“Wait,” Rainbow Dash was saying. “You’ve never been to a haunted house?”
Sunset shrugged. “Equestria has places that are actually haunted, Rainbow. I don’t get why you'd want to go to a house that’s just faking it.” She pulled another piece from her funnel cake and tossed it into her mouth. “I’d much rather go on another roller coaster.”
The group was sitting around a table at the newly reopened Equestria Land theme park. After the debacle of the grand opening and their performance salvaging the opening parade, they’d all been given complimentary season passes. The park had become a regular hangout spot for them on lazy summer weekends. The sun was shining, the table was littered with oversized plastic cups and paper plates full of pastries, and the afternoon was still young.
“I mean, sure,” Rainbow replied, “but that’s not the point. Besides, it’s new, we have to at least check it out once, right?” She waved a hand at the other girls. “C’mon, back me up here.”
Pinkie jumped in, “Yeah, we should try it! It’s fun being scared, and how can you know if you like it if you don’t try?”
“I already know I won’t like it,” Fluttershy mumbled. “But, uh, if you want to do it, that’s fine! I’ll just wait here until you come out.”
“Oh, c’mon, ‘Shy!” Rainbow protested. “You liked the roller coaster.”
“That wasn’t trying to scare me,” Fluttershy said mildly. “It was thrilling, not horrifying. There’s a difference. You know I don’t do scary.”
“Ugh, fine.”
“Seems like it could be fun,” Applejack spoke up. “I mean, at least it might give me some ideas for our haunted corn maze this year, if it’s got anything good in it.”
“I wouldn’t mind,” Rarity added. “Though, I did design the costumes, so some of the illusion may be ruined for me, I’m afraid.”
“I’ll do it if everyone else wants to,” Twilight chimed in. “But I don’t expect it’ll be that scary. If you want quality, you should go to a dedicated haunted house, not a theme park attraction. And even those are usually riddled with scientific impossibilities—”
“Not helping, Twilight,” Rainbow interrupted. “Besides, it’s Equestria-themed, it’s all magic anyhow.”
“It is not,” Rarity protested. “Trust me. After last time, I triple-checked. No genuine Equestrian magic in sight.”
That got a laugh from those assembled, and Sunset gave them a wry smile. “Oh, alright. Let’s do it.”
Some time later, once all the pastries had been eaten and the thought of moving was once again palatable, the group stood in front of the new attraction. The castle looked quite imposing, painted to look like weathered stone, and sporting an animatronic dragon curled around one spire, smoke curling from its nostrils as its head moved mechanically back and forth. The illusion was somewhat dampened by the ticket booth in front of it, complete with a sign proclaiming it as The Haunted Castle in classic horror-movie font.
Sunset crossed her arms. “The real castle’s dragon is much bigger,” she noted, clearly not impressed.
“Wait, pony Celestia has an actual dragon?” Rainbow Dash asked, face sparkling with excitement.
“No,” Sunset deadpanned.
“Aww.”
“C’mon, Sunset, ya gotta at least give it a chance,” Applejack nudged her. “Most of us ain’t never met a real dragon, they’re doing their best.”
“Technically, you have,” Twilight noted. “The other Twilight’s version of Spike is a dragon, and you’ve all met him—”
“That don’t count and you know it.”
“The Sirens also bore some similarities to dragons, though I’m not certain whether they would truly be considered part of the same genus, I don’t have enough data—”
“Alright, we get it!” Rainbow interrupted, exasperated. “We’ve fought all sorts of magical things and this won’t scare anybody.” She paused, and then smirked. “Though, I bet it’ll surprise you. What do you say, Sunset? Care to put some money where your mouth is?”
Sunset raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Sure, Rainbow. I’m game.”
Rainbow grinned. “Alright. If anything in there scares you at all, you owe me twenty bucks.”
“How would we tell?” Rarity cut in. “It’s an awfully vague criteria, don’t you think? If anything in there makes her scream, I would say. And why are you getting the payout, hmm? I helped design the attraction, after all. I would think I should get some credit.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “You can split it if you win, which you won’t. Come on, there’s a pizza on the other side of this that you’re paying for.” She stepped up to the ticket counter. “Six tickets.”
