one at the left, and the red pathway turned at 90° counterclockwise before stopping, the lever moving back up. Now, the fillies could reach the pathway and go to the ladder.

As Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went to it and climbed it, Little Ghost used the occasion to go empty the treasure chest in the room.

The fillies reached the upperlevel and quickly spotted Ducky through the glass window as he was waving at them in front of a big machine with a huge lever. Ducky them pushed up the lever with some difficulty, and a big metallic door suddenly closed in the room where he was in, and the level of the water began to rise in both rooms

Apple Bloom looked down in worry at the rising water and said "Uh, girl... We'd hurry opening this door."

She was referring a big, round metallic door with a crank at the left of the glass window. The fillies quickly went to turn the crank to open it and get out of there when they suddenly heard Ducky talk.

"don't worry young misses. The water stops just under the platform. Ya won't drown."

Hearing him, the fillies looked at the water and saw that he was right. The water stopped rising just as he said. They then turned to the glass window, seeing Ducky who had passed his head through it to talk to them, now laughing.

"Ahahahahah! Ya should've seen yerselves panicking like that! Trust me, if Ah'd drown ya, Ah wouldn't be so pessimist about mah chances against ya. Beside, two of ya can't be drowned."

Apple Bloom sighed in relief. "Okay... But how this'll help ya what ya did?" she asked.

"Easy," answered the stallion. "First of all, that big door isn't the one leading to the drainage control where Ah'm right now. This one leads to the main tank. The one leading to the drainage control's this one right over there." He pointed at a door on the second pathway in the corner of the now flooded room. "But first, ya'll have to pass by the sewers that're now full of messy and stinky water. And Ah don't think ya can swim with that heavy thing on yer back. Now let's see how ya'll manage to reach me without sinking like lead. Bwah ahahahah!" Ducky then fully returned in the drainage control room, waiting for them to reach him with the best trollface he could give.

...

"The sewers? Why the sewers?! Why did it have to be sewers?! I DON'T WANNA PASS BY THE SEWERS! IT'S SUPER GROSS!" yelled Sweetie Belle.

"We don't have a choice in the matter, but we first've to find a way to float. Dusty's right, with our Poltergusts, we'd sink."

"Not me! I already float! In the air!" shouted Little Ghost before laughing.

"Not fair!" whined Sweetie Belle.

"Another point for the ghost side."

Sweetie Belle crossed her forelegs and 'pouted'. But then, she thought of something. "Hey! This means you could lift us above the water!"

"If I was fully powered, yes, I could. But because of what Eternal Rest did to me, I could only lift one of you. Preferably you, Sweetie Belle, because you are much lighter than Apple Bloom."

"But you can lift us, like, one at a time, right?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Yes, I can. But I will be a little slower with Apple Bloom."

"Better than nothing," said Apple Bloom before she suddenly spotted something white moving in the water. "Mmh? What's that? Waah!"

She jumped back in fright when the white thing suddenly jumped out of the water, only to reveal itself to be Polterpup joyously barking at her as he swam in circle in the water.

"Puppy! Gosh, ya gave me a scare there!"

"Bark bark!" the ghost dog barked before he stopped himself beside the platform, offering his back to Apple Bloom.

"Ya're letting me ride on yer back?"

"Bark bark!"

Apple Bloom gave Polterpup a big smile before jumping on his back and saying "Good doggy! Lead us to that other platform." She pointed at the platform in the corner of the room. Polterpup barked once in acknowledgement, then swam toward the platform followed by Little Ghost lifting Sweetie Belle.

They quickly reached the platform, and Little Ghost went in the water after dropping Sweetie Belle. There was a metallic sound (muffled by thewater), and the ladder was deployed. Little Ghost then returned.

"Just in case."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded and the group passed the door, entering a small room that seemed to be a control room. There was a big machine with a lot of buttons and levers and even a screen under a window through which they could see the drainage control room, Ducky waving at them when he spotted them. On the machine, there was a coffee machine and plate with a coffee mug and some magazines and papers. Further back in the room, there was a small table with a box of doughnuts, some paper cups, and a container full of coffee for the machine, a pipe bringing the coffee to it when activated.

Nothing to do in this room excepted taking some bits from a piggy bank on a shelf, so they quickly continued their way, opening the door just in front of the entrance and entering the dreaded sewers.

It was as they imagined. The sewers were a big tunnel made of bricks and half full of water absolutely stinking. The water was also full of debris and garbages, like empty bottles or a watermelon. There was also an inner tube shapped like a duck for some reason, a ladder letting them reaching it. On the wall in front of the ladder was a workbench full of tools. And of course, there were pipes everywhere, some of which were dumping water. Finally, there was a huge metallic gate blocking the path, and they could see that they had to pull a chain to make it rise, but it could only be accessed by a path in the brick wall, and there was no way to reach this path without flying.

Apple Bloom blocked her muzzle with a hoof. "Eww... Wait there. Ah'll be back."

The filly then returned in the previous room and came back a minute later with paper blocking her nostrils.

"Better," she said, her voice weird because of this. between this and the paper sticking out of her nostrils making her look silly, this made her friends laugh. Annoyed, Apple bloom grumbled "Let's go. Little Ghost, go open the gate," before she used the ladder to approach the inner tube.

"Mmh... I fear it will be too heavy just for me. I will have to bring Sweetie Belle."

Apple Bloom nodded and looked at the inner tube ducky. Polterpup then jumped in the water and barked at her, letting her go on his back again. Thanking him, Apple Bloom jumped on him, and Little Ghost grabbed Sweetie Belle before she flew to the chain. Together, they pulled it, rising the metal gate and letting Apple Bloom and Polterpup pass.

The next part of the sewers was a little bigger but remained identical to the previous one. A passage beside the metal gate let Sweetie Belle pass as she and Little Ghost followed Apple Bloom from the brick wall. Another metal gate blocked the way, and Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle had to pull another chain to rise it.

The third part of the sewers was bigger, turning to the left and ending in another metal game, this one possessing spikes! Then, among the rubber duckies, watermelons, a paper boat, and other stuff floating in the water, Apple bloom spotted something that turned her pale: three shark fins approaching her and Polterpup.

"Sharks! There're sharks!" she yelled in panic.

«sharks?! In the sewers?!» shouted Twilight.

«Quick Bloom! Get out of the water! The ledges!»

"Puppy! Move!" shouted Apple Bloom.

As Polterpup approached a ledge, Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost let go of the chain, making the gate drop, but not it time to block the sharks.

"Let's go in the water, Sweetie! We will deal with them!" shouted Little ghost.

"Are you crazy? They're sharks!"

"You are just bones! They won't attack you! Now let's go before they eat Apple Bloom!"

At this, Little ghost charged into the water, ready to punch some sharks, only to have the surprise of discovering that the sharks were just Tricksters with fake shark fins on their back.

"You must be foaling me." She put her head out of the water. "Those aren't sharks! They're Tricksters with fake fins!" she shouted.

"Seriously?!" shouted both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.

"Why! Those no good... That's a new one! They almost gave me a heart attack!" shouted Apple Bloom.

Little ghost waved Sweetie Belle to come. "Come, Sweetie Belle! Let's make them pay for this prank!" At this, Little Ghost returned underwater and activated her Poltergust. Despite being underwater, the Poltergust still worked very well, creating a vortex of water instead of a vortex of air to catch the ghosts.

sweetie Belle hesitated a few seconds, not wanting to jump in the gross water, but she eventually decided to say buck it, those ghosts needed a lesson, and Little Ghost needed her help. So with a "Geronimooo!" she jumped in the water, and the underwater battle doubled in intensity. Before long, all that remained of the Tricksters were the fake fins floating on the water. Little Ghost then floated out of the water lifting Sweetie Belle.

"Thanks, girls!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"You are welcome, but don't lower your guard yet. There may be more," said Little Ghost before she and Sweetie Belle pulled down the chain, rising the metal gate again and letting Apple Bloom enter the third part of the sewers with Polterpup.

As Little Ghost said, there were some more Tricksters disguised as sharks in the water, and more of them out of the water armed with various weapons including the anti-ghost mini-cannons. Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost jumped in the water again to deal with the fake sharks and any other ghosts deciding to go underwater, and Apple Bloom dealt with the ghosts remaining out of the water, trusting Polterpup to help her dodge any attacks. Mini Tricksters came out of the walls and joined in the action, and Little Ghost regularly got out of the water to help Apple Bloom. When only a Trickster with an anti-ghost cannon remained, a Buffy then came to try his chance, and Polterpup quickly turned tail to escape him with Apple Bloom. The Buffy, howeve,r slammed his fists in the water, creating a big wave that sweeped Apple Bloom from the dog's back. Polterpup quickly dived to help her while Little Ghost attacked the Buffy from behind. Sweetie Belle sadly could do nothing to help from underwater. Polterpup quickly managed to get Apple Bloom back on his back and approached the last Trickster to let her deal with him as he fired at Little Ghost.

Once the last ghost was captured, Little Ghost grabbed Sweetie Belle from underwater and went to the chain to rise the metallic spiked gate and let Apple Bloom continue.

The fourth part of the sewers turned to the left again, taking the direction of what they knew was the drainage control room, but the exit was blocked by yet another metal spiked gate. Curiously, on the way, against the brick wall with the path that Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost used, there was a small wooden platform with a lounging chair and some fishing gear. Also, a gride was blocking the way for Sweetie Belle, so she had to let Little Ghost lift her again only to see that more fake sharks were approahing Apple Bloom.

"Here we go again," she said before she jumped in the water followed by Little Ghost.

All the way to the gate, they were attacked by ghosts, mainly Tricksters and Mini-Tricksters, but two Buffys and some Throwers also came, the Throwers throwing darts. Poor Polterpup had to constantly move to avoid that Apple Bloom got harmed by them. Against them, Apple Bloom had the idea of firing the watermelons floating in the water at them, stunning them.

Once the ghosts were all captured, Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle were finally able to reach the last chain and make the last metal gate rise, only for three more fake sharks to come from behind it, and again, the two fillies had to abandon their post to help Apple Bloom and capture them. With the three gone, they opened the gate again, and Apple Bloom could finally enter the drainage control room. Sweetie Belle could also enter it thanks to a passage beside the gate.

Most of the room was of course flooded, so there wasn't much to see right now. However, there was an upperpart out of the water where Apple Bloom could dock and jump from Polterpup's back. The water however reached half of the upperpart, but it was low enough that the filly could still walk. For some reason, there was an armor sitting there with a broom. She was quickly joined by her friends, and together, they looked around in search of Ducky only to rapidly discover that he wasn't there.

He tricked them! He didn't wait for them!

But before Apple Bloom could let out a curse, she saw water moving alone and immediately understood that Creepers were there.

"Watch out, girls! Creepers!"

"We saw!" they both replied as the three went back to back. 'Seeing' a Creeper pass in front of her, Apple Bloom activated her Poltergust and caught him. As she tried to resist his pull to not be dragged too much, a second Creeper tried to attack her from behind only to be trapped by Sweetie Belle and being slammed on a third Creeper she 'saw' moving in the water. Little Ghost trapped this third Creeper before he could get away and slammed him around, hitting a fourth Creeper this way.

After easily dealing with the ghosts, Apple Bloom destroyed the armor just in case, and the fillies began to wonder what to do only to see Ducky waving at them from behind the window of the control room.

"This guy..." growled Apple Bloom.

"Does this mean we have to traverse the sewers again?" asked Sweetie Belle with a groan.

"I fear so. But first, let's lower the waterlevel," said Little Ghost as she pointed at a pathway just above with the machine controling the waterlevel. She then lifted Sweetie Belle to the pathway, having no other way to reach it, and they worked together to pull down the big lever. This opened the big metallic door that let the waterlevel return to normal.

"Great! Like this, we'll just need to walk to return to the control room!" said Apple Bloom.

Polterpup barked happily, then disappeared in the ceiling, seeing that he wasn't needed anymore.

Apple Bloom then went down a ladder to go to the lower part of the room absolutely full of garbages. As she was joined by her friends, she spotted a treasure chest and went to open it only to get a nasty surprise when the chest suddenly took life and tried to eat her.

"Eep!" shouted Apple Bloom as she jumped back before she bucked the chest, sending it flying against a wall. This damaged both the chest and the wall that crumbled on it, definitively destroying it and revealing by the same occasion another chest that also took life. It charged through the pile of bricks and the remains of the first chest, sending bits flying a little everywhere, and attacked Apple Bloom only for a chair to be slammed on it by Sweetie Belle. It was then hit by a soccer ball from Little Ghost, and Apple Bloom finished it with a buck.

"Treasure chests trying to eat me, I can't believe it.

«Twilight totally foreshadowed it,» said Pinkie Pie with a laugh. «In case anyone asks, she said it back in the Haunter Towers.»

«Yeah, I remember,» said Twilight.

"They were probably given life thanks to Eternal Rest's power, like back when we chased the cat," said Little Ghost. "She really didn't like that we try to capture her. We will have to be more careful."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle agreed, then after taking all the bits from the two chests, they took a small ladder back to the sewers. None of the metal gates needed to be rised because they didn't get all the way down, so they just had to walk/float under them.

On the way, another chest was found behind bars, this one not trying to eat the fillies, another tried to eat them at the second turn (destroyed thanks to some soccer balls and by making an anchor fall on it), a third one was behind a partly destroyed part of the brick wall that Apple bloom was able to fully destroy with a buck, and more bits could be found here and there. All along the way, ghosts regularly assaulted them, eight Tricksters, a Buffy, a couple of Throwers, and three Creepers in total.

Back at the beginning of the sewers, and climbed two ladders back to the door leading to the control room.

Only to find out that somethig was now blocking the door from the other side.

"What?" said Apple Bloom as she tried to push it with her friends. Failing again, she then bucked it, but the door was too solid to be destroyed, and her buck wasn't powerful enough to make it push whatever was blocking it.

Little Ghost then passed her head through the door to see what it was. "Bad news girls.There's now a giant pile of bricks and other stuff blocking the door. I can try to get rid of it, but it will take a moment."

"Darn," said Apple Bloom.

"How about we search another way?" proposed Sweetie Belle. "There was that tunnel back in the drainage control room, the one that can be closed with that big metal door. Maybe it can lead us somewhere."

"Ah hope so," said Apple Bloom.

So they traversed the sewers again, and five Tricksters, two Buffys, two dozens Mini-Tricksters, a dozen Mini-Buffys, five Throwers, and Three Creepers later, they returned in the drainage control room and entered the tunnel.

For some reason, a red balloon floated out of it as they entered.

"I swear, if we encounter a monster clown devourer of foals, I'm out of there," said Sweetie Belle.

«How do you know about this? This book isn't for fillies!» shouted Twilight.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Who doesn't know about this book? It's pretty much cultural by now."

The tunnel was very dark, but it wasn't long before they reached the end of it, finding themselves blocked by a brick wall. However, the wall was very weakened, and a buck from Apple Bloom was all it took to destroy it. This revealed that the tunnel continued further and even had a small light. Behind bars demarcating the entrance of another tunnel, Little Ghost emptied another chest before they reached a big, round metallic door exactly like the one leading to the main tank. However, this door was missing its crank to open it, but beside it, there was a button. When they pressed it, it caused two trapdoors to open in the ceiling, dropping two piles of garbage. The crank wasn't in them but was in one of the spaces behind the first trapdoor, and Little Ghost was able to get it. After putting the crank back in place, they turned it and opened the door.

The room behind it seemed really old, the walls and elements in it being damaged and weakened. They arrived by a pathway in the upperlevel of the room, beside the right wall, and saw that there was a turning L-shaped pathway there too actually leading to a platform with a ladder. Opposite from where they were, there was a platform with a door that couldn't been reached, and not far of it beside the opposite wall, there was another platform with a chest that Little Ghost went to open while the others went down the ladder.

The lowerlevel had not much beside an alcove full of paint buckets. There was also a barrel in a corner, a carped, and a power cable linking the turning pathway to something behind a weakened wall. A buck from Apple bloom destroyed the wall, revealing a trapdoor with two pressure plates like the ones back in the big room, one of the plates being on a weird machine. Sweetie Belle climbed the machine to go step on it while Apple Bloom stepped on the other, opening the trapdoor and revealing an identical machine than the one in the big room, with the two levers to turn the L-shaped pathway.

Knowing what to do, Apple bloom pulled down the left lever, making the pathway turn 90° so it was now linking the platform with the ladder to the platform with the exit door. So, after quick fight against three Creepers, they climbed the ladder and went to the door to open it and continue.

They returned to what Little Ghost recognized was the lower part of the room with all the pipes and the boiler. They were in a small section aside, at the top of a small staircase leading to the messy water. This place apparently served as a restroom because there was a toilet bowl in the corner.

They had no choice but to walk in the water to reach a ladder leading them to a pathway with the button to activate the mechanism of the barred door at the end. Opposite of the button was a door leading to a room just under the elevator room.

In this room, they discovered that Ducky was apparently a very lonely guy because he had prepared a candle light dinner with a fake mare made of sticks with a mop for the tail and a bucket for the head, with eyes and mouth drawn on it.

The poor stallion was also suffering under Eternal Rest, no wonder he wanted to have some 'fun' with them. It was probably the first time he had the occasion to have real fun with somepony since he died.

"Alright. ah won't be too harsh on him once we capture him," said Apple Bloom.

There was a retractable ladder not far, leading to a trapdoor. Little Ghost lowered the ladder before opening the trapdoor, and when the fillies climbed the ladder, they were back in the elevator room. From there, they traversed the room with all the pipes and returned in the big one.

"Ducky wasn't in the control room anymore when I checked," said Little Ghost.

"He could be anywhere," said Sweetie Belle before she pointed at the room at the right. "Maybe he went there."

Fail.

Apple Bloom thought for a moment. "Let's check if he returned in the drainage control room."

So they climbed the ladder to the pathway with the glass window, only to see that Ducky didn't seem to have returned to the drainage control room.

This left one possibility: the main tank. So they turned the crank of the big round metallic door and opened it, and they immediately knew they had hit the jackpot when they heard somepony playing a banjo.

They entered a huge cylindrical room as full of garbage as the others with a ladder leading to a circular pathway further up. On this pathway, they could see Ducky lying against a inner tube ducky playing a banjo, cap covering his eyes.

While playing, he began to talk.

"So ya're able to find me despite everything. Eh. Why am Ah not surprised? Ah hope ya loved the free tour of mah home sweet home."

Apple Bloom took out the paper blocking her nostrils, judging that it wasn't smelling as bad now. "Ah could've done without the smell."

Ducky chuckled. "It's part of the charm of this place. Ya get used after a while." He then stopped playing and pulled up his cap to look at the fillies. "Now that ya're here, Ah suppose it's time for our big fight, uh? Well then..."

Dropping his banjo, he flew to a machine similar to the one in the drainage control room, and he pulled up the big lever there, causing the waterlevel to start to rise. Rapidly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle climbed on an inner tube ducky and watched as the waterlevel continued to rise until they reached a level of the room where they were surrounded by spikes. Ducky then took his own inner tube ducky as well as two fans and jumped in the water.

"Again, Ah've no doubt about the result of this fight, but we all know that Ah'm not doing it for victory. So hey, how about a game. The first that hit the spikes and pops their inner tube loses. What do ya think?"

"Ya're on."

"Of course, if yer little ghost friend could avoid ruining the game, it'd be nice."

"Alright," said Little ghost before she joined Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on the inner tube ducky.

Ducky then began to use his fans as oars to approach the fillies, and Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle placed the end of their Poltergusts in the water and expulsed air to propel their inner tube toward the stallion. Ducky prepared his fans to attack, and Apple Bloom quickly parried his first attack with the handle of her Poltergust. However, Ducky hit their inner tube with his second fan, sending it a few meters away toward the spikes.

The fillies quickly recovered and did like before to approach Ducky. This time, when they approached him, Sweetie Belle stopped blowing air and joined Apple bloom to parry Ducky's attacks. Apple bloom eventually managed to hit his inner tube, sending him spinning. The fillies then blew air in his direction to try to push him toward the spikes before he could recover, but they took too long and Ducky began approaching again. As he and Apple bloom clashed again, he gave her a warm smile.

"Ya know, Ah always wanted to've a child. Aah, all the fun Ah'd have had with him or her. Ah love mah job, but it can be a bit lonely and boring, ya see. Of course, our fun would've been less dangerous than what we're doing right now."

Again, Apple Bloom managed to hit his inner tube, sending him closer toward the spikes.

"Don't ya worry. Once we're done with Eternal Rest, ya'll be able to've all the fun ya'll want, as long as it's not hurtful."

Ducky sighed, showing sadness. "Ah wish... But nopony can beat Eternal Rest. We're all doomed. You, me, the ghosts ya captured, and all the ones ya saved or that're still captured. But Ah admit ya're putting up a good fight. Managing to defeat Piano Virtuozo, then Gorros, and then Ooga. Good job, really. It's almost giving me hope. Almost. But at least, Ah can've one last fun before joined her collection."

Apple Bloom slammed a hoof on her inner tube. "Nopony'll join her collection! And Ah'll even free everyone already in it! This night's Eternal Rest's last! And Thanatos'll follow soon after!"

Ducky laughed and approached the fillies again before clashing with them. "That's some big talk from a filly! Defeating the Lord of Death? Ya may've defeated all the ghosts ya faced until now, but it's no reason to get a big head!"

Sweetie Belle managed to hit his inner tube, pushing him back. Little Ghost immediately worked to approach them to him.

"Ah don't have a big head! I know we can defeat him! But first, we'll defeat Eternal Rest! Ya'll see!"

Ducky managed to get a hit, pushing the fillies back, only for them to quickly come back and charge him. They rammed him, pushing him back as Ducky was clashing with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. He then used his ghost tail to move to the side and thus avoid hitting the spikes. But as he moved, Apple bloom was able to catch him inner tube with her Poltergust, and her friends quickly joined her in catching it to help her lift him out of the water, to his surprise.

"Woah there!"

Then, the fillies fired him right at the spikes, piercing his inner tube. This caused Ducky to fly in all directions as his inner tube lost air by the newly formed hole and was propelled because of this. Eventually, he slammed right on the circular pathway, and the fillies didn't lose time to join him here, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle climbing the ladder to it.

Recovering his senses, Ducky looked at them as they circled him, smiling.

"Eh. Ya won. But Ah still doubt that ya'll be able to defeat Eternal Rest."

"Yer doubt'll be lifted soon enough. Only six floors remaining," said Apple Bloom.

"Eheh..." Ducky took the elevator from the pocket of his overalls and let it roll toward Apple Bloom. "Friendly warning. Watch out the twelth floor. Ah'm not even sure ya'll pass the ghost guarding it."

"Noted," said Apple Bloom in worry as she took the elevator button to the tenth floor. Director Cut warned them about Ooga and it as indeed a hard fight. Ducky's warning certainly meant an even harder fight, probably against Eternal Rest's most powerful minion. "Don't worry. Whoever's waiting us in the twelth floor doesn't scare us."

Ducky chuckled. "Eheheh. Ya'll be. It's somepony ya probably already know by name, and trust me, when ya'll discover who he's, ya'll froze. He's a real demon incarnated in a pony. The only one more cruel than him's Eternal Rest."

The fillies exchanged worried looks, then Apple Bloom said 'We'll still defeat him, no matter what."

Ducky just gave her another warm smile in return. At this, she activated her Poltergust and easily captured him.

"Who do you think we will face in the twelfth floor?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Somepony we may already know by name and who's very cruel?"

«I hope it's not Sombra,» said Rarity.

«There aren't many well known cruel ponies in history,» said Twilight.

"Whoever he's, we first have to pass floor ten and floor eleven before reaching him. Let's think about what awaits us in those floors first."

«And before that, ya'll get a bath,» said Applejack. «Ya'll need one after getting through those sewers.»

Apple Bloom gave herself a small sniff. "Eww. Eeyup."

"My turn, finally," said the bandaged mare. "Ahahahah! They will learn that the curse of the pharaoh is real! Apple Bloom will be a dried mummy before long!"

"Good luck, you'll need it," said the mare with the afro.

The bandaged mare huffed, then exited the room.

"At least, she won't curse us with her presence anymore," said the muscled stallion.

Author's Note

Name: Rusty "Ducky" Wrench
Age when dead: 29
Time of death: 11 years ago
Cause of death: crushed
Info: Rusty Wrench, called Ducky because of his weird passion of collecting rubber duckies, was a mechanic who worked wherever he was needed. A laid back guy who napped and joked often but still did his job like an expert. No machines had secrets for him. He often joked that he could build a robot if he wanted. He died crushed under a machine falling on him as he was fixing it.

Tomb Suites

After a good bath to get rid of the horrible smell of the sewers, the fillies took the elevator to the tenth floor after placing the elevator button leading to it.

Ding!

The doors opened, and the fillies saw what kind of floor awaited them, and Apple Bloom groaned. She recognized the design of the room, they were from the pre-somnambulan civilization of the San Palomino Desert. The same one that the tomb under the Old Clockworks came from. And who said pre-somnambulan civilization said traps. Already, before even exiting the elevator, she spotted in the center of the elevator hall a triangular decoration protruding out of the floor, and she feared that it could be a pressure plate.

