Sunny Starscout smiled brightly, bounding along the pathway with her unicorn friend, Izzy Moonbow. She'd been preparing all last night, making sure every little thing was correct...and so it was! A special gift for Izzy, who'd never had this type of experience before...a very detailed, dramatic haunted house.
Izzy seemed a bit nervous, but was still her usual, smiling self. Sunny bumped into her playfully, assuring her. "Trust me, you'll love it! You'll be scared, but the fun way!"
As she ceased speaking, into view came into view. It was a huge mansion, lots of detail put into the exterior as well as interior. The place had a foreboding feel to it that made Izzy shiver a bit, between the dark gray paint, patches of 'blood', and cobwebs all over. She couldn't explain why, but she got a tinge of a bad feeling.
"You...sure about this?" She mumbled quietly. They soon reached the doors, which swung open themselves with ominous creaks.
Sunny hugged the bubbly unicorn tightly, nodding. "Don't worry! I'll make sure you're safe...safeword is 'stop' if you need out early."
To this Izzy smiled, and nodded. Sunny was trustworthy, so she'd be completely fine! Especially since the mare herself had created it! She nuzzled Sunny back before pulling away, hooves taking their first steps into the house. Once she was fully inside, the doors snapped shut behind her.
It was very dark inside. Very little light save for the occasional dim ones near the 'scare spots', pre-marked so Izzy could prepare herself for the next scare each time. Hardly able to see and growing more nervous as time passed, she pressed on, walking down into the hallway.
First was a simple, generic one, meant as a warm-up. A pony skeleton jumped out at her from the ceiling, grabbing her by the neck with plastic, yet hard hooves, and lifting her up. It screamed at her, making Izzy scream as well, wiggling wildly to get out of its grip. It took many seconds, but eventually the thing did drop her, Izzy panting in fright. That was the easy part...how much worse would this get?
The pacing sure got slower. For many minutes it was pure silence save for the occasional creaking of the floorboards under her hooves, a very slight tremble to them as the fright grew. Was the darkness getting...more darkness-y? It seemed like it to her, even as her eyes adjusted themselves to the lack of light. The hallway got more narrow as well, walls closing in on her. In fact...they were closing in, ever so slowly. The grinding of metal gears and creaks of their movement got louder and louder, the mechanisms near to meeting.
This freaked Izzy out. She began to run down the corridor, feeling the looming death and claustrophobia attack her senses. Her hooves clopped on the floor loudly, the mare yelling out in fear. The closing hallway didn't seem to end anytime soon...was that reality or a trick of the darkness on her eyes? There was no time for her to muddle over it though, as the concrete walls met her skin.
She began to hyperventilate, but then as soon as the touch had begun, it was over. The walls zoomed back to their normal positions, leaving Izzy to catch her terrified breath. That single event nearly made her shout out the safeword, but then again...Sunny had put so much effort into this. She couldn't just give up after the first two scares...right? Sure, she was already shaking, nearly crying...but she was afraid to make Sunny feel bad. More so than her fright, right then.
The atmosphere around her seemed to tense up. She heard a small snap, but there was no source in sight. There was a faint bloody smell in the air, assaulting her muzzle while a thick mist seemed to pour inside, smoking the area up. She could see nary a thing, and the loud whirring sound she heard up above didn't help her hearing. All of her senses were being either manipulated or cut off...and she didn't like it. Not one bit. Though, she wouldn't tell Sunny that. Not that she could think straight enough to yell out right now anyways with the bloody smell making her gag along with the smoky mist clouding her sight.
This felt less like fun scares and more like pure torture.
Things would only become worse as robotic arms reached out from the walls, flipping Izzy and grabbing all four of her legs so that she'd be facing upwards. She yelped as they dragged her slowly upwards, to something she couldn't yet see. Though judging by the sound, it was nothing very pretty or fun. It sounded...dangerous and bad.
Her judgement was right. Mere feet from her middle was a large circular saw, sharp blades spinning loudly. With every moment, she got closer to it, and with every moment she'd struggle more in the restraints, tears streaking down her face. "No...stop..." she spoke the safeword.
