My breath came out in short, strangled gasps as I stood before the fabled mansion of the Everfree Forest. It was old, worn down in many areas and boards adorned the many different windows instead of colourful curtains. I turned my head around to the left and then to the right, surveying my surroundings. The garden looked like it hadn't been tended to in a long time, with weeds sprouting everywhere and the ornaments were chipped in many places, showing their age. A knot suddenly formed in my stomach as I turned my gaze back to the mansion.
The old mansion of the Everfree Forest. The one mansion which had secrets shrouded in mystery. Legend has it that a family once lived in here, at least until unforeseen circumstances saw them disappearing off the face of the Earth.
My heart was racing at a million beats per second, as I tried to process what it was that my friend had told me.
"No pony knows where the family disappeared. Heck, they don't even know WHEN the disappearances occurred!" My friend had the crazy look about him as he told his grisly tale of horror. He was grinning wildly, his mouth spread from one side of his face to the other and his eyes wide as saucers. I turned to find that the other colts had scrambled, much to my amusement. Fools, don't they know it was all made up?
Grinning, I stood up and trotted over to my friend, placing a hoof around his neck. "You sure know how to tell a story, Windy." I wasn't lying, I really was impressed that he even managed to tell a coherent story, much less scare off his peers. His green eyes bore into mine as he stared at me with apparent confusion.
"What do you mean? Dude, I wasn't joking." My grey friend punctuated the last word to show me that he was being serious. I missed this, and instead kept jabbing at him, much to his chagrin. What followed was a heated argument, which ended in me agreeing to a challenge set by him.
That challenge was to visit the fabled mansion where the family had apparently disappeared.
To be fair, I don't even know why I had agreed to come to this place at all. It was a stupid bet. I wanted to prove him wrong, and he wanted to see me with my tail between my legs, like a dog scared out of his mind. But it had been done. I had made a deal with Windy, the Devil. And now I was in a dangerous place.
And I wasn't going to back down. Now when my reputation as the bravest boy in my class was at stake. Calming my nerves, I took a step forward. And then another. And another. And I kept walking until I was at the foot of the stairs. They seemed to stretch out in front of me, their worn steps getting wider and the patio shrinking away into the distance.
Mentally slapping myself, I carefully placed a hoof on the first step, wincing as it creaked and groaned under my weight. I forced my gaze upwards again, and I could see that the door into the house was but mere steps away. All I had to do was walk into the house, look around and then escape. Simple, right?
A couple of minutes had passed until I found myself in front of the barricaded door, wooden planks protecting the door from intruders who would dare to simply walk in. I simply stood there, apparently scared out of my wits about opening that door. What if I didn't like what was behind this door? What if I was right after all, and I had wasted my time coming out into the woods? All these questions of self doubt piled into my little mind, and I could help but let out an strained cry of anguish. Panting heavily, I exhaled deeply and, with a determined look on my face, ripped the boards from the door with my bare hooves.
And there it stood. Bare as bones. The door that would let me into the mansion's hallway. I was determined to get this challenge out of the way, so I reached up and pulled the handle down with all my might. And it didn't open. I felt disappointed, more so than when I found that I had failed the surprise test last week. But I wasn't going to let this get me down. Nay, I would find another way in, for I am not a scaredy-cat!
I scanned the derelict doorway for any possible clues and, just as I had hoped, the clue presented itself. Caught in the moonlight's gleam was the golden door bell, glistening golden and flashing itself at me like a camera. Deciding that this was my best option, I reached up and pressed it.
DING-DONG!
The extremely loud chime rang all the way through my ears and echoed around the courtyard. I gulped involuntary, afraid that I could have alerted someone to my presence. I wanted to run away. I just wanted to bolt from that very spot, canter all the way home, apologise to my friend by admitting defeat and forget that I ever attempted something as stupid as this.
But I couldn't...
Instead I stood petrified as an ominous wind whistled through my smooth mane, the decorations tinkling above me with a gentle tune as I stared at the door, not daring to move a muscle. I don't know what happened next, but I suddenly heard heavy breathing through the door. I heard the creaking of the floorboards, not coming from me; I was as still as a statue. Terror rushed through my veins and my heart beat rapidly as I heard muted voices through the door, most likely alerted to my presence.
Slowly but surely, I saw the door handle jiggle slightly, and I felt by breath quicken as I watched on in anticipation. Ever so slowly, the door opened and I eagerly yet anxiously awaited the full reveal, my eyes darting back and forth as they scanned the hallway as it slowly revealed itself. And then I came face to face with a silhouette which darted forward to meet me head on. Instinctively, I ducked down, screamed and hid below my hooves, eyes shut and trembling in terror.
