The Dark Carnival Is In Town, You Better Be Ready.
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The Dark Carnival Is In Town, You Better Be Ready.
"Discord is coming to Canterlot!!" Rainbow grabbed Sunset from behind, nearly giving the bacon haired girl a heart attack.
"Dash!" Sunset threw her hands up. "Sweet Celestia!"
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "...it's so weird when you say that."
Sunset glared. "Whatever. Now, who's coming to Canterlot?"
"Discord is!!" Rainbow squeed, before looking back at Sunset, who was wearing a confused expression.
"You know...Days of Discord?"
Sunset wore a blank expression.
"Only the coolest carnival you'll ever see in your life??!"
"...Never heard of it."
Rainbow threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Never heard of it?? It's a theme park, and chaos is the theme of the park! It is so trippy! Everything from the food stands, to the rides themselves are made to look backwards, upside down, and inside out!"
"Sounds weird..." Sunset said, sounding unimpressed.
"That's kinda the point." Rainbow crossed her arms.
"To each their own, Dash. But it just doesn't sound like my cup of tea."
"Too bad, cause we are going this opening weekend!" Rainbow announced.
"No thanks, I gotta...go do my hair."
"DID SOMEBODY SAY HAIR?!" Pinkie screamed, appearing out of nowhere, and poured a bottle of mysterious looking goop on Sunset's head, which immediately caused her hair to explode in a dramatic poof.
"There! Now, your hair's all fancy and we can go to DAYS OF DISCORD, BABY!!"
"You got that right, Pinkie!"
"Days of Discord?" Applejack, Rarity, and fluttershy approached the group. "Dash, ain't there been reports of people going missing there?"
"Only a few...besides, it's not like it's the only park where people go missing! Don't be a spoil sport, AJ."
"Ah'm just sayin'."
"D-Days of Discord?" Fluttershy stuttered. "I heard that place is haunted..."
"Oh, c'mon, shy! It's just another way for the park to make money and attract more people!" Rainbow insisted.
"Wait, this park is apparently haunted?" Sunset asked.
"It's just another attraction." Rainbow explained. "The park has a maze of mirrors that people say is haunted. They even have a booth where you can buy t-shirts that say "I survived the maze of mirrors." People love it! You'll all love it! Just give it a chance."
"Maybe..." Sunset said slowly. "How much does this place cost?"
"Oh, don't worry about the cost darling," Rarity piped up. "Believe it or not, I actually have been looking forward to this park myself. I already have tickets for all of us."
"You- Rarity, that couldn't have been cheap. I can't accept that." Sunset protested.
"Oh, pish posh, darling," She waved it off. "Anything for my friends. Besides...you wouldn't believe some of the amazing deals you can find on second hand sites." She winked.
"They're second hand tickets?" Sunset asked.
"Of course! People bought the tickets in advance, and found out later that they wouldn't be able to use them after all. So, they sell them for next to nothing." She explained.
"Rarity, you're a genius!!" Dash looked at the others. "You guys have to go now!" She begged.
"Alright, alright, I'll give it a shot." Sunset conceded.
Everyone else agreed, and they made plans to meet up that Saturday to go to the park, before the bell rang, and they headed off to class.
.............................................
Saturday morning came, and it was a beautiful sunny day, perfect weather for going to Days of Discord.
meeting up at Sugarcube Corner, they took Rarity's vehicle to the park.
As they neared the park, they could already see from far off, the size of it.
"Whoah! It's gigantic!" Pinkie cried excitedly.
Entering the park, they found a spot for the car, and got out.
"Aww ya! Days of Discord!" Rainbow and Pinkie ran ahead.
"You slowpokes comin' or what??" Pinkie called back.
They proceeded inside to the main theme park, and approached the ticket booth.
"Great news folks! The park is out of order, and the yellow balloon is in the sky! Will you be going in an orderly fashion, or are you going to infinity and beyond?"
"...Huh?" Sunset asked, confused.
"He is asking if we want to buy a certain number of tickets, or an unlimited ride pass, darling." Rarity explained, before addressing the attendant. "We will all be going to infinity and beyond." She said, paying him, before he gave them their wristbands.
"Hey, if everything's supposed to be backwards here, what do you say about paying us for those wristbands?..." Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"No problem! It will require a flying piglet though."
"I figured as much..." Rainbow mumbled.
Leaving the ticket booth, they began debating where to start first.
"Let's go on the Mind Blender!!" Pinkie cried excitedly.
"Pinkie, that's the biggest roller coaster this park has." Rarity cautioned. "Perhaps we should build our way up to that, before we make ourselves sick on the very first ride we go on."
"I wanna ride the flipping ship!!" Fluttershy announced.
"Whoah, calm down there, Fluttershy. I'm sure there will be plenty of time to check out the ship ride." Sunset laughed.
"Oh, you don't understand, Sunset. It's a flipping ship!" Fluttershy insisted.
"Yes, it's a flipping ship indeed, Fluttershy." Sunset chuckled.
"Oh, she's talking about the Twin Flip ride." Rainbow explained. "Two ships are loaded with riders, and they swing in opposite directions, until they do a complete flip together! It's an awesome ride!"
"It's still advanced though..." Applejack pointed out. "Maybe something a little tamer to start off with."
Just then, they saw someone pass by, wearing one of those "I survived the Maze of Mirrors" shirts.