Unfortunately she did so far too quietly, Sunny not able to hear what she spoke clearly enough to shut the machine off. It ran its course, slowly and horrifically bringing Izzy up to the saw, stopping only a few inches from her face. A second more, and she'd have her face cut open. That thought began to make the tormented unicorn bawl, tears flowing freely as she was deposited back onto the ground, though in a different spot than where she'd started this segment.
Sunny looked at the monitor, having a little smile to her face as she sipped herself a small soda. It seemed Izzy was getting those scares in...she must be having a blast! A frightened one, but it must feel like a thrill, the earth pony imagined. She'd put so much effort into this for a month...and here it was, paying off in front of her! With her unicorn friend, to boot.
Before that unicorn even had time to think, the ground below her began to move. It was a short conveyor belt, and at the end was what seemed like a large, glowing pit full of hot flames. But before she could deal with being afraid of that, another thing would occur. Sunny hadn't considered how bad this would affect someone.
There were loud sounds, gunshots blasting off from behind her, that played, very clear and real-sounding. As she turned her head towards the sound, many small, blunt pins gave her leg a little non-wounding prick., It wouldn't have given much pain, except that her brain had been expecting a bullet in the leg from the sound, so her leg suddenly throbbed with a burning, bloody pain.
Izzy gave an incredibly loud scream, falling onto the floor and curling up, cradling her adrenaline-filled leg. She'd soon realize it was fine, but that moment was too much. She'd already been traumatized enough, but this crossed a line. Sunny had gone too far...
"STOP!" She'd screech, this time at a volume her friend could hear. Sunny yelped out, feeling bad instantly as she pressed the button to stop the conveyor belt. However, this move was too sudden, the belt jolting and flinging Izzy backwards. The wire she'd snapped - hung too low for her height plus her horn - got touched to her horn. Brimming with electrical power, it gave a painful zap of power to her horn.
The horn being a rather sensitive part of the unicorn body, this was the worst thing she'd ever felt. Izzy began to fall into sobs, standing up slowly and turning towards the exit. She was panicked, and couldn't think straight. All she wanted was out. Away from here...away from Sunny.
In her mental state, she began to dash headfirst, panting through her horrified crying. She'd burst through the door, smashing the weak wood with her horn, going right down a small hill. The bottom of this hill led to a forest, a rather large one at that. She didn't even notice that yet, nor the intense darkness surrounding herself. She'd bump into trees, but keep going, getting herself many small bruises and cuts.
Izzy finally stopped her panic-led sprint, face met with the cold sting of lake water. Eyes shut, she'd tripped on a tree root and fallen in. This only further ignited the fear within herself, legs flailing to push herself to the surface. She'd let out a loud gasp into the darkness, forced into awareness by that sudden blast of cold.
She floated in a shallow end of the small lake, trying to look around. Hardly anything was visible, and she could barely even make out the sky from the nearly pitch-black forest. Things were made worse by the wind that picked up, blowing and rustling the leaves and bushes, making her feel unsettled. The cooing and chirping of the passive animals and insects were also not a help, her head swishing this way and that with clear, unbridled anxiety.
This was a scary place. She knew that predatory creatures lived here...what if they decided they were hungry tonight? Were they nearby? How far was she from home? Could she hide anywhere? Many questions pounded at her nervous mind as she slowly and surely lifted herself from the water, shaking off.
Now she was freezing. Checking in her small bag, she found no sources of heat, and only a half-dead flashlight. It wasn't too bright, and wouldn't last long...but what else could she do? She was alone, petrified, crying, and perhaps most fatally, bleeding. Not due to amount - she'd only lightly cut herself on the forehead from a tree collision - but she knew the scent would attract things that wanted a late-night dinner.