A minute had passed before I decided to sneak a peek at the open doorway, fully expecting the silhouette to be standing in my way. But it wasn't. Instead, I was facing an open door, beckoning me to come in and explore. My breathing regulated and I was able to stand up, before trotting into the dimly lit hallway, the only light coming from the moon.
I expected the door to slam behind me, to trap me in this forest's take on a haunted mansion, to force me to explore the dark hallways and uncover some terrible secret. And yet I still jumped when it actually did slam behind me. A choked sob escaped my throat as I turned in surprise, seeing that the door had indeed slammed shut. Immediately, I rushed over and tried to pry the entrance open, to no avail. Tears streaming down my face, I realised the horrible reality of my situation; I was indeed trapped.
And I had no choice but to explore. So I turned, and walked into the adjoining room; the kitchen.
My breath was coming out in short ragged bursts; I was intentionally trespassing and I knew it. The slamming door had to be the wind playing tricks on me, not an actual ghost playing tricks on my mind. The thought of such a thing existing terrified me to my very heart. But all that paled in comparison to the location I suddenly found myself in; the kitchen. The kitchen which had rust marks running all over the walls and a small light bulb hanging from the ceiling, swinging in the wind which came from the shattered window above the sink.
It felt like something out of a horror story; the aged look, the ominous wind and even the fact that it was all deserted, and felt like something was watching me. I turned to walk out of the room, hopefully out of the house so I wouldn't have to endure any more uncertainty, but something caught my gaze and I stood still in terror. There, atop the kitchen bench in plain view, was the microwave which had a knob timer and opened at the touch of a button, and had a form of dried liquid hanging from the door.
That dried liquid was blood.
I suddenly became very sick; my stomach felt as if it was trying to force my lunch up. Gagging, I tried to turn, to walk away, but there was that small part of me that couldn't help but feel curious. And that small part was my hoof reaching forward to press the button, and my eyes gaped at the door, waiting for the reveal. An audible pop was heard as the microwave's door pushed opened slowly, and I reclined my hoof rapidly in fear of something grabbing at me.
To my immense relief, nothing jumped out of the appliance as the door inched open. I don't know why, but that relief was replaced by dread, which then turned to horror as I finally saw what was being hidden. It was an unicorn's severed head. His eyes were slanted, pupils pointing to different places as his mouth hung open limply. The worst part was the horn, which had also been severed from its rightful place and jabbed into the open wound where the neck would have been.
I couldn't hold it in any longer, and hunched over as my stomach finally released its contents. Colourful vomit now adorned the kitchen's dirty floor, accompanied by me, who was still dry heaving, trying to force any more out of my stomach. Tears were flowing from my eyes like a gentle rain, as I still felt the acidic residue in my mouth. Not wanting to look at the deformity in the microwave any longer, I ambled back to the hallway, keeping my gaze downward yet high enough to ensure that I bumped into nothing.
It wouldn't budge. The main obstacle that stood between me and my immediate freedom from this mansion, and the handle was either busted or something was blocking it. Either way, the door wouldn't open, and I was faced with the horrible reality of being trapped, forced to endure the horrors which would eventually reveal themselves to me. My mind was still reeling from the sight of a deformed head and I was left wondering; what if that was just my mind playing tricks on me?
I had to know; was what I saw real? Or was it just a trick of the mind? One thing was for sure, I had to know, as I peered back into the kitchen. My eyes widened as they scanned the kitchen trying to find the haunted microwave which used to be on the bench. However, it had disappeared. Vanished. It didn't exist anymore, not unlike my yellow vomit which still rested on the floor in front of me. For some reason, this discovery only made me more terrified.
Backing into the hallway, I could finally breathe normally albeit only for a few short seconds. Apparently I must have seen an illusion, a trick of my mind, something that didn't exist. Yet it all seemed so real, the blood and the eyes which were truly devoid of life. I retched again, the thoughts were still making me sick, so I quickly erased them from my mind.
Right now, the door was somehow locked, and I had no choice but to go upstairs and look in the main bedroom. The stairs creaked and groaned under my weight; they were obviously aged, indicating to me that this house was over a century old. I let out an involuntary wince as my hoof pressed down on the steps, each time releasing a loud creak from the boards. I shifted my gaze up to the top, where another dark hallway was waiting for me. Doors lined along the room, leading up to my destination; the master bedroom which was emphasised by the massive doorway.
Breathing shakily, I wasted no time trotting over to the main doors, out of pure fear that something would pop out from one of these doors and truly terrorise me. To my surprise, nothing like that happened, and I got to the end of the hallway without any problem. I cowered in slight fear as the doors seemed to loom over me, their ritualistic signs catching my eyes every time I looked over them. I shut my eyes and exhaled heavily before determinedly placing a hoof onto one of the handles. No way this was going to get to me.