"Why don't we try the Maze of Mirrors first?" Sunset suggested. "Seems to be a major attraction here, and it's tame."
"I agree with Sunset. Let's start there." Rarity spoke, and they all agreed, before travelling over to the Maze of Mirrors, which wasn't too far away.
Once they reached the front of the line, they showed their wristbands and proceeded inside.
There were multiple places to begin the maze, so, for fun, they all took a different route inside.
"Whoever gets to the end first, wins!" Rainbow announced, dashing inside.
With that, everyone went inside their routes.
"Whoah! Trippy!!" Sunset could hear Pinkie, as she navigated her way through the mirrors.
"Mother of Pearl!!" She heard Rarity screech.
"What's up, Rarity?" Rainbow called. "Did the maze ghost find you?"
"If it were only such a trivial matter as that!!" Rarity gasped. "I was just witness to what I will look like if EVER I let myself go!"
"Oh! You mean one of those fat mirror things!" Rainbow concluded.
"Yes...one of those "fat" mirror things." Rarity replied, with a shudder in her voice.
"Ah, horseapples, Ah feel like ah'm goin' in circles..." Applejack could be heard mumbling. "This place is harder than ah thought it would be. It's actually kind of cool."
"Told you, you'd like it!" Rainbow said.
"How you holding up, shy?" Rainbow called. "You're being pretty quiet."
No answer.
"Fluttershy?" She called again.
No answer.
"Ah swear, if she made it to the end, already..." Applejack spoke frustratingly.
"Maybe the maze ghost got her." Rainbow joked.
Sunset kept working her way through the maze as they chatted. She was pretty sure she was making headway as she took a left, then a right, then she saw what looked like the end of the mirrors, and an actual room.
"I think I just found the end!" She called.
"What?? C'mon!" Rainbow groaned.
"Eat mah dust, Dash. See you later!" Sunset laughed, and entered the room.
There was... nobody there. No attendant, no Fluttershy waiting, nothing.
"Huh?..."
Before her, was what appeared to be empty office space. Lots of it, with flickering fluorescent lights above her, creating a buzzing, much too loud to have been normal.
"This can't be right..." Sunset turned around to go back out.
She stopped.
The mirrors were gone. Behind her, through the doorway from which she came, was simply more empty office space.
Sunset stared. She could swear that she had entered this room from this very doorway. But beyond the threshold, was simply more empty office space.
"What?..." Sunset wondered, perplexed.
"I get that this theme park is supposed to be all about not making any sense...but, how did they do this?" She wondered.
"...Pinkie?" She called, but her only answer was the humming of the fluorescent lights.
"Dash?..." Still no answer.
"...anybody?" Nothing. "I...think I may have lost my way out of the maze of mirrors, and stumbled upon...this place." She said to nobody.
"I'm thinking this is probably like some kind of "employees only" area, and I don't mean to be trespassing, so...can I get some directions back to the park?"
Silence.
Shrugging her shoulders, she decided to try and find somebody herself.
She took a left, and walked for awhile, before turning right.
More halls, more walls.
She continued on, peering through doorways and halls. They only led to more halls and walls that all began to look the same.
This was beginning to feel like a maze itself. Was she simply going in circles? She couldn't even tell where she had or hadn't already been anymore.
Soon, it felt like an hour had passed, and she wasn't any closer to finding any way out of this place.
"Hellooo???" She called loudly. "This is getting old! I'd like to get back to the park now!"
She might as well have been yelling at the walls for all the good it did.
She continued wandering for what felt like another hour, before frustration took hold, and she slammed her fist into the wall.
Suddenly, the entire environment changed. Instead of endless office space, she was now beholding a room that appeared to be set up for a party...a birthday to be exact.
There was a hanging banner on the wall that read "Happy Birthday" in bright bold letters. Before the banner, was a large table with many places set.
The room was decorated with cartoon characters on the walls. There was even a table to the side containing gifts.
It was clear from the overall appearance and decorations, that this was a room that a child's birthday was supposed to be held in.
Maybe the park hosts birthday parties? Sunset thought.
But, despite all the preparations being in place, there was not a soul in sight.
But, even if it does host birthdays...how did I even get here, from all that empty office space? Did I enter a room that led me here?
The last Sunset could recall, was that she had punched a wall in frustration. But, that couldn't be right. She couldn't have gotten here simply by punching a wall. It made no sense. Even for a theme park that was built upon not making sense.
Suddenly, her eyes landed on something new.
Up on the wall, near the ceiling, four words were written. Four very unsettling words that caused Sunset to shiver.
"YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE"
Sunset stared at the words.
Who would write that on the wall of a children's birthday party room?...
The thought occured to her that the "You" was referring to Sunset, herself. But, she refused to entertain a creepy thought like that.
Just then, an unbidden memory came to mind, of what Applejack had said about people reportedly going missing at this park, and the maze of mirrors supposedly being haunted.
But...what if it isn't actually haunted at all? What if...the maze of mirrors attraction had chaotic magic inside it, waiting for an unsuspecting visitor like me to stumble upon it? She thought. What if this is what happened to the other people who went missing at Days of Discord?
If there were other people here, it would stand to reason that all she had to do was find them.
Author's Note
Haha...I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this story...somebody please leave suggestions and prompts in the comments.