Her hooves shook as she trekked into the small ring of light from the flashlight, held in her mouth. Shadows darted about her, eyes going wide as one lunged at her. She staggered back, screaming at the top of her lungs, dropping the flashlight in fright. As she staggered, she'd trip, falling onto a hard rock. Izzy yelled from the pain, and unable to see the shadow, felt a sense of dread. With this pain, she could hardly move for the next couple of minutes, and that shadow was certainly close.
With a whimper, the unicorn began to cry once more, tears pouring down as she quickly devolved to broken sobs. Her life was about to end, she could feel it...whatever the shadow was must be a wolf, drawn by the blood. Maybe a bear, or even a snake...
She shivered as she felt something sharp poke at her skin, assuming it was this deadly creature she feared...until it chirped. It was a simple bird, landing on her leg since it was stood still. Her chest heaved less, and she began to calm down, wiping her tear-stained face in pure relief. It wasn't dangerous...not in the slightest.
Carefully she'd get up, letting the bird fly away. She wasn't bleeding too badly, but there was a good bit of her blood stained onto the surface of the rock. Izzy gagged at the strong scent, beginning to walk along in what she was hoping was the way back home.
After many minutes preparing herself, Sunny also began to set hoof into the forest. It was her fault this had happened to Izzy, and she wouldn't lose a friend. Not on her watch...and not as a cause of her own actions. That'd be...too much. She suspected Izzy would be capable of survival, at least till the sun rose, so she allowed herself to take care in her trot rather than speed.
Sunny did worry, as she quickly caught onto the bloody scent from the earlier, minor cut Izzy'd given herself in her panic-induced run. There was a chance of bad things hunting her down...which added more haste to her step.
Izzy gave another frightened scream, the sound of a tree branch cracking making her quiver, leg shooting up with pain once more. If anything, she thought, that was the worst. The gunshot segment of the haunted house had given her a deep, painful scar. One she may never get rid of. Especially so soon after the incident, she was extremely sensitive to those sorts of sounds.
Now she was going even more slowly, trying to not step on any branches. It was like a minefield, where stepping on the wrong spot would kill her - mentally. Like how bad she'd feel if Sunny were to hurt her-
Sunny. Izzy began to think again. Sunny and her had enjoyed so much together, even some hints at romance, but that felt like a thing of the past right now. She was traumatized and broken, and it was Sunny's creations that had done it. Clearly not the intention, but...she'd gone too far. The trust was crumpled between them. Maybe forever.
Getting lost in thought cost her another round of searing pain, as she tripped over a squirrel, letting out a growl as a small stick poked into her hoof, blood slipping out as pain began to overwhelm her once more.
The growl she herself made freaked her out, as she assumed it was from a wolf. She began to sob again, though running out of tears as her eyes dried out. She shivered harshly as she pulled the stick from her wound, feeling too weak and fear-dominated to even scream.
Once nothing attacked her, she stood, but was trembling horrible and still crying. She'd mutter, "...i want Bridlewood," before freezing up.
An eerie howl broke up the forest noises, sending new chills down her spine. The sounds sounded near...too near. Not directly nearby, but closing in. There were three howls, and so probably three wolves. Maybe she could outdo one, she did have a horn and decent agility, though limited by the throbbing wounds she bore. But three? She'd die way too fast. What was worse was the direction the howls emitted from was right in her desired path, meaning she'd need to take another way. A risky affair, but she saw no alternatives. She was too emotionally weak to think properly, so began running yet again with a scream.
Her potentially former friend's orange ears perked, the mare trembling as well from the sound. Not for herself, but for Izzy. She'd walked for a few minutes, losing hope as she got no signs, until she faintly heard it. Izzy's most recent scream. Changing course, she began to dart towards the source. Finally, a lead...
Izzy ended up in a small cave hidden by an overhang in a cliff. The darkness was worse in there and it was uncomfortably wet, but it was superior to her than being out in the open of the forest.
She hadn't noticed it till now, but her neck felt tight...and cold. Her face began to turn a nasty shade as breathing suddenly turned difficult. The darkness felt like it was trying to take her in. Scared for her life, she reached a hoof up...and felt something there. Cold and scaly...a snake. Izzy tried to scream once she realized but couldn't due to the lack of oxygen in her system.
