“Stupid game, why does it matter if you win or lose?” Zipp had continued to go farther away from the lodge because she didn’t want anypony to find her. “Why do I care what she does with him, it’s not like we were going out in the first place?” Zipp had seen a wooden bench nearby and wiped the snow off, so she could have an area to sit and mope. As she sat there, she gazed at the scenery in front of her. The little river looked so magnificent and the water was reflective like a mirror. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Zipp, you out here!” She recognized the voice as Hitch, but she hesitated to respond. If everyone was looking for her, then she didn’t want to be found. She wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. “C’mon Zipp, where are you?” Hitch’s voice had drawn closer and if he continued further, then he certainly would find her.

”Ugh, I’m probably gonna regret this.” ”I’m over here!” Zipp had shouted in the direction of Hitch’s voice. As she heard hoofsteps draw closer, she had hoped it had only been him out here. Hitch soon appeared spotting Zipp sitting on a bench, memorized by the river. He cautiously made his toward her, only stopping to ask for her permission on something.

“Can I take a seat?” Zipp only nodded slightly, not turning her head in his direction to address him. Hitch went to the other side of the bench, opposite of her, and wiped it clear before he sat down. There was silence for about a few seconds, but it felt like an enturnity. “Things kinda got out of hoof back there, huh?”

“Yeah, it was a stupid game anyway.”
“Oh for sure, very dumb and stupid.” Hitch supported her idea and went along with it. “Like that game should be outlawed and restricted from of being a concept. I could probably enforce that and make it a new rule all over Equestria.” This got a little laugh out of Zipp, who appreciated his company and his attempt to cheer her up.

She decided to continue with his joke, going along with the thought. “I mean, when I’m queen, I could probably make a decree banning it for even existing.”

“I’d support it, the decree would be called ”No Daring or Truth Game Allowed.”

“That’s a bit of a mouthful, how about ”The No T or D Game?”

“That kinda sounds weird to say.”

“I’d be the queen, I will make it sound normal.” Zipp then added on by doing her impression of what all royalty sounded like. “If ponies refused to say it, then they be banished from Zephyr Heights.” This got the duo to burst out laughing at the comedic conversation they shared.

“Well Princess Zipp, let your reign live on for a hundred years and more.”

“Thank you, Sheriff, it is always a delight to have your company.” They continued to laugh at their foolery topic. After a while, Zipp cleared her voice and began to speak normally. “I really do enjoy your company, Hitch, you make me feel so carefree.”

“I’m always gonna be there for you,” This made Zipp blush a little and smile.”For any of you, you girls are my best friends and I don’t think I could think of anyone else to have by my side. But I want to ask because I’m worried about you, why did you storm off back there?”

She knew this was coming, she dreaded it because she would have to tell him, the real reason why she was out here. “Hitch, do you value our friendship?”

“Of course I do, I value all the friendships I have with everypony.” He was puzzled by her rhetorical question.

“Do you value other friendships more with certain ponies?”

“I... I treat all my friends equally or at least try to. I’m not quite sure how to answer this.”

“When I’m queen, I’ll have to move back to Zephyr Heights, will you still come visit?”

“Absolutely, we all will try to make time to see you.” Hitch was growing a little concerned and maybe even a little annoyed by all these rhetorical questions.

“But I’m asking about you, Hitch.”

“Zipp, why are asking all these questions, is something wrong. I don’t know what you’re trying to prove here and it’s worrying me.”

“I just really care about you and I don’t want us to drift away. I hate to think that one day not having you in it because I...” Zipp mustered up all the courage she had to say what she was gonna say next. “I like you, Hitch, like a lot, I have for a long time and was too scared to say anything about it. I tried to let it be and hoped it would go away, but it hasn’t. I never felt like this before and when I’m around you, I feel nervous, lightheaded, and feel like passing out. I like you so much that I was so afraid to confess because I feared getting rejected and losing our friendship.” Zipp was in a total panic attack, and she needed a second to catch her breath before continuing. “So I need to know, do you like me, Hitch?”

Hitch was caught off guard by her sudden outburst that he didn’t know how to react. "

“I... I don’t know-” Before he could finish his sentence, a loud noise echoed throughout the area. It sounded like a scream of an animal but it didn’t sound like a normal animal. It was more like a screeching sound almost like a banshee but more distinguished. “What was that?” Then birds fled into the sky seeming as if they were spooked by something. “Maybe we should get inside and talk about this.” They both got up and made their back into the front of the lodge.