The line was short, and it wasn’t long before they were at the entrance. Fluttershy waved to them as they reached the castle doors, and then turned her attention to her phone, the group’s bags at her feet under the table.
They were ushered into a small foyer, dimly lit by soft orange lights that flickered like candles. “Your journey will begin shortly,” the ride attendant informed them. He was dressed in a cloak and vest, his face painted white with dark lines under his eyes that lent him a ghoulish appearance. “Follow the rules of the castle, and you may yet make it out alive.” He punctuated it with a halfway decent maniacal laugh, and then closed the doors behind them.
Sunset took a moment to look around. There was only one other door, firmly closed, with a video screen above it. On one wall was a large sign with the rules printed on it in big block letters. “Don’t touch the performers, don’t block the path, and in the event of an emergency or if you feel unable to continue, follow the green lights to the exit,” she read. She turned to Rainbow. “Really making me feel terrified, I have to say.”
Rainbow opened her mouth, but Pinkie stepped between them. “No fighting!” she scolded. “Some of us are here for a silly haunted house. Can you at least pretend?”
“Yeah,” Applejack added. “Even if you ain’t impressed, you can still maintain the aesthetic.”
Sunset smiled. “Sorry, Pinkie. But I’m winning that bet.”
Pinkie giggled. “You don’t have to scream, silly. Just play along! That way everyone has fun!”
There was a crackle of static, and the video screen suddenly lit up. It was black and white, and artifacts jumped across the screen, as if it had been recorded long ago. The camera did a slow zoom into the castle (located in the middle of a forest, rather than a theme park) and a deep-voiced narrator began to speak.
“Long ago, this castle housed royalty. Two royal sisters ruled their land together in harmony. But the younger one soon grew jealous…”
Sunset glanced over at Rarity. The tale was close enough, in broad strokes, and it seemed Rarity had designed more than just the costumes. But if this place wanted to scare her, recounting her own history wasn’t going to do it.
“...and ever since, they say the spirit of the younger sister still haunts these halls. She craves the attention that she has always deserved, and ensnares those who enter, demanding worship. Bold are the few who enter the castle, seeking ancient riches. But you don’t believe in ghost stories, do you, explorers?”
The video faded out, to mocking laughter, and the door in front of them creaked open. The passage beyond was narrow and dark, and only grew darker as it stretched away from the light of the room they were in.
“Alright, let’s go!” Rainbow said, striding forward. “You don’t need to tell me there’s treasure twice!”
“Rainbow, there isn’t actually any treasure…” Rarity called as she followed her through the door.
Their voices quickly faded, and Sunset stepped through the door herself. She could hear Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Applejack following behind her, but soon she was proceeding only by touch. At first, the walls were wood, but they soon grew cold and wet. The sound of wind whistling and floorboards creaking soon made it difficult to hear the movements of those around her, and she moved slowly to make sure she didn’t crash into anything in the dark.
“Who dares enter my castle?” boomed a voice from all around her, and she jumped. “No one escapes my notice! You will pay for your trespass!”
Sunset sighed. Just a recording, of course. It shouldn’t even have startled her. She kept moving, and soon she saw a dim light ahead. She rounded the corner, and emerged into a larger room. A narrow, carpeted walkway led through it to a dais with two thrones at the far end, and to either side was rubble and debris, overgrown with curling vines. There was a low railing on either side of the walkway, with fairly unobtrusive signs making it clear that climbing through the rubble was off-limits.
As Sunset stepped in, there was a rustling, and from one side a massive spider scuttled out of a hole, climbed over a rock, and disappeared behind another. Sunset hmphed. “You’re gonna have to do better than that, castle,” she taunted.
“Better than what?” Twilight asked, emerging behind her. Sunset opened her mouth to explain, but was interrupted by the spider darting out again and following the same path as before. Twilight yelped and took a step back, and Sunset waved a hand. “That,” she said flatly.