She choked and coughed horribly as the snake suffocated her, hooves tugging uselessly at the tightly bound serpent. Her brain began to go haywire, the choking making her systems begin to shut down. Once again tears stemmed from her dry, hurting eyes. Was this her end?
The squeeze on her throat got tighter. In a last ditch effort, both of her front hooves gripped the snake tightly, trying to pull it off. She managed to budge it enough to let herself catch a couple of breaths, letting her think more clearly. She looked around, picking up a rock and smashing it to the creature's face. Not enough to kill it, but it seemed to work. The startled, wounded reptile let go of her, slithering away back into the darkness.
That was too much. She curled up into a ball, head in her legs as she gave dry sobs. The unicorn was just...done. Done with this forest. Done with this constant, plaguing fear. Done with...Sunny. Her grudge towards the pony grew, blaming her even more for her torment and unintentional torture.
She just wanted to drift off into sleep. Wake up at home, in her own bed in Bridlewood, and forget everything. Be friends with Sunny, have fun. But that seemed like an impossible ask right now.
A very harsh shiver shot up her spine when a howl sounded off that sounded extremely close. Way too much for her well being. She whimpered, continuing to sob as fear paralyzed her. She could practically feel the wolves' steps now, hunting down the lightly bleeding mare to feast.
Sunny would've dashed fast towards Izzy, but she was forced to a crawl. The wolves were indeed nearby, attracted by the blood trail. She wanted to be brave, and go help the mentally destroyed unicorn, but that trauma would only worsen if she saw her friend torn up by wolves. Sunny would need to bide her time.
Though dim, there was a bright side to the appearance of the wolves. They'd lead her to Izzy, but she'd need to get her friend out of wherever she was before the wolves met her. So, she stayed ahead, but not so much she could get lost. Thankfully, this seemed a straight line, and she could faintly hear sobs. Her ears flattened - she could tell how badly she'd harmed Izzy, permanently.
It only affirmed her decision. If it cost her own life to save the precious unicorn's...she'd give it. She owed Izzy this much, at least.
Her torch's light caught Izzy's eye, hooves trembling as she slowly uncurled herself, trying to get a better look. She screamed at the sound of wolves growling, but then noticed...her. Sunny. She was conflicted. On one hoof, help! It'd come! But then, she wasn't happy with Sunny...and liked her a lot less now. Nonetheless, she was now crying out of joy, limping over to Sunny. She'd forgotten the wolves...
Sunny grabbed her just as a wolf snapped down on her leg, trying to bite it clean off. It drew a lot of blood and damaged the internals pretty well before Sunny could toss the torch at it, making it whimper and let go. She groaned, placing Izzy on her back and breaking to a run.
"..." There was complete silence between the mares. Izzy was ecstatic help had come before sunrise - she was sure she'd have died, either from the wolves or losing her sanity. The friendship was damaged, but for now, she hugged Sunny tight, not letting go. She'd be safe, soon. If Sunny got here so fast, surely she could leave just as quickly? It'd only been an hour or few.
Izzy whimpered at the realization. It'd still taken what felt like eternity for Sunny to arrive. She'd run deeper than expected. The light was slowly increasing from the sky, but nary a thing could be seen by either. Izzy saw better due to having had little to no light the whole time, so she'd direct the earth mare away from trees before she'd smash into one.
The wolves seemed to be left behind, given up. This wasn't the end of Izzy's torture, though. She bled considerably, consciousness nearly fading. Sunny took her turn to panic, grabbing some bandages from her bag and beginning to tend to the unicorn. Izzy smiled weakly as she was patched up, yelping at sharp pain from an antiseptic spray.
Despite not forgiving Sunny fully, she'd mumble a "thank you," too nice to not do so at bare minimum. The tourniquets Sunny applied, though rushed and inexperienced, did their job at suppressing blood spillage. Izzy couldn't hate Sunny, but she was still...upset.