***

“Where are we going?” Misty didn’t hope to be out for long due to the temperature only decreasing as the night went on.

“I don’t know, I just need some time away from everypony.” Misty now seemed as if she was being a burden on him for tagging along. “But I do enjoy you coming with, it will help bring my mind off things quicker with someone to talk to.” As the two exited the front door, they were hit with a cool breeze. It was strange, they expected it to be much colder given the scenery.

“It’s kinda beautiful out here.” As the two gazed upon the stars glimmering through the night, Shadow had to agree with her on that.

“It’s like a winter wonderland.” He shyly turned his attention toward the small metal gate down the trail. He pressed the button which caused the red light to turn green, unlocking the gate which was leading towards the left trail.

“You know where this leads?”

“Towards an old cabin, not that far out. Apparently, it belonged to some hunter who’s family prospered here long ago.”

“Somepony lives out here?” As puzzling as it would be, Misty could understand and imagine herself being here, staring at the amazing view, and friendly wildlife. No animals live out here that rival a pony’s height, but it would still feel off, she would be depressed out here by herself.

“Huh, look at this.” Shadow had gone near a wooded board sign that had the word caution in big and bold. “Prohibited Mine Railroad Ahead.”

“Why would they be restricted?”

“Probably for cave-ins and nopony goes looking for some get-rich-fast gold anymore.” As they continued down the trail, Misty could not help but feel an unease by the hostel night. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but something just didn’t feel right. Ahead they saw a door frame blocked off by a couple planks with a restricted sign covering it.

“This must be what they are keeping ponies away from.” Misty conclude.

“They must’ve really not wanted anyone to go inside. Let’s just keep going before it gets too cold and die of hyperthermia.” But soon they ran into a block away of fallen trees completely covering a passage through.

“Now what, maybe we should just go back. I think everypony has calmed down right about now.”

“Come on Misty, where’s your sense of adventure.” He walked back to the mine entrance and attempted to remove the boards.

“Hey Shady, I don’t think we should mess with the-” She was cut off by him having successfully removed one plank. She was astonished by how he was able to rip the bolted board off with ease, and the fact that she accidentally gave him a nickname.

“Alrighty, one down, three to go.” Before he continued, he turned to her with confusion dawning on his face. “Did you just call me Shady?”

“I... I didn’t mean to, it just slipped.” He chuckled a bit at the name she gave him.

“It’s all good Mist, so long as you don’t tell anyone you called me that.” He then went back to getting the boards off the entrance. When he got the last one off, he failed to notice the drop there was below. Luckily he thought quickly and held onto the side of the door frame to not fall straight down in.

“You okay?” Misty had impulsively run to him trying to catch him.

“Yeah, all good, thankfully caught myself before I could fall in.”

“You sure you know where we’re going?”

“One hundred percent, they made it where every single path is somehow connected to another.” Misty ignited her horn as a flashlight to be able to see inside the mining area. The drop-down wasn’t that deep and looked jumpable to get back up. “So umm, ladies first?” Misty stared at him to see if he was actually serious. “Yeah your right.” When he jumped down, first thing he noticed was that he was standing on railroad tracks and that it was mostly dark. He signaled for Misty to come down but she was resistant to follow. “C’mon just jump right down.”

“I don’t know, what if I hurt my hoof on something?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you want.” Misty knew that he would if need be. He had taught her to swim in a similar way, having been locked in a castle her whole life; there were many things she never got to do. When she came to Maretime Bay, she lied when asked about how she never tried, watched, or even knew the most common things. Shadow had used his very formal way of talking to ponies to show and teach her all these things. She enjoyed those moments, they took her away from all her worries and fears. Watching movies while eating sweets and popcorn was her favorite thing to do. She wondered why they had stopped doing those. “You ready, on the count of three, one... two...” Before he could get to three, a screeching sound echoed through the woods. Misty was frightened by what was out there, and rather be down there than up here with the creature that had cause the horrific sound. Shadow had got so distracted by the noise that he didn’t notice Misty jumping down. When he saw Misty falling down he tried to catch her at the last second but he more so broke her fall than catch her.