«Ooh! Too bad Dashie isn't here! It would've reminded her of Daring Do!» said Pinkie Pie.

«This hotel is really full of interesting floors,» said Twilight.

The fillies entered the elevator room but, at Apple Bloom's words, avoided approaching the triangle. When they entered the room, to their surprise, a torch in each sides of the elevator suddenly turned on by themselves. After examining the room to see if there was anything that could be triggered by a trap, Apple Bloom then slowly approached the triangle only for Sweetie Belle to move in front of her.

"Let me test it. I'm already dead, I risk nothing."

"Okay."

So Sweetie Belle advanced and stepped on the triangle. As they expected, it revealed to be a pressure plate that sank in the floor. Then, the central piece of the four pillars in eacg corners of the room suddenly turned, revealing holes from which snake heads came out and each fired an arrow.

"Eep!"

Sweetie Belle quickly ducked, and two of the arrows passed above her, but two still managed to hit her. Well, one actualy passed between her bones while the other planted itself in one of her ribs. Arrows fired, the snake heads disappeared back in their holes that returned behind the pillars.

"Well Apple Bloom, you were right, it was a trap," said Sweetie Belle as she got up and looked at the pillars, fearing another attack from the snakes.

"Uh... You have an arrow in your rib," pointed Little Ghost.

"Oh." Sweetie Belle looked at her ribs and saw the arrow. She said "Thank you," before she removed it.

After this, the fillies continued. Like most elevator halls, this one had a hallway at the left with tapestries on the walls with drawings in the style known to this civilization, with animals and ponies drawn entirely in profile and the ceiling was drawn to look like the night sky with the constellations. The fillies kept an eye on the floor to avoid walking on any potential traps, Sweetie Belle at the head.

Near the end of the hallway, at the left, there was a door with sand coming from under it. They had to use their Poltergusts to move some of the sands before they could open it.

When they saw the room this door led into, their jaw dropped.

It was easily the biggest room they saw until now, the kind of room you would usually find in a castle for bals or big banquets. But there, the room contained a huge artificial desert, and the ceiling was a really well made optical illusion so it looked like there was a real night sky inside the room. And most impressive of all, there was a big pyramid in the center of the room, and a small oasis could even be seen in the back at the right. The only thing that showed that they were still in a room inside the hotel was the presence of vents in the wall expelling sand.

«Mo-ther of Celestia...» said Twilight in clear awe.

«Wowee! They sure don't do things in half in this hotel!» said Applejack.

«I have the impression to be in San Palomino Desert,» said Rarity. «Really impressive. If this hotel wasn't rulled by a real witch trying to kill us, it would deserve more than five stars.»

«And the big baddy of the floor must be in the pyramid,» said Pinkie Pie. «But you should explore first! Who knows what treasures you will find burried in the sand?»

That was a good point. So the fillies explored the room in search of treasures. They quickly discovered that the real floor of the room wasn't burried far in the sand, so there weren't much places where treasure chests could be burried. Mainly under sand dunes, so this is where they mainly searched. Thus, they found a treasure chest under a dune in the left, under a sand castle (because there were sand castles a little everywhere for some reason). A suspiciously empty alcove in the wall in the back of the room revealed an invisible chest.

In the right side of the room, they weren't that lucky. they found mainly burried vases as well as a lamp and a giant statue of a snake, and the oasis revealed to be a cardboard cutout that ghosts used to ambush them. The cardboard cutout did reveal however a chest hidden behind it. Outside of the chests, they mainly found lonely bits here and there. And all the while, they had to deal with regular attacks of ghosts hidding in the sand, of all kinds encountered in this hotel excepted Slappys (the ones with two tongues).

When they were done exploring the room, they returned in front of the pyramid and began to wonder how they could enter, the entrance being blocked by a snake sculpture. Each sides of the sculpture, there was the statue of a pharaoh mare holding a snake scepted. Apple Bloom quickly remarked that the statues weren't holding their scepter in the same angle, and she understood that one of them had to be moved.

"Ya see those statues? Ah think we must move the leg holding the snake of one of them."

"Okay. Apple Bloom, you don't move from there is case there's a trap. I will try to move the left one while Sweetie will try to move the right one," instructed Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded, and the skeleton moved to the right statue. Both Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost then tried to move the statues' leg holding the snake scepter, and Little Ghost was the one who were able to move hers. The statue's leg was lowered until it was parallel to the floor like the other statue's leg. The statue's eyes then glowed, and the snake sculpture blocking the entrance of the pyramid lift up without any trap being triggered.

This revealed a door that let them enter the pyramid which revealed to contain only one chamber with sarcophagus in the center, surrounded in each corner by four torches. There was also sand around the sarcophagus, and an altar in the back of the room with some bits. In the corner was a closet, and there were some vases here and there as well as a sofa in the left. Somehow, a window was letting moonlight bath the sarcophagus despite the fact that there wasn't any window in the room outside.

«Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! A real tomb of a pharaoh! Quick! Open the sarcophagus!» shouted Pinkie.

"Are you crazy?" asked Sweetie Belle. "Haven't you heard of the curse of the pharaoh? I don't want to be cursed!"

«It's not a real tomb,» said Twilight. «it's a copy of a tomb made for the hotel. You won't get any curse by opening it. However, you may find a mummy...»

"Yeah, we'll avoid opening it..." said Apple Bloom. "Ah don't want to be attacked by a mummy."

"But what do we do now? There's no trace of the ghost guarding this floor, and there's nowhere else to go," said Little Ghost before she looked back at the sarcophagus. "Maybe we really must open it."

"Uh... Maybe there's a secret passage?" said Sweetie Belle, not wanting to open the sarcophagus.

"Yeah. Let's try to find a secret passage first. Pyramids're full of them," said Apple Bloom.

"What about the bits?" asked Little Ghost.

"Ah suppose we can take them since it's a fake tomb..." answered Apple Bloom, insure.

However, beside the bits and some more gold found in the vases and the closet, the fillies found nothing as they explored the room. They had to face it, opening the sarcophagus was the only thing they could do. So they gathered beside it, and prepared themselves.

Only for the lid of the sarcophagus to suddenly begin move, slowly, to the side. The fillies didn't dare to move as an orange transparent leg came out and placed itself on the side of the sarcophagus. Then, the head of an unicorn mare came out, looking at them with a charming smile.

"Eheheheheh. Hello little ones. Don't you know it's bad to enter the tomb of somepony, never less the one of a queen? Now, I will have to punish you. Uhuhuh. Be ready to suffer my curse."

Seeing that the mare was just a ghost, Apple Bloom readied herself to attack her. "Whatever curse ya've doesn't scare me!"

The mare then fully rose from her sarcophagus, revealing herself. She was orange with a black mane styled like one would expect from a mare pharaoh. Her body was partially bandaged, and she also possessed some royal clothing and ornaments. Despite the bandages, she was really beautiful.

«Uh oh... Queen Leyla Rahfa...» said Twilight.

Before Apple Bloom could ask Twilight about this, Leyla chuckled and said "You will not die from my hooves..."

Suddenly, a trapdoor opened under the fillies, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fell in it. Little Ghost remained floating there, but whhen she saw the queen licking her lips, she didn't dare fighting her alone, so she followed her friends in the hole.

They fell all the way though a giant room under the pyramid and into a sand pit. Thankfully, the sand cushioned their fall, but now, they were in a round room plunged in darkness where they could see almost nothing without their lamps. All around them, there were sculptures of snakes in the walls with some chains hanging from the ceiling. A lot of big black spiders where in the room, ready to trap Apple Bloom in their web to feast on her blood. Some real snakes also came out of the sand to bit. And so, barely they recovered from the fall that the fillies had to fight spiders and snakes. Thankfully, thanks to their Poltergusts, it wasn't problematic.

Once all the spiders and snakes were killed, knocked out, or had run away, the fillies sat down to think.

"How can we get out of here?" wondered Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked up at the hole through which they fell in this pit. "This hole's too high..." She then looked around at the snake sculptures. "Maybe one of those sculptures hides a secret passage? Let's check it out."

Thus, the fillies separated to check the sculptures. While they did it, Apple bloom began to talk to Twilight.

"So, Twilight, who's this queen... Uh... Leyla..."

«Leyla Rahfa, the Snake Queen. She was a queen of the pre-somnambulan civilization well known for her beauty, but also for her cruelty. Thanks to her beauty, she attracted stallions as well as mares from everywhere. She... Hum... She did 'things' with them, and when she got bored of them, she threw them to the crocodiles. She also loved to create dissensions, especially if it was to get herself rid of ponies she didn't like or that were in her way, so she manipulated ponies with her words to lead them to kill each others. It's through her beauty and her manipulations that she managed to become queen in the first place. Her reign didn't last long however, because she was quickly poisoned by somepony.»

"No wonder she's known as the Snake Queen. A real snake," commented Apple Bloom. "Verdict, girls?"

"Eternity in Tartarus," said both Sweetie Belle and Little ghost.

"Alright! Time to put the snake in cage."

"Hey! I think I found something!" suddenly shouted Sweetie Belle. "There's a statue half burried in the sand there!"

Apple bloom and Little Ghost joined Sweetie Belle and indeed spotted the head of a statue similar to the ones in front of the pyramid, the rest of its body burried in the sand. Quickly, they used their Poltergusts to move the sand out of the way and reveal the rest of the statue. Like the left statue in front of the pyramid, this one had the leg holding the snake scepter raised, and they pulled it down. It's eyes glowed, and one of the snake sculptures rose, revealing an exit. However, sand also began to fall from the hole in the ceiling and fill the room. So, rapidly, they pushed some sand into a pile to reach the exit and enter the secret passage.

However, in the secret passage, as they climbed a slope, they walked on a pressure plate that caused three snakes statues at the end to fire arrows continuously. Thankfully, the arrows passed above their heads, but if they continued to climb the slope, unless they crawled, they would be hit. But this didn't worry Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle who advanced in search of a way to stop the arrows. They found a rope in a small passage in the left, and they pulled it, causing a wall to be lifted in front of the snake statues. They had to keep holding the rope until they were joined by Apple Bloom, and they released it, freeing the statues. They then just had to climb a ladder to the next level, trying not to mind the spiders present on the walls.

At the stop of the ladder, there was nothing but an open sarcophagus against a wall. With some hesitation, they entered it, and the sarcophagus closed on them before spinning and releasing them in the big room they fell through earlier.

It was a really impressive room with a giant headless statue at their right. Already, they could see that the exit was on its right wither. No way to reach it unless they could fly like Little Ghost. Beside the exit, there were three other doors at their level: one at their left, one at their right in the statue, and one in the opposite wall. In both sides of the door in the giant statue were two slopes with giant round boulders at their top, and in the center of the room was the hole through which they fell to the sand pit, sand actually flling in it from the trapdoor through which they fell in the ceiling. Finally, there was another statue of Leyla as well as a golden statue of a cat and about a dozen sarcophagus against the walls, and some vases on spaces above said sarcophagus. Again, the fillies could only look in awe at seeing such a room, especially in a hotel.

But they were interrupted by mummies suddenly breaking out of the sarcophagus.

Apple Bloom sighed. "Of course..."

"Uh... Apple Bloom? What do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle worriedly as they moved away from a mummy that came out of the sarcophagus just beside the one they came from.

Thinking quickly, Apple Bloom spotted pressure plates beside the central hole. She then looked at the boulders, then at the mummies, then back at the pressures plates, and got an idea. She ran toward the nearest pressure plate and stepped on it. The giant statue then slammed its left hoof, causing the corresponding boulder to roll down its slope. Apple Bloom quickly ran out of the way as the boulder, against all physical laws, did a full circle around the central hole, crushing all mummies on its way, before returning in its places at the top of the slope. All crushed mummies released a ghost, Trickster or Creeper, but there were many mummies remaining. But a few seconds later, the boulder restarted rolling even if Apple Bloom didn't step on the plate.

"Girls! Ya saw this! Try to assemble the mummies in the path of those boulders!" instructed Apple Bloom while she captured a Trickster.

Her friends did as she said, but it revealed to be harder than first thought because they also had to deal with the ghosts, especially the Creepers who were really annoying, and all the while they had to watch out for the boulders to not be crushed. Because of this, the destruction of the mummies was a slow and very risky process, but eventually, they were all crushed (forming a really big mess on the floor) and all the ghosts coming out of them were captured.

"Ah really didn't miss fighting mummies," said Apple Bloom.

"But using the traps against them... Good thinking Apple Bloom," said Little Ghost.

"I hope we won't fight more mummies, they were really scary," said Sweetie Belle.

Since they couldn't find anything to reach the exit, they decided to try the other doors, starting with the one at the left of the sarcophagus they came from. This door led them into a room full of sand with some stones, and a statue was visible in the opposite left corner, on an elevated platform. They saw however that the ceiling was covered in by four chains ending in the walls, no doubt stopping it from falling. Yeah, this whole room was clearly a trap. Still, they decided to see if there was a mean for them to reach the exit there, so they went to the statue in the corner. In the way, they had to fight more snakes.

However, when they reached the platform and approached the statue, it suddenly sank in the ground, and the hole was covered by a small pyramid. Then, a piece of wall suddenly appeared and blocked the exit while three new platforms came out of the sand. Out of those platforms came three snake statues that then began to fire a laser toward the wall above the exit, just beside the first chain. Slowly, the three lasers then moved toward the chain and began to burn it.

"Uh oh. Quick girls!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"What do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Suddenly, the first chain broke, and the lasers began to move toward the next one. No losing time, Apple Bloom went toward the first platform in the center of the room that was the lowers and easier to reach, and she bucked the snake on it. The snake spun and returned in the platform that lowered to its previous position.

Seeing this, Little Ghost flew to one of the two remaining platforms and gave the snake on it some thwacks with her Poltergust. Meanwhile, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle used their Poltergusts to push sand beside the third platform to form a pile so they could climb on it. As a second chain broke however, Creepers entered the room to interfere with them, and Apple Bloom left Sweetie Belle continue to push sand to fight them. as the fight started, Little Ghost finally managed to stop the second snake from firing its laser. She was, however, grabbed by a Creeper who clawed her, and she had to deal with him, leaving Sweetie Belle to stop the third snake. Apple Bloom did everything to stop the Creepers from attacking the skeleton as she finally climbed on the platform of the third snake, and as the third chain broke, she bucked it, stopping it.

The statue then reappeared in the corner of the room, and as Apple Bloom finished the last Creeper, Little Ghost went to pull its leg down, lifting the wall blocking the exit.

"Okay, that's good, but what did it do?" asked the ghost filly.

"Well, let's return to the big room and see if it did anything," said Apple Bloom.

Back in the big room, they saw that a spiraling snake sculpture had appeared and was now partially covering the central hole.

"What?"

"Oh! I see!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle. "We must pass the traps of the three rooms and activate the levers they're guarding to plug this hole. Then, the sand will start to fill the room, and we will have to use it to reach the exit."

"It's really like being Daring Do," commented Apple Bloom. "Alright then. Two rooms left."

They decided to go to the room at the opposite side, but first, they had to deal with a Buffy and some Tricksters trying to stop them. Fighting those ghosts wasn't a problem usualy, but the boulders still were regularly rolling, so they had to be much more careful, so they mainly tried to fight in the corners of the room.

Once all the ghosts were captured, they entered the room. In it, they quickly saw the spiked ceiling. There was also two holes from which sand began to come. There was a lot of gold in this room, including what seemed to be golden weights. Two of said weights were on a lowered part of the floor in the center of the room, and in the wall at their right, there was a succession of eight images of animals forming an arc of a circle. Under it, there was a small pillar with a round hole in which there was also an image of an animal, and there was a button under it. Also, in the four corners of the lowered part of the floor, there were golden snakes, mouths open, clearly ready to fire arrows.

The image in the hole was a crocodile, exactly like the fifth image starting from the left. The other images were, in this order: a rabbit (sort of, it was hard to say), a pony, what looked like a deer, a lion, a camel, a rhinoceros, and an elephant.

The fillies exchanged worried looks, then Apple Bloom went to press the button. When she pressed it, a golden arrow suddenly moved on the arc of circle only to stop at the fourth image, the lion. The tablet with the image of the lion then spun, revealing a red cross before it spun again to put back the image. The four golden snakes then fired arrows toward the center of the lowered part of the floor, hitting nothing.

At this moment, the two growing piles of sand began so big that sand began to fall in the lowered part. Little by little, it lowered further. Having a hunch, Apple bloom pressed the button again, and this time, the golden arrow stopped at the fifth image, the crocodile. The tablet containing the crocodile image then spun to reveal a green circle before spinning again.

Then, a wall dropped in front of the door to block it, and the spiked ceiling began to slowly move down while the crocodile image in the hole was replaced by the third one, the deer.

gears turned in the fillies mind despite the beginning of a panic. So the lowered part was a scale, and in fonction of how much weight they put on it, it moved an arrow to one of the images.

With two golden weights, the arrow stopped at the fourth image.

With two golden weights plus some sand, the arrow stopped at the fifth image.

Now, they had to make the arrow stop at the third image.

"Apple Bloom, try to move a weight from the scale. Little Ghost, can you make sure that no more sand go on the scale.

"Okay."

"Eeyup."

The weight was heavy, but Apple Bloom managed to push it out of the scale. Immediately, Sweetie Belle pressed the button, and the golden arrow stopped at the third image, the deer. The tablet of the image spun, revealing the expected green circle.

"As I thought. A weight moves the arrow by two images," said Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah, that's little foal maths. Even Scoot would've found out," said Apple Bloom.

Sweetie Belle looked back at the hole in the pillar, seeing that the represented image in it was now the elephant.

"So, elephant, eighth image. We need the four weights, no sand," she instructed.

The fillies immediately moved to get the weights on the scale. Once the four weights were on it, they then sucked the sand out of it, and Sweetie Belle pressed the button.

The golden arrow moved to the elephant. Green circle. The ceiling then returned to its initial position while all the tablets spun to let green circles appear, signifying that it was over. The hole in the pillar then closed, and the pillar entered the wall, letting its place to a statue that came out of the ground. Sweetie Belle then pulled down the led holding the scepter, lifting the wall blocking the door. When the fillies exited the room and returned in the big one, they saw that a second snake sculpture had appeared in the central hole.

Only one left to block it.

Again, ghosts appeared to stop them, a Buffy and a dozen Mini-Buffys and Mini-Tricksters, as well as some Creepers. A Slapper even appeared in front of the last door to block them. The Buffy was the most annoying, as usual, but he was very useful to hammer the other ghosts and stop the Creepers in their creeping. One of the creepers still managed to grab Sweetie Belle and to hold her in place to be punched by the Mini-Buffys, but she was quickly saved by Apple Bloom.

The last room, accessed by the door in the giant statue, was rather small and bare, just possessing some vases. Sand was partially covering the floor too. However, a green circular hole was present in the opposite wall, and a blue, cross-shaped hole was present in the left wall. Searching in the sand, the fillies found a glass orb glowing green. Little Ghost took it and placed it in the green hole, lowering the wall into the floor and revealing a second part of the room.

However, when they entered this second part, another wall lowered in front of the entrance door, blocking it, and a purple gas suddenly started to come out of the holes in the room, filling it. When she breathed this gas, Apple Bloom discovered that it was poisoned as she started violently coughing in pain.

"Apple Bloom!" shouted her friends, including the ponies back in the caravan.

"Cough! Cough! Don't worry for me! Cough! Quick, we must find what fills those holes!" she shouted between coughs.

Nodding, the fillies quickly worked to suck the sand and find the glass objects corresponding to the holes to block them. There were a total of six holes pouring the gas. Two yellow triangles, two red squares, and two green circles, so they had to find six glass objects of the corresponding shapes. Half of the objects were easily found in the sand, but the other half was hidden inside objects, like an orb inside a sarcophagus and a cube inside a treasure chest. The last object, a pyramid, was the hardest, because it was hidden inside one of the many vases hidden in the sand of the room. By the time they found it, Apple Bloom was barely standing, and Little Ghost quickly insered it in the last hole. When the last hole was blocked, vents began to suck the gas out of the room, saving Apple Bloom. The wall with the holes also opened, revealing a last part of the room with the statue.

The fillies took some minutes to let Apple Bloom recover, Twilight even appearing to give her a bottle of water to help her.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah...Cough! It doesn't hurt anymore," answered weakly the filly. "Ah hate traps..."

When she judged that she recovered enough, she assured her friends that she could continue. Giving a last worried look, Twilight teleported back to the caravan, and the fillies approached the statue to lower its leg. They also broke the vases beside the statue, discovering a cross-shaped glass object glowing blue. They used it on the blue cross-shaped hole of the first part of the room, lifting the wall and revealing a sarcophagus beside a beautiful sapphire sculpted like a snake that immediately entered the bag. But then, a mummy came out of the sarcophagus.

Little Ghost immediately moved to hit its head with the handle of her Poltergust, and the mummy tried to punch her in return. She avoided the punch and continued to attack it. As the mummy was busy with Little Ghost, Apple Bloom spotted the end of the bandage wrapping it, grabbed it, and with the help of Sweetie Belle, pulled. The mummy spun as a result, losing its bandage until all that remained was the putrefied body that fell on the floor. Before it could recover, Apple Bloom then crushed its head with her back hooves. A Trickster came out of the corpse and was promptly captured by Little Ghost.

"Great... Ah'll need another bath," said Apple Bloom with disgust as she looked at her back legs.

«I don't think there are much water remaining in the caravan's reservoir,» said Twilight.

"It'd be enough for mah legs."

They returned in the big room and saw that, as planned, it was being filled with sand now that the hole was plugged. However, again, as they began pushing sand to form a pile to reach the exit, ghosts appeared. Some Tricksters and Creepers, two Buffys, and a lot of Throwers throwing rocks.

At least, the fillies didn't have to be careful of the boulders anymore.

Little Ghost targetted the Throwers, charging toward them as soon as she saw them popping out of the sand to throw their rocks. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, trapped the nearest Buffy and used him like usually to hammer the other ghosts approaching them while keeping an eye on their friend in case she was attacked by a Creeper and needed help. The Tricksters were quickly eliminated, but the Creepers were more prudent, and by the time they finished the second Buffy, three Creepers were remaining, two of which targetted Little Ghosts who continued to go after the Throwers.

"Go help Little Ghost," said Apple Bloom.

"Alright."

Sweetie Belle ran toward Little Ghost, leaving Apple bloom to deal with the third Creeper. The apple filly stopped moving and simply waited. Then she felt a shiver and immediately spun, catching the Creeper in the act. The two other Creepers were also caught by Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost, leaving the Throwers. One by one, the yellow ghosts were captured.

By now, the room was filled enough with sand that they didn't even need to push sand to reach the exit door. The sand was just reaching its level. quickly, the fillies passed it, exiting the room before it could fill more and block it.

The hallway that followed had a staircase. After dealing with some spiders, they began climbing it only for one of the stairs to reveal to be a pressure plate, and behind the fillies, the left wall began closing in section by section. So they ran up the stairs, doing everything they could to not accidentally trip in their panic, helped by Little Ghost in the worst case. At the top, there was a second staircase at the right full of spiders, and they climbed it too not minding them as the walls continued closing in behind them. Finally, they reached the top, and the last section of wall closed behind them, leaving them trapped there.

It was a very small, narrow room full of vases with a giant web covering the wall in their right and a torch in the corner in their left. Spiders jumped out of the vases to attack Apple bloom, but they were all quickly crushed, the vases being destroyed in the action. In one of the vases was a torch that they lit and used to burn the web, freeing the wall. It didn't reveal a door, but it revealed a wall that seemed to be one that could spin. On the wall, there was a mural of a pony taking a pose very common of the pre-somnambulan civilization: in profil with the two left hooves forward.

"Time to take a pose, Apple Bloom," said Little Ghost with a giggle.

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Ah can't wait to be out of this stupid pyramid."

The filly placed herself in front of the mural and took the pose, Sweetie Belle moving beside her so she wouldn't be left behind. The pose worked, and the wall spun suddenly, almost propelling Apple bloom and Sweetie Belle toward Leyla's sarcophagus.

As Apple Bloom shook her head to recover her senses from the sudden move, she heard Leyla, who was still present, talk.

"Well well well. you managed to survive the traps of my pyramid." The fillies followed the sound of the voice and saw the queen in the opposite side of the sarcophagus, looking at them, amused. "You really are full of resources. It looks like I will have to deal with you myself." She chuckled. "You know, this is what I hoped. I really wanted to kill you myself. To see the expression on your face when you will sink in my sand to be turned into a dried mummy. Uhuhuhuh. This will be... Mmh... Delectable." At this, the mare flew out of the pyramid.

Apple Bloom huffed. "Let's just get this over with. Ah hate this floor."

They followed Leyla out of the pyramid and saw her waiting for them further. They joined her on the sand ready to capture her, only for the queen to laugh.

"Poor poor little filly. Here is... MY CURSE!"

Suddenly, Leyla Rahfa began spinning, and a strong wind appeared around her. A huge quantity of sand was lifted from the desert around them and surrounded the queen. More and more sand accumulated until it formed a sand sculpture in the shape of her head facing the fillies. Four snakes then came out of the top and faced them with their glowing eyes.

"Oooh... This fight will suck..." said Little Ghost.

"Nope," assured Apple Bloom as she took the handle of her Poltergust. "We suck!"

Apple Bloom then activated her Poltergust and began to suck the sand from the sculpture. Her friends quickly followed her exemple as the head began to advance toward them, mouth open, while her snakes attacked. The fillies got out of the way and avoided the snakes before sucking them. More snakes reformed in their place, but they took sand from the main sculpture, thinning it a lot. But then, the sculpture turned into a ball and jumped. When it landed, it created a powerful shockwave that the fillies had to jump above before they could continue to suck. The snakes attacked again, and again, they ended up sucked by the Poltergusts. Finaly, what remained of the head collapsed, revealing Leyla.

Despite this, Leyla quickly surounded herself with sand sculptures of snakes that she used to fire energy projectiles. The filly avoided them however, sucked some of the snakes blocking the way, and trapped Leyla. Despite being sucked, Leyla continued to fight, manipulating sand to hinder the fillies, even managing to hit Little Ghost with a hoof of sand. Eventually, she managed to escape the vortex, and she reformed the head with the snakes.

This time, however, she was far more offensive. With her sand manipulation, she created floating hooves of sand to try to punch the fillies. Then, as they continued to suck the sand, she charged at them, forcing them to quickly roll out of the way but still managing to hit Sweetie Belle. as Apple bloom rolled, the snakes then attacked her, but she was pushed out of the way by Little Ghost, and together, they managed to suck two of the snakes.

Leyla then did three successive jumps, creating three successive shockwaves from three different points. Sweetie Belle had recovered by then, and she and Apple Bloom managed to jump above the shockwaves before they continued to suck the sand. Leyla used more snakes and more hooves of sand to attack them, but they were all dodged, so she attempted another charge that was also successfully avoided.

In the end, the head collapsed again, and again, Leyla attempted to protect herself with sand snakes firing projectiles, more of them, but it still didn't work and she was trapped. As she was sucked, she roared in rage and sent a real wall of sand at the fillies to make them stop. This worked on Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but Little Ghost simply flew above it and continued. Leyla still was able to escape again.

"Enough playing!" she then shouted as an aura of energy glowed around her.

Then, the majority of the sand of the desert gathered around her, forming not just a head, but a whole giant sculpture of her upper body, and the eyes glowed.

"I am Leyla Rahfa! I am a queen! I will not let a bunch of stupid fillies defeat me!"

"Funny. Gorros said something similar before we captured him," said Apple Bloom.

Leyla growled, then attempted to hit the fillies with her left sand hoof. Th fillies avoided, but the hoof formed a shockwave upon hitting the floor. The fillies jumped above it and approached the base of the sand sculpture to suck the sand. Against this, Leyla made sand snakes come out of the body to attack the fillies, and they had to turn their attention to them. The sculpture then moved backward to better attack the fillies with its hooves, but also by firing projectiles of energy from its eyes. The fillies moved constantly to avoid everything that was thrown at them, projectiles, giant sand hooves trying to crush them, the shockwaves created by them, as well as smaller sand hooves that began to form from the remaining sand in the desert to punch them. They managed to approach the sculpture again, dealt with the sand snakes, and continued to suck.

As they sucked, the sand they sucked was expulsed out of the Poltergusts by the vents. This sand was more ammunition for Leyla to form stuff to attack, like hooves of sand, but also the smaller sand snakes that can fire projectiles. The bigger snakes all over the sculpture's body also began to fire a lot of projectiles from their glowing eyes.

"Ahah! She's using a lot of energy! She will be out of juice before she knows it!" said Little Ghost.

She was quickly proved right as a big part of the sculpture collapsed. Leyla didn't give up hoever, and transformed the sculpture inti a giant sand snake. With it, she slithered around the pyramid before charging toward the fillies, mouth wide open. The fillies, however, moved out of the way and took the occasion as the snake's long body passed to suck more sand out of it. The snake quickly moved away and rose its head to fire dozens of projectiles in rapid succession from its eyes. The fillies avoided them simply by running while approaching the culpture.

as they began to suck sand again, the snake suddenly attacked with a quick bit and was able to gobble Sweetie Belle. It tried to do the same to Apple Bloom, but the filly rolled out of the way, then rolled again to avoid the second attempt. Sand, however, was beginning to be expulsed out from inside the snake to Leyla's visible surprise judging by the snake's reaction, and it spat Sweetie Belle.

When the skeleton reformed after the violent crash, she laughed and said "I sucked sand from inside it!"

"Awesome, Sweetie Belle!" said Little Ghost.

The snake was now visibly smaller because of all the sand that had been sucked from it, but it continued to attack. Thanks to its smaller size, it was much less dangerous, its attacks being easier to dodge. In clear, the smaller it became, the easier it was to suck sand from it. Leyla attempted to use again hooves of sand to punch them, but it revealed to not be useful at all as they were easily avoided.

In the end, the snake sculpture collapsed, and the queen was so exhausted that she could only form a small sand snake to defend herself. The snake was easily destroyed, and the ghost was trapped by the three fillies. In the vortex, she barely struggled, and the fillies slammed her a couple of times before she finally lost all her energy and was captured. She could barely scream when she disappeared.

The button to the eleventh floor was dropped behind her. Apple Bloom took it and said "Let's get out of this floor."

"I can't believe we managed to defeat her," said Sweetie Belle. "She seemed invincible with all her sand."

"Nothing is invincible," said Little Ghost.

"And we lost our queen," said the mare with the afro.

"Good riddance," said the muscled stallion.

"Our tuuuuurn!" shouted the triplets.

"You will be in awe!"

"As we kill Apple Bloom!"

"With the power of our tricks and illusions!"

"And we will avange our Oogy Boogy!" finished the three of them before they exited the room.

...

"It's starting to be a little empty in there," said the muscled stallion.

Author's Note

Name: Leyla Rahfa
Age when dead: 26
Time of death: Over 1500 years ago
Cause of death: Poisoned
Info: Leyla was really beautiful. She was so beautiful that she was recruited to be one of the servantts of the prince. However, her beauty hid a very dark heart assisted by the tongue of a snake. Through manipulation, she managed to get the prince to assassinate his father. Using her beauty, she made the newly crowned pharaoh fall for her. Then, she manipulated a stallion who hated the new pharaoh to kill him for her, promising him to make him pharaoh, only to throw him to the crocodiles when he did his job. Her reign became one of the darkest moments of the history of the town that became Somnambula, and it was ended when a courageous stallion faked becoming one of her many bedmates only to poison her. The stallion was crowned new pharaoh.

Twisted Suites

Ding!

The doors of the elevator opened, and the fillies were immediately greated by a strange spectacle: three purple top hats floating in the air. The three hats were forming a line, and where regularly exchanging places. Then, the three hats did a loop and...

Poof! "Hellooo! I'm Magica Hat!"

Poof! "Hellooo! I'm Magica Wand!"

Poof! "Hellooo! I'm Magica Card!"

The ghosts of three purple, blond maned mares appeared under the hats one by one. The first who appeared was the one under the right hat who possessed two short pony tail and was an earth pony. The second who appeared was the one under the left hat who possessed two long pony tails and was a pegasus. The one in the center was the last one to appear and she possessed only one pony tail and was an unicorn. Outside of their manecuts and their races, the three mares were absolutely identical down to the clothes they were wearing, dark purple tuxedos and capes, without forgetting the top hats.

"And welcome... to the Twisted Suites!" the three of them shouted at once.

"A different world where your senses will be abused!" said Hat as she took some cards and waved a hoof in front of them, making them disappear.

"Where left will be right up will be right too, and right wil be upside down!" said Wand as she floated upside down.

"Where it is so easy for something to go tragically wrong!" said Card as she took a saw with a giggle.

"Good show!" said the three of them with a bow. "We hope you will love it to death!"

Then, with more giggles, the three mares exited the room through a door at the left.

...

"Well, great! We're now facing three Trixie!" said Apple Bloom with a groan.

«A whole floor using the same kind of magic than Trixie... Be careful you three, who knows what kind of dangerous traps those tricks and illusions will hide,» said Twilight.

"Yeah... Ah don't want to find mahself being sawn in half," said Apple Bloom.

"Or being pierced from all sides by swords inside a box," said Sweetie Belle.

"It'd do nothing to ya."

"I was talking about you."

"Anyway. Let's follow them and just deal with whatever they will throw at us," said Little Ghost.

The others nodded and exited the elevator, entering the elevator hall. Contrary to most elevator halls, this one was very well decorated, looking more like a living room. Most of the room was in red, red walls, red floor, red curtains at both sides of the elevator and covering most of the walls near the ceiling, and so on. There was a table at both sides of the elevator, the one at the right having card piled in triangles while the one in the left had a giant dice. There was also a red sofa beside the right table in the corner as well as a red chest, and two red chairs (one of them with a bunny plushie, the other with a biggy bank) beside the left table as well as a potted plant in the corner. A yellow and green round carped covered most of the floor, and on this carped, there where two more, red rectangular carpets, each under one of the tables, and a third one was in front of the door at the left. Opposite to the door, against the right wall, there was a shelf with some books, and there was a smaller one above the left table with some more books as well as a skull with a candle on it. Many lamps were hanging from the ceiling around a chandelier as well as against the walls at both sides of the door and the big shelf. Finally, most remarkable were the many frames with photos and posters related to stage magic hanging absolutely everywhere on the walls.

Exploring a bit, they broke the piggy bank and took the bits inside before opening the chest. In it, they found some more bits, but also some props la fake teeth or balls. With nothing more interresting to search, they went to open the door. However, when Apple Bloom went to turn the handle to open it, she touched as if it was a wall.

"What?"

She moved her hoof around and discovered that the door was actually a really well made drawing on the wall!

"Oh, come on! Really! it ain't a real door!"

"Really?" asked both Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost before they put a hoof on the wall to test and discover that their friend was right.

"Ooh! An optical illusion!" said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom groaned again. "This floor'll be a pain, Ah can already tell."

She then saw that the paper on which the door was drawn was peeling, so she teared it off, revealing only a small hole through which she could see what looked like a restroom. The three mares, or rather, their three hats were there, twirling in circle for some reason. Then, one of the hats stopped, causing a second one to bump it from behind. Magica Card then came out of the first hat while Magica Wand came, angry, came out of the second and began shouting at her sister, starting an argument. The third sister, Magica Hat, then poofed between them to calm them. The three then returned in their hats and twirled out of the room, passing through a door.

"Last Ah know, stage magicians can't enter their own hat without using real magic," she commented.

"But only Magica Card is an unicorn. How do they do it then?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"Ghost powers, of course," said Little Ghost. She looked around at the room. "But then, where's the door?"

"I'm betting all I have that it's behind this shelf," said Sweetie Belle as she pointed at the shelf at the opposite side. "I thought it looked weird when we opened the chest. Also, there are the same lamps than beside the fake door."

"Uh. Let's see."

The fillies went to examine the shelf and dicovered that it was indeed a fake one drawn on paper too. They teared it off, only to reveal that there was nothing behind.

"WHAT?! But I thought there would be a door!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom looked at the wall in suspicion, then took her Dark Light Device and activated it, revealing that there was indeed a door, but invisible.

"Ya're right, Sweetie, there's a door. It's just another trick."

"A trick in a trick. They're good," said Little Ghost.

The next room had similar decorations than the elevator hall, the red walls and floor, the curtains, the frames, but had the particularity to have a bed just at the right of the door with two nightstands, against the wall. At the left was a red box with a lot of drawers, on the wall above the bed were drawings, and at their left was a circular part of the wall differently colored (brown and blue) that looked like a target. It was actually one of those targets against which a pony would be trapped. Another pony would then spin the target with the pony before throwing knives at it, generally blindfolded. Near the center of the room was a table with on it one of those boxes used in magic shows to fakly cut ponies in half with a saw. There was even a saw ready to cut the bow. Finally, in the corner in front of the bed, there was a table with a piece of cake beside a book, and here and there in the room, on the floor, on the table, planted in the walls, were swords, probably the ones used to throw at the target. It was clear that the sisters had some difficulties with them as they practiced, because the carpet covering most of the floor had a lot of tears. There was a door between the target and the table with the cake, and another behind the box with the saw.

The fillies eyed this box with suspicion, waiting for it to suddenly open and suck one of them in it to be sawn in half. They also kept an eye on the swords. Nothing happening, however, they explored and found some bits in the nightstands as well as in the drawers of the table with the cake, and in the red box, which revealed to be full of swords. Once they were done, they decided to pass the door behind the box with the saw.

It led to a bathroom that looked rather normal without counting all the frames. There were however some swords there too as well as some big cards. The chandelier was also a special one as it had the symboles of the cards on its sides. Something rare for a bathroom, there was a second door in the right wall. Beside a small closet that had nothing of interest, there was nothing to explore in this room, so they continued through this room which led into a hallway that turned to the right.

This hallway had two particularities: there were cages with crows hanging from the ceiling, and giant posters of magician ghosts on the wall in front of them. From left to right, those portraits were of a Trickster with some kind of mystical energy around his front hooves, a Thrower in a box being sawn in half by a Trickster, and a Thrower doing a skillful trick with cards. There was a last portrait at the end of the hallway of a Creeper pulling a bunny plushie out of a hat. A rope that could be pulled lifted caused the first poster to lift, revealing a secret safe. At the left of the poster, there was another box full of props, as well as a table with an upside down hat with a bouquet of flower coming out of it and a chair with a bunny plushie sitting on its (the chair) back.

After the turn, there were two doors, one at the right that led back to the room with all the swords, and one at the left. However, when they approached it, a trash can in the corner suddenly took life and attacked the fillies, but it was easily destroyed with a buck.

The next room was... twisted, there was no other way to describe it. It looked like the floor was the ceiling because there was an upside down fan just in the middle of it. However, it was impossible to say what was supposed to be the floor. On the wall in front of the fillies, ON the wall, there was a bed with two nightstands and a carpet! ON the left wall was a desk with some books and a lamp beside it! ON the right wall, beside the exit door, there was a small table with a chair and some bits on it. But above all, ON the ceiling, there were a lot of carpets, a table against the right wall with a chandelier and a lamp beside it, a grandfather clock against the left wall, and a table not far of the bed with a chair. Even the lamps hanging from the walls were in different directions depending of their place.

The triplets were around the table, drinking some tea while upside down, Magica Card sitting on the chair.

"Hellooo there!" shouted Card when she saw the fillies entering the room.

"What do you think of the Twisted Suites so far?" asked Hat.

"Mind blowing, I bet!" said Wand before she took her wand. "How about you join us for tea?" she said as she gave it a flick. Suddenly, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fell on the ceiling, taking the both of them off guard.

Apple Bloom quickly recovered however, and despite being now upside down and despite also all the weird things in this room, she took her Poltergust and pointed it at the sisters. "We ain't here to have tea! Give us the elevator button!"

"After what you did to our little Oogy Boogy?" asked Card, nearly growling.

"NEVER!" shouted the three of them before they flew out of the room through the exit door, leaving the fillies on the ceiling.

Magica Wand then returned. "Tea is cancelled!" she shouted before she gave another flick of her wand, making the fillies fall back on the floor. "Come get us if you can!" shouted Wand before she passed the door again.

"Uh. I didn't know stage magic could be used to get ponies on the ceiling," commented Little Ghost.

"Normaly, it can't," said Apple Bloom after a groan as she recovered again.

"Not without real magic like Trixie uses in her tricks," said Sweetie Belle. "Wow. If she was more powerful, Trixie could be like them."

«Oh, hay no!» said Applejack.

«She will probably be, once she becomes a ghost,» said Pinkie.

«Oh Celestia...» said Rarity in horror.

The fillies walked toward the door to open it and follow the three ghosts but discovered that it was locked.

"Drat. The key's probably in one of the drawers of one of those tables or the desk," said Apple Bloom.

"Be thankful one of us can float," said Little Ghost smugly before she went to search in the drawers only to find nothing. "No key!"

"But where can it be then?" asked Sweetie Belle.

«You should search everywhere. Knowing the nature of this floor, there's probably a secret somewhere. Don't forget to use your DLDs» advised Twilight.

Following what she said, the fillies separated to search the whole room, DLDs on. Eventually, Apple Bloom was the one who found a secret. In the top of the grandfather clock, there was a button hidden. Pressing it caused the bed to move to the right. However, it revealed nothing. But then, Little Ghost used her DLD on the uncovered wall and revealed an invisible door.

"Thanks Twilght," said Apple Bloom before they passed the door which led to another bathroom.

This bathroom had no other door, but had a chest. However, when the fillies approached it, it took life and tried to gobble Little Ghost. Apple Bloom immediately gave it a buck to send it against the wall, but it wasn't enough to destroy it this time. Sweetie Belle jumped in the bathtube to take a chandelier on the ledge of a window. The skeleton then used the chandelier on the chest at the same time that Little Ghost hit it with the handle of her Poltergust. A last buck finished it, and Apple Bloom took the key as well as some bits from its remains. They then returned in the twisted room and used the key to open the locked door.

The next room wasn't as weird. It's main feature was the presence of a stage, clearly for magic shows. There was a stand at the left with shelves full of food, drinks, and goodies, and in front of the stage were some tables for spectators. On the stage, the triplets were doing a magic show while they were waiting for the fillies. When they saw them, they did a "TADAAA!!" before they entered in their hats and twirled through the door in the opposite side.

And of course, it was locked too. But there were also two more doors at the left beside the stage and at the right in front of it. Doing some exploration first, they found a crack on the wall behind the stage through which they could see a room with the needed key in a cage. Knowing where to go, they then passed the door beside the stage, entering another bathroom.

This one had the particularity to have one of those big tanks filled with water in which magicians lock themselves before they try to escape to not drown. Thus, this glass had a lot of big chains keeping it locked, and a pipe linked it to the bathtube's tap for the water. There were also a lot of rubber duckies in this room, but no trace of a door. But now, the fillies knew the trick and found out that the window in the left wall was a fake own drawn on the paper, so they teared it off. Of course, the door was invisible, so they used the DLD on it.

The room beside this bathroom was another bedroom, with the bed in the corner at the right. This room, however, seemed to be used for train animals for shows because there was a lot of materials used for it, including a course made from furnitures and planks. There was also a lot of papers covering the floor, and in the center, on a round platform, was the cage with the key inside. There were also three piggy banks in the room, on the bed, on a small closet that was reconverted to be a cage for mice, and on a chair beside an aquarium (looking like a desk at first because it was covered by a sheet), but they only possessed a few bits. There was also a cage full of crows in front of the bed (which looked like a table because it was covered by a sheet too).

But then, just as Little Ghost went to take the key in the cage in the center (which was open), a purple lightning bolt hit it, and... the key turned into a golden rabbit with the key as its tail. The rabbit then escaped from the cage and ran away from the fillies who had their jaw dropping.

"EEEHHHH?!! The key turned into a rabbit!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"Ah saw a lot of weird things since Ah became a ghost hunter, but this takes the cake!" said Apple Bloom.

«What cake?» asked Pinkie.

«It's possible to transform an object into an animal and to give it life, but it takes a lot of power,» said Twilight. «It's nothing strange.»

"Okay... But what do we do now?" wondered Little Ghost.

"We run after it!" answered Apple Bloom as she gave chase to the rabbit.

But the rabbit was very fast and agile and easily escaped any attemps to catch it. Sweetie Belle had the idea of cornering it, and the three of them jumped at it at once from three directions, only for the rabbit to jump at the last second, leading Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to headbutt each other. But Little Ghost then managed to catch it by its 'tail' in the middle of its jump.

"I got it!" she shouted as the rabbit struggled to escape.

Apple Bloom rubbed her forehead where she hit Sweetie Belle and said "Good job Little Ghost. Sweetie Belle, you really have a hard skull, you know."

"And yet, I'm not the stubborn one," replied the skeleton.

"Let's return to the stage room quickly. This little guy just won't stop moving," said Little Ghost.

Nodding, the fillies traversed the bathroom and returned in the stage room. With some difficulties, they grabbed the rabbit and kept a strong hold on it as they insered it in the keyhole of the locked door. The rabbit then stopped moving and returned to a normal key as they unlocked the door. But before, they decided to explore the door at the right which led to the laundry room.

It was probably the most normal room seen in this floor until now. The only thing that showed that they were in a floor specialised on stage magic was the presence of colored ribbons hanging from the dryer. However, beside some bits on a shelf, there was nothing of interest in this room, so they opened the now unlocked door.

Another room with a strange feature. It was a bedroom, but the bed was on a pillar in the center of the room. One of the faces of the pillar, the one facing the wall at the right, was fully covered by a mirror. When facing this mirror, it looked as if the bed was floating thanks to another optical illusion formed by curtains both against the wall facing it and against the wall behind it, so what was reflected in the mirror looked like the wall behind the pillar. On this wall, at the right, there was a black and white image in profile of a mare magician who looked like the triplets but hadn't the same manestyle than any of them, maybe their mother. At the right of the door from which they entered, there was a round table where it looked like time had stopped because there was a tea-pot floating in the air pouring tea in a cup, but nothing was moving, not even the liquid. Finally, against the opposite wall at the right of a door, there was a half-circular platform beside a rope. Pulled the rope pulled a purple curtain, and when the fillies released it, the curtain dropped back, revealing that a treasure chest had appeared.

"What? How?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Magic," answered Sweetie Belle. "Don't ask."

"More exactly, ghost magic. Don't even search to understand," said Little Ghost.

It was obvious that there was a door hidden behind the curtains in front of the mirror, but they decided to try the other door first which led to a bathroom. There, a blue sheet partially covering the bathtub created an optical illusion that made it look like water was overflowing. Beside that, some candles, and some bits on a shelf above the sink, there was seemingly nothing special in the room, but when they removed the sheet, they found a hidden pressure plate under it, on the floor. Sweetie Belle hesitently stepped on it, but thankfully, it didn't trigger a trap. It actually caused a chest to rise from the bathtub.

"There are really secrets almost everywhere in this floor. I hope we haven't missed anything," said Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom just gave a shrug at this before she opened the chest. If they had missed anything, then it wasn't a big loss. She was already rich enough. They just did it to annoy Eternal Rest.

Once they were done in the bathroom, they passed the other door of the bedroom and entered a hallway much smaller than the other.

And then, a giant top hat fell on Apple Bloom.

"What? Why is it all black suddenly?" asked Apple Bloom. She tried to lift the hat by the bottom, but her hooves couldn't get under it as it was on the floor. She then tried to lift it by the top, but it was too big for her to lift it completely this way, and walking didn't help as she dragged the hat with her. Finally, with a growl, she blew air at the top of the hat with her Poltergust, propelling it in the air.

Her friends couldn't stop a giggle, only for the hat to fall on Sweetie Belle.

"Hey!"

Little Ghost guffawed. Sweetie Belle, however, was able to use her magic to lift it enough so she could put her hooves under it and lift it more.

"Well, hats off to them for this prank," she said with a giggle.

Apple Bloom giggled. "Sweetie Belle, ya get a red card for this bad pun. Return in the hat, ya're PUNished."

"Booh, okay," replied the skeleton before she let the hat drop back on her. "But you will have to tell me the directions."

"Advance to the left," said Little Ghost.

"Okay."

"Hey! Stop! Ya almost hit me!" shouted Apple Bloom as she avoided the hat.

"What? I just followed Little Ghost's direction. It's not my fault," said Sweetie Belle with another giggle, which made Little Ghost laugh again.

Apple Bloom smiled amusedly again. "Alright. Ya win. Get out."

"Yay!"

Leaving the hat behind, the fillies explored the hallway, giggling from their experience for a moment. At the right of the door from whichh they entered, in an alcove in the wall, there was three giant dices on top of each other in instable equilibrium, they weren't even sure if they were real or if it was a sculpture. Beside it was a trash can. In front of them, there was another door. At the left, the hallway continued into a space where there were shelves full of books, a table with two chairs, another trash can, and a pedestal where three statues of Magica Wand were floating in a triangle formation. For some reason, one of them was missing a hat.

"Mmh... Wait... Little Ghost. Can ya bring the hat?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Okay!"

Seeing what Apple Bloom wanted to do, Little Ghost entered the hat and floated with it toward the statues. Following the directions of her friends, she managed to fly above the head of the statue missing the hat. She then let the hat drop on it.

Apple Bloom wasn't sure what she expected it to do, but certainly not what happened next. A spiral staircase made of solidified purple energy appeared out of the air around the statues. And yes, it was solid. When Apple Bloom placed a hoof to test it, it didn't pass through.

"Ghost powers'll never cease to amaze me," she said before she climbed the stairs to reach a secret space above the shelves with a chest.

«You aren't the only one who thinks that,» said Twilight.

However, when they returned at the bottom of the stairs, the two trash cans in the hallway suddenly took life, but they were easily destroyed one by one. Once the last one was destroyed, the fillies exited the hallway.

The new room was very different from the others. It was only lightened by a small light hanging from the ceiling and over a dozen candles surrounding a giant hexagon made with tapes and taking most of the floor. All the furnitures of the room, bed, carpets, chairs and so on, were moved in the corners, and other stuff seen in other room like the cards piled in triangles and the rex box with the swords. Speaking of swords, there were many planted in the rolled up carpets and in the walls. There was a paper with the image of a cage with a crow in it hanging from the wall beside the entrance, at the right, and at the left, there was a mirror. The mirror showed the presence of a chest that the fillies couldn't see, so they used the DLD to make it appear. However, contrary to most of the other rooms, not a single frame was present here. In the wall in the right was a door.