Pinkie Pie and Applejack joined them shortly, and together they headed towards the thrones. It was only a moment before Twilight spoke up. “Wait. Where’s Rainbow and Rarity?”
Sunset looked around and shrugged. “I guess they went on ahead?”
Twilight hmmed. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you? They’re trying to win that bet with you, you would think they’d stay nearby to catch you if you screamed.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “They’re probably waiting around a corner to try to scare me themselves. As if that would work, or even count if it did.” She turned, and raised her voice. “You hear that, Rainbow? If you have to cheat to win, it doesn’t say much about your confidence!”
There was no answer. Sunset shrugged again. “Whatever. We’ll catch them when we catch them.”
Soon they were approaching the thrones. There was a crackle and a flash of light, and with a hiss, a cloud of purple smoke shot up to obscure one of the thrones. A pair of glowing eyes lit up through the cloud, and Pinkie Pie shrieked and grabbed Applejack.
“Foolish mortals,” boomed the same voice from before. “For your trespass, I shall claim you as my own. You shall join me in my Nightmare prison… forever! Ahahahaha!”
Another crackle of thunder boomed out, before the eyes disappeared and the fog dispersed. “Well, you heard the lady,” Sunset said. “I’ve always wanted to see Nightmare Moon’s prison.”
Pinkie and Applejack laughed. “You gotta admit, they’ve got a good narrative going,” Applejack noted as they followed the path out. “And some decent effects.”
“I just wish I could take it seriously,” Sunset replied. “Oh, hey, you know what? Princess Luna would love this, I bet. Maybe we could even get an Equestrian version going, with some real magic.”
“I don’t know if a haunted house is the best reason to bring another pony princess to our world,” Twilight noted. “I’m sure she’s very busy.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Sunset muttered. “Oh well.”
As soon as they exited the room, the path turned, and ahead of them was the moon, illuminating the slowly spinning passage in front of them, speckled with stars. A few steps led up to a metal walkway, which was suspended in the middle of a rotating cylinder painted to look like the night sky. “Whoa,” Sunset muttered. “That’s kinda cool, actually.”
She was the first up on the walkway, stepping out over the starry void… and almost immediately she stumbled and grabbed at the railing. “What the—”
Twilight had a hand on her shoulder a moment later. “It’s an optical illusion,” she said. “Your brain thinks the room is spinning, so it’s trying to compensate, even though it’s perfectly stable. It messes up your balance. Just take it one step at a time.”
Sunset nodded, taking another step, hand gripping the railing tightly. She suddenly felt like she was drunk, her brain trying to tell her she was off balance even though she wasn’t. After another step, she closed her eyes. That helped immensely. The floor was solid below her, and after a moment her brain stopped trying to tell her it wasn’t. Using the rail for guidance, she continued forward. There was a rushing in her ears, and soon the mocking laughter of ‘Nightmare Moon’ rose up around her again. Sunset ignored it, until she felt her feet land on solid ground again, and the railing ended. She opened her eyes.
Fog surrounded her. It was dimly lit, making everything a hazy gray. She couldn’t see more than a foot in front of her face, and the shining moon that had been at the end of the corridor when she’d closed her eyes was nowhere to be seen. She looked behind her, and the spinning starry corridor was gone as well. “Twilight?” she called out.
“I’m here!” came Twilight’s voice, and a moment later she appeared through the fog. She looked around, and then called out, “Applejack? Pinkie?”
This time, there was no answer.
“Pinkie Pie!” Sunset added her voice. “AJ? Are you there?” Confused, she turned to Twilight. “Where did they go? I thought they were right behind you.”
“They were!” Twilight insisted. “But then this weird fog showed up, and I lost sight of them.” She spun slowly around, and waved one hand through the fog, trying to clear it. All she accomplished was a slight eddy in the air. “There should be a path. Everything’s been very linear so far.”
“This is weird,” Sunset muttered. “I guess we should just… keep moving?” She didn’t sound very sure of herself, even to her own ears, but she wasn’t going to let this house beat her, even if it had apparently stepped up its game.