Misty now laid on top of Shadow and with her hooves, she felt his abdomen. She could feel his surprisingly hard chest and stomach muscles. She never really noticed his physique before, mostly due to it being hidden like every other stallion. She could feel the lines and ridges of each peck and muscle, something about it made her feel aroused. She then realized that her lower abdomen was rubbed up against his member. She quickly got up off of him taking a better look at his physical appearance. His chest was pretty bulky and he was a decent amount of lean for his stomach. It was tough to say how cut he was because of the fur covering it, but she would put his built right below Hitch’s. It would be pretty close in size, but she knew Hitch was less lean and more bulk. It didn’t bother her too much she was into any type of stallion with a good personality no matter the build; though it made them stand out more.

She lent her hoof to Shadow and helped him back on all fours. “Thanks, that’s my bad, I got distracted by that noise.” Misty reignited her horn and shined it ahead of the passage.

“No it’s my fault, I should’ve gave you a heads up.” As the two walked ahead in silence, Misty figured now is a time as any to catch up. “So what have you been doing in your free time nowadays?”

“Been taking on the hobby of writing, gonna take some internships on some movie sets. What about you?”

“Same old, same old, hanging out with the gang, and spending some quality time with my dad.”

“What are your thoughts on the whole Queen Haven thing?”

“What do ya mean?” Misty was puzzled by his inquiry.

“Well him and Haven are kind of into each other, if they were to officially get together, do you ever wonder where that might leave you in it all.” Misty hadn’t ever dwelled on his relationship with Queen Haven, she was just happy that her father was happy and had somepony to talk to while she was gone.

Before she could give him a clear answer, a piece of lumber from above fell in front of them. “That is the last thing you want to happen while in here.”

“We should hurry and get out of here before we get stuck in here.”

“Good idea.” As they went over the debris that had almost crushed them, they could see a set of stairs with light that was assumed to be from the surface. Before they left, Shadow had seen that there was another pathway adjacent to the stairs. It led to a dead end but there was some kind of marking on the wooden wall barrier. “Hey, come look at this.” As he got closer, he could see that it was a carving of some type of animal. It looked like a bear with the size and sharp teeth depicted, but bears weren’t normally skinny with no fur. They also don’t have small heads and body proportions and most certainly not as long limbs like the creature did.

“Why is this here?” Misty said with a puzzling and frightened voice.

“Maybe somepony got bored down here back in the day and liked to carve things into walls.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before, do you think it’s based on something?”

“Whoever made it must be really creative.” As they stared in awe at the carving, the more they felt unease by it. “C’mon let’s go before we get distracted by any more unorthodox things out here.” The two finally had found a way out and around the blocked trail. They now were back on track and the cabin wasn’t that far out from here.

“What was Zipp so upset about that she stormed off back there.” Misty knew it was something that had happened only recently before they got to the lodge.

“She was... She had other things on her mind and probably needed some time alone.” Shadow hadn’t made eye contact with her and only continued to move forward.

“Well it seems that her breaking point was during when Pipp had chosen to kiss Hitch.” Another thought had popped up in her mind, did Shadow only come out here because he had a crush on Pipp, and was upset because of her choice. A part of her for some reason had hoped that wasn’t the case.

“She was...” Shadow stopped and turned to Misty with a need to get something important off his chest. “If I tell you something, can you promise not to tell anypony or ever bring it up?” Misty only nodded in response. “So Zipp had told me before we got to lodge that she had a crush on Hitch. Then we saw through a telescope that Pipp and Hitch were being intimate, but I’m pretty sure it was for her vlogs. To top that all off, what happened with the game, she’s probably on the verge of breaking down, conflicted with her feelings and holding them in for I don’t know how long.”

Misty was taken aback by what she had just learned. She had so much empathy for Zipp, she couldn’t imagine what she was going through. Hopefully Hitch could comfort her, but it could go even worse with him there. “I had no idea, I hope Zipp is okay.” But that still didn’t answer why he was out here heading to some cabin by himself if Misty didn’t come along. “Why are you out here then?”

Shadow’s face looked full of emptiness and he didn’t try to answer her question. He just turned back around and went back to trotting the path. “C’mon the cabin should be right up ahead.”

***

“Um, what should we do now?” Pipp had felt that she had been left out of everything interesting happening. Hitch and Zipp are both gone and Misty and Shadow are off together. That was exciting though, she had to admit. They could be bonding and growing closer together. She only wished that she was there to record it, the views it would draw.

“I think we should wait here until everypony calms down and comes back.” Sunny had hoped they wouldn’t stay mad for long, though she knew when they came back she owed a lot of apologies. She really didn’t know what for, all she knew was that Zipp and Shadow were mad either at her or her actions that caused them anger.