Realizing how upset she was, she whined and hugged Sunny softly. Being angry sucked for her, it made her feel...icky. Normally she'd shrug it away, but this wasn't going to go away. Not easily, maybe not ever. Despite Sunny just saving her life by stopping the blood pour, she'd done so much harm...their friendship would never be the same.
Sunny then broke into heavy sobs, mumbling soft, heartfelt apologies. "I....I'm so sorry, its my fault..."
"...yeah, it is, but..." Izzy gave a tiny smile. "...I don't hate you."
That gave Sunny some relief, but Izzy's tone made her realize the sentence was more of "well, I don't HATE you, but..." which indicated heavy relational damage.
Thankfully for the two mares it seemed the worst of their journey had passed by. The wolves had long given up, Izzy having kicked her bleeding legs around to throw the blood all over, muddying the trail. They didn't have forever, but plenty of time enough to return to Maretime Bay.
There was no more trouble on the way back, though it was still a spooky, unsettling journey through the dark and alive forest. The two ponies made it to the path eventually, both scarred from small thorn bushes or branches they couldn't see. Izzy was in pain, both physically and mentally, and neither of them spoke a word.
It was Pipp, flying along, who noticed two of her friends staggering along the road. They were still a great distance from the town, so Pipp offered to carry them both.
"No, too much. Just take Izzy." Sunny spoke firmly and in charge, then trotting away. Izzy didn't stop her...they needed time apart.
Pipp seemed to sense the rift between them, making conversation as she picked up the unicorn to fly her to the hospital. "So. What's up with you and Sunny?"
Izzy whimpered. "...she did a haunted house. It sounded really fun and scary! But...it was..." She shook, the horror returning to her. "Too...much.."
Pipp patted her head, shushing her. "Don't talk about it more, looks like it hurts. We both know Sunny didn't mean it, but yeah, that was too much. I have no clue what happened, but looking at you tells all."
Izzy was about to speak, but the fatigue, the urge to just lay to rest, overtook her in an instant. Her eyes shut and her breathing calmed, sleeping soundly on her pegasus friend's back. She was finally at peace on this horrific day, or at least it seemed. As Pipp calmly landed at the Maretime Bay gates, she began to whimper and whine in her sleep, having nightmares.
Then came the worst possible thing. Celebratory fireworks.
They woke her up instantly. Her eyes shot wide open, brimming with newfound tears as she slipped off of Pipp's back, backtrotting. The loud explosive bangs kept coming, each one rocking her. She curled up into her ball again, screaming as the unintentionally torturous celebration amplified the trauma.
Pipp hugged her ever so tight, as did Sunny, who panicked on hearing the screams and ran in, joining the hug. Pipp gave her a look, telling her to go turn the display off. Sunny would nod quickly, dashing off and leaving the two alone. Pipp nuzzled Izzy, who bawled into her shoulder. If everything else was horrible tonight, this...was just the worst possible feeling for the unicorn.
She shook horribly, trembling and screeching at every other firework. Though they soon stopped, this reaction continued. They rang in her head, pain shooting through her body. She nearly broke out into a panicked run again, but Pipp held her tight. She wouldn't let that happen again. Neither would Sunny, as she returned.
Both of them would hug Izzy tightly, trying to soothe her with hugs and words. It didn't do much good - she was too far gone. She kicked, trying to escape, but was too weak by now to make the mares budge. Slowly she'd quiet, tears stopping a bit as she began to sleep. She sniffled, twitched and whimpered now, tears less but still streaming down now.
Izzy had fallen into a sleep. Not a good one, but she was sleep. She still whimpered and squirmed, even as she was lifted and carried by the earth pony nurses into a hospital room.
Sunny knew she deserved this rest. It was the worst day of her entire life by far, for sure. She'd let her sleep, maybe try to treat her to her favourite things. Try to help her ease back into life, help to curb the trauma at least a bit.
She could never forgive herself for this, and felt forever in Izzy's debt.
Sunny loved her. She was prepared to do anything and everything to help.