Twilight nodded, and took her hand, squeezing it nervously. Sunset flashed her a confident smile, and headed into the fog. The ground crunched underfoot, and the wind whispered around them.
They’d been walking for only moments before soft laughter reached them. “How dost thou find my realm?” the voice murmured, the tone similar, but no longer booming. “Thou wilt find little by walking. My realm is infinite.”
“Yeah, well, the park isn’t, so I’ll take my chances,” Sunset shot back.
“Thou do not believe,” the voice replied.
Sunset froze. “I thought it was a recording,” she hissed to Twilight.
“The rules mentioned performers,” Twilight reasoned. “This one might actually be a person.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “Maybe we need to play along,” she whispered back, before raising her voice. “What do you suggest, then?” she called out. “If walking isn’t going to work.”
“Join me,” the voice said, suddenly sly, words dripping like honey. “Without my power, thou wilt be lost forever. Accept the Nightmare’s embrace, and be free.”
Sunset rolled her eyes. “Come on, you can’t be serious. If you really want us to—”
“Wait,” Twilight muttered, pressing closer against Sunset. “I know that offer. You can’t… we both know where accepting that darkness leads.”
Sunset turned, and her gaze softened upon seeing Twilight’s expression. “Don’t worry, Twilight. It’s not real. It’s just a show.”
“Is it?” Twilight asked, her expression serious. “Where’d everyone else go, then? Where’s the nice path with cheap jumpscares?”
Sunset hesitated. “I mean… Rarity said she checked for Equestrian artifacts,” she offered lamely.
“What if it’s not an artifact?” Twilight whispered. “What if it’s us? What if… what if somehow, Midnight got out, and used this place—”
Sunset pulled Twilight close. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright, okay? You’re not gonna turn back into her again. We’ll figure this out.”
Twilight nodded, burying her head in Sunset’s chest. Sunset looked around, but she still couldn’t see anything through the fog, and the strange voice was silent. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s keep moving.”
Together, they kept walking. For some time, nothing changed to tell them they were making progress, or even moving at all. But then, through the fog, there was a flash of color. Lights shone from ahead in a clashing array of colors, and the fog began to turn pink and blue and green. Finally, it cleared entirely, and a wall of sound hit them like someone had flipped a switch.
A carnival stood before them, bells ringing and laughter drifting through the air. A tent dominated the scene, and on either side were booths offering games and prizes. Cardboard cutouts of carnival barkers stood in the booths, arms moving mechanically and canned laughter emerging from the speakers behind them. The prizes hanging on the walls had too many legs or sickly colors or maniacally grinning faces, and the games were… strange and twisted. A ring toss where the rings shifted and moved, and the target was a field of gleaming spikes. A pile of pins to knock over that writhed and collapsed, before each pin crawled into position again, only for the process to repeat. The bell at the top of the strength test rang constantly, shrilly, and refused to stop.
“What is this?” Sunset asked, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Of course it doesn’t! It’s Chaos!” A new voice called, and Pinkie Pie appeared before them. Pink lightning crackled through her hair, and a pair of spiky pink wings held her aloft. She wore an outfit of glitter and sparkles and swirling colors. “Isn’t it great? Don’t you just love it love it love it?”
“Pinkie?” Sunset gasped. “What happened to you?”
“Call me Chaos,” Pinkie giggled. “It suits me better, don’t you think?” She flew down, and booped Sunset on the nose, sending a glittering spark shooting into the air. “I was lost, and now I’m not. I’m right where I want to be. And now my friends are too! We’re going to have so much fun!”
“She accepted the Nightmare’s offer,” Twilight whispered. “Oh this is really really bad I told you there was magic here!”
“Pink— er, Chaos,” Sunset hedged. “Are you saying you know how to get out?”
“Of course!” Pinkie cried. “But why would I want to leave? All my friends are here and we’ll be here forever and isn’t that wonderful?”
“Uh,” Sunset began, taking a cautious step back. “Well, right, but it’s not all your friends, is it? What about Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy?”
Pinkie frowned. “Hmm. You’re right! I need to send them invites! This is gonna be the biggest bestest party ever, and they shouldn’t miss it!”
“We can go get them!” Sunset offered hastily. “We’ll go find them, and then we’ll be right back. Sound good?”
Pinkie blinked. “Oh! Sure! I’ve got so much to do anyway! Have to make the cake and get the party favors ready and all the games! No, wait, we already have games. But there’s baking to do!” With a puff of smoke, she vanished, leaving a rain of confetti behind her.
“Time to get out of here,” Sunset muttered, and dragged Twilight back into the fog. She didn’t stop until all the lights had vanished behind her.
“What do we do?” Twilight hissed. “We have to save Pinkie, and find the rest of our friends, and get out of here.”
“I know,” Sunset said, shaking her head and beginning to pace. “I don’t know what’s going on, but there must be something powering it.” Seeing Twilight about to speak, she continued, “And I don’t think it’s Midnight. I mean, not really. I mean, you said that Midnight wanted you, right, so why would it go after Pinkie? But if there was a source of Equestrian magic here, maybe it… reacted to something, like our pendants. And now it’s trying to feed off whatever it can find.”
Twilight hmmed. “That’s not a bad theory, but it doesn’t tell us how to stop it.”
“Well, it hasn’t affected us. Maybe it hasn’t worked on everyone else, either. I think we need to find the rest of our friends, before any of them decide it’s a good idea to listen to strange voices.”
“You’re right,” Twilight agreed. “Let’s go.”
Once again, they set off through the fog. Again, they traveled in formless void for uncountable minutes, before a voice whispered out of the fog once more. “Thou still resist,” it murmured. “Does thou really wish to wander this plane forever? Did thou not see how happy I made thy friend?”
“Put a sock in it,” Sunset growled. “We’re not listening.”
The voice responded with a low, menacing laugh. “Very well. Perhaps another lesson.”
Sunset ignored it, and it did not speak again. Ahead of them, the fog grew brighter and brighter, and then suddenly it parted, revealing pure blue sky.
“Aah!” Twilight yelped, as she stepped forward into nothingness, teetering briefly before Sunset yanked her back. They were standing on the edge of a cloud, and below them was nothing but empty air. Ahead of them rose a grandstand, standing on poles that stretched down and down and vanished into the distance without ever seeming to reach the ground. It was filled with more cardboard cutouts, each one screaming and cheering.
With a flash, a streak of black lightning shot past, leaving a sonic boom in its wake. A few seconds later, it was followed by several more figures, bobbing along a track that ran through the sky, weaving around obstacles and heading for a finish line that stretched out from the end of the grandstand.
The black lightning crashed past again, having completed another lap of the unseen circuit. It crossed the finish line and stopped dead, laughing and pumping one fist.
Rainbow Dash turned to face them, and grinned. She wore a black and purple flight suit, and her eyes glowed a sinister yellow. Massive wings flapped casually to keep her aloft, and she drifted towards them. “Was that awesome or what?” she exulted. “Those slowpokes didn’t stand a chance. Tell me you saw that! Who’s awesome? I’m awesome. Oh yeah.”
“That was, uh, pretty awesome, heh,” Sunset agreed, trying to sound genuine. “I’m glad we found… uh, saw you race. It was super awesome.” She smiled a little too hard, but Rainbow didn’t seem to notice. “So, uh, where have you been, Rainbow?”
Rainbow scoffed. “I’m racing, Sunset. Use my callsign, duh. It’s Black Prism now. Don’t you remember?”
Sunset tried to smile even wider. It was making her face hurt. “Of course I do. Say, uh, Rai— er, Black Prism. Now that your, uh, race is over, we should probably go celebrate, right? I’m sure Pinkie has a party planned—”
“Pfft,” Rainbow interrupted. “Laaaame. Why would I leave when I can race? C’mon, Sunset, you can watch me kick some butt.” She paused, and then suddenly her face lit up. “Or, even better, I can kick your butt. C’mon, I’ll even give you a headstart.”