“To be honest with you Sunny, I really can’t do that because since Zipp made me stop recording the game, I need something to vlog or my Pippsqueaks will be disappointed.” Pipp scanned her surrounding area for anything that was worthy of being captured on video, but nothing seemed to appeal to her. “Does anypony else have anything interesting to do, like I dunno explore or talk about like secrets?”

“I remember Zipp telling me in the basement about this door, she said that she heard creepy noises coming from it.” Izzy interjected knowing Pipp loved a good scary mystery adventure.

“Do go on.” Pipp was intrigued by what Izzy was saying about her sister’s earlier discovery.

“I don’t remember Hitch ever saying anything about a secret passage in the basement, but then it wouldn’t be considered a secret; maybe nopony has ever been through there.” That was all Izzy really knew about it, but it was all Pipp needed to want to explore it.

“Well what are we waiting for, let’s go explore this mysterious door!”

“Hold on Pipp, we don’t know what’s down there. What if we get stuck down there?” Sunny really didn’t like the idea of going anywhere, to be completely honest, she felt like going to her bed and turning in for night. This night has been nothing but a disaster and going into an unknown creapy passage didn’t seem any better.

“If you don’t want to go down, it’s alright, me and Izzy will just go.” As she and Izzy headed to the basement Sunny was in a dilemma. She could either stay up here by herself and wait for everyone to come back, or go into the basement with Izzy and Pipp to explore.

“Girls wait, I’m coming with!” When they got to the basement it was nearly pitch black. Izzy’s horn glowed up for a sense of light and Pipp turned the flashlight on her phone on so she could be able to record in some good lighting; it was better than having to go back and edit all the lighting in later. Pipp then pressed record on phone and switched the camera to face her.

“Hey Pippsqueaks, we are right now in the basement about to go see what creepy door Izzy is talking about. She then turned the camera back over following Izzy to the door. It looked like any other wooden door, but older with the metal noticeably rusted. All three hesitated to open it, seeing who was brave enough to try. After a while Sunny turned the knob and pushed the door open, preparing for whatever was on the other side. It was a hallway with shelves full of packages, some opened, others were reused to store things, and the rest were still sealed closed. The walls and floor look newer than any other thing in the entire lodge; even the lodge itself. Pipp went a little ahead of everyone making sure she was getting all of this on film, after that she again switched the camera towards her. “Are you seeing this Pippsqueaks, it’s like a secret lair.”

“Wonder what’s in all these boxes?” Sunny was a little creeperd out by all this, was somepony watching them from below. Izzy checked one of the opened boxes and called for the girls to check it out for themselves. What they saw was a bunch of canned food. They looked to see that every opened box had canned food in it, organized into separate boxes meaning there was definitely somepony who was or has been down here. Sunny then turned her attention to the repurposed ones, not taking another second torn it open from where it had been before. Looking inside to only be more frightened from what was in it. It hadn’t been more food, instead it was a bunch of cameras and net traps. The weirdest thing about it though was that all of them were broken, as if they had purposely destroyed. “What the actual fuck is all this!?”

“Sunny, I’m recording all this.” Sunny didn’t pay no mind to Pipp and her vlogs, honestly she was glad she was getting it all.

“Do you what this is?” Neither Izzy nor Pipp dared answer her. “It means that someone is living down here to nopony’s knowledge.” She was in a full panic mode.

Pipp used her phone to zoom in on the unopened packages. The words fragile were labeled on all them. “Sunny there’s no way that’s the case, look these boxes say fragile, this is probably just a storage room for equipment and food.”

“But why does this area look more up to date?” Izzy had asked Pipp.

“Noone probably ever comes down in here.”

“It looks like it has been remodeled though.” Sunny was put a little at ease by Pipp’s reasoning, but not totally convinced. “I really don’t wanna be down here anymore.”

“Sunny, nothing bad is down here and I’m gonna prove it.” With that, Pipp had flew ahead of them going deeper into the passage.

“Wait up, Pipp!” Izzy shouted after her as she and Sunny ran to catch her. As Sunny was running she felt that she had stepped on something. She stopped and picked up the object that she stumbled upon. Izzy continued forward and found Pipp staring at the ground not moving at all. Izzy saw that she had stopped at a set of stairs that led deeper down, but it wasn’t the stairs that caught her attention; it was what was on the ground that caught her and now Izzy’s interest.

Sunny had found a piece of a knitted green scarf with red splats on it, which she hoped was just a designer’s choice, and not what she feared it was. She went over to the others to show them, but saw what they had been staring at.