This door led to the room they had seen from the elevator hall, through the hole. More than a restroom, it was actually a bathroom reconverted into a wardrobe. Waiting there, upside down on the floor, were the hats of the three sisters.

Then, the sisters poofed above their hats. Wand then made a bunny plushie come out of her hat, Hat made three billard balls come out, and Card made... Sweetie's skull come out.

"What?!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"What?!" also shouted her friends before they looked at Sweetie Belle's body, seeing that her skull had somehow disappeared to appear in the hat.

The three mares laughed, and Magica Card made the skull's mouth open and close to mime it talking as she said "Hellooo! I'm a numbskull!"

"Stop that! Give me back my head!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"Okay!" said Card. "Catch!" She then shouted before she threw the skull in the air.

Sweetie's body tried to catch it but it had no idea where to go because of this so it ended crashing against the toilet. Apple Bloom, however, managed to catch it.

"Got ya, Sweetie!"

"Thank you Apple Bloom. Weirdest moment of my life."

"Ya don't say..."

The three mares laughed again.

"Oh, you are just so fun to mess with," said Wand.

"And we aren't finished yet!" said Hat.

"You explored the whole floor, but how about you explore it again, but differently?" proposed Card.

At this, the three mares began to twirl their wands which started to glow purple. Then, with a swing, a purple shockwave spread from them and covered the whole room, surprisingly not doing anything to the fillies. The ghosts then flew out of the room, passing through the door back to the room with the hexagon, Magica Card saying "Have fun!" before disappearing.

"What did they do?" asked Little Ghost.

"Ah don't know," answered Apple Bloom as she placed Sweetie's skull back in its place. "but let's follow them."

So they opened the room and entered the previous room.

Only to discover that they were back in the room with all the swords, the box with the saw, and the round target! But now, the floor was covered by a purple mist.

"WHAT?!" shouted everypony, including the ones in the caravan.

Before they could understand what happened, several Tricksters appeared and armed themselves with the swords.

They should have known that it was too easy. Beside the tricks and the animated objects, they had no problems in this floor, and not a single ghost had attacked them beside the sisters.

But even if they were armed with swords, those Tricksters weren't a problem. The fillies just trapped three of them and slammed them on the others. Easypeasy.

But now, they had to deal with a big problem: they somehow entered the bedroom with the swords from the bathroom wardrobe despite the two rooms being in opposite sides of the floor. It was probably an effect of whatever the sisters did with their wands. Was it an unique case, or, Celestia forbide, did they do the same to the whole floor, messing the rooms?

Dreading this, Apple Bloom went to open the door to the hallway with the posters only to enter the other hallway with the three statues. Before she could curse the three sisters, however, three Tricksters attacked her by throwing the giant dices at her. She was hit by the first one, but she quickly recovered and went to attack the ghosts, joined by her friends.

When the ghosts were captured, they gathered and Apple Bloom said "Alright girls. Those ghosts messed the rooms. The doors don't lead where they're supposed to anymore. So here's what we'll do: we'll explore the rooms one by one and discover which door leads to which room until we find where the magicians've hidden themselves. Once we find them, we put an end to their stupid magic. And whatever happens, we don't separate."

"Agreed," replied the others.

So they took the other door in the hallway and entered the room upside down where a bunch of Throwers ambushed them. They were quickly eliminated, but the fillies now had to choose between the door that was hidden behind the bed and the one at the right. They choose right only to end up in the elevator hall. There, Tricksters equipped with various objects as weapon and/or shield came out of the elevator. Same strategy as usual there, trap and slam, but Little Ghost had to use her own shield to protect Apple Bloom from a shield bashing.

They took the door and returned in the upside down room They then took the remaining door and entered the bathroom with the tank. Suddenly, a Buffy that was hidden in the tank destroyed it and attacked the fillies. In such a small space, it wasn't easy to walk around him to be able to reach his tails, but they still managed to capture him without damage. They then took the door at the left leading them this time to the room with the stage. The stage's curtains were now covering it.

Then, the curtains were pulled to the side by an invisible force, revealing a Creeper doing as if he was mentally rising Tricksters out of the floor around him. The ghosts then went to attack the fillies, and as the Tricksters distracted them, the Creeper tried to creep behind Apple Bloom to claw her. Too bad for him, the fillies could see him moving thanks to the mist covering the floor, so his plan failed.

But now, the fillies had to choose between three doors. They choose the one at the left of the one they came from and entered the bathroom with the swords and cards. This room was easy to deal with, there was only two dozens of Mini-Tricksters coming out of the bathtub easily captured. They then took the door usually leading to the bedroom with the swords only to enter the bedroom with the mirror which was now covered by a paper that made it look like it was the wall behind it with a pile of treasures. Three Creepers attacked them here, and each of the fillies took one, following them thanks to the mist and the mirror once they uncovered it.

Choosing between the two other doors there, they took the one in front of the mirror and entered the hallway with the posters. There, the ghosts in the posters took life and came out of them, forcing the fillies to fight a Creeper, two Throwers, and two Tricksters. Little Ghost went after the Throwers while Apple Bloom dealt with the Creeper, leaving the Tricksters to Sweetie Belle. They then took the door in front of the one they came from normally leading to the bedroom with the swords only to return in the stage room from the door normally leading to the bathroom with the tank. Rather than going for the last door they hadn't tested in this room, they returned in the hallway and took the last door there, the one normally leading to the bathroom with the swords and cards.

It was a good call because it led them in the room with the hexagon which was where the sisters waited them. When they stepped in the hexagon, three spotlights coming from nowhere turned on in their position. The lights then moved in front of the fillies and the sisters poofed one by one in them.

"Woah! You managed to reach this room despite the maze and all the ghosts!" said Card.

"Good job! Good job!" applauded Hat.

"Seems like it's showtime!" said Wand.

"Yeah!" shouted the two others.

The three then entered their hats and began twirling while circling the fillies who moved back to back, Poltergusts ready. But then, the hats poofed out of existance as a red curtain came out of the floor around the hexagon. Before their eyes, the floor of the hexagon turned a mystical purple and lights appeared out of the air all over the edge of it. Then, the curtain came down and, to put it simply, they were now in a different dimension.

Apple Bloom hadn't experienced this since her fight against Little Ghost.

The hexagon was now a stage surrounded by an infinite void made of mist going from blue to red, some of it spinning like a vortex out of which stage magic props like cards and dices were coming. Then, the three sisters poofed in front of it, forming a line. After doing a bow, they then entered in their hats and began to twirl around the stage while the spotlights returned on the fillies.

"W-where are we?" asked Sweetie Belle who was very scarred.

"A ghostly pocket dimension. Powerful ghosts can create one to assure that their victims wouldn't run away. Don't worry, we'll return in our dimension once we beat them."

"Once you beat us?" asked one of the ghosts from inside her hat.

"You can't beat us!" said another.

"You will die here and we will avenge our darling Oogy Boogy!" said the third one.

Then, the three hats began to throw giant spinning cards at the fillies, and they moved to avoid them or block them. The fight started rather badly because the fillies had no way of reaching the ghosts who were hidding in their hats, and the ghosts continued to attack with their cards. Eventually, they stopped attacking with cards and formed a line again. Two of the hats then placed themselves against each other, hole to hole, before they moved away from each other now linked by a rope of ribbons. Burning ribbons. The two hats then began sweeping the stage back and forth with the rope, forcing the fillies to jump. At the same time, the third hat began moving in circles above the stage, dropping hoops that floated in the air at various heights.

Once a dozen hoops were present, the rope was fully destroyed by the far, and the two hats joined the third one above the hoops. Moving in circles, they then began to randomly drop giant dices. Any dice passing through a hoop was teleported into another, the hoops acting like portals, making the rain of dices even more random and harder to avoid for the fillies. when the dices landed, they unleashed one to six wands depending of the number shown on the face at the top. The wands coming out of the dices rapidly and randomly spread in all directions, attempting to pierce the fillies like swords.

Then, the sisters stopped dropping dices to use something more drastic: bombs.

Apple Bloom saw this as the perfect occasion to finaly reach the sisters. Waiting for the three hats to be close to each others, she used the handle of her Poltergust like a bat to send a bomb right back at them (avoiding the hoops). The bomb exploded just between the hats, badly damaging them before they fell here and there on the stage. The sisters then came out of them, stunned.

The fillies took the occasion to each trap a sister. In perfect coordination, they then slammed the sisters against each others, not giving them any change to escape until they were captured. Immediately, their magic disappeared, and the fillies were back in the room.

From Sweetie Belle's Poltergust who captured Magica Card, the button to the twelfth floor dropped. The skeleton took it and said "I have the button."

"Their magic tricks and illusions weren't enough against us!" shouted Little Ghost in victory.

Apple Bloom then opened the door between the mirror and the paper, and saw that it was leading back to the hallway with the statues. "Everything's back to normal. Let's get out of here."

The pirate ghost smiled and began to exit the room. "My turn. Eheheheh! AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"

"Welp. Game over for them," said the mare with the afro.

"I would say peace to their souls, but we already know they will never find peace," said the muscled stallion.

Author's Note

Names: Magica Hat, Magica Wand, Magica Card
Age when dead: 20
Time of death: 6 years ago.
Cause of death: Drowned
Info: Daughters of the well known magician Magica Trick, they wanted to follow in her steps and become renowned like her. They teamed up and started a good carrier that was very promising. But one day, as they tried a new 'escape the water tank' magic trick together, a defect in one of the chains stopped them from escaping the tank, and they died drowned.

The Spectral Catch

As the elevator approached the twelfth floor, Apple Bloom was a little worried. Ducky warned them that Eternal Rest's most powerful minion awaited them here. The fight against Ooga was already intense, and Leyla Rahfa and the three magician sisters had been also powerful foes. And after eleven floors and two basements with a lot of difficult fights and traps and hardships, fatigue started to be felt.

But she couldn't give up. She still needed to save Scootaloo as well as Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer. Eternal Rest also had to be stopped.

She went through a haunted manor hit by a millennial curse where she had to constantly escape her brainwashed friends and ended up fighting horrors like wraiths, a windigo, and even the manor itself.

She went through a whole haunted valley possessing no less than five 'manors' each more dangerous than the previous one.

It's not a stupid hotel that will stop her, especially now that she had friends with her.

But then again, she knew that without her friends, she probably would have failed long ago. This hotel was really more dangerous than any other places she went before. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to capture Cruller without Little Ghost. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to destroy Piano Virtuoso's piano alone. One of Gorros' castle's traps would have certainly killed her if it wasn't for her friends, and Gorros himself would have been a real pain to fight alone.

Now, against this next foe, she knew that she could count on her friends again to ensure that she won't fail despite everything.

Ding!"

The doors opened, and the fillies entered the twelfth floor. They quickly understood what was the theme of this floor, and what was certainly their enemy by the same occasion. In front of the elevator, inside a basin made to look like a large barrel, was a pool with a miniature island in the center. The chandelier had the form of the wheel of a helm. There were frames with pictures of the sea and of islands on the walls. The pillars were wrapped in rope. When the doors of the elevator closed behind them, they could see fishes graved on them. The arrow of the elevator was shaped like an anchor.

This was a nautical-themed floor, and the ghost guarding it was very very probably a pirate. A real pirate ghost.

They remembered Ducky's words. The foe in this floor will be somepony very cruel that they probably already knew by name. So it was probably a very well known pirate.

And Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle already guessed who was that pirate. They didn't know about the real him, but they read and heard a lot of pirate stories, and this pirate was regularly used as a character in them. He was like the superstar of pirates. Heck, some of the foals even disguised as him in Nightmare Night.

Now knowing that they were about to fight THIS pirate, the fillies advanced down the hallway starting from the elevator hall, at the right. They passed beside a counter where they discovered that this floor was actually a restaurant, an anchor even displaying the menu beside it.

A restaurant themed after pirates. It would have been a killer with colts.

Then, they arrived at the end of the hallway where there was the bow of a ship with some barrels and nets. A hole in the hull let them enter the ship to reach a double door with portholes.

When they passed them, they were again in awe at what they saw. The room was huge and looked like the inside of a cave with waterfalls at the sides and water coursing between the paths. Of course, it was furnished as expected from a pirate-themed restaurant. Barrels were used as tables here and there with stools for chairs. Other tables were wooden planks against the walls of the cave. At the other side of the room, they also could see what seemed like a round bar, and behind it, at the exit of the room, carved in the stone, was a giant skull, the exit door in its mouth. The sources of light were simply candles placed a little everywhere, on the tables, in little holes in the walls, and in lanterns suspending from ropes. There were also some skulls (hopefully fakes) decorating the cave here and there.

All it missed was a stage where a band of 'pirates' could play nautical/pirate songs and it would be perfect.

"Celestia... The colts at school would go nuts in there," said Apple Bloom.

"Especially Pipsqueak," said Sweetie Belle.

"It'd be a dream come true for him."

"And you're perfect for this place, Sweetie Belle," said Little Ghost. "Skeletons work very well with pirates. You could play an undead pirate protecting her treasure."

"Wouldn't I be a little young to be a pirate?"

"It's not like there are any other living skeletons walking around in Equestria."

«Maybe there are and we don't know,» said Pinkie Pie.

«That's very unlikely,» said Rarity.

«But we must admit, this hotel puts any others to shame,» said Twilight.

«Maybe once Eternal Rest's gone, somepony nicer'll take her place to run this hotel,» said Applejack.

«And then we could go in this restaurant!» said Spike.

"We would've to invite the others from school," said Apple Bloom.

The fillies began to move, following the path which started by going to the left. They went down some stairs and reached a box with a mechanism to raise a pirate flag. The path then did a U-turn and continued down another staircase. Going all the way to the other side of the cave were there were some barrel-tables, it did another U-turn and passed by another staircase to reach a raised part with a box of coconuts. There, there were two possible paths. One going back to the right toward some more table and a treasure chest, and the other going toward the end of the room with the bar. They first went to open the chest which revealed to be possessed by Eternal Rest's power. Using the nearby stools as weapons, the fillies easily destroyed it and took the gold that was in it.

Then, when the fillies approached the giant stone-carved skull, it opened its mouth, fully revealing the exit. When they opened the double door and entered the next room, their jaw dropped again.

An artificial sea... This hotel had a bucking artificial sea! With a beach! And again, the walls and ceiling were perfectly paint to look like the night sky, but this time, there were clouds! There were even coconut trees! However, the room was plunged in a mist that hid most of it.

They just had no words.

Then, Sweetie Belle saw something in the mist. "Uh?"

"What's it, Sweetie?" asked Apple Bloom.

"I swear I just saw the silhouette of a ship in the mist."

"Wow. Not only they have an artificial sea, but they also have an actual ship?" asked Little Ghost.

"Best pirate-themed restaurant ever," said Apple Bloom.

"And something tells me we have to go on it," said Sweetie Belle. "How do we make it come?"

"There's a pier with a bell. Maybe we must make it ring. Ya know, like sailors do."

"Let me do it," said Little Ghost before she flew to the bell and headbutted it to make it ring.

"Ya know there's a rope to make it ring, right?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Faster this way."

The fillies then waited for the ship to come. And out of the fog, appearing like a ghost ship, it came. It was a rather small ship, with two masts, but it was still impressive from the fillies point of view. As it placed itself against the pier, they could hear sounds coming from the desk as if a crew of pirate was having a party. An accordion was playing, voices shouted "Yaaarr!" or laughed. Then, the plank was laid out for the fillies, as if the crew was inviting them for the party.

Exchanging looks, the fillies climbed the plank.

And just when they reached the deck, all sounds suddenly disappeared. Plunged in the mist, all that could be seen on the deck were crates used as tables and stools. It was as if the ship was abandoned. Carefully, the fillies advanced, looking in all directions, Poltergusts ready.

Then, as they were near the center, silhouettes appeared in the mist around them, and out of it flew ghosts. Pirate ghosts. At least two dozens who surrounded the fillies, all armed with a scimitar, saber, or charged crossbow. A real collection of ugly cutthroats that once plagged the seas around Equestria and beyond. And now, they were all looking at the fillies with sadistic smiles, probably imagining many torments for them. The fillies quickly got back to back, Poltergusts pointed at them, daring the pirates to approach.

"Don't worry girls. They shouldn't be much harder to defeat than a Trickster," said Apple Bloom.

But then, the double door in the stern opened, and the pirates in front of it parted way so the fillies could see the arrival of the captain of the ship. First, between the mist and the darkness in the room behind those doors, they saw nothing, but then, two small lights appeared in the darkness. They were followed by the appearance of a glowing eye. Slowly, they approached, and a silhouette formed in the darkness. Finally, the fillies discern the ghost of a captain-clad sea blue earth pony stallion. The stallion was imposingly tall and and possessed an eyepatch covering his left eye. Many charged crossbows could be seen poking out of his clothes. But his most distinguishing feature was that he possessed a long black beard and a long black mane both tressed. Out of his mane, from under his hat, also came two fuses that were lit. His only eye showed intelligence, but also an evil madness that promised suffering and death. He really looked like a demon incarnated.

This really was him. The most feared pirate in history who appeared in countless stories. All the tales Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle read and heard about him didn't do justice. He was much more terrifying than in any story, and Sweetie Belle had to retain herself from running away. Even Little Ghost couldn't help herself but to hide behind Apple Bloom.

"Eheheh... You don't seem to be surprised to see me, little filly," said the stallion.

"After the warning Ducky gave us, and when we saw what was this floor, Ah guessed that it would be ya, Captain Blackbeard," replied Apple Bloom.

«Oh Celestia... That's really him. The terror of the seas, Captain Blackbeard,» said Twilight. «How many ships did he sink? How many ports did he attack? How many ponies and other creatures did he kill before he was finally stopped? He's not a pony! He's a monster!»

«Woah, nelly! To think that he's here, above our heads,» said Applejack.

"Eheheheh. You guessed right. I suppose you're there for this," said Blackbeard before he lifted his eyepatch, showing the elevator button to the thirteenth floor in the place of his eye. "And I also suppose you're there to save her." He hit the floor two times with his hoof, and out of the mist came Rainbow Dash who landed beside him.

«Rainbow Dash!» shouted everypony.

Blackbeard then put a saber under Rainbow's throat. "Well, you'll have to choose, lass! The button, or her? Resist, and I cut her throat! Let yourself be killed, and she can go!"

The fillies looked at him in horror, and the pirates around them began to laugh.

"That's... That's..."

"Not fair? Yes. What did you expect? We're pirates! We don't play fair!"

Apple Bloom growled for a few seconds, thinking what to do. She knew she couldn't let herself being killed, but she didn't want Rainbow Dash to die. But then, she got an idea, and her growl turned into a smirk.

"In that case, Ah won't play fair either. Twilight?"

It took a few seconds, but the alicorn seemingly understood what Apple Bloom wanted her to do because she suddenly teleported behind Blackbeard and blasted him with a magical beam. She then teleported back to the caravan with Rainbow Dash.

The fillies could hear some struggles from the caravan, Rainbow Dash, being hypnotized, resisted against the others, but eventually, they were able to wrap her in a rope.

Blackbeard recovered from the blast, and it was hard to say if he was amused or enraged by what happened. In the end, he settled for a laugh. "You win this one, lass! You must have pirate blood in your vains!" He then took his saber and pointed it at Apple Bloom. "Kill her!" he roared.

The fight started with the pirates possessing crossbows firing at Apple Bloom, but Little Ghost quickly used her shield to block some of them, and Sweetie Belle used her own body to block others, leaving very few for Apple Bloom to dodge. At the same time, the other pirates all charged to attack with their scimitars and sabers. The fillies each caught one of them and slammed them around, but Apple Bloom had to stop her slamming to parry the scimitar of one of the pirates with her Poltergust.

Little Ghost quickly acted and used her shield while charging at the ghosts, opening a path for them to get out of the encirclement. But as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed, a trapdoor opened just under the skeleton filly, making her fall into the crew's quarters where more pirates awaited. Apple Bloom, however, couldn't help her as she continued to capture ghosts after ghosts. However, because of their number, she was forced to climb one of the staircases to the bow, then to climb of the shrouds. As she climbed, Little Ghost protected her against any attacks from the pirates, especially the arrows from the crossbows.

but then, suddenly, the ship shook, almost making Apple Bloom fall. A ghostly aura appeared all around it, and part of the deck shifted to form a face, Blackbeard's face, including the eyepatch on the left eye.

"That madstallion took possession of the ship?!" shouted Apple Bloom in horror.

It was the fight against the Gem Manor all over again, but this time, Apple Bloom hadn't a reserve of Poltergusts to use as superbombs at her disposition. As she continued to climb to reach the crow's nest, Blackbeard laughed.

"Ahahahahahahah! You will never defeat me, lass!"

Suddenly, as Apple Bloom reached the nest, the mast began to shake violently, like a pony shaking their leg to get rid of a pest clinging to it, threatening to make her fall right into the mouth of Blackbeard's face. Little Ghost rapidly lifted her to help her get in the nest. Meanwhile, Sweetie Belle was able to get out of the crew's quarter by a door of the bow, but when she saw the face in the deck, she immediately climbed one of the staircases beside her to go on the bow, far from the face. There she continued to capture some of the ghosts that followed her out of the crew's quarter.

The pirate ghosts were now joined by Tricksters, Buffys, Throwers, and Creepers disguised as pirates, the Tricksters also armed with sabers, scimitars, and crossbows while the Throwers came out of the deck with powderkegs that they planned to lit and throw at the fillies.

"Fools!" shouted Blackbeard at the Throwers. "You want to damage my ship? Return those powderkegs back in their place!"

"Oops..." said one of the Throwers with a sheepish laugh before they returned the powderkegs back in the ship.

Apple Bloom saw all this from the nest, giving her an idea of how she'll destroy the ship. But before she could say it to Little Ghost, the mast suddenly gave a violent swing and hit the filly ghost like a bat, sending her toward the beach. Then, the ship suddenly tilted to the side, and Apple Bloom strongly clung to the nest. Sweetie Belle however, still on the bow, wasn't able to stop herself from falling overboard. Some of the ghosts followed her into the ocean, and more went after Little Ghost on the beach.

This left Apple Bloom alone in the nest with ghosts attacking her. She thought about joining her friend on the beach, but the ship then moved away from the pier, isolating her in the middle of the ocean, and Little Ghost was too busy with the ghosts attacking her to be able to join her.

But then, Blackbeard's face disappeared from the deck only to appear in the floor of the nest and to try to bite her legs. This forced Apple Bloom to get out of the nest, taking a scimitar dropped by one of the ghosts by the same occasion, and she jumped against the mast's sail. She planted the scimitar in the sail to slow down her fall, and while she fell, she activated her Poltergust on one of the ghosts following her. Despite himself, the ghost trying to escape was used as a 'balloon' that slowed Apple Bloom's fall even more until she reached the bow.

Blackbeard's face appeared in the bow beside Apple Bloom, and she jumped above the guardrail to join the main part of the deck. Ghosts were less numerous, so she had less problems fighting them until Blackbeard's face appeared beside her again and charged at her to eat her. She jumped out of the way and continued to capture the remaining ghosts while avoiding it.

Blackbeard eventually got enough of playing cat and mouse with Apple Bloom and moved his face to the wall of the stern. He then tilted the ship up to make the filly fall toward him. Apple Bloom couldn't cling to something in time and fell toward the mouth, but she was then caught by Little Ghost.

"Got you!"

"Thanks Little Ghost! Ya saved mah life there!"

The filly ghost transported Apple Bloom toward the beach where Sweetie Belle, who had walked out of the water, was fighting ghosts. Just as they joined her, they saw that Blackbeard's face appeared in the bow of the ship, at the very front under the figurehead (which was a seapony mare).

"I'll not let you escape me!" he yelled before the mist became thicker to the point that the fillies could see nothing anymore. Then, the mist disappeared and the fillies saw that the beach they were now was part of a small island, and the ocean around it was going seemingly infinitely toward the horizon. A violent storm was now present, its strong wind causing the ocean to become turbulent while lightning regularly striked it. The ship was still here, circling the island.

"It's too times in a row that we're sent to a pocket dimension!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"We should have expected this," said Little Ghost.

The fillies, however, couldn't think about it too long because they were still attacked by ghosts. The ship also began to fire at them with its cannons.

"Watch out!" yelled Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom ran, and a cannonball passed behind her, destroying a coconut tree. Another hit the sand not far, sending some sand on her. Despite this, they continued to capture the ghosts on the island, less and less numerous. Eventually, the ship fired again, but this time, Apple Bloom was prepared for this. She put her Poltergust to red mode, but instead of sucking, she blew air toward an approaching cannonball. The blown air was so strong that it was able to stop the cannonball and to send it back toward the ship, damaging it.

"You're foaling me!" shouted Blackbeard.

Smirking, Apple Bloom said "Sweetie Belle! Little Ghost! While he's focused on me, return on the ship and use the powderkegs in it to destroy it! Don't worry for me, Ah'll survive!"

"You're really amazing, Apple bloom!" shouted Sweetie Belle.

"Count on us!" said Little Ghost.

The ghost grabbed the skeleton and flew toward the ship. Meanwhile, with her Poltergust in red mode, Apple Bloom finished capturing the ghosts on the island so she could focus in the cannonballs fired by the ship. It fired again, and again, Apple Bloom used the Poltergust to blow air at one of the approaching cannonballs and send it back, managing to destroy one of the cannons.

Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost landed not long after. However, they discovered that some ghosts remained in the ship, and they immediately went to attack the fillies. As they defended themselves, the fillies passed through the trapdoor to the crew's quarter and began to explore the inside of the ship in search of where the powderkegs were stored. All the while, the ship, with the help of what remained of its crew, continued to fire at Apple Bloom, but the fillies always managed to send back a cannonball at it. Thus, the ship regularly shook, and the inside was absolute chaos.

But eventually, the fillies managed to find the room where the powderkegs were stored, and Sweetie Belle used a saber from one of the ghosts to pierce one of them. She then took the pierced powderkeg and used it to create a powder trail long enough to let them time to escape. All the while, Little Ghost protected her from the crew attacking them. Once she was done, Sweetie Belle placed the powderkeg back among the others and used a lantern to light the trail.

"Quick! Let's get out of there!" she shouted.

Little Ghost immediately grabbed her and flew away. She rapidly traversed the floors of the ship until reaching the trapdoor, and they both escape a couple of seconds before the ship exploded. When they reached the island, Apple Bloom joined them.

"Ya did it! Ya're awesome!"

"It was no problem," said Little Ghost.

"It was fun! I really had the impression to be in a pirate story!" said Sweetie Belle.

"But Ah don't think Blackbeard's done yet..." said Apple Bloom before she looked at the burning wreckage of the ship.

She was right. Like a demon, Blackbeard emerged from the flames, absolutely enraged and now armed with two sabers. He was followed by what remained of the crew, only eight ghosts including two pirates, three Tricksters, two Creepers, and a Thrower.

With a roar, Blackbeard charged toward the fillies and savagely attacked Apple Bloom who had put her Poltergust back to yellow mode, swinging his sabers at her again and again without giving her time to counterattack. Sweetie Belle helped her by trapping Blackbeard with her Poltergust, but the captain not only resisted, but he even managed to hit the skeleton with a swing of his leg, sending her flying a few meters away. This still left enough respite for Apple bloom to activate her Poltergust and trap Blackbeard. Again, this didn't affect him much as he restarted attacking Apple Bloom, forcing her to stop.

A Creeper then tried to grab Apple Bloom from behind but was promptly stopped by Little Ghost who had been capturing the other ghosts one by one. Already, she had captured the Thrower and two Tricksters. But as she saved Apple Bloom from the Creeper, one of the two pirate ghosts took out a crossbow and fired. Apple Bloom barely avoided the arrow by lowering her head as she parried another swing from Blackbeard. Little Ghost then slammed the Creeper on the pirate to stop him from recharging his crossbow.

Sweetie Belle came back and activated her Poltergust on Blackbeard again. And again, the captain tried to hit her, but this time, the skeleton avoided the swing. When Apple Bloom reactivated her Poltergust on Blackbeard too, the both of them then slammed him, making him drop his two sabers. The second Creeper, however, managed to grab Sweetie Belle and to stop her, giving Blackbeard the occasion to free himself from Apple Bloom. While Little Ghost saved Sweetie Belle from the Creeper, the captain fired at Apple Bloom with his many crossbows. To avoid the many arrows fired at her, Apple Bloom went to hide behind one of the coconut trees that fell on the sand because of the cannonballs, and she waited there for an opening.

She didn't get one however because thanks to his powers, Blackbeard levitated his crossbows around him, and once he ran out of arrows, he replaced them with energy arrows giving him infinite ammunitions. The captain wasn't stopping from firing forcing the filly to remain hidden behind the fallen tree, and he took one of his sabers before he approached it to directly attack her. He had Apple Bloom trapped.

But he was suddenly bashed by Little Ghost and her shield, making him stop from firing at Apple Bloom. by then, all the other ghosts had been captured, leaving only the captain. The filly ghost was quickly joined by Sweetie Belle, and together, they trapped and slammed Blackbeard. Since the stallion had stopped attacking Apple Bloom, she was able to move from behind her cover and she joined her friends to capture Blackbeard.

The stallion, however, was able to use a lot of strenght to resist being slammed again and charged at Apple Bloom, sending her on her back. He then put a hoof on her belly to stop her from moving and raised the other to crush her head. But his strenght finally seemed to leave him because he struggled to bring his hoof down while still resisting being sucked. He roared again, his eye looking like it was on fire as he fought against the pull of the Poltergusts to finish the filly.

Seeing that he was failing, he roared even louder in rage before he was finally sucked in Little Ghost's Poltergust, the elevator button dropping on the sand. The pocket dimension then disappeared, and the fillies were back on the artificial beach inside the hotel. But now, the ship was a burning wreckage in the artificial ocean and the beach was totally devastated.

Apple Bloom remained on the sand, on her back, taking heaby breaths as she recovered from the difficult fight, and especially from the terror she felt for a moment at the end. Blackbeard really was a demon. To the very end, he tried to kill her, and he was really terrifying.

"Ya know, girls... Ah'm really lucky to've y'all..." she said.

"You're welcome," said Little Ghost with a weak giggle.

"I will never read a pirate story with Blackbeard the same way," said Sweetie Belle.

"Me too..." said Apple Bloom. After a few more seconds, she slowly got up and said "Let's return in the caravan. After this fight, Ah need a rest, and we must free Rainbow from the hypnosis."

The muscled stallion and the mare with the afro looked at the screens that showed the fillies' progression, their jaw dropping.

"They... They defeated Blackbeard..." said the stallion who couldn't believe what he saw.

Eternal Rest gave a sneer. "Deep End, your turn."

The stallion, Deep End, looked at her as if she was crazy. How could she send him when it was clear that he had no chance to beat those fillies? They just defeated bucking Blackbeard, Eternal Rest's most powerful minion! He was doomed! But then he saw her smile and understood that there was no way for him to get out of this. Eternal Rest was intending to have all of them facing the fillies even if she knew that it would be no use. Maybe she even knew from the start that they would all be defeated, and she sent them to fight the fillies anyway to be entertained before she would personally face them.

"Welp, big guy, it was nice to know you. Don't worry, I'll follow you just after," said the mare with the afro with a hopeless chuckle as she patted his shoulder.

Deep End gave a whimper, then exited the room.

The mare sighed. "I know how you feel, Big Guy... I feel like you..."

Author's Note

Name: Sparkling Ocean. Captain Blackbeard
Age when dead: 40
Time of death: Three hundreds years ago
Cause of death: Injuries caused by many swords in battle
Info: Sparkling Ocean loved the ocean since he was a foal. He grew in Baltimare, close to the bay, and his father was an officier in Equestria's navy who sadly died in a storm. He first followed in his father hoofsteps and became an officer too, but wanting to be totally free, he became a pirate and began to attack ships to loot what interrested him. With time, he gained in power, assembling a big crew in a powerful ship, but he also became more cruel, showing no mercy to his victims. Thanks to his imposing stature, his black beard and the cannon fuses lit under his hat, he was so intimidating that few dared to face him, gaining this way his reputation as well as his new name: Blackbeard. In a few years, he became the most feared pirate of history. He was even compared to a demon. He was only defeated thanks to a surprise attack from Equestria's navy as he was taking some good time on an island. A dozen of soldiers had to go after him at once to kill him.

Fitness Center

Apple Bloom didn't even enter the caravan that she was hugged by Applejack to ensure that she was alright after her terrible fight against the terrifying and powerful Blackbeard. If the ponies had to do a top of the most powerful ghosts ever fought until now (without counting Thanatos), Blackbeard would be in the third place behind Little Ghost and Pyrite. Fourth if they added Eternal Rest even if she hadn't been fought yet.

"That Blackbeard really scared me here. Ah thought he'd kill ya," said the mare.

"Thankfully, mah friends were here," replied Apple Bloom before she giggled. "Ah can't wait to tell Pipsqueak Ah fought Blackbeard."

"Oof. He will not let us go after that," said Sweetie Belle.

"But before that, Ah think Ah'll sleep a whole week," joked Apple Bloom.

After that, they entered the caravan, and Apple Bloom used the Dehypnotist on Rainbow Dash who was still wrapped up. Applejack then unwrapped her while Twilight made sure that she didn't fall as her froggy mind recovered. But then, with a sudden jump, Rainbow took a threatening position, legs bent and winngs spread as she looked around.

"Where is she? Where's that... That..." Seeing that the origin of her wrath wasn't there and that she was surrounded by friends, she calmed down a little.

"Who? Eternal Rest?" asked Rarity.

"Yes," answered Rainbow as she looked around again. "Wait? We're back in the caravan? The last thing I remember is Eternal Rest revealing herself to be a ghost after some captured us."

Pinkie Pie took a big breath. "Eternal Rest is a servant of Thanatos that he sent to trick us and start another 'Death Game' against Apple Bloom! She captured everypony excepted Apple Bloom, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, and Little Ghost, hypnotized us, and used us as a mean to force Apple Bloom to do the game! So Apple bloom, helped by Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost, now has to climb the hotel floor by floor to save us, defeat Eternal Rest's minions protecting the floors, and win the game! Twilight and Spike were first to be saved! Then Rarity! Then me! Then you!"

"What about Fluttershy? And Scootaloo?"

Apple Bloom sighed. "There're three floors left. Fluttershy's probably in one of them. Worst case, Eternal Rest herself guards her. And Scootaloo... Eternal Rest killed her..."

It was as if the world ended for Rainbow Dash a she stared at Apple Bloom. "She... killed... Scootaloo?"

Apple Bloom nodded.

And Rainbow Dash's expression went from shock to pure hate.

"I will kill her..."

One would say at this moment that she was already technicaly dead, but it wasn't the mood.

"Ah promise she'll pay," said Apple Bloom. "She's certainly keeping Scootaloo's ghost prisonner along with Fluttershy, Starlight Glimmer, and many other innocents who came here before us. By the time the sun rise, they'll all be saved."

Rainbow Dash was then filled with dread. "What if she killed Fluttershy and Starlight too?"

"We can't be sure until they're found," said Twilight. She then put a hoof on Rainbow's wither. "I don't know if they're still alive, but Apple Bloom will save them, no matter what. It's almost the end, Apple Bloom just finished the twelfth floor where she saved you. We won't have to wait long."

Apple Bloom sighed again. "Can ya at least wait a few minutes? Ah need rest after the fight against Blackbeard. speaking of..." At this, she went to place Blackbeard and the other ghosts she captured since last time in the crystal.

"Wait! Blackbeard?" asked Rainbow Dash. "THE Blackbeard? Captain pirate who terrorized the oceans a few centuries ago?"

"That very one," replied Apple Bloom. "He's the one who guarded ya in the twelfth floor."

"He didn't fail his reputation," said Sweetie Belle.

Little Ghost nodded. "He threatened to kill you if we didn't surrender. He had a sword just under your throat, ready to cut it. You were saved thanks to Twilight who teleported you to the caravan."

Rainbow Dash put a hoof under her throat, horrified. "Wow... Well, thanks."

"If only it was just that, but then, we had to fight his crew, and he even took possession of his ship like how Little Ghost took possession of the manor back then," said Sweetie Belle.

"A ship? In this hotel?" said Rainbow Dash in wonder.

"Eeyup," answered Apple Bloom as she finished placing the captured ghosts in the crystals. "Starting from floor six, this hotel has a lot of crazy stuff."

"Like a pyramid full of traps! Too bad you weren't there to see this," said Pinkie.

"WHAT?!"

Ding!

The doors of the elevator opened to reveal the next floor to the fillies.

A dumbbell symbole on the floor... A glass (with the dumbbell symbole) full of trophies at the left... A fountain of a Buffy lifting the world at each sides of the elevator... The arrow of the elevator shaped like a dumbbell... A frame with a picture of a stallion swimming in a pool...

«So, a floor themed after sports?» wondered Rainbow Dash. «Darn. I don't mind sport, but I after all you told me, I expected something more awesome like a floor with a volcano.»

«A floor with a volcano? Seriously?» asked Applejack.

«Come on. After the desert and the ocean, it wouldn't be surprising if they found a way to put a volcano in there. At least a small one.»

"At least, it means we shouldn't have too much problems in this floor," said Apple Bloom.

"At worst, we will encounter more Buffys than usual," said Little Ghost.

At this, the fillies traversed the elevator hall and passed the only door, at the right, entering what seemed to be a lobby. Directly at their right, there was a bench beside a trash bin with a lot of magazines, and above it, on the wall, was a big bronze disk with the dumbbell symbole. In the main part of the room, in the middle, there was a check-in desk. Behind it was a huge window through which a pool could be seen.

Through the window, they saw the ghost of a very muscled brown furred, black maned pegasus stallion that was floating back and forth above the pool, looking very panicked. Then, he saw them, and he screamed in horror before he placed a big pile of towels in front of a door at the right so they couldn't enter the pool room from here.

"Poor guy. He clearly doesn't want to be here," said Apple Bloom.

"But he's forced by Eternal Rest," said Sweetie Belle.

"Well, we won't be able to reach the pool by the right," said Little Ghost as she pointed to a door just at the right of the window probably leading to a room before the pool. She then pointed to another door at the left of the room. "We will have to pass by this door."

Before that, they explored the room and especially found many bags of bits in the desk as well as some bits in the drawers at the left of the window, among towels and yoga mats. Hidden among the towels was also a key, but when they took it, several Tricksters and two Creepers appeared to stop them. However, they didn't last long against the fillies who now knew very well how to deal with them.

The fillies then used the key to open the left door and enter a locker room. In this room, Throwers attacked them from inside the lockers, but the fillies just had to open the lockers to capture them one by one while avoiding their projectiles. However, opening the lockers also revealed Mini-Tricksters and Mini-Buffys ambushed in them. The small ghosts used this to give some mean punches to the fillies, but they were quickly captured after that.

Once they were done with the ghosts, the fillies searched the lockers to find more bits in them, then walked down a small staircase leading to a second part of the room with compartments full of all kinds of balls and other sport props. At the right of the stairs was a door which, if the sign on the wall beside it was to be trusted, led to the pool. However, it revealed to be blocked too.

That muscled stallion really prepared the terrain to be sure that they would be delayed as much as possible.

In the end, the fillies had to pass by another door just in front of the stairs, and they entered a room full of weights. It also possessed a sandbag that a Buffy was hitting with big green gloves while another Buffy was lifting very heavy disk weights, three at once! When they saw the fillies enter, the Buffys stopped their activities, the Buffy with the gloves placing them in front of his face ready to punch while the other dropped two of his weights and get the third one, ready to throw it. Judging by the cracks in the center of the room, the fillies really had to avoid being hit by those weights.

The closest was the Buffy with the weight, so he was the first to attack by throwing his weight before he took another one. The fillies avoided the weight that dropped heavily on the floor and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle used the time that it took for the Buffy to take a new weight to circle him and trap him while Little Ghost distracted the Buffy with the gloves. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle then slammed their Buffy on the other, and Little Ghost used this to trap him. The Buffy easily dragged her around, but she was quickly joined by Apple Bloom and she and Sweetie Belle finished the first Buffy.

Following their victory, the exploration of the room resulted in the discovery, thanks to the DLD, of an invisible chest on an elevated part of the room, beside one of those things were you have to grab two bars at the sides and pull them in front of you to lift weights behind your back. Not finding anything else, the fillies passed a door at the opposite side of the entrance and entered a room with a lot of conveyor belts for sport.

«This floor really isn't just sport-themed. It's a fitness center!» said Rainbow Dash.

«Yeah. You should expect to find one in any high class hotel like this one,» said Twilight. «We actually expected one from the beginning, but I'm surprised it came this late.»

Some Tricksters as well as a Buffy were using the treadmills, but stopped when they noticed the presence of the fillies. The Buffy got the good idea of taking his treadmill and throwing it at the fillies who separated to avoid it. Little Ghost then flew to join the Buffy while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle dealt with the nearby Tricksters. Little Ghost also trapped a Trickster and slammed him on the Buffy to stop him from attacking and to weaken him. Once they had captured the Tricksters in their side, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ran down some stairs to join Little Ghost in the lower part of the room and help her capture the Buffy who dropped a key. The remaining Tricksters were quickly eliminated.

After the fight, as they explored he room in search of any chest, they spotted one at the other side of a window, on a ledge.

"Alright. How will we get this one?" wondered Sweetie Belle.

"There's probably a passage somewhere that lead to it. Or I could simply pass through the window to get it," said Little Ghost.

Apple Bloom nodded and gave the bag to her. "Be careful, Little Ghost."

Little Ghost took the bag and passed through the window. After giving a look beyond the ledge, she opened the chest, emptied it, and returned in the room.

"Seems like the passage leading to this chest is in he next room. Thankfully for you, we won't need to use it anymore. You have no idea how high we now are."

"Looking through those windows, Ah've a very good idea," said Apple Bloom.

"Also, there was another key in the chest," said Little Ghost as she showed said key..

The door leading to the next room was at the right of the entrance, in the same wall, so the path was doing a U-turn. Of course, the door was locked, so they used the key they got from the Buffy to open it and enter a yoga room with yoga mats on the floor as well as on the right wall for some reason, some of which were rolled up. Doing yoga on these maps were more ghosts, Tricksters, a Buffy, and a Thrower. Like usual now, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle slammed the Buffy on the Tricksters while Little Ghost went to deal with the Thrower.

Once they were done with the ghosts, the fillies looked around, seeing some steam coming out of a vent above the exit door, in front of the entrance. They also could hear the distinctive sound of showers.

"The next room's the shower room, so it means the next one's the pool. But before, Ah'm curious to see how we open the secret passage leading to the exterior in this room."

"It probably has something to do with the rolled up mats on the wall," said Sweetie Belle.

"Do we unroll them?" asked Little Ghost.

"We can try, but I don't think it's the answer. It seems too obvious," answered Sweetie Belle.

And indeed, it didn't work. So Little Ghost rolled up the mats again.

"Well, I see only another possibility. It's a matching enigma. We have to roll up the mats on the floor so they match the ones on the wall," said Sweetie Belle.

And this time, it worked, and the left wall opened. Apple Bloom verified, and the passage behind it indeed led to the ledge outside.

And yes, they were VERY high. But at least, they had a very good view of the valley behind the hotel, especially of the lake. She saw also how close they were of the last floor.

Curiosity satisfied, the fillies used the key from the chest to open the exit door and enter the shower room. As they expected, there were some ghosts, a Creeper, a Thrower, and a Buffy in the three showers of the room. Because of the steam entirely covering the room, the fillies could barely see anything, but the ghosts had the same problem, so the following fight was a little chaotic. The poor Thrower, especially, wasn't able to hit anypony with his projectiles, his aim always off. As soon as the ghosts were all captured, the fillies stopped the showers to stop the steam.

But then, a Trickster that was hidding in the steam whistled loudly, causing a dozen of Tricksters and some Creepers to come and surround the fillies. But in such a small room, it was easy for the fillies to capture them in small group, by two, by three, and Apple Bloom even managed to capture four at once. Once all the ghosts were gone, they moved the towels blocking the door to the locker room.

The door to exit this room and enter the pool wasn't locked, so the fillies passed it.

But Apple Bloom then saw a cannonball coming and quickly lowered her head.

No, wait, it was just a water polo ball thrown like a cannonball.

When they looked at the origin of the ball, they saw the muscled stallion, in the pool, grabbing another ball. There was easily a dozen of those balls floating around in the pool.

"You will not get me! You hear?! I will not let myself be captured! And I will not join Eternal Rest's collection!" shouted the stallion before he threw the ball, this time at Little Ghost who flew out of the way, the ball hitting the wall behind her instead. The throw was so strong that the ball left cracks behind!

The stallion then began to throw the balls one after another very rapidly, stopping any attempt from Little Ghost to approach him from the air. Apple bloom and Sweetie Belle were forced to hide behind a board that was quickly being destroyed by the balls hitting it.

then, Sweetie Belle jumped in the water, and the stallion panicked.

"Not fair! I can't hit you underwater!"

The guy was strong, but he was clearly limited. Instead of remaining in the water to be captured by Sweetie Belle, he flew out of it and went not far of Apple Bloom (still far enough to be out of her range) before he smashed the ground, creating a shockwave. Apple Bloom jumped above it, and Little Ghost approached him. Panicking more, the stallion flew to the other side of the pool, taking a ball on the way, and he threw it at Little Ghost who dodged it. Again, the stallion tried to escape, but Apple Bloom then fired a ball at him with her Poltergust and was able to hit him in the head, stunning him and leaving him to Little Ghost's mercy.

"Sorry mister, we've no choice," she said.

Despite being stunned, the stallion easily resisted and managed to drag Little Ghost around. After a time, he attempted to punch her, but he was hit again by a ball fired by Apple Bloom. He fell in the water were Sweetie Belle joined Little Ghost to try to capture him. Again, the stallion resisted and did a strong clap with his front hooves, propelling water like a shockwave toward the fillies. They didn't let him go despite this. Apple Bloom then jumped in the water and began to help her friends, also trapping the stallion with her Poltergust. Acting together, they then slammed the stallion around until he disappeared in Apple Bloom's Poltergust.

Little Ghost then quickly lifted Apple Bloom out of the water before she could start drowning. Sweetie Belle took the dropped elevator button to the fourteenth floor before she used a ladder to exit the pool too.

Out of the pool, once she recuperated her breath, Apple Bloom said "That was easy."

"He still gave us some trouble but yeah, compared to others, he wasn't a big problem," commented Little Ghost.

"I won't complain," said Sweetie Belle who approached them. "After all those difficult fights, I don't mind an easy one. Especially so close to the end and to the certainly very hard fight against Eternal Rest."

"But before that, there's still floor fourteen, and we don't know how the ghost guarding it will be," said Apple Bloom.

"It shouldn't be worst than Blackbeard."

The fillies moved the pile of towels blocking the other door to the side and continued through the back access, a small room linking the pool to the lobby. There, they found another invisible chest thanks to the DLD. They then returned to the elevator and placed the elevator button.

Only or a certain purple ghost cat to suddenly come out of the wall and take the button before running away.

"Not that stupid cat again!" shouted Apple Bloom.

Polterpup then appeared and ran after the cat, passing through the wall to the lobby.

The fillies all gave a groan.

"What?! Polterkitty?! What are you doing here? I told you not to go after those fillies again!" shouted Eternal Rest.

"Uh oh..." said the mare with the afro.

As the fillies went to go after the cat, a purple lightning bolt suddenly striked a trash bin in the corner, giving it life. They quickly destroyed it.

"Eternal Rest! Ya won't stop us from capturing yer cat!" shouted Apple Bloom. She was answered by the whole floor darkening. "Let's go girls!"

They opened the door and reentered the lobby. Immediately, lightning striked the bench and the trash bin beside it, but they were easily destroyed by Apple Bloom bucking the bin and sending it against the bench. They saw the cat through the window, in the pool room, so they went to enter the back access room only for the potted plant beside the door to be hit by a lightning too. The plant then attacked Apple Bloom, but the filly grabbed it and slammed it, destroying the pot, before she teared it off.

In the back access room, another bin as well as the chest were hit by the lightning, and some Tricksters came to stop them. Bad move. Apple Bloom slammed one of the Tricksters on the bin and the chest to destroy them while her friends captured the other Tricksters. The potted plant that was beside the chest was then hit by a lightning too, but it suffered the same fate than the one from the lobby.

In the pool, the cat wasn't here anymore. However, two barriers were given life. The barriers being made of metal, they couldn't be destroyed that easily, but Apple bloom simply had to buck them to send them in the pool where they became harmless. Following the cat's trail thanks to the DLD, the fillies then entered the shower room.

Polterpup was waiting for them here, beside a basket full of towels. He barked once, then jumped in the basket, forcing the cat out. But before the fillies could activate their Poltergusts, a lightning striked the basket and gave it life. It then spat Polterpup at the fillies, sending Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on their back. The cat took the occasion to pass through the wall to either the locker room or the weight room, they weren't sure.

As soon as he recovered, Polterpup went after her, leaving the fillies to destroy the basket.

In the locker room, more ghosts came to stop them while a couple of benchs took life. Like earlier, Apple Bloom slammed one of the ghosts on the benchs to destroy them. The cat, however, wasn't there, so they entered the weight room. Polterpup was there, beside the sandbag, barking. The cat could be seen poking out of the bag, angrily meowling at him to make him go away. The cat then saw them and fully entered the bag.

Giving a huff, Apple bloom took one of the green gloves left by one of the Buffys earlier and fired at the sandbag with it. This forced the cat out of the bag, but she then climbed on the lights hanging from the ceiling. Lightning striked again, giving life to two bins and to the chest in the room, as well as to a scale. At the same time, many Buffys entered the room along with some Tricksters and Creepers. One of the Buffys took the gloves while the others began to throw the dumbbells and weights at the fillies.

It was a long process to capture the Buffys one by one while avoiding the dumbbells and weights thrown, and the fillies had to let themselves being dragged many times. They also slammed the Buffys to destroy the possessed objects and stop the nearby Buffys from attacking. Whoever wasn't busy capturing a Buffy decided to deal with the other, smaller ghosts. As the fight continued and ghosts were captured, more Tricksters came, some of which were armed with stuff like bats, the smaller dumbbells, or anti-ghost cannons. Some of them even brought objects from other rooms to be possessed by Eternal Rest's power.

There were so much enemies that it wasn't rare for one of them to be hit, or downright crushed by what the Buffys were throwing, which greatly helped the fillies. Seeing this, the fillies tricked the Buffys to throw the weights at their allies a lot. Some of the Buffys answered simply by stopping to throw weights and use a more direct methode. The Buffy with the gloves had been captured for some time by then, but another took the gloves and, in the chaos of the fight, managed to punch Sweetie Belle, causing her bones to spread a little. Little Ghost also got hit by the anti-ghost cannons a couple of times, and Apple Bloom was rammed by a Buffy charging at her. Despite this, they continued the fight which became easier little by little as the ghosts, especially the Buffys, were captured, and the possessed objects were destroyed. Polterpup even helped by distracting some of the ghosts.

But when the fight was eventually over, they saw the cat passing through the wall to the locker room, and Polterpup went after her again, quickly followed by the fillies. There, they followed the cat as she walked on the lockers and closets until she passed through the wall to the lobby. More benchs were possessed, but they were quickly destroyed before the fillies entered the lobby.

In the lobby, Polterpup had managed to catch up to the cat and to stop her from escaping through another wall. Seeing that she was trapped, the cat turned into her monstrous form, damaging the desk, and attacked Polterpup who dodged the swing of her claw. The cat then went after the approaching fillies and charged at them. The fillies quickly separated to avoid her, then moved away to avoid the eratical swings of her paws as they surrounded her. Eventually, Apple Bloom was able to catch one of her tails and she slammed her until the tail was teared off.

The cat hissed, returned to her normal form, and passed through the floor. Again, Polterpup followed her.

«Most epic dog and cat chase I've ever seen,» said Rainbow Dash.

«Of course it is! The cat here can turn into a monster!» said Pinkie.

«Ah hope this time ya'll be able to capture her,» said Applejack.

"Ah hope too," said Apple Bloom as the fillies returned in the elevator.

They returned in the twelfth floor where Polterpup was waiting for them in front of the elevator doors. He barked once, then walked toward the door to the restaurant. The fillies followed him and entered the cave-like room where they could hear Rainbow marvel at it.

The purple lightning striked a lot of time in the room, turning absolutely every stools and barrels into living objects. This resulted in a lot of smashing from the fillies. More lightning striked, and this time, all the skulls in the room took life, but the fillies easily crushed them. Eventually, the fillies reached the bar at the other side of the room, and Polterpup jumped through the door to the beach. They followed him, but the beach revealed to be full of ghosts waiting for them. There were even a couple of Slappys ambushed, and all the Tricksters were armed with sabers and scimitars left by the pirates.

In the battle, the cat was accidentaly digged out of the sand by the constant slammings, and she turned back into her monster-self. With the ghosts around, it was much harder to fight her, until Sweetie Belle got the simple idea of slamming a Buffy on her. Little Ghost took the occasion to catch one of the cat's tails before slamming her one the other ghosts around until the tail was teared off. The cat escaped through the floor again, followed by Polterpup, but before they could go after her, the fillies finished the remaining ghosts.

Once done, they returned to the elevator and used it, returning to the eleventh floor, the Twisted Suites.

But before they reached the floor, the elevator was suddenly stopped, and Tricksters entered it. A mere distraction that made the fillies lose a few minutes.

Once they reached the Twisted Suites, all Tartarus broke loose. All the objects that could be useful were turned into living ones. Chairs, tables, trach cans, and so on. And many, many ghosts of all kinds encountered in the hotel were present. As the fillies searched the cat, all the room had a huge fight awaiting them.

Excepted the upside down room. To their surprise, the room was now full of top hats, and one of them was moving. When they lifted it, it revealed Polterpup who was trapped under it. He barked once in thanks, then sniffed at one of the hats. The fillies lifted it, revealing the cat hidden in it. however, the other hats were suddenly lifted too, revealing ambushed Tricksters all armed with various objects. The cat used the chaos that followed to escape the room.

The Tricksters, even armed, only lasted a few minutes before they were all captured. The fillies then followed the cat's trail to the room with the stage. Curiously, on the stage, there was now one of those boxes where you trapped a pony before piercing it with swords. Polterpup sniffed at it and barked at the fillies.

So the fillies climbed on the stage and opened the box, finding the cat. Panicked, the cat took her monster form, destroying the box, and climbed on the room of the stage as lightning striked the objects in the room, giving life to almost everything. Again, many ghosts also came, leading to another big fight.

As the fillies were busy, the cat came down from her hidding place and went to claw Apple Bloom from behind, but then, Polterpup jumped on her back, distracting her as she tried to get rid of him. Apple Bloom used this to catch her last tail, and once Polterpup jumped from her back, she slammed her around until the tail was teared off.

Very scared, the cat spat the button and flew toward the ceiling to escape again.

Polterpup suddenly came out of the ceiling and caught her in his maw. All the ghosts in the room stopped fighting to look at him in horror as the cat struggled to escape.

The dog then threw the cat to Apple Bloom who activated her Poltergust, and the cat disappeared in it. Finally.

"Good boy, Puppy!" she then shouted.

All the ghosts around became very scared.

But not of her...

And then, everything began shaking, and the ghosts all flew away.

"Uh oh..." said the three fillies in worry.

Eternal Rest was absolutely enraged. Louder and louder, she growled, causing the whole hotel to shake more and more violently. Everything was also visibly darkening.

In front of her, the mare with the afro slowly flew backward, giving a small chuckle. "W-well... Uh... Guess it's my turn... Eheh... Eeeh..." She then flew out of the room just before Eternal Rest roared.

The roar could be heard in all the hotel, and the fillies didn't wait more to start to run toward the elevator as it began to look as if there was a big earthquake. Floor and ceiling began to crumble, destroying everything. By the time they reached the elevator, almost nothing was left of the floor. Little Ghost quickly placed the button in its place and pressed it, making the elevator move up to the fourteenth floor.

For a while, the hotel continued to shake, probably taking huge damage because of it.

Thankfully, it eventually stoped.

Apple Bloom took a big breath to calm herself, then smirked. "Still think this is just a game, Eternal Rest?"

Author's Note

Names: Deep End
Age when dead: 32
Time of death: 17 years ago
Cause of death: Stabbed in the heart
Info: Deep End was a great sportif who specialized in aquatic sports. Many times champion, he was also a great instructor who trained many of today's greatest sportifs. With the Wonderbolts, he was the pride of Cloudsdale. Sadly, such great career easily causes jealousy, and Deep End was eventually killed, stabbed in the heart by one of his rivals.

The Dance Hall

Ding!

The doors of the elevator opened, revealing the last floor before Eternal Rest's.

And to put it simply, it was a dance floor. Already, from the elevator hall, it was given. Flashy neons on the walls forming dancers and music related stuff and tiles that can lit up in the floor. However, the shaking caused by Eternal Rest earlier took its tall to the floor. Some of the neons had fallen from the walls, there were many holes in the floor, and parts of the ceiling had collapsed here and there. The walls could be heard creaking, weakened.

If the spectacle was the same for all the other floors, then the fillies had interest to hurry up and finish this whole ordeal quickly. There was now a chance that the hotel could collapse.

"How bad is it in yer side?" asked Apple Bloom to the ponies in the caravan.

«It's ok. The basement doesn't seem to have taken too much damage,» answered Twilight. «I think that the upper floors were the most touched by Eternal Rest's rage.»

"Alright. But just in case, ready the caravan to move. If the hotel suddenly starts collapsing, ya'll have to get out of there ASAP."

«And leave ya behind? No way in Tartarus!» shouted Applejack.

"AJ! Come on! We're close to the top of the hotel! If it starts collapsing..."

«Twilight can teleport ya out of there!»

"Would she have time?"

«Of course! I can teleport really fast! It would just take me a few seconds to teleport to you, and then to teleport all of us out of there,» answered Twilight.

Apple Bloom sighed in relief. "Okay... But still, start the engine to be ready to escape."

"Hey!" then shouted Sweetie Belle who was beside a hole caused by some of the tiles that had collapsed. "There's a secret room down here!"

At this, Little Ghost entered the hole. "Wow!" she shouted from inside it. "There's, like, a big vault with a mountain of gold down there! There are even some gems!" She then poked her head out of the hole. "It's behind bars. You will have to give me the bag."

"There," said Apple Bloom as she gave the bag.

«It's so sad. This floor is totally ruined,» said Pinkie. «I'm sure in normal time there'd be music blasting, and then we would all be dancing and having fun while catching ghosties!»

«A good old fight in rhythm. Yeah, it's sad it won't be the case,» said Rainbow Dash.

"Maybe it will be the case against the ghost guarding the floor," said Sweetie Belle. "Maybe it will be a DJ."

«That's hoping there's anything left for a DJ to play,» said Rainbow.

"Done!" shouted Little Ghost as she came out of the hole. "We can go," she then said while giving the bag back to Apple Bloom.

So the fillies began to advance cautiously in the devastated hallway the room was a part of. At the right, it ended in a dead end, turntables once hanging on the wall now on a bench with fragments of the ceiling. So the fillies had to go to the left where they passed beside a tagged wall, the tag being of a group of dancers entirely hidden in hoodies. After this wall was a ticket counter followed by a shop divided in two parts, the first one selling accessories like purses or keychains, as well as designed clothes while the second one was selling more normal looking clothes and hats. Both the ticket counter and the shop had a cash register with some bits, and the second part of the shop had a vault full of bits. Of course, most of the shop was destroyed.

After the shop, the hallway turned to the left and led to stairs with at both sides walls tagged with arrows going all the way to a double door at the top. However, there was a possessed trash can that tried to eat Apple Bloom, but the filly easily got rid of it sending it in one of the holes of the floor. Carefully, the fillies then climbed the stairs until reaching the double door that they passed.

The next room was as much in disaster than the hallway, but it seemed to have been partially cleaned. There was a dance floor totally empty of any debris. Behind it was a disco booth with turntables on it, and at both sides of the booth were speakers. Hanging from the ceiling, only stopped from dropping thanks to some cables, was a disco ball. At both sides at the top of stairs, were spaces with tables and booths, or what remained.

Then, the speakers began blasting music, colored lights and the disco ball turned on, and from behind the disco booth appeared a brown pegasus mare with a red afro that reminded of a fiery red sun.

"Woohoo! Our honor guests arrived, everypony! Time for the party to start, baby! DeathJay here to put the dance floor on fiiiire! Yeah!"

«Woohoo! Now we're talking!» shouted Pinkie.

«Don't expect to join them, Pinkie,» said Twilight.

«Aww... I know...»

However, the music suddenly stopped as DeathJay gave a sigh.

"Listen you three, before we start..." she began before she gave the fillies a warm smile. "I know I have no chance against you. I'm nothing compared to the likes of Leyla, Ooga, or Blackbeard. I'm just a DJ whose only goal is to make ponies bang their head in rhythm. To tell you the truth, you grew on me, girls. And heck, even if there's high chance that you lose against Eternal Rest, I'm totally rooting for you! Speaking of, I guess you guessed, you really pissed her off, which is already a feat!" She laughed at this.

"So, does this mean you will give us the button without fight?" asked Sweetie Belle, hopeful.

"Eh. Come on. I'm a showmare. As a potentially last performance, I can't simply give you the button," replied DeathJay with a wink. Then, music blasted from the speakers again. "So let's dance! But before we start our showdown, a little warm up! Come, boys!"

At her call, eight Tricksters in hoodies, like the ones tagged in the hallway, appeared on the dance floor and began dancing to the rhythm of the music.

"Now girls, if you want to face me, you will first have to defeat my boys! The Poltergrooves! And don't expect them to be as easy to defeat as the others! Those guys mastered the art of dance battles!"

"But none of us know how to dance," said Sweetie Belle. "The only good dancer is... Scootaloo..."

DeathJay winced. "Yeah... Sorry about your friend. But don't worry! You don't need to dance as long as you manage to defeat my boys! Of course, dancing would have helped a lot. Gonna dodge their punches in rhythm after all."

"It shouldn't be hard. Gotta just follow the beat," said Apple Bloom as she began to bob her head in rhythm of the music.

The fillies then got on the dance floor, facing the dancers.

As DeathJay warned, the following fight was a hard one. The ghosts were perfectly synchonized and perfectly followed the music as they attacked with dance moves. and as soon as one of the fillies managed to trap one of them in a vortex, the other ghosts worked together to force the filly to release him. More than in any other fights against Tricksters, the fillies were punched and kicked. But little by little, the rhythm entered the fillies who became better and better at dodging, parrying, and counterattacking. Thus, one by one, the ghost were caught, and the less there were ghosts remaining, the easier it became to catch them.

When the last one was caught, DeathJay applauded, the turntables continuing to play without her.

"Bravo! I didn't expect less! Now, time for the final!"

She then flew from the booth to the dance floor and did some dance moves as she grabbed vinyl records from seemingly nowhere. As this happened, she was surrounded by what looked like fire, and the fillies weren't sure if this was just her ghostly aura that was like that or if it really was fire.

"Wooooh! I'm on fiiiire! Let's get ready to rumble!"

Then she threw the vinyl records and they began to roll toward the fillies, creating trails of fire in their path! This almost took the fillies by surprise, but they were able to dodge them with side jumps. But then, DeathJay grabbed a dozen of vinyls from behind her back and threw them in the air above her. The vinyls rained all over the dance floor and began to spin upon landing.

Then the mare began to dance around the dance floor while regularly throwing vinyls either rolling toward the fillies or spinning. All the while, as she moved, she left a trail of fire behind her too.

"She wasn't foaling when she said she was there to put the dance floor on fire," commented Little Ghost as she avoided a rolling vinyl.

"And that she was on fire," said Sweetie Belle.

This made DeathJay laugh. "I foal a lot, but yeah, sometimes, I take things a little too literally. Firestallions would probably hate me."

Apple Bloom began to blow air at the vinyls to stop her from rolling and spinning and send them away, giving the fillies some place. Her friends followed her exemle and began to blow air at the vinyls too. Thanks to this, they were able to approach the DJ. When she saw this, DeathJay began to spin toward them while holding vinyls, becoming a small fire tornado.

This didn't impress the fillies who all blew air at DeathJay at the same time, causing her to lose balance and to stop her tornado as she was blown back a little. This even caused the afro to fly from her head, revealing that she actually possessed a short black mane under it. The fillies immediately began to suck her, and the ghost didn't really resist as she laughed.

"Well, this didn't last long. But at least, it was fun." She gave them a wink. "Good luck against Eternal Rest, you three."

And finally, she disappeared in Little Ghost's Poltergust, letting the button drop. The vinyls and the fire disappeared with her.

Apple Bloom took the button.

The elevator button to floor 15.

That was it. The last line before the finish.

But before that, they had to run to the elevator as all the tables and booths in the sides of the room as well as the speakers took life. They didn't want to lose time fighting them.

Eternal Rest watched as Apple Bloom and her two sidekicks entered the elevator, escaping her possessed objects.

"Look at that, dear. Your heroes are coming," she said to the yellow doll beside her.

The doll didn't answer. She was too scared to, as her constant shaking showed. Eternal Rest then sent a bolt of purple lightning at the doll who screamed in pain.

"I-I'm sorry that you l-lost your kitty, but p-p-please, stop! It hurts!" said the doll painly.

"No can do, dear. You are the only way I have to control my rage until those three pests reach me. I have no problem with them ransacking my hotel!" She sent another bolt. "I have no problem with them capturing my minions!" She sent yet another bolt. "But capturing my Polterkitty?!" She roared and sent a continuous bolt of lightning this time, not stopping as she continued to talk. "I will give all of you an eternity of suffering like you have no idea! Even after I save my Kitty, I will make sure you all will regret what these three did forever!"

"Headmistress Eternal Rest..." suddenly said a voice that was clearly making himself small, interrupting her. Eternal Rest suddenly turned her head, still enraged, in the direction of the voice, making the Trickster cower in fear. Still, he continued. "The fillies have reached the floor."

At what he said, Eternal Rest turned to the screens and saw the fillies carefuly exiting the elevator at the entrance of her floor.

"Good," she said before she grabbed the whimpering doll. "Make sure that their little friend is ready to greet them. And that all the remaining ghosts in the hotel are ready to fight."

"Yes, headmistress!" said the Trickster before he flew away.

Eternal Rest then turned to a cage with a certain lilac mare actually unconscious in it.

"Let's make them REALLY regret what they did."

Author's Note

As much as I would have liked to better describe the dance battle against the dancing Tricksters, I'm sadly not a good enough "dance fighter" to describe a good fighting choreography. Just imagine something like this.
As for how the chapter was short, well, sorry. Floor 14 is easily the shortest floor, so I couldn't do any miracles. It should be compensated by the next chapter.

Name: Sunny Day, The Fiery DJ, DeathJay
Age when dead: 22
Time of death: 3 years ago
Cause of death: Hit on the head by a blunt object
Info: Her parents hoped to make her a weather pony like they had always been in the family, but the still young Sunny Day decided otherwise when she developped a love for music and parties that led her to become a DJ. Where her family wanted her to move clouds, she prefered to make ponies move in rhythm, including herself. She was quickly known in a good part of Cloudsdale as The Fiery DJ because she loved to symbolise fire. She even began to wear an afro that reminded of a fiery red sun. Of course, her parents didn't accept that, especially her father who got really violent about this to the point that during an argument, he mortally wounded her by hitting her on the head with a blunt object.

Master Suite

Here they were. The final floor. They encountered, and fought, a lot of ghosts in the way, including some very powerful.

A bellhop.
A maid.
A night guard.
A cook.
A famous pianist.
An emperor.
A mad gardener.
A filmmaker (even if this one didn't really count).
A cavepony.
A mechanic.
A queen of an ancient civilization.
Three magicians.
A captain pirate and his crew.
An athlete.
A DJ.
Without forgetting a three-tailed cat.

And now, they were about to fight the headmistress of the hotel. Probably one of the most powerful ghosts in the world behind Thanatos himself.

But the fillies felt a lot of trepidation as they heard the Ding! and the doors of the elevator opened. And it wasn't without reason, far from it. They knew that Eternal Rest was VERY powerful, more than any other ghosts encountered until now. Eternal Rest was also now VERY angry after they captured her cat. In her anger, Eternal Rest weakened the hotel, and the fillies didn't know how much damage the hotel took, so there was a very possibility that the hotel could collapse any second. Finally, it was the last floor, Eternal Rest's floor. Who knew what kind of obstacles and traps they will encounter? Also, they feared what Eternal Rest did to the ponies who were still her prisoners, living or dead, especially now that she was angry. In other word, they feared to see in what state those ponies, Scootaloo, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer, were now.

Still, almost as soon as the doors opened, the fillies exited the elevator, ready for anything. When they saw the floor however, they looked around in awe at how classy it was. For starting, the floor, walls and ceiling were in sculpted and polished marble. The windows were large, giving nice views of the lands around the hotel. The elevator shaft was inside glass walls. There were two vases made of crystals, and between them, a couch that seemed very soft.

right now, they were in the corner of the room, most of it hidden by the elevator behind, so they had to go to the left to see more of it. Against the wall behind the elevator was a huge projection screen. In front of it, in the middle of the room, was a squared lowered space with couches in the four corners and round tables between the couches at the left and the right. At the right of the room was an elevated part full of sand with a withered tree.

Surprisingly, there were almost no damage caused by Eternal Rest. There were just some cracks in the marble, some of the stuff that were on the round tables fell, and the vases were on their side. Either Eternal Rest avoided causing too much damage to her floor, the floor was more solid than the rest of the hotel, or Eternal Rest did some repair before the arrival of the fillies.

However, there were two clear problems with this room. First, there were pony statues in the corners, macabre reminder that it was Eternal Rest's floor and of what happened to her victims. Second, she seemed to have a fixation about Thanatos because there were many things reminding of him. The rims of the windows formed his skull seen from the front. The same thing was drawn on the floor in front of the squared place with the couches, and another was present on a wall beside the withered tree. Finally, the vases had crystal leads shaped like the top of Thanatos' skull.

"She's a fanfilly of Thanatos, it seems," said Apple Bloom.

"I wouldn't qualify myself with such a foalish term," they suddenly heard the familiar voice of Eternal Rest as she appeared in projection screen, revealing that she was in a room with a lot of screens that actually showed the fillies from various angles. The mare herself was as Apple bloom remembered, and she looked at the fillies with a smile that looked so genuine that it was obviously fake. "I would rather say that I respect Lord Thanatos a lot." She gave a small chuckle at this. "So the three of you managed to reach my floor. To be frank, I am not surprised. I expected this the moment you were joined by your friends. However, I have no doubt that if you were alone, I would have won the game by now. Lucky you. Friendship is magic, I think this is what is said today. Well, let's see how far this magic will lead you now that you reached my floor."

"Obviously, it'll lead us to ya," said Apple Bloom.

Eternal Rest laughed. "Maybe, but I have a small doubt because, you see..." She then waved a hoof, and from offscreen floated toward Eternal Rest a small doll looking like a familiar yellow pegasus. The doll looked very frightened.

Everypony gasped, Sweetie Belle placing her hooves in front of her mouth, and they all shouted "Fluttershy?!"

Eternal Rest gave them a knowing smirk before sent purple lightning at the doll who began to scream in pain.

"STOP THAT!" yelled Apple Bloom. She could hear Rainbow Dash roaring in rage before she had to be retained by the others despite them being as horrified and enraged.

"You made me very angry, Apple Bloom!" shouted Eternal Rest as she stopped attacking Fluttershy. "You captured my sweet little baby Polterkitty! I swear to you, for this, I will make you and your friends suffer one thousand and one torments that will make you beg for the mercy of death, excepted that you will already be dead, so no mercy! Never!" She took a big breath to calm herself, and put some makeup powder on her face. "And. As a result of my really bad current mood, I upped the difficulty of my floor... a lot. Tartarus will be child's play compared to what is awaiting you! So, go on, try to reach me. Let's see who will have the last laugh!" At this, the screen turned off.

Suddenly, purple lightning hit the vases and even the statues, giving them life. The vases, being made of crystals, had to be bucked through the windows to be rid of. For the statues, the fillies had to slam them with their Poltergusts. Then, many holes opened in the ceiling, and more statues, about a dozen dropped from them, including the statue of Fluttershy herself that they recognized because the ghosts had painted it yellow with the three butterflies on the flanks.

Fluttershy's statue was more problematic than the others. She died just recently, so her body trapped in the statue hadn't decomposed yet. Since it was the body itself that was possessed, then slamming the statue wouldn't really work where, for the others, it was enough to destroy both the cement and the skeleton under it. But also, Fluttershy's statue had some armor probably taken from floor 6, and it was holding a sword in its mouth. And of course, despite the cement and the armor, it could fly, probably helped by Eternal Rest's power, so simply throwing it through a window won't work.

Still, after avoiding the swings of her sword, the fillies did, together, the basic slamming to at least get Fluttershy's body rid of the armor and the cement while destroying some of the other statues by the same occasion. However, because of the armor protecting it at first, it took more time to destroy the cement, forcing the fillies to be more careful of the other statues while this happened. When Fluttershy's body was rid of the cement, revealing that the cement had made it entirely hairless with a burned skin, the fillies continued to slam it on the statues until they were all destroyed, severely injurying it but not enough to free it from Eternal Rest's control.

Since it wasn't this way that they would be able to stop Fluttershy's body, the fillies decided to drop it as they tried to find a solution. Apple bloom eyed the sword that the body dropped when they slammed it, and she took it as the body got up. It then charged at Apple Bloom, mouth open in an attempt to bit, but the filly managed to place the sword so it impaled the body in the mouth and through the head. It wasn't enough to stop the body who was able to bit Apple Bloom's front hooves as they were holding the sword. Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost both came to her help by forcing the body's mouth to open, Little Ghost using her shield as a lever. Once Apple Bloom could move her hooves again, and since she was still holding the sword, she used all her strength to swing it to her left while it was still piercing the mouth, half beheading the body. Little Ghost then violently bashed the head from its right with her shield, causing the upper part of the head to hang upside down at the left of the lower part. It was only a question of seconds before the weight of the upper part eventually caused the skin still attaching it to the lower part to tear apart, and the upper part fell.

And yet, it still wasn't enough to stop the body as it continued to walk. However, without its eyes, it was disoriented as it couldn't see anything anymore, so it simply advanced toward the last known position of Apple Bloom. Of course Apple Bloom, despite wanting to throw up at the sight of Fluttershy's body beheaded at the mouth (with the tongue and teeth visible), had moved since then so the body walked beside her. she then nodded to Little Ghost who grabbed the body's right wing and fully extended it. Then, as the body began to react, Apple Bloom used the sword to cut the wing before she quickly moved to avoid an awkward punch.

When the body began to search Apple Bloom again, the filly tapped one of its legs to gain its attention. Avoiding another awkward punch, Apple Bloom then moved to the side and watched as the body began to walk toward one of the large windows now destroyed. step by step, the body approached it.

And it fell.

With one of its wings cut, there was no way for it to avoid its gory fate.

Seconds passed in silence as the fillies stared at the window. Then, as the adrenaline's effect started to disappear, Apple Bloom began to shake as she sat, Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost joining her.

Apple Bloom had fought skeletons and mummies, but skeletons were just bones and mummies were withered corpses with almost nothing left. There, it was a real zombie, or as close as it could be since it was a corpse given life thanks to the power of a ghost. And it was absolutely disgusting. And not only it was a zombie, it was above all the zombified corpse of a dear friend, the kindest mare in Equestria. She didn't deserve this fate. To be violently and repeatedly slammed. To be beheaded. And to finish as a bloody smudge on the roof of one of the lower, larger parts of the hotel.

She didn't deserve whatever torture Eternal Rest was putting her ghost through now.

Apple Bloom didn't even dare to look at the upper part of Fluttershy's head remaining, or she could really throw up. Instead, she began to think of how they will be able to leave this room. There was no exit door. There is bound to be a secret passage.

"Girls, let's start to look around for the exit," she said.

Her friends nodded, and they separated. They quickly found the solution when Sweetie Belle looked through a small hole in a wall beside the withered tree, under Thanatos' skull symbol. Through it, the skeleton filly saw a chain that seemed to be linked to the projection screen.

"Little Ghost! There's a chain behind this wall! Try to pull it!"

"Okay!"

Little Ghost passed through the wall, entering a secret area in the right corner of the room beside the screen. There, she quickly spotted the chain and pulled it, lifting the screen until it almost fully entered the ceiling. This revealed a large double door behind it.

When the fillies passed it, they entered what they could only describe as a museum of horror. It was a hallway going at three directions, to the left where it turned to the right, to the right where it turned to the left, and forward where it separated to the left and the right, and it was filled with statues of ponies, with some furniture here and there like vases and small closets.

Then, they heard something rolling, and out of the corner from the left part of the hallway appeared Scootaloo's scooter.

It was rolling alone.

Just as the fillies began to wonder what her scooter was doing here, it suddenly charged at them, and they remarked that it now had a small spear attached to it to impale Apple Bloom. The filly quickly jumped to the side and the scooter passed beside her before it quickly turned around to charge again. Sweetie Belle, however, managed to grab it in the middle of its course, and she slammed it on the floor, breaking it.

Only for it to repair itself.

Oh... It's that kind of possessed object... thought Apple Bloom.

As she learned from Smart Spirit, there are different kinds of possessed objects.

First, there are the ones that are possessed by the power of a ghost like Eternal Rest did with the furniture of the hotel, but also like Bogmire did to the skeletons of the Gem Manor's graveyard.

Then there are the ones that are directly possessed by a ghost. Some good examples are the Gem Manor when it was possessed by Little Ghost, the staircase, treehouse, the various things that the Shadow Ghosts took possession of (including Applejack), the piano with Piano Virtuoso, the T-Rex with Ooga, and the ship with Blackbeard. There were too the piano in the Gem Manor, the dolls back in that room of the Haunted Towers, and the various mummies encountered both in the valley and the hotel.

And then, there are the ones possessed by a ghost bound to it. The difference there is that the object becomes pretty much a part of the ghost, turning it more or less indestructible depending of how powerful the ghost is as the ghost passively uses their power to repair the damage the object takes. If the ghost is too powerful, then the only way to defeat them is to find a way to break the bind, which requires a lot of power. Or it is possible to trap the object somewhere where it couldn't escape, like the Gem Family did with all the objects back in the attic of the Gem Manor. Sweetie Belle is another good example of a ghost bound to an object, here her own body. There was also Applejack and her robotic body. However, the main problem for the ghost with this method is that unless they are really powerful, they can't leave the possessed object anymore and are stuck in it for maybe forever. This explains why there aren't much ghosts using this method of possession.

And Scootaloo's scooter was now such an object. And Apple Bloom had an idea of who was the ghost bound to it.

Thankfully for the fillies, there was some key words. The object becomes pretty much a part of the ghost. So Apple Bloom took the dehypnotist and used it on the scooter after avoiding another of its charges. They hadn't tested it on ghosts, but there was no reason for it to not work on them.

Beside the fact that ghosts were immaterial and didn't really have a brain to unbrainwash, but it doesn't stop them from being able to be brainwashed, so...

But it seemed to work because the scooter stopped attacking.

Eternal Rest growled. One of her three trump cards so easily defeated? At least, the first one gave them some difficulty! That damned machine! She didn't think about it!

She slammed her hooves on her desk in rage, badly damaging it.

Some seconds passed with the fillies staring at the scooter, none of them moving.

Then...

"Uh?" The handlebar of the scooter then moved to face the fillies one by one. "Girls? Uuh... Why do I feel so...? I can't feel my mouth moving when I speak!"

"Scootaloo? Oh my gosh, Scootaloo! It's you!" shouted Sweetie Belle before she hugged, rather awkwardly, the handlebar. As she hugged the scooter, she took the occasion to get it rid of the small spear.

"Of course it's me! But can somepony explain what's going on? I can't even seem to be able to look down at myself to see why my body feels like it's made of a wooden plank!"

"Erh.... That's because yer body IS a wooden plank," said Apple Bloom who rubbed her back head awkwardly. She then pointed at the double door from which they came. "There're mirrors in the previous room if-"

She was suddenly interrupted by purple lightning striking all the statues and other furniture in the hallway, giving all of them life. At the same time, countless of red lasers activated a little everywhere in the hallway, and some of them began to sweep it in various ways. Among them, there were lasers seemingly made of the same energy as the one used in the anti-ghost cannons.

"What?!" yelled all the fillies before Apple Bloom had to duck to avoid a sweeping laser passing above her head.

"Lasers?!" she shouted. "How come she has lasers?!"

«I'm as surprised as you!» said Twilight. «This is a very recent technology developed in a secret laboratory and that has yet to be made public! It's planned to be used to defend safes in banks and precious objects in museum! How did she get her hooves on this?!»

Little Ghost avoided one of the 'anti-ghost lasers' and shouted "Let's return to the previous..." The double door suddenly slammed closed. "...room..."

"Alright..." said Apple Bloom. "Scoot, to put it simply, ya're now a ghost stuck in yer scooter. In other word, ya're a scooter, Scootaloo."

"Seriously?!"

"The longer explanation'll come once we're safe!" finished Apple Bloom before she caught one of the statues with her Poltergust and helped by Sweetie Belle. The both of them then slammed it against a wall, destroying it.

"Ookaaay... I will panic about being stuck in my scooter later, I can see this is not the moment," said Scootaloo. "But I think I was starting to understand that I was in my scooter when I felt that my legs were now bucking WHEELS."

As her friends began to fight the statues and other living objects while avoiding the lasers, Scootaloo then began to test her new body to better understand how to move with it. She moved as any vehicles moved. At least, she could do a skid with it to rapidly turn if needed. She could even do a small jump.

Nothing she wasn't used to do since she passed a lot of time on her scooter. Her Cutie Mark was about her scooter. It was second nature to her.

So, if she understood correctly, she was now bound to her scooter. Remembering what Apple Bloom said about ghosts bound to objects, this meant that she was pretty much indestructible, like Sweetie Belle who had no problems fighting the statues while being hit by the lasers contrary to Apple Bloom who had to avoid the burning red lasers and Little Ghost who had to avoid the other ones who apparently hurt ghosts.

Well, let's put that indestructibility to good use! With a skid, she faced a line of statues and charged at it at full speed. One by one, she struck the statues, destroying all of them thanks to her speed. And any damage the scooter took was almost immediately repaired!

Eternal Rest will SO regret putting me in that scooter! thought Scootaloo.

With Scootaloo's help, the battle was much easier for the others. And yet, the more statues were destroyed, the more continued to come from beyond the turns of the hallway. The fillies decided to approach one of the windows, choosing one at the left turn of the hallway, to be able to throw the possessed objects through it, especially the hard ones like the vases or even a golden statue of Polterkitty. All the while, Apple Bloom had to move like a professional thief to avoid the many lasers threatening to burn her, regularly warned by her friends when one came from behind.

Thankfully, possessed objects eventually stopped coming, ending the battle. However, the lasers were still there. luckily, there was a door just in front of the windows, beside the fillies, so they passed it and entered what revealed to be the library, which was a room in two levels. The upper level, where they were, was a path circling around the center of the room by the left before ending in a staircase at the other side, the stairs leading to the lower level.

The shelf at their left and the one visible in the opposite wall were shaped like upside down stairs while the two ones against the left wall were also like stairs but divided into two parts, first looking like normal stairs, then turning into upside down ones midway through the ceiling. As a result, they formed some kind of cross in the middle, with at the center an image of Thanatos' skull. Under it was an alcove with a big key that had an orange gem shaped like Thanatos' skull as its head.

However, the alcove was blocked by lasers, both normal ones and anti-ghost ones, and more lasers were sweeping the path. But the fillies spotted what looked like a generator with a lever under the alcove in the lower level, and Little Ghost went to pull down the lever. It wasn't easy, the generator was well protected by both kinds of lasers, but she managed to make her way between them and to pull down the lever, causing all the lasers in the room to turn off. This left the path free for the fillies to go take the key without risks, but before, they had to deal with some statues also present in the room. After that, now that they were safe, they decided to talk with Scootaloo to ensure that she was alright.

"I'm okay," she said. "Yeah, it sucks that I'm now dead and that I'm now stuck in my scooter, but I'm already used to it. Also, I don't regret any of this because it helped you escape. But now, could you give the longer version of everything that happened?"

And her friends did, recounting all the events since Scootaloo's death. Finding Sweetie Belle and Applejack safe in the caravan. Rescuing Twilight and Spike in the ballroom after fighting the bellhop. The revelations about Eternal Rest (which disgusted Scootaloo a lot. She could count herself lucky that she didn't end up in a doll to be tortured). The rescue of Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash (Scootaloo mimicked a sigh of relief at this last one). The many fights against the ghosts through the floors (especially the one against Blackbeard. She regretted not being here). And finally, what happened with Fluttershy.

"So that witch is maybe torturing fluttershy as we're talking? Then what are we waiting?!" shouted Scootaloo.

"We just wanted to be sure that you fully understood what's going on and what we're up against," said Apple Bloom. "Ah already know ya'll want to join us."

"You bet I'm joining! I may not have a Poltergust, but I'm sure I can be useful, like I was against those statues! Beside, I'm indestructible, so what do I risk?"

"Eternal Rest can hurt ya even in yer state," warned Apple Bloom. "Those purple lightning're no joke. She uses them to torture dolls."

"Noted. I will try to avoid them," said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle then said "Finally, the CMC are together again."

"Yay!" they all shouted.

They then took the key which Scootaloo proposed to transport. Apple Bloom used the ribbon of her bow to attach it. After that, they returned in the hallway, back among the lasers. Ninja-style, Apple Bloom and Little Ghost moved between them while the others simply followed, not affected by them. For the first time since they arrived in this floor, ghosts appeared to attack them, but the poor guys were also forced to avoid the anti-ghost lasers, limiting their movements and making the fights against them easier.

It turned out that the hallway was actually forming two ∞ linked between them at the left and right, forming a total of five squares that could be as much rooms. But before entering them, the fillies fully explored the hallway to search the exit, which they found at the opposite side of the entrance. It was actually a giant skull of Thanatos with four keyholes in four of his upper teeth. The key they got from the library entered the first key hole to the left.

And so, they began to explore the hallway in search of the doors to enter the rooms, not paying attention to the many paintings on the wall showing Thanatos, sometimes with Eternal Rest at his sides. The first one they found was in the hallway just in front of the exit, at the left. The door was invisible, but a mark on the floor showed its presence, so they used the DLD to turn it visible. And thus, they entered the first room at the left of the exit.

The room was the bathroom. And what a bathroom! There was a sauna, a shower in a corner, and a round bathtub in the center! The key, possessing a blue gem, was in the bathtub. The bathtub was surrounded by glasswalls, and another glasswall with a glassdoor blocked the path leading to the only opening, at the left. They could open the door, but a big pile of towels was blocking it. So they had to go around, pass through the sauna, the shower, and beside the sink and toilet to reach it. Little Ghost could pass the glasswall to go directly take the key, but there were anti-ghost lasers covering all of them as well as the entrance to the bathtub, making it impossible for her to reach it. Normal lasers were also present along the path for Apple Bloom.

And Sweetie Belle passed all of this and reached the key without problems, the lasers not affecting her.

Definitively a good point for the skeleton side.

They left the room, fought some ghosts, and placed the key in the first keyhole from the right in the Thanatos skull before they explored again in search of the next door, which they found in front of the left hallway linking the first ∞ to the second. This one too was invisible at first, so they had to use the DLD again to be able to enter the room that was the one at the right of the exit.

It was the bedroom, which had a huge round bed against the wall in front of the entrance. It was noted that some of the pillows were shaped like Thanatos' skull. At the left, there was a desk with a mirror a box full of makeup, and a box with sewing materials. In front of the desk was a rocking chair.

And to the fillies' horror, there were many, many dolls present absolutely everywhere in the room. On the bed, on shelves, hanging from the ceiling, against the walls... It was hard to count, but their number probably exceeded the hundred.

All those dolls were alive, poor victims of Eternal Rest forcefully bound in them. When the fillies entered the room, they all turned to look at them, surprised and curious.

It was Eternal Rest's Collection.

"There are so much of them..." said Sweetie Belle.

"Uh... Hello, every..." began Apple Bloom before she spotted some griffons and a couple of minotaurs among the dolls. "everyone! Ah'm Apple Bloom and those're mah friends Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Little Ghost! We're ghost hunters here to defeat Eternal Rest and save y'all!"

"Ah. The joke," said one of the dolls. "You're just fillies. Erh... Not sure for the scooter one."

"I'm a filly too!" shouted Scootaloo.

"And technically, I'm over one thousand years old, said Little Ghost. "Beside, yes, we're just fillies, but we managed to climb one by one the floors of this hotel, defeating all the ghosts we encountered. Eternal Rest is the last one remaining beside some minions."

"Listen," said Apple Bloom. "Ah know that Eternal Rest's very powerful and that y'all probably don't believe that we can win against her, but at least, we've a chance. And this means there's a chance for y'all to finally get out of there. For the torture and everything to end."

The dolls exchanged insure looks before a small one, a colt, talked.

"You really defeated all the ghosts?" he asked in a small, hopeful voice.

Apple Bloom smiled, and nodded. "Emperor Gorros. Queen Leyla. The cavepony Ooga. Even captain Blackbeard. All of them."

"There was that pianist, Piano Virtuoso, who took possession of his piano to attack us, but we destroyed the piano and captured him!" said Little Ghost.

"Gorros was using that giant, scary black armor, but we smashed it to pieces! Oh, if you are curious, Gorros was a small griffon no taller than us," said Sweetie Belle with a giggle.

"No way!" shouted one of the few griffons in the room.

"See, everyone? We can do it. We can defeat Eternal Rest," said Apple Bloom. "We're collecting the keys to unlock the door to the room where she's waiting us. We already got two ones, and we're sure there's one in this room. Do ya know where it's?" she asked.

Some of the dolls hesitantly pointed at a painting of Thanatos further up, one of them saying "Behind this painting, but it's protected by some of those new red lights that burn."

Some of the dolls then pointed at one of the two mannequins in alcoves beside the bed, and one said "This mannequin is a lever, you must pull it to reveal the way to reach this key."

"There's another lever that turn off the red lights behind the other painting," said another doll pointing at a second painting, this one of Eternal Rest.

"Thank ya," said Apple bloom before she went to pull the mannequin while the dolls on the bed moved from it, causing half of the floor, the one with the bed in front of the mannequins, to turn to reveal that it was actually some kind of platform with a cog linking it to some mechanism in the wall. The two paintings also lifted to reveal the key and the generator to turn off the lasers, the first one protected by the normal lasers while the second was protected by the anti-ghost ones. When Apple Bloom stepped on the platform, her weight caused it to tilt to her side more and more, threatening to make her slide into the hole under the platform. So she quickly ran to the middle of the platform to balance it. However, she remarked that the more and more the platform tilted, the more it was lifted.

She had to make the platform tilt to one side or the other to make it lift toward the generator and the key, all the while avoiding some lasers that appeared on the way.

But then, three Tricksters and two Buffys appeared to stop her, the Tricksters armed with various objects and the Buffys equipped with those green gloves. All the dolls panicked, and the ones who weren't hanging from the ceiling moved as far away of the ghosts as they could.

Apple Bloom jumped from the platform that slowly lowered itself back in place, and with Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost, quickly captured the three Tricksters, slamming them on the Buffys to stop them from attacking. Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost then went after one of the Buffys while Apple Bloom went after the second one by herself. A third Buffy appeared on the platform and forced it to tilt while five Creepers appeared to try to grab Apple Bloom to throw her in the hole under the platform.

As Apple bloom was busy with two of them and Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost were busy with two others, the fifth one came behind Apple Bloom to grab her. But Scootaloo charged at it and did a bounce to her front wheels were up in the air. The Creeper got the wheels on his face, stopping his tentative to grab Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom then slammed one of the Creepers on him. One by one, the Creepers were captured, forcing the third Buffy to stop tilting the platform to attack them. He didn't last long however, like all the others.

The dolls looked in awe. The fillies captured those ghosts like they were nothing! Maybe they were right, after all, maybe they had a chance.

Apple Bloom then returned on the platform and made it tilt to lift it. When the platform tilted too much in one side, she rapidly ran to the other side. Little by little, the platform was lifted until it reached the alcove with the generator. Apple Bloom passed through the anti-ghost lasers (which only gave her a small tingling) and pulled down the lever, turning off all the lasers. Little Ghost then flew to the key and took it while Apple Bloom jumped back on the platform, then jumped back on the floor.

"Thank ya for yer help, everyone. Now, time for us to rescue y'all," she said.

"Are you sure we can do it?" asked Little Ghost. "It's full of dangers outside, and they're over one hundred. We won't be able to keep an eye on all of them."

"We can't leave them there," replied Apple Bloom before she turned to look at all the dolls. "We've friends and family back in the basement. Y'all should join them, they'll protect ya. We'll lead y'all to the elevator. Twilight? Be ready to teleport in the elevator to lead them to the basement."

«Ok.»

"Hum... This may be a little cramped in the elevator with over one hundred dolls," said Sweetie Belle.

"At worst, the elevator'll do two trips," said Apple Bloom. "Little Ghost, could ya..." she said as she pointed at the dolls hanging from the ceiling.

"Give me a minute."

A little later, Apple Bloom opened the door to exit the room, careful of the lasers outside. Some of the dolls were riding her while more simply walked out, not minding the lasers. Scootaloo came out among the dolls, more dolls riding her, and Sweetie Belle followed, also transporting some dolls. Little Ghost came last once all the dolls were out, keeping watch of the back of the group while being careful of the anti-ghost lasers.

As they expected, ghosts attacked, but following the fillies' instructions, the dolls did their best to not panic as the fillies captured them. Slowly, the group advanced, and after a few minutes, they reached the double door that Apple Bloom bucked open, returning in the room with the elevator. As soon as they entered, Twilight teleported beside the elevator and waved at them.

The majority of the dolls looked at her in shock.

"An alicorn?!" many of them shouted.

"Ah yes. Many of you were probably captured since before Twilight became a princess," said Sweetie Belle.

"There's a lot of history to catch up for all of you," said Little Ghost.

Hearing that Twilight was a princess, the majority of the dolls bowed, but Twilight made them stop.

"Let's go to the basement before something wrong happens.

"Eeek! Is that the head of somepony over there?!" shouted one of the dolls in horror.

"There's a wing too!" shouted another.

"A mare was recently killed and bound into a doll. Is it her?" asked another doll.

"Yeah..." answered Apple Bloom as she avoided looking at the head and the wing. "We'd to fight her possessed corpse..."

"Eternal Rest made us fight all your corpses..." said Little Ghost. "You probably remarked all the scattered bones in the hallway and in the room..."

This got various reactions from the dolls, from sadness to anger.

"I hope you will really be able to defeat her," said one of them.

"We'll make her pay for everything she did," assured Apple Bloom.

The dolls entered the elevator with Twilight, some of them climbing on her with her authorisation. As they thought, there wasn't enough space in the elevator for all of them, but the dolls fixed this by climbing on each others, forming small piles. They didn't mind. Once all the dolls had entered, Twilight pressed the button to the basement, and the doors closed.

Only two ponies left to save from Eternal Rest: Fluttershy and Starlight Glimmer.

The last room to explore was at the right of the entrance of the hallway, but the door was invisible too. After using the DLD to make it appear, the fillies entered it. The room was a drawing room with an upper part. It possessed three sofas that looked very comfortable, two of which were in the upper part, at the corners beside shelves full of books and other objects while the third one was in the middle of the room, back to the upper part. Behind this sofa, on the upper part, was a phonograph and a fireplace with, above it, another image of Thanatos' skull.

There was no trace of the key however, so they began to look around to find something. Maybe another object to pull like in the bedroom to reveal a secret. They found such an object in one of the shelves, a bust of Thanatos. They pulled it, and it caused a part of the floor, the one under the sofa in the middle, to spin 90° to the right, revealing a small space with the key as well as a secret passage with a treasure chest under the upper part of the room. However, the key was protected by lasers, both the normal ones and the anti-ghost ones, and anti-ghost lasers protected the secret passage. But there was no way for Apple Bloom to reach the secret passage because it was separated by a hole left by the spinning floor. At least, Sweetie Belle was able to take the key.

So they pulled the bust of Thanatos again, and the floor spun again 90° to the right, revealing nothing but a model of the hotel. They pulled again, and the floor spun again, this time revealing the generator to turn off the lasers. They didn't really need it however because a staircase to the secret passage also placed itself at the right, letting Apple Bloom reach it to open the chest. Once the chest was empty, the fillies left the room.

With the last two keys in their possession, they returned to the giant Thanatos skull and placed them in the two remaining keyholes. The skull itself revealed to be a door that began to open, but a force immediately closed it as many, many ghosts suddenly appeared around the fillies.

All the kinds of ghosts encountered in the hotel including Slappys. The Tricksters were all armed with something. Some of the Buffys had the green gloves while others possessed heavier weapons. Throwers had daggers that they could throw.

They were all the remaining ghosts of the hotel, ready to fight the fillies to the last.

Red mode on! Time for some fast, powerful cleaning!

The red mode didn't last long however, they had to let the Poltergusts cool down. But many ghosts remained, so they had to return to the good old style fighting made of trapping and slamming. Lot of slamming. And like always, the Buffys were the main targets, their big bodies perfect to hammer the other ghosts. Apple Bloom had to constantly move to avoid the many weapons and lasers, and always made sure to avoid being surrounded. Her friends always made sure to be close enough to intervene if something happened, especially with the many Creepers creeping invisible around.

As more and more ghosts were captured, more bumps, cuts, scratches, and burns appeared in Apple Bloom's skin, but the filly didn't stop. Eventually, she and the others put their Poltergusts back to red mode and caught more ghosts, their number seemingly endless. Again, they were forced to return to yellow mode. And finally, after countless more slamming, the last ghost was captured.

Apple Bloom had to sit after that, taking back her breath. She was bleeding, she was hurting...

But she wasn't giving up. They were so close to the end!

At this moment, the Thanatos skull door opened, inviting the fillies to enter. Already, they could see Eternal Rest awaiting them behind her desk, Fluttershy on it. So Apple Bloom got up, and the fillies all entered the last room.

The door closed behind them.

Beside the desk (slightly damaged) and a lot of screens behind it, the only other remarkable thing in the room was the presence of a cage with Starlight Glimmer, unconscious, in it.

Eternal Rest gave the fillies a strained smile.

"So... you made it there... despite everything I threw at you. You captured all my minions and my pet, passed all my traps, solved all my enigmas, and saved everypony excepted those two. Good job. I'm sure that Lord Thanatos has been very entertained by this. It was all a game, after all. Just a game... And yes, it was fun, at first... Yes, you ransacking my hotel was a little irritating, but nothing too bad. I didn't really mind losing money, and I didn't mind sacrificing my minions. Even Blackbeard was a mean to an end. I could probably find another ghost as powerful as him somewhere." She levitated Fluttershy who began to panic. "Here's your reward." She then threw the doll at Apple Bloom who caught it in the air.

"Are ya alright?" she asked the doll.

Fluttershy answered by hugging Apple Bloom as best as she could with her small size. If she could, she would clearly cry. Apple Bloom patted her on the back to soothe her.

"Now..." continued Eternal Rest. "Let's talk about the part where you captured by darling Kitty and almost destroyed my hotel!" she shouted in rage, her eyes turning red.

"Uh... For that last part, it was you," said Little Ghost.

Eternal Rest growled, then violently slammed her hooves on her desk, destroying it. This caused the makeup covering her face to go off, and to everypony's shock, she now looked totally different.

Gone was the beautiful mare in her mid-thirty, now she looked like an old hag, bony body, face full of wrinkles, mane now a mess, larger and sharper shin, and dress messier.

She really looked like a witch now. This was the real Eternal Rest.