Sunset blinked. “No, uh, that’s okay—”
“What, are you scared?” Rainbow leaned in, grinning. “Afraid I’ll beat you too hard?”
Sunset gulped. This wasn’t going the way she’d hoped.
“Lay off, Rainbow,” Twilight stepped in, edging her way between them. “She doesn’t have to race if she doesn’t want to.”
“It’s Black Prism,” Rainbow growled. She swooped forward, shoving Twilight out of the way. “Get it right.”
“Hey!” Twilight protested, grabbing Rainbow’s hand. “Look, can’t you see that this is all wrong? Please, Rainbow, you have to snap out of this. You’ve been—”
Rainbow spun, and suddenly she was the one grabbing Twilight by her shirt, lifting her up off the cloud. “I’ve never felt this good in my life,” she retorted. “What do you know? You’re too scared of power to realize when you’ve got it, so don’t tell me that it’s wrong to be as awesome as I am.”
“Let her go!” Sunset yelled, hands balling into fists. “This isn’t you! There’s Equestrian magic here, and it’s making everything go haywire! We’re your friends, please. You have to realize that somewhere. I… I’ll race you, if that’s what you want, if you let Twilight go.”
Rainbow considered that for a moment. “Alright.” She pushed Twilight away, and then let go.
For a single moment that seemed to last forever, Twilight hung there. And then, with a scream, she fell. Over the edge of the cloud, and down, down, down into the impossible endless sky.
“Twilight! No!” Sunset jumped forward, but it was too late. Her hand reached out, but Twilight was already so far away that she was dwindling into a speck. “Rainbow, please, you have to save her,” she gasped.
Rainbow shrugged. “Save her yourself.”
“But… but I can’t fly,” Sunset protested, weakly.
“Why not?” Rainbow countered. “Everyone can fly here, if they want to. It’s the realm of dreams, Sunset! Dream a little bigger, why don’t you? You could have anything you want, instead of just sitting there blubbering.”
Sunset stared for a moment. She could have anything she wanted. “You’re right,” she whispered.
“Of course I’m right,” Rainbow said smugly. “Now— hey!”
Sunset wasn’t listening. She’d already spun around and dived back into the fog.
The light from behind faded, and soon she was back in the formless gray. “I know you’re out there!” she called out. “I want to deal!”
A soft chuckle reached her. “Changed thine mind?” it hissed, amused. “Thou art ready to accept my gifts?”
Sunset took a breath, and slowly let it out. “You said your power would set me free,” she said slowly. “But that’s not what I want. I want my friends to be free. Can you do that?”
The voice chuckled. “Thy friends are already free.”
Sunset narrowed her eyes. “No they aren’t. They’re trapped in fantasies. I want them really free. Out of here entirely, and back to their lives. Can you do that, or not?”
“Of course,” the voice murmured. “This is my realm. My power is absolute. But there is a price.”
Sunset nodded slowly. “I thought there might be,” she said softly.
“Thou would be mine,” the voice said. “Forever.”
Sunset closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. “But my friends would get to leave? Promise me that they will leave your realm, and return to the way they were before.”
The voice chuckled softly, and for the first time, a figure resolved itself out of the fog. It was shadowy, pony-shaped, and full of stars. “Thou have my word.”
Sunset extended one hand. “Then you have a deal.”
The pony figure smiled, showing fangs. It dissolved into mist, and suddenly flowed forward, into and through Sunset. It was horribly cold, and suddenly her vision went completely dark. She heard it whisper into her ear, “The bargain is made. Thou has everything thee wanted.” And then, she heard nothing at all.
Rainbow stumbled out of the haunted castle, blinking in the sun, dazed. Behind her, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight followed, each in a similar state of confusion.
Fluttershy waved to them all, before getting up from the table and approaching them. As she came close, she frowned, waving a concerned hand in front of Rainbow’s face. “Are you all alright?” she asked. “Where’s Sunset?”
Rainbow blinked and looked up at her.
“Who?”