There, laid on the ground, was a trail of what was presumed to be blood given the dark stain it had. Sunny then held out the piece of scarf to show them. As they looked at it, Sunny spoke with a frightened voice. “Girls, we need to go back upstairs, now!”

* * *

Hitch and Zipp walked back to the lodge in silence, both felt too awkward to say anything to each other. Hitch was the one to break the silence between them. “Y’know I saw a shed straight ahead when exiting the back of the lodge, I thought you went in there. They have a bunch of tools and spare parts there, so if the cable car ever broke, we could fix it using the parts.” Hitch turned his head towards Zipp who didn’t seem to be listening, maybe she was but didn’t want to talk. He sighed as they reached the back door of the lodge.

Zipp wished she hadn’t said all that to Hitch, they wouldn’t feel so distant now. Did he like her? Was he trying to find the right words to let her down easy? A million thoughts ran through her head. She looked down at the snow, it was packed snow, the same type of snow back at Maretime Bay, and then an idea popped into her head. She formed a snowball and called for Hitch’s attention. As he turned his head towards her, she threw the snowball at it him.

It was a direct hit to his face. “Oh, that’s how we’re playing it? Zipp laughed as she ran for some cover behind a tree. Hitch smiled as he quickly made a snowball and threw it at the fleeing pegasus. She had dodged it and Hitch not wanting to be hit again, got cover behind a wooden bench on the porch of the lodge.

Zipp was hoping this would make up for what she said back by the river. Having fun with Hitch could also change his feelings towards her. Zipp wasn’t much of a mushy word love pony, she much preferred having fun and fooling around; it helped build her confidence and cooled her nerves. As the two prepared for battle against each other, they couldn’t help but trash talk one another. “You’re going down Sheriff.”

“You’d be surprised, Princess, I have been in many snowball fights, and I’m still here standing.” Did he just call her Princess, now he was so going down.

Zipp waited for Hitch to peak out and aim for her. When he did, she threw another snowball at him, and went for another tree; her plan was to sneak attack from behind. Hitch was more aware this time, he used his shoulder to take the hit, and threw his at her. She hadn’t expected him to retaliate so fast and she was struck on her side by the snowball.

“Score one, for the Sheriff!” Hitch said with enthusiasm. He knew he was still down by one, but he had a brilliant plan to tie it up. He then made two snowballs and threw one at the tree Zipp was behind. She had taken the bait and exposed herself ready to throw her next shot at him. Hitch was already waiting and launched his snowball at her as he got away from the bench. “That’s two for the Sheriff. Will the Princess be able to recover and win or will the ‘Mighty Sheriff’ triumph over.

Zipp began to look for Hitch and get him back, but she had lost sight of him. “Where’d you go, Sheriff?” She kept turning all around her but no sign of him. Out of nowhere, Hitch came up from behind and was able to pin her to the ground. This caused Zipp to drop her snowball as she fell.

“Well Princess Zipp it seems you now have two options. Either surrender or I finish it right here.” Hitch had held all of Zipp’s hooves down as he toppled over her. Zipp had a grin on her face as their muzzle were only a few inches away from each other.”You have five seconds to decide or I will decide for you.” She had to admit, she really didn’t like accept defeat and lose, but in the situation she was in, it didn’t seem so bad. Having Hitch overpower her with his strength, making her feel submissive; something about it made her feel electrified. A part of her wanted Hitch to take her right there and now and fuck her til she could barely walk in the morning.

Hitch on the other hand had lost his focus, staring at Zipp’s innocent face she put on. He got lost in her light blue eyes, they looked so magnificent, and it caused to loosen his grip on her. He didn’t know what he was feeling, was he falling for her or was it just one of his intrusive thoughts. His stomach felt weird; like a million sweet things all fluttered around at the same time. Zipp seized this opportunity to regain her snowball and shoved it into his face. Hitch got off of her and began to rub the snow off.”That’s for calling me princess.”

“Oh c’mon, I had you pinned down.” Hitch face was freezing cold from the snow.

“A princess never goes down without a fight.” Zipp spoke in her royal voice once again. The two laughed at the ridiculous snow fight they just had. As they got up and wiped all the snow off themselves, Zipp helped wipe the snow off Hitch’s face. They shared a smile at each other, before Zipp began to head into the lodge. Hitch felt the feeling in his stomach again, he wondered if this is what ponies called having butterflies in your stomach.

Author's Note

This was my favorite one to write, gonna love the next as well.