"Don't play smart with me, filly! You may be one thousand years old, but I am much, much, much older than you! I witnessed Queen Rose starting the feud between the three tribes! I saw the Heart Warming! I was there when Gusty the Great defeated Grogar! When Discord took the throne and when he was turned to stone! When Celestia and Luna became princesses! When Sombra came to power and sent the Crystal Empire to a dimension out of time and space! When I was alive, the three tribes feared me and called me the Witch of Death! The Lord of Death himself considers me as his most powerful henchpony! YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!" In her monologue, purple lightning began to crackle around her. "In this world, there are only three things that I hold dear! Lord Thanatos! My Polterkitty! And my hotel that I worked hard to make the best one in the world to trap my victims! And now, my Kitty is captured, and my hotel is almost destroyed! NO TORTURES WILL BE GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU PAY FOR ALL THIS!"

Eternal Rest then stopped talking for a couple of seconds before she began to cackle.

"I know at least this: you. Will. Regret. And first thing first..." She suddenly turned to the cage with Starlight Glimmer, then flew toward it. To the fillies' horror, she passed through the bars and entered the unconscious mare's body. Starlight's eyes suddenly opened, glowing red, and the ring around her horn melted before the cage exploded.

When Starlight began to talk, Eternal Rest's voice could be heard over her own voice.

"I bound myself to this mare. There is NO WAY for you to defeat me. You can't suck me with your vacuums, you won't be able to destroy this body, and I'm far too powerful to be trapped."

Starlight's body then began to float as purple lightning came out of her front hooves and her horn, striking the floor, walls, and ceiling of the room randomly. At the same time, a pillar came out of the center of the room and began to emit lasers while spinning.

"This is bad, Apple Bloom! What do we do?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom was panicking. "Ah... Ah don't know... Ah really don't... Wait..."

"Is it possible for a ghost to possess somepony?" asked Apple Bloom after Smart Spirit told her about the various kinds of possessions.

"Yes," answered Smart Spirit. "But thankfully, it's a really risky move for the ghost. If the possessed pony has a strong enough mind, then they can resist the ghost and even force them out of their body. It's like trying to resist mind control. Of course, sometimes, they need a little help, like an exorcist, or simply a friendship speech. Reminding the possessed that they have loved ones can help a lot. Encouragements work too. If you have to, attacking the body can also help, it can make it easier for the possessed to resist. You will have to use a lot of strength however, gotta make sure that the ghost focus less on controlling the pony."

"There's something we can do," said Apple Bloom before she put Fluttershy in her mane. Then, she yelled "Starlight! If ya hear me, resist that witch! Ah'm sure ya can do it! Ya're Twilight's protégé, so ya must have the strength to do it!"

Eternal Rest looked irritated at what Apple Bloom was trying to do. "Do you really think this will work? Must I remind you who I am?"

"Ah know who ya're, but it won't change that Starlight'll be able to get ya out!"

"Watch out!" suddenly yelled Sweetie Belle before she pushed Apple Bloom as Eternal Rest fired purple lightning. The lightning struck the skeleton filly who yelled in pain. She wasn't Eternal Rest's target, however, so her lightning didn't attack her long.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo rolled beside Apple Bloom and shouted "Climb on me!"

Apple Bloom quickly did so, and Scootaloo rolled away just as Eternal Rest fired her purple lightning again, the lightning striking the floor.

Being limited because she had to avoid the lasers for Apple Bloom, Scootaloo rolled toward the wall, having an idea that she hoped would work. As she approached the wall while moving left and right to avoid the purple lightning, she then jumped so her wheels would land on it.

"Hold on tightly to the handlebar!" shouted Scootaloo.

And then, she rolled on the wall.

"What?" shouted Apple Bloom in shock.

"Heck yeah!" shouted Scootaloo.

Growling, Eternal Rest continued to fire lightning after the scooter that continued to dodge them, moving up and down on the walls. So focused on Apple Bloom than she was, she didn't pay attention to Little Ghost and Sweetie Belle anymore. As a result, she was hit by Sweetie Belle's skull on the head, which was followed by a shield bash from Little Ghost. This made Eternal Rest focus back on them, but before she could attack, Scootaloo's scooter suddenly fell on her.

Scootaloo had actually rolled on the ceiling until she was just above the mare, then let herself drop on her! Apple Bloom, who was still riding Scootaloo, then jumped on Starlight's head and clung to it as she gave a violent hit to her horn.

THIS was terribly effective as it made the mare scream in pain.

"Come on, Starlight! Resist! Don't become a tool for Eternal Rest to kill everypony!" shouted Apple Bloom.

"Starlight!" shouted both Sweetie Belle and Little Ghost.

Then, Fluttershy also talked from Apple Bloom's mane. "Starlight..."

But Eternal Rest suddenly managed to grab Apple Bloom in Starlight's hooves, but again, before she could attack, Scootaloo dropped on her head for the second time. Having enough, Eternal Rest used Starlight's magic to levitate Scootaloo. She then sent lightning both at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, only to be bashed on the horn by Little Ghost, causing her to drop Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle then climbed on Scootaloo who quickly rolled toward a wall, then toward the ceiling before dropping on Eternal Rest for the third time. As Eternal Rest used Starlight's magic again to levitate Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle jumped from the scooter and landed on the central pillar emitting the lasers. On it, she then grabbed one of Starlight's back hooves, and Little Ghost grabbed the other. Both of them then violently pulled down, slamming Eternal Rest right on lasers.

Since she was possessing a living pony, they had effects on her.

She sent a shockwave that destroyed the pillar, then another to get rid of the fillies who were constantly attacking her as she was on the floor. The fillies were sent crashing against the walls, but they all quickly recovered and began yelling encouragements for Starlight.

Eternal Rest could start to feel it. Starlight was fighting more and more for the control of her body.

She frowned. "This body reveals to be more of a hindrance than I expected. I suppose I will have to do it the hard way." she said as she got up. "So, you want this mare back?" she asked before she began to growl. As her growl turned to a roar, red cracks spread all over Starlight's body.

The fillies realised what Eternal Rest intended to do, and they all began to move toward her, Sweetie Belle yelling "STOP!"

But then, Starlight's body exploded, and Apple Bloom quickly had to cover her eyes as blood and... other stuff spread everywhere. When this was over, the majority of the front of her body was now red. She looked back toward where Starlight's body was, and she saw Eternal Rest floating there, holding Starlight's ghost and sending bolts of purple lightning at her, making her yell in pain for a few seconds before she stopped.

"Mpf. Very well. You can have her back," said then Eternal Rest before she threw Starlight at Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom stared at Starlight's ghost, then at all the blood and other stuff now covering the floor, walls, and ceiling, as well as herself and her friends.

First Scootaloo, then Fluttershy, now Starlight...

She looked back at Eternal Rest, her expression turning into one of pure hate.

Eternal Rest chuckled. "I can see in your expression that you are done with me. Well, now you know how I feel toward you," she said before she moved to the wall with the screens. Then, with a flick of a hoof, she made a part of the wall spin, revealing a secret passage. As she moved to enter it, she looked back at Apple Bloom. "Nothing forces you to go after me now. Everypony is 'saved'. But something tells me that you will still chase me. Then come, little filly. Come to end me, and I will take the pleasure to end you." Then, she entered the secret passage.

Silence fell in the room.

Then, Twilight teleported in with the other mares before she went to check Starlight who slowly recovered from what happened. Apple Bloom was hugged by Applejack who tried to calm her while cleaning her of the blood. Rarity did the same with Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash walked toward Scootaloo, insure of what to do. As for Pinkie, mane having lost all its poofiness, she took Fluttershy from Apple Bloom's mane and hugged her.

"Ah'm going after Eternal Rest," then said Apple Bloom who had not stopped staring at the secret passage.

Applejack looked at her with worry, but nodded. "She must be stopped... But... Ya're reaching yer limit..."

"Ah don't care. Ah'll go beyond mah limit if Ah've to. Ah will capture her."

"Then Ah'm coming too. There aren't any ghosts remaining in the hotel, so everypony will be safe without me."

"Count me in too," said Sweetie Belle.

"Are you sure, Sweetie?" asked Rarity.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "I can't leave my friend. We are a team."

"Me too," said Scootaloo. "I missed everything, and I may not have a Poltergust, but it doesn't mean that they can go have the final fight without me. I'm a CMC too! CMC together!"

"And of course, I'm in too," said Little Ghost.

One by one, the five ponies moved toward the secret passage.

"Return in the caravan," said Applejack to her friends. "Ya'd move away of the hotel for a bit. Ah feel that it'll get real messy there."

Twilight nodded while Rainbow Dash took Fluttershy against her chest.

"Good luck."

The secret passage closed behind the five ponies.

Author's Note

So, a filly, a robot, a skeleton, a ghost, and a scooter. Talk about a team.

...

Yeah... Sorry for all the messy stuff in this chapter... I'm a monster.

Rooftop

Behind the spinning wall was a door.

This door led to a long, dark hallway with absolutely nothing excepted some paper and a box or two.

This hallway led to a room which had for only furniture a trash bin. It was a very tall room with a long series of staircases against the walls leading up and down. It went so far down that it was impossible to see the bottom. It was however impossible to go down because the staircase was destroyed, so the ponies had to take the stairs up, Little Ghost having to lift Scootaloo. The stairs were damaged, so more than once, they had to carefully walk against the walls to not fall, and they had to watch out as pieces regularly fell under them. As they climbed, Eternal Rest's silhouette could be seen behind the large, unique window in the opposite wall, observing them with her red glowing eyes. When they reached the top where there was a big fan slowly turning above the window, Eternal Rest flew up out of sight.

After a smaller hallway going to the left of the fan, the ponies passed a last door leading to the exterior of the hotel.

They were so high that they had a perfect view of the lands around the hotel. As a large swarm of bats circled the hotel, they could see the lake, the small mountains, the road from which they came... The Moon, partially hidden by some high clouds, was slowly moving down in the sky. Soon, Luna will make it set before letting Celestia rise the sun. It was beautiful, but so scary. The path, that circled the rooftop of the hotel, wasn't narrow, but it wasn't large too. And there was nothing to stop them from falling. One misstep was all it would take.

As they followed it, they reached a first ladder to the first level of the roof, but it was destroyed, so they had to continue. They reached the corner, passed below a bat gargoyle, and reached a second ladder that was also too damaged. So they had to walk around the mouth of a giant Thanatos skull throning at the front of the roof, its purple glowing eyes illuminating the night as bats flew out of its mouth in their passage.

Finally, at the other side of it, they found a ladder that wasn't destroyed, and they used it to climb the few levels of the roof until reaching the very top. A simple squared area with some projectors lightning it.

Eternal Rest was there, waiting for them.

She stared at Apple Bloom who immediately grabbed the handle of her Poltergust as she stared back.

Because of an invisible force, wind began to blow and to circle the roof, carrying clouds. Those clouds somehow turned into stormclouds with purple lightning crackling and striking other clouds.

And without a word, Eternal Rest raised a hoof toward the sky and fired purple lightning bolt, and purple lightning began to randomly strike the roof from the sky, at about one bolt per second. The witch then flew out of range, beyond the edge of the roof as the ponies began to run toward her.

Of course, this didn't bother Little Ghost who flew after her. Eternal Rest fired lightning at her again and again, but the filly ghost dodged all of them. However, when she got too close, Eternal Rest teleported beyond the opposite edge of the roof. She then began to use magic as she grabbed Apple Bloom in her magical aura and slammed her on the floor, but she was quickly stopped as she had to teleport again when Little Ghost charged at her. Again, she grabbed Apple Bloom in her magic, but this time, Applejack wrapped her in her hooves and to use her own body to protect her. So Eternal Rest simply tried to throw the both of them beyond the edge of the roof, but Sweetie Belle was able to catch them with her Poltergust in red mode. At this, Little Ghost stopped to go after Eternal Rest and decided to wait beside her friends for an occasion while protecting them.

Apple Bloom then got an idea and quickly whispered it to her friends and Applejack before she climbed on Scootaloo who began to roll back and forth in a part of the roof. Eternal Rest, wanting above all to kill Apple Bloom, attacked them at first with her purple lightning that Scootaloo easily dodged, then by firing from her horn a continuous magical beam that swept the floor as it tried to hit Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

As Eternal Rest targetted Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, at the other side of the roof, Applejack caugh Sweetie Belle with her incorporated Poltergust and launched her right at the ghost mare who saw her coming only at the last second, not giving her enough time to teleport. Sweetie Belle activated her Poltergust (back in yellow mode) and caught Eternal Rest. Little Ghost then grabbed Sweetie Belle before she could plummet to the ground far below and dropped her back on the roof, Sweetie Belle not letting go of Eternal Rest all the while. Little Ghost, Applejack, and Apple Bloom all joined her in attempting to capture Eternal Rest, slamming her on the floor repetitively as much as they could.

With a shockwave, however, Eternal Rest freed herself and teleported back to her position beyond the edge of the roof.

Then, while her eyes still glowed red, what would normally be white turned green, and a purple mist came out of them. She then fired magical beams after Apple Bloom who returned on Scootaloo. The scooter avoided them, and each time that a beam struck the floor, it made dark crystals sprout. The crystals then exploded, sending shards in all directions that could hurt even the ghosts and the ghosts bound to objects as Little Ghost and Applejack quickly discovered. Still targetting Apple Bloom, Eternal Rest then materialized small dark crystal out of thin air and fired them after the filly by waves. At the same time, spears of dark crystal materialized in the air above the scooter wherever she rolled and dropped. Each time that they struck the floor, they caused a small explosion of crystal shards as well as a small shockwave.

Scootaloo thought at this moment that she beat her speed record.

Applejack and Sweetie Belle tried to do like previously, but the trick didn't work this time as Eternal Rest sent a shockwave at Sweetie Belle, sending her back at Applejack. All the while, the purple lightning continued to strike the floor from the sky, and one managed to strike Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, causing the last one to lose control and skid. But as Apple Bloom fell from the scooter, she managed to catch one of the crystal shards with her Poltergust and to fire it at Eternal Rest. This took her off guard, and the crystal impaled her in the chest. As she yelled in pain, Little Ghost took the occasion to approach her and catch her with her Poltergust. She then flew to the roof with her and slammed her on it. Like before, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Applejack joined.

This time, she was captured by Apple Bloom's Poltergust, but Eternal Rest wasn't done yet, and she quickly managed to break out of it.

She then created a vortex that caught Apple Bloom, and the filly found herself being sucked toward the mare who materialized a dark crystal dagger. Apple Bloom quickly put her Poltergust to red mode and burst air toward the ghost to counter her vortex and also blow her away. Little Ghost used this occasion to again catch Eternal Rest, but the witch immediately fired a purple lightning at the filly ghost. She then grabbed Little Ghost and trapped her inside a dark crystal before throwing hit beyond the edge of the roof. Nopony could do anything to catch her.

It was then Applejack's turn to catch Eternal Rest, and the ghost fired another purple lightning at her. Despite the pain, the robot resisted and continued to suck her. She was joined by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, but Eternal Rest used another shockwave to free herself only to be hit on the face by Scootaloo's wheels as she jumped at her. While this stunned her a couple of seconds, it wasn't long enough for the others to recover and run back to her to trap her again. Sweetie Belle used this however to throw her skull at her, striking her on the head, giving more time for Apple Bloom who managed to run back to Eternal Rest and trap her. Eternal Rest, however, used her magic to throw Sweetie's skull at Apple Bloom, freeing herself again.

As Apple Bloom recovered from the hit, dark crystal materialized in the air, forming a circle around her. they then all moved to impale her, but Apple Bloom ran in the space between two crystals to escape. Eternal Rest still surrounded her with more crystal, circle after circle, in the hope that one of them would eventually manage to strike the filly, but Apple Bloom skillfully continued to run between the crystals. Eventually, Eternal Rest had to stop to deal with Applejack approaching her, and she charged and fired a huge magical blast that blew the robot to pieces.

And Eternal Rest found herself impaled by a dark crystal again, fired by Apple Bloom when she avoided the last wave of them. Apple Bloom, followed by Sweetie Belle, then caught Eternal Rest again and slammed her around. Eternal Rest still escaped with a shockwave and fired a purple lightning at the two of them.

But then, Little Ghost came from behind with a dark crystal shard and impaled her with it.

When Eternal Rest threw Little Ghost imprisoned in the crystal beyond the edge of the roof, the crystal fell all the way down to the roof of the lowest part of the hotel. When it crashed, the crystal broke, freeing the filly ghost who then took a shard and flew back to the roof.

With Eternal Rest impaled yet again, Little Ghost trapped her, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined her. Applejack, who finished to repair herself, also joined. And just before Eternal Rest sent a shockwave to free herself yet again, Scootaloo jumped at her and hit her on the face with her wheels, stopping her.

Thanks to this, Eternal Rest was captured for the second time and disappeared inside Little Ghost's Poltergust.

But for the second time, she broke out.

She roared in rage, and the whole hotel began to violently shake while clouds covered the sky. The purple lightning bolts striking from the sky doubled in intensity, and cracks began to form in the roof. Then, Eternal Rest raised her hooves, and several portals opened in the sky. From them, furnitures from the hotel began to drop. Vases, trash bins, chests, beds, shelves, tables, closets, and so on. The billard table from the room where the fillies encountered Throwers for the first time. Elements from the movie studio. Remains of Blackbeard's ship. Even pieces of walls, floors, and ceilings.

Eternal Rest then moved her hooves to her sides, and more portals opened all around the roof. Easily a dozen at each sides. Eternal Rest then opened another portal just beside her, and a last one appeared above the roof. Eternal Rest then fired a magical laser at the portal beside her, and it came out of one of the portals around the roof before it entered another portal in front of it. Because of a chain reaction with all the portals, the laser formed a grid all over the roof before it finished by coming out of the last portal above the room. The portal was just above Apple Bloom, and it quickly moved to the side to avoid the laser coming out of it, but not much to avoid walking into the laser surrounding her.

Thankfully, the laser quickly disappeared, and the portals closed. But other portals opened just above the ground, dropping some furnitures that had been given life by Eternal Rest's power. As the ponies worked to destroy them, she continued to attack Apple Bloom by firing purple lightning, magical blasts, and dark crystals. And when Apple Bloom counterattacked by sending back one of the dark crystals, this time, Eternal Rest avoided them.

When the last possessed furniture was destroyed, a portal a little bigger than the others opened above the roof, and a huge quantity of water came out of it, flooding the roof. The ponies had to fight hard to resist being swept beyond the edges, and Little Ghost had to lift Scootaloo. Eternal Rest then fired purple lightning at the water, electrifying everypony in contact of it. She was only stopped by Little Ghost using Scootaloo to hit her on the head before she quickly flew away to avoid a lightning bolt as a counterattack.

The water was coming from the twelfth floor, so Eternal Rest was far from running out of it, and it would have continued to flow from the portal for a long time. Luckily for the ponies, before of the hotel constantly shaking and taking damage, the floor under the artificial ocean, more solid than the rest to support the weight of the water, finally weakened enough that it broke, and the water flew to the lower floors, flooding them one by one or escaping through the breaking windows. As a result, water stopped flowing from the portal, much to Eternal Rest's rage.

Then, Little Ghost rammed her from behind, Scootaloo's wheels first, sending her on the floor where Apple Bloom and the others greeted her with their Poltergusts. But again, after some slamming, Eternal Rest escaped with a shockwave. This time, however, the shockwave was so powerful that it sent everypony beyond the edge of the roof. Apple Bloom was saved by Little Ghost who dropped her back on the floor, but before the filly ghost could go to recover the others, she was trapped again in a crystal by Eternal Rest, the crystal firmly planted on the floor.

This left Apple Bloom alone against Eternal Rest who was by now very weakened. The filly ran to her and trapped her again with her Poltergust, starting a violent clash between the two as Eternal Rest attacked Apple Bloom with everything she had, and Apple Bloom either dodged or took the hits but resisted while she slammed her.

And she slammed! And slammed! And slammed!

Eternal Rest sent a shockwave at her, but despite being hit, she didn't let go!

And she slammed!

She was hit by a purple lightning, but she didn't care!

She slammed!

Then, Eternal Rest felt it. She was being sucked. And she hadn't enough energy left to be able to escape the Poltergust this time.

To her shock. To her horror. To her disbelief.

She lost.

But if she had to go down, then she will take Apple Bloom with her!

Using all energy left in her, she opened a last portal just under Apple Bloom. And as Eternal Rest disappeared in the Poltergust for good, Apple Bloom fell in the portal that closed behind.

All that was left on the roof was Little Ghost still trapped in the crystal who saw what happened, and could only wonder where this portal led.

And finally, the hotel collapsed.

"Blast that stupid witch! Why did she use a portal?!" yelled Thanatos in rage. "How can I play with Apple Bloom if she's sent to an unknown dimension?!" He then groaned. "I guess I have to hope now that my idiot of a brother will be able to find her."

Among the ruins of the hotel, a big piece was moved to the side, and Applejack got up before she looked around. Seeing nopony, she got instantly worried.

"Apple Bloom!" she shouted. "Apple Bloom!"

Not receiving any answers, she began to search among the ruins, continuing to call Apple Bloom, but also the others. Eventually, she was answered by somepony calling her name.

It was Sweetie Belle.

Applejack followed her voice, and she found Sweetie Belle trapped under a big piece of roof. She pushed it to the side, freeing her.

"Thank you, Applejack. It was too heavy for me."

"Ya're welcome. Have ya seen Apple Bloom?"

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Sorry, I didn't. Oh, I hope she survived, somehow."

«Somepony hear me?» they suddenly heard.

Applejack answered. "Eeyup, Ah hear ya Twilight."

"Me too," answered Sweetie Belle.

«Oh, thank Celestia. I feared the worst.»

"Hey, you know that we risk nothing, right?" asked Sweetie Belle.

«Right. What about Apple Bloom and Little Ghost? They're not answering, and we lost contact with Apple Bloom's camera.»

"Oh please Celestia, no... Apple Bloom! APPLE BLOOOOM!!" shouted again Applejack as she restarted to search the ruins. Sweetie Belle went to search in a different direction.

«We're coming,» said Twilight.

Not long after she said that, Sweetie Belle found Scootaloo also stuck under boulders, and she had to call Applejack to get her out of there.

"Thanks girls."

They then saw the caravan arriving, and the rest of the ponies came out of it, including Starlight Glimmer and Fluttershy who was in Rainbow Dash's mane.

"Have you found them?" asked Twilight.

"We found Scootaloo, but not Apple Bloom and Little Ghost," said Applejack.

Twilight looked at everypony. "Let's separate to search them."

They all nodded and did so. Pinkie Pie quickly found Little Ghost who was still trapped in the dark crystal.

"I found Little Ghost! Need some help there!" she shouted.

The ponies gathered, and Twilight was able to free the filly ghost.

"Are you alright?" asked the alicorn.

"Yeah... It wasn't pleasant to be trapped, but I'm okay."

"Little Ghost. Do ya know where's Apple Bloom? We can't find her anywhere, and she doesn't answer our calls," asked Applejack, more worried than ever.

Little Ghost looked at Applejack, also very worried. "I don't know... She was able to capture Eternal Rest..."

Many ponies sighed in relief at this. At least a good news.

"but before being captured, Eternal Rest opened a portal under Apple Bloom's hooves. I have no idea where she can be, or what happened to her."

Everypony was shocked at what she said. It was the worst thing that could happen. Apple Bloom could be anywhere! It may take forever to find her! Maybe... Maybe they will never find her! And she could be alone, somewhere very dangerous!

Applejack was starting to panic.

But then, a small portal opened, and out of it flew a paper. Twilight grabbed it in her magic and read it.

""Apple Bloom was sent to another dimension. Ask my brother for help. Signed Thanatos.""

Twilight then looked at everypony else who exchanged looks.

"Let's return to Canterlot," she finally said.

Apple Bloom dropped out of the portal and fell hard on her belly. With a groan, she slowly, shakily got up as she shook her head to recover her senses from the small fall.

Then, she opened her eyes and looked around.

To her surprise, she was still on the roof of the hotel. After dropping through this portal, she expected to appear somewhere else.

But then, she saw that she wasn't alone on the roof, and she stood still in shock as she looked at the other beings who were on the roof.

There were three of them.

The first was some bipedal creature possessing a moustache. This being had green clothes with a blue overall, some white things covering his... claws? Look more like hands like minotaurs. And something similar to brown horseshoes. It also wore a green cap with a green L in a white circle at the front. What shocked her more was that this being possessed a Poltergust. However, this Poltergust looked different than hers, the most notable difference being the presence of some tube.

The second being looked exactly like the first one, but it was entirely made of slime, clothes and Poltergust included.

Finally, the last being was clearly a ghost. A big, white round ghost with short extremities that looked like arms and a tail. He possessed glowing purple eyes surrounded by a dark area, and his mouth had a purple tongue and some big fangs fangs at the top. On his head was a crown with a huge glowing purple gem.

The three of them were looking at her, the creature in green being surpprised while the ghost had a pronounced scowl. The green slime thing waved at her and said in a high pitched voice "Hello!"

Then the ghost said "What is this interference?"

And Apple Bloom thought Well... Buck...

Author's Note

To be continued in Apple Bloom's Mansion 3.5: Luigi's Mansion.