I made a bet with my friend, and I was going to see that bet through to the end! I would prove to him that the story he told us was just that; a legend, a myth. Forget the severed head in the microwave, that was merely an illusion. I would find out the truth of the mansion in the forest!
Wearing a cocky grin, I pushed the door open and trotted in, immediately wishing I hadn't. The room was fairly small for a master bedroom, consisting of simply a queen size bed, a wardrobe and a blazing fireplace accompanied by a couch. The most normal things in the room and I had never been terrified whilst looking at them. Maybe it was because the bed had a huge splotch of crimson blood on the quilt. Or it was because of the fact that the wardrobe was teeming open and I could see the bloodied, severed hoof hanging out of the opening.
But what truly frightened me was the couch. There was no blood whatsoever, or any limbs hanging freely over the edges. What was there, however, was the dark silhouette of a pony staring into the fire. The flames danced around, illuminating the darkened stallion, who oddly had no defining features save for his dirty matted hair. He seemed to be just a silhouette resting on the sofa, something where it shouldn't be. And that truly terrified me.
I tried closing my eyes shut and counting to three, in the hopes that it was all an illusion. After I had finished counting, I was crestfallen to find that nothing had changed. The blood and the severed limbs were still in their respective places and the silhouette had not moved. Whimpers escaped my mouth as I realised that this was the real deal. No mind games. All true images that stood before me. Even so, the silhouette stood still as a statue.
Not wasting any time, I cleared my throat as best as I could, and yet the lump in my throat remained. I coughed, and looked up to find no movement, and decided to speak. Big mistake.
"Um... hello, sir?"
I don't think I would ever forget those eyes. Those dark soulless rings of blackness that bore into my own soul. I don't even remember the silhouette turning to face me, at least I don't think it even turned at all. I do remember the eyes appearing out of nowhere, as if the ghost was somehow sleeping, and I had just awoken it. It then shifted into the light of the fire, revealing a face that was missing clumps of fur, the eyes had white rings to add to their creepiness, and a sort of black liquid was dripping from them at a steady rate, like a faucet that wasn't entirely turned off. He had no mouth, just stitches sewn on and around the nose and accompanied with droplets of dried blood.
The way these stitches were positioned, it looked like he was smiling at me. I couldn't move, sheer terror had immobilised me. I was powerless as I watched the monster amble towards me, closer and closer until he was right in front of me. These black holes seemed to stare down at me and I involuntary bent my knees and cried softly. I was pleading forgiveness for waking him up, and for my freedom out of this hell hole. He didn't seem to hear me because, in an instant, he lifted his right hoof up and slammed it into the ground next to me.
I jumped back in surprise, falling over onto my back and crying out as my head hit the wall. I was now openly crying, snot dripping from my nose as I sniffed wetly. The dark silhouette paid no mind as he towered over me and bent down to meet my gaze. I somehow felt a sudden calm was over me as I met his gaze, which was dark and soulless, yet calm and gentle. He seemed to pick up on this and leaned back, to which I stood up to my hooves. The sense of terror was still there, but so was the sense of serenity.
I waited with bated breath as he pondered his next move. I was scared, what was he going to do to me? Was he going to kill me? Or imprison me? He then lifted his hoof and pointed at the door, and I was confused. I look back and forth between the silhouette and the entrance to the dark hallway laced with doors. What did it mean? I looked up at his empty pupils with confusion, and he seemed to pick up on that.
GET OUT.
The voice echoed through the room, chilling me to the bones. I looked up at him, and he still wore the same emotionless expression, and yet he seemed to chastise me. But I had gone through a lot of terrifying things in this mansion, let alone this room. So I wasted no time. I bolted past the doors which slammed behind me, through the hallways, in which nothing popped out at me. I got to the stairs and almost squealed in relief when I found the front door was open and scrambled down the stairs in excitement.
I must have been too excited because one of the steps broke beneath me and I tumbled forward, down the rest of the stairs. I landed on my muzzle, wincing in pain as I felt it crack beneath my weight. But I couldn't stop now, not when freedom was so close. So I wasted no time in jumping to my hooves, ignoring the warm liquid that ran from my nostrils and ran out the door into the cool night.
I don't know if the door closed behind me or not. I don't know if the strange silhouette with the black eyeholes was watching me from his window. All I knew was that I wanted to get home, and get into bed and hide under my covers. Away from the horrors I encountered in this house and its rooms.
The mansion of the Everfree Forest.
~